[mythtv-users] Several inputs

[Michael T. Dean]

On 02/17/2013 08:18 PM, Ron Garrison wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 16, 2013 at 8:25 AM, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>> No, not priorities.  Live TV and Schedule *Order*.  Priority implies higher
>> is chosen first.  Order specifies the, er, order in which they're used (so
>> that lower is actually used first).
>>
>> Input Priorities (what most people call tuner priorities) are evil.  Don't
>> use them unless you really know what you're doing (and, if you do, you'll
>> probably know you don't want to use them).
>>
>> I'm only correcting this because it's important that we use the proper
>> terminology--especially in cases like this where the term "tuner priority"
>> is likely to be confused with a different thing that the user does not want
>> to know.  So, just correcting the terminology for the archives.
> I must not be understanding this correctly or doing something wrong.
> I have 4 Capture Cards: HD-PVR, Airstar-DVB, PVR-250&  PVR-500 (only
> using one tuner in this card).
>
> I set the orders as follows:
> Card             LiveTV      Recording
> ----------------------------------------------
> HD-PVR          1                  2
> Airstar DVB     2                  1
> PVR-250         3                  4
> PVR-500         4                  3
>
> Now I have no recordings currently running.
>
> I turn on Live TV and the HD-PVR comes up.
> I then change channels to a station that exists on both HD-PVR and Airstar DVB
> Instead of choosing the HD-PVR, it choses the Airstar DVB (I thought
> that Live TV should have stayed on the HD-PVR)
> Now if I exit Live TV and restart, it starts on the channel I was just
> watching on the Airstart, but uses the HD-PVR (as expected).
>
>
> What I want to do is stay on the HD-PVR as much as possible (until the
> source changes to HD-PVR hang issue is sorted).  So I don't want to be
> switching to the Airstar in Live-TV unless there is no other option at
> the time.  Can someone shed some light please.   Thanks.

The Live TV order specifies the order in which cards are used /when 
starting Live TV/.  There is no way to control the order in which cards 
are used when changing channels in Live TV--not through Live TV order 
nor through channel priorities.  Once MythTV decides which particular 
channel to tune, it will do so using one of the available inputs that 
can tune that channel.

Instead, there is one--and only one--method of specifying which channel 
to use in Live TV:  the channel number.  So, if you want to be able to 
use the channel that's on the HD-PVR for Live TV, even when changing 
channels, you need to make it "different" from the identical channel 
available on the other inputs.  You do so by specifying a different 
channel number.  Then, when you tune that channel number*, MythTV will 
use the HD-PVR, because that's where that channel exists.

In short, channel number is a user-editable channel property that's used 
simply to specify which channel to tune during Live TV.

Channel call sign is a user-editable channel property that's used to 
tell MythTV which channels broadcast identical content--which to use for 
"this channel" rules.

Multiple channels having the same channel number and call sign means 
that those channels will be "coalesced" into a single row in the 
EPG/browse modes--because they're identical, so there's no need to show 
them separately.  Therefore, if you change the channel number on the 
HD-PVR channel, you will see it and the non-HD-PVR channel in the 
guide.  If you want to see only one, you can use Channel Groups to 
specify a group (HD-PVR channels or non-HD-PVR channels or Favorites or 
...) and then change to that group in the guide (and it will remember 
the group you're viewing).

Mike

* Many changes have been made to the Live TV channel change code by 
different developers over the years, and it's quite possible that recent 
changes made due to popular demand have made it so that using the guide 
or browse mode to change to a different channel will find a "close 
enough" channel--even if the channel number is different.  If so (but 
you should test with only channel number changed, first--I don't use 
Live TV, so I don't know for sure), you can either tune only by typing 
in channel numbers or--if you want to use the EPG or browse mode to 
change channels in Live TV--you will likely have to also change the call 
sign of the channel.  Note that changing the call sign will make that 
channel "different" for the purposes of "this channel" recording rules.  
However, you probably shouldn't be using "this channel" rules, anyway, so...