[mythtv-users] Duplicate matching

[Stephen Worthington]

On Mon, 24 Feb 2020 16:35:18 +0100, you wrote:

>On 24/02/2020 01:17, Mike Holden wrote:
>> Use the Title + Subtitle method instead
>
>That option does not seem to exist. I have:
>
>- None
>- Subtitle
>- Description
>- Subtitle and description
>- Subtitle then description
>
>Those are the names in Mythweb. I have checked in the frontend, and
>their names are slightly different but those are all the options.

You are always matching the Title - that is used to select the
recording rule used.  So Title + Subtitle = Subtitle.

I find that for programmes that do not have a programid, I have to
adjust the settings each season, because how the EPG is done varies
from season to season.  So one season may need Subtitle only, as it
has correct subtitles for each episode.  But the next season may not
have subtitles, or they may be generic - the same subtitle on all
episodes.  So I then need to use Description.  Or the stupid EPG
creators are adding "New:" on the start of the subtitle for the first
time it is broadcast, and the next 2-5 repeats over the week do not
have the "New:", in which case "Description" is the best option,
otherwise each episode would get recorded twice, once with "New:" and
once without.

And, of course, when an entire season gets repeated in 6 months or a
year, the EPG data may not match the original season's data very well
or at all, and the entire season my be recorded again.  If there is no
new season being aired at the same time, I would usually just disable
the entire recording rule, but if there is a new season running at the
same time, all I can do is check each day and manually mark the old
season episodes as "never record", so if they are ever re-repeated
with the same EPG data, they will not record yet again.

And when the rights to a programme expire and get sold to a new
provider, old series can even get repeated using new programids!

And then you occasionally get a spelling mistake in the subtitle or
description, and the EPG producers notice and fix the spelling on a
later day.  So it will re-record that episode.

So duplicate matching is much more an art than a science, and you
either need to put in the time to keep track of what is going on, use
settings that will cause duplicate recordings but will not miss new
ones and then manually cull the duplicates when you need to.