Appendix C: Managing Recording Files

= Appendix C: Managing Recording Files =

SageTV can automatically manage the disk space for all the video recording directories configured in Detailed Setup: General Settings, including deleting old recordings to make room for new ones. Or, if you prefer, you can manage the recordings yourself, removing recordings you no longer wish to keep by using the Delete command. Either way, if you do happen to run out of available disk space in all your video recording directories, SageTV will still automatically remove recordings when it needs to do so to make space for new ones. Note: '''If there is not enough space available to create a new recording and none of the existing recordings may be deleted automatically, then SageTV will be unable to record additional shows until you delete some recordings.'''

== Where to Store the Next Recording ==

When SageTV prepares to record a new show, it first must decide where to store the recording.

When there is a single recording to be active: if there is enough free space already available for the expected size of that single recording, SageTV will simply choose to store the recording in the video directory that has the most space available. Thus: the video directory with the most space available for use by SageTV will always be used first. Remember: when determining the amount of space available in a directory, SageTV will take into account the space you may have specified that it should not use on that drive. If the free space is 40GB, but you told SageTV to leave 15GB free for that video directory, only 25GB is available.

'''When multiple recordings are active at the same time:''' depending on the Video Recording Path Optimization Style setting, SageTV may decide to store the next new recording in the recording directory with the most available free space (the default Optimize for Space setting) or it may try to spread simultaneous recordings across multiple recording directories so that not all recordings are being written to the same drive at the same time (optional Optimize for Bandwidth setting). Note: When optimizing for bandwidth and there is not enough free space for a new recording, SageTV may delete recordings that are the lowest priority in the recording directory it selects to store the new recording, but the deleted recordings may not be the lowest priority of all existing recordings.

Note: It is recommended that you not specify more than one video directory for each drive or partition being used to store SageTV recordings, otherwise SageTV could report that more space is available than there actually is when you view the System Information display.

No More Free Space
At some point, if you allow SageTV to manage your recording files for you, there will not be enough space available for a new recording. When this happens, SageTV will automatically delete an existing recording to make room for another one. Which show gets deleted is determined by the relative priorities of all recording types, with lower priority recordings being deleted before those with a higher priority. From highest to lowest, the priority rankings are:

Manual Recordings and Favorites with AutoDelete off. Note: These types of recordings are never automatically deleted.

Favorites with AutoDelete on

Intelligent Recordings

Watched Shows

Live TV

Recordings marked as Don’t Like

This ranking means that recordings marked as Don't Like are deleted first; then Live TV; then shows marked as watched; then Intelligent Recordings; then deletable Favorites. If two shows have the same priority, the older of the two will be deleted first. Some further notes:

''' Manual Recordings are never automatically deleted by SageTV.'''

''' Favorites with AutoDelete set to ‘No’ (Manual) are never automatically deleted by SageTV. '''

''' Archived SageTV Recordings are never automatically deleted by SageTV.'''

''' Intelligent Recordings will not be scheduled in place of Manual Recordings or Favorites, nor will any unwatched deletable Favorites be deleted to make room for new Intelligent Recordings.'''

''' When optimizing for bandwidth and there is not enough free space for a new recording, SageTV may delete recordings that are the lowest priority in the recording directory it selects to store the new recording, but the deleted recordings may not be the lowest priority of all existing recordings. '''

''' If there is not enough space available to create a new recording and none of the existing recordings may be deleted automatically, then SageTV will be unable to record additional shows until you delete some recordings.'''

== Automatic Cleanup of Live TV ==

When used with the Intelligent Recording feature disabled, SageTV is initially configured to automatically delete all Live TV recordings that are not scheduled Favorites or Manual Recordings. So, if you were to watch Live TV, the recording file used while the show is airing will be saved to your drive; however, shortly after it finishes airing and you stop watching the recording, it will be deleted. If the Live TV that you watch happens to be an in-progress recording of a scheduled Favorite or Manual Recording, that show will not be deleted immediately after the show is over.

When the Intelligent Recording feature is enabled, this auto-cleanup feature is not enabled, so all recordings will remain on your drive until SageTV needs room for additional recordings. This means that all the partial Live TV files that might have been created when channel flipping will still be on your drive, but they will be some of the first files deleted when additional space is needed. So, don’t worry that the files are wasting space: they will eventually be deleted, just not as soon as if auto-cleanup were active.

Note: If the Intelligent Recording feature is disabled, existing Intelligent Recordings will not automatically be deleted immediately. Similarly, if you were to delete or change a Favorite’s settings or if you were to clear a recording’s Manual Recording setting, the recording will not be automatically deleted immediately. Existing recordings will remain until space is needed or until you delete the recording.

If you wish to disable auto-cleanup permanently, see the option to Delete Live TV files when not using Intelligent Recording, found in Detailed Setup: Customize Settings. Again: while some files will not be deleted immediately, SageTV will delete the unneeded files when more space is required.