[Cohdy]

(Setup posted at end)

Hi...

I can't get kodi PVR to work at all... I thought it would be easy but it's not.

I am totally stuck. Here's what I tried so far:

1) Go to Settings -> Addons -> My Addons -> PVR Clients
2) Stare at a massive list wondering how on Earth I'm supposed to know which to choose.
3) Spend over an hour trying to research about Kodi PVR clients, which is better... etc.
4) Enabled DVBLink and MythTV
5) No change. No "TV" or "Live TV" appears anywhere.
6) Tried "enabling live-tv" in the settings... that popped up a window asking me to choose a PVR client... and guess what SOMEHOW my DVBLink and MythTV are disabled... (wierd... I didn't remember disabling those.)
7) Try again about 4x... everytime these get disabled.
8) Try following instructions on the internet about using IPCTV Systems Client... this time it stays ENABLED but doesn't work... and Kodi tells me that "no backends support searching for channels"
9) Try number 8 a few more times in different ways.
10) Tried just installing every backend I could find... (NextPVR, DVBLink, etc)... nothing.
11) Tried installing a new skin... somehow that lets me see the "LiveTV" option (not visible with confluence) but it won't list any channels anyhow. Also keeps popping up errors about "NextPVR lost connection"
12) Repeated the same attempts on a different computer (Kodi + MacOSX)... same errors... which is at least releiving.
13) Try lookup about PVR tutorials again on the internet, search forums... nothing.

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!!!

I DON'T WANT ANYTHING SPECIAL JUST A SIMPLE NORMAL SETUP WHERE I CAN RECORD TV ON THIS KODI BOX.

I have two USB tuners and I know they work cos they worked on the PC...

I just don't know what to do and I'm totally stuck.

Sorry for the caps but I'm sooo frustrated spent over 3 hours struggling with this.

...

Hardware: Tronsmart MX III Plus (an kodi box made just for internet TV)
OS: Android 5.1.1 API level 22
Kodi: 15.2-RC1
USB ports: 2
USB card 1: August Freeview TV Receiver DVB-T205 (V2.0)
USB card 2: Hauppauge! WinTV "DVB-T receiver with Diversity" (no idea what that means)

These two USB cards worked FINE with Windows Media Center on a MacMini running Windows 7... a long time ago. I tried getting them to work with this Android Kodi box and... nothing works...

[Legolover]

Seems you are lacking the entire PVR back-end?
DVBlink Addon from DVBlogic require their server and TVsources to run.

Does not look like DVBlogic provide an Android server though, so it will need to be set up on a Win/Linux machine elsewhere on your LAN.
Kodi is just the front-end DVBlink client, but runs fine on Android and other platforms.
DVBlink cost a few €, but is worth it.

There might be other back-end solutions out there, but I'm not familiar with them.
Maybe somebody else will chime in?

Cheers

[ScorpioJonesy]

In Kodi all you get are the PVR clients, so As Legolover said, what PVR backend are you using?

In terms of backends if you need one then DVBLogic is very good but paid for (you can get a free trial for 21 days or so though). If you have MCE then you can use the Server MCE too. I have used both but as an early adopter of Win 10 I just use DVBLogic now.

[Cohdy]

Seems you are lacking the entire PVR back-end?

I didn't know this before. Isn't it possible to run both the backend and the frontend on the same machine? I did this with Windows Media Center, before (on another machine)... I don't mind getting ANOTHER box... I guess... sigh.

Does not look like DVBlogic provide an Android server though, so it will need to be set up on a Win/Linux machine elsewhere on your LAN.
Kodi is just the front-end DVBlink client, but runs fine on Android and other platforms.
DVBlink cost a few €, but is worth it.

You think I can install Linux on this ARM box? Given the specs I have? Then I can run both the back-end and front-end on the same machine... it has an SD-card slot so I can boost the disk-space if needed...

Just thinking the simplest way to do this

thanks you two...

[Legolover]

Not sure about installing Linux on that box. A quick Google session seems to indicate you would be the first one attempting that, so I would keep that as is and use it as a client.
So your options are either get another box for both PVR server and client or to run just the server.
If you have the possibility to set up a dedicated server box elsewhere on your LAN (cabled is preferable) you will get a much more reliable TV recording solution.
TV shows get recorded even though your client SW/HW crashes.

Another nice feature with DVBlink is that is supports multi-stream transponder decoding. If the channels you use the most are on the same transponder it effectively gives you more tuners for free.
Give the free trial a go and check that TVsource supports you USB tuners.
If you have space for a Desktop server box, you can even go for PCIe tuners if you find the USB tuners unstable.

[Cohdy]

Not sure about installing Linux on that box. A quick Google session seems to indicate you would be the first one attempting that, so I would keep that as is and use it as a client.

Agreed!

Another nice feature with DVBlink is ... If the channels you use the most are on the same transponder it effectively gives you more tuners for free.

Sounds great. I guess I'll look for a PVR backend later today... once I've cooled off over this frustration lol.

[gshodg]

Isn't it possible to run both the backend and the frontend on the same machine? I did this with Windows Media Center, before (on another machine)... I don't mind getting ANOTHER box... I guess... sigh.

Yes, it is possible to run PVR backend and frontend on the same machine, I'm doing it with two tuners and using Tvheadend. I think better practice might be to separate them, but I'm still learning about PVR. But I've been running on combined back and front end,w ith DVB-S and DVB-T tuners attached for a year or so.

[ScorpioJonesy]

Isn't it possible to run both the backend and the frontend on the same machine? I did this with Windows Media Center, before (on another machine)... I don't mind getting ANOTHER box... I guess... sigh.

Yes, it is possible to run PVR backend and frontend on the same machine, I'm doing it with two tuners and using Tvheadend. I think better practice might be to separate them, but I'm still learning about PVR. But I've been running on combined back and front end,w ith DVB-S and DVB-T tuners attached for a year or so.

Until late last year my trusty Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 was my main media PC and both for PVR frontend and backend. It had no trouble with watching one thing while recording 3 or 4 others, all in HD. I think some of his was down to have really good tuner cards though which could take some of the load of decoding etc (Digital Devices Duo cards). As all my other media PC's are windows too I didn't need to transcode anything which again reduces the need for a more powerful CPU.

[Here2rock]

Isn't it possible to run both the backend and the frontend on the same machine? I did this with Windows Media Center, before (on another machine)... I don't mind getting ANOTHER box... I guess... sigh.

Yes, it is possible to run PVR backend and frontend on the same machine, I'm doing it with two tuners and using Tvheadend. I think better practice might be to separate them, but I'm still learning about PVR. But I've been running on combined back and front end,w ith DVB-S and DVB-T tuners attached for a year or so.

Can you run TvHeadend on Windows 10?

[Legolover]

The problem with Cohdy's box is that there might not be Android drivers for his USB tuners.
Regardless og back-end solution, my guess is that they will all require the tuner drivers to be present and working.

[black_eagle]

Can you run TvHeadend on Windows 10?

No. Tvheadend is only for Linux, freeBSD and android. It is a good solution for a backend though and I have it happily recording and streaming to multiple devices around my home. If your tuner(s) work under android or linux then imo tvheadend is a good solution.

The Hauppauge stick appears to be supported under linux, the August device is less clear !!

Given that both devices are supported under windows (uggh!!), you might consider setting up a box with windows and windows media centre. You can then use pvr.wmc within Kodi, although android support is still in alpha. See this page in the wiki for info http://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:PVR.WMC

Given the OP's current hardware, this is the solution I would opt for, although if I was buying kit to set up a backend, I'd personally get linux compatible tuners and use Ubuntu and TvHeadend.

[clarkss12]

This is the hardware I use for my tvheadend backend. I would think the RPi2 would make a great backend also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfdKqnVXlYM

[Cohdy]

This is the hardware I use for my tvheadend backend. I would think the RPi2 would make a great backend also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfdKqnVXlYM

Hi Clarks... your setup looks really great. Gives me a lot of hope Good to know such a tiny thing can be both front and backend!

[clarkss12]

This is the hardware I use for my tvheadend backend. I would think the RPi2 would make a great backend also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfdKqnVXlYM

Hi Clarks... your setup looks really great. Gives me a lot of hope Good to know such a tiny thing can be both front and backend!

Using your MX3 plus, you can install OpenELEC and tvheadend server is included in the unofficial addons, really easy to install. Not sure about the drivers for your tuners, but I am sure some one on Freaktab, can assist you with that.

Here is the link for the unofficial OpenELEC, give it a shot.

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-supp...mart-mxiii

Here is a video of one of my older Amlogic S802 boxes as a complete whole home DVR solution. Same setup as my $35 stick, but was my first setup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yRp0j-6xmE

[Here2rock]

Can you run TvHeadend on Windows 10?

No. Tvheadend is only for Linux, freeBSD and android. It is a good solution for a backend though and I have it happily recording and streaming to multiple devices around my home. If your tuner(s) work under android or linux then imo tvheadend is a good solution.

The Hauppauge stick appears to be supported under linux, the August device is less clear !!

Given that both devices are supported under windows (uggh!!), you might consider setting up a box with windows and windows media centre. You can then use pvr.wmc within Kodi, although android support is still in alpha. See this page in the wiki for info http://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:PVR.WMC

Given the OP's current hardware, this is the solution I would opt for, although if I was buying kit to set up a backend, I'd personally get linux compatible tuners and use Ubuntu and TvHeadend.

I thought that Microsoft killed WMC in Windows 10. Will the addon for WMC work if you are running backend in Windows 10?