Selecting a backend
#1
Hey all,

So I have MythTV set up on a Hiper Media Chassis, and to be honest I don't think it's that great a system... after looking around it seems like xbmc has the best features and is more polished than the other options available, (I love the scripts, iplayer integration, grooveshark etc etc) but for a long time lack of PVR functionality has held me back from switching. Now I've heard of xbmc pvr I want to make the switch.

So my question is simple... what's the best PVR backend for xbmc?

I'm currently using linux on the media PC but am considering switching to windows XP simply so that I can play windows games using the awesome xbmc program launcher!

The sub-question then, is what's the best supported back end for windows, and what's the best supported back-end for linux?

I basically want normal PVR functionality - browse the EPG, schedule recordings, watch recordings.

The easiest thing for me would be to use my existing mythTV backend, but it's not a big deal to switch, especially as it seems as though mythTV isn't that well supported as a back end (not sure you can schedule recordings with myth TV as backend?)

Last question would be, is there a guide/FAQ somewhere to show me how to set this up? Can I use a normal xbmc install or do I need something from github or something else? The guide at http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=HOW...a_XBMC-PVR) seems a little out dated.

EDIT: This is dvb-t in the UK, if that is relevant info!

Thanks in advance!
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#2
Have you ever tried a vanilla VDR setup? It wouldn't necessarily give you everything you need, but you'd at least get a feeling of what a proper VDR configuration can provide, since PVR functionality is it's primary function, unlike XBMC.
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#3
I haven't tried VDR, but as I said have been using MythTV - for about a year now. VDR seems far more simple than what I'm looking for... but if it is simple to set up and works well as a back-end from xbmc then it sounds like a step in the right direction.

Maybe I sound like a complete newb, but I really just want to know which PVR backend is most compatible with xbmc. I've seen some very cool set ups in various blogs and videos etc, the UI just looks perfect and combines all the best features of xbmc with PVR functionality. The problem is everyone seems to be using a different configuration of xbmc and backend, with a different method of installing, or are showcasing features that are only in their fork or something and for their set-up, so I'm essentially just a bit confused and need pointers for where to start.

My first instinct would be to use MythTV as a back end because I already have it set up, but I'm not sure if it's really being developed any more and doesn't seem to be finished, I read something about not being able to schedule recordings from xbmc when using the MythTV backend, and the xbmc-PVR wiki page just has a "?" next to installation. I looked around on google and found a lot of emails and forum pages and a GSOC project all dated like 2 years ago... so I'm thinking I need to use a different backend and I'd like to hear others experiences about what works etc.

Is VDR a good PVR backend for xbmc?
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#4
One way of testing would be to try the yavdr.org linux distro, it has a complete VDR setup and can run with either VDR itself (directly through VDPAU), or with the XBMC frontend. There's a 0.4pre1 release out which is fairly up to date.
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#5
Wow, that looks perfect. I'm going to give it a try tonight, I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks!
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#6
So I gave yaVDR a try last night... and it wont work due to the crappy integrated Nvidia 6150 graphics in my machine not supporting vdpau. So I decided to buy a GT520, which should be enough to handle anything I can throw at it.
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#7
I would really advice you to try the vdr standalone with the sxfe (xineliboutput) output plugin, it really has first class PVR functionality.
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#8
my vote: TvHeadEnd for linux backend
seamless install, seamless config via webinterface
integrated into XBMC PVR too
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#9
static-void Wrote:The guide at http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=HOW...a_XBMC-PVR) seems a little out dated.
it shouldn't be outdated. if it is, feel free to ask for wiki ninja status and update it.

I'm not getting into any "which backend is best" discussion. if you care, I'm using tvheadend as backend to do my dev work on, so the tvheadend add-on will always include the latest features/changes first. vdr-vnsi usually follows pretty quickly.

for windows, check out margro's mediaportal plugin. it's in a separate repos, because it's windows-only atm.
opdenkamp / dushmaniac

xbmc-pvr [Eden-PVR builds] [now included in mainline XBMC, so no more source link here :)]
personal website: [link]

Found a problem with PVR? Report it on Trac, under "PVR - core components". Please attach the full debug log.

If you like my work, please consider donating to me and/or Team XBMC.
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#10
dushmaniac Wrote:it shouldn't be outdated. if it is, feel free to ask for wiki ninja status and update it.

Perhaps not outdated, but there are many sections that are blank or simply have a "?" next to them. Allowing me to edit the wiki wouldn't really help anyone as I know nothing about it (hence this thread).

dushmaniac Wrote:I'm not getting into any "which backend is best" discussion. if you care, I'm using tvheadend as backend to do my dev work on, so the tvheadend add-on will always include the latest features/changes first. vdr-vnsi usually follows pretty quickly.

for windows, check out margro's mediaportal plugin. it's in a separate repos, because it's windows-only atm.

So it appears tvheadend and VDR are the best supported by xbmc, so I am going to give those a go tonight, and see how they perform without a GPU upgrade. It could be my machine works fine without.

Figuring out how to get ubuntu to recognise the second core of my CPU would probably aid performance too!
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#11
So I tried to get VDR working for a while, and man is it a pain to set up. So I decided to try tvheadend next... took about 5 minutes to set up, then installed xbmc, activated the plugin, and, though I'm still getting used to it, it seems to be working perfectly - and no need for upgrades or anything!

And as I suspected this is a really much nicer system over-all than myth.

Thanks for the help Smile
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