[mythtv-users] UK DVB Tuning Nightmare

Andre mythtv-list at dinkum.org.uk
Thu May 19 16:16:27 UTC 2011


On 19 May 2011, at 16:38, Fluf wrote:

> On 19 May 2011 16:29, John Veness <John.Veness.mythtv at pelago.org.uk> wrote:
> 
> I'm not sure how having an additional set of multiplexes does anything
> that you cannot do more cleanly using
> http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Record_multiple_channels_from_one_multiplex
> with one set of multiplexes.
>  
> As I tried to explain. As far as I can tell. In the UK. Different transmitters group channels per mux differently. Also different transmitters include different channels. So yes I am using the above concept to the max. Or trying to.

I've been following this with a smile :-)

Myth will do what you are suspecting it will, schedule different shows on different muxes, it certainly does on Satellite where every region is available. However it doesn't exhaustively try all combinations to get a "best fit" schedule making the fullest use of the muxes you have available! It's more of a "first fit" in that it will generally schedule a show on the first mux it finds it on, of course you can then give it a nudge and cause a better reschedule. Finding an ideal schedule it a very difficult problem to solve and myth scheduling is already very complex dealing with multiple sources and schedule data that can change almost continuously and taking into account whether episodes have already been seen 5 years ago.



> 
> I seem to be getting a "Well it's only set up for one transmitter" vibe though.

Definitely not, it copes very well with Freesat + Sky + Freeview in all kinds of permutations on my system. It will take some time of serious use before the full benefits and limitations become apparent. I did have 19E, 13E & 1W on the system too but got fed up with finding the German or Swiss version of a show recorded instead of the English one so it's certainly capable of that level of equivalency!

Of course your different mux combinations on different transmitters is likely a temporary arrangement, by the middle of next year the whole country will be converted and the muxes will all be the same mix of channels even from different transmitters.

As I understand provided the channels that are equivalent have the same name and same number ("bbc one london" & "bbc one wales" must both be called "bbc one")they will be treated as interchangeable by the scheduler and if they have the same channel number will only appear once in the listings. Whichever one has the lowest channel number in the lowest numbered source on the lowest numbered tuner is likely to be chosen first so you will have to try some variations to see what works best with the shows you watch. That should keep you occupied almost until the switchover is complete! 

There is a huge "book" on the scheduler operation wrt priorities for channels, tuners, sources, show priorities and the daytime temperature in Wagga Wagga, maybe that would be a good place to start reading.

http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-12.html

> Which brings me back to wondering about dvblast or something else as an input to myth.

You may still be limited by Myth's scheduler and myth is already seriously complicated adding another layer of complexity sounds like a bad place to start. I've tried all of the alternatives to Myth and the one thing that brings me back is the scheduling, it's not perfect but I think it's the best currently available. After a few years it's almost impossible to change to something else due to the huge history of previous recordings it knows about.

Andre


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