[mythtv-users] Myth problem or HDPVR probmem?

Michael T. Dean mtdean at thirdcontact.com
Mon Feb 14 21:02:34 UTC 2011


On 02/14/2011 03:13 PM, Robert McNamara wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 14, 2011 at 12:09 PM, Dan Armbrust wrote:
>> Oh, and a side issue is that even if it is a hardware problem / driver
>> problem... mythTV does a horrible job at handling the error.  It
>> doesn't recognize that the capture card has failed... it doesn't try
>> another one, doesn't stop attempting to use the non-responsive one.
>>
>> Just carries on, making 0 byte recordings of everything, until someone
>> notices it.
> Yes, MythTV unfortunately presumes that your hardware and drivers are in
> good working order.

And, critically, that if they're /not/ in good working order, that the 
drivers will report an error.

The drivers /are not/ reporting an error--therefore, MythTV does not 
report (or assume) an error.

You're only assuming that the lack of data to write is an error.  For 
users whose digital channels disappear at times of the day, recording a 
show that comes at the beginning of the broadcast period may, in fact, 
include a period of no data.

I don't know about others, but I'm leary of having MythTV just assume 
there are problems and react...  How long do you wait until you say it's 
a problem?  If you decide there's a problem, what do you do?  Switch 
this recording to a new input, then mark the current input as 
unavailable and reschedule?  How long does the input get marked as 
unavailable?  Do you want to continuously poll the recorder, trying to 
start recordings on it until one succeeds?  Do you, instead, want to 
mark the input as unavailable until the user notices the log message or 
missed recordings and investigates and fixes the STB/capture 
device/connections/...?

And these are only a few of the decisions you'd have to make to 
implement a "MythTV is smarter than V4L/DVB and all hardware " 
functionality.  I vote that if someone can make a case that it is an 
error, the drivers be fixed to notice--and report--the error properly.  
MythTV is an application, not a hardware interface layer.

Mike


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