[mythtv] [mythtv-commits] Ticket #12023: "Early start" setting is ignored if the DVB-Card is busy recording on the same multiplex

[Michael T. Dean]

On 01/17/2014 03:07 PM, MythTV wrote:
> #12023: "Early start" setting is ignored if the DVB-Card is busy recording on the
> same multiplex
> ---------------------------------+----------------------------
>   Reporter:  lomion@…             |          Owner:  gigem
>       Type:  Patch - Bug Fix      |         Status:  closed
>   Priority:  minor                |      Milestone:  unknown
> Component:  MythTV - Scheduling  |        Version:  0.27-fixes
>   Severity:  medium               |     Resolution:  Won't Fix
>   Keywords:                       |  Ticket locked:  0
> ---------------------------------+----------------------------
>
> Comment (by wagnerrp):
>
>   If it's a value defined in seconds, then it's the soft padding to allow
>   for startup time for recording devices.  If the recording device is
>   already active, then there is no need for startup, and thus no need to
>   worry about the startup time.  The padding for recordings is measured in
>   minutes, not seconds.  If you are using the soft padding to extend your
>   recordings, you are using it improperly.

Put another way, the global

Time to record before start of show (secs)
This global setting allows the recorder to start before the scheduled 
start time. It does not affect the scheduler. It is ignored when two 
shows have been scheduled without enough time in between.

and

Time to record past end of show (secs)
This global setting allows the recorder to record beyond the scheduled 
end time. It does not affect the scheduler. It is ignored when two shows 
have been scheduled without enough time in between.

settings are not used by the scheduler, so they are never guaranteed to 
be a part of your recording.  If you want the recording to start early 
or end late, you need to specify that requirement in the recording rule, 
so that the scheduler will plan to use it.  If you have properly 
configured multirec (i.e. you have multiple virtual tuners enabled) and 
the shows are on the same channel and/or multiplex, then it won't result 
in a conflict.  However, you /will/ be guaranteed to get the start early 
and end late.  Since your patch is checking to see if the show is on the 
same multiplex (without also checking whether multirec is 
enabled/possible--i.e. whether there are other inputs and whether they 
are actually available for use), and allowing the extra recording time 
if so, that implies you have multirec enabled and properly configured, 
so you should be using the per-recording-rule (specified in the 
recording rule, itself) start early/end late values to get the 
appropriate amount of before/after padding on the shows where you want them.

If, instead, you are using the "Time to record before/past start/end of 
show (secs)" settings to try to pad your recordings, you will not get 
the extra time on some of your recordings--exactly as you've seen.  As 
Raymond explained, those settings are meant only to give you a little 
bit of time before the first recording on a card starts to "spin up" a 
capture card or hard drive or let the STB's OSD clear or whatever and to 
"spin down" a capture card at the end of the night (whatever that may mean).

If you're upset that you have to specify the start early/end late on 
each recording rule you create (and you may or may not have noticed that 
we no longer have a "Default 'Start Early'/'End Late' minutes for new 
recording rules" setting), you should look into Recording Rule 
Templates--a new feature which made the old settings obsolete.  Simply 
edit your Default Recording Rule Template to specify the start early/end 
late values you want to use for most recording rules.  Then, when you 
create new recording rules, those rule settings will be pre-populated 
with the values you specified in the Default template.

Mike