Recordings via the IScheduleHelper API

[Ernie-c]

Hi,

I've been busy developing TV scheduling software, and just finished adding support for it to control GBPvr as a recorder. Everything works fine, but I have a couple of questions concerning the API I have to use to schedule the recordings in GBPvr. Here they come :

1) My scheduling system uses a channelname to schedule a recording. GBPvr requires a channelOid. Is there a way to retrieve a list of channels (with their Oid) GBPvr can capture and record ?

2) Can I retrieve the "recordingsdirectory" via the API ?
According the doc, there is a static method "GBPVRRecordingsDir" in the class GBPVRINfo in assembly CommonGBPvrUtilities, but I cannot find the assembly on my system.

3)scheduleHelper.SheduleRecording has an (undocumented) overload which takes an int argument called "daymask". What is its purpose ?

4) Can I control on which card the recording will be processed if my system has more than one card ?

Thanks for your support.

[sub]

1) you could call IScheduleHelper.GetListingsForTimePeriod(DateTime.now, DateTime.now). This will return a list of Channel objects, which you can use to get the name and OID.

2) sorry, there is no API to do this. You can read it from the config.xml file though. Its stored in the <RecordingsDirectory> setting.

3) the day mask is an OR'd combination of the following constants (defined in the ReoccuringRecordingExtras class):

Code:

        public const int DAY_SUNDAY            = 1;
        public const int DAY_MONDAY            = 2;
        public const int DAY_TUESDAY            = 4;
        public const int DAY_WEDNESDAY            = 8;
        public const int DAY_THURSDAY            = 16;
        public const int DAY_FRIDAY            = 32;
        public const int DAY_SATURDAY            = 64;

4) No, the system chooses based on a predefined set of rules.

[bgowland]

2) Can I retrieve the "recordingsdirectory" via the API ?

With reference to sub's response, this is the code I use if it's of any use to you...

Code:

XmlDocument ConfigDoc = new XmlDocument();
ConfigDoc = PluginHelperFactory.getPluginHelper().GetConfiguration();
XmlNodeList nl = ConfigDoc.GetElementsByTagName("RecordingsDirectory");
string RecordingsDir = nl.Item(0).InnerText;
if (!RecordingsDir.EndsWith(@"\"))
    RecordingsDir += @"\";

Cheers,
Brian

[Ernie-c]

1) you could call IScheduleHelper.GetListingsForTimePeriod(DateTime.now, DateTime.now). This will return a list of Channel objects, which you can use to get the name and OID.

That returns a list of scheduled recordings, what I want to have is a list of all possible channels, so a complete list.

2) sorry, there is no API to do this. You can read it from the config.xml file though. Its stored in the <RecordingsDirectory> setting.

I could, but better would be if if was available through an API. Same for the list of channels , I could also read them from the DB, but that's not the way you want to go, because what if the DB changes ...

3) the day mask is an OR'd combination of the following constants (defined in the ReoccuringRecordingExtras class):

Code:

        public const int DAY_SUNDAY            = 1;
        public const int DAY_MONDAY            = 2;
        public const int DAY_TUESDAY            = 4;
        public const int DAY_WEDNESDAY            = 8;
        public const int DAY_THURSDAY            = 16;
        public const int DAY_FRIDAY            = 32;
        public const int DAY_SATURDAY            = 64;

Thanks, that's clear

4) No, the system chooses based on a predefined set of rules.

Ok, can I get the info (on what card is was recorded) afterwards ?

Thanks for the very fast reply :-)

[sub]

1) you could call IScheduleHelper.GetListingsForTimePeriod(DateTime.now, DateTime.now). This will return a list of Channel objects, which you can use to get the name and OID.

That returns a list of scheduled recordings, what I want to have is a list of all possible channels, so a complete list.

No it doesnt. It returns a list of Channel objects, which sounds like what you want.

2) sorry, there is no API to do this. You can read it from the config.xml file though. Its stored in the <RecordingsDirectory> setting.

I could, but better would be if if was available through an API. Same for the list of channels , I could also read them from the DB, but that's not the way you want to go, because what if the DB changes ...

I'm unlikely to add it before you need it, so you might as well follow bgowlands recommendation above.

4) No, the system chooses based on a predefined set of rules.

Ok, can I get the info (on what card is was recorded) afterwards ?
Thanks for the very fast reply :-)

Up until the time the recording occurs the capture source can be changed.

[Ernie-c]

No it doesnt. It returns a list of Channel objects, which sounds like what you want.

OK, I'll give it another try, and post my findings

I'm unlikely to add it before you need it, so you might as well follow bgowlands recommendation above.

I'll add it like this in my proxy object, and change it whenever the method comes available.

Up until the time the recording occurs the capture source can be changed.

And once the recording is done ? How can I retrieve the card/source it was recorded on ?

[Ernie-c]

Code:

    public const int DAY_SUNDAY            = 1;
        public const int DAY_MONDAY            = 2;
        public const int DAY_TUESDAY            = 4;
        public const int DAY_WEDNESDAY            = 8;
        public const int DAY_THURSDAY            = 16;
        public const int DAY_FRIDAY            = 32;
        public const int DAY_SATURDAY            = 64;

Why not use enums for this kind of stuff ?

[sub]

Why not use enums for this kind of stuff ?

I could of, but I didnt. It achieves the same result.

[sub]

And once the recording is done ? How can I retrieve the card/source it was recorded on ?

The public API doesnt give you this information, but you can look at the capture_source_oid column of the RECORDING_SCHEDULE table after the recording is complete.

[Ernie-c]

The public API doesnt give you this information, but you can look at the capture_source_oid column of the RECORDING_SCHEDULE table after the recording is complete.

Thanks. Are there any plans to add/extend this API further ?