[mythtv-users] UK: managing Freeview and Freesat

[Ian Barton]

On 07/04/11 14:40, Mike Perkins wrote:
> On 07/04/11 10:57, Nick Morrott wrote:
>> On 6 April 2011 16:26, Mike Perkins<mikep at randomtraveller.org.uk>   wrote:
>>> On 06/04/11 14:42, Nick Morrott wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Below is what I posted to the xmltv-dev list in March - the lack of a
>>>> functioning bathroom at present has temporarily stopped my work on
>>>> this in the past few weeks, but I will pick it up again in the next
>>>> week. My current work would seem to do almost everything everyone in
>>>> the thread is after on a per-platform and per-postcode basis. It is
>>>> yet to renumber one platform lineups to that of another (to allow easy
>>>> mixing of multiple platforms on a single system), and leans toward
>>>> aiding XMLTV configurations (it is part of the XMLTV lineups work),
>>>> but it also allows matching of digital services by way of service ID.
>>>>
>>>> The overall idea for the lineups work is to allow configuration of
>>>> XMLTV grabbers directly in MythTV via a series of simple
>>>> question/answers to determine location, TV services and packages
>>>> subscribed to.
>>>>
>>> (snip interesting script example)
>>>>
>>> Nick, I hope you'll include code which covers circumstances such as mine when
>>> you finish up these scripts. For a single postcode, DVB-T viewers in this area
>>> (RG14) can receive from three different transmitters - in three different TV
>>> regions - depending on which way the topography allows them to position their
>>> aerials. I'm sure this isn't the only one in the UK.
>>>
>>> When using the current xmltv scripts I have to check the result afterwards to
>>> ensure the lineup it has given me corresponds with what I can actually receive.
>>> (The display everything option is very helpful here!)
>>
>> One of the issues with adding support for postcode matching is that
>> the only data we have (which was sourced from ukfree.tv which in turn
>> was sourced from Sky and the BBC) provides a 1-to-1 mapping between
>> postcodes and BBC/ITV regions, with no knowledge of other regional
>> services receivable in a given postcode. I'm guessing that the
>> estimated strongest signal received in a given postcode is the one
>> listed. I have already made a few corrections to the mappings when
>> users have volunteered the information, but there is no knowledge of
>> transmitters receivable in a location.
>>
>> Based on older channels.conf data I think (some please correct me here
>> if I am wrong) that each of the regional BBC1/ITV1 services on
>> Freeview has a different service ID, so it should be possible to do
>> the scan->XMLTV matching against _all_ of the possible regionalised
>> services and configure the channel seen in the scan. At the moment
>> however, the scripts use the mappings made available, which as you
>> have written may not be optimal for all Freeview users.
>>
>> Perhaps asking at the outset for the user's BBC1/ITV1 region and then
>> using this information for more behind the scenes configuration might
>> help here? This can be used in addition to the user's postcode to
>> allow for both regional and local TV services to be determined as best
>> as possible.
>>
> I guess if you asked for the BBC and ITV regions you wouldn't need the postcode
> at all... Ah, I see you mention 'local' TV services, whatever they are.
>
> I might do some checking of service ids this weekend, see what gets thrown up.
> My aerial can see Hannington, Oxford and Crystal Palace :(
>

Asking for the region would make sense here. Depending on which way you 
decide to point your aerial, we can receive either Winter Hill (Granada) 
or Wrekin (Midlands). Either would be valid for our post code, but the 
correct answer  would depend on which way you decided to set up your 
aerial. Even this excludes people who choose to have two aerials, so 
they can get both regions.

Ian.