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Getting around NBC/ABC odd scheduling

1242 Views 22 Replies 20 Participants Last post by rbienstock, Feb 23, 2005

lglenn73

Discussion Starter · Feb 17, 2005

I was thinking about how to schedule shows with this stupid 9:01 - 10:02 scheduling that the stations like to do. It makes me want to watch cable instead of the broadcast channels. They don't seem to resort to these tactics...

Anyway, I had Alias scheduled to record on ABC from 9:01 - 10:02 and I wanted to record CSI: NY at 10pm on a CBS. As I can't afford another ReplayTV, I set up the following:

Repeating recording (double record buttons) of Alias

Repeating recording (double record buttons) of CSI: NY

Manual Repeating recording 10:02pm to 11:00pm every Wednesday on CBS

Manual Repeating recording 9:01pm to 10:00pm every Wednesday on ABC (Alias)

My question to you all out there... will this work? I'd hate to wait a week to see, but I thought I'd present this hoping that someone else has tried this themselves....

I'm hoping that if Alias ends before 10:02pm that the theme recording will pick up CSI:NY as normal, but if Alias extends after 10pm when CSI starts, then this should still record it....

The other option is to check DVArchive every day, but I don't want to take a chance if I'm not home to catch it......

Lauren

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1 - 20 of 23 Posts

Ace987

· #2 · Feb 17, 2005

If you don't check your recordings everyday (like some of us do), I'd record it like this:

Manual Record 9:00pm to 10:00pm (Alias)

Repeat Recording CSI:NY

You'll miss the last few minutes of Alias with that option. The major problem is that ABC isn't always sticking to going over by 1 or 2 minutes. I've seen several of their shows going over by 3 minutes lately. So, when Alias ends at 10:03, neither of your CSI:NY recordings will work.

The other option is to do a repeat recording of Alias and a manual recording of CSI:NY starting at 10:05 (giving you a few extra minutes in case Alias and the rest of ABC end even later).

sfhub

· #3 · Feb 17, 2005

Quick, buy some 5504s so you can devote one replay per network and

never worry about this 01, 02, 59 crap again.

AndrewFH

· #4 · Feb 17, 2005

Go with the poor man's way to have another ReplayTV.

Set up one show for repeated recording, the other as a manual repeat.

Get with someone on Poopli who is willing to send you whichever show misses part of the show (if either do).

I used to have a similar problem and just set up one regular recording and one manual. It was rare that I actually missed anything but commercials or occassionally the "next week on ***".

repnewbie

· #5 · Feb 17, 2005

Get a VCR for that occasional use. They only cost about $30 now and you don't need a monthly sub.

The Robman

· #6 · Feb 17, 2005

Like everyone else has suggested, set up up normally and use a manual record for the other. You choices are to either miss the end of Alias or the beginning of CSI. Given that the beginnings are usually recaps from last week, I'd suggest that you miss the beginning of CSI, but it's up to you. Plus, as Ace pointed out, if ABC changes the Alias end time to .03 it will conflict with your manual record.

As Bill Clinton would say "I feel your pain". I currently have Replay #1 set to record "Lost" and "Alias", Replay #2 records "West Wing" and Replay #3 records "American Idol".

Apart from the shows not ending on the hour, given that there's so much crap on TV, why do they have to schedule so much for this one time slot? I understand that Fox can move Idol around as they see fit as it's the #1 show, but what was ABC thinking when they moved the struggling Alias into the West Wing time slot? They also tried running The Job in that time slot and doomed it to failure.

Revwillie

· #7 · Feb 17, 2005

Rob has an excellent strategy there. But unfortunately, CSI is one of those shows that doesn't recap the last week. Like Scrubs and Raymond, the very first part of the show before the first commercial break sets up the rest of the show. (Like the old Seinfeld stand-up segments)

IVS via Poopli is a great option if you have IVS capability.

We used our old VCR for those situations until we got the second RTV. There was quite a bit of negotiating at Che Willie last year when the last of the 4k refurbs were being sold off. Of course, my wife can't imagine life without TWO replays now.

We need a word for the "Wife doesn't want a RTV but then we get one anyway and now she is hooked" effect. Is there a German word for that?

quartrj

· #8 · Feb 17, 2005

another option is to record the show that follows CSI:NY and pad it by 59 or 58 mintes.

All of these suggestions are stupid Replay should just let us do negative padding

oldyellow

· #9 · Feb 17, 2005

Quote:

Get a VCR for that occasional use. They only cost about $30 now and you don't need a monthly sub.

That's funny because I have used my VCR for conflict resolution more in the two years that I've had Replay than in the five years before Replay.

blabber

· #10 · Feb 18, 2005

Funny, my Dish-DVR does not have these issues. It seems to ignore all the strange conflicts, whereas my Replay 2020 trips all over itself. http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/sick.gif

Ace987

· #11 · Feb 18, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by quartrj
All of these suggestions are stupid Replay should just let us do negative padding

Excuse me??? So, your saying all of the people who made suggestions are just plain wrong. We should just go ahead and use something that just doesn't exist instead? Hmmmmm, I'd like to sit at home all day long, have people cleaning my house, cooking me meals and not need to worry about working. Unfortunately, this is the real world and I can't do that, just like I can't reprogram my Replay for negative padding. I can't really force Replay to program it either.

Negative padding wouldn't work any better than the suggestions already made. It's not like ABC and NBC are sticking to the same schedule each week. They pad a show by one minute one week, 3 minutes then next, two minutes the following. So, you'd need to negatively pad the show that conflicts to compensate.

Frankly, Replay doesn't need to come up with negative padding. They need to come up with a way to record both shows in case of a conflict. Instead of not recording one show due to a confliction, we should be able to choose a priority and record a portion of a conflicting show.

However, this doesn't exist either. So, unless you have a better way to do this with the software the way it exists, don't call our suggestions stupid, stupid.

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MrFussy

· #12 · Feb 18, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by quartrj
All of these suggestions are stupid Replay should just let us do negative padding

Or have a smart(er) conflict resolution mechanism. If a conflict is recognized, insted of just asking which program to record, have an option record the full episode of one and to truncate the other. Not difficult to do, and more simple for the user to understand than having to mess with negative padding. Or call it auto-negative-padding!

REWJR

· #13 · Feb 18, 2005

Quote:

I was thinking about how to schedule shows with this stupid 9:01 - 10:02 scheduling that the stations like to do. It makes me want to watch cable instead of the broadcast channels. They don't seem to resort to these tactics...

I just try and record shows back to back on my menu grid therefore when I miss the last 30 seconds of one show I get it at the start of the other one and all is well .

As for miss info about show that I record turns out to be something completely different what is that all about ? must be last minute switch by station feed oh well it doesn't happen very often and mostly it seems to be isolated to PBS.

HDTV PVR what a concept can't live without it...

CCCP

· #14 · Feb 18, 2005

MrFussy: I was thinking the same possible solution by Replay programmers, and I really like how you have called it: Auto Negative Padding!

JJON2121

· #15 · Feb 18, 2005

OR!! You could just quit watching them and let the networks know why.

majik

· #16 · Feb 18, 2005

why are the listings reported with +1minute after hour/half-hour anyway? who cares what the networks report to services like zap2it. it seems to me that if the times displayed were rounded off to the hour/half-hour regardless of the network's stupid tactics we would can easily specify our units to record the extra minute....and if one minute overlaps between two shows, we can decide what show gets that extra minute recorded. i mean it's not as if the ntworks advertise their shows....."Alias today at 9:01"....."CSI today at 10:01". and no, i dont think teh whole world revolves around the DVR community, but do the peole who aren't into DVR's really find it critical what times shows are listed ?? Whether it's 9:01 or 9:00 , it doesn't matter to them because they're either in their couch by that time, or running late to catch their show from the beginning.

BaysideBas

· #17 · Feb 18, 2005

And, pray tell, how would you then know which ones needed adjustment? And who would be the first to scream bloody murder if they did? Let's see.... I see an "M".....

majik

· #18 · Feb 18, 2005

After repeatedly seeing that your favorite show you had recorded suddenly ends, I hope you would be wise enough to pad an extra minute or two the next time it airs. I surely do so, especially with MTV (yes, i watch some shows aired there). MTV is notorious with ending shows past the hour/half-hour. So what do I do? I just record my show and pad an extra minute or two. If i have another show recorded at another network immediately after, I can decide whether or not to record that extra minute from the show on MTV, or record the show from the other network from the very begining. It really isn't that difficult, BaysideBas, to figure out which shows would need this. On the other hand, having to fiddle with schedule conflicts because two of your favorite shows OVERLAP by 1 minute is very inconvinient.

BaysideBas

· #19 · Feb 18, 2005

I see, and how many missed endings will it take for you to get the message? Even one is one too many, particularly if the show is a favorite. And don't give me the poopli answer, are you willing to wait another day or two to see the last minute to a show you already watched?.

Let me have an accurate show schedule, I'll take it from there. As to overlapping, it's been a couple of years since I (and others) have been free of this dilemma by dedicating separate Replays to individual networks. When the cost of a Replay was in the $1K range, this wasn't an option, but they've been eminently affordable since that time. And there is the added benefit of immediately knowing which Replay a particular show may be found on.

Paul Bruneau

· #20 · Feb 18, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by JJON2121
OR!! You could just quit watching them and let the networks know why.

That'll really impress 'em!

Overheard in NBC boardroom:

"It appears our overlapping schedule is causing advertisement-skipping DVR owners to stop watching our shows..."

"So?"

"Yeah, I was just saying. Next order of business..."

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1 - 20 of 23 Posts

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