<div class="gmail_quote"><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div class="im">Reserving a tuner is far less wasteful than recording two copies of the<br>
same program...<br>
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How so? </blockquote><div><br></div><div>Well... live tv, as it stands, uses a tuner AND records a second copy of the same program when tuned to the same channel. Simply reserving a tuner and playing the recording would have the same impact on the tuners, just removing the overhead of the recording.... true it's not much overhead, but it is there.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Additionally, using a recording already in progress when tuning to one in "live tv" mode would allow the user to rewind to a time prior to tuning that channel... an awesome feature in my book.</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
additionally, it can potentially free that tuner for use in<br>
the event that the system needs it (with appropriate prompting to the user,<br>
as livetv does now).<br>
</blockquote>
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But the user should /tell/ MythTV that he's foregoing Live TV control of the tuner so that MythTV can plan for most efficient allocation of tuners. You say it can ask when it needs the tuner, but when does it need the tuner? If a one-hour recording starts in 10mins and there's another tuner free, then I presume you want MythTV to use that other tuner instead of the one that's already reserved just in case the guy who's watching a recording decides to channel surf or something. </blockquote>
<div><br></div><div>But I don't think it's appropriate to reserve <u>a particular tuner</u>... the only requirement I see is that a tuner capable of tuning the <u>currently watched</u> channel be left free so that if the recording being watched ends, it can start recording the next program so the user has an uninterrupted "live tv" experience.</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
A far simpler solution (IMHO, the only reasonable solution, all things considered) is to just ask the user to relinquish control of the tuner if she /really/ wants to watch the already-recorded version. Then, everyone knows the plan, MythTV can again schedule tuner allocation efficiently, and no one is surprised at the results.<br>
</blockquote><div><br></div><div>I disagree that this is the only reasonable solution... but it is certainly the easiest to implement. </div><div><br></div><div>I believe that removing the notion of "Live TV" with a tuner dedicated to the user, and treating all channel browsing as just another scheduled recording, albeit a schedule that may change quite rapidly, would be just as reasonable. It would work like this:</div>
<div><br></div><div>1. user selects watch tv </div><div>2. system schedules recording of the set channel for the next X hours using a highly optimized scheduler for fast results (only need to look at the next 12-24 hours, no rescheduling for later dates/times, etc). </div>
<div>3. system starts to record/playback</div><div>4. user changes channels</div><div>5. system deletes scheduled recordings, stops recording </div><div>6. system schedules the new channel to record the next X hours of shows on the new channel.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Because the recordings are managed by the scheduler... the system can adjust the tuner allocation the same way it does for any other scheduled recordings (with some tweaking of some of the priorities and rules regarding recording later showings).</div>
<div><br></div><div>Playback would simply be a playlist of recordings... if the user pauses playback for an hour, they would still be able to play straight through each recording as they catch up... same as they do now... even though the system may have switched tuners several times to work around scheduled recordings.</div>
<div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
I actually think Live TV in its current form is the only way Live TV can exist--anything else isn't Live TV.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>I disagree... if I am watching what is being broadcast, as it is being broadcast, it's live in my book. I just don't believe that the idea that a user owns a tuner is a good one... and that ideology has already been broken by the automatic tuner switching when browsing channels from different sources... why shouldn't the system switch tuners at each channel change, or when a show ends and the next starts, does it really matter?</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Oh, and as you see, there are already disagreements about what the definition of "The Right Thing" is, which makes it really hard to make MythTV just "Do The Right Thing" <br>
</blockquote><div><br></div><div>Honestly, I am not complaining one bit about mythtv... but I do have a vision of how it could be even better (for me), but if my vision is never realized I'm still thrilled with what I have. Thank you MythTV developers!</div>
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