[vdr] vdr to divx- or (s)vcd-conversion! Questions and suggestions

[Stefan Lang <steven@organet.com>]

Hi List,

I'm not a hardcore-programmer and I'm no multimedia-file-format-guru and may 
be I'm not up to date, but.........
reading the messages on this list, shows some frequently appearing problems 
with:
1) conversion from vdr-files to divx- and/or (s)vcd-format.
2) problems with accessing (wrinting, reading, burning, storing, archiving) 
the files (I don't mean the generic vdr-files with the native vdr-programm) 
from programms "integrated" in vdr.

Does a _real_ Howto exist regarding this topic?
Is it possible to modify the tools, which convert the files, so that 
programms like mplayer,  vcd?? and dvd-player are able to read them whitout 
errors and problems?
Isn't it possible to have these tools running natively on a linux-box with a 
config-file in batchmode?

Fiddleing around with interactive windoze-tools and different cryptic 
8-meter-queues of parameters for each channelsource is IMHO no real solution. 
Moving GBs of data two times over the net for one conversion is unnecessary, 
when the job could be done by the vdr-box itself.
The featurelist of vdr is still growing (picture viewer, news, e-mails, etc.).
What happens in case of a hdd-crash? Whats about dataexchange? .....locked in 
a cage???
I think what we _really_ need is a "foolproof" solution for converting, 
compressing and writing/reading the content.
How could anybody trust a system without having a backup?

Solving these problems will eliminate some ugly drawbacks, of this really 
cool vdr-project. 

I'm a linux-admin and -fellow, but when I or my girl wants to watch TV or a 
viedo-CD (divxCD) there is no admin.... there is a only a user with a bottle 
of beer in his hand :-))
Whats about some perl-scripting? Smashing together the individuell 
conversion-scripts of the ML-readers should do parts of the job.......no??
Which features are missing in the basic conversion tools? Is it possible to 
add them?

This mail is no flame or so....... it should be understanded as a trigger!


Stefan