[mythtv-users] LiveTV browse across tuners, but no switch

[Ronald Frazier]

>> I don't have multirec enabled on any of my 5 tuners (last time I tried that I got a bunch of empty recordings), but when I enter
>> a channel number that is not available on the tuner I'm using via live TV, Myth automatically switches to a tuner where that
>> channel is available.
>
> Unfortunatelly, here it doesn't. You must have something different in
> your setup. I have 5x multirec for each tuner and use "Browse all
> channels" setting. Always been using this setting. Without it, I don't
> see all available channels on all tuners (e.g. when recording). This bug
> is present since I started using DVB-S with my MythTV about 2yrs ago.

As I recall, multirec is the cause of the issue (though I can't
confirm since I don't have it enabled since my physical number of
tuners is sufficient for my needs). At one time, myth couldn't even
browse across all channels...it only browsed the tuner you were on.
That was a constant complaint from many people for quite a while. I
wrote the initial patch to fix that (which somebody subsequently
modified and committed). Then along came multirec and it introduced
this new problem, which most of the developers are reluctant to fix
since they have no interest in LiveTV.

The argument I keep seeing is that it's a difficult problem to
determine the "proper" solution too, because of conflicts that happen.
For instance, 1 person is on a tuner, a second person shows up and
jumps on the same physical tuner (via a virtual tuner tuned to another
channel on that multiplex), and now the first person no longer has the
capability to change channels freely on that tuner.

I personally don't see that as a big deal, because I don't believe
most of the people who use LiveTV think in terms of tuners. They just
think of individual channels. The tricky part is that it all gets
deadlocked. Neither person can change the multiplex that tuner is
tuned to, because they are each waiting for the other to leave.
However, I again don't see that as so much of a problem because I
don't expect most people watching live TV think like that. I think
that it would be perfectly fine for LiveTV to jump between tuners as
necessary to get to whatever channel, and if a channel is not on an
available tuner, then too bad (my initial patch even provided a way to
indicate in the browser whether or not a channel was available to be
tuned, but that got removed by the person that redesigned it).

My wife doesn't seem to have any issues comprehending that sometimes a
channel isn't available because all tuners are busy, but yet other
channels ARE available. I suppose it can get hairy when there are 2
people using a system that only has 1 tuner (then you get stuck and
cannot tune to ANY other channels). However in that case, you have to
be accustomed to encountering cases where you can't tune. Anytime
anything is recording you can't watch live TV. If you are watching
live TV when a recording starts on the channel you are recording, it
just starts recording quietly (since there is no channel change prompt
necessary). In that case you end up with the same situation...you were
initially able to tune a channel and suddenly you no longer can.

So it seems to me (in my thinking) that the proper solution is
obvious, but obviously my thinking isn't universal. And in any case,
we need someone both able AND interested to volunteer to make the
change.


-- 
Ron