[mythtv-users] UK: managing Freeview and Freesat

[Richard Lainchbury]

On Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Simon Hobson <linux at thehobsons.co.uk> wrote:

> 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.
>

There are 4 regions for BBC 2, and 18 regions for the BBC in general.

Freeview and Freesat can be combined, or we could have different options for
these. Local and complex channels could be ignored.

It could be as simple as selecting which services you are using (Freeview,
Freesat, Sky, Cable, Analogue) and then using a few scripts and a best guess
approach. It might not be possible to get all the channels but my guess
would be that they could be fairly safely ignored. If the user wants them,
then they can use the current process.

It would be fairly simple to have a marker in the database for channels set
using the script so any modifications to the channel order could be kept
when one of these scripts is re-run.


>
> 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.
>

Sorry, I'm new to using the mailing list, and gmail does that by default.


> --
> 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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>

I'm fairly happy to do some of the work required for this. But I'm unsure as
to how to a) inform the users my scripts exist. Take for example the
combined Freeview and Freesat list I wrote. I had no idea anyone was even
using it.
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