DVR Pre-Release: Placeholder guide data

[tmm1]

With v2022.08.29.2159, TVE and custom channels which are unmapped will get placeholder guide data assigned automatically.

The art, title and description are inherited from the Custom Channel properties (i.e. tvc-guide-title).

A separate "series" is created per hour, so you can setup a pass directly from the guide for a specific hour block. You can also use advanced pass rules to limit to certain days of the week. Advanced pass editor on the web UI also allows for negative padding, if you want to record less than 60 minutes.

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h/t to @chDVRuser for the idea and previous experiments with manual recordings

@chDVRuser

Would be great if they could include a generic EPG source or stationID that just listed 30 or 60 minute blocks.

[speedingcheetah]

Cool. Just updated and see the 24/7 channels have guide blocks now.

Can this be implemented for OTA HDHR channels too? I still have at least one station, my local 24/7 Weather channel, that is still just one super long block.

[tmm1]

Hm, it should work on all channels. That one must actually have guide data assigned..?

[speedingcheetah]

It has always had these same long 8hr Guide blocks. The channel is mapped to KTCADT5

I guess it different than the other type channels somehow?

[tmm1]

That's what the guide provider is sending. The other channels have no data.

I can look into force unmapping channels tomorrow, so you can remove the mapping on this station and use the new placeholders.

[chDVRuser]

A lot of users are gonna be happy about this one.
Great idea with the SeriesID!

Just finished replacing my 9 tasks to generate manual recordings with passes.

[cyoungers]

Weird, I'm using v2022.08.29.2159 but my Rick and Morty still is one long block. Is there something I need to enable to get the placeholder guide data?

[chDVRuser]

Guide Database > Delete and Recreate Database
worked for me

Or maybe just waiting for the daily morning guide refresh

P.S. You may want to update to the latest version

DVR Pre-Release Notes

v2022.08.29.2306 FIXED: Placeholder guide data was appearing for XMLTV channels

[tmm1]

Guide Database > Maintenance > Fetch Updates is enough

[cyoungers]

This is really cool. I might have to retire my Keyboard Maestro macro that I wrote awhile back to manually create a recording. This will be nicer to just create the recording then go back and update the metadata if I need to.

[chDVRuser]

@tmm1
Question and comment

Appears no matter when you refresh guide data, the placeholder EPG runs out at the end of the next day. Is this normal?

When creating a series pass from the grid guide for one of these channels, pick for example TVE ch6700 Rick and Morty @ 10PM, it only schedules that one tonight. The airing for tomorrow night isn't scheduled until tonights records and the guide data gets refreshed. This caused a problem with one of the passes I created because I had reloaded the guide data last night, the scheduled recording happened, but this morning the dvr didn't do the daily morning guide refresh so tonights recording didn't get scheduled. Figured out why and did a guide refresh to fix it.

[tmm1]

Its supposed to add 48h of data, starting at the beginning of the current day.

On the web UI when I click More Airings, I see today and tomorrow:

[chDVRuser]

Yes I see the same, but it only schedules one recording.

[tmm1]

Hmm okay same behavior here. I wonder if its related to missing ProgramID.

Do you set ProgramID when you make manual recordings?

[chDVRuser]

Not normally because I know it won't let me record it again from a pass.
The only thing different I've noticed with this new method is there are no entries in /dvr/programs.

Here's a payload I was using

{
   "Name": "${_TITLE}",
   "Time": ${_START},
   "Duration": ${_DUR},
   "Channels": ["${_CH}"],
   "Airing": {
      "Source": "manual",
      "Channel": "${_CH}",
      "Time": ${_START},
      "Duration": ${_DUR},
      "Title": "${_TITLE}",
      "Summary": "${_DESC}",
      "Image": "https://tmsimg.fancybits.co/assets/s67375_ll_h15_ad.png",
      "SeriesID": "manual/${_CH}"
   }
}

[tmm1]

Okay I added ProgramID and that fixes it. Also shows up as queued correctly on the guide and in search results.

[chDVRuser]

Thanks, Works great in the new release after refreshing guide data.

DVR Pre-Release Notes

v2022.08.31.0122 FIXED: "Reprocessing metadata" log message was appearing repeated for strm files FIXED: Series Pass for placeholder guide entries was not working correctly FIXED: Scheduled and recording indicators were not appearing on placeholder guide entries

[psperry]

This is awesome. I watch Church on Sunday mornings (broadcast on Youtube, brought in on a custom channel via HLSTube) I always wanted to record in case I'm late (often) but didn't feel like diving into the whole record by time and channel thing. Plus nobody can modify these scripts but me, which fails the bus test. Anyway, setting up a season pass for 9AM Sundays is super easy now.

[Fofer]

Similarly, I use hlstube for integrating two Twitch streams into Channels DVR: TWiT.tv and Amazon Music. The latter, in particular, often has concerts I'm unavailable to watch live, but I've used Channels DVR to record and time-shift them. It works well enough, but those methods were messy and clunky. This new method with blank placeholders is much cleaner and better!

I think if I'm ever able to auto-maintain an actual EPG for TWiT.tv, it's the same exact schedule every week, my personal DVR wishlist will be fulfilled