LiveTV Recording

[meistro75]

I ran into a problem yesterday with how SageTV handles recording while watching TV. Currently, when I click on the TV button to watch LiveTV, SageTV will create a file for that show even though I never requested to record it. So basically, just surfing from channel 2 through 64 put 63 different files in my directory where I store my recorded shows. This means that I have to regularly go in and clean up files which in my opinion I shouldn't need to do. A file shouldn't be created if I didn't request to record it in the first place. Just my opinion.

Now where I ran into a problem is when I was watching TV on one channel and I had a scheduled recording on a different channel. Instead of automatically recording the scheduled show, I was asked if I wanted to change the channel in order to record. Once I clicked OK to let it change the channel, the show started recording. Is there a setting to work around this problem?

Other than this complaint, I've been very pleased with your software as it provides much more functionality than the WinTV app that came with the Hauppauge card. If I can only figure out how to get it to not record each TV show I'm watching in a different file I would be a happy man. Thanks and keep up the good work.

Brad

[dkardatzke]

Brad,

SageTV is an "always recording" PVR application and the reason is so that you can pause and rewind "Live TV" at any time. Therefore we need to create a file for each channel/show you record. This helps if you are watching a show and get half way through and decide you want to keep this recording for future viewing, you can just hit Record in the SageGuide and it will keep the recording until you delete it.

When you allocate hard drive space to SageTV in "Detailed Setup", SageTV will delete those "63" different files over time to create room when needed. There is no need to manually delete these files. But SageTV will not necessarily delete these files until more space is needed.

The reason we prompt you of a channel change for a manual or favorite recording is so that you can override that decision if you want. This is the same way a TiVo handles it. This way if you don't want to change the channel from what you are currently watching to go to your manual record, you can make that decision here without SageTV forcing a channel change. If you do nothing, SageTV will change the channel automatically.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Dan

[edmc]

Two comments:

1 - I would recommend going into Detailed Setup and selecting an option that won't consume all of the available disk space (unless you store your recordings on a partition where nothing else is). I have mine set to use all but 20GB. I believe there are two other settings, but this is the most useful for me.

2 - I would suggest that if SageTV is being viewed at the time a Scheduled Recording is to begin, SageTV should change channels immediately. It would then be up to the viewer to override this function but the default should be to record the program I requested in advance (if for no other reason than I may not actually be looking at the screen when the question pops up). If you are looking for the way others do it, I don't own a Tivo, but I do own a ReplayTV (a very competitive product both in capabilities and number of shipments to Tivo). On the Replay, the channel will change immediately.

[dkardatzke]

Originally posted by edmc
I would suggest that if SageTV is being viewed at the time a Scheduled Recording is to begin, SageTV should change channels immediately. It would then be up to the viewer to override this function but the default should be to record the program I requested in advance (if for no other reason than I may not actually be looking at the screen when the question pops up).

This is exactly what happens, but we also prompt the viewer 4 minutes before the channel change just in case they want to continue what they are currently watching. If you happened to walk away, the channel will change automatically.

[meistro75]

OK...thanks for the suggestions. I didn't realize the show would be taped regardless of whether I clicked OK to change the channel or not. Perhaps in a future revision, you can allow the user to change where the temporary files are stored so they can be kept separate from files that were actually scheduled to be recorded. It would definitely make for easier management of the files. Thanks again for the quick response.

Brad

[jmeeks]

No you misunderstood.

If you select "No" don't change the channel your scheduled recording will not be recorded.

The decisions have to be made because you only have 1 tuner in your card. You can pick one show or another to record and/or watch simultaneously.

Unless you start getting into watching previously recorded content which doesn't involve the tuner and allows it to record something else while your watching that previously recorded content.

The latter senario is how I watch most of the time anymore. It allows me to FF throught the commercials.

All of these issues will be circumvented as SageTV matures and starts using multiple cards each with it's own tuner and SageTV will take care of the management of exactly which card/tuner is doing what in the background. At least up until you run out of cards/tuners you have installed in your system. The more cards you have, the more different channels you'll be able to record simultaneously, and fewer conflicts will arise.

What a wonderful system!!

John Meeks