I'm working on a patch that would introduce a "suspend" key to VDR. The output device I'm using (softdevice) has a suspend function, but it has some limitations. Most notably, the playback of recordings won't pause when the softdevice is suspended. I got that one already fixed in my suspend patch for vdr 1.3.30, but I have another question:
Does vdr always keep the receivers tuned to transponders? It would save some CPU cycles if vdr wouldn't read the TS data from the tuner and also some electric power if the tuner could be turned off. From my experiments with tzap and friends, I got the impression that there is a timeout mechanism in the kernel driver for turning off the tuner.
The idea is that those who use their vdr box as an always-on appliance (such as firewall, router, file server, audio jukebox, whatever) could reduce the power consumption and heat production when not recording or watching DVB streams.
Marko