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WMC as the backend - released - Printable Version

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RE: WMC as the backend - released - krustyreturns - 2013-08-29

(2013-08-29, 16:36)milkman dan Wrote:
(2013-08-28, 20:11)milkman dan Wrote:
(2013-08-28, 19:34)Powerhouse Wrote: Awesome work Krusty, keep it up.

For those of you with the SLOW CHANNEL Change problems, this was also happening in NextPVR and was mostly fixed by a Special Build of Frodo 12.2 (released by Margro). This was mentioned on page 5, but you can download it from here... http://www.scintilla.utwente.nl/~marcelg/xbmc/prebuild.html#frodo

I used the first one listed (not the one that uses DSPlayer), and it makes channel changes just a couple of seconds (verses the 8-10 seconds I was seeing).

These changes were supposed to be released in the official Frodo 12.2, but didn't for some reason, which is why Margro made this build of XBMC.

Hope this helps you all, as Krusty's work on this is awesome. Way better than using NextPVR, which I had all kinds of issues with.

Also, for those of you who use the skin ACE, MarcosQui (ACE skin creator), is going to put this into his next version of ACE (I believe in version 1.8, the current release is version 1.7). You can read about it here...http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=160636&page=2

Krusty- thanks for all your work on this. I've got it installed on my Windows 7 x64 working well with 12.2 (w Aeon Nox skin). I just grab OTA channels with a Hauppauge 2250 card. I must say, the EPG with this backend is way better than I was getting with NPVR previously.

My channel changes do take a while, so I'm going to try the margo build shortly.

And maybe I just haven't found it yet, but is there a way to schedule a series recording from within XBMC? Right now, I just see the ability to add a timer for a one time recording. But I have my settings complete in WMC with regards to series (new only, keep 5, etc). And there is no problem using WMC to schedule series recordings, just wondering if it a feature that XBMC currently lacks.

Thanks again for this - it's absolutely great!

Just to update- Running the margo version of 12.2, my channel changes now take around 7 seconds. Used to be around 11 with the stock 12.2 version.

Good to know. Thanks for sharing this result.


RE: WMC as the backend - released - bebegoat - 2013-09-02

Hi.
Encountering a bit of a problem when trying to watch livetv. I have a hd homerun prime connected to wmc (Comcast Xfinity), which is working fine.
XBMC is reporting "no video data found of this channel" when I try to watch livetv. From the ServerWMC app, I can't select WTV as a format, and in the ServerWMC log it says:

Received client request: goattop|OpenLiveStream|41471|0|8|KTSF/8
OpenLiveStream> client: goattop requesting live stream
StreamProc> live-tv started
SetChannel> isAlreadyTuned: False
SetChannel> Tuner: HDHomeRun Prime Tuner 1317F819-2
SetChannel> Digital: True
SetChannel> Encrypted: False
SetChannel> RecorderInfo found: True
SetChannel> Recorder Content Protection: PROT_COPY_FREE
SetChannel> Recorder acquired: True
WaitForData> timed out
StreamProc> process start error: WTV file is not growing, timeout reached. calling Close()
RecordToWTV::Close> RecorderUse is Passive: False
StreamProc::Close> stream closed successfully
StreamProc::Close> wtv file size: 524,288
StreamProc::Close> file deleted: C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV\TempXBMC\LiveTV_goattop_Digital Cable_8_2013_09_02_13_49_40.wtv
StreamProc::Close> closed in 0.24 sec
OpenLiveStream> error: WTV file is not growing, timeout reached.
Finished request OpenLiveStream in 17.06s

Any ideas? I apologize if the answer is already posted, I searched but came up empty. Thanks!
If you need additional information, I am happy to provide it.

Very excited to get this up and running.


RE: WMC as the backend - released - krustyreturns - 2013-09-03

(2013-09-02, 22:55)bebegoat Wrote: Hi.
Encountering a bit of a problem when trying to watch livetv. I have a hd homerun prime connected to wmc (Comcast Xfinity), which is working fine.
XBMC is reporting "no video data found of this channel" when I try to watch livetv. From the ServerWMC app, I can't select WTV as a format, and in the ServerWMC log it says:

Received client request: goattop|OpenLiveStream|41471|0|8|KTSF/8
OpenLiveStream> client: goattop requesting live stream
StreamProc> live-tv started
SetChannel> isAlreadyTuned: False
SetChannel> Tuner: HDHomeRun Prime Tuner 1317F819-2
SetChannel> Digital: True
SetChannel> Encrypted: False
SetChannel> RecorderInfo found: True
SetChannel> Recorder Content Protection: PROT_COPY_FREE
SetChannel> Recorder acquired: True
WaitForData> timed out
StreamProc> process start error: WTV file is not growing, timeout reached. calling Close()
RecordToWTV::Close> RecorderUse is Passive: False
StreamProc::Close> stream closed successfully
StreamProc::Close> wtv file size: 524,288
StreamProc::Close> file deleted: C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV\TempXBMC\LiveTV_goattop_Digital Cable_8_2013_09_02_13_49_40.wtv
StreamProc::Close> closed in 0.24 sec
OpenLiveStream> error: WTV file is not growing, timeout reached.
Finished request OpenLiveStream in 17.06s

Any ideas? I apologize if the answer is already posted, I searched but came up empty. Thanks!
If you need additional information, I am happy to provide it.

Very excited to get this up and running.

Sorry about that. Don't worry about not being able to set wtv as the format.  I can't tell what's wrong by looking at this piece of the log, other than that for some reason data is not being written into the wtv file.  Have you checked to make sure the recorded tv folder is set correctly in the server?  Are all the channels not working? Please PM me or give me a link to the entire log on pastebin.com or equivalent for a failed run.


RE: WMC as the backend - released - TheImmortal - 2013-09-03

Wow, this looks amazing! I have been toying with the idea of switching to a cablecard setup, but the fact that WMC is the only software to fully support them without all the restrictions was a bit of a turn off because I run OpenElec on all my media clients and didn't want to switch them over to windows and then have to switch back and forth between two separate pieces of software. Luckily my server that houses all my media is Windows 8 and it has WMC installed (though disabled). So if I read this correctly, I can activate WMC on my windows machine, connect a hdhomerun prime, and provide live tv to my OpenElec clients.


RE: WMC as the backend - released - TRiddle - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-03, 21:33)TheImmortal Wrote: Wow, this looks amazing! I have been toying with the idea of switching to a cablecard setup, but the fact that WMC is the only software to fully support them without all the restrictions was a bit of a turn off because I run OpenElec on all my media clients and didn't want to switch them over to windows and then have to switch back and forth between two separate pieces of software. Luckily my server that houses all my media is Windows 8 and it has WMC installed (though disabled). So if I read this correctly, I can activate WMC on my windows machine, connect a hdhomerun prime, and provide live tv to my OpenElec clients.

As long as what you are trying to view is copy freely content, yes.


RE: WMC as the backend - released - krustyreturns - 2013-09-04

What he said.

As an update: I have made progress on the channel speed and should have something to release soon. It won't be the final version, but close.


RE: WMC as the backend - released - smacrae - 2013-09-04

Hi KR....does that mean from the time it one selects a channel to the time it is rendered on the screen will speed up? We're not channel surfers but having it start around 5-7 seconds is acceptable, 12-15 is a bit long.....thanks...


RE: WMC as the backend - released - krustyreturns - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-04, 03:29)smacrae Wrote: Hi KR....does that mean from the time it one selects a channel to the time it is rendered on the screen will speed up? We're not channel surfers but having it start around 5-7 seconds is acceptable, 12-15 is a bit long.....thanks...

Yeah, well that's the goal.

Details for die-hards:

I have definitely knocked 3 - 5 sec out the delay of the start of a live tv view. I did this by re-writing the wtv parser. One of challenges in active wtv data, is to determine the actual amount of data in the file, since MS creates a giant file, growing in .5 GB chunks, and filling in the data as it goes. My old way of doing it was to detect the length of the actual data by polling a field in the header of the file, that Jeff found to be updated with the actual file length. the problem with this is that this field is updated by the windows service about 3-5 sec after data is written, so we were always late by this amount.

So I found a way to I parse the data as soon as the rec service writes it, eliminating this delay. Immediately after a packet of data is written I start remuxing it to ts for transport to xbmc. I have also made some slight improvements in the remux delay, but really it has never been the problem - ts data is available almost immediately after the wtv data is output from the tuner.

There is still a delay from when the data is available from the tuner. I might be able to improve this a little, but the jury is still out on that.

Then there is the delay that xbmc waits before it starts displaying the ts data I am sending it. I can't do much about this, but some have been reporting that the 'margo' build of frodo reduces this significantly, so I am hoping that will be the case.

There are other possible tricks to try, but that's after the next version.


Re: RE: WMC as the backend - released - TheImmortal - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-04, 01:23)TRiddle Wrote:
(2013-09-03, 21:33)TheImmortal Wrote: Wow, this looks amazing! I have been toying with the idea of switching to a cablecard setup, but the fact that WMC is the only software to fully support them without all the restrictions was a bit of a turn off because I run OpenElec on all my media clients and didn't want to switch them over to windows and then have to switch back and forth between two separate pieces of software. Luckily my server that houses all my media is Windows 8 and it has WMC installed (though disabled). So if I read this correctly, I can activate WMC on my windows machine, connect a hdhomerun prime, and provide live tv to my OpenElec clients.

As long as what you are trying to view is copy freely content, yes.

It was my understanding that wmc can view all non premium channels (HBO, showtime) with a cable card from Verizon. Can somebody please elaborate or point me to where I can find which channels are copy freely?


RE: WMC as the backend - released - bry - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-04, 13:45)TheImmortal Wrote:
(2013-09-04, 01:23)TRiddle Wrote:
(2013-09-03, 21:33)TheImmortal Wrote: Wow, this looks amazing! I have been toying with the idea of switching to a cablecard setup, but the fact that WMC is the only software to fully support them without all the restrictions was a bit of a turn off because I run OpenElec on all my media clients and didn't want to switch them over to windows and then have to switch back and forth between two separate pieces of software. Luckily my server that houses all my media is Windows 8 and it has WMC installed (though disabled). So if I read this correctly, I can activate WMC on my windows machine, connect a hdhomerun prime, and provide live tv to my OpenElec clients.

As long as what you are trying to view is copy freely content, yes.

It was my understanding that wmc can view all non premium channels (HBO, showtime) with a cable card from Verizon. Can somebody please elaborate or point me to where I can find which channels are copy freely?

http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/


Re: RE: WMC as the backend - released - TheImmortal - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-04, 14:16)bry- Wrote:
(2013-09-04, 13:45)TheImmortal Wrote:
(2013-09-04, 01:23)TRiddle Wrote: As long as what you are trying to view is copy freely content, yes.

It was my understanding that wmc can view all non premium channels (HBO, showtime) with a cable card from Verizon. Can somebody please elaborate or point me to where I can find which channels are copy freely?

http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/

Okay, so Verizon only allows 126 channels to work with a cable card?


RE: WMC as the backend - released - bry - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-04, 14:59)TheImmortal Wrote:
(2013-09-04, 14:16)bry- Wrote:
(2013-09-04, 13:45)TheImmortal Wrote: It was my understanding that wmc can view all non premium channels (HBO, showtime) with a cable card from Verizon. Can somebody please elaborate or point me to where I can find which channels are copy freely?

http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/

Okay, so Verizon only allows 126 channels to work with a cable card?

correct


RE: WMC as the backend - released - drewscm - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-04, 04:10)krustyreturns Wrote:
(2013-09-04, 03:29)smacrae Wrote: Hi KR....does that mean from the time it one selects a channel to the time it is rendered on the screen will speed up? We're not channel surfers but having it start around 5-7 seconds is acceptable, 12-15 is a bit long.....thanks...

Yeah, well that's the goal.

Details for die-hards:

I have definitely knocked 3 - 5 sec out the delay of the start of a live tv view. I did this by re-writing the wtv parser. One of challenges in active wtv data, is to determine the actual amount of data in the file, since MS creates a giant file, growing in .5 GB chunks, and filling in the data as it goes. My old way of doing it was to detect the length of the actual data by polling a field in the header of the file, that Jeff found to be updated with the actual file length. the problem with this is that this field is updated by the windows service about 3-5 sec after data is written, so we were always late by this amount.

So I found a way to I parse the data as soon as the rec service writes it, eliminating this delay. Immediately after a packet of data is written I start remuxing it to ts for transport to xbmc. I have also made some slight improvements in the remux delay, but really it has never been the problem - ts data is available almost immediately after the wtv data is output from the tuner.

There is still a delay from when the data is available from the tuner. I might be able to improve this a little, but the jury is still out on that.

Then there is the delay that xbmc waits before it starts displaying the ts data I am sending it. I can't do much about this, but some have been reporting that the 'margo' build of frodo reduces this significantly, so I am hoping that will be the case.

There are other possible tricks to try, but that's after the next version.

Krusty

Cutting the time nearly in half will be awesome, that 10-12 sec delay always makes ya think it froze. As someone who doesn't have much patience, I love it. Building a new house and there are going to be many more places where tv's will be, so by eliminating having to lease cable boxes is great.



***On a side note has anyone done anything with the code for Raspberry Pi?? I'm not much of a programmer (mechanical engineer... It just frustrates me) but I can help test it. I'm looking to use them to run tv's less used.


RE: WMC as the backend - released - krustyreturns - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-04, 18:47)drewscm Wrote: ***On a side note has anyone done anything with the code for Raspberry Pi?? I'm not much of a programmer (mechanical engineer... It just frustrates me) but I can help test it. I'm looking to use them to run tv's less used.

I don't know what happened to the guys who were going to work on the r-pi port. I haven't heard from them for a couple of weeks now.


RE: WMC as the backend - released - ascagnel - 2013-09-04

(2013-09-04, 15:25)bry- Wrote:
(2013-09-04, 14:59)TheImmortal Wrote:
(2013-09-04, 14:16)bry- Wrote: http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/

Okay, so Verizon only allows 126 channels to work with a cable card?

correct

The Silicon Dust page is only for Clear QAM channels -- ServerWMC will also tune QAM channels that are copy-freely.

This page (designed for MythTV, but the underlying data still applies) lists CCI data: http://www.ronfrazier.net/mythtv/cci/index.php

Basically, Clear QAM is 100% unprotected, while CCI applies to scrambled channels, but may not actually protect those channels once unscrambled by a CableCARD.