[mythtv-users] Live TV playback frustration

[Ian Wilkinson]

On 24/08/2012 11:50, Michael T. Dean wrote:
> 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?

Ok so in a two physical tuner system, when two recordings are taking
place on two different mux, in LiveTV I'm limited to the channels on
those two mux.  Same deal here, I'm limited to the channels that are now
available.

So if Myth did go to the tuner that was recording (which sounds like it
might do with the change in 0.25-fixes that you mention later on), it
doesn't actually have a different outcome does it?

So the situation as you described it:
I'm on tuner1 is watching something on mux 1, tuner 2 is recording a
programme on mux 2, I surf to the channel that the recording is taking
place on, mux 2, so the system changes over to tuner 2.  My wife wife
starts LiveTV on tuner 1 on mux 3, whilst I'm still on mux 2 on tuner 2.
So now if I try to surf back to mux 1, I can't, but I should be able to
access anything on mux 2 or mux 3.

I think we'll all agree that scheduled recordings are more important
than LiveTV, and probably most of us have the setting in myth set so
that LiveTV does not cause rescheduled recordings (as you can't
guarantee that the programme will be repeated).
On this basis, how is that different from the following on a system with
two physical tuners but only one FE:
I'm on tuner1 is watching something on mux 1, tuner 2 is recording a
programme on mux 2,  I surf to the channel that the recording is taking
place on, mux 2, so the system changes over to tuner 2.  A recording now
starts on tuner 1 on mux 3, whilst I'm still on mux 2 on tuner 2.
So now if I try to surf back to mux 1, I can't, but I should be able to
access anything on mux 2 or mux 3.

Neither of these is any different from the original situation when two
recordings are taking place on two different mux, in LiveTV I'm limited
to the channels on those two mux.

>
> 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.
Hopefully from my examples above, I've demonstrated that it is not a
multi-user problem, you get the same issues on a single system when it
can be recording at the same time as you want to view Live TV, and that
it can be easily resolved by using the existing functionality of limited
the user the the channels available on the two already tuned mux.

Granted, Myth is a much more complicated system than my single user,
commercial PVR, but the issues in this case are the same and can be
resolved in a similar way.

>
>> 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.

Yes, I'm still on 0.24-fixes, I've looked at upgrading to 0.25 several
times, but the number of issues that people seem to still be
experiencing has put me off.  I just don't need the grief at the moment.

Does this change in 0.25, now resolve the issues around having freeview
and freesat where some of the channels are available on both platforms,
but both also exclusive channels?  Previously couldn't just surf from
"Dave" on Freeview to "CBS Action" on freesat without going into the
menu and manually changing source.


Ian.