[linux-dvb] Re: Power key

[Usenet-372110@zocki.toppoint.de (Rainer Zocholl)]

marcus@kuba4u.de(Marcus Kuba)  06.09.01 20:11

Once upon a time Marcus Kuba shaped the electrons to say...

>Am 06.09.2001, schrieb Usenet-372110@zocki.toppoint.de (Rainer
>Zocholl) ...

>> If the box would have more timers running, then the power key
>> would never be accepted, because always a record will be in
>> the near future.

>Well.. that's the way it is. VDRs main purpose is to record that
>stuff. If you just want to look, get a normal receiver instead.

I do not record the hole day+night :-)
There are "spare times"...yes there are... ;-)


>> (I of cause have an "emergency" exit in command.conf, but
>> how to explain my room service guy the (s)he has to turn on the
>> TV, scroll thru menu in the case my videorecorder blocks the
>> plug (s)he needs for the hoover and do not react on the poweroff
>> key? ;-)

>What?? How can you... 

It's just a sample.
Theire are of cause more serious applications that
requires to turn of power regardless VDR would "like" ;-)


>TV/VCR/Hifi-Plugs are normally hidden behind
>furniture and never pulled out. If you don't have enough spare plugs
>for a vacuum-cleaner, you should shoot your architect or at least sue
>him for wrong planning :-)

I'll tell em ;-))

But remember:
There is too no Ethernet and no VGA-Monitor...

So no way to shut down cleanly.


>> The MinEventTimeOut is not allowed to block the
>> RC-Power Key (I think there is the problem). It's the explicit
>> wish of the user to turn the device off, so turn it off :-).

>Completely disagree!! 

There are two facts. Which one do you mean?
That even there is no running record and there
would be a lot of time to reboot the power key
is blocked.
Or that the user really wishes to turn off teh device
if he presses PowerOff (twice!)?


On the second point we can discuss. :-)

On the frist point?
I set the min event time out to almost 2h. 
So the VDR runs the hole evening and do not
stop for 5minutes.


>It's the explicit wish of (another) user to
>record that program.

I can alternatively plug out the cord the hard way.
So...what's better? ;-)

That remebers me the guy who wanted to place a 
private PC in our room (a leased with fixed IP-# is a nice thing). 
He disabled the CNTL-ALT-DEL that was not that wise as it looks first.
Some days later we have to rearrange the power plugs and because 
the guy was far way and we had no root permissions we have to plug out 
the "live" system which reenders his disk unusable...
After that he never again disabled the control-alt-del-Key...;-)
(We don't have any NT systems so there is no risk that
someone accidentiall presses these keys on the wrong keyboard
just to logon...)

>If I program a timer I normally know what I'm doing 
>and I don't care (and VDR shouldn't care as well) if another
>family-member thinks about turning of the VDR.

So you are free, forced to disable "power off" entirely
and place a battery backup inside(!) just in case
they plug out the device from main because it is too loud.. :-)

My sight:
High                                          low
Human...........long time noting..............machine.
Now...........................................past

The machine has to do what the man said, not vice versa.



>> A running record must give a warning, but can't disable
>> the power key. (It's user's wish! It's his fault, he has been
>> warned. )

>My recording-wish is more important than any other users wish to turn
>the machine of. And if (as you write) the TV is off and he/she can't
>view the warning it MUST stay on and record.

They then will do as with the old video:
Plug it out, scambling the disk...

>Don't get me wrong... but I still believe that VDR is made for
>recording and not for shutting down. 

Yes, i agree.
But all modern VCRs i ever had do have a power switch.
Why?
I found it "convinent" to turn them off iusing the wittout
losing all settings...or plugging out.


>If you really want to give mama/papa/wife/children a way to explicitly 
>shut it down.. make your emergency-exit hot-keyable (put a number 
>in front, e.g. 9) and tell them to press "menu-7-9" 
>(or menu-6-9 if you don't have DVD compiled).


I think there are several levels of power off.

a) the machine wants to turn off it self.
   the machine should look if someone is logged one...
   (It would be no fun configurating a new kernel
   and have the machine shutting down ;-))

b) The user wants to shorten the "MinEventTime" because
   he wants to work on the machine hardware for a short moment.
   

c) The user wants to power down, because he has to work on
   the house electric or so but don't want or can't
   (because of missing keyboard and VGA) log in as root.


c is easy realized as "commands.conf" (i forget, sorry)

msi:~ cat /video/commands.conf
VDR restart    : /sbin/reboot 2>&1; echo "will restart soon"
VDR power off  : /sbin/poweroff 2>&1; echo "immediate going into standby"


Using the last key currently there is the problem
that VDR has not set the new wake-up time.




>But of course I second your wish for more status-display on-screen
>when something is blocked. I repeatedly had broken records because the
>second card was recording and so my brother could not switch to
>encrypted channels.. first he used my "restart VDR"-command several
>times and as that did not work, he used "reboot computer", which both
>resulted in lots of small new *.vdr-files. A warning "can't switch,
>decoder blocked by recording" would have been helpful...

Yes.
Maybe somekind of "symbols" to show the actual state of
all cards/the engine?


Maybe all this menu and key stroke stuff is worth a seperate
list?

It is not such easy "Define a key and we are done"..

Important is always a "feed back" to the user action.
It is not good: "If nothing happens, so something is wrong.
User please imagine what's wrong ;-), Am i recording? 
is the RC broken? Did lirc die?"

I found the additional symbols for "play" and "pause" not
so superflux: Somtimes i have a stopped image become the
VDR died. A "||" makes clear that this is a "pause" state.





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