diff -ruN vdr-1.7.27/INSTALL vdr-1.7.27.patched//INSTALL
--- vdr-1.7.27/INSTALL	2012-02-27 12:03:14.000000000 +0100
+++ vdr-1.7.27.patched//INSTALL	2012-04-06 09:43:38.590832504 +0200
@@ -375,6 +375,18 @@
 VDR archive into your video directory (or into your config directory,
 respectively, in case you have redirected it with the -c option).
 
+If you prefer to have your system set up according to the FHS
+("File system Hierarchy Standard") and thus have all your files spread
+around the entire file system, you can do this by adding a Make.config
+file with the following settings
+
+CACHEDIR = /var/cache/vdr
+CONFDIR = /var/lib/vdr
+LOCDIR = $(PREFIX)/share/locale
+PLUGINLIBDIR = $(PREFIX)/lib/vdr
+RESDIR = $(PREFIX)/share/vdr
+VIDEODIR = /srv/vdr/video0
+
 Setting up DiSEqC:
 ------------------
 
diff -ruN vdr-1.7.27/Make.config.template vdr-1.7.27.patched//Make.config.template
--- vdr-1.7.27/Make.config.template	2012-03-20 12:20:13.000000000 +0100
+++ vdr-1.7.27.patched//Make.config.template	2012-04-06 09:43:38.591832504 +0200
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
 PLUGINLIBDIR = $(PLUGINDIR)/lib
 VIDEODIR     = /video
 CONFDIR      = $(VIDEODIR)
+#CACHEDIR     = $(VIDEODIR)
+#RESDIR       = $(CONFDIR)
 
 ### The remote control:
 
diff -ruN vdr-1.7.27/Makefile vdr-1.7.27.patched//Makefile
--- vdr-1.7.27/Makefile	2012-03-11 16:33:57.000000000 +0100
+++ vdr-1.7.27.patched//Makefile	2012-04-06 10:06:28.004832504 +0200
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@
 
 VIDEODIR = /video
 CONFDIR  = $(VIDEODIR)
+#CACHEDIR = $(VIDEODIR)
+#RESDIR   = $(CONFDIR)
 
 DOXYGEN ?= /usr/bin/doxygen
 DOXYFILE = Doxyfile
@@ -71,6 +73,8 @@
 DEFINES += -DVIDEODIR=\"$(VIDEODIR)\"
 DEFINES += -DCONFDIR=\"$(CONFDIR)\"
 DEFINES += -DPLUGINDIR=\"$(PLUGINLIBDIR)\"
+DEFINES += -DCACHEDIR=\"$(CACHEDIR)\"
+DEFINES += -DRESDIR=\"$(RESDIR)\"
 DEFINES += -DLOCDIR=\"$(LOCDIR)\"
 
 # The version numbers of VDR and the plugin API (taken from VDR's "config.h"):
@@ -112,6 +116,8 @@
 	@echo "configdir=$(CONFDIR)" >> $@
 	@echo "videodir=$(VIDEODIR)" >> $@
 	@echo "plugindir=$(PLUGINLIBDIR)" >> $@
+	@echo "cachedir=$(CACHEDIR)" >> $@
+	@echo "resdir=$(RESDIR)" >> $@
 	@echo "localedir=$(LOCDIR)" >> $@
 	@echo "apiversion=$(APIVERSION)" >> $@
 	@echo "cflags=$(CXXFLAGS) $(DEFINES) -I\$${includedir}" >> $@
@@ -183,7 +189,7 @@
 
 # Install the files:
 
-install: install-bin install-conf install-doc install-plugins install-i18n install-includes install-pc
+install: install-bin install-dirs install-conf install-doc install-plugins install-i18n install-includes install-pc
 
 # VDR binary:
 
@@ -193,12 +199,15 @@
 
 # Configuration files:
 
-install-conf:
+install-dirs:
 	@mkdir -p $(DESTDIR)$(VIDEODIR)
-	@if [ ! -d $(DESTDIR)$(CONFDIR) ]; then\
-	    mkdir -p $(DESTDIR)$(CONFDIR);\
-	    cp *.conf $(DESTDIR)$(CONFDIR);\
-	    fi
+	@mkdir -p $(DESTDIR)$(CONFDIR)
+	@mkdir -p $(DESTDIR)$(RESDIR)
+	@mkdir -p $(DESTDIR)$(CACHEDIR)
+
+install-conf:
+	@cp *.conf $(DESTDIR)$(CONFDIR)
+
 
 # Documentation:
 
diff -ruN vdr-1.7.27/PLUGINS.html vdr-1.7.27.patched//PLUGINS.html
--- vdr-1.7.27/PLUGINS.html	2012-03-09 10:49:29.000000000 +0100
+++ vdr-1.7.27.patched//PLUGINS.html	2012-04-06 09:43:38.594832504 +0200
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
 <li><a href="#Wakeup">Wakeup</a>
 <li><a href="#Setup parameters">Setup parameters</a>
 <li><a href="#The Setup menu">The Setup menu</a>
-<li><a href="#Configuration files">Configuration files</a>
+<li><a href="#Additional files">Additional files</a>
 <li><a href="#Internationalization">Internationalization</a>
 <li><a href="#Custom services">Custom services</a>
 <li><a href="#SVDRP commands">SVDRP commands</a>
@@ -885,39 +885,55 @@
 your setup parameters and use that one to copy all parameters with one single statement
 (like VDR does with its cSetup class).
 
-<hr><h2><a name="Configuration files">Configuration files</a></h2>
+<hr><h2><a name="Additional files">Additional files</a></h2>
 
 <div class="blurb">I want my own stuff!</div><p>
 
-There may be situations where a plugin requires configuration files of its own, maybe
-for data that can't be stored in the simple <a href="#Setup parameters">setup parameters</a>
-of VDR, or maybe because it needs to launch other programs that simply need a separate
-configuration file. While the plugin is free to store such files anywhere it
-sees fit, it might be a good idea to put them in a common place, preferably
-where other configuration data already exists. VDR provides the function
+There may be situations where a plugin requires own files. While the plugin is
+free to store such files anywhere it sees fit, it might be a good idea to put them in a common
+place, preferably where such data already exists.
+<p>
+<i>configuration files</i>, maybe for data that can't be stored in the simple
+<a href="#Setup parameters">setup parameters</a> of VDR, or maybe because it needs to
+launch other programs that simply need a separate configuration file.
+<p>
+<i>cache files</i>, to store data so that future requests for that data can be served faster. The data
+that is stored within a cache might be values that have been computed earlier or duplicates of
+original values that are stored elsewhere.
+<p>
+<i>resource files</i>, for providing additional files, like pictures, movie clips or channel logos.
+<p>
+Threfore VDR provides three functions
 
 <p><table><tr><td class="code"><pre>
 const char *ConfigDirectory(const char *PluginName = NULL);
 </pre></td></tr></table><p>
+<p><table><tr><td class="code"><pre>
+const char *CacheDirectory(const char *PluginName = NULL);
+</pre></td></tr></table><p>
+<p><table><tr><td class="code"><pre>
+const char *ResourceDirectory(const char *PluginName = NULL);
+</pre></td></tr></table><p>
 
-which returns a string containing the directory that VDR uses for its own configuration
-files (defined through the <tt><b>-c</b></tt> option in the call to VDR), extended by
+each of these return a string containing the directory that VDR uses for its own
+files (defined through the options in the call to VDR), extended by
 <tt>"/plugins"</tt>. So assuming the VDR configuration directory is <tt>/video</tt>
 (the default if no <tt><b>-c</b></tt> or <tt><b>-v</b></tt> option is given),
 a call to <tt>ConfigDirectory()</tt> will return <tt>/video/plugins</tt>. The first
 call to <tt>ConfigDirectory()</tt> will automatically make sure that the <tt>plugins</tt>
 subdirectory will exist. If, for some reason, this cannot be achieved, <tt>NULL</tt>
-will be returned.
+will be returned. The behavoir of <tt>CacheDirectory()</tt> and <tt>ResourceDirectory()</tt>
+is similar
 <p>
 The additional <tt>plugins</tt> directory is used to keep files from plugins apart
 from those of VDR itself, making sure there will be no name clashes. If a plugin
-needs only one extra configuration file, it is suggested that this file be named
-<tt>name.conf</tt>, where <i>name</i> shall be the name of the plugin.
+needs only one extra file, it is suggested that this file be named <tt>name.*</tt>,
+where <i>name</i> shall be the name of the plugin.
 <p>
 If a plugin needs more than one such file, it is suggested that the plugin stores
 these in a subdirectory of its own, named after the plugin. To easily get such a name
-the <tt>ConfigDirectory()</tt> function can be given an additional string that will
-be appended to the returned directory name, as in
+the functions can be given an additional string that will be appended to the returned
+directory name, as in
 
 <p><table><tr><td class="code"><pre>
 const char *MyConfigDir = ConfigDirectory(Name());
@@ -928,13 +944,13 @@
 (or return <tt>NULL</tt> in case of an error).
 <p>
 <b>
-The returned string is statically allocated and will be overwritten by subsequent
-calls to ConfigDirectory()!
+The returned strings are statically allocated and will be overwritten by subsequent
+calls!
 </b>
 <p>
-The <tt>ConfigDirectory()</tt> function is a static member function of the <tt>cPlugin</tt>
-class. This allows it to be called even from outside any member function of the derived
-plugin class, by writing
+The <tt>ConfigDirectory()</tt>, <tt>CacheDirectory()</tt> and <tt>ResourceDirectory()</tt>
+functions are static member functions of the <tt>cPlugin</tt> class. This allows them to be
+called even from outside any member function of the derived plugin class, by writing
 
 <p><table><tr><td class="code"><pre>
 const char *MyConfigDir = cPlugin::ConfigDirectory();
diff -ruN vdr-1.7.27/plugin.c vdr-1.7.27.patched//plugin.c
--- vdr-1.7.27/plugin.c	2012-03-11 14:56:02.000000000 +0100
+++ vdr-1.7.27.patched//plugin.c	2012-04-06 09:43:38.595832504 +0200
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 // --- cPlugin ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 char *cPlugin::configDirectory = NULL;
+char *cPlugin::cacheDirectory = NULL;
+char *cPlugin::resourceDirectory = NULL;
 
 cPlugin::cPlugin(void)
 {
@@ -145,6 +147,36 @@
   return MakeDirs(buffer, true) ? *buffer : NULL;
 }
 
+void cPlugin::SetCacheDirectory(const char *Dir)
+{
+  free(cacheDirectory);
+  cacheDirectory = strdup(Dir);
+}
+
+const char *cPlugin::CacheDirectory(const char *PluginName)
+{
+  static cString buffer;
+  if (!cThread::IsMainThread())
+     esyslog("ERROR: plugin '%s' called cPlugin::CacheDirectory(), which is not thread safe!", PluginName ? PluginName : "<no name given>");
+  buffer = cString::sprintf("%s/plugins%s%s", cacheDirectory, PluginName ? "/" : "", PluginName ? PluginName : "");
+  return MakeDirs(buffer, true) ? *buffer : NULL;
+}
+
+void cPlugin::SetResourceDirectory(const char *Dir)
+{
+  free(resourceDirectory);
+  resourceDirectory = strdup(Dir);
+}
+
+const char *cPlugin::ResourceDirectory(const char *PluginName)
+{
+  static cString buffer;
+  if (!cThread::IsMainThread())
+     esyslog("ERROR: plugin '%s' called cPlugin::ResourceDirectory(), which is not thread safe!", PluginName ? PluginName : "<no name given>");
+  buffer = cString::sprintf("%s/plugins%s%s", resourceDirectory, PluginName ? "/" : "", PluginName ? PluginName : "");
+  return MakeDirs(buffer, true) ? *buffer : NULL;
+}
+
 // --- cDll ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 cDll::cDll(const char *FileName, const char *Args)
diff -ruN vdr-1.7.27/plugin.h vdr-1.7.27.patched//plugin.h
--- vdr-1.7.27/plugin.h	2012-03-11 14:55:56.000000000 +0100
+++ vdr-1.7.27.patched//plugin.h	2012-04-06 09:43:38.596832504 +0200
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
   friend class cPluginManager;
 private:
   static char *configDirectory;
+  static char *cacheDirectory;
+  static char *resourceDirectory;
   const char *name;
   bool started;
   void SetName(const char *s);
@@ -57,6 +59,12 @@
 
   static void SetConfigDirectory(const char *Dir);
   static const char *ConfigDirectory(const char *PluginName = NULL);
+
+  static void SetCacheDirectory(const char *Dir);
+  static const char *CacheDirectory(const char *PluginName = NULL);
+
+  static void SetResourceDirectory(const char *Dir);
+  static const char *ResourceDirectory(const char *PluginName = NULL);
   };
 
 class cDll : public cListObject {
diff -ruN vdr-1.7.27/vdr.1 vdr-1.7.27.patched//vdr.1
--- vdr-1.7.27/vdr.1	2012-02-27 12:01:17.000000000 +0100
+++ vdr-1.7.27.patched//vdr.1	2012-04-06 09:43:38.596832504 +0200
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@
 .BI \-a\  cmd ,\ \-\-audio= cmd
 Send Dolby Digital audio to stdin of command \fIcmd\fR.
 .TP
+.BI \-\-cachedir= dir
+save cache files in \fIdir\fR.
+.TP
 .BI \-c\  dir ,\ \-\-config= dir
 Read config files from directory \fIdir\fR
 (default is to read them from the video directory).
@@ -157,6 +160,9 @@
 Call \fIcmd\fR before and after a recording. See the file \fIINSTALL\fR for
 more information.
 .TP
+.BI \-\-resdir= dir
+read resource files from \fIdir\fR.
+.TP
 .BI \-s\  cmd ,\ \-\-shutdown= cmd
 Call \fIcmd\fR to shutdown the computer. See the file \fIINSTALL\fR for more
 information.
diff -ruN vdr-1.7.27/vdr.c vdr-1.7.27.patched//vdr.c
--- vdr-1.7.27/vdr.c	2012-03-14 10:09:19.000000000 +0100
+++ vdr-1.7.27.patched//vdr.c	2012-04-06 09:45:15.546832504 +0200
@@ -181,15 +181,19 @@
 #define DEFAULTWATCHDOG     0 // seconds
 #define DEFAULTCONFDIR CONFDIR
 #define DEFAULTPLUGINDIR PLUGINDIR
+#define DEFAULTCACHEDIR CACHEDIR
 #define DEFAULTEPGDATAFILENAME "epg.data"
+#define DEFAULTRESDIR RESDIR
 
   bool StartedAsRoot = false;
   const char *VdrUser = NULL;
   bool UserDump = false;
   int SVDRPport = DEFAULTSVDRPPORT;
   const char *AudioCommand = NULL;
+  const char *CacheDirectory = NULL;
   const char *ConfigDirectory = NULL;
   const char *EpgDataFileName = DEFAULTEPGDATAFILENAME;
+  const char *ResourceDirectory = NULL;
   bool DisplayHelp = false;
   bool DisplayVersion = false;
   bool DaemonMode = false;
@@ -215,6 +219,7 @@
 
   static struct option long_options[] = {
       { "audio",    required_argument, NULL, 'a' },
+      { "cachedir", required_argument, NULL, 'c' | 0x100 },
       { "config",   required_argument, NULL, 'c' },
       { "daemon",   no_argument,       NULL, 'd' },
       { "device",   required_argument, NULL, 'D' },
@@ -234,6 +239,7 @@
       { "plugin",   required_argument, NULL, 'P' },
       { "port",     required_argument, NULL, 'p' },
       { "record",   required_argument, NULL, 'r' },
+      { "resdir",   required_argument, NULL, 'r' | 0x200 },
       { "shutdown", required_argument, NULL, 's' },
       { "split",    no_argument,       NULL, 's' | 0x100 },
       { "terminal", required_argument, NULL, 't' },
@@ -251,6 +257,9 @@
         switch (c) {
           case 'a': AudioCommand = optarg;
                     break;
+          case 'c' | 0x100:
+                    CacheDirectory = optarg;
+                    break;
           case 'c': ConfigDirectory = optarg;
                     break;
           case 'd': DaemonMode = true; break;
@@ -348,6 +357,9 @@
                     break;
           case 'r': cRecordingUserCommand::SetCommand(optarg);
                     break;
+          case 'r' | 0x200:
+                    ResourceDirectory = optarg;
+                    break;
           case 's': ShutdownHandler.SetShutdownCommand(optarg);
                     break;
           case 's' | 0x100:
@@ -413,6 +425,7 @@
      if (DisplayHelp) {
         printf("Usage: vdr [OPTIONS]\n\n"          // for easier orientation, this is column 80|
                "  -a CMD,   --audio=CMD    send Dolby Digital audio to stdin of command CMD\n"
+               "            --cachedir=DIR save cache files in DIR (default: %s)\n"
                "  -c DIR,   --config=DIR   read config files from DIR (default: %s)\n"
                "  -d,       --daemon       run in daemon mode\n"
                "  -D NUM,   --device=NUM   use only the given DVB device (NUM = 0, 1, 2...)\n"
@@ -449,6 +462,7 @@
                "                           0 turns off SVDRP\n"
                "  -P OPT,   --plugin=OPT   load a plugin defined by the given options\n"
                "  -r CMD,   --record=CMD   call CMD before and after a recording\n"
+               "            --resdir=DIR   read resource files from DIR (default: %s)\n"
                "  -s CMD,   --shutdown=CMD call CMD to shutdown the computer\n"
                "            --split        split edited files at the editing marks (only\n"
                "                           useful in conjunction with --edit)\n"
@@ -463,6 +477,7 @@
                "  -w SEC,   --watchdog=SEC activate the watchdog timer with a timeout of SEC\n"
                "                           seconds (default: %d); '0' disables the watchdog\n"
                "\n",
+               strcmp(DEFAULTCACHEDIR, "") ? DEFAULTCACHEDIR : VideoDirectory,
                DEFAULTCONFDIR,
                DEFAULTEPGDATAFILENAME,
                MAXVIDEOFILESIZEDEFAULT,
@@ -470,6 +485,7 @@
                LIRC_DEVICE,
                LOCDIR,
                DEFAULTSVDRPPORT,
+               strcmp(DEFAULTRESDIR, "") ? DEFAULTRESDIR : DEFAULTCONFDIR,
                VideoDirectory,
                DEFAULTWATCHDOG
                );
@@ -577,14 +593,39 @@
   if (!PluginManager.LoadPlugins(true))
      EXIT(2);
 
-  // Configuration data:
+  // Configuration directory:
 
   if (!ConfigDirectory)
      ConfigDirectory = DEFAULTCONFDIR;
 
   cPlugin::SetConfigDirectory(ConfigDirectory);
+
+  // Cache directory:
+
+  if (!CacheDirectory) {
+     CacheDirectory = DEFAULTCACHEDIR;
+     if (!CacheDirectory[0])
+        CacheDirectory = VideoDirectory;
+     }
+
+  cPlugin::SetCacheDirectory(CacheDirectory);
+
+  // Resource directory:
+
+  if (!ResourceDirectory) {
+     ResourceDirectory = DEFAULTRESDIR;
+     if (!ResourceDirectory[0])
+        ResourceDirectory = ConfigDirectory;
+     }
+
+  cPlugin::SetResourceDirectory(ResourceDirectory);
+
+  // Themes directory:
+
   cThemes::SetThemesDirectory(AddDirectory(ConfigDirectory, "themes"));
 
+  // Configuration data:
+
   Setup.Load(AddDirectory(ConfigDirectory, "setup.conf"));
   Sources.Load(AddDirectory(ConfigDirectory, "sources.conf"), true, true);
   Diseqcs.Load(AddDirectory(ConfigDirectory, "diseqc.conf"), true, Setup.DiSEqC);
@@ -618,7 +653,7 @@
         EpgDataFileName = DEFAULTEPGDATAFILENAME;
         }
      else if (*EpgDataFileName != '/' && *EpgDataFileName != '.')
-        EpgDirectory = VideoDirectory;
+        EpgDirectory = CacheDirectory;
      if (EpgDirectory)
         cSchedules::SetEpgDataFileName(AddDirectory(EpgDirectory, EpgDataFileName));
      else
