[mythtv-users] wish: Channel groups for scheduling

[Michael T. Dean]

On 10/15/2012 01:48 PM, Mike Perkins wrote:
> On 15/10/12 17:28, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>> On 10/15/2012 02:19 AM, Lee Donaghy wrote:
>>> The problem i got with selecting any channel was with repeat 
>>> channels like
>>> Dave (UK channel) having a mix of old programing from other channels.
>>
>> And you're saying that duplicate matching doesn't work across those
>> channels--because the channels have different subtitle/description 
>> information
>> (or because EIT is sticking extra, non-subtitle data into subtitle or 
>> something)?
>>
> On Dave and similar channels which are basically reshuffled repeats 
> the subtitle and description may vary from that used when it 
> originally aired - or be missing entirely. I have to be careful myself 
> when scheduling some series on BBC/ITV/CH4/CH5 since in the other 
> channels the 'rerun' descriptor is often missing from the end of the 
> description and I get loads of matches.

Ah, yeah, then with "per-channel" guide data, duplicate matching won't 
work across channels.  Currently, the only way to control on which 
channel recordings occur is with "this channel" recording rules or using 
power recording rules.  "This channel" means channels with the same 
callsign, but the same callsign implies "substantially identical" 
content is aired on the channels (i.e. the channels air the same content 
at the same time nearly--or, better, just plain--always).  Power 
recording rules allow you to control a list of channels (ideally using 
Channel Groups), but are more challenging to create.

The main reason we leave a lot of "special" qualifications to Power 
Rules is to prevent our "simple" schedule editor from becoming too 
complex.  It's currently so complex with only the existing options that 
many users have to create the schedules for family members, who don't 
understand the details.  :(  So, adding new options to the simple editor 
is not ideal.

That said, I have an idea that may allow us to make some changes that 
make things easier for you.  I'll have to figure out the details of the 
idea, then talk with David Engel to see what he thinks of the plan.

So, in the meantime, that leaves the option of either "teaching" MythTV 
(with never records) not to record episodes that air on the other 
channels (which is an ongoing effort as long as new episodes are 
released and re-aired on the rerun channels), or using "this channel" or 
power recording rules.

As far as creating the Power Rules, note that you can create and save 
your own "example" clauses.  So, you can type in the extra tables (", 
channelgroup cg, channelgroupnames cgn") and SQL ("cgn.name = 'BBC' AND 
cg.grpid = cgn.grpid AND program.chanid = cg.chanid ") and save it as, 
"Only BBC channels" (and similar for other channel groups you frequently 
use), so that when you create new Power Rules, you just select that 
option and it's "automatically" typed into the appropriate places in the 
custom editor.  (Note that I didn't actually go through the process, so 
the above lacks details, but should allow you to figure out how to do 
so.  Just set it up once and it will make new rule creation much easier.

Mike