[vdr] How to keep the channel list tidy automatically (was: Timeouts and lost locks)

[Carsten Koch]

On Sat, 2009-05-23 at 11:47 +0200, Klaus Schmidinger wrote:
...
> You could also remove all unwanted channels from your list and set
> "DVB/Update channels" to "names and PIDs". Then the EPG scan would
> only switch through the desired transponders.

I believe there is room for improvement.

Of course I want *all* channels I can use
and I want new channels, too, if can use them.

And I do not want to go through my list of channels
manually all the time, find those that I cannot view 
and delete them manually.

I believe VDR could do a much better (more thorough,
less error-prone) job at that than I ever could.

Here is a list of improvements that would greatly
help maintaining a clean and useful channel list:

1) When VDR does its EPG scan, it switches to all
   channels anyway. Why not test each channel and
   see if it actually delivers data?
   If it does, set a new configuration field to 0.
   If it does not, increment that field by one.
   Lets call this field the "absent" value.
   The reason why we do not get any data does not
   matter. Maybe the channel is temporarily not
   broadcasting. Maybe it has ceased to exist.
   Maybe I do not have a cam for it. Maybe I have
   a suitable cam, but no subscription.

2) When zapping, automatically skip channels that
   have an "absent" value of > 5 (maybe that value
   should be configurable).

3) Do not display channels anywhere that have an 
   "absent" value of > 5 (maybe that value
   should be configurable. If you set it to zero,
   all useless channels will show up again).

4) A "cleanup" run could remove all channels
   that have an absent value that exceeds a 
   certain number (maybe 50).

5) You could define additional criteria that
   would increment the "absent" value during 
   an EPG scan.
   For example:
   5a) the channel does not broadcast one of the
       audio languages that I have configured as
       the set of languages that I can understand.
   5b) the channel broadcasts video, but with less
       than 1 Mbit/s.
       (That would get rid of all those advertising
        channels which only broadcast slide shows).

Cheers,
Carsten.