Program Guide won't show both EXTEND and Prime channels when identical channel ids

[brandypuff]

I have a 2 tuner Homerun EXTEND and a 3 tuner Prime. Some of the channels have the same channel ID for both the Prime and Extend, e.g., 2-1 and 782. However, only the 2-1 channel shows in the program guide, not both 2-1 and 782. Sometimes i may want to record the channel on the Prime instead of the Extend but i can't.

Is it possible that sage could record on 782 if 2-1 is busy at the time even though 782 does not show in the program guide?

[JustFred]

Originally Posted by brandypuff

I have a 2 tuner Homerun EXTEND and a 3 tuner Prime. Some of the channels have the same channel ID for both the Prime and Extend, e.g., 2-1 and 782. However, only the 2-1 channel shows in the program guide, not both 2-1 and 782. Sometimes i may want to record the channel on the Prime instead of the Extend but i can't.

Is it possible that sage could record on 782 if 2-1 is busy at the time even though 782 does not show in the program guide?

From the SageTv User Guide, chapter 3, Program Guide:
"Note: If you have configured multiple sources using different Programming Guide Data providers in the Source Setup, you may see multiple entries with the same channel number, representing the fact that those multiple sources use the same channel number for different networks. Alternatively, if the same network is available on both sources, but on different channel numbers, that network may be listed only once using only one of those channel numbers. For example: CNN may be on both sources: as channel 6 on one and channel 25 on the other. In this case, CNN will be displayed as channel 6 or 25, but not both; however, CNN will actually still be available from both sources on the proper channels. SageTV will internally track which channel belongs to each source. If all sources use the same channel lineup, all channels are listed only once."

Don't confuse "channel number" (2-1 or 782) with Sage's 5-digit "Station ID". You can see the Station ID in Setup -> Video Sources -> (source) -> Channel Setup. The Station ID value comes from your EPG provider.

[brandypuff]

Yes, i have identical station id's on two different lineups for a few channels.

So let me get this straight. If i have the Extend with two tuners and the Prime with 3 tuners, and chan 2-1( extend) and chan 782 (Prime) have identical lineups but only 2-1 shows in the guide, then Sage could be recording a show on 782 even though i scheduled it using guide data for 2-1?

This is confusing because i tell my wife she can record two simultaneous shows on the Extend and 3 on the Prime. I won't know if Sage is using the Prime rather than the Extend to record a show that has identical lineups on both devices so i could in fact schedule more than two shows using the lineup for the Extend but won't know which channels overlap with the Prime. ugh. confusing.

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by brandypuff

Yes, i have identical station id's on two different lineups for a few channels.

So let me get this straight. If i have the Extend with two tuners and the Prime with 3 tuners, and chan 2-1( extend) and chan 782 (Prime) have identical lineups but only 2-1 shows in the guide, then Sage could be recording a show on 782 even though i scheduled it using guide data for 2-1?

This is confusing because i tell my wife she can record two simultaneous shows on the Extend and 3 on the Prime. I won't know if Sage is using the Prime rather than the Extend to record a show that has identical lineups on both devices so i could in fact schedule more than two shows using the lineup for the Extend but won't know which channels overlap with the Prime. ugh. confusing.

Yes, Sage has always worked that way by design. You tell it what you want to record and it figures out the best way to make it happen. If you get a conflict where Sage can’t figure a way to record everything, Sage notifies you with a conflict icon near the top of your main menu. And there is a Resolve Conflicts screen where it shows which shows can’t be recorded and why.

In most cases it doesn’t really matter which tuner Sage picks - all that’s important is that your show get recorded. If you really prefer one tuner over another, you can set the merit higher for the preferred device.

[JustFred]

Originally Posted by brandypuff

Yes, i have identical station id's on two different lineups for a few channels.

So let me get this straight. If i have the Extend with two tuners and the Prime with 3 tuners, and chan 2-1( extend) and chan 782 (Prime) have identical lineups but only 2-1 shows in the guide,

First, it's helpful to keep our terms straight. An EPG lineup is a collection of station id's (and their station names) from a single source. Since I haven't seen a description of your setup, I'm assuming that you have TWO sources: cable tv (with channel 782) and over-the-air (with channel 2-1). This most likely means that you have TWO lineups: one lineup for your cable company, and a 2nd lineup for over-the-air broadcasts. That's not two identical lineups.

then Sage could be recording a show on 782 even though i scheduled it using guide data for 2-1?

It's best to stop thinking about channel numbers. When looking at the channel Guide, ignore those channel numbers. Unless you're attempting to schedule **manual** recordings, the Sage scheduler doesn't care about the channel numbers or station names. For the most part, what you really care about is recording a particular PROGRAM, no matter what tuner/station/channel it airs on. Let Sage do what Sage is good at: automatically scheduling recordings and managing recording conflicts. It'll determine which source and station/channel to use, and when to record. 99% of the time, you don't need to worry about it.

This is confusing because i tell my wife she can record two simultaneous shows on the Extend and 3 on the Prime. I won't know if Sage is using the Prime rather than the Extend to record a show that has identical lineups on both devices so i could in fact schedule more than two shows using the lineup for the Extend but won't know which channels overlap with the Prime. ugh. confusing.

The confusion might be the result of trying to over-analyze the situation.

Using Favorites, it's possible to record 5 programs at the same time. You won't know which tuner Sage is using to do the recording. That's part of the beauty of setting up Favorites (and almost NEVER setup a manual recording). Since most cable-tv stations air any given program multiple times, Sage is able to look ahead to survey all airing times and juggle it's use of tuners and recording times to get the programs of interest. Of course, that might mean that Sage may not always record the very first airing of every one of your Favorites, but it (almost always) will record what you want. And if it can't, you'll be notified that there's a conflict, allowing you the opportunity to prioritize which of the conflicting programs is the one of higher importance to you.

On the other hand, if your wife is selecting programs from the Guide and then setting them up as a Manual record, then Sage isn't going to help or over-ride that.

Try it.