[vdr] Vdradmin autotimer suggestion

[Matthias Schniedermeyer]

Kartsa wrote:
> From: "Matthias Schniedermeyer" <ms at citd.de>
> 
>> Kartsa wrote:
>>
>>> I don't know about other countries but in finland often programs have 
>>> reruns within few days causing some autotimer to timer same event 
>>> twise. This is quite usual especially with series.
>>>  So I wonder if it would be a good idea or even feasible to have 
>>> weekday selection in autotimer setup?
>>
>>
>> "Advanced" timer programming is the domain of Master-Timer.
>> http://mt.citd.de
> 
> I must have a look on this one. Thanks for the link.
> 
>> One of it's many feature is to restrict timers to specific weekdays.
>>
>> Or, if the EPG-Data is good(tm) (meanes: has a meaningful subtitle, 
>> i.o.w. the title of the episode), Master-Timers "done"-feature removes 
>> any (Master-Timer-)timers that entered the "done"-list which are still 
>> programmed in VDR the next time master-timer is started.
>> This makes sure that a specific episode is never recorded again(*). 
>> Great to record whole series, without recording an episode twice(*2), 
>> or recording the rerun if the first attempt failed. :-)
>>
>> I've recorded about 5 thousand(!) series and movies in 4 years. Workes 
>> great as long as the EPG-(or secondary-source-)data is good. :-)
>> (Btw. I'd say that i'm a "heavy user". Converted into autotimers i 
>> would currently have about 450 autotimers).
> 
> Too bad that in Finlad the episode names are not in epg data. Most often 
> even the information that it is a rerun is missing and actually epg data 
> is identical with the original aired program making it impossible to 
> know which is which. Normally they are aired on different weekdays but 
> even that is not always the case, only the time is different. So you 
> could say that epg data is poor.

That's unfortunate. :-(

No secondary-sources (e.g. Web-Sites) for the data?

Btw. If a show is a "rerun" or not is a non-technical classification as 
far as i see it. (Technically only the absolut first time broadcast 
wouldn't be a rerun, which can be decadedes in the past for old 
series/movies.)

So i haven't built a "is_rerun"-flag into Master-Timer for the "near in 
time rerun"s.

If a TV-Stations useses different titles/subtitles (e.g. appends 
something to the title) for a rerun it would be a case for the 
EPG-Data-Fixer to make both entries equal.

>> *: As long as the EPG-Data of immediate or later(i mean much later, 
>> like month/years later when the whole series reruns) reruns match with 
>> the already recorded one, if the EPG-data is garbage there is nothing 
>> Master-Timer could do.
> 
> Does this mean that if the epg data is exactly the sama (as I mentionet) 
> it would not be recorded again?

Not necessarily.

a) Done is an optional feature, for which you have to include the 
"process_summary.pl" (this script goes through all "summary.vdr"-files 
if started without a commandline-parameter, or a specific recording if 
the directory is specified at the commandline, and enteres found entries 
into the done-file) as a cronjob or into your cutting-process(*) or 
whatever you see fit. To make "done" work.
b) You can completyly switch it off in the Master-Timer configuration 
file or don't execute the process_summary.pl script.
c) If you use the done-feature you can still disable "done"-processing 
on a per "torecord-definition" base (nodone=1)

So it's up to you if Master-Timer behaves dumb or stupied. :-)

>> *2: Personally i've only encountered a single series which has the 
>> same episode-title for 2 different episodes, luckily i realised that 
>> in time to remove the entry from the done-file.
> 
> 
> I am afraid that we have such channels that uses the same epg data for 
> all the episodes :(
> 
> - Kartsa


*: My call to "process_summary.pl" is after a recording is cutted. After 
verifying that the file is OK i can run Master-Timer to remove eventual 
reruns of the show, or "undone" the recording if there was any error.
(The success-rate is >90%, so "optimistically" doneing a recording makes 
less work than beeing pessimistic. As i personally run Master-Timer 
manually i don't risk removing reruns to early. As Fail-safe as possibel 
i.o.w. :-) )

You can even use the "done"-feature as a "soft"-blacklist. With the 
helper-script "donefromvdr.pl" you can enter an entry directly from 
VDR-timerlist into the "done"-file. After running Master-Timer the 
timers are than removed from VDR.




Bis denn

-- 
Real Programmers consider "what you see is what you get" to be just as
bad a concept in Text Editors as it is in women. No, the Real Programmer
wants a "you asked for it, you got it" text editor -- complicated,
cryptic, powerful, unforgiving, dangerous.