PVR usability issues
#1
Hi guys!

I've been looking forward to the PVR feature for a long time, hoping to be able to stop switching between XBMC and the MythTV frontend. There are a few issues that stops it from being perfect for me:

- StepBack (big, small, normal steps) does not work for me. Existing thread: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=150022

- Changing channel group only works in one of the channel lists - does not work in the EPG or the channel list that you get when selecting live TV from the main menu.

- Sorting channels by name not possible? I can't find any way of doing this. I have a lot of channels, and even if I've organized them in channel groups, it's difficult to find a specific channel.


The following I guess can be achieved by keyboard remapping, but the defaults are not what I expected:

- When I press enter on a channel in the EPG, I would like to switch to that channel instead of opening a window where switching is one of three options. This is how the EPG in the MythTV frontend works, and I quite like it. Anyone know how I can do this?

- Pressing Esc while watching live tv brings up the main menu overlayed on the live tv. To get back to live tv I have to select fullscreen from the menu (or I guess I could map a button on my remote to the fullscreen function). The thing is, Esc is used to exit from the EPG, menus, etc, so it's easy to press once too many times, and then I have to look around and find the fullscreen menu item. I can't think why I would want to go to the main menu while tv is still in the background, by the way... Anyway, I guess I can just remap the Esc key to do something else. Smile

- I think left/right/up/down should behave like in video files, but that has been discussed here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=145145


I will definitely switch to XBMC for my tv viewing if StepBack is fixed, but what do you guys think about the other issues?

This is my setup, by the way (everything on the same machine):
XBMC Frodo RC3
MythTV 0.26 + fixes
Ubuntu 12.10
Flirc + Harmony remote

And lastly I want to thank all the XBMC developers for a fantastic product! Smile

Cheers,
Gnazzer

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#2
(2013-01-06, 04:42)Gnazzer Wrote: - When I press enter on a channel in the EPG, I would like to switch to that channel instead of opening a window where switching is one of three options. This is how the EPG in the MythTV frontend works, and I quite like it. Anyone know how I can do this?

I use this advance setting to do this, not sure why it isn't in the pvr settings screen.
<pvr>
<showepginfoonselect>false</showepginfoonselect>
</pvr>
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#3
I agree with most of this and I think it will be improved with time. The most important part is to have something stable.

For quick access to channel you could give them number and just use those for now.
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#4
(2013-01-06, 15:02)xxxnelly Wrote:
(2013-01-06, 04:42)Gnazzer Wrote: - When I press enter on a channel in the EPG, I would like to switch to that channel instead of opening a window where switching is one of three options. This is how the EPG in the MythTV frontend works, and I quite like it. Anyone know how I can do this?

I use this advance setting to do this, not sure why it isn't in the pvr settings screen.
<pvr>
<showepginfoonselect>false</showepginfoonselect>
</pvr>


Wow thabks for that one. It should definitely be in the pvr settingsj
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#5
(2013-01-06, 04:42)Gnazzer Wrote: - Changing channel group only works in one of the channel lists - does not work in the EPG or the channel list that you get when selecting live TV from the main menu.

You can change the channel group in the channel list you get when selecting live TV from the main menu by hitting Enter/OK in the menu with this view selected

/Marcus
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#6
(2013-01-06, 15:02)xxxnelly Wrote:
(2013-01-06, 04:42)Gnazzer Wrote: - When I press enter on a channel in the EPG, I would like to switch to that channel instead of opening a window where switching is one of three options. This is how the EPG in the MythTV frontend works, and I quite like it. Anyone know how I can do this?

I use this advance setting to do this, not sure why it isn't in the pvr settings screen.
<pvr>
<showepginfoonselect>false</showepginfoonselect>
</pvr>

Hi, just wondering where should I enter this advanced setting?



Office: Google TV | Kodi 20.0 | Samsung 50"                         \  Movies: 2734
Master Bedroom: Google TV | Kodi 20.0 | Samsung 43"     \  Music: Artist 220 |  Albums 1001 | Songs 106995
TheaterGoogle TV | Kodi  20.0 | Samsung 75"                    \  TV Shows: 62 |  Seasons 218 | Episodes 3858
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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#7
(2013-01-07, 15:08)hoopsdavis Wrote: Hi, just wondering where should I enter this advanced setting?

advancedsettings.xml
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#8
(2013-01-06, 04:42)Gnazzer Wrote: ...
- Pressing Esc while watching live tv brings up the main menu overlayed on the live tv. To get back to live tv I have to select fullscreen from the menu (or I guess I could map a button on my remote to the fullscreen function). The thing is, Esc is used to exit from the EPG, menus, etc, so it's easy to press once too many times, and then I have to look around and find the fullscreen menu item. I can't think why I would want to go to the main menu while tv is still in the background, by the way... Anyway, I guess I can just remap the Esc key to do something else. Smile
...

Instead of select "Fullscreen" just push "Backspace".
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#9
Thanks guys!

The advancedsettings.xml tip works well! I was worried that I would not be able to schedule a recording with this setting, but you can still bring up the default menu by pressing "i".

Using backspace to exit the main menu overlayed on the tv also works, but I've decided to remap Esc to "Info" instead. This usually works, but I still sometimes get the main menu after exiting the EPG, but I can't figure out why it happens.

The tip for changing the channel group works as well, you press left, then enter on "TV channels" in the view options. This even works in the EPG! Smile

So now only StepBack and channel sorting is left before I'm super happy. I've got an idea for the channel sorting, though: I'll try to make an SQL script for the MythTV DB which sorts the channels and sets the channel numbers accordingly. Then the channels will be sorted alphabetically even if they are sorted by channel numbers. Smile

-Gnazzer
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#10
I'm still having the lack of stepback issue also. I too would like a workaround for this issue.

One other issue I've noticed (I guess many of us compare xbmc to our Windows Media Center experiences) I'd like to see the guide return to the last active channel whenever I access it. It does this if the channel is playing but if I stop live tv and go back to the guide it starts at the first channel not the last channel watched. (If I'm doing something wrong, please tell me)



Office: Google TV | Kodi 20.0 | Samsung 50"                         \  Movies: 2734
Master Bedroom: Google TV | Kodi 20.0 | Samsung 43"     \  Music: Artist 220 |  Albums 1001 | Songs 106995
TheaterGoogle TV | Kodi  20.0 | Samsung 75"                    \  TV Shows: 62 |  Seasons 218 | Episodes 3858
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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#11
Quote:You can change the channel group in the channel list you get when selecting live TV from the main menu by hitting Enter/OK in the menu with this view selected

/Marcus

Is there a method to set a default channel group visible on entering vs. cycling through groups each time?
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#12
not implemented
opdenkamp / dushmaniac

xbmc-pvr [Eden-PVR builds] [now included in mainline XBMC, so no more source link here :)]
personal website: [link]

Found a problem with PVR? Report it on Trac, under "PVR - core components". Please attach the full debug log.

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