[nickr]

I have thought about this a while, and I hope this doesn't come across as too rantish. I am merely trying to gauge opinion and start some healthy debate.

I have a long history of using a PVR - mythtv. Although it took a while (not as long as you may think) my approach has become "record what you want to watch, play it back when you feel like watching it". I very very rarely watch "LiveTV" - probably never actually unless I am in someone elses home. If there is a rare sporting event that I want to watch simultaneously with the live experience I set it to record, and watch it as it is recording. Then I can pause if I need a beer/pitstop/answer the phone. I can also start watching 20 minutes after the start and skip through half time or any ad breaks. I don't channel surf, I can look at the schedules and see what might interest me. I can even set mythtv to record the first episode of any new series so I don't miss some exciting new show that I missed the promos for. My wife, child and two stepchildren have got with the idea, and will set up recordings for stuff they want.

However many people I see on this forum just seem to see XBMC PVR as a way to pipe LiveTV to more screens. They are concerned about channel switch times because they are still addicted to channel surfing. It frustrates the hell out of me because they just don't seem that a PVR is a whole new way of thinking. It is more like "on demand" TV but without the need to blow your bandwidth or put up with glitchy flash crap from TV company websites.

So people, are you going to get with the PVR idiom, or are you gong to treat your XBMC PVR just like you did your TV?

Comments, not abuse please

[TRiddle]

I'm a lot like you: 95% of the time I use my PVR to watch things that have been recorded. When we do watch "live tv", it's usually for some background noise or a sporting event. I've been in the htpc-dvr market for about 7-8 years now I believe, first with BeyondTV, then to SageTV, and now on to WMC. I should note that the only reason that I moved on to WMC from Sage (even though it's no longer being developed) was catching the "wmc as a backend" early on in its creation. What I ultimately want is just one box for all of my media: music, archived movies/tv, and dvr. For a long time, I've accomplished this using (insert dvr of choice here) and xbmc. It's worked, and worked well, so really all I'm looking for is 100% integration. It'll also make it easier on me when I begin to distribute out signal in my new house, using one box with one main piece of software versus having to get creative with my existing array of SageTV clients and xbmc. That wouldn't be very hard, however I'm just looking to simplify my life and lessen the amount of troubleshooting required.

As far as channel change speed goes, it doesn't bother me at all because I'm rarely changing channels (a lot like you). I guess over the years, I've just grown accustom to it and it's now no big deal. So, count me in as being one with the PVR idiom I reckon.

[opdenkamp]

I don't watch much TV at all, but when I do, I mostly record things or use one or two channels, and I never use the channel up/down stuff, but almost always select something from the channels list, with all the program info in it.

But I don't get what's actually frustrating you about how others use PVR

[TRiddle]

...and I never use the channel up/down stuff...

Funny you mentioned this. I tend to re-map channel up/down for other functions because I use them approximately 0% of the time in my normal day to day operations =)

[Uukrul]

and I never use the channel up/down stuff, but almost always select something from the channels list, with all the program info in it.

Same here. What I really miss is a key to change between the two last channels. Most TV remotes have it and it comes in very handy when you are watching a channel and there is a commercial break.

[opdenkamp]

and I never use the channel up/down stuff, but almost always select something from the channels list, with all the program info in it.

Same here. What I really miss is a key to change between the two last channels. Most TV remotes have it and it comes in very handy when you are watching a channel and there is a commercial break.

press 0

[Uukrul]

press 0

Really? Many thanks!

[drpizznock]

I can't "get" with XBMC PVR, because Frontier sets copy-once flag on just about everything making WMC the only available option. It wouldn't be so bad if the recorded content could be viewed in XBMC and made part of the library, but that is not possible due to DRM.

Cable/satellite TV providers now have multi-tuner DVR with multi-room viewing capability for a monthly fee available and have no incentive to do things differently.

[Uukrul]

0 key works but only between channels from the same group. Is this intended?

[opdenkamp]

not really

[mayoman]

I agree 100% with Nickr on the proper use of a PVR, and do I think eventually most people will change their viewing habits. However......

In Ireland, we quite a good FTA offering - UK Freesat and Irish (terrestrial) Saorview. However there is no properly integrated combo PVR box for these, so the vast majority of Irish homes are subscribing to satellite or cable mainly for the simplicity of use.
I had thought of freeing a few family and friends from the tyranny of contributing each month to Rupert Murdoch's millions by building an XBMC front ended box with twin DVB-S/T tuners, but I know the first comment I will get back is "My Sky+ is much better at scrolling through channels, I think I'll stick with it".

In my long winded way I guess am saying that whatever our personal opinion is, it still is an important part of that "Spouse Acceptance Factor" thing. I want to convert them by showing the good things XBMC does without the immediate negatives about the backend.

[Uukrul]

not really

Then, is it a bug? If I tune a channel from group A and then tune a channel from group B, the 0 key switches to an unrelated channel from group B.

[robweber]

Not a whole lot to add here, other than that I agree with the OP 100%. I've been using mythtv integrated with xbmc since the xbox days (through various plugins or the native myth:// file system) and have never had a problem with channel change times the way users seem to be complaining about it since the PVR integration.

I have no problem if people want to watch Live TV - after all it is there. It just seems like a waste of dev time for someone to troubleshoot why channel changes take 6ms intstead of 4ms or whatever. When xbmc and the pvr addons are being developed for free you know the devs have lots of other stuff they'd rather be working on and messing with channel change times probably isn't their favorite thing to do (unless it is their favorite thing to do - then have at it I guess). Granted I don't think waiting 20 seconds to change the channel is acceptable, but arguing over a 1-2 second delay when there are lots of other PVR functions that need tweaking seems like whining.

That all being said - thanks to all the devs for the great work on the PVR stuff (addons and xbmc core). Since the Frodo release everything has been running great on my systems and its great having it all integrated.

[negge]

Since I started using XBMC's PVR functionality a few months ago I've basically been using it just like any old TV. I come home from work, turn the TV on, put some random channel on for background noise, maybe lie down on the sofa and check what's on, change channel a few times then just leave it on. I timeshift from time to time (usually just for a few seconds). I rarely record anything unless it's something really awesome and I really don't have time to watch right then. To be honest I don't think there is that much worth recording.

My "expectations" is that it should be bug-free and work for days on end (since I never reboot unless I absolutely have to). Everything's been pretty stable (though Gotham has quite a few minor bugs at the moment, all discussed on the forum).

It should also be easy to use, and it is. I disconnected the cable cord from my TV over a month ago and put it in "hotel mode" so it always starts into XBMC and I taught my girlfriend how to use it. Same thing with my dad and my mum - they both use XBMC for all their TV needs.

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@opdenkamp: I too never use the up/down buttons and always go through the channel list, though I'm starting to miss being able to go directly to a channel by entering its number. Thanks for the "0" hint (doesn't seem to work in Gotham though).

[giaur]

My expectation is to get it finally working stable with xbmc of course. I mean as stable as standalone tv. Personally I dont use pvr recording too much. Sometimes timeshift but xbmc implementation is very far from to be good.