[mythtv-users] Up-To-Date (UK) FreeSAT channel numbers?

Nick Morrott knowledgejunkie at gmail.com
Mon Feb 2 20:19:18 UTC 2009


On 02/02/2009, R. G. Newbury <newbury at mandamus.org> wrote:
> Nick Morrott wrote:
>
> >
> > >
> > > > If what I say above is correct, choosing "Delete all video sources" is
> > > > what will help to reset the _chanid_ numbering, but likely not have
> > > > any bearing on the channel numbers (channum) seen on the OSD and in
> > > > the EPG if using DVB-T or DVB-S.
> > > >
> > > >
> > >  Correct, but he will get the same number as the channum, which is not
> what
> > > he wants. Changing that will require mysql at the commandline or
> phpMyAdmin.
> > >
> >
> > I can't think of any reason for a 'normal user' to have to change the
> > _chanid_ - after all this is an internal unique identifier for
> > channels. Updating the user-facing channel numbering is an entirely
> > more likely scenario, and easy to achieve without touching the
> > database directly.
> >
> > Updating a channel's channum/callsign/name/xmltvid is a
> > straightforward process using either the channel editor in LiveTV, or
> > using the MythWeb TV::Channel Info page to update the relevant values.
> >
>
>  Changing the chanid will affect the prefix number on the recording. My
> chanid's are by the actual frequency number plus id not the 'channel' they
> call themselves. So "Channel 2" (the analog channel number) is chanid 2139
> (or 2239 for the Weather in SD). So my recordings of Law & Order are
> prefixed 2139_yyyymmdd etc. I would prefer 2021 which is easier for my to
> match up. Similarly for (offhand) all but 2 of the 22 digital channels
> available here. (Hmmm, '47' is on '64 or is it 44?)
>
>  Makes it easier to find and copy recordings to portable media or transcode
> for writing to a dvd.

OK - that makes sense now for such a scenario. I guess most people use
mythrename.pl for this purpose (either with or without the link
option, although this is a recommended option to use when running the
script because it preserves the original filename and links to it)
because it allows that file to be renamed with the
channel/title/subtitle information, amongst other things. There's also
significantly less risk of causing harm to the database, so everyone
remember to take a backup before hand editing "just in case".

> > > > Also remember that chanid must be unique for each entry in the channel
> > > > table. Channel number does not have this restriction.
> > > >
> > > >
> > >  Worth remembering, as is the fact that the xmltvid will be unique to
> each
> > > unique channel even if you want to use the same channum to describe 2
> > > different versions of the 'same' channel (as in an analog and a digital
> > > broadcast pair (for the next 17 days!).
> > >
> >
> > In the UK (where we have a much simpler TV network topology) we can
> > get away with having the same channel (e.g. BBC1 London, BBC2 England)
> > on multiple video sources use the same xmltvid (and thus listings
> > data) without issue - as long as each video source is configured to
> > use the same grabber.
> >
>
>  Yes, since the broadcasts ARE teh same. Not necessarily true here where
> channels are still fighting with the digital changeover/rampup. Program
> lineups can and do differ on *some* channels (not many any more and
> basically none of the US channels).

True.

> > Certainly the next 4 months and 17 days (if not delayed even further)
> > will be interesting to follow from this side of the pond:)
> >
>
>  Interesting. I read that the Bill to DELAY the changeover failed, and thus
> the changeover will go ahead as planned. Other reports seemed to have that
> backwards, I suspect because they took the *defeat* of the Bill as being a
> defeat of the concept that the changeover would go ahead on Feb 17. In fact,
> that date is mandated by prior legislation AIUI, and so new legislation was
> needed to overturn the prior state. And the new Bill was defeated.

I based the "4 months and 17 days" on the article at
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE50T0UE20090130
which mentioned a new bill approved on 2009-01-29, which comes after
the first bill on 2009-01-26 which was subsequently defeated on
2009-01-28. No idea if anything has happened since last week.

Cheers,
Nick
IANALOAA

-- 
Nick Morrott

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