[mythtv-users] Live TV playback frustration

Michael T. Dean mtdean at thirdcontact.com
Fri Aug 24 10:50:02 UTC 2012


On 08/23/2012 03:15 PM, Ian Wilkinson wrote:
> You could setup a recording and watch it live from the recordings list 
> (as is the recommended method in Myth).  However, if you were channel 
> surfing and stumbled across it (perhaps you'd forgotten it was on but 
> fancied watching it there and then), you could wind back to the start 
> of the show without going to the recordings list.  It just used the 
> recording file when you reached this channel when surfing.
>
> Does myth do this? No, it insists on creating two recordings of the 
> same thing, because myth is not looking at providing the user with the 
> content, myth is just looking at it as two different consumers that 
> both happen to be receiving the same data.

In MythTV, Live TV has an implied contract that the Live TV viewer is 
the "owner" of the tuner.  If you were channel surfing and stumbled 
across a channel on which a scheduled recording is occurring and MythTV 
noticed and instead started playing back the scheduled recording, it 
would presumably "release" the tuner you were using for Live TV.  And, 
unlucky you, your wife just happened to start Live TV--and claim that 
just-released tuner--right before you hit channel up, again.  Now you've 
lost your tuner, so what to do?

What you describe is easy to implement in a single-system setup.  MythTV 
is a multi-system DVR that may have more than just one concurrent user 
on any of potentially many frontend systems.  We need a way to ensure 
that Live TV continues to work like Live TV even if you surf through 
channels with scheduled recordings.

> Don't get me started with the problem with two recordings on the same 
> mux using both tuners and stopping LiveTV from receiving any other 
> mux, or the fact that you have to /Manually/ change input to use an 
> inactive tuner, or to see channels on the other mux if two recordings 
> are in progress.  My wife asks almost every week why it won't let her 
> see something on ITV2 when she knows it's recording ITV1 and BBC1, the 
> Topfield just worked and sorted it out and she knew she couldn't get 
> to channel 5, etc, but was happy with the experience.

0.25-fixes and above should automatically switch tuners when another 
tuner is available.  It sounds like you're still on 0.24-fixes or below.

Mike


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