I thought I was going crazy as I wasn't getting any notifications until the recent update. Works nicely now
Thanks to @chDVRuser. Somehow all my "random" tests worked with Modulo 100, but Modulo 60 is the one to use when dealing with the clock.
Done kicking the tires and set it to not delete recordings for now.
This will check every ten minutes and notify you 2-12 minutes in advance
[check_extra to frequency + check_extra]
(depends on what time you start the action and what time a recording starts)
Examples;
15:29:50 scheduled recording starts
- 12:00 check every 10 minutes looking 12 minutes ahead
15:17:50 it can first see 15:29:50 recording
15:07:49-15:19:49 Start action and checking
15:17:49-15:29:49 checking
15:17:50 it can first see 15:29:50 recording
15:27:49-15:39:49 checking, finds 15:29:50 recording and notifies 2 minutes in advance
15:37:49-15:49:49 checking
14:57:50-15:09:50 Start action and checking
15:07:50-15:19:50 checking
15:17:50 it can first see 15:29:50 recording
15:17:50-15:29:50 checking, finds 15:29:50 recording and notifies 12 minutes in advance
15:27:50-15:39:50 checking
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I'm interested in opinions on changing the Remind Action from a 10 or 30 second padding to trigger only a reminder, to using each for a unique purpose.
Ideas would include:
-
Using a 10 second padding to generate a notification with a job delete, and 30 seconds for no job delete.
-
Using a 30 second padding to generate a notification, and then change the channel to the notified event at its start time (though multiple concurrent reminders would be a complication).
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The last idea, as you might imagine, is to leave things as they are.
Personally, I use 30 second padding for a lot of normal scheduled recordings, so I won't upvote that one. I double checked before I started using this action that I didn't already have any with 10 second padding.
What about using 40 second padding for job delete and 10 second padding for no job delete?
10s pre-pad + 30s post-pad = 40 second padding
or
30s pre-pad + 10s post-pad = 40 second padding
Seems safer, in that I doubt many users have that combination of padding.
I post-pad some pass recordings 30 or 60 seconds, but rarely ever pre-pad them.
I think no matter what you decide on, to be on the safe side, we should still have a toggle to allow/disallow deleting jobs.
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New bnhf/olivetin:latest (aka bnhf/olivetin:2025.03.05) pushed this morning with enhancements to the CDVR Guide Event Reminder Action. More details here:
has a docker been created for this?
Event reminders sound like this action could be helpful in some way. I have all of my recordings padded by 30 secs before, and 30 secs after. I'm a little slow in understanding how these notifications might be used. Especially, why would I want to delete a recording job right after receiving a notification. Can you offer an example? 
Yes. OliveTin-for-Channels is a Docker/Portainer project. Both are required to use it.
Reminders are in many ways an alternative to recording. In my case for example, I prefer to watch my sports live. So using this Action, I'll set up a DVR job, but not so much with the intention to record -- but rather to be reminded about an event (or movie, or TV show) I want to view as it's being broadcast.
You can create a recording as well if you like, but the primary appeal will be for those that want to watch live. Taking it to the next level, the reminder can be set up to change the channel for you as well. During the NCCA tournaments and the majors in tennis, I'll use reminders for just about everything with automatic channel changes.
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That makes sense! I really appreciate the explanation.
I suppose I didn't understand as I rarely watch anything live. I can't stand commercials. So, I pre-record everything. I even start recording some shows which I end up watching live, just to create a recorded buffer. Then, I can skip through commercials and catch up by the end of the live broadcast.
2 Likes
That's a good way to do it too -- no doubt. This is just an alternative approach that some like (including me), especially for those of us that use a two screen approach to watching TV.
For example, as I'm typing this Titanic is on the big screen (premium channel), which I've seen many times -- and even owned on DVD. I know it well enough, I can enjoy "watching it", without giving it 100% of my attention.
I set it up earlier today when I was watching one of my virtual channels, and the auto switch happened when the movie started. I haven't touched the remote since this morning. This just offers another option for your TV experience. 
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Most of our movie collection falls into that category of not requiring 100% attention. I'll have to give your channel changing idea a try. It's another example of how much flexibility Channels DVR offers. Sweet!
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Gotta say, being able to exclude channels from Comskip processing is still one of my favorite OliveTin-for-Channels features. Perfect for premium movie channels and PBS:
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Thanks for the reminder 
Moved Sources from one server to another and it's so much trouble to update
Source Priorities, Channel numbers, Hidden&Favorites, Passes, cron jobs, Fake Channels pointing to Real Channels, Comskip Disabled, etc 
Does anyone have a working sample for the "environment variables" section for MacOS (preferably with ChannelsDVR on a NAS)? I have Docker and Portainer working (I think), but I'm stuck at what the environment variables/Docker Compose section would look like.
I have ChannelsDVR running on a NAS (WD MyCloudEX2Ultra). Thanks for your help.
You might want to try the new OliveTin EZ-Start option I launched yesterday. It allows you to spin-up OliveTin with just two env vars, and then you can use an OliveTin Action to figure out the rest:
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Great idea! Does this also work with OTA channels? I just tried turning off Comskip processing for my local PBS (on channel 28.1) but got this error:
I'm seeing that too. Easy fix. I'll push an update tomorrow.