[linux-dvb] Re: Questions and suggestions for VDR

[Klaus Schmidinger <Klaus.Schmidinger@cadsoft.de>]

Andreas Berger wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> now that the VDR seems to converge to working version again, I would
> like make some suggestions:
> 
> 1. Recording radio programmes, ist that possible?
> 
> I think that VDR does not do it because there is no "picture" stream and
> thus concludes it has not (yet) tuned in.
> 
> Is it possible to detect radio programmes from the channels.conf and
> adjust the recording behaviour?

VDR is basicly designed to be a video recorder, pure audio recording was
never my goal. I guess it would be possible to modify the program so that
it records audio only, but I'm afraid you'll have to do that yourself.

> 2. Interface for external programs that can use the video devices
> 
> This would be similar to the commands.conf but with some
> extension/handover mechanism so that an external program (the DVD
> player) can use the resources of a given DVB card.
> 
> This, added with an option to kill the program when the card is needed
> for recording, would probably open the VDR for a lot of other things -
> an MP3 player, a slideshow for scanned/digital photographs...

I'll see about that after the API transition is complete (which should happen
in the very near future - there are just a few problems left when replaying).

> b) direct I-Frame-only MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 streams
> 
> My machine (an AMD K6-2+ with 550MHz) is able to capture (nuppel again)
> video at 480x576 and 352x288 resolutions. I don't know but it should be
> possible to produce I-frame only video with prehaps PCM audio so that
> the recordings can be replayed by VDR immediatly?

To replay a file with VDR, that file must be in "multiplexed PES" format,
and it should have an index.vdr file that contains the offsets of all the
frames in the recording (this file is required if you want to do fast forward/back
etc).

> c) some integration of other devices in the channels.conf of VDR
> 
> VDR currently has a channel setup assuming more or less identical
> possibilities on the cards (aside of CAM modules). Should this be
> extended to allow programs/channels to be assoicated with special
> hardware (i.e. this channel only available on that card or these cards -
> perhaps with other tuning parameters?)

I believe these things should be "hidden" inside the driver. As it is now,
you can use any combination of DVB-S and DVB-C cards in one system.

> d) other code for recording
> 
> How can different code be put into VDR to - for example - record analog
> radio/TV? Clean interface? I would prefer to re-use all the other
> functions of VDR, e.g. channel precedence.

VDR is based on _digital_ data. If you want to record analog broadcasts,
you would probably have to convert them to digital first. I'm not sure if
it is worth the hassle - the future is _digital_ ;-)

Klaus
_______________________________________________________________

Klaus Schmidinger                       Phone: +49-8635-6989-10
CadSoft Computer GmbH                   Fax:   +49-8635-6989-40
Hofmark 2                               Email:   kls@cadsoft.de
D-84568 Pleiskirchen, Germany           URL:     www.cadsoft.de
_______________________________________________________________


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