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Set Series Reminder

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digitl

Member
I don't want to record it as it usually clashes with other recordings, but I usually want to see what Newsnight is going to include each evening (sad, I know) so I have to go into the EPG and set a reminder for each and every broadcast.

Is it possible for the customised firmware to be tweaked to include an option to set a 'Series Reminder' in the way we can 'Record the whole series'?
 
You could set a manual weekdays reminder for the usual start time, this wouldn't track any variations in the schedule but would be better than nothing.

I think the Humax treats reminders just the same as recordings when considering conflicts so reminders don't solve the problem of recording conflicts.

I tend to series record anything that I might want to watch just in case I am busy/watching something else and use the skip episode function of the webif/RS Visual schedule display to resolve any conflicts. However skip episode only works if the broadcaster assigns unique crids to each episode and the BBC doesn't assign them for news broadcasts and while I haven't checked Newsnight probably falls into that category :(
 
MymsMan said:
You could set a manual weekdays reminder for the usual start time, this wouldn't track any variations in the schedule but would be better than nothing.

I think the Humax treats reminders just the same as recordings when considering conflicts so reminders don't solve the problem of recording conflicts.

I tend to series record anything that I might want to watch just in case I am busy/watching something else and use the skip episode function of the webif/RS Visual schedule display to resolve any conflicts. However skip episode only works if the broadcaster assigns unique crids to each episode and the BBC doesn't assign them for news broadcasts and while I haven't checked Newsnight probably falls into that category :(
Click to expand...

Reminders aren't the same as recording conflicts. You can set a reminder for any viewable channel while recording two. If both channels recording are on same transponder then you can set a reminder from the epg on any channel. If on different transponders then you can set one from the epg on any channel sharing a transponder with either recording channel. If you do so the box will (boot if in recording sby or power up the video and audio outputs if actually recording) and switch to the reminder channel. This gives you a time shift buffer from the start of the reminded programme. Once one of the two recording finishes, you can then record the reminded channel from the time shift buffer in the usual way.
 
Ah, some subtle differences between the webif and on TV interfaces.

The box allows you to schedule a reminder only if it is compatible with the concurrent recording channels whilst the webif allows you to create a reminder even if it is incompatible with the scheduled recording but will show a conflict in the Schedule display even if the reminder is for a channel on the same Mux as one of the recordings and so should be allowed.
 
grahamlthompson said:
If both channels recording are on same transponder then you can set a reminder from the epg on any channel. If on different transponders then you can set one from the epg on any channel sharing a transponder with either recording channel.
Click to expand...
This is for the Freeview T2, so I guess you meant to write multiplex instead of transponder.
 
MymsMan said:
Ah, some subtle differences between the webif and on TV interfaces.

The box allows you to schedule a reminder only if it is compatible with the concurrent recording channels whilst the webif allows you to create a reminder even if it is incompatible with the scheduled recording but will show a conflict in the Schedule display even if the reminder is for a channel on the same Mux as one of the recordings and so should be allowed.
Click to expand...
And I get constant emailed warnings of (non)conflicts linked to 'legal' recordings and reminders.
 
MymsMan said:
You could set a manual weekdays reminder for the usual start time, this wouldn't track any variations in the schedule but would be better than nothing.
Click to expand...

I had considered that but was hoping the customised firmware could be tweaked to offer something more elegant.
 
digitl said:
And I get constant emailed warnings of (non)conflicts linked to 'legal' recordings and reminders.
Click to expand...

That's because the software isn't clever enough to identify 3rd channels you can actually view. And yes I should have said Mux though the same applies to the Humax G2 Freesat boxes. Transponder and Mux are essentially the same thing. At a guess it just checks for more than 2 channels being used at any one time.
 
grahamlthompson said:
That's because the software isn't clever enough to identify 3rd channels you can actually view.
Click to expand...
It is webif and RS software that is generating the conflict displays and emails so it could be made more intelligent so that it could take mux conflicts into account.

On the other hand the standard Humax software only supports simple timed reminders and has no concept of associating reminders with programs or series, only the title is stored in the schedule database but not the crids needed to cope with irregular schedules.
Theoretically it might be possible to program something that created a new reminder for each episode but it would be a non-trivial exercise, would it be worth the effort - would many people use it?
 
The problem is maintaining the data that identifies which channels are on which mux. This would require the exact transmitter and the channels it carries for every user as this would not be the same for everyone. It's relatively simple to do this on the box because it has access to the actual database files with this information. Any solution would require a daily comparison of the current data to identify changes and that's only the first step.

To some extent this capability exists on the Foxsat-HDR (it's much easier on satellite). I have a Excel application that runs from a data table on a spreadsheet with the required data for each channel on it. Only a few channels require modification for a specific postcode, these are relatively simple for a user to edit, as the Foxsat has an easy way to check the current transponder for the few channels that have a different transponder to my West Midlands postcode.

A package available for the custom firmware for this box can create a full channel database for my Foxsat every day. It can compare any changes overnight and report by e-mail any changes to this data.

I can then easily edit the worksheet data with the data on it and upload it to a file sharing site. The application then allows a user with Excel on a PC to identify which 3rd channels can be viewed for any recording combination (using VBA). and also is able to identify if a specific 3rd channel would be available by choosing an alternate recording source (BBC 1 SD has regional sources on both horizontal and vertical transponders).

Random example of change e-mail

Channel Changes after the 3:00am Housekeeping on Monday 22-08-2016 to today's (Tuesday 23-08-2016) 3:00 am Housekeeping are:

No Name ServiceID PMT VPID Audio PCR Subs TText Frequency SymbolRate Polarity
--- /opt/webif/plugin/SatInfo/beforeHK.txt
+++ /opt/webif/plugin/SatInfo/afterHK.txt
@@ -78,16 +77,0 @@
-261 BBC Olymp 1 HD 1081 256 512 660 512 8192 8192 10744 23000 H
-262 BBC Olymp 2 HD 1082 257 513 661 513 8192 8192 10744 23000 H
-263 BBC Olymp 3 HD 1083 258 514 662 514 8192 8192 10744 23000 H
-264 BBC Olymp 4 HD 1084 256 512 660 512 8192 8192 10862 23000 H
-265 BBC Olymp 5 HD 1085 257 513 661 513 8192 8192 10862 23000 H
-266 BBC Olymp 6 HD 1086 258 514 662 514 8192 8192 10862 23000 H
-267 BBC Olymp 7 HD 1087 256 515 660 515 8192 8192 10876 23000 V
-268 BBC Olymp 8 HD 1088 260 516 661 516 8192 8192 10876 23000 V
-271 BBC Olympics 1 6390 262 5400 5401 5400 8192 8192 10773 22000 H
-272 BBC Olympics 2 6802 256 5100 5101 5100 8192 8192 12421 27500 H
-273 BBC Olympics 3 6803 257 5200 5201 5200 8192 8192 12421 27500 H
-274 BBC Olympics 4 6804 258 5300 5301 5300 8192 8192 12421 27500 H
-275 BBC Olympics 5 6805 259 5400 5401 5400 8192 8192 12421 27500 H
-276 BBC Olympics 6 6806 260 5500 5501 5500 8192 8192 12421 27500 H
-277 BBC Olympics 7 6807 264 5600 5601 5600 8192 8192 12421 27500 H
-278 BBC Olympics 8 6800 265 5700 5701 5700 8192 8192 12421 27500 H
@@ -228,0 +213 @@
+981 BBC RB 1 6390 262 5400 5401 5400 8192 8192 10773 22000 H

Clearly the recent Olympic channels being removed.

TBH I think even this halfway stage would be hard (near impossible) because of the much larger channel combinations you have on Freeview down to different geographical locations. UK satellite boxes can get all available channels, freesat channels not on your epg. still exist on the box database (they are merely hidden).

The Foxsat-HDR CF channel editor can add them all to your epg which is impossible to do on a Freeview box.

This gives me a light bulb moment, if I add all of them to my box, my daily e-mail may find them all (even ones that I don't use).

More experimentation required :)
 
Last edited:
digitl said:
Is it possible for the customised firmware to be tweaked to include an option to set a 'Series Reminder' in the way we can 'Record the whole series'?
Click to expand...
No, because that functionality is not available in the core Humax code. The CF provides an alternative user interface to the core functionality, it cannot change the core functionality (except in very limited, specific ways).
 
I would have thought it's possible to search the epg every day for a specific programme on a specific channel, and add a reminder to any new episodes found in the same way you can schedule recording reservations. Of course the box won't have this until the next reboot. As a new one is going to be 7 days away I can't see that being an issue.
 
grahamlthompson said:
Of course the box won't have this until the next reboot.
Click to expand...
You've not joined the Real Time Scheduling beta testing then?!

grahamlthompson said:
As a new one is going to be 7 days away I can't see that being an issue.
Click to expand...
It would for me, without RTS - my machines don't reboot on a regular basis.

What you are talking about there is a new function, not a "tweak", and we already have RS to do that kind of thing.
 
Black Hole said:
You've not joined the Real Time Scheduling beta testing then?!


It would for me, without RTS - my machines don't reboot on a regular basis.

What you are talking about there is a new function, not a "tweak", and we already have RS to do that kind of thing.
Click to expand...

Adding a 'Set Reminder for matching events' should be a reasonably straightforward addition to the RS auto scheduling advanced rule set that would satisfy the original requirement
 
Doing this through the RS search mechanism has the advantage of it being immune to CRID wobbles!
 
Black Hole said:
You've not joined the Real Time Scheduling beta testing then?!


It would for me, without RTS - my machines don't reboot on a regular basis.

What you are talking about there is a new function, not a "tweak", and we already have RS to do that kind of thing.
Click to expand...

Setting a daily reboot shouldn't be difficult.
 
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