In my recorder setup on the Ice website I have a custom repeat flag setup to add (Rpt) to the end of the program title, but it doesn't show on the T3.
I contacted Ice Support in October last year and was told it would be available very soon.
I contacted Ice Support in January and was told the interim API the T3 uses can't handle it but final testing on the new API was underway, so it is very close.
It's now almost May. Any idea when we'll be able to see repeat flags on the T3?
Scotty
+1
>:(
As of May 13, the last time I looked, the IceTV data for the T3 contains a previously-shown field for each program, but its data fields were always empty.
But even if it was there, the T3 current firmware wouldn't display it; the common "event" object used for both IceTV and broadcast EIT EPG data has no data fields or methods that the T3 UI could use to display the repeat flag, nor any of the other nice metadata that IceTV supplies, but is currently not displayed on the T3.
That "nice metadata" includes show language, country where produced, video format, series flagging, star rating (though that's currently empty), credits and episode number as well as the repeat flag.
The repeat flag has data fields that go beyond a simple true/false: the fields can indicate when it was last shown and on which channel.
Quote from: prl on May 21, 2015, 10:42:01 AM
As of May 13, the last time I looked, the IceTV data for the T3 contains a previously-shown field for each program, but its data fields were always empty.
But even if it was there, the T3 current firmware wouldn't display it; the common "event" object used for both IceTV and broadcast EIT EPG data has no data fields or methods that the T3 UI could use to display the repeat flag, nor any of the other nice metadata that IceTV supplies, but is currently not displayed on the T3.
That "nice metadata" includes show language, country where produced, video format, series flagging, star rating (though that's currently empty), credits and episode number as well as the repeat flag.
The repeat flag has data fields that go beyond a simple true/false: the fields can indicate when it was last shown and on which channel.
Fair enough. It would be nice if a proper repeat flag could be used at some stage.
However, all I'm after is for the custom repeat flag feature under My Recorders > Settings to work, which adds "(RPT)" or whatever you want to the program title, sub-title or description. It's been a feature of Ice for years and it's disappointing it's not working for the T3.
It's now almost June and still no word from IceTV!
Scotty
I want it all :)
Quote from: scotty on April 22, 2015, 02:09:22 PM
... I contacted Ice Support in January and was told the interim API the T3 uses can't handle it ...
I don't know what that's supposed to mean. All that the function does is change one of the strings that is already displayed by adding a something like '[R]' to it. I don't know why that would change the API.
Quote from: prl on May 21, 2015, 11:52:56 AM
Quote from: scotty on April 22, 2015, 02:09:22 PM
... I contacted Ice Support in January and was told the interim API the T3 uses can't handle it ...
I don't know what that's supposed to mean. All that the function does is change one of the strings that is already displayed by adding a something like '[R]' to it. I don't know why that would change the API.
I agree. I have this feature configured to add the text to the description, but of course this has never actually happened.
This doesn't need an API change, it just needs the IceTV server sending the data to my PVR to honour the setting and add the flag text to the end of the description text.
What is true of repeat flagging on the T3 is that at present the firmware can't display repeat flags directly as an independent entity.
But that's OK, because currently the T3's IceTV EPG feed is bereft of repeat flagging data, so there seems little point to add the capability at the moment.
Quote from: prl on June 04, 2015, 12:58:29 PM
What is true of repeat flagging on the T3 is that at present the firmware can't display repeat flags directly as an independent entity.
But that's OK, because currently the T3's IceTV EPG feed is bereft of repeat flagging data, so there seems little point to add the capability at the moment.
It's the old 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?' scenario. The T3's IceTV EPG feed is bereft of repeat flagging data because the T3 cannot use it (or any of the other extra EPG data). If it was possible for the T3 to use the standard repeat flag data it's EPG feed would still include the repeat flagging.
All PVRs allocate a limited amount of memory for EPG data processing and storage so sending more data than the PVR can cope with (when it cannot even use it) would make the PVR more sluggish for no benefit to the user.
Lots of other data that currently isn't used by the T3 is sent in the EPG. Why not the repeat flags?
An update on the custom repeat flag situation...
I contacted Ice Support in October last year and was told it would be available very soon.
I contacted Ice Support in January and was told the interim API the T3 uses can't handle it but final testing on the new API was underway, so it is very close.
I contacted Ice Support in June and was told mid-July:
Quote from: Dave @ IceTVThe new system, that will allow us to add custom repeat flags for the T3, will be live by mid July. I don't know if it will already have custom repeat flags then or if they will need to be enabled - but once the system is live it will be easy to make changes like custom repeat flags. .
I contacted Ice Support today and was told we're too busy with Skippa to fix a broken feature that should be working:
Quote from: Dave @ IceTVThe custom repeat flag is still a little way off. We're still busy with the new Skippa at the moment so the custom repeat flag won't happen until the dust settles from that.
IceTV on the T-Series without custom repeat flags for 10 months and counting!
Scotty
I'm not sure just what API is meant in that.
The IceTV JSON feed to the T series Beyonwizes does seem to have repeat flagging, though a little odd. Repeats contain a JSON object like this:"previously-shown": {"start": "", "channel_id": ""}and new runs appear not to be tagged like that. The details of the "previously-shown" data always seem to be empty strings.
However, the API between the Beyonwiz T series IceTV plugin and the T series EPG does not explicitly allow for repeat flagging to be stored in the device's EPG. The EPG is in the form of the broadcast EIT EPG, and there appears to be nothing specific in that to accommodate repeat flagging.
It could potentially be added as an extra item descriptor in the EIT EPG format in the Extended Description. Similarly for things like credits information and production date. I'm not sure how that would work on the display side of the EPG.
There is capacity for explicitly storing the classification and genre information in the T series EIT EPG, but there is currently no API to do it. I think that the API could be extended pretty easily to accommodate that. The non-standard text genres in the IceTV EPG could be dynamically mapped into genre codes for storing in the EPG and for decoding for display.
I have no idea how any of that fits with IceTV's plans for repeat flagging on the T series, or what is planned to make other IceTV metadata visible in the T series EPG display.
Custom repeat flags were enabled a couple of weeks ago for the T series Beyonwiz PVRs. If you have setup custom repeat flags for your T2, T3 or T4 but you cannot see them try selecting Restart from the Power menu on the Beyonwiz.
It seems that what I was seeing was a result of the T4 software update using the repeat data from the IceTV guide feed and not our recently implemented custom repeat flags for T series Beyonwizes.
(http://support.icetv.com.au/attachments/token/wendj6CPbF4kZDKzlXiAehyTk/?name=custom-repeat-flags.jpg)
Quote from: Dave at IceTV on September 10, 2015, 03:15:37 PM
Custom repeat flags were enabled a couple of weeks ago for the T series Beyonwiz PVRs. If you have setup custom repeat flags for your T2, T3 or T4 but you cannot see them try selecting Restart from the Power menu on the Beyonwiz...
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the reply.
Custom repeat flags still don't seem to be working. What you're seeing in your screenshot is true repeat flagging added in the latest beta I think, not custom repeat flags.
On my T4 and T2 I have "(Rpt)" at the end of the title and "[R]" at the beginning of the title, respectively, enabled as custom repeat flags but I only see "[Rpt]" at the end of the title as per your screen shot on both the T4 and T2. I'm running the current beta on both.
Scotty
... also, the movie Behind The Walls from your screenshot isn't correctly marked as a repeat even though it is on the IceTV website.
The repeat flag in the feed seems to be a bit hit and miss.
Scotty
You're right. It was just a coincidence that Beyonwiz chose to append [Rpt] to the titles the same as I do with custom repeat flags (except on DP series Beyonwizes because WizFX has a problem with shows with [ in their name).
The [Rpt] flagging at the end of the title is done in the T series IceTV plugin code using the repeat flags in the feed data, and is available in the beta firmware for all models (from Last Update 2015-09-02).
There currently isn't any way to disable the '[Rpt]' flagging on the T series firmware, which could be inconvenient for people wanting to use the IceTV custom flagging instead.
IceTV server-end custom flagging doesn't seem to be working for me (tested on T3 running 20150831), with the settings for [R] at the beginning of the title.
The [Rpt] flagging doesn't affect the recording titles for recordings initiated from the IceTV Web pages, but it is present (but can be manually edited out) in the recording names for manual recordings and AutoTimers on the T3.
I personally don't like the way it was done in the T series IceTV plugin, but forum opinion appears to be against me.
Re Reply#16 how do I get the beta release mentioned i.e.2015-09-02?368
Quote from: rfmoore on September 25, 2015, 02:23:25 PM
Re Reply#16 how do I get the beta release mentioned i.e.2015-09-02?368
Hi rfmoore,
If you're running the latest public release (2015-08-31) go to the Public Beta section on the Beyonwiz forum, follow the instructions on how to switch to the live beta software feed then do an online update: http://www.beyonwiz.com.au/forum/viewforum.php?f=56 (http://www.beyonwiz.com.au/forum/viewforum.php?f=56)
Scotty
Okay, this time custom repeat flags are working for T series Beyonwizes (and the Skippa although it correctly shows real Repeat icons).
Awesome! Thanks Dave. Just noticed they started coming through.
Scotty
Dumb question but why do we need a custom repeat flag? If I tell Ice I only want first runs it doesn't send timers if it's a repeat in guide. I still have a DP-P2 my T4 arrives next week so apologises for the question.
Quote from: Trial_Master on October 18, 2015, 02:36:55 PM
Dumb question but why do we need a custom repeat flag? If I tell Ice I only want first runs it doesn't send timers if it's a repeat in guide. I still have a DP-P2 my T4 arrives next week so apologises for the question.
The custom repeat flag allows you to see which shows are repeats when you're looking at the EPG on your device.
Scotty
Thanks Scotty. If you're not intending on running beta firmware on T4 should I be enabling this feature on Ice?
Quote from: Trial_Master on October 18, 2015, 02:45:22 PM
Thanks Scotty. If you're not intending on running beta firmware on T4 should I be enabling this feature on Ice?
Yes. The repeat flag that was added in the beta was removed shortly after in a beta update when IceTV enable the feature. So either using the beta or standard release will need to use Ice's custom repeat flag if you want that info displayed.
Scotty
Quote from: scotty on October 18, 2015, 02:41:00 PM
Quote from: Trial_Master on October 18, 2015, 02:36:55 PM
Dumb question but why do we need a custom repeat flag? If I tell Ice I only want first runs it doesn't send timers if it's a repeat in guide. I still have a DP-P2 my T4 arrives next week so apologises for the question.
The custom repeat flag allows you to see which shows are repeats when you're looking at the EPG on your device.
I also find it handy to see which timers on the PVR and which recordings on the hard drive are repeats (obviously when I am recording repeats or recording new shows and repeats).
For recorders like the Beyonwiz DP series and FV-L1 PVRs you want the custom repeat flag added to the title - as they don't show the sub-title or description in the timer list or file list. You can press the i button in the file list but it's much easier if [Rpt] is in the title. If you use WizFX to transfer recordings to a PC you should not use ( or ) or those files won't show up in WizFX. i.e. Use [Rpt] and don't use (Rpt)
For recorders that automatically put recordings into folders/directories grouped by title having [Rpt] at the end of the title on repeats puts those repeat episodes into their own folder (which will be sorted directly below or above the folder of new episodes of that series). If you want all episodes of a series stored in the same folder set the custom repeat flag to add [Rpt] to the sub-title and not the title.
- For some PVRs I use [Rpt] at the 'end of the title'.
- For other PVRs I use [Rpt] at the 'beginning of the sub-title'.
It just depends on what info each PVR shows in the timer list and file list, and how cluttered their EPG layout is.
Thanks for the detailed explanation Dave. What is the preference for the T4? I think I might start using this feature.
Quote from: Trial_Master on October 18, 2015, 04:03:19 PM
Thanks for the detailed explanation Dave. What is the preference for the T4? I think I might start using this feature.
Not Dave, but anyway...
On the T4 (Beyonwiz T series generally, in fact), if you mainly want to see repeat information in the graphical EPG, I suggest using '[R]' in the Title, then you have the information for all programs visible in the EPG. Then it's a tradeoff about putting it at the start or end. If you put it at the start, you are likely to lose part of the title for shows with a short timeslot. If you put it at the end, the repeat flagging may be lost on programs with short timeslots. If you use repeat flagging on the title, it will also show up for all visible items in your lists of recordings in the Movie Player.
If you add the tag to the Subtitle or Description, you'll only see it in EPGs when the program is selected, and screens vary as to which they show. Many show both. In the Graphical EPG with PiG, the Description is often cut off at the end, so either end of the Subtitle or the start of the Description would be good.
Thanks Peter I'll fiddle around with those suggestions when I'm setting up device, hopefully tomorrow.
No problem. I think it's one of those things where there's no "right" answer. Just as well IceTV made it flexible.