Multiple tuners, multiple extenders watching live streams

[tommymc]

Hi,

I've seen people's configuration where they have multiple tuners in the computer and then have multiple extenders. My questions are:

1) Can multiple extenders watch different live streams at the same time? So, if I have 3 tuners and 3 extenders can each of the extenders watch a different live program?

2) Can you inter mix TV sources, such as cable and directv? Can I have one extender watching a cable show while the other extender watching a directv?

3) How would having multiple tuners with different TV source(cable and directv) show up in the guide? One you have 2 different channel 4s?


Thanks,
Tommy

[CollinR]

Yes

Yes

Yes, 2 channel #4s or you can remap one to a totally different number.

If the exact same programming is on 2 channels it will only show 1 in the guide, the recording engine is smart enough to choose the correct device to record from.

ie CNN

CNN basic cable #50 through tuner
CNN digital cable #51 through S video
CNN Sat #352 through S video

Those all show the same info and ~should~ only appear in the guide once as "CNN".

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by CollinR

Yes

Yes

Yes, 2 channel #4s or you can remap one to a totally different number.

If the exact same programming is on 2 channels it will only show 1 in the guide, the recording engine is smart enough to choose the correct device to record from.

ie CNN

CNN basic cable #50 through tuner
CNN digital cable #51 through S video
CNN Sat #352 through S video

Those all show the same info and ~should~ only appear in the guide once as "CNN".

I think YMMV on this. I have OTA only, but receive from two different cities (two different tuners, two different antennas, two different city channel guides). Each of the cities is close enough to the other that they have the same channels shown on each guide. However, they are listed under different titles. In one guide it might be "WPTD3-Create" and in the other, "WPTD-DT3". Because of this, I get two separate channels listed in the EPG, with (obviously) the same programming. In fact, I get two of every single channel, since all of them are in both cities' guides and all of them have different names in each. I suppose it was just the name that someone gave them when first entering the data into the EPG database, not thinking to keep it consistent with other "overlapping" locations.

However, with national channels on cable/satellite, I suspect they are probably named the same thing and CollinR is correct, and they will only appear once. I can't speak about that...

If you end up with "copies" of channels, the solution to this, tommymc, is that you can simply go into your channel setup and disable ("turn off") any channel in any tuner guide.

So if you get all of these different tuners installed and you end up with 4 CNN's, just go into the channel setup for for the various tuners and disable three of them. And, of course, if you only want the HD version of a channel to record, turn off the other SD versions.

However, note that some people will say that they want "the HD to record, but if there is a tuner conflict and they don't have an HD tuner available, they want it to default to the SD version"... in that case, you have to leave at least two of the same channel enabled (one HD, one SD in a different tuner guide), and set your tuner priority in the properties file... but that's another thread...

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

I think YMMV on this. I have OTA only, but receive from two different cities (two different tuners, two different antennas, two different city channel guides). Each of the cities is close enough to the other that they have the same channels shown on each guide. However, they are listed under different titles. In one guide it might be "WPTD3-Create" and in the other, "WPTD-DT3". Because of this, I get two separate channels listed in the EPG, with (obviously) the same programming. In fact, I get two of every single channel, since all of them are in both cities' guides and all of them have different names in each. I suppose it was just the name that someone gave them when first entering the data into the EPG database, not thinking to keep it consistent with other "overlapping" locations.

If they are really the same channel and should have the exact same listings, then the solution is not to disable extras, but to use Channel Setup's Remap option & choose "Map Different Station to this Physical Channel". That way, the channel that is on multiple tuners will be listed once in the guide & SageTV will be able to choose a tuner when recording from that channel for better conflict management.

- Andy

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by Opus4

If they are really the same channel and should have the exact same listings, then the solution is not to disable extras, but to use Channel Setup's Remap option & choose "Map Different Station to this Physical Channel". That way, the channel that is on multiple tuners will be listed once in the guide & SageTV will be able to choose a tuner when recording from that channel for better conflict management.

- Andy

True, in sat/cable applications... but in my OTA application, each of the "city" tuners has it's own directional antenna and won't get the other city's stations reliably (even though they show up in the channel listing and I can get some of them "okay" much of the time). So I disable them intentionally, so that I don't have it record from the antenna that receives it poorly.

But that's my specific situation. What you said applies better to cable/sat applications (as here) where, presumably, reception is all perfect. Of course, I suppose you could have a digital tuner and an analog tuner getting the same channel, and not want the analog, so that would be a case where you would disable it...