Suggesting features for the next version of SageTV

[blade]

Originally Posted by jeh

In my opinion, "honor the watched flag" should by default be OFF. Then, you could provide an option to switch it on for particular shows or favorites or whatever, but unless I do that, it should be off.

No offense, but having the default status ignore the watched status wouldn't make any sense. You'd be turning an intelligent PVR app into a dumbed down piece of software that just records the same programs over and over. If someone wants the ability to turn it off that's fine, but I would imagine the vast majority of people would disagree with you that it should do that by default.

[blade]

Originally Posted by jeh

One reason is that some cable channels have amazingly whimsical ideas about what time it is; you have to grab several different 'casts to guarantee getting the show end to end.)

That's what padding is for. Personally I'd rather tack on some extra time to the end of a recording than to have multiple copies of the same show sitting on the drive. I rarely ever miss the end of a show because of the padding. To each his own though.

[MeInMaui]

I guess I have to chime in here. I found myself actually wanting this exact functionality (or lack thereof) recently. We have a channel here called Kiku that plays a block of Anime every day. Unfortunately, the EPG data is always screwed up. The episode listing is always for the wrong episode and worse yet it shows the same few episodes being rerun over and over. Of course the reality is that the anime series is being run from beginning to end with no episodes rerun. In this situation, I have been forced to go through and set all of the upcoming episodes as manual recordings because sage thinks they are watched or already recorded. It's a real PITA. I'd actually be happy with just a function to manually record all upcoming showings as a group.

Anyway I'd support a request for an option to disable sage's smart features on a case-by-case basis. For me it only is necessary for when the EPG data breaks down. Well, that's my .02.

Aloha,
Mike

[blade]

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

We have a channel here called Kiku that plays a block of Anime every day. Unfortunately, the EPG data is always screwed up. The episode listing is always for the wrong episode and worse yet it shows the same few episodes being rerun over and over. Of course the reality is that the anime series is being run from beginning to end with no episodes rerun.

In that situation I could see disabling the feature.

For the example previously given of missing the last few minutes of a show I still think adding padding is a better solution than recording the same episode multiple times. Of course if the show isn't airing at the correct time that's a different matter.

If you guys are using Sage's built in epg guide you should contact Sage. They are paying for the data and IMO should be informed if they're getting faulty data.

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

I guess I have to chime in here. I found myself actually wanting this exact functionality (or lack thereof) recently. We have a channel here called Kiku that plays a block of Anime every day. Unfortunately, the EPG data is always screwed up. The episode listing is always for the wrong episode and worse yet it shows the same few episodes being rerun over and over. Of course the reality is that the anime series is being run from beginning to end with no episodes rerun. In this situation, I have been forced to go through and set all of the upcoming episodes as manual recordings because sage thinks they are watched or already recorded. It's a real PITA. I'd actually be happy with just a function to manually record all upcoming showings as a group.

Wouldn't always deleting it indicating it was the wrong recording fix that?

[GTwannabe]

I'd like SageTV server to be able to automatically update the clients to the proper version so I don't have to go around and do it manually on each machine.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by blade

No offense, but having the default status ignore the watched status wouldn't make any sense. You'd be turning an intelligent PVR app into a dumbed down piece of software that just records the same programs over and over. If someone wants the ability to turn it off that's fine, but I would imagine the vast majority of people would disagree with you that it should do that by default.

Yes, and that is why I went on to say

However to raise the least issues for existing users the current behavior should be the default. Provide an option to "ignore watched flag unless turned on for specific Favorites" in the Setup. There should still be an option to "ignore" or "honor watched flag" in the Favorites, the only difference would be the default behavior.

Hint: Sometimes some people will WANT a dumbed-down piece of software.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by blade

In that situation I could see disabling the feature.

For the example previously given of missing the last few minutes of a show I still think adding padding is a better solution than recording the same episode multiple times.

But if the show's scheduled end time abuts some other show I want to record, the padding won't happen. Or if I make it mandatory it will cause the second show to not record.

Here's another example: There's a show of which I'm collecting episodes. The cable channel in question puts obnoxious pop-up ads into the middle of the show. However they are often at different times during different 'casts of the same ep. I therefore want to record all of them; I go through them later with a video editing app to assemble a pristine copy. (The show in question costs $20 per ep on DVD from the cable channel. If they were priced closer to normal TV shows at $60 or so per season I'd just buy their DVDs, but as it is...)

Originally Posted by Goodspike

Wouldn't always deleting it indicating it was the wrong recording fix that?

Obviously not in this case -- I don't want to delete it, I just want another recording (and another, and another...).

And in MeInMaui's case, your solution would require being home in between 'casts. Hard drive space is cheap -- I'd much rather just toss another n-hundred GB drive into the machine and be able to rely on the software to record everything I want it to, not just what it thinks i want it to.

As I said, there is nothing wrong with keeping the current behavior as the default. But a program that advertises "You're in control" should allow me to turn off ALL of these "smart" behaviors. I stopped using SageTV 4, did not upgrade to 5, and will likely not look at 6, partly because of these issues. It just doesn't do what I need. My ReplayTV boxes do, so I'm keeping them for awhile longer.

[blade]

Originally Posted by jeh

Hint: Sometimes some people will WANT a dumbed-down piece of software.

Hint: That is why I said if someone wants to turn it off that's fine, but it shouldn't be the default behavior. You even agreed that to raise the least issue the default behavior shouldn't be changed. I just stated that there were other valid reasons why respecting the watched flag is a more desirable default behavior than ignoring it.

I don't really see what there is to debate. You said the default behavior should be to ignore the watched flag and I disagreed. The ability to turn it on or off was never disputed by either of us.

But if the show's scheduled end time abuts some other show I want to record, the padding won't happen. Or if I make it mandatory it will cause the second show to not record.

I have several shows that regularly start late or run long and have set the padding appropriately and never miss the ending of any of my shows. Of course it is a little aggravating for back to back favorites since I have to go to the beginning of another recording to finish it, but IMO is preferable default behavior than to record the same episode multiple times. For example instead of recording both SG1 and SG-Atlantis 3 times in one night for a total of 6 hours of recordings I would much rather record each of them once and have the last show to air with a couple of minutes worth of padding on the end.

As for the argument about the next show not recording due to the padding what about the recording conflicts that would occur due to ignoring the watched status or even worse when you already have a copy on your hard drive? For example let's say Boston Legal and Law & Order come on at the same time. You've already watched Boston Legal and Law & Order is a first run. Well Sage ignores the fact that you've already seen Boston Legal and schedules it to record anyway because it's a higher priority favorite. I have over 80 favorites so there are literally thousands of episodes I've already seen. Having Sage bump shows I haven't seen in favor of ones I've watched isn't very desirable. I can promise you the majority of Sage users would miss more shows due to the watched flag being ignored than they ever would from adding padding.

Even worse take a look at Friday night. Sci-Fi airs SG-1 something like 3 times that night? Sage would record the same episode during all 3 airings so the tuners are tied up and can't record any of your other favorites for the night. I would prefer Sage record SG-1 once so that I can get the greatest number of favorites.

Here's another example: There's a show of which I'm collecting episodes. The cable channel in question puts obnoxious pop-up ads into the middle of the show. However they are often at different times during different 'casts of the same ep. I therefore want to record all of them; I go through them later with a video editing app to assemble a pristine copy.

I never said it shouldn't be an option, but I stand by what I said that dumbing down the software isn't the best choice for the default behavior.

[matterw]

Originally Posted by GTwannabe

I'd like SageTV server to be able to automatically update the clients to the proper version so I don't have to go around and do it manually on each machine.

I have to agree with this as well! I currently have three clients plus the media server. This would help out greatly...

[zakrzep]

How about the ability to choose a plugin or possibly upgrade Sage from a menu and be able to download and install it automatically from there. I have seen this on Xbox media center for scripts and applications.

[gblinckmann]

For 6.1 I'd like to see:

1. WMV9 transcoding for Windows Mobile devices (and for the 3 Zunes out there! )
2. RSS Audio/Video Podcast client. I like watching DL.TV and CrankyGeeks, but I'd really prefer to watch these on TV. Audio podcasts would be nice, too. I've been using Sage more for audio since the 6.0 upgrade.

The new versions keep getting better and better. I find myself using more of the features with each upgrade.

[RBTConsultants]

I'd like to see (like zoomplayer), certain abilities while watching a show/recording:

zoom (I love zooming with my scroll wheel in zoom player)
access filter properties (like ac3filter, etc.)
overlay color adjustment on screen
change aspect ratios while watching

[gblinckmann]

Photos area enhancement suggestion:
I use the photos section a lot when I have company over. The current systems that allows you to view by folder is okay, but it would be nice to have the enhancement to allow you to select using metadata, as you can with music and videos. With Microsoft Digital Image or Vista, people can apply metadata to their pictures, so I started doing this when I got Digital Image. The whole Vista OS makes good use of the metadata, so it's likely that using this will be popular.

[PhillJones]

something I've bought up a couple of times that I think is vital to sage (admitedly I seem to be the only one).

The ability to correct for non-square pixels on your display. Right now sage assumes that your pixels are square but on some displays they aren't. In particular they aren't on mine. My plasma is physically 16:9 in shape but it's native res is 1280x768. In other words, the pixels are actually ever so slightly rectangular. They really are, I've checked. Also, for people with 42" plasmas, the res is often 1024x768 which means the pixels are very rectangular. I can get arround it by setting up custom zoom settings but that only works for video playback, not for photos and it's awkward to set up.

I'd like a setup option where you can put in the resolution of your desktop (or perhaps sage can figure that out) and the physical shape of your display. Either that or just a setting to tweak the aspect ratio. WMP has a setting like this under options>devices>display.

I'd also like in built streaming radio.

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by PhillJones

something I've bought up a couple of times that I think is vital to sage (admitedly I seem to be the only one).

The ability to correct for non-square pixels on your display. Right now sage assumes that your pixels are square but on some displays they aren't. In particular they aren't on mine. My plasma is physically 16:9 in shape but it's native res is 1280x768. In other words, the pixels are actually ever so slightly rectangular. They really are, I've checked. Also, for people with 42" plasmas, the res is often 1024x768 which means the pixels are very rectangular. I can get arround it by setting up custom zoom settings but that only works for video playback, not for photos and it's awkward to set up.

I'd like a setup option where you can put in the resolution of your desktop (or perhaps sage can figure that out) and the physical shape of your display. Either that or just a setting to tweak the aspect ratio. WMP has a setting like this under options>devices>display.

Umm, isn't that what "Display Aspect Ratio Settings" is for. In V6, go to detailed settings>multimedia>display aspect ratio settings to make the adjustments so Sage knows how to properly display on your monitor.

[PhillJones]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

Umm, isn't that what "Display Aspect Ratio Settings" is for. In V6, go to detailed settings>multimedia>display aspect ratio settings to make the adjustments so Sage knows how to properly display on your monitor.

Oh, OK. I have version 5.

Is that a single aspect ratio setting or do you have to set the AR settings for source, fill, 4:3 etc separately? Does it apply to photos too?

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by PhillJones

Oh, OK. I have version 5.

Is that a single aspect ratio setting or do you have to set the AR settings for source, fill, 4:3 etc separately? Does it apply to photos too?

It is a single aspect ratio setting that applies globally. You adjust the setting so that you get a perfect circle displayed on the screen. So any rectangle vs. square pixel issues get taken care of.

[maclayer]

I would like to see a feature where "Deleted Recordings" go into a sort of recycle bin. I find that my wife sometimes deletes recordings that I would like to get back. If there was an option to go in and "un-delete" or "restore" the recordings that would be REALLY NICE!

I'm thinking that this could be done by:
1. When a recording is deleted, it is removed from the "Recordings" or "Archived Recordings" or even the "Media" section.
2. The recordings are not removed from the hard drive (WIZ.BIN still has the file information).
3. The recordings can be "Restored" from a special menu screen under 'Help'.
4. The recordings are really deleted from the hard drive as the space runs low. Deletion is based on oldest recording first.

I hope to see something like this soon.

Cheers.

[sainswor99]

Originally Posted by maclayer

I would like to see a feature where "Deleted Recordings" go into a sort of recycle bin. I find that my wife sometimes deletes recordings that I would like to get back. If there was an option to go in and "un-delete" or "restore" the recordings that would be REALLY NICE!

I'm thinking that this could be done by:
1. When a recording is deleted, it is removed from the "Recordings" or "Archived Recordings" or even the "Media" section.
2. The recordings are not removed from the hard drive (WIZ.BIN still has the file information).
3. The recordings can be "Restored" from a special menu screen under 'Help'.
4. The recordings are really deleted from the hard drive as the space runs low. Deletion is based on oldest recording first.

I hope to see something like this soon.

Cheers.

Interesting idea; I would only add the additional option of making this a configurable setting (for those of us who are sure we really want to delete it all the time), as well as adding a management option under the Help section you suggest (a way to empty the recycle bin ahead of time).

Stu