hide unavailable recordings?

[bluenote]

I have a network drive that isn't always available that contains some recordings. Those recordings always show up in the recordings list, but I'd prefer that they only showed up when available. Is there a way to do this? I thought there used to be a sage properties entry, but I can't find it in the FAQ, manual or search. :/ (It's possible that I have this setting toggled in the first place..)

thanks

Cory

[RobJ]

I understand your problem and agree with the need, but I think I would prefer to still see the recordings but flagged in some way. Either add a tiny icon indicating current unavailability or gray them out somehow, apply some sort of 'graying out' process or coloration, appropriate to the current theme being used.

[Opus4]

The default STV does not do this & I don't remember if any customization does. One reason the default STV does not do it is that it could slow things down quite a bit to check the status of each file.

If you want to create a customization, there are at least a couple ways to do it:

1) Check the existence of each recording or imported video's file. If the file can't be seen, but it is still in the database, then it is most likely offline. Checking each file is probably going to be quite slow because it can sometimes take a long time to get a response when a network path is not available.

2) Check for the existence of each recording and/or import directory. If the path doesn't exist, then all media files with that dir as the start of its file path are not available. This would be faster than checking each individual file path because the dir paths are checked once beforehand, but the dir path existence check can still be slow wherever that call is made & it still needs to be done every so often, in case the network location comes back online.

To check the dirs, you might init the paths as available, then fork the dir path check in an AfterMenuLoad hook, and when the check is done, refresh the display. This would allow the UI to continue as usual while the potentially-agonizingly-slow path check is done in the background.

- Andy

[RobJ]

Andy, I believe that the SageTV core already knows the availability of every recording, but I don't know if that current existence flag is exposed to higher levels such as studio code. I have never examined any of the relevant code.

I monitor the SageTV 5 minute scans in Task Manager, Network tab, when ever I move files around. Before I move one or hundreds of recordings, I check to see if I have at least a minute before the next 5 minute scan and then initiate the move. Once the network spike passes, I can then check the Detailed or Recording Info of a moved recording and immediately see the updated path. So it clearly knows the current location of every recording, within the past 5 minutes. Now whether it saves that status and makes it available higher up, I don't know.

All a customization should have to do therefore is adjust the text color of any currently displayed recording that is not currently accessible (if that variable is available at this level).

Incidentally, I have wanted to add some comments to your revised 'Moving recordings' FAQ (much improved by the way), concerning the use of the 5 minute scan. It's probably simpler to explain to new users about shutting down SageTV first, but once you understand about working around the 5 minute scans, you can do all the moving you want (100's of recordings), without ever shutting down SageTV. There's a little more to it than that, but it is just about that simple. I really appreciate all of the changes that Sage has made in this area, that have made recordings management and movement much safer and more convenient.

[bluenote]

Rob: I wouldnt tear my hair out if the recordings were flagged or greyed out, and in some cases I could see myself preferring that, but I'd also like the ability to just have them not show up. I agree with you in your assertion that sage will know about the availability of these files, so why not act on it?

Opus: It's too bad because I really had a hazy memory of the existence of a sage.properties setting .. I beat my head against the wall trying to find it :/
I hear what you are saying in regards to file by file, but I think you answer your own concern when you say or drive by drive. -- If the drive/dir is not available, we have our answer. If the network is UP, its not a chore to poll anyways so either way we have a workable solution, IMHO.

I've done some programming in a past life but I was never what you would consider a professional developer ... having said that I would try to make this change except for the fact that I expect learning the IDE and the specifics of working with Sage would probably exceed my time availability. (Or is it easier than I would guess?)

Anyways, thanks for answering the original question which was is there an ability through Sage or an addon which there isn't. At least I can stop combing through properties files looking for a ghost.

Cory