Nowadays quite a few channels, generally the higher-numbered LCNs, in the TV section of the EPG are actually transmitting OTA for some short period and otherwise delivering streamed content. ISTR that a channel can count as TV (LCN < 200) if its OTA content is at least 2 hours per day. The Freeview authority assumes that connected devices can show these streamed shows transparently, but since the HD[R] Fox T2 s/w pre-dates the relevant standards this assumption doesn't apply here. The on-screen EPG (so also the Webif EPG), shows the streamed and OTA shows together with no apparent distinction.
If watching live, the viewer may see the same show scheduled for both 03:30 and 19:30 and decide to watch the latter instance, when in fact the wee hours version is OTA and the early evening one is streamed, leading to a data display and even more disappointment than is usual for the high-numbered LCNs. Eg, as I type, TogetherTV claims to be showing Edwardian Farm, but what it's actually showing is a data panel that says its OTA hours are 05:00-08:00 and to "Please wait up to a minute while channels load" (which on our platform never happens, as if the box was disconnected from the internet). Similarly, a scheduled recording or reminder could produce unviewable content with no warning, or the missed/conflict resolution algorithm could replace a potentially viewable show with a dud (if the CRIDs match).
What can be done? Surely it's not practical (or worthwhile) to implement the missing streaming support transparently in the CF, and if it might be possible in a Portal app it wouldn't be transparent. What about fixing the EPG instead?
1. Is there a way to distinguish when a channel is actually OTA? Obvs it could be set up with static data (eg, from above,
2. (long shot) Can the raw EPG data be hacked in such a way that non-OTA shows are distinguishable both in the on-screen and Webif EPG displays? Eg, prefixing the display title with
3. (more likely) Can the extracted EPG data used in the Webif be hacked similarly, so that the Webif EPG and conflict checker (and schedchk) would be able to distinguish between "real" and streamed shows?
If watching live, the viewer may see the same show scheduled for both 03:30 and 19:30 and decide to watch the latter instance, when in fact the wee hours version is OTA and the early evening one is streamed, leading to a data display and even more disappointment than is usual for the high-numbered LCNs. Eg, as I type, TogetherTV claims to be showing Edwardian Farm, but what it's actually showing is a data panel that says its OTA hours are 05:00-08:00 and to "Please wait up to a minute while channels load" (which on our platform never happens, as if the box was disconnected from the internet). Similarly, a scheduled recording or reminder could produce unviewable content with no warning, or the missed/conflict resolution algorithm could replace a potentially viewable show with a dud (if the CRIDs match).
What can be done? Surely it's not practical (or worthwhile) to implement the missing streaming support transparently in the CF, and if it might be possible in a Portal app it wouldn't be transparent. What about fixing the EPG instead?
1. Is there a way to distinguish when a channel is actually OTA? Obvs it could be set up with static data (eg, from above,
{{83 {{"05:00" "08:00"}} ...}
) at the cost of ongoing tunefix-style maintenance.2. (long shot) Can the raw EPG data be hacked in such a way that non-OTA shows are distinguishable both in the on-screen and Webif EPG displays? Eg, prefixing the display title with
[Streaming only]
and replacing the CRID with some fake value.3. (more likely) Can the extracted EPG data used in the Webif be hacked similarly, so that the Webif EPG and conflict checker (and schedchk) would be able to distinguish between "real" and streamed shows?