Video recorder scheduling code

G-Code, VideoPlus and ShowView are different names for essentially the same system for programming video recorders.

Before the advent of on-screen displays, the only interface available for programming a home video recorder was a small LCD panel and a small number of buttons. Correctly recording a specific program was therefore a somewhat complex operation, the difficulty of which has entered into folklore in many places. G-Code, VideoPlus and ShowView were introduced to remove this difficulty, and even with modern user interfaces for manual setting, still offer a more convenient means of specifying a programme to record.

The central concept of the system is a unique number assigned to each program, and published in TV listings in newspapers and magazines. To record a programme, the number is taken from the newspaper and typed into the video recorder, which will then record on the correct channel at the correct time. The number is generated by an algorithm from the date, time and channel of the programme, and so does not rely on anything being broadcast over the air. This means it will not compensate for a disrupted schedule due to live sporting events or news bulletins, but many video recorders with these systems also incorporate PDC and will use that to alter times if possible.

This system is known as G-Code in the USA, VideoPlus in the UK and ShowView in the rest of Europe.