dvbscan output Channel Number into final stdout?

dvbscan output Channel Number into final stdout?

[Roger]

Can we get dvbscan to output the Channel Number into the final stdout somehow?

A likely format would be something such as the following.

Current output:

KATN-DT:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3
KWFA-DT:497028615:8VSB:65:68:4
...


Suggested output:
2.1:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3
2.2:497028615:8VSB:65:68:4
...

The reason for this, the local ATSC broadcast over the air channels are not
assigning unique channel names.  However, channel numbers seem to be consistent
between the published TV Guide/TV Listings and are unique!  This seems to be
the norm for the past several years now.

There have been some minor changes with channel numbers within the past years,
but if channel numbers are used such as in the above example, mplayer should be
able to recognize mplayer dvb://2.1 or mplayer dvb://2.2, etc?

One should also be able to do something like 'dvbscan | sort' instead of trying
to test each channel to see which channel is really 2.1 or 2.2!


Currently, dvbscan outputs the channel number only when the channel is first
found and with a colon. (ie. 2:1, 2:2, ...)

1) Get/Keep Channel Number found
2) Convert/reassign the colon to a period (ie. 2:1 == 2.1, 2:2 == 2.2)
3) Print Channel Number instead of Channel Name on final stdout.


In the meantime, I should test whether mplayer has any issues with using
"mplayer dvb://2.1" instead of the channel name.  It would be really nice to be
able to schedule a cron job here with "dvbscan > .mplayer/channels.conf" to
keep channels updated and have a decent channels.conf I can use within
mplayer/mencoder scripts for playback/recording.  Currently, I have to go
through and manually run mplayer on each station frequency to figure out which
is 2.1 and which is 2.2, and so on.  Or am I barking up the wrong tree?


-- 
Roger
http://rogerx.freeshell.org/

Re: dvbscan output Channel Number into final stdout?

[tvboxspy]

On Thu, 2011-09-29 at 14:44 -0800, Roger wrote:
> Can we get dvbscan to output the Channel Number into the final stdout somehow?
> 
> A likely format would be something such as the following.
> 
> Current output:
> 
> KATN-DT:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3
> KWFA-DT:497028615:8VSB:65:68:4
> ...
> 
> 
> Suggested output:
> 2.1:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3
> 2.2:497028615:8VSB:65:68:4
> ...
> 
> The reason for this, the local ATSC broadcast over the air channels are not
> assigning unique channel names.  However, channel numbers seem to be consistent
> between the published TV Guide/TV Listings and are unique!  This seems to be
> the norm for the past several years now.
> 
Trouble is, internationally channel numbering is regional, and has
variations in many countries.

Not to show the channel name would confuse users, but to show both with
the number first in a string might be an idea.

Re: dvbscan output Channel Number into final stdout?

[Roger]

> On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 08:17:53AM +0100, tvboxspy wrote:
>On Thu, 2011-09-29 at 14:44 -0800, Roger wrote:
>> Can we get dvbscan to output the Channel Number into the final stdout somehow?
>> 
>> A likely format would be something such as the following.
>> 
>> Current output:
>> 
>> KATN-DT:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3
>> KWFA-DT:497028615:8VSB:65:68:4
>> ...
>> 
>> 
>> Suggested output:
>> 2.1:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3
>> 2.2:497028615:8VSB:65:68:4
>> ...
>> 
>> The reason for this, the local ATSC broadcast over the air channels are not
>> assigning unique channel names.  However, channel numbers seem to be consistent
>> between the published TV Guide/TV Listings and are unique!  This seems to be
>> the norm for the past several years now.
>> 
>Trouble is, internationally channel numbering is regional, and has
>variations in many countries.
>
>Not to show the channel name would confuse users, but to show both with
>the number first in a string might be an idea.

True.  However we're talking an additional option to output, the already
gotten, channel numbers instead of channel names into the final output.

We're not talking standard here.  We are talking an additional option to make
it easier for scripting and updating the channel.conf file.  Channel names here
have changed many times over the past year.  Channel names are also duplicated
instead of being assigned a unique name.  However, channel numbers have stayed
somewhat more stable, noting only one or two changes over the past year.  And,
channel numbers have always been more commonly referred to when changing the
channel on the TV. (ie. Hey, lets watch channel 11 news!  We usually don't
hear, "Hey, lets watch NBC news.")


(On the flip to chew the fat here, from a local perspective, most things are
done by channel number and not channel name.  It all depends on your point of
view! ;-)


Anyways, since I know the information (channel num) is already already gotten
and ditched, I'm thinking it won't be too much more code to assign it a
variable and print instead of channel name.

Another idea, I might have been able to code my script to map to regular
channel numbers.  However, updating the channel.conf using dvbscan will then
break things, causing me to finger through manually to figure out which channel
name is which number.

Maybe I should output my full channel.conf here, as it might help show the
problem better:

[0001]:213028615:8VSB:65:68:1
KATN-DT:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3
KWFA-DT:497028615:8VSB:65:68:4
KJNP-DT:509028615:8VSB:49:52:3
KFXF-DTC:177028615:8VSB:49:52:3
K13XD-DC:177028615:8VSB:65:68:4
KUAC-DTC:189028615:8VSB:49:52:3
KUAC-DTC:189028615:8VSB:65:68:4
KUAC-DT:189028615:8VSB:81:84:5
KUAC-DT:189028616:8VSB:97:100:6
KTVF DT:545028615:8VSB:65:68:4
KTVF DT:545028615:8VSB:49:52:3
K13XD-D:521028615:8VSB:49:52:3
KFXF-DT:521028615:8VSB:65:68:4


Can you tell me which KUAC-DTC is the man channel for my area?  24.1 is the
channel number.  Of the four, there's no real way of telling unless you
memorize the frequency data?


-- 
Roger
http://rogerx.freeshell.org/

Re: dvbscan output Channel Number into final stdout?

[david.hagood]

Even that won't always save you. In my area, we have 2 distinct signals,
both identifying themselves as "KAKE-DT" on virtual channel 10.1, so even
that isn't guaranteed to be unique.

Re: dvbscan output Channel Number into final stdout?

[Roger]

> On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 12:34:41PM -0500, david.hagood@gmail.com wrote:
>Even that won't always save you. In my area, we have 2 distinct signals,
>both identifying themselves as "KAKE-DT" on virtual channel 10.1, so even
>that isn't guaranteed to be unique.

Eh, what fun.

Technically, should just output both, the channel_name and channel_num.

ie. For my channel 2:1 here (using chicken scratch):

-- KATN-DT:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3
++ KATN-DT:2.1:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3

or

++ 2.1:KATN-DT:497028615:8VSB:49:52:3


-- 
Roger
http://rogerx.freeshell.org/