Add Suspend Option to Menu under General Setup Program Exit

[hinkie]

Binary package hint: mythtv

Having a Suspend Option added to the Menu options would be useful for people who wish to suspend their frontends using an IR control. Currently to suspend one has to close mythtv, e.g. with an IR device, then use an alternative means to suspend, such as mouse or VNC or keyboard. Being able to suspend with the IR would enhance usability. (Resume is obviously not solved by this though, and WOL is a typical solution for resumption via android phone, router, keyboard WOL etc.)

It is also desirable to suspend without closing the mythtv software, with a view to resuming right back into mythtv. Therefore where the suspend option may be best called is uncertain, I suggest if one is to suspend without closing mythtv, then the exit menu may not be the best place, or might be an interim placing? Another place it might be called is as a new main menu item?

Also see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mythtv/+bug/574877 where it was suggested to file this "bug report", however it is acknowledged this is really a feature request, so its hoped this post is acceptable for that purpose.

[hinkie (hinkie)]

An alternative might be to add a new exit menu item (In response to the Question "Do you really want to exit MythTV?) the answer might be

"No, Suspend"

[Craig Huff (huffcslists)]

Just finished installing MythBuntu 10.04, with MythTV version 0.23.20100314-1, AKA branches/release-0-23-fixes, or version 24158.

Part of the problem related to this bug is that the frontend configuration dialog (exact path is "Utilities/Setup" -> "Setup" -> "General") now does not provide text entry boxes to specify commands to execute for Halt command and Reboot command.

These used to be available to allow hibernation command to be substituted for shutdown, for example.

Need way to (more information?) tell Dbus to hibernate instead of shutdown or restore these text entry boxes to the setup dialog and honor the command inserted there, defaulting to Dbus operation if the text box entry is blank.

Current workaround is to exit mythfrontend into MythWelcome (how mythfrontend got launched in the first place), and then use the configured option to call hibernate instead of shutdown to end current session.

Fugly, but it works. Would much rather be able to leave mythfrontend running and suspend to disk for quicker start up and not have to fumble around to get mythfrontend going after resume from disk suspend.

[hinkie (hinkie)]

It is desirable to have the choice of suspending to RAM (standby) or suspending to disc (hibernating) available.

[rsay (ronsayers)]

I have always substituted sudo pm-suspend for the shutdown command. I couple that with irblaster commands to shut off the tv in /etc/pm/sleep.d. My MCEUSB remote then wakes the computer with the press of the power button and I issue an irblaster command that turns on the TV. The behavior was working great until this patch unnecessarily removed the standard mythtv menu options.

If one were uncomfortable having a blank field signify default shutdown behavior, a checkbox that said "Use Custom Command" could bring back the missing fields. Better yet, in the name of transparency, just put the actual default commands into the entry boxes and let people see what is happening. If you were worried that somebody would accidentally erase the command, you could add a button "Restore default" for each line. I think patches that obfuscate system functions and reduce flexibility are wrong headed. Especially with the diversity of hardware and usage situations that exist in the community.