Simple Recording programming : date & time based !

[denybear]

One of the features I miss the most from a standard VCR is the capability of scheduling a recording by just specifying date, time and duration !

This may sound stupid as we have the EPG in MP but think of this :
- The EPG is not always up to date (in France, there are sometimes some troubles getting a clean EPG), and without EPG, scheduling is impossible.
- Sometimes, you don't want to have the recording of a complete TV show, but just a part of it (let's say the 1st 10 minutes). Again, no way to do this with current MP functions.

A simple scheduling interface with date, time & duration would allow to schedule a recording without caring much about EPG, and has a better flexibility & accuracy than EPG-based scheduling.

Anyone interested ?

[Callifo]

You can already, just go into Scheduled recordings and choose New. You can then select Channel, then day and then finally the duration.

[jawbroken]

Yeah, it is there but it is pretty awful at the moment in my opinion. Way too much scrolling, only half hour granularity in recording length. I would really prefer a start/stop time dialog where you could type the times in using the number keys on your remote, if this would be possible in the future.

[STSC]

You can do this in PVR Scheduler. You can put in an exact time when you want to recording something.

[jawbroken]

Fair enough, I haven't found much of a need for any of the other features of PVR scheduler myself, so it is sort of overkill for just this function.

[Callifo]

Thats the way it used to be, but you didnt type it in, you scrolled through all the times/days/end times etc all on one tiny panel, it was WAY too much scrolling. IMO its perfect the way it is now. There like 3 screens tops to look at.

They cant rely on the keyboard solely simply because people using only mice would then be unable to set shows.

[jawbroken]

You wouldn't need a keyboard at all. As far as I can see the MCE remote has number buttons on it to enter the time, you can leave the date selection as it is. At the moment, for example, I can't even schedule a recording for midnight as it ranges from "5 minutes" (which is nonsensical in itself, should be 0:05 or something) to 11:55. I couldn't record a 45 minute show because it increases in 30 minute increments. There is something ridiculous like 48 PAGES of values to scroll through to find a time. Even if you didn't have numbers in your remote it could always be set up so you set the hour/minute with the up/down buttons or the number keys.

It is not really that important, but I really do dislike the way it is handled at the moment.

[Callifo]

You wouldn't need a keyboard at all. As far as I can see the MCE remote has number buttons on it to enter the time

Yes but not everyone uses a MCE remote, let alone a remote. Some use a wireless mouse so they dont have anything but the ability to click, so the way it is now they can use it. People who have keyboards can also scroll, as can remote users.

[samuel337]

There was a thread on this a while ago.

I reckon the best solution is to introduce an 'advanced' dialog which allows exact adjustment of the date and time of the scheduled recording. This would result in a system similar to how Pioneer DVD recorders work - you have the current MP dialog first, then if you want, you can go to another dialog and edit the schedule precisely.

Sam

[jawbroken]

Originally Posted by Callifo

Yes but not everyone uses a MCE remote, let alone a remote. Some use a wireless mouse so they dont have anything but the ability to click, so the way it is now they can use it. People who have keyboards can also scroll, as can remote users.

I did say it could be possible to scroll through the hour/minute film in the same way, but I suppose that is a point. I still can't schedule a recording at midnight or with finer granularity than 30 minutes, though.

samuel337: I would be happy with adjusting it manually, just would like some way of doing it. I would even be happy with 15 minute increments, if I think about it, but its not like there already isn't a horrendous amount of scrolling already.

If it is going to stay how it is, could the time menu at least start at the current time? That would at least get rid of some of the ridiculous scrolling when you were scheduling a recording that was close to the current time.