[mythtv-users] Record only HD or prefer HD over SD

Yeechang Lee ylee at pobox.com
Wed Feb 3 20:27:14 UTC 2010


Simon Hobson <linux at thehobsons.co.uk> says:
> Because the SD channels carry programmes that aren't on the HD 
> channels. That's what the OP said,

Right. I presume Christian Szpilfogel is located in Canada given his
@rogers.com address. I imagine his situation is akin to what I see on
my US cable line up. My FireWire inputs have both HD and SD
channels. For example:

* HBOHDP (HD version of HBO's primary feed, on Pacific time)
* HBOP (SD version of HBO's primary feed, on Pacific time)
* HBO (SD version of HBO's primary feed, on Eastern time)
* HB2P, HBOFP, HBOSIGP, HBOCP, HBOZP, HBO2, HBOSIG, HBOF (Various
  other HBO SD channels)

The only SD channel with an exact HD counterpart is HBOP. The others
vary, whether in terms of time zone (HBO, three hours ahead) or in
content (all the other channels).

Mike Dean says:
> The point is that when you set channel and input priorities, Myth
> will /no longer/ always record the first showing--even if there are
> available inputs (meaning it will leave inputs unused when shows you
> want to record, but haven't yet recorded, air).  Therefore, you
> /could/ have recorded the show when it first aired, but you didn't
> because you set your channel priorities such that Myth said, "Simon
> would rather record it on the other channel, so I won't record it
> now."

But neither I nor Christian want to always record the first showing of
a program. Within the two-week period that a given SchedulesDirect
feed covers, a movie might very well air on HBOHDP, HBOP, HBO, HB2P,
HBO2, HBOSIG, and HBOSIGP, and the first airing is quite possibly not
going to be on HBOHDP (guaranteed, actually, since HBO--the Eastern
time-zone SD feed--will always air it three hours before
HBOHDP/HBOP). Even making HBOP invisible (the right thing to do, given
its exact redundancy with HBOHDP) doesn't change the situation.

(This situation is replicated with The Movie Channel, CineMAX, Starz!,
and Showtime.)

Since I want the same thing Christian asked for--the scheduler
choosing the HD version of a program if available--I thus give HBOHDP
and other HD channels a higher priority than for others, and also bump
up Recording Priorities|HDTV Recording Priority two notches. This has
worked very nicely for my 4+ years using MythTV. If there is a better
way of achieving my goal, I'd love to hear it.

As noted above, I do mark redundant SD channels as not visible in the
lineup; there is no point cluttering up the scheduler (or the EPG)
with SD channels that are 100% duplicated by HD counterparts. "100%
duplicated" means both content *and* time zones; I do not mark HBO
invisible.

Simon, again:
> Is there any practical difference between setting a positive priority 
> on HD channels, vs setting a negative priority on SD channels ?

I am also curious about this. After reading the aforementioned thread
a while back I did change channel priorities so that 0 is the highest,
rather than the default base, but I don't see what the functional
difference is.

-- 
Frontend/backend:	P4 3.0GHz, 1.5TB software RAID 5 array
Backend:		Quad-core Xeon 1.6GHz, 6.6TB sw RAID 6
Video inputs:		Four high-definition over FireWire/OTA
Accessories:		47" 1080p LCD, 5.1 digital, and MX-600


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