Detecting if recording (1 Viewer)

[CyberSimian]

active1.title isn't reset to null

One caution: if there are two (or more) concurrent recordings, active1.title and active2.title will both be non-null. But what happens if active1 stops recording before active2? It may be that the LMH copies active2 to active1 and then nullifies active2. But it could be that the LMH nullifies active1 and leaves active2 unchanged. If the LMH does the latter, you cannot test only active1 in order to determine whether there is an active recording.

In contrast, active.count should reflect the actual number currently recording. I am surprised that you cannot get it to work, as DWHD must use it to display the number of active recordings within the red dot.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[Rob Hexenmeister]

you´ll find it´s working perfect

Ok, more testing done.

Test 1:

Recording manually started,
Channel: Yesterday
Live TV: One Foot In The Grave

Recording manually stopped a few seconds later
Channel: Yesterday
Live TV: One Foot In the Grave

success: latestMediaHandler.tvrecordings.active1.title and latestMediaHandler.tvrecordings.active1.channel changed properly at recording start and recording stop.


Test 2:

Recording manually started. Selected option "until manual stop"

Channel: WildEarth
Live TV: Escape To Nature

allowed to run over the programme end, about 6 minutes

Channel: WildEarth
Live TV: Safari Spotlight

manual stop. Got dialogue box, do you want to stop recording "Safari Spotlight". (note the programme title change has been picked up by MP)

failure: latestMediaHandler.tvrecordings.active1.title did not return to null. Still shows "Escape To Nature" and latestMediaHandler.tvrecordings.active1.channel did not null.



I think I have found a possible bug here in LMH. Behaviour is certainly erratic.

In any case, it would be really handy if on the next release of MP, the property player.recording is implemented.


So....
I still have my original problem of trying to find a reliable property which identifies if MP is recording.

RH

 

[Rob Hexenmeister]

One caution: if there are two (or more) concurrent recordings, active1.title and active2.title will both be non-null. But what happens if active1 stops recording before active2? It may be that the LMH copies active2 to active1 and then nullifies active2. But it could be that the LMH nullifies active1 and leaves active2 unchanged. If the LMH does the latter, you cannot test only active1 in order to determine whether there is an active recording.

That isn't the issue, because I tested with only one recording taking place.

I think it comes back to the type mismatch described above. Odd behaviour for sure.

RH

 

[catavolt]

active.count definitely doesn't work by the way.

??? Screenshot:



See red rectangle above in the lower button list showing "1" and all the other infos in red rectangles when a TVrecording is active!

 

[Rob Hexenmeister]

LMH variables on my testing line at top of the graphic : active.count , active1.channel , active1.title

Please forgive scruffy not yet finished xml for TV guide

 

[CyberSimian]

LMH variables on my testing line at top of the graphic : active.count , active1.channel , active1.title

Does active.count have a value in the EPG when there is an active recording?
What happens to the value displayed when the recording stops?

It could be that active.count is not being initialised to 0 (bug!), and (maybe) not reset to 0 when the recording ends.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[Rob Hexenmeister]

Does active.count have a value in the EPG when there is an active recording?
What happens to the value displayed when the recording stops?

Nothing at all - it just stays like that.

I was wondering if I have a bug in my configuration. So I have reinstalled LMH just now, and nothing has changed.

RH

 

[CyberSimian]

Nothing at all - it just stays like that.

As I am sure that you realise by now, developing a skin involves a lot of trial and error, in order to identify and then workaround all of the undocumented quirks that exist in the skin engine and MP code.

The next test that I would perform would be to display those three variables on a panel that is not related to TV; the "Home" panel would be a suitable choice. My thinking here is that the TV-related panels are fed by TV Server, and that may introduce some limitations or quirks that don't exist in panels that are pure MP client.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[catavolt]

LMH variables on my testing line at top of the graphic : active.count , active1.channel , active1.title

Then something is wrong with your definitions
If I have time tomorrow I´ll do that line for you

 

[catavolt]

Here we go (in TVGuide, but works everywhere in skin):



Code as simple as this:

<control>
      <description>active TVRecordings updates</description>
      <type>fadelabel</type>
      <id>1</id>
      <posX>800</posX>
      <posY>60</posY>
      <width>1850</width>
      <label>Count: #latestMediaHandler.tvrecordings.active.count #scroll.wrap Channel: #latestMediaHandler.tvrecordings.active1.channel #scroll.wrap Title: #latestMediaHandler.tvrecordings.active1.title</label>
      <align>left</align>
      <font>font10</font>
      <textcolor>lightgray</textcolor>
      <visible>!string.equals(#latestMediaHandler.tvrecordings.active1.title,)</visible>
    </control>