6.1.6RC Image/audio disappears then reappears at epg show end/beginning

[maninblack_30]

Hi guys, this has been happening for as long as I can remember, but Sage has only really been usable for me for the last few betas:

While watching live TV on my MVP's, when a show gets to the time when the next show is due to start the audio and video disappear (its as if the server is re-tuning the channel)for a few seconds then return, I do have "always tune channel set to "NO""

Is this a bug/can it be fixed?

I am using Staphane's XMLTV importer as there is no real OTA EPG available in Australia (only the next 2 shows are transmitted, and even then not all the time!)

I'd also like to post a big THANK YOU to Qian and Jeff for thier help in getting SageTV to work for me here in Australia with my MVP's with DVBt, as of V5 it was useless here and it's now 98% perfect!

Thanks Guys!

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by maninblack_30

While watching live TV on my MVP's, when a show gets to the time when the next show is due to start the audio and video disappear (its as if the server is re-tuning the channel)for a few seconds then return, I do have "always tune channel set to "NO""

If I understand you correctly, this is normal. SageTV is recording the shows that you watch live, so like any other recorded show, it stops when the show ends & then starts a new recording when the next show starts. There will always be at least a little bit of a blip at that point.

- Andy

[maninblack_30]

Thanks Andy,
I was pretty sure that was the case, but I have a pvr that I'm hoping to replace with sage (due to MVP's being exactly what I want so my TV can follow me to bed, or to the kitchen!)
The pvr always records what ever you are watching up to the point you change channel (it then deletes the file) or 1 hour behind "real time" (when it starts deleting the file from the "other end").
I guess I am asking is it possible for SageTV to do something similar, and not to delete files and start recording again if you haven't set a "proper" recording, and are just watching live TV.

Or would this require a complete re-development?
I suppose this is because sage is still mainly used for analogue TV?

Cheers,
Fraser

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by maninblack_30

The pvr always records what ever you are watching up to the point you change channel (it then deletes the file) or 1 hour behind "real time" (when it starts deleting the file from the "other end").
I guess I am asking is it possible for SageTV to do something similar, and not to delete files and start recording again if you haven't set a "proper" recording, and are just watching live TV.

SageTV is built around recording shows & does not have an option in the default STV for playback from a buffered loop.

I suppose this is because sage is still mainly used for analogue TV?

No, it doesn't have anything to do with analog vs. digital TV; it was a design decision to record each show to its own separate file.

- Andy

[Opus4]

BTW: if someone wanted to create a customization to use a looping buffer for live TV viewing, I think it could be done using the WatchLive() API call. I think this might even provide live non-recorded video for some tuners that can do that sort of thing (maybe some softeware tuners), but I'm not 100% sure about that part. You can specify the size of the buffer to be used, so that would control how far back you could rewind from the current time.

One downside is that I don't believe it will show any info about the show currently being watched, because it is simply recording the input on that tuner instead of recording a specific show. It might be possible to check the EPG data for the channel being watched & display the info for whatever show is currently airing on that channel.

It also means you couldn't switch to recording the show & be able to keep everything you've watched up to that point.

- Andy

[cpainter]

Originally Posted by Opus4

If I understand you correctly, this is normal. SageTV is recording the shows that you watch live, so like any other recorded show, it stops when the show ends & then starts a new recording when the next show starts. There will always be at least a little bit of a blip at that point.

- Andy

Andy,

Haven't really started using SageTV as my main means of watching TV until more recently. I understand, as you explained what is going on, but the pause between when it stops recording one show and starts to record the next gets big enough to be annoying; and is not the sort of user experience most people would expect.

Is there some way to minimize this stop/start sequence or is it a matter of hardware involved?

-Chris