Batch file to be executed when recording consecutive shows on the same channel

[ElihuRozen]

Let me explain my problem & maybe someone can come up with a better solution. When I am recording Fox owned cable channels or a free preview of HBO or Cinemax, I have to use the HDPVR attached to a STB. I have my blaster software setup to send a "Menu" and "Exit" before the channels since that will turn on the STB if it is off, but will not turn it off if it is already on. I have the STB setup to turn off after four hours without a button press. That way, I can record a show and the STB won't stay on all day and night. I could change to a shorter time out, a longer time or to just stay on all the time. My problem is that if I record say an American football game that is scheduled for three hours, I will schedule the show or two after in case the game goes into overtime. NPVR is smart enough to know that the other shows are on the same channel & doesn't execute the blaster. The STB turns off four hours after the first show started. If the game runs really long or I am recording two different things back to back, like two movies on a HBO preview weekend or two different sporting events, the STB might turn off before I want.

Possible solutions:

- I set the STB to stay on longer or not shut off at all:
Plus: don't have to change anything else. Minus: if I am recording just an hour or thirty minutes, it stays on a long time afterwards.

- I add something to PostProcessing.bat to turn off the STB:
Plus: STB is turned off as soon as it isn't needed. Minus: need to make sure it isn't recording anything else.

- sub calls a new batch file when recording consecutive shows on the same channel of a device that uses a blaster
Plus: I just need to create a batch file that blasts "Menu" and "Exit". Minus: sub would need to do work that probably benefits nobody besides me. Also, would need to decide when it gets called if there is padding at beginning and end of shows.

Now that I written these out and thought about it, I should probably just do the second one, but maybe somebody else can comment.

[martint123]

I had similar oddities and decided to set the STB to stay on all the time. power consumption was only a tiny fraction more than in standby.
With your situation, could you leave things as they are but use postprocessing to to send something harmless like exit to the STB just as something to reset its standby counter?

[BrettB]

- sub calls a new batch file when recording consecutive shows on the same channel of a device that uses a blaster
Plus: I just need to create a batch file that blasts "Menu" and "Exit". Minus: sub would need to do work that probably benefits nobody besides me. Also, would need to decide when it gets called if there is padding at beginning and end of shows.

Another minus to this option would be that you would get a menu display in your recording, correct?

[BrettB]

- I add something to PostProcessing.bat to turn off the STB:
Plus: STB is turned off as soon as it isn't needed. Minus: need to make sure it isn't recording anything else.

Checking recording status is easy enough using Nscripthelper.

I had similar oddities and decided to set the STB to stay on all the time. power consumption was only a tiny fraction more than in standby.

I would agree with Martin123, the power usage of the STB is probably minimal.

[HarryH3]

Place your hand on top of the STB after it has been "off" for a few hours. Most likely, it's just as warm as when it was on. About the only thing that actually gets turned off on most STB's is the display. The rest of it stays on 24/7, always ready to instantly spring into action. Turning it off only saves a watt or two. Certainly not enough to worry much about.

[ElihuRozen]

I ended up adding the following to my PostProcessing.bat

Code:

if not "%4." == "%HDPVRDEVICE%." goto doneExtraBlast
"sqlite3.exe" -separator " -- " "..\npvr.db3" "SELECT CHANNEL_MAPPING.channel_source_number from SCHEDULED_RECORDING LEFT JOIN CHANNEL_MAPPING ON SCHEDULED_RECORDING.channel_oid=CHANNEL_MAPPING.channel_oid where (status = '1' and SCHEDULED_RECORDING.capture_source_oid = '%HDPVRDEVICE%')" >%3.txt
set /p channel= <%3.txt
if "%channel%." == "%2." "C:\Program Files (x86)\IR Server Suite\IRBlast-NoWindow.exe" "exit.IR"
del %3.txt

:doneExtraBlast

This assumes HDPVRDEVICE has been set to the device number for the HDPVR. Most of my recordings are not on the HDPVR, so I don't want to do this for every recording.