diff --git a/HISTORY b/HISTORY
index 45b726dc..770a28f8 100644
--- a/HISTORY
+++ b/HISTORY
@@ -2893,7 +2893,7 @@ Video Disk Recorder Revision History
   strings in order to avoid buffer overflows (thanks to Philip Lawatsch for
   debugging a buffer overflow in eit.c).
 
-2004-06-12: Version 1.3.11
+2004-06-13: Version 1.3.11
 
 - In order to avoid problems on NPTL systems, VDR now checks for the presence
   of NPTL at program start, and if it is, exists and tells the user to do
@@ -2911,3 +2911,10 @@ Video Disk Recorder Revision History
 - Fixed switching channels while an encrypted channel is being recorded, because the
   channel was switched if the new channel was on the same transponder and was
   a radio channel (thanks to Martin Dauskardt for reporting this one).
+- The list of recordings is now kept statically in memory to avoid long delays
+  when opening the "Recordings" menu. As a side effect, external modifications to
+  the video directory are no longer immediately reflected in the "Recordings" menu.
+  If a plugin manipulates the video directory in any way, it can call the function
+  Recordings.TriggerUpdate() to trigger an update of the list of recordings.
+  If some external tool manipulates the video directory, it can touch the file
+  '.update' in the video directory to trigger an update of the list of recordings.
diff --git a/cutter.c b/cutter.c
index 25169a2a..c8ed60ec 100644
--- a/cutter.c
+++ b/cutter.c
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * See the main source file 'vdr.c' for copyright information and
  * how to reach the author.
  *
- * $Id: cutter.c 1.6 2003/10/18 11:29:37 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: cutter.c 1.7 2004/06/13 16:04:08 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #include "cutter.h"
@@ -205,6 +205,7 @@ bool cCutter::Start(const char *FileName)
         // XXX
         editedVersionName = strdup(evn);
         Recording.WriteSummary();
+        Recordings.AddByName(editedVersionName);
         cuttingThread = new cCuttingThread(FileName, editedVersionName);
         return true;
         }
@@ -224,6 +225,7 @@ void cCutter::Stop(void)
      if (Error)
         esyslog("ERROR: '%s' during editing process", Error);
      RemoveVideoFile(editedVersionName); //XXX what if this file is currently being replayed?
+     Recordings.DelByName(editedVersionName);
      }
 }
 
diff --git a/menu.c b/menu.c
index 3fd39b15..95d72536 100644
--- a/menu.c
+++ b/menu.c
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * See the main source file 'vdr.c' for copyright information and
  * how to reach the author.
  *
- * $Id: menu.c 1.308 2004/06/06 09:47:44 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: menu.c 1.309 2004/06/13 20:26:51 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #include "menu.h"
@@ -1410,7 +1410,6 @@ void cMenuRecordingItem::IncrementCounter(bool New)
 
 // --- cMenuRecordings -------------------------------------------------------
 
-cRecordings cMenuRecordings::Recordings;
 int cMenuRecordings::helpKeys = -1;
 
 cMenuRecordings::cMenuRecordings(const char *Base, int Level, bool OpenSubMenus)
@@ -1419,40 +1418,35 @@ cMenuRecordings::cMenuRecordings(const char *Base, int Level, bool OpenSubMenus)
   base = Base ? strdup(Base) : NULL;
   level = Setup.RecordingDirs ? Level : -1;
   Display(); // this keeps the higher level menus from showing up briefly when pressing 'Back' during replay
+  const char *LastReplayed = cReplayControl::LastReplayed();
+  cMenuRecordingItem *LastItem = NULL;
+  char *LastItemText = NULL;
   if (!Base)
-     Skins.Message(mtStatus, tr("scanning recordings..."));
-  bool Loaded = Base || Recordings.Load();
-  if (!Base)
-     Skins.Message(mtStatus, NULL);
-  if (Loaded) {
-     const char *LastReplayed = cReplayControl::LastReplayed();
-     cMenuRecordingItem *LastItem = NULL;
-     char *LastItemText = NULL;
-     for (cRecording *recording = Recordings.First(); recording; recording = Recordings.Next(recording)) {
-         if (!Base || (strstr(recording->Name(), Base) == recording->Name() && recording->Name()[strlen(Base)] == '~')) {
-            cMenuRecordingItem *Item = new cMenuRecordingItem(recording, level);
-            if (*Item->Text() && (!LastItem || strcmp(Item->Text(), LastItemText) != 0)) {
-               Add(Item);
-               LastItem = Item;
-               free(LastItemText);
-               LastItemText = strdup(LastItem->Text()); // must use a copy because of the counters!
-               }
-            else
-               delete Item;
-            if (LastItem) {
-               if (LastReplayed && strcmp(LastReplayed, recording->FileName()) == 0)
-                  SetCurrent(LastItem);
-               if (LastItem->IsDirectory())
-                  LastItem->IncrementCounter(recording->IsNew());
-               }
+     Recordings.Sort();
+  for (cRecording *recording = Recordings.First(); recording; recording = Recordings.Next(recording)) {
+      if (!Base || (strstr(recording->Name(), Base) == recording->Name() && recording->Name()[strlen(Base)] == '~')) {
+         cMenuRecordingItem *Item = new cMenuRecordingItem(recording, level);
+         if (*Item->Text() && (!LastItem || strcmp(Item->Text(), LastItemText) != 0)) {
+            Add(Item);
+            LastItem = Item;
+            free(LastItemText);
+            LastItemText = strdup(LastItem->Text()); // must use a copy because of the counters!
+            }
+         else
+            delete Item;
+         if (LastItem) {
+            if (LastReplayed && strcmp(LastReplayed, recording->FileName()) == 0)
+               SetCurrent(LastItem);
+            if (LastItem->IsDirectory())
+               LastItem->IncrementCounter(recording->IsNew());
             }
          }
-     free(LastItemText);
-     if (Current() < 0)
-        SetCurrent(First());
-     else if (OpenSubMenus && Open(true))
-        return;
-     }
+      }
+  free(LastItemText);
+  if (Current() < 0)
+     SetCurrent(First());
+  else if (OpenSubMenus && Open(true))
+     return;
   SetHelpKeys();
 }
 
@@ -2780,6 +2774,7 @@ cRecordControl::cRecordControl(cDevice *Device, cTimer *Timer, bool Pause)
         cStatus::MsgRecording(device, Recording.Name());
         if (!Timer && !cReplayControl::LastReplayed()) // an instant recording, maybe from cRecordControls::PauseLiveVideo()
            cReplayControl::SetRecording(fileName, Recording.Name());
+        Recordings.AddByName(fileName);
         }
      else
         DELETENULL(recorder);
diff --git a/menu.h b/menu.h
index 150f88de..5990a2ea 100644
--- a/menu.h
+++ b/menu.h
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * See the main source file 'vdr.c' for copyright information and
  * how to reach the author.
  *
- * $Id: menu.h 1.63 2004/05/23 09:47:26 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: menu.h 1.64 2004/06/13 11:46:03 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #ifndef __MENU_H
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 #include "osdbase.h"
 #include "dvbplayer.h"
 #include "recorder.h"
-#include "recording.h"
 #include "skins.h"
 
 class cMenuText : public cOsdMenu {
@@ -107,7 +106,6 @@ class cMenuRecordingItem;
 
 class cMenuRecordings : public cOsdMenu {
 private:
-  static cRecordings Recordings;
   char *base;
   int level;
   static int helpKeys;
diff --git a/recording.c b/recording.c
index 05efc440..cbc916a2 100644
--- a/recording.c
+++ b/recording.c
@@ -4,10 +4,11 @@
  * See the main source file 'vdr.c' for copyright information and
  * how to reach the author.
  *
- * $Id: recording.c 1.87 2004/05/07 14:24:18 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: recording.c 1.88 2004/06/13 20:25:19 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #include "recording.h"
+#include <dirent.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@
 #define RECEXT       ".rec"
 #define DELEXT       ".del"
 /* This was the original code, which works fine in a Linux only environment.
-   Unfortunately, because of windows and its brain dead file system, we have
+   Unfortunately, because of Windows and its brain dead file system, we have
    to use a more complicated approach, in order to allow users who have enabled
    the VFAT compile time option to see their recordings even if they forget to
    enable VFAT when compiling a new version of VDR... Gee, do I hate Windows.
@@ -47,8 +48,6 @@
 #define SUMMARYFILESUFFIX "/summary.vdr"
 #define MARKSFILESUFFIX   "/marks.vdr"
 
-#define FINDCMD      "cd '%s' && find '%s' -follow -type d -name '%s' 2> /dev/null"
-
 #define MINDISKSPACE 1024 // MB
 
 #define DELETEDLIFETIME     1 // hours after which a deleted recording will be actually removed
@@ -70,14 +69,14 @@ void RemoveDeletedRecordings(void)
      if (!LockFile.Lock())
         return;
      // Remove the oldest file that has been "deleted":
-     cRecordings Recordings;
-     if (Recordings.Load(true)) {
-        cRecording *r = Recordings.First();
+     cRecordings DeletedRecordings(true);
+     if (DeletedRecordings.Load()) {
+        cRecording *r = DeletedRecordings.First();
         cRecording *r0 = r;
         while (r) {
               if (r->start < r0->start)
                  r0 = r;
-              r = Recordings.Next(r);
+              r = DeletedRecordings.Next(r);
               }
         if (r0 && time(NULL) - r0->start > DELETEDLIFETIME * 3600) {
            r0->Remove();
@@ -105,14 +104,14 @@ void AssertFreeDiskSpace(int Priority)
            return;
         // Remove the oldest file that has been "deleted":
         isyslog("low disk space while recording, trying to remove a deleted recording...");
-        cRecordings Recordings;
-        if (Recordings.Load(true)) {
-           cRecording *r = Recordings.First();
+        cRecordings DeletedRecordings(true);
+        if (DeletedRecordings.Load()) {
+           cRecording *r = DeletedRecordings.First();
            cRecording *r0 = r;
            while (r) {
                  if (r->start < r0->start)
                     r0 = r;
-                 r = Recordings.Next(r);
+                 r = DeletedRecordings.Next(r);
                  }
            if (r0 && r0->Remove()) {
               LastFreeDiskCheck += REMOVELATENCY / Factor;
@@ -121,7 +120,7 @@ void AssertFreeDiskSpace(int Priority)
            }
         // No "deleted" files to remove, so let's see if we can delete a recording:
         isyslog("...no deleted recording found, trying to delete an old recording...");
-        if (Recordings.Load(false)) {
+        if (Recordings.Load()) {
            cRecording *r = Recordings.First();
            cRecording *r0 = NULL;
            while (r) {
@@ -138,8 +137,10 @@ void AssertFreeDiskSpace(int Priority)
                     }
                  r = Recordings.Next(r);
                  }
-           if (r0 && r0->Delete())
+           if (r0 && r0->Delete()) {
+              Recordings.Del(r0);
               return;
+              }
            }
         // Unable to free disk space, but there's nothing we can do about that...
         isyslog("...no old recording found, giving up");
@@ -617,30 +618,75 @@ bool cRecording::Remove(void)
 
 // --- cRecordings -----------------------------------------------------------
 
-bool cRecordings::Load(bool Deleted)
+cRecordings Recordings;
+
+cRecordings::cRecordings(bool Deleted)
 {
-  Clear();
-  bool result = false;
-  char *cmd = NULL;
-  asprintf(&cmd, FINDCMD, VideoDirectory, VideoDirectory, Deleted ? "*" DELEXT : "*" RECEXT);
-  FILE *p = popen(cmd, "r");
-  if (p) {
-     char *s;
-     while ((s = readline(p)) != NULL) {
-           cRecording *r = new cRecording(s);
-           if (r->Name())
-              Add(r);
-           else
-              delete r;
+  deleted = Deleted;
+  lastUpdate = 0;
+}
+
+bool cRecordings::ScanVideoDir(const char *DirName)
+{
+  DIR *d = opendir(DirName);
+  if (d) {
+     struct dirent *e;
+     while ((e = readdir(d)) != NULL) {
+           if (strcmp(e->d_name, ".") && strcmp(e->d_name, "..")) {
+              char *buffer;
+              asprintf(&buffer, "%s/%s", DirName, e->d_name);
+              struct stat st;
+              if (stat(buffer, &st) == 0) {
+                 if (S_ISLNK(st.st_mode)) {
+                    free(buffer);
+                    buffer = ReadLink(buffer);
+                    if (!buffer)
+                       return false;
+                    if (stat(buffer, &st) != 0) {
+                       LOG_ERROR_STR(DirName);
+                       return false;
+                       }
+                    }
+                 if (S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
+                    if (endswith(buffer, deleted ? DELEXT : RECEXT)) {
+                       cRecording *r = new cRecording(buffer);
+                       if (r->Name())
+                          Add(r);
+                       else
+                          delete r;
+                       }
+                    else if (!ScanVideoDir(buffer))
+                       return false;
+                    }
+                 }
+              else {
+                 LOG_ERROR_STR(DirName);
+                 return false;
+                 }
+              free(buffer);
+              }
            }
-     pclose(p);
-     Sort();
-     result = Count() > 0;
+     closedir(d);
      }
-  else
-     Skins.Message(mtError, "Error while opening pipe!");
-  free(cmd);
-  return result;
+  else {
+     LOG_ERROR_STR(DirName);
+     return false;
+     }
+  return true;
+}
+
+bool cRecordings::NeedsUpdate(void)
+{
+  return lastUpdate <= LastModifiedTime(AddDirectory(VideoDirectory, ".update"));
+}
+
+bool cRecordings::Load(void)
+{
+  lastUpdate = time(NULL); // doing this first to make sure we don't miss anything
+  Clear();
+  ScanVideoDir(VideoDirectory);
+  Sort();
+  return Count() > 0;
 }
 
 cRecording *cRecordings::GetByName(const char *FileName)
@@ -652,6 +698,22 @@ cRecording *cRecordings::GetByName(const char *FileName)
   return NULL;
 }
 
+void cRecordings::AddByName(const char *FileName)
+{
+  cRecording *recording = GetByName(FileName);
+  if (!recording) {
+     recording = new cRecording(FileName);
+     Add(recording);
+     }
+}
+
+void cRecordings::DelByName(const char *FileName)
+{
+  cRecording *recording = GetByName(FileName);
+  if (recording)
+     Del(recording);
+}
+
 // --- cMark -----------------------------------------------------------------
 
 char *cMark::buffer = NULL;
diff --git a/recording.h b/recording.h
index 01a25ab4..04a1885b 100644
--- a/recording.h
+++ b/recording.h
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * See the main source file 'vdr.c' for copyright information and
  * how to reach the author.
  *
- * $Id: recording.h 1.29 2004/05/07 14:24:22 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: recording.h 1.30 2004/06/13 15:37:42 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #ifndef __RECORDING_H
@@ -69,11 +69,22 @@ public:
   };
 
 class cRecordings : public cList<cRecording> {
+private:
+  bool deleted;
+  time_t lastUpdate;
+  bool ScanVideoDir(const char *DirName);
 public:
-  bool Load(bool Deleted = false);
+  cRecordings(bool Deleted = false);
+  bool Load(void);
+  void TriggerUpdate(void) { lastUpdate = 0; }
+  bool NeedsUpdate(void);
   cRecording *GetByName(const char *FileName);
+  void AddByName(const char *FileName);
+  void DelByName(const char *FileName);
   };
 
+extern cRecordings Recordings;
+
 class cMark : public cListObject {
 private:
   static char *buffer;
diff --git a/svdrp.c b/svdrp.c
index 63126f51..87f146e5 100644
--- a/svdrp.c
+++ b/svdrp.c
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
  * and interact with the Video Disk Recorder - or write a full featured
  * graphical interface that sits on top of an SVDRP connection.
  *
- * $Id: svdrp.c 1.62 2004/03/25 17:00:23 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: svdrp.c 1.63 2004/06/13 13:38:38 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #include "svdrp.h"
@@ -504,8 +504,10 @@ void cSVDRP::CmdDELR(const char *Option)
      if (isnumber(Option)) {
         cRecording *recording = Recordings.Get(strtol(Option, NULL, 10) - 1);
         if (recording) {
-           if (recording->Delete())
+           if (recording->Delete()) {
               Reply(250, "Recording \"%s\" deleted", Option);
+              ::Recordings.Load(); // must make sure the global recordings list is updated
+              }
            else
               Reply(554, "Error while deleting recording!");
            }
diff --git a/tools.c b/tools.c
index 42193b2f..0f42182e 100644
--- a/tools.c
+++ b/tools.c
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * See the main source file 'vdr.c' for copyright information and
  * how to reach the author.
  *
- * $Id: tools.c 1.79 2004/05/22 12:13:27 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: tools.c 1.80 2004/06/13 14:36:41 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #include "tools.h"
@@ -481,6 +481,14 @@ bool SpinUpDisk(const char *FileName)
   return false;
 }
 
+time_t LastModifiedTime(const char *FileName)
+{
+  struct stat fs;
+  if (stat(FileName, &fs) == 0)
+     return fs.st_mtime;
+  return 0;
+}
+
 const char *WeekDayName(int WeekDay)
 {
   static char buffer[4];
diff --git a/tools.h b/tools.h
index 2132d001..071e35e0 100644
--- a/tools.h
+++ b/tools.h
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * See the main source file 'vdr.c' for copyright information and
  * how to reach the author.
  *
- * $Id: tools.h 1.56 2004/05/22 12:11:44 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: tools.h 1.57 2004/06/13 14:13:26 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #ifndef __TOOLS_H
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ bool RemoveFileOrDir(const char *FileName, bool FollowSymlinks = false);
 bool RemoveEmptyDirectories(const char *DirName, bool RemoveThis = false);
 char *ReadLink(const char *FileName);
 bool SpinUpDisk(const char *FileName);
+time_t LastModifiedTime(const char *FileName);
 const char *WeekDayName(int WeekDay); ///< \warning returns a statically allocated string!
 const char *WeekDayName(time_t t); ///< \warning returns a statically allocated string!
 const char *DayDateTime(time_t t = 0); ///< \warning returns a statically allocated string!
diff --git a/vdr.1 b/vdr.1
index b519f9d9..106b1d3f 100644
--- a/vdr.1
+++ b/vdr.1
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 .\" License as specified in the file COPYING that comes with the
 .\" vdr distribution.
 .\"
-.\" $Id: vdr.1 1.10 2004/05/16 12:10:52 kls Exp $
+.\" $Id: vdr.1 1.11 2004/06/13 14:48:03 kls Exp $
 .\"
 .TH vdr 1 "1 June 2003" "1.2.0" "Video Disk Recorder"
 .SH NAME
@@ -176,6 +176,10 @@ The actual data files of a recording.
 .I epg.data
 Contains all current EPG data. Can be used for external processing and will
 also be read at program startup to have the full EPG data available immediately.
+.TP
+.I .update
+If this file is present in the video directory, its last modification time will
+be used to trigger an update of the list of recordings in the "Recordings" menu.
 .SH SEE ALSO
 .BR vdr (5)
 .SH AUTHOR
diff --git a/vdr.c b/vdr.c
index 23f24957..fc1f9e09 100644
--- a/vdr.c
+++ b/vdr.c
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
  *
  * The project's page is at http://www.cadsoft.de/vdr
  *
- * $Id: vdr.c 1.183 2004/06/12 10:07:17 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: vdr.c 1.184 2004/06/13 13:52:09 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #include <getopt.h>
@@ -475,6 +475,10 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
   else
      cDevice::PrimaryDevice()->SetVolume(Setup.CurrentVolume, true);
 
+  // Recordings:
+
+  Recordings.Load();
+
   // Signal handlers:
 
   if (signal(SIGHUP,  SignalHandler) == SIG_IGN) signal(SIGHUP,  SIG_IGN);
@@ -606,6 +610,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
                   TimerInVpsMargin = true;
                }
            }
+        if (!Menu && Recordings.NeedsUpdate())
+           Recordings.Load();
         // CAM control:
         if (!Menu && !cOsd::IsOpen())
            Menu = CamControl();