v0.5

ChannelWatch v0.5 - Comprehensive Recording Event Monitoring

This release introduces a major new feature to ChannelWatch: Recording Event Alerts. Now you can stay informed about the entire lifecycle of your Channels DVR recordings, from scheduling to completion, cancellation, or manual stops. This enhances your visibility into DVR activity alongside existing channel and VOD monitoring.

🎬 New Alert Type: Recording Events

Get detailed notifications for various recording stages:

• Scheduled: Be notified when a new recording is scheduled (📅). Includes program details, scheduled time (using friendly formats like "Today" or "Tomorrow"), and expected duration.
• Started: Receive an alert the moment a recording begins (🔴). Differentiates between scheduled and manually initiated recordings. Includes program details, channel information, start time, duration, and integrates with the Total Streams count.
• Completed: Know when a recording finishes successfully (✅). Provides actual duration and updates the Total Streams count. Handles delayed or interrupted recordings gracefully.
• Cancelled: Get alerts if a scheduled recording is cancelled before it starts (🚫). Includes details of the cancelled program.
• Stopped: Be informed if an active recording is manually stopped before its intended completion (⏹️). Provides the duration recorded before stopping.

Key Features of Recording Event Alerts:

• Rich Metadata: Notifications include program title (and episode title), channel name/number, start/completion times, and duration.
• Robust Status Handling: Intelligently determines the final status (Completed, Cancelled, Stopped, Delayed, Interrupted) even with API inconsistencies. Includes a retry mechanism to ensure completion alerts are sent only after DVR processing is finished.
• Stream Count Integration: Recording activity is now seamlessly integrated into the Total Streams count reported in notifications.
• Fine-Grained Control: Enable or disable specific recording event notifications (Scheduled, Started, Completed, Cancelled) using new RD_ALERT_* environment variables (e.g., RD_ALERT_SCHEDULED, RD_ALERT_STARTED).
• Clear Formatting: Uses status emojis and consistent formatting via the AlertFormatter for easy readability.

⚙️ System Improvements

• Enhanced API Integration: Leverages JobInfoProvider and ChannelInfoProvider for more reliable fetching of recording job details and channel information.
• Improved Reliability: Implemented retry logic for handling recording completion events that might have processing delays within Channels DVR, preventing premature or missed notifications.
• Refined Time Formatting: Standardized and user-friendly date/time formatting across alerts.
• Better Data Management: Includes specific cleanup logic for stale recording jobs, scheduled items, and pending completion checks.

📝 Documentation Updates

• The README has been updated to include details about the new Recording-Events alert type, its features, and associated environment variables (RD_ALERT_SCHEDULED, RD_ALERT_STARTED, RD_ALERT_COMPLETED, RD_ALERT_CANCELLED).
• Examples for the new recording notifications should be added.

This release significantly expands ChannelWatch's monitoring capabilities by adding deep insight into recording activities. Users upgrading will benefit from a more complete picture of their Channels DVR usage.

We encourage all users to upgrade to v0.5 to take advantage of these new features. As always, feedback and feature requests via GitHub issues are welcome!