furious_tv
furious_tv is a set of tools to take XMLTV TV listings and enable a UNIX system to automatically record programs off of a TV card. It is written in C and uses a SAX parser for maximum speed and efficiency.
Releases: ftv_web2 Version 0.5 Released
Last Modified: 2005-01-03T00:34Z
ftv_web2 v0.5
It's been a long time since the last update, but with the new year comes a new release! Rob ter Veer, a furious_tv user, has written an alternative web-based from end for furious_tv that I've cleverly dubbed ftv_web2. This is the first public release of his project, so there may be a few bugs, but he has been using it to manage his furious_tv setup successfully for a couple of weeks. ftv_web2 is written in shell script and does not require anything beyond a normal furious_tv installation except for a CGI-capable web server (such as mini_httpd). Please note that an install script (install.sh) must be run in order to setup ftv_web2.
The main benefit of ftv_web2 is that it's simply a better piece of software than my hacked-together web front-end. The code is nice and clean and the layout of the front-end itself is compact (see the screenshot). ftv_web2 also boasts more features than the original front-end, including support for recurring recording of your favorite shows.
Once again, thanks to Rob ter Veer for his excellent work on the first piece of third-party furious_tv software!
Releases: ftv_gnome Version 1.3 Released
Last Modified: 2004-01-24T23:47Z
ftv_gnome v1.3
Version 1.3 of ftv_gnome adds support for non-US TV listings. Note that ftv_gnome v1.3 requires furious_tv v1.4 to work correctly (see the previous news article for more information on furious_tv v1.4). When the user chooses to load new TV listings, there is an option presented (which is preserved between executions) to override channel numbers or not. If you are using US TV listings, you'll want to check this box, otherwise, it's probably a bad idea. If you need to edit the channel numbers (which is very common with non-US TV listings), just use the "Edit Channels" option from the "Edit" menu.
This version also fixes a few miscellaneous bugs in ftv_gnome, including some really simple crash bugs (e.g. clicking properties with no program selected crashed previous versions).
If you are having any trouble with the non-US listings support in furious_tv or ftv_gnome, please file a bug report so that I can fix the problem. I don't use non-US TV listings, so the code isn't tested very well.
Releases: furious_tv Version 1.4 Released
Last Modified: 2004-01-24T23:15Z
This version of furious_tv fixes a few miscellaneous bugs in the code and also adds support for non-US TV listings. Apparently in countries other than the US, the channel numbers vary a great deal (even in small areas), so non-US users needed a way to change channel numbers and have those changes persist when new listings were loaded into the database.
Version 1.4 adds an option to ftv_listings ("-r") that instructs the parser to use the channel numbers in the listings to override the channel numbers in the database. This is really only a good idea if the listings probably have the correct channel numbers (e.g. US listings obtained using XMLTV's tv_grab_na grabber).
One last point to keep in mind is that the channel numbers are preserved by looking at the channel names, so the channel names should not be changed manually because then ftv_listings will not recognize the channel as already in the database.
Development: Bug Fixes
Last Modified: 2004-01-24T06:56Z
As you've probably guessed from the title, I haven't been spending a lot of time working on new features for furious_tv. I have, however, been occasionally doing work on furious_tv and ftv_gnome in order to fix bugs. I plan on releasing a new version of furious_tv and a new version of ftv_gnome within the near future that fix a number of bugs.
Most notably, these new versions will have much improved support for non-US-style TV listings (where the user manually sets channel numbers and doesn't want them overridden everytime the listings are updated). Editing channels was already possible in ftv_gnome in previous versions. In the future I may add a program to the core of furious_tv for such operations, but that would require such significant changes, that I'd probably label that as furious_tv 2 (which I am not certain I will attempt).
I am also considering replacing the ftv_record program with ftvd or something similar. So instead of loading up a new program every minute or so, furious_tv will start one program when the system comes online and it will run indefinitely. I'll probably leave ftv_record in the distribution just because it works, but seeing my CPU usage jump every minute when ftv_record runs seems like a bit of a waste.
Lastly, I'd just like to request this: if you use furious_tv (and ftv_gnome) and you're satisfied with it, could you please spread the word? I think the current furious_tv setup is pretty functional (and much easier to setup than, say, MythTV), but very few people seem to know about furious_tv. That is all =)
