Tell me more about SmartEPG
Recurring timers are out and search-based timers are in. Every morning SmartEPG loads in all of the EPG data being broadcast, then searches it for keywords of interest. If it finds keywords which match the rules you've set up it will set a timer.You can set whether you want title, description or genre to be searched. For example, searching for "*movie*" within genre will find all movies (note the * wildcard character). You can also combine keywords. Each matching keyword is assigned a score, and if the total of all keywords is at least 50 then they will count as a match. For example, I have a search for "*Simpsons*" valued at +40 and "*new*" at +10. This means "The Simpsons" will not match, but "The All New Simpsons" will. Similarly, I have "*Graham Norton*" +50 and "*encore*" -10, meaning that it will record "The Graham Norton Show", but not "The Graham Norton Show - Encore".
You can specify one or more channels to be searched for the keywords, and which days of the week to search. You can put in a minimum length for the programme to be considered, so you can get 45 minute Doctor Who episodes, but not 15 minute Doctor Who clip shows.
You can ask for consecutive programs to be combined, so the two episodes on Rage on Friday night / Saturday morning will become one.
You will be informed when there are conflicts if the PVR can't record all matching timers. The conflict resolution screen shows where conflicting programmes are repeated at other times during the week, so you can easily switch to them. You can set priorities, so you never miss Downton Abbey even if many other programmes you would normally watch are scheduled for the same time.
You can do overlapping recordings of consecutive programmes on the same channel. You no longer miss the ending of Elementary because you watched The Graham Norton Show first and deleted it, not knowing that it had the denouement of Elementary.
You can create a special non-recording search, called a Marker Timer, which shows you when items that might interest you are on. If you love Jamie Oliver, Ainsley Harriot, or Audrey Tautou, then do a Marker Timer for their names within the title, description or extended description. You don't want to record everything they do, but running this search manually will show you what is available so you can set one-off timers.
You can specify different padding for each timer. Programmes on the ABC or SBS require much less pre and post padding than shows on channels which often run later than advertised.
How can I switch to SmartEPG?
The easiest way to install SmartEPG is to use the Topfield app store, TAPtoDate, though if your PVR is not on the internet you can also install it manually. SmartEPG completely subverts the built-in timer facility, so if you just want to try it out then make sure you get a backup of your existing timers prior to installation. The TMSTimer TAP has a backup facility, or take a photo of your timers displayed on TV with your smartphone.Once installed you'll want to replace all of your recurring timers with SmartEPG search timers, and possibly redo your one-off timers so that you can take full advantage of SmartEPG's features such as overlapping recordings on a single channel. For my twenty or so timers I spent a couple of hours setting up new search timers, exploring SmartEPG options, and getting used to the overall operation of the system.
You should now be set. Every day you can review the timer list to see what SmartEPG has found to record, and look at the guide to consider any new programmes to add to the search list. Or you can leave it to its own devices, and come back in a couple of weeks to find a plethora of unexpected but most welcome recordings.