[mythtv-users] How to record a TV serial

[Michael T. Dean]

On 06/20/2012 12:29 AM, Nick Rout wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 10:23 AM, Stephan Seitz wrote:
>> On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 09:05:18AM +1200, Nick Rout wrote:
>>> So you think it is mythtv's fault that your guide data does not
>>> distinguish between episodes.
>> No, but it is the fault of Mythtv if it set its rules too strict, and you
>> can’t really relax them without using the manual recording menu.
> So, without reading this thread again, the programme plays once per
> day, close to the same time, but the start time is not absolutely
> constant.
>
> You may be able to do this with a custom recording rule, in fact I am
> almost certain that you can put almost any valid SQL query in there,
> like "starts anytime between 0900 and 0930" - but I have never played
> a lot with that aspect of mythtv.

Yes. Custom/power recording rules are the approved solution for "record 
this show on or around this time every day."  The reason there's no 
"play" in the timeslot rules is because every user who wanted some slack 
wanted a different amount.  Originally, someone proposed making it match 
if within 5min of the recording-rule-specified start time.  Then someone 
pointed out that they needed 15min, ..., then someone said 2hrs, then 
someone said that's way too much since it's 4x as long as the half-hour 
show and would pick up some of those reruns...

So, the only way to allow users to specify "record if it airs between 
these times" is via a mechanism that allows specifying user-provided 
criteria.  Since we have that in the custom/power recording rule 
mechanism...

Eventually, we plan to improve the custom/power recording rule mechanism 
to make it easier to create such rules--especially for users who aren't 
well versed in SQL.  For now, though, the recommended approach is to use 
one or more of the example clauses (in this case, "Match an exact title" 
and "Only in primetime" examples), then modify the criteria, as 
appropriate, or to re-use clauses others have created.  So, something like:

program.title = "Russel Howard's Good News"
AND HOUR(program.starttime) >= 20
AND HOUR(program.starttime) < 21

to get a rule that matches "Russel Howard's Good News" if it starts 
between 8pm and 9pm.

Or, if you really want full control:

program.title = "Russel Howard's Good News"
AND TIME(starttime) BETWEEN '19:58:00' AND '20:03:00'

to get a rule that only matches the show if it starts between 7:58pm and 
8:03pm.  Once you come up with an set of clauses that you like, you can 
save the clause (separately from saving the recording rule), then it 
will show up with the rest of the example clauses for the next similar 
recording rule you create.

And feel free to add in additional clauses, such as "Anytime on a 
specific day of the week" or "Only on weekdays (Monday through Friday)" 
or "Only on weekends" or "Only on a specific station" or ..., as required.

Note, also, that the rule would be different on unstable/development 
MythTV (due to the complexity introduced in using UTC times instead of 
local times, and the need to create a rule that adjusts for DST, etc.).

Mike