Hi,
I’m interested to know if there is any information on the future of the PVR functionality in XBMC?
I love XBMC and really way to set it up holistically in my house, but the lack of PVR functionality is a show stopper for me – the family just won’t use it and complain about not having Sky+...
The PVR functionality is
- Too slow at changing channels.
- No series recording
- Doesn’t integrate recorded TV into the XBMC library
- No split recording
- Pause / rewind live recordings
- EPG search and keyword recordings
I think the problem here is the lack of an official backend – and relying on other people software for these features.
Does anyone have a XBMC PVR which is fully functional?
My concern is that I see load of info on the development of Gotham and exciting new features (which is great) but little or nothing on the PVR front.
I’d be interested to know where the XBMC PVR is going as I’d like to set my expectations on what it’s ever likely to achieve.
Any insight would be great!
Cheers.
I don't use it myself, but *which* PVR backend are you using? Have you tried different ones to see if any of them provide the desired functionality?
I use TVheadend, which was fairly good, but the killer was the lack of easily programmable series recording. I;m about to try MythTV next...
Since im in windows, i use NextPVR and it works great. I dont mind not having library intergration because i dont keep the recordings after i watched them. I dont do the programming in xmbc because npvr has a web interface and also a better addon for xbmc apart from the official plugin
Using vdr on ubuntu here.
With gotham you can timeshift, switching channels is pretty fast (+-2-3s with vnsi, a bit faster with xvdr). Doing all my series recording with tvbrowser and the lazybones plugin, or if it needs to be quick with the vdr live webinterface via phone/pad. I'm pretty sure you could integrate recordings automatically with vdr recording-hooks, never tried it though.
Not sure what you mean with split recording?
I don't see how recordings could be easily integrated into the library, especially since most stuff on TV isn't scrapable anyway so XBMC wouldn't find any metadata.
Pausing (and possibly rewinding) live TV is possible with many backends.
Most backends come with their own way to schedule recordings and stuff like that, including filtering the EPG. Most of this stuff can be more efficiently done using a web interface or an external program instead of in XBMCs 10 feet UI.
(2013-09-13, 08:26)negge Wrote: [ -> ]I don't see how recordings could be easily integrated into the library, especially since most stuff on TV isn't scrapable anyway so XBMC wouldn't find any metadata.
Interestingly, I just added it to the TV Library source and some (not all) of the programmes came up, even new stuff that has just been on. I did have to change the back-end to place files into folders by series name in order to make it work better.
(2013-09-13, 08:26)negge Wrote: [ -> ]Most backends come with their own way to schedule recordings and stuff like that, including filtering the EPG. Most of this stuff can be more efficiently done using a web interface or an external program instead of in XBMCs 10 feet UI.
I have to disagree here based on my painful experiences trying to wean my wife off WMC. There, she can just hit the Record button twice and it records the entire series. You can't get much more efficient than that. In fact, the lack of series recording via the 10 ft UI is one of the reasons she's screaming at me to go back to WMC.
(2013-09-13, 21:25)simbo Wrote: [ -> ]Interestingly, I just added it to the TV Library source and some (not all) of the programmes came up, even new stuff that has just been on. I did have to change the back-end to place files into folders by series name in order to make it work better.
Sure, if you record TV shows then XBMC can probably scrape them just fine. I tend to record random stuff like documentaries etc. so library integration is almost useless for me, at least in any automated fashion.
simbo Wrote:I have to disagree here based on my painful experiences trying to wean my wife off WMC. There, she can just hit the Record button twice and it records the entire series. You can't get much more efficient than that. In fact, the lack of series recording via the 10 ft UI is one of the reasons she's screaming at me to go back to WMC.
I believe the main reason XBMC doesn't do series recording is because many backends currently supported don't have that feature.
(2013-09-13, 23:45)negge Wrote: [ -> ]I believe the main reason XBMC doesn't do series recording is because many backends currently supported don't have that feature.
That's a very good point. XBMC shouldn't maintain the logic to manage series recording, it should be managed by the back-end. What XBMC should be able to do, however, is send a simple message to the back-end (assuming it can receive it) requesting a series be recorded using the default logic of the back-end. Presumably there's a "Record" message already that's standardised across the back-ends... how much effort would there be in extending that to cover a "RecordSeries" option too?
I'm sure this has all been thought of :-)
pvr api provides menu hooks. clients can use this for extending the menus and provide features like series recording.
(2013-09-13, 21:25)simbo Wrote: [ -> ]I have to disagree here based on my painful experiences trying to wean my wife off WMC. There, she can just hit the Record button twice and it records the entire series. You can't get much more efficient than that. In fact, the lack of series recording via the 10 ft UI is one of the reasons she's screaming at me to go back to WMC.
This is exactly my problem.
The only way I can see of providing a fully function PVR for XBMC is for XBMC either to develop their own back end or to adopt a backend as the 'official' XBMC backend, that way PVR functions can be developed over time instead of relying on other to develop them and then another 3rd party to integrate the feature via a plugin...
Most of the backends already support season recordings, and I think XBMC should be extended to make use of that functionality if it's available. Initially it could a simple "record season" button in the TV Guide. Also add it to PVR_ADDON_CAPABILITIES as an extra bSupportsSeasonRecord attribute, so that plugins can optionally support it. It'd only need to be a basic season recording, without worrying about the stack of different options each native backend provides, and leave it up to the addon/backend to decide how to best implement it.
I know it'd be a tiny change for the NextPVR/MediaPortal/MythTV plugins to support it. Not sure about the others.
(2013-09-15, 20:01)sub3 Wrote: [ -> ]Most of the backends already support season recordings, and I think XBMC should be extended to make use of that functionality if it's available. Initially it could a simple "record season" button in the TV Guide. Also add it to PVR_ADDON_CAPABILITIES as an extra bSupportsSeasonRecord attribute, so that plugins can optionally support it. It'd only need to be a basic season recording, without worrying about the stack of different options each native backend provides, and leave it up to the addon/backend to decide how to best implement it.
I know it'd be a tiny change for the NextPVR/MediaPortal/MythTV plugins to support it. Not sure about the others.
Brilliant - lets do it...
(2013-09-15, 17:09)archie456 Wrote: [ -> ]The only way I can see of providing a fully function PVR for XBMC is for XBMC either to develop their own back end or to adopt a backend as the 'official' XBMC backend, that way PVR functions can be developed over time instead of relying on other to develop them and then another 3rd party to integrate the feature via a plugin...
No one wants to reinvent the wheel. Considering that backends like VDR have been in development for 10 years it's no small feat to make decent DVR software (although I do believe most projects waste a lot of effort in reinventing a GUI and playback, unlike e.g. tvheadend which is just a server).