[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.
More information about the mythtv-users
mailing list