[bartenderck]

I've decided to develop a program that will auto load all the logos into the guide for anyone who wants them. It works on the web interface and on the mobile site, and should also load them into XBMC. If this is something you're interested in I need some help. I need a few channel map files from people with different cable providers and also a few beta testers. Message me if you can help with both. Here's another screen shot of the web interface with logos.



It's going to take me another week to create all the logos, and probably a week to get a beta version done (if I can get the channel map files).

I used icons inside of Windows Media Center and it adds so much. I would love this on Ceton XBMC.

Has anyone tried this ceton xbmc on an Amazon Fire with XBMC? Curious if it works well

[hotshot2k3]

Here is what I have done since I can't get xbmc to work.

1. Created a .bat file for each channel. It opens VLC in fullscreen and if a channel is already playing it kills that task first so only one instance of vlc is running.

taskkill /im vlc.exe
"C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" "http://X.X.X.X:8888/play?channel=502&format=ts&redirect=true" -f

2. Installed Autohotkey

3. Created a script that will start a channel based on certain key strokes. So basically if I press Shift + 8 or * on a WMC remote control and then the channel numbers right after it will run the .bat file for that channel.

+8::
Input, userKey, I L3
If userKey = 470
Run, "C:\TV\470.bat"
return

Now what I would really love is a GUI for this that has a on EPG guide much like pseudotv. So that if you click on a channel in the EPG guide it will trigger the .bat file

[PowerLion1]

So, I'm moving to Japan in the spring and plan on streaming from my Ceton InfiniTV 4 (PCIe) to XBMC via Raspberry Pi. I ran tests and figured based on speed tests that it should stay at a constant stream at around 1.5-2Mb/s

I'm using this url (xxx replace real dyndns name) and it will work fine.

http://xxx.dyndns.org:8888/play?channel=...lution=720

However, At times VLC bumps my CPU usage up to 100% causing stuttering. I should note that direct streaming works, but at up to 20Mb/s is too much for uploading, It's a Quad-Core AMD Phenom II x4 with 16GB RAM and an ATI Radeo HD 5770. I saw that the Raspberry Pi can do encoding at 1080p @ 30fps. So my question is would it be possible to somehow use the Raspberry Pi to do the video encoding to offload this from my PC which can't quite handle the task.

My thought was to use a direct stream to the Raspberry Pi to recode it and then use that. The only issue I have is how it could be implemented, and how would I go about doing that. Since it seems like the project has been frozen, it would be really nice if this could be ported to allow the Pi to run the tv:erver which then could use the Pi's GPU to encode.

[timmyjl12]

So, I'm moving to Japan in the spring and plan on streaming from my Ceton InfiniTV 4 (PCIe) to XBMC via Raspberry Pi. I ran tests and figured based on speed tests that it should stay at a constant stream at around 1.5-2Mb/s

I'm using this url (xxx replace real dyndns name) and it will work fine.

http://xxx.dyndns.org:8888/play?channel=...lution=720

However, At times VLC bumps my CPU usage up to 100% causing stuttering. I should note that direct streaming works, but at up to 20Mb/s is too much for uploading, It's a Quad-Core AMD Phenom II x4 with 16GB RAM and an ATI Radeo HD 5770. I saw that the Raspberry Pi can do encoding at 1080p @ 30fps. So my question is would it be possible to somehow use the Raspberry Pi to do the video encoding to offload this from my PC which can't quite handle the task.

My thought was to use a direct stream to the Raspberry Pi to recode it and then use that. The only issue I have is how it could be implemented, and how would I go about doing that. Since it seems like the project has been frozen, it would be really nice if this could be ported to allow the Pi to run the tv:erver which then could use the Pi's GPU to encode.

The issue is that you will have your raspberry pi in japan. The direct stream will require 20mbps to that device. Thats a lot of bandwidth. So better off getting xbmc working on it and using the interface there to setup a 480 or 720 stream. Also, I'd look into using a vpn. They are very easy to setup and you can even run ddwrt in a virtualbox. That way all your addresses are local and your stream is atleast behind a vpn. Have you looked at picking up an android tv box? The new amlogic chip works good for streaming and they are around 100 bucks.

But as another note, you might want to upgrade your cpu, that processor might have a tough time with transcoding. For your needs, a new i3 will have great single core performance for transcoding in vlc and is not too expensive. I know I tried to do a 480 stream to my phone (note 3) on a Q6600 quad core and that was its limit.

[PowerLion1]

Thanks for replying timmyjl12.

I planned on using 2 Raspberry Pis. The first one would be located in the US to transcode the video down to a smaller bitrate and the second one in Japan would be the receiver of the retranscoded video.
CetonTV (US) => Raspberry Pi (US - Retranscoding) => Raspberry Pi (XBMC Japan)

I also have an Android STB - Armada M8 which I planned on using for some light gaming along with a GameStop Red Samurai v2 Bluetooth Gamepad.

I just thought that if the tv:erver program could be ported to the Raspberry Pi, I could use the Pi to transcode the video rather that buying a new motherboard and CPU. When I use direct stream it uses only on average 13% CPU when streaming in VLC. Otherwise it uses anywhere from 40% - 91% CPU on VLC and with other system services running it maxes out.

[dbqbbq]

So, I'm moving to Japan in the spring and plan on streaming from my Ceton InfiniTV 4 (PCIe) to XBMC via Raspberry Pi. I ran tests and figured based on speed tests that it should stay at a constant stream at around 1.5-2Mb/s

I'm using this url (xxx replace real dyndns name) and it will work fine.

http://xxx.dyndns.org:8888/play?channel=...lution=720

However, At times VLC bumps my CPU usage up to 100% causing stuttering. I should note that direct streaming works, but at up to 20Mb/s is too much for uploading, It's a Quad-Core AMD Phenom II x4 with 16GB RAM and an ATI Radeo HD 5770. I saw that the Raspberry Pi can do encoding at 1080p @ 30fps. So my question is would it be possible to somehow use the Raspberry Pi to do the video encoding to offload this from my PC which can't quite handle the task.

My thought was to use a direct stream to the Raspberry Pi to recode it and then use that. The only issue I have is how it could be implemented, and how would I go about doing that. Since it seems like the project has been frozen, it would be really nice if this could be ported to allow the Pi to run the tv:erver which then could use the Pi's GPU to encode.

I would really doubt that a Raspberry Pi would be a more reliable encoder than a dedicated computer with graphics card. I could of course be wrong about this but the computation power of the desktop PC far exceeds that of a Pi. The original author of the code seems to be busy and hasn't really been active in almost a year so I wouldn't count on getting the code ported to Pi. Compared to other video encoding software it seems that the encoding in tv:erver isn't optimized to minimize CPU loads (even on my i5-2500K I get surprisingly large CPU loads when encoding 720p but still under 50% if I recall). Your best option staying with tv:erver is probably either going with a lower resolution/bitrate or getting a better computer. If you wanted to branch out from tv:erver you could also look at MediaBrowser which has a plugin for interacting with WMC (thread at http://forum.xbmc.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=205). The streaming there seems to be better optimized for keeping CPU loads low but it's arguably less convenient for remote streaming (you can stream remotely via a browser but not via the provided XBMC plugin). The development is much more active on that software so there might be better hope for future features.

[devo1929]

Any plans to continue development on this? Or, willing to open source the server to allow others to continue development?

This truly is an awesome tool. I really appreciate the work you've done.

[blackoper]

how exactly do I install the PVR addon to xbmc 13.x? Putting it in the normal addons directory gives me a dll error when starting pvr/livetv subsection? Anyone been successful with this or am I doing something wrong? I was able to get the script portion working but the integration of the pvr addon would be nice

[cbanakis]

Blackoper, this app is actually a bit antiquated nowadays when it comes to live tv in xbmc.
as far as I can tell, this is still the only way to get live tv in plex, which is awesome.

But for xbmc...

Look into ServerWMC.
https://0df317251eddfb99d4fce96eecb40d46...index.html

Its pretty great, and relatively easy to setup.

Install Server WMC on a Windows computer with live tv already setup in media center.

Then install the PVR-WMC add-on in xbmc.
Enter the ip of the windows server, and your done

Its pretty great.

[blackoper]

Blackoper, this app is actually a bit antiquated nowadays when it comes to live tv in xbmc.
as far as I can tell, this is still the only way to get live tv in plex, which is awesome.

But for xbmc...

Look into ServerWMC.
https://0df317251eddfb99d4fce96eecb40d46...index.html

Could you describe how this integrates livetv with plex (I read through a lot of the thread but maybe I missed where this is discussed)? Can plex livetv then be brought into xbmc this way?

I'm aware of Server WMC but h.264 with that is still problematic as I can't do live streams from my current hdhr3-cc. The main reason I'm interested in this software is the live tv streamed in h.264. I'm trying to setup something for live tv (sports) place shifting at my parent's home and brother's house that does not have cable tv. I spend about half my time there gunsmithing and apprenticing as a machinist. I am limited to 5mbit upload from my main home with cable tv. Sagetv which I am currently using is limited to straight mpeg2 encoding and over my limited bandwidth it is not very pretty and hd resolutions are limited. With h.264 I can get a 40% or more picture improvement with the same bandwidth

To make this work though I'm definitely going to have to upgrade my server system as the Intel Q6600 is not cutting it with h.264 encoding. Right now I'm deciding between an amd fx-8370 or a Intel i7-5820k (huge price premium on the intel but I think I'll go that route). This would run a Nas4Free (freebsd nas) as the main OS handing ZFS Raidz drives arrays, smb shares, torrents, sabnzbd, sickbeard, and couchpotato. The windows 7 OS runs as a guest in phpvirtualbox. 2-4 cores available for base os, 4 cores for the Win 7 OS. The Win 7 OS also currently runs WMC and 2-3 media extenders.

HDHRFling application mostly would work for me too but I'd have to invest in multiple roku3's and I'd rather just use xbmc that I already have setup. This is plan B I guess. If development hadn't stopped on this, it would be a no-brainer for me. i guess I could always downgrade xbmc to earlier 12.x versions if needed to include the pvr functionality in it

[flipontheradio]

I've managed to incorporate this into plex by using the IPTV addon (https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/8...-playlist/) for plex. I built a pc with an amd FX-8150 chip in it and stashed it in the basement of my in-laws house and use it to stream their cable tv to my house. Now I haven't had time to experiment with it but I was able to make it functional until the semester ends and I have more time.

I've only been able to get it to stream to Plex Home Theater. I've had no luck with Roku, chromecast, android app, or the web client. I'm not doing any transcoding to the signal so I have zero load on the processor but my upload is around 15 mbs (thanksfully in-laws have 25mbs). Now I have messed around with transcoding to 720p at 2000kbs and the signal is acceptable and should work for you. The processor load bounces between 35% and 34%.

When the semester ends I hope to have time to break down and rebuild this app and the IPTV app to better suit my needs. Keep me posted on what route you take as I'm always open to better solutions.

[dbqbbq]

Blackoper, this app is actually a bit antiquated nowadays when it comes to live tv in xbmc.
as far as I can tell, this is still the only way to get live tv in plex, which is awesome.

But for xbmc...

Look into ServerWMC.
https://0df317251eddfb99d4fce96eecb40d46...index.html

Could you describe how this integrates livetv with plex (I read through a lot of the thread but maybe I missed where this is discussed)? Can plex livetv then be brought into xbmc this way?

I'm aware of Server WMC but h.264 with that is still problematic as I can't do live streams from my current hdhr3-cc. The main reason I'm interested in this software is the live tv streamed in h.264. I'm trying to setup something for live tv (sports) place shifting at my parent's home and brother's house that does not have cable tv. I spend about half my time there gunsmithing and apprenticing as a machinist. I am limited to 5mbit upload from my main home with cable tv. Sagetv which I am currently using is limited to straight mpeg2 encoding and over my limited bandwidth it is not very pretty and hd resolutions are limited. With h.264 I can get a 40% or more picture improvement with the same bandwidth

To make this work though I'm definitely going to have to upgrade my server system as the Intel Q6600 is not cutting it with h.264 encoding. Right now I'm deciding between an amd fx-8370 or a Intel i7-5820k (huge price premium on the intel but I think I'll go that route). This would run a Nas4Free (freebsd nas) as the main OS handing ZFS Raidz drives arrays, smb shares, torrents, sabnzbd, sickbeard, and couchpotato. The windows 7 OS runs as a guest in phpvirtualbox. 2-4 cores available for base os, 4 cores for the Win 7 OS. The Win 7 OS also currently runs WMC and 2-3 media extenders.

HDHRFling application mostly would work for me too but I'd have to invest in multiple roku3's and I'd rather just use xbmc that I already have setup. This is plan B I guess. If development hadn't stopped on this, it would be a no-brainer for me. i guess I could always downgrade xbmc to earlier 12.x versions if needed to include the pvr functionality in it

I use MediaBrowser to placeshift live TV with ServerWMC. I'm not sure if the encoding is h264 but the picture quality seems comparable to this program for a given bandwidth. My downstream connection was limited to 2-3 Mbps and I was able to stream acceptable 720p signals. Navigating the guide can be a bit slow but otherwise it works well. I wasn't able to get it working in XBMC but it works through a browser.

[blackoper]

Just an update. I'm just going to use it as a script under programs in xbmc. I've gotten the channels adjusted to what is copy freely by editing the hdhomerun channel map. I've then tested the xbmc script part on a normal xbmc install on my personal pc and also on an openelec based ion box and it works very well. HD channels have some issues being encoded that appears to be because the processor can't keep up. Getting occasional buffering pauses and loss of video for a short period but audio continues (I've given win 7 three cores, 1 held in reserve for the rest of the server).
I'm going to try overclocking the q6600 processor (it has G0 stepping) up as it appears that could increase the encoding ability by up to 30% if I can hit 3.2+ ghz vs the stock 2.4ghz. If it works I can save some $ and not buy any new hardware. As far as quality, 720p @ 2000K seems to provide good video so I think that is what I'll probably use as a default setting and increase it from there when needed.. That would allow two to three streams with my upload limits

[dbqbbq]

As far as quality, 720p @ 2000K seems to provide good video so I think that is what I'll probably use as a default setting and increase it from there when needed.. That would allow two to three streams with my upload limits

Just wanted to point out that based on what you've said you will be limited by the transcoding not your upload speed. I'm doubting that you'll be able to get 2 streams at 720p/2000k with your current hardware.

[blackoper]

As far as quality, 720p @ 2000K seems to provide good video so I think that is what I'll probably use as a default setting and increase it from there when needed.. That would allow two to three streams with my upload limits

Just wanted to point out that based on what you've said you will be limited by the transcoding not your upload speed. I'm doubting that you'll be able to get 2 streams at 720p/2000k with your current hardware.

Yep even with overclocking it to 3.2Ghz it just can't keep up with a single h.264 720p stream. Until I upgrade, I'm removing the HD channels from the hdhomerun channelmap and keep everything set to 480p 1500kpbs. I have been able to get two concurrent streams that way.

I decided I need to upgrade my server for Nas4Free/ZFS/WMC Extenders/Etc. anyway so I might as well do it right and get ECC memory and add more storage (I'm down to under 1TB free currently).

Upgrading to hardware:
Motherboard: SuperMicro X8DTi
Processor: Intel Xeon X5660 hex core (dual socket motherboard so i can add another X5660)
Ram: 32GB ECC Registered DDR3-1333 (sweet ebay deal was looking at 16 originally)
IBM SERVERAID M1015 flashed to IT mode
Istar 3in5 Sata 6 enclosures x1


Reused hardware:
Case: Cooler Master Stacker 810 case
Existing sata cages: AMS Sata II 3in5 x2
Power supply: 550 watts gold rated
Nas4free drive: 30GB ssd
Storage: 5x2TB WD greens (idle disabled) Riad 5, 3TB WD greens x6 (idle disabled) Raid 6, Random 3tb drive for backups
Network switch: Dell PowerConnect 2716 with LACP

So why this upgrade to non-cutting edge hardware?
Well I wanted ECC memory, PCIE 2.0 architecture and I needed a processor that could handle xh264 encoding better as I experiment with different options like Cetontv, Plex, HDHRfling,etc.. However I didn't want to break the bank. An intel i7 4790k setup with ecc was approaching $700+. The direction I went however was around $300-400 and get's me 2/3rds the cpu performance and if I need more I can add another cheap x5660. My current Q6600 passmark score was near 3,000 and it has a TDP of 105 watts. In contrast, the X5660 has a passmark score of 8,123 (I7-4790k is 11,299) and tdp of 95 watts along with 6 cores. This means I can assign 4 to 5 of the cores over to virtual machines if needed. Also my old board only had a pcie 1.0 x16 slot and a bunch of x4 slots. The Intel m1015 can use an PCIE 2.0 x8 slot. In addition the ECC ram was an important upgrade to lessen data failure points. Finally having Intel based gigabit nics is going to really improve the networking aspect over the realtek nics that are inefficient compared to intel. Cutting edge hardware caused a lot of problems for me last time due to open source OS's taking a while to add the drivers to their kernels.

Reference: Passmark minimum score of 2,000 is a baseline for a 1080p realtime h264 stream encode per Plex documents


Future Upgrade:
DIY built external secondary case with more sata cages if needed. Hopefully not as I am eyeballing 6TB drives for upgrades and I should be able to fit 24 drives in my case. (using 12 now)
Intel RAID Twenty-four port Expander Card RES2SV240
If I need more sata drive hookups I can use this expander for another 20 more drives. With the listed mobo and 1015 card I can attach 16 sata drives. The expander would allow for +20 drives and a second expander would be another +20 sata drives. I can't think of any reason I'd ever need that much unless the U.S. upload levels increase heavily (close family, extended family cord cutting would be an option)