<div class="gmail_quote">On 17 August 2011 17:44, Michael T. Dean <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mtdean@thirdcontact.com">mtdean@thirdcontact.com</a>></span> wrote:<div class="h5">
</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Good summary.<br>
<br>
It seems a lot of people have wrongly paraphrased the approach I once<br>
described--heretofore known as the "Break your system by configuring<br>
MythTV to prefer Live TV over recordings" approach--and in so doing have<br>
recommended to a lot of users on other forums that they completely<br>
destroy their setup with alternating tuners (a "1+1" setup).<br>
<br>
My original post is at<br>
<a href="http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/dev/369358#369358" target="_blank">http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/dev/369358#369358</a> . If you<br>
consider doing this--using the "Break your system by configuring MythTV<br>
to prefer Live TV over recordings" approach--you should read and<br>
understand the details of the entire post and use the final approach<br>
mentioned. You should also bear in mind that it's best described as the<br>
"Break your system by configuring MythTV to prefer Live TV over<br>
recordings" approach.<br>
<br>
Note that following those instructions /will/ break your configuration<br>
and may result in lost recordings. However, if you truly feel that Live<br>
TV is more important than recordings--and that hitting a single key<br>
(NEXTCARD) is more work than you can bear--it's the approach you'd need<br>
to take.<br>
<br>
Note also how I /never/ said to alternate tuners. I said to configure<br>
/3/ tuners per card, then go back and add one to each card after. Also,<br>
it assumes 3 physical capture cards. With only 2 capture cards, it is<br>
guaranteed to cause problems eventually.<br>
<br>
The alternating tuner approach will completely destroy scheduling.<br>
Having 2 tuners per card then adding one is better than 1+1, but still<br>
may cause more problems than 3+1 or 4+1.<br>
<br>
That said, remember that MythTV--out of the box--will do the right thing<br>
to ensure recordings are more important than Live TV and that the "Break<br>
your system by configuring MythTV to prefer Live TV over recordings"<br>
configuration will break scheduling in some circumstances (even with a<br>
3+1 or 4+1 config).<br>
<br>
The /right/ approach for Live TV users is to use the NEXTCARD binding to<br>
switch cards when you enter Live TV and it's locked to a multiplex and<br>
you want to watch something Live on another multiplex at the risk of<br>
losing one or more recordings. The best approach for minimizing the<br>
risk is to have sufficient physical tuners that you don't have to<br>
worry. If you have 10 physical tuners in your system, your risk of<br>
losing recordings due to Live TV is significantly smaller than if you<br>
have 2 physical tuners in your system--to the point that I recommend no<br>
one should use the "Break your system by configuring MythTV to prefer<br>
Live TV over recordings" approach without at least 3 physical tuners.<br>
<br>
The /best/ approach for ensuring you can record and watch everything you<br>
want with the most-efficient tuner assignment is to /not/ use the "Break<br>
your system by configuring MythTV to prefer Live TV over recordings" and<br>
instead record everything you might possibly ever want to watch (with<br>
recording rules, not Live TV) and never use Live TV. See, also,<br>
<a href="http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/387302#387302" target="_blank">http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/387302#387302</a> for<br>
details on why /everything/ should be a scheduled recording--even news<br>
and sports broadcasts. In other words, the best approach is to use<br>
MythTV as a DVR--a Digital Video *Recorder*.<br>
<br>
Remember, the 3+1 or 4+1 approach is known as the "Break your system by<br>
configuring MythTV to prefer Live TV over recordings," and it does break<br>
it--even if you don't notice the consequences. (But if you're going to<br>
use it, please at least do it right--never 1+1; 2+1 is better; 3+1 or<br>
4+1 is preferred; and ensure you have sufficient physical tuners (3 or<br>
more) to reduce the chance of lost recordings to a level you can tolerate)<br>
<br>
Mike<br><br></blockquote><div>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.<br>
<br>Hope the OPs question has been answered also, sorry for hi-jacking.<br><br>Thanks<br><br>Martin<br></div></div>