Will Sage ever have a buffer ?!?!

[motions]

I have used MythTV for about six months now and it works great. I wanted to try a Windows based PVR so I could use a client on my XP machines.

Sage is a really nice PVR package especially with the ability to customize most things which is a feature I didn't expect to find in a Windows app.

The one MAJOR drawback it has, and most people are complaining about, is the ability to buffer livetv without actually placing it in the recordings list. Will this bug ever be fixed?

Every post I read says "put sage to sleep" or "turn sage off". This is not a fix, it's an inconvienience.

[mlbdude]

This was changed about a year ago. Once you stop recording it or the show ends it goes away.

[motions]

I have noticed that if I stop livetv or change the channel, it does remove it from the recordings list. However, if I watch the entire length of a show, it stays in my recordings list as if I recorded it.

Does it require a reboot to remove it from the list? I mean, it does run on Windows.

Sorry, low blow.....

[zz5]

Whenever you start watching something else, it will go away.

[blade]

I haven't had this problem. Sage works just as it's supposed to for me.

[Steve2112]

It's not a bug, it's a feature! LOL.

[motions]

If it doesn't work like it supposed to, it's a bug. If it's actually supposed to save all recording to the list, it really needs to be redesigned.

Buffers should not show up as a recording. The coders should take some tips from MythTV.

[zz5]

Why do you care if that one recording that you are currently watching shows up in the recording list? How in the world could you possibly care about this? What difference does it make if it shows up in the recording list? Where else would the file that you're currently watching go? This is a feature. It's supposed to work like this. There's no reason for it not to work like this.

[Crashless]

Originally Posted by zz5

Why do you care if that one recording that you are currently watching shows up in the recording list? How in the world could you possibly care about this? What difference does it make if it shows up in the recording list? Where else would the file that you're currently watching go? This is a feature. It's supposed to work like this. There's no reason for it not to work like this.

I agree with this. If the file's on your HD, why SHOULDN'T you have access to it? And what better way than in the recordings view? My setup behaves in a very sensical manner, if I watch it, it shows up, if I tuned into live tv, and it's still recording - it shows up. If I change the channel, it stays for a little while and then is deleted.

I especiallly like this feature with multiple tuners because it allows you to surf around and go back to a show and see what you missed. How can that be considered a bug? It's an awesome feature.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the problem, do you not want Sage to record or timeshift EVER, unless you specifically tell it to? What happens if you miss a line because your dryer's buzzer went off? If Sage didn't timeshift unless you told it to, you would not be able to rewind and hear the line. I love that Sage always is recording, it's a nice safety net.

Maybe you're referring to Myth's 30 minute buffer limit. I've seen this discussed ad nausium, and to be honest I don't understand the logic that says you should limit it. Sage records, and continues to add to the file until it runs out of room, when that happens it has a very logical cadence for selecting what to delete STARTING WITH LIVE TV. This is the same principle of limiting it to 30 minutes, it just doesn't put a set limit on it - it's as much space as it can find.

Sorry, I've been in a pissy mood lately, I'm at work for the third Saturday in a row and it's 72deg and sunny outside.


WORK

[motions]

Obviously you Windows users have not used other PVR software. The LiveTV channel you are watching should go into a buffer so that you still have all the functionality of time shift viewing. It should not show up in a recordings list as if you actually recorded it.

Some people may like it to show up in their recordings with no way to differentiate between real recordings and buffer. Your in luck, it does that. I on the other hand only want shows I recorded to show up there.

If there are people that like the way it is now, I would suggest making a way to disable it rather than take it out completely.

[mlbdude]

Not showing the currently recording show in the list is easy. I would assume they want it there. This is one area where Sage performs better than the other PVR's so I doubt they will give up that edge.

EDIT: Try asking for this in the Customizations area. You may find a STV developer that likes the idea.

[PGPfan]

Originally Posted by motions

Obviously you Windows users have not used other PVR software. The LiveTV channel you are watching should go into a buffer so that you still have all the functionality of time shift viewing. It should not show up in a recordings list as if you actually recorded it.

Actually, it's more likely you Linux geeks believe that ONLY your way is best. So it shows in a recorded list. It IS recorded. Makes sense. Or record into a 'buffer' and not not be flexible with how to use it. Perhaps Myth devs should examine the logic in Sage.

Originally Posted by motions

Some people may like it to show up in their recordings with no way to differentiate between real recordings and buffer. Your in luck, it does that. I on the other hand only want shows I recorded to show up there.

Sage is being accurate since a 'buffer' IS a recording, regardless of wether you told it to or not. It sounds more like a semantics issure. What you believe to be a 'recording' is in reality a 'user scheduled recording'.

Originally Posted by motions

If there are people that like the way it is now, I would suggest making a way to disable it rather than take it out completely.

I would agree that this 'could' be beneficial, but if it makes the usage or setup any more complicated than necessary, I'd recommend Sage leave it alone.

-PGPfan

[motions]

First, I'm not a Linux geek. I run 7 machines with Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD. The only reason Linux geeks think their way is the best is because with Linux you can have it your way. Your not bound to a dictatorship software company. You roll your own to your liking.

I agree with you completely thereafter though. I'm just stating that the only thing I want to see in my recordings list are programs I set to record. I've just used MythTV for so long which uses a buffer that is hidden. Works the same way but only the recordings I actually record show up in my list.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by motions

Obviously you Windows users have not used other PVR software. The LiveTV channel you are watching should go into a buffer so that you still have all the functionality of time shift viewing. It should not show up in a recordings list as if you actually recorded it.

I don't know how this turned into a Windows vs Linux thing, when in fact it's a Sage vs the rest of the world thing, most (all) other PVRs I'm aware of use a circular buffer. Sage records each show individually, which poses a number of benefits over the circular buffer, and very few drawbacks.

Some people may like it to show up in their recordings with no way to differentiate between real recordings and buffer.

But there is a way, Manual recordings have a Red outline, Favorites have a White outline, and IR/LiveTV has no outline, it's quite easy to tell the difference between something you scheduled and something Sage did.

[motions]

I'm fairly new to Sage (about a week of playing with it) and when I have a question I spend hours searching the groups for an insight. If I can't find an answer I post a question. It may just take a little time to get used to how Sage operates.

I have plenty more questions but I really hate posting until I have exhausted all avenues of finding an answer. Sorry to keep this thread going. I'll accept that's the way Sage works and hope that more customization can be implemented.

[Opus4]

Did you know there is a PDF manual in your SageTV directory? Automatic cleanup of Live TV is covered in Appendix C, which starts on p. 189 for v2.2. The SageTV Recordings screen starts on p. 34, where it describes how to tell the difference between the various types of recordings. There is quite a bit in SageTV and most of it is covered somewhere in that manual.

Every piece of software has its own idiosyncracies, so it takes a while to get used to a different way of doing things if you are already used to some other program.

- Andy

[fieldeffect]

If you want to start talking PVR buffer issues have a look at BeyondTV with their deletion of the buffer when you jump out to most menus policy. Every time you go back to Live TV you have a brand new buffer with no history! *erk* They decided to remove their constant circular buffer because they couldn't get it stable.

Sage suddenly looks quite nice

Motions - If you use the SageMC16x9 STV it's even easier to distinguish the currently viewed show because the prog list defaults to date ordered, so it's always the top one.

Nick.

[Blue]

It seems to me that the issue isn't about Sage having a buffer (which it already does), but rather it's about the buffer showing up as a recording. I hate to be the devil's advocate (pun intended), but my preference would be for live TV to not show up as a recording. Although, for me that feature is very low on the list of priorities.

[PGPfan]

I'll restate it again. A buffer IS a recording! No matter what anyone says to the contrary!

If 'you' only wish to see the recordings that 'you' have scheduled rather than what is actually recorded, fine. But that is a semantics problem, NOT how Sage functions.

We need to understand fully what we are asking for. Are you asking that Sage ONLY display what 'you' have scheduled, if it is recorded? Sage already does that, it just gives you more information (as stanger pointed out). Or are you asking for a way to "hide" everything Sage says it has recorded unless said recording is in your scheduled recordings list, in which case it's OK to display?

-PGPfan

[Opus4]

I misunderstood the complaint earlier, probably like a lot of other people. I didn't realize that the point was to simply limit which recordings get shown on the SageTV Recordings screen...

So... I've decided to grant that wish. I reprogrammed the SageTV Recordings screen to allow you to see only the Manual Recordings, only the Favorites, both of those, or all recordings. You no longer are forced to view the live TV recordings in the SageTV Recordings list. (But live TV and Intelligent Recordings fall into the same category: 'all other'.) This feature has now been automatically uploaded to your computer. In fact, an updated manual was uploaded too & this new feature of the SageTV Recordings screen, called "Display Filter", is covered in this new manual on p. 36.

Oh, wait. Silly me: that's been there all along... Please check the manual to see what the software can already do, or at least ask if it can do something, before complaining that it doesn't work properly.

- Andy