[lmychajluk]

Wanted to clear this up before the new season of shows gets into full swing:


When recording, does "Record:First Run Episodes" mean episodes that are first run, first run for that timeslot (because I get alot of duplicated recordings), or haven't been recorded before?


When recording, and the option to "Delete Oldest: Only for New Episodes" is selected, does "new" mean it's not a re-run, or does "new" mean that that show is not currently recorded?


Ideally, I want to record the last X hours of a show, always overwriting the episode that has been recorded the longest. This was fairly simple to do with the older software, but now seems to be confusing.


IE - I would want to record Car & Driver, which is on Saturday afternoons on SpikeTV. It's not always in the same exact slot, but it's usually on sometime in the afternoon, so I set up a Zone. But, now I get the Sunday afternoon episode, which is usually the same, taking up 2 - 1/2 hour slots. Likewise, I don't want the WB's "easy view" episodes from Sunday if I got them during the week.


What's everyone else doing? Should I start by deleting all my shows and re-creating them? Thx!

 

[sfhub]

Quote:

Originally posted by lmychajluk When recording, does "Record:First Run Episodes" mean episodes that are first run, first run for that timeslot (because I get alot of duplicated recordings), or haven't been recorded before? When recording, and the option to "Delete Oldest: Only for New Episodes" is selected, does "new" mean it's not a re-run, or does "new" mean that that show is not currently recorded?

First Run Episodes means any show which has Repeat flag in the guide

data (flag is displayed as Repeat in the description) will be treated as if it

didn't exist in the guide. This may or may not have any relation with what

you consider a Repeat.


For example, if you missed the fall season of a particular show and are

recording during the summer, you'd consider all the episodes "new", but

the guide will say "repeat" so none of them would be recorded.


Delete Oldest: Only for New Episodes basically the same as the 4.5

software "guaranteed" in terms of space reservation (but minus the

recording priority semantics)


If you have Delete Oldest: Only for New Episodes and 6 episodes to keep

(of a 1 hours show), then you've basically reserved space for 6 hours and

that space can't be used for any other show/channel.

 

[lmychajluk]

Okay, I think I got it, but one more clarification: Delete Oldest:Only for New Episodes, then it will only Delete for the first run episodes, based on the flag in the guide as you mentioned, right, and I would choose "If space needed" if I wanted reruns as well? Or is this 'New Episode' mean an episode that was on after the 'Oldest' episode, regardless of whether it was a repeat or first run?


Thanks again!

 

[sfhub]

I don't think the options are really tied together as it seems from your

question leans towards.


"First run and repeat" and "First run only" basically say "Record all"

and "Record all except shows flagged as repeat in guide"


"Only for new episode" says the space is reserved. "If necessary" means

the space is not reserved. I think you understand reserved space from

4.5 OS. Space not reserved in 5.0 means:


A 10 hour Replay unit can create 3 show-based repeating 1 hour channels,

keep 5, delete when necessary. After 10 hours are recorded Replay

figures out what to delete based on the oldest recording. It may choose

a show from any of the 3 channels, even if less than 5 episodes have been

recorded.


Using the same 10 hour Replay unit, you can only create 2 show-based

repeating 1 hour channels, keep 5, delete only for new episode. Since

the space is guaranteed, you'll be guaranteed 5 episodes for each

channel before stuff gets overwritten.

 

[GreenLantern]

Quote:

Originally posted by sfhub First Run Episodes means any show which has Repeat flag in the guide data (flag is displayed as Repeat in the description) will be treated as if it didn't exist in the guide....

oh yeah? well, 'splain this one to me...


i have a Replay Channel that "will record only first run episodes of Spider-Man occurring every Friday from 10:00-10:30 pm on channel 45 (MTVP)" and will "Keep 12 episodes". i manually verified prior to 10:00 pm that Spider-Man had a red double-dot from 10:00-10:30 tonight. i was watching a different recorded show when i realized it was 10:02 and the record light was not on!


my question is: why not? i have 10 hours of free space at standard and i am recording Spider-Man at standard.


now here's where it (maybe) gets interesting. last week's Spidey episode was "Mind Games: Part 1 of 2" which i recorded and is still on my machine (along with only one other Spidey episode, for a total of two, well under the 12 episode limit noted above). tonight's episode is the second part, but the Guide has the title as "Mind Games: Part 1 of 2", i.e. the same title but a different description and no repeat flag!


since there is no indication of a repeat in the Guide data (same as on Zap2It.com), this episode should have been recorded, right? but it wasn't. so i conjecture that the Replay has some algorithm to compare the "new" episode with the "old" episodes in the same channel and decide they are the "same" and therefore the "new" one should not be recorded. since the only thing it could easily look at is the title, i conclude that Replay is applying some semi-intelligent (though in this case it was wrong) algorithm to decide what is a "new" episode and it is not as simple as looking only for a "repeat flag".


is this possible? or is the Guide telling the Replay that this is a repeat even though "Repeat" does not show in the description? or is there some simple explanation i am overlooking?

 

[dherman516]

Yea i am kinda ticked about this too.. It did not record for me either....


Dave

 

[BrianJohns]

Quote:

Originally posted by dherman516 Yea i am kinda ticked about this too.. It did not record for me either.... Dave

This is exactly why I fail to understand why there isn't a Replay equivalent to Tivo's "To Do" list. (Is there??)


Replay's GUI is vague and leaves me (and obviously others) with more questions than answers!


Hear our pleas, Replay....do some user-friendly work on the interface!

 

[sfhub]

Quote:

Originally posted by GreenLantern tonight's episode is the second part, but the Guide has the title as "Mind Games: Part 1 of 2", i.e. the same title but a different description and no repeat flag!

If your Replay Channel has a show with exact same show information

already recorded (and still present) then your unit will not record it even

though it shows red dots. AFAIK this behavior only applies to show-based,

not theme-based.


This behavior is separate from the Repeat filter in 5.0. The duplicate show

decision making has been there for quite a while. Even my old SS had this

behavior.


I'm not saying this is the way I'd like it to be, just that is my experience

from the past. I've only ever been burned by this feature so I'd actually

prefer they get rid of it.


What usually happens to me is during the fall season there is some

preemption like Bush speach, so ABC decides to play a show the following

week, but the guide change doesn't have enough time to reach my

machine.


Replay records Bush thinking it is The Practice episode blah blah. Next

week, the guide data once again shows The Practice, episode blah blah.

It doesn't record because it thinks I already have it recorded.


TiVo's do something slightly different and I'm not completely familiar with

the intricacies, but my understanding is they store the original air dates

and/or episode IDs for 28 days and if they encounter the same OAD or EID

during that time won't record the show.


So TiVo's duplicate check survives a show deletion while Replay's does not.

 

[GreenLantern]

Quote:

Originally posted by sfhub If your Replay Channel has a show with exact same show information already recorded (and still present) then your unit will not record it even though it shows red dots....

i guess "exact same show information" does not include description, since the descriptions of the Spider-Man shows were different.


would replaySchedule have caught this? i.e. would it have said that the second Spider-Man would not have been recorded? (of course the one week i really need replaySchedule, i didn't run it )