[mythtv] Similtaneous TV watching on multiple frontends

Moasat mythtv at moasat.dyndns.org
Wed Jun 2 23:10:45 EDT 2004


> Moasat
> 
> On Wed, Jun 02, 2004 at 06:44:32PM -0500, Moasat wrote:
> > Why not allow any number of users to watch the same stream and 
> also change
> > the channels?  If it gets confusing, it would be the user's 
> fault, not the
> > fault of the software.  Why limit the software if the users are 
> capable of
> > not getting confused?
> > 
> > I could see several scenarios where a dedicated front end may be left
> > running in one room (downstairs) but the user has moved to another room
> > (living room) and wants to watch TV in there instead.
> > 
> > And so what if two users try to change the channel on the same 
> tuner.  Let
> > them battle it out, but don't make the software be the limiting factor.
> > Many users with satellite don't have an unlimited ability to 
> just add tuners
> > to backends.
> 
> But what if they give conflicting commands?
> 
> For example a programme comes up for recording and one user selected
> "Record & Watch" the other "Don't record - continue watching live TV".
> Which one is right.  Which one has control?
> 
> Hay, I'm new to MythTV there are probably better examples of where
> multiple frontends would cause big problems.
> 
> Steve
> 

Good question.  My first thought would be to still let the software play
dumb.  In other words, whatever it eventually did would be irrelevant - one
user would not get what they wanted no matter which way it went.  But at
least in our household, that's something that WE work out, not something we
have defined by the PC/software.

Thinking it out a little bit though, maybe certain actions can be configured
as higher priorities.  In your example, maybe 'Record and watch' takes
precedence until the second viewer decides to change the channel.  If the
second viewer never changes the channel, (maybe cause there's no one
actually watching it), then no harm is done.  If they DO try to change the
channel, then another decision point is reached.  They're informed that it
is currently recording and are given the option to stop recording or abort
the channel change.  My Replay works in a similar fashion, although its not
networked.  I find myself turning it on and trying to change the channel
before I realize my wife has it recording something.  I simply abort the
channel change and let it continue to record.  Maybe, by the time they want
to change the channel, another capture card has become available and they
could hop over to it.  Just thinking out loud there.




-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: winmail.dat
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 1152 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mythtv.org/pipermail/mythtv-dev/attachments/20040602/f5617eb4/winmail.bin


More information about the mythtv-dev mailing list