[mythtv-users] Silly question about live tv and two tuners

[Martin Moores]

On 17 August 2011 17:44, Michael T. Dean <mtdean at thirdcontact.com> wrote:

> Good summary.
>
> It seems a lot of people have wrongly paraphrased the approach I once
> described--heretofore known as the "Break your system by configuring
> MythTV to prefer Live TV over recordings" approach--and in so doing have
> recommended to a lot of users on other forums that they completely
> destroy their setup with alternating tuners (a "1+1" setup).
>
> My original post is at
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/dev/369358#369358 .  If you
> consider doing this--using the "Break your system by configuring MythTV
> to prefer Live TV over recordings" approach--you should read and
> understand the details of the entire post and use the final approach
> mentioned.  You should also bear in mind that it's best described as the
> "Break your system by configuring MythTV to prefer Live TV over
> recordings" approach.
>
> Note that following those instructions /will/ break your configuration
> and may result in lost recordings.  However, if you truly feel that Live
> TV is more important than recordings--and that hitting a single key
> (NEXTCARD) is more work than you can bear--it's the approach you'd need
> to take.
>
> Note also how I /never/ said to alternate tuners.  I said to configure
> /3/ tuners per card, then go back and add one to each card after.  Also,
> it assumes 3 physical capture cards.  With only 2 capture cards, it is
> guaranteed to cause problems eventually.
>
> The alternating tuner approach will completely destroy scheduling.
> Having 2 tuners per card then adding one is better than 1+1, but still
> may cause more problems than 3+1 or 4+1.
>
> That said, remember that MythTV--out of the box--will do the right thing
> to ensure recordings are more important than Live TV and that the "Break
> your system by configuring MythTV to prefer Live TV over recordings"
> configuration will break scheduling in some circumstances (even with a
> 3+1 or 4+1 config).
>
> The /right/ approach for Live TV users is to use the NEXTCARD binding to
> switch cards when you enter Live TV and it's locked to a multiplex and
> you want to watch something Live on another multiplex at the risk of
> losing one or more recordings.  The best approach for minimizing the
> risk is to have sufficient physical tuners that you don't have to
> worry.  If you have 10 physical tuners in your system, your risk of
> losing recordings due to Live TV is significantly smaller than if you
> have 2 physical tuners in your system--to the point that I recommend no
> one should use the "Break your system by configuring MythTV to prefer
> Live TV over recordings" approach without at least 3 physical tuners.
>
> The /best/ approach for ensuring you can record and watch everything you
> want with the most-efficient tuner assignment is to /not/ use the "Break
> your system by configuring MythTV to prefer Live TV over recordings" and
> instead record everything you might possibly ever want to watch (with
> recording rules, not Live TV) and never use Live TV.  See, also,
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/387302#387302 for
> details on why /everything/ should be a scheduled recording--even news
> and sports broadcasts.  In other words, the best approach is to use
> MythTV as a DVR--a Digital Video *Recorder*.
>
> Remember,  the 3+1 or 4+1 approach is known as the "Break your system by
> configuring MythTV to prefer Live TV over recordings," and it does break
> it--even if you don't notice the consequences.  (But if you're going to
> use it, please at least do it right--never 1+1; 2+1 is better; 3+1 or
> 4+1 is preferred; and ensure you have sufficient physical tuners (3 or
> more) to reduce the chance of lost recordings to a level you can tolerate)
>
> Mike
>
> Thanks Ronald and Mike very much.  Apologies for the delay in thanks.
Makes much more sense now you guys have summarised.  I rarely, if at all use
livetv, so I may take a look at my tuners to see if I can re-order them to
better effect.

Hope the OPs question has been answered also, sorry for hi-jacking.

Thanks

Martin
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