Azerthoth

#!/bin/bash
#
# a simple script to watch tv with the ability to play/pause using mplayer
# can be run as a script or put in /usr/bin and run as an application
# if in /usr/bin be sure to chmod 755 what ever you name this so that it will be executable
#
# written by Jim Cook
# azerthoth@gmail.com
#
# first we flush to make sure we wont be catching the wrong resources
killall mplayer
killall mencoder

# set the location to save the file to. This MUST be set even if you have no intention of keeping any of the programming you watch
location=/mnt/tvstor

# set filename
filename=$(date +%H:%M:%S@%d-%h-%Y)

# start mencoder
# tv card on composite input and ntsc, mpeg format and mp3 audio
# some of these settings may need to be changed to match your system or your personal preferences
((mencoder tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:input=1:norm=0:width=640:height=480:device=/dev/video0:adevice=/dev/dsp:forceaudio -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=1200 -oac mp3lame -o $location/$filename.avi -v &) &)

# give mencoder time to start before starting mplayer. too short a time will trigger the kill due to mplayer not finding a file to play
sleep 5

# start watching the TV show
((mplayer $location/$filename.avi &) &)

# give mplayer a moment to start before watching for its pid
sleep 2

# watch for mplayer close and then close mencoder
while [ "$(pidof mplayer)" ]
do
    sleep 1
done
killall mencoder

# graphical delete or save file using dialog/xdialog
# change DIALOG=Xdialog to DIALOG=dialog if you want the box in the terminal session. Only if script it started via a terminal.
DIALOG=${DIALOG=Xdialog}

$DIALOG --title "Save TV Show" --clear \
        --yesno "Do you wish to keep the file ?" 8 60

case $? in
  0)
    clear ;;
  1)
    rm $location/$filename.avi ;;
esac