[mythtv-users] UK: managing Freeview and Freesat

Simon Hobson linux at thehobsons.co.uk
Wed Apr 6 12:37:21 UTC 2011


Richard Lainchbury wrote:

>>How's that going to work then ?



>As I set about above:
>
>1. Scan for channels.
>2. Select auto channel arrange
>3. Select country
>4. Select region
>5. Channels ordered.
>
>If you don't select auto channel arrange, then it works as normal, 
>nothing is done.
>
>As I see it in, in the UK at least, there are only a few ways you 
>would want to set your channel numbers.
>
>The process within MythTV is somewhat lacking here, lots of people 
>are using custom scripts or seeking out these scripts. If within 
>MythTV a user could select one of these scripts it would reduce 
>the complexity of setting up channels.
>
>I also think that a optional standard for channel arranging could 
>help focus the effort that goes into maintaining these lists across 
>many countries.

I really, really cannot see that working at all.

Firstly, even if we only had one set of channels, the order I want 
them in is most likely different to what others want, and the ones I 
want to exclude are most likely different to what others want.

Ignoring that, just sticking with the UK, how many permutations can 
you come up with ? Well for starters there's all the different 
regions for Freeview, and on Freesat you get even more since there 
isn't just (for example) "BBC 2", there's all the regional variations 
of BBC 2.
In some areas there are additional local channels (MEN in the 
Manchester area for example).

And that's before we've even got to cabled areas.

And all the time they (the broadcasters) keep messing about with channels.

Go to other parts of the world and it gets even more complicated. 
Lurking in here has been an eye-opener for the problems our US 
cousins have to put up with. Multiple local transmitters, multiple 
combinations of the same channel on different transmitters and/or 
cable and/or satellite (sometimes with time shifts ), and some in 
analogue and others in digital.

What I do think would be helpful would be to organise sample scripts 
better, and make it easy for new users to know that this is an 
option. Then they can pick the sample script that most closely meets 
their meets and customise it.
You could go one step further, and automate things to the extent that 
if a script matching a certain name/location convention exists then 
it would be run automatically (or from a menu option) after a rescan.


PS - please don't cc me in replies - I read the list and am happy to 
see it there.
-- 
Simon Hobson

Visit http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk/ for books by acclaimed
author Gladys Hobson. Novels - poetry - short stories - ideal as
Christmas stocking fillers. Some available as e-books.


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