[beeswax]

Can anyone help me with some suggestions for PVR backends which support the Sky UK (OpenEPG) EPG data and series links? Preferably on a Windows OS but I can switch if absolutely necessary.

I switched from DVBViewer (great except no Series Link support) to DVBLink a couple of years ago. Things were mostly OK but just as Kodi's PVR/series linking functionality has come into it's prime, DVBLogic's plugin and support is disappearing down the toilet. With all the lockups produced by the addon, usually when deleting recordings after a period of no activity, it's becoming quite annoying. Their user forum has turned into a ghost town and new feature requests and bug reports are simply a waste of time. Any attempts to get them to do anything with their Kodi addon are met with teflon coated stories of how the Kodi team are somehow responsible for it (which in case anyone reading isn't aware is bullsh** of the highest order).

Anyway, I'm really desperate to move away from DVBLogic if at all possible but I need to be able to pull in the Sky UK EPG data and leverage the Series Link support embedded in it. I currently use EPGCollector for grabbing said data and DVBLink takes care of the series linking. Suggestions gratefully received.

[nickr]

Mythtv

[AshG]

Hi Beeswax...

I came to the conclusion that my backend had to be Linux based, and in my mind i had 2 choices Mythtv or TVheadend, I've experienced both in the past (about 2 years ago) Myth was very stable and "just worked" setting it up was a bit of a challenge - i remember spending hours trying to get that Database working! but hey you only need to set it up once....

However this time around I choose TVheadend for a couple of reasons, configuration is relatively simple and quick, all done through a "web end"... it also has a mobile phone app - which is something i like to use when i'm out and about.(although i'm sure there's things that Myth can do that TVH cant) I've been using it for a couple of days now and haven't had any problems at all - which is a welcome relief!

In regards to Sky UK EPG, i'm not sure as i'm just using OTA at the moment i believe Schedule Direct have started providing UK data now so i'm going to look at that... SKY UK (Open TV) is mentioned in the TVHead guide here: http://docs.tvheadend.org/webui/config_epggrab/ not sure if that helps or even if it works...

[beeswax]

Thanks chaps for your input, as I said Linux isn't off the table completely but it will be a huge job for me to migrate the server, it houses a couple of MySQL dbs and runs various other automated tasks. If at all possible, I want to stick with a Windows solution because I'm pretty green on Linux and while learning how to set PVR up on it doesn't daunt me, knowing I also need to figure out MySQL, it's other roles and how to serve up the ~33TB of storage that thing has over SMB shares, I don't mind admitting I'm petrified.

[noggin]

Run the TV Server on a Linux VM with PCI/USB passthrough (or SAT>IP) - or a separate box?

[beeswax]

Nice idea noggin but to my knowledge, PCI passthrough isn't possible when the host OS is Windows.

edit: MediaPortal is the first Windows solution I've hit upon in my search so I'll be trying that out tomorrow. This is the other problem, I get a few hours a few times a week in actual spare time to do all this, hence the desire to stick to the path of least resistance.

[beeswax]

Well I took the plunge and set up Linux (Ubuntu) on my server but it's not going so well. I got all the way to the stage where TVHeadend is working, got EPG data and everything but it seems the Kodi addon for it doesn't hook into the OpenTV EPG Series Link recording that it can do. If I series link via the web interface, it does it properly but through Kodi, it's setting dumb search-based timers.

I've posted in the addon section and I was about to post on the TVH forum too but I just spotted that Adam, the developer hasn't been seen on their forum since July 2016. I development of the Kodi addon for TVH basically dead?

[ksooo]

Neither development of tvheadend nor of the Kodi pvr.hts add-on is dead. Look at github where both projects are hosted.

[nickr]

Then do your setting up via the web interface.

[beeswax]

Thank you Captain Obvious, but that's not a workable solution. The NUCs I have running Kodi serve as the only PVR in the house of which I am but one user. The wife and soon, the kids are not going to pick up a phone/tablet/laptop and then use a clunky web interface to set series links, they need to be able to do it from the EPG.

Anywho, I've given up on Linux for now because I can't leave the PVR out of action any longer and it looks like most, if not all of the Linux backends, while more robust than DVBLink, haven't quite got their Kodi addons up to speed with all the recent improvements in that area. I might try MediaPortal next time I can wangle half a day but otherwise, I'm stuck with DVBLink for the foreseeable.

[ksooo]

... it looks like most, if not all of the Linux backends, while more robust than DVBLink, haven't quite got their Kodi addons up to speed with all the recent improvements in that area ...

Don't know how you came to this conclusion. From my point of view this is just plain wrong. But of course this depends on your definition of "recent improvements". ;-)

What features - despite from serieslink - are you missing?

BTW, what is the actual drawback of a good epg search based recording rule, like for example implemented by the tvheadend add-on, compared to direct serieslink? Sure, serieslink can detect things that belong together even if everything changes between episodes, including the title of the show. But honestly, how often does this happen in real life? For me, "record on channel abc, on any time, if title matches xyz and subtitle/episode number differs" so far works just fine.

[mayoman]

If installing Mediaportal backend, use the Sky UK custom version. It grabs the Sky EPG and maintains Sky channel numbers by region, channel updates etc.

[beeswax]

... it looks like most, if not all of the Linux backends, while more robust than DVBLink, haven't quite got their Kodi addons up to speed with all the recent improvements in that area ...

Don't know how you came to this conclusion. From my point of view this is just plain wrong. But of course this depends on your definition of "recent improvements". ;-)

What features - despite from serieslink - are you missing?

BTW, what is the actual drawback of a good epg search based recording rule, like for example implemented by the tvheadend add-on, compared to direct serieslink? Sure, serieslink can detect things that belong together even if everything changes between episodes, including the title of the show. But honestly, how often does this happen in real life? For me, "record on channel abc, on any time, if title matches xyz and subtitle/episode number differs" so far works just fine.

Hi ksooo, I was only really getting at the series link stuff, there aren't any other major areas I consider them lacking. The recent improvements I was referring to were all series link related too; before Jarvis, Kodi was unsuitable as a replacement to a Sky or TiVo box (not a criticism, matching up to a consumer STB from the likes of Sky and Virgin is no mean feat) and that has been my goal for a long time. Jarvis laid the foundations for a really solid PVR and Krypton has completely nailed it with the two-click Series Link ability.

It's really just down to my personal usage I think. Accurate series link, to me, is way way near the top of the list on priorities for the PVR. Yes, search-based timers work well a lot of the time, in some cases better because they add additional flexibility but I was bitten enough times by them in the past to motivate the move to DVBLink which was considerable effort, but to me, worth it for the openTV series link support. My comments may have had a tinge of bitterness to them for which I apologise, my only excuse is that I spent a full day migrating my Win 2012 R2 DVBLink server to Linux/TVHeadend, with no previous Linux experience and it didn't turn out the way I wanted.