Digital TV recording

[yaputya]

In Germany many of the analog TV stations transmit VPS/PDC data which is used by a VCR to control recording times - so if you want
to record a program you just enter the Showview (G-Code) number, set the VPS flag and the VPS-enabled recorder will start at the
exact time the desired program starts, even if it is delayed or advanced from the published start time. It even removes all the ads
by pausing during ad breaks!!!

The digital TV broadcasts don't seem to offer this feature, people have complained about missing the start/end of programs, despite
programming their PVRs to start recording earlier.
It seems this aspect of technology has gone backwards, not forwards.

This link explains VPS and PDC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_Delivery_Control

 

[Jasen Betts]

In Germany many of the analog TV stations transmit VPS/PDC data which is used by a VCR to control recording times - so if you want
to record a program you just enter the Showview (G-Code) number, set the VPS flag and the VPS-enabled recorder will start at the
exact time the desired program starts, even if it is delayed or advanced from the published start time. It even removes all the ads
by pausing during ad breaks!!!

The digital TV broadcasts don't seem to offer this feature, people have complained about missing the start/end of programs, despite
programming their PVRs to start recording earlier.
It seems this aspect of technology has gone backwards, not forwards.

The advertisers are paying the broadcasters.

 

[yaputya]

It doesn't pause during adverts. The TV stations do what they can
to prevent that.

It does pause in Germany, at least in the programs that I have recorded with VPS.
Not all German TV channels use VPS however.

The problem is that the EPG is inaccurate.

Yeah, I have noticed that EPG is sometimes different on a PVR to a TV, which seems a bit ridiculous. I still use the old teletext to
check program schedules. Teletext was never widely used in OZ, probably because the TV stations are too tight-arsed to pay the staff
required to run it properly. In Germany teletext is used on nearly all the free channels. I find it useful when recording programs
on my S-VHS recorder, as all the teletext info is also recorded and you can read the teletext pages about the program later.