2018-01-31, 23:11
Hi all..
Its been a while since I looked at Kodi (it was XBMC when I used it last).. Regardless, I now live in an area that OTA reception is virtually worthless so IPTV is my only choice. I have always liked the look and functionality of Kodi/XBMC and would prefer it as my front end.
I've got a Mac and I've also got an old PC laptop with 500Gb drive that could be loaded with pretty much anything. I've also got a set top box that has a modified version of XBMC on it among other things that I'd love to repurpose as it has WIFI and hardware ethernet and remote obviously but don't know how to break into it.. Its probably not worth even monkeying with -- its a GeoSat Pro HDVR3500 which I know others have looked at here. It can view IPTV but not record even though the box is capable of recording..
Anyway, here's what I'd like to get out of this and I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction setup-wise :
1) I've got an LG SmartTV with WebOS that is my prime viewing tv -- I have a Plex TV app loaded on it
2) I want to be able to customize the IPTV channel list to have only the stuff I want on it
3) I want to be able to record whatever IPTV streams I'm watching
4) IF possible, an EPG would be amazing but this might be a bit far fetched for many of my streams
5) I want to be able to program recording times (e.g. start recording for 1 hour at 4pm) for those programs that I have no EPG data for
6) I think I'd really prefer the backend/recording system to run on the old laptop PC I've got and leave my Mac out of it since thats my work system, but if the Mac can connect to the backend to view IP streams that would be nice -- perhaps that just means having Kodi installed on the Mac
7) If I need a set top box that's cheap but feature packed, what are my options? I have a 4K TV (the above LG) -- IF I've got to buy a piece of hardware I'd like one that supports the 4K setup for future growth, etc.. My little brother offered to send me an old Roku -- yes, I realize it's not 4K but free is good too! Maybe 4K can wait.. lol
I see Ubuntu mentioned here quite a bit -- is that one of the better Linux distro's for this? Thoughts in general would be greatly appreciated on any aspect of this. I used to run some of the other PC backends such as SageTV and NextPVR but am currently divorced of Windows boxes so Linux or Mac are my options I guess with some sort of WebOS App (if poss) or a STB.
Thanks all for my very newbie Q's!
PS. I'm a skilled developer with 30+ years of experience with C/C++ and about a dozen other languages so I'm not afraid to build things by hand or hack the occasional source code if needed.. I've been around the GNU toolset for decades since the very early days of the internet..
Its been a while since I looked at Kodi (it was XBMC when I used it last).. Regardless, I now live in an area that OTA reception is virtually worthless so IPTV is my only choice. I have always liked the look and functionality of Kodi/XBMC and would prefer it as my front end.
I've got a Mac and I've also got an old PC laptop with 500Gb drive that could be loaded with pretty much anything. I've also got a set top box that has a modified version of XBMC on it among other things that I'd love to repurpose as it has WIFI and hardware ethernet and remote obviously but don't know how to break into it.. Its probably not worth even monkeying with -- its a GeoSat Pro HDVR3500 which I know others have looked at here. It can view IPTV but not record even though the box is capable of recording..
Anyway, here's what I'd like to get out of this and I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction setup-wise :
1) I've got an LG SmartTV with WebOS that is my prime viewing tv -- I have a Plex TV app loaded on it
2) I want to be able to customize the IPTV channel list to have only the stuff I want on it
3) I want to be able to record whatever IPTV streams I'm watching
4) IF possible, an EPG would be amazing but this might be a bit far fetched for many of my streams
5) I want to be able to program recording times (e.g. start recording for 1 hour at 4pm) for those programs that I have no EPG data for
6) I think I'd really prefer the backend/recording system to run on the old laptop PC I've got and leave my Mac out of it since thats my work system, but if the Mac can connect to the backend to view IP streams that would be nice -- perhaps that just means having Kodi installed on the Mac
7) If I need a set top box that's cheap but feature packed, what are my options? I have a 4K TV (the above LG) -- IF I've got to buy a piece of hardware I'd like one that supports the 4K setup for future growth, etc.. My little brother offered to send me an old Roku -- yes, I realize it's not 4K but free is good too! Maybe 4K can wait.. lol
I see Ubuntu mentioned here quite a bit -- is that one of the better Linux distro's for this? Thoughts in general would be greatly appreciated on any aspect of this. I used to run some of the other PC backends such as SageTV and NextPVR but am currently divorced of Windows boxes so Linux or Mac are my options I guess with some sort of WebOS App (if poss) or a STB.
Thanks all for my very newbie Q's!
PS. I'm a skilled developer with 30+ years of experience with C/C++ and about a dozen other languages so I'm not afraid to build things by hand or hack the occasional source code if needed.. I've been around the GNU toolset for decades since the very early days of the internet..
