Feature Request following 3.0.3 beta

[salsbst]

Don't get too excited... perhaps it sounded more done than it is.

How much needs to be done depends on the goal. My goal was to get it at least as good as the JRMC Theater View (b/c I won't use it until it is at least that good), and to add specific features that were important to me (in particular, some potentially nifty things with thumbnails).

At this point, there are really three categories of work that needs to be done to get it there:

a) C# code in the JRMC plugin to provide specific higher-level features (higher than the JRMC COM API) on the "server side" to deal with some performance issues as well as support for some of the additional features that I wanted to add;

b) Java code to act as a client to these additional server-side features

c) STV work.

Once all of that is worked out, making an import module out of it should be fairly straightforward.

But even if goals are relaxed such that it doesn't have to be as good as JRMC Theater View, though, there is still significant work to be done in the STV. Unfortunately I just don't have the time these days for this project.

I'd be happy to pass it on if someone wants to take up the cause... if I can find it!

[snoopy]

The ability to temporarily re-enable old re-run stuff when the season ends (perhaps in it's own little section at the bottom of the favorites manager) would be a help also.

[salsbst]

Just so it's clear, what in your proposed "re-enable old re-run stuff when the season ends" feature is not satisfied by just switching the favorite from "First Runs Only" to "First Runs and Reruns"?

[snoopy]

Not really...

For instance, I love Boston Legal which is scheduled to run again soon. When it runs out, as alot of seasonal shows do during the summer, I would like to re-enable the favorites that are not quite as good but better than nothing.

It may seem trite but this makes sense for me as I used TiVo for 3 years with seasonal shows constantly beginning and ending. As time goes on, it gets really annoying when the season ends as you have put back in some old stuff and when season begins, remove the old stuff. Seasons end several times during the year for particular shows. If I had a "disabled favorites" area of sorts, then they would not all need to be enabled at once. I could easily enable/disable as needed.

[salsbst]

I still don't understand. Please understand these are well-meaning questions, the intention of which is to understand the reasons behind your desire for this feature.

Do you want to rewatch airings that you've already watched?

Why would you need to disable a favorite? If none of a favorite's airings are "unwatched" then its prescence in the Favorites list shouldn't be of any harm.

Perhaps you're not aware of the prioritization of favorites? Those toward the top of the list are given priority over anything below them.

[snoopy]

Originally Posted by salsbst

I still don't understand.

I understand prioritization completely yes... I don't know how to explain it any clearer. I know PVR in and out as I have used it for a long time. The feature wish is not something I need to convince anyone about. It would be usefull to 'me'. I completely understand if you don't see the need for it. Use SageTV for 3 years and you will understand. I'm not trying to win an argument over whether or not it's a useful feature. I have tried to make it as clear as I know how. Sorry.

[ToxMox]

I could see the use of this feature on a Tivo since that has the 28 day rule and forgets that you watched something after 28 days and would record an episode again where Sage remembers everything you have set Watched and won't record it again in the off season if it is one you recorded and watched earlier in the year (or even 3 years ago).

EDIT: I guess it could make sense if you watched a bunch of episodes of a show somewhere other than Sage then set up a favorite later and didn't want episodes recording.

You don't have to explain yourself. We as a community are just interested on why someone (in this case you specifically) would want to use a certain feature. It is curiosity.

[snoopy]

Thanks Tox

[ToxMox]

I'm not sure if this would work as I haven't tested it but what if you set the Favorite to not autodelete episodes then lowered the number of allowed episodes to keep to zero that could in theory have the same effect as you are asking for.

[snoopy]

0 = All on that screen.

[salsbst]

Originally Posted by snoopy

I understand prioritization completely yes... I don't know how to explain it any clearer. I know PVR in and out as I have used it for a long time. The feature wish is not something I need to convince anyone about. It would be usefull to 'me'. I completely understand if you don't see the need for it. Use SageTV for 3 years and you will understand. I'm not trying to win an argument over whether or not it's a useful feature. I have tried to make it as clear as I know how. Sorry.

Too bad that you are being passive-aggressive.

I did not say that your request wasn't useful. Actually, the only reason I posted a response was that your request intrigued me. I specifically stated that I was asking for more information in order to understand your goals. I promise to annoy you no further by attempting to engage in dialogue about your posts.

[snoopy]

Originally Posted by salsbst

Too bad that you are being passive-aggressive.

I did not say that your request wasn't useful. Actually, the only reason I posted a response was that your request intrigued me. I specifically stated that I was asking for more information in order to understand your goals. I promise to annoy you no further by attempting to engage in dialogue about your posts.

I'm sorry. I'm used to a different forum where people get their feelings hurt when you post suggestions. I was being passive agressive. I'm sorry.

[salsbst]

Hey, Snoopy... no hard feelings, okay? While I still don't understand what you're looking for with your feature request, it seems like ToxMox does understand, and hopefully I'm the dolt who just doesn't get it.

Having come from a brief stint with ReplayTV to SageTV a couple of years ago, I see the world through glasses that are probably tinted differently than yours are.

I have my own (as yet unrefined and unposted) wishes for improvements to the favorites system .

As long as the SageTV peeps understand what you're requesting, it really doesn't matter whether I understand your request. I was interested and wanted to understand it.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by snoopy

I'm used to a different forum where people get their feelings hurt when you post suggestions.

Side note: Most people who regularly got hostile have had their posts edited enough to either 1) know not get into a fight or 2) decide to leave the forum. I'm sure salsbst understands how SageTV works quite well, so he was probably trying to get the idea clarified more so the goal was clear or you could be pointed to what SageTV actually does.

Personally, I wouldn't mind being able to temporarily disable a fav, but I find it hard to describe why... I suppose I could re-enable my Favs for decades-old series when re-run season starts, but I find that I can effectively do that just as easily by setting a limit to how many episodes of those old series can be recorded & then not let them be deleted. They stop recording, leaving a few episodes for me to watch when there isn't anything else new. I don't even need to remember to re-enable them when new shows stop recording... because they start up again as soon as I watch & delete an episode.

- Andy

[snoopy]

salsbst,
thanks

Stuff that I would never have the time or inclination to watch during the regular season, I might during the summer. During the regular season though, I don't want it recording as there is way too much "good stuff" to clutter up the list with stuff I won't watch till summer rolls around again. Thus the ability to 'disable' certain favorites would make sense to me. Hope that helps. Thanks again for your comments and please accept my appologies.

[folly12345]

On the integration / com wrapper for j river media center, I may be able to help out. My brother is the cto for j river, and I talked to him tonight about what has been discussed in this thread. He felt it would be fairly straight forward and would have interest in looking into it. I don't know if anyone from Sage reads thru these messages, but if we could put someone from Sage in touch with him, I think I could twist his arm to get this done. If not, it will give me something to harass him with at all the family gatherings. Let me know what you are looking for and I will see what I can do.

P.S. I make no promises, I gave up coding long ago for system administration and he is busy with work. That being said, I think that I can get something out of him to help out.

[mightyt]

Originally Posted by snoopy

The ability to temporarily re-enable old re-run stuff when the season ends (perhaps in it's own little section at the bottom of the favorites manager) would be a help also.

Snoopy … I've looked for this myself in the past and agree it would be a nice simple feature to have.

My need was a bit different, but I believe required a similar solution. So, I would set a Favorite of a show, like some old reruns of “Coach”. Well, after I set the Favorite I found that it played more than once a day and on multiple channels. Before I knew it I have a boat load of Coach reruns and couldn't keep up with it! I wanted to basically pause the daily recordings, but not delete the Favorite figuring eventually I would catch up and would want to restart the recordings. I’ll agree that what I have done is kind of a weak work around, and may seem stupid to some, but has worked for me. I just set the Favorite to a channel I knew it would never show up on ... like Channel 3, which is Public Access for me. Since I know “Coach” will never show up there, it stops recording, thus a Virtual Favorite Disable ... When I wanted to enable it again I just changed the channel to "Any" or the specific channel I desired.

Hope that at least gives you a temporary fix to the problem until they build it into Sage.

[snoopy]

Originally Posted by mightyt

Snoopy … I've looked for this myself in the past and agree it would be a nice simple feature to have. ...what I have done is kind of a weak work around, and may seem stupid to some, but has worked for me. I just set the Favorite to a channel I knew it would never show up on ... like Channel 3, which is Public Access for me. Since I know “Coach” will never show up there, it stops recording, thus a Virtual Favorite Disable ... When I wanted to enable it again I just changed the channel to "Any" or the specific channel I desired.

Brilliant! I notice that when I do that, the set channel even shows up in the list, so in looking down the list of favorites, I can clearly see that all of the HSN (Home Shopping Network) stuff has been effectively "disabled". That's nice Thanks m, great idea.

[snoopy]

I think the menu in SageTV could seem a little redundant and unclear to someone who isn't as familiar with it. I have alot of company and so I have been on a quest to find a Main Menu that makes the most sense organizationally, puts the newbies most likely choices at his fingertips while still allowing us (the wife and I) the ability to use it effeciently ourselves.

So here goes what I am suggesting as a Menu scheme with High WAF factor! Please chime in and tell me what you guys think of this one. I think it needs some work but am overall fairly satisfied with it. I am very interested anyones opinion here.

Note the 'attempt' to make everything on the Main Menu very clear while leaving additional room (2 lines) further additions, or even bigger fonts.

[reboot_this]

An example scenario...

I would connect a Firewire cable between my STB and my HTPC. Next I would start Sagetv, go into the tuner setup, and I would see a new available tuner (i.e. the firewire connection). I would then (as I would with say a pvr150 or pvr250) setup my epg service info and the channels I wanted to be used with the "new" tuner and voila! I now have HDTV on a Firewire connection!

Wouldn't this be nice? any STB owners/users out there also wanting this?

I hope this can be implemented in the (near) future. How hard could it be to do this (I really want to know)?