Open source HD400

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Wayneb

I like the idea of an HD400 extender that is only a SageTV extender, the SageTV remote works better than the remotes that come with most of these Android boxes for one thing.

I had the Nvidia Shield and it choked on stuff even when using Kodi that my cheap little $40 (not including case and power supply) Odroid C2 running Linux based OpenElec plays perfectly, sure it was a high bitrate h.265 4K file but the Amlogic 905 based Odroid C2 played it. I also believe Mpeg2 stuff worked better.

The cheap Android 905 and 912 boxes I have tried recently were loaded with tons of Kodi add ons that can not be legal, one thing I like about the Odroid C2 is that like a Raspberry Pi it has no operating system, you can swap out the micro SD card and change its function in a few seconds, I have run Android on mine to use the Mini Client but Kodi runs better with the Linux based OpenElec.

I have the same sort of files and my shield hasn't ever had any issues playing back anything. However, kodi seems to not work as well on android that is why there is SPMC that is specifically tailored for android. Works very well. Plus, the shield works OK on wifi, but hard wired is perfect.

[will]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Plus, the shield works OK on wifi, but hard wired is perfect.

If you need a WiFi solution, I recommend the NETGEAR AC750 WiFi Range Extender (EX3700-100NAS) in bridge mode (you plug an ethernet cable from the Shield into the AC750). I recently moved and no longer have wired CAT 6 connections in every room so I had to find a solution for my HD300s.

The AC750 works really well even streaming full bit-rate Blu-ray movies. If you are use to wired you can pickup on a little slowness; videos may take half a second longer to load but the difference is negligible.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by will

If you need a WiFi solution, I recommend the NETGEAR AC750 WiFi Range Extender (EX3700-100NAS) in bridge mode (you plug an ethernet cable from the Shield into the AC750). I recently moved and no longer have wired CAT 6 connections in every room so I had to find a solution for my HD300s.

The AC750 works really well even streaming full bit-rate Blu-ray movies. If you are use to wired you can pickup on a little slowness; videos may take half a second longer to load but the difference is negligible.

I've got wired connections in every room since I built my house. Much better than trying to get wifi to work reliably. However, I did pick up a few of these and they've been great so far. Won't ever be going back to consumer grade equipment.

[trk2]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

I'd like to see one box that was a server and client all in one. Then a new user could just buy one box, plus a HDHomeRun and be in business.

I think this is a fantastic idea.

[_Demo_]

Thanks for all the comments.

I've looked into the Android media support and it seems there are multiple paths used depending on the device/version/features. The standard/official way using MediaCodec related APIs which require a fairly recent version and might not expose all features, OMX native APIs and finally bypassing through other hardware specific APIs. The preferred way on the device I'm currently playing with seems to be hardware specific.

I've made some progress on the custom firmware solution and now have glitchy UI and input through the old SageTV remote working. The next step will be to see if I can get some video playback.

I'll try to also look more into Android mode, I just don't see any all-in-one perfect solution, the Shield TV probably being the closest except on remote control support and price.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by _Demo_

...the Shield TV probably being the closest except on remote control support and price.

If looking just at media capabilities, and use as SageTV + other streaming, I don't think a Shield TV adds anything over what the much cheaper Mi Box can do.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by _Demo_

I've looked into the Android media support and it seems there are multiple paths used depending on the device/version/features. The standard/official way using MediaCodec related APIs which require a fairly recent version and might not expose all features, OMX native APIs and finally bypassing through other hardware specific APIs.

To be honest, for Android + SageTV, I would pick a version of Android that has MediaCodec APIs that support the features you need/want. While I develop several things for Android, I'm less concerned about making sure that I can support ALL versions of Android... I keep upgrading the Min supported version based on if there is an API feature that I need. (sort of like java... I have no concerns about about using a Java 8 specific API if saves time or adds value.) So, in short, I'm saying, when/if you ever decide to look at android tv... don't let the versions be a barrier to delivering something useful. I think the MiniClient client today has a min version of 4.4... but I have no issues making it 6, if it means that on 6, it runs better with fewer issues, etc.

Originally Posted by _Demo_

I've made some progress on the custom firmware solution and now have glitchy UI and input through the old SageTV remote working. The next step will be to see if I can get some video playback.

I have a S905X device (currently run Android) -- and it's crappy Android device -- But I can help test using that device, once you have a rom available and instructions on how to test install it, etc. While I'd prefer if the effort went into an Android specific implementation, there is certainly enough interest in a dedicated hardware solution. Good luck, and let me know if I can help... I think you have my email.

Originally Posted by _Demo_

I'll try to also look more into Android mode, I just don't see any all-in-one perfect solution, the Shield TV probably being the closest except on remote control support and price.

As Fuzzy stated... You can probably look at the Mi Box as something runs just as good as the Shield for much less. (Althought I think you said, you have a Shield).

When/if you look at Android... This is the player that I'm using... It's ffmpeg based player that's actively supported. I've commited a a few changesets, and the author is very reasonable. Something that people have asked for, is pass through support. I've talked the author and he gave some indications as to what would be needed, but I don't have the native skills to pull it off.

https://github.com/Bilibili/ijkplayer

https://github.com/Bilibili/ijkplayer/issues/914

Something else to look at, on the Android side, is the open gl rendering. I'm using a 3rd party abstraction library, LibGDX, since I'm not an OpenGL expert. Something that bothers me about Android is that I can't apparently do any background rendering to a buffer in a non-ui thread... I'm not sure if this an Android thing, a Android Java thing, or maybe if the OpenGL UI was re-implemented in native cpp, it could be done... I just don't know

Thanks for your efforts... i don't mind helping you test your solution... especially if I can get some quid pro quo and get some help on mine (Although I'll help either way)

[panteragstk]

I've been thinking a lot about this and what my usage is when it comes to sageTV. Currently the AndroidTV devices are great for me since they also have all the other streaming sources I'm looking for and my current TVs either have them and they are so outdated that they aren't useful, or they don't have them at all.

I'm looking at getting a new TV with andoird TV built in, but I don't want to buy a TV for that when I could get one with all the streaming sources I use and simply add an HD400 to it and be done. That would be a very nice thing to be able to do.

I'm always willing to help test things and am pretty good at finding glitches so I have no issue getting one of the new boxes to help test. I work with mobile OS professionally (not the coding side, sorry) so I'm familiar with how to get everything going. Plus I'm always up for a new piece of hardware to play with. I third (?) the notion of maybe using the Mi box as I just got one and it's 90% as good as the shield for 1/3 the price. Fantastic little device.

Thanks for the effort on this.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

I'm looking at getting a new TV with andoird TV built in, but I don't want to buy a TV for that when I could get one with all the streaming sources I use and simply add an HD400 to it and be done. That would be a very nice thing to be able to do.

Off topic, but I don't think i would EVER look at the built-in 'smart' functions of a tv as a feature. I typically keep television sets for 10-15 years - 'smart' features are obsolete in about 2-3. I want my TV to be nothing more than a monitor.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Off topic, but I don't think i would EVER look at the built-in 'smart' functions of a tv as a feature. I typically keep television sets for 10-15 years - 'smart' features are obsolete in about 2-3. I want my TV to be nothing more than a monitor.

True, but as long as it works then I don't have to look for another streaming box. My current Panasonic 65" in the living room has amazon, hulu, netflix, etc built in, but they are terrible and slow. My Shield makes up for that in spades and allows me to use SageTV without a defecated client PC which is what I was doing before.

Things do change quickly, but if they work then I can just have an HD400 for TV viewing. Some of my TVs won't be used for anything else so that box has appeal in that situation.

[Skirge01]

Now THAT's how you make a typo!

[bcjenkins]

I had to read that twice.. I didn't know if he thought he had a crappy PC or one tasked specifically..

[KeithAbbott]

Sounds painful - sharp edges and all...

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

True, but as long as it works then I don't have to look for another streaming box. My current Panasonic 65" in the living room has amazon, hulu, netflix, etc built in, but they are terrible and slow. My Shield makes up for that in spades and allows me to use SageTV without a defecated client PC which is what I was doing before.

Things do change quickly, but if they work then I can just have an HD400 for TV viewing. Some of my TVs won't be used for anything else so that box has appeal in that situation.

My thoughts are to not even spend the extra for the smart tv in the first place, because something like the Mi Box is cheaper than the price difference, and can do more, better and faster, and more importantly, can be replaced easily. I also feel a Mi Box would end up being cheaper than whatever this HD400 ends up being down the road.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

My thoughts are to not even spend the extra for the smart tv in the first place, because something like the Mi Box is cheaper than the price difference, and can do more, better and faster, and more importantly, can be replaced easily. I also feel a Mi Box would end up being cheaper than whatever this HD400 ends up being down the road.

I agree about not spending extra for the smart TV, but now you can't really get one without that feature unless you go super low end. Even then the cheapest sony or samsung has some sort of "smart tv" installed.

That's why when I got my living room TV I went with the best PQ and didn't worry about anything else. Didn't end up using the smart features because they were so bad.

But, I'm interested in what comes of this. What would really be cool would be an openelec approach that supported multiple devices. I know that would be an insane amount of work, but it would be awesome.

[bialio]

I think the 'google cast' TVs are the best way to go right now. You can connect a nice Android/Apple/Roku Device to get all the streaming you want. But then you have the ability to fling something from a handheld device up on the big screen.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by bialio

I think the 'google cast' TVs are the best way to go right now. You can connect a nice Android/Apple/Roku Device to get all the streaming you want. But then you have the ability to fling something from a handheld device up on the big screen.

Android TV devices (like the shield and mi box) are cast targets out of the box.

[bialio]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Android TV devices (like the shield and mi box) are cast targets out of the box.

True. My point is that as far as smart TVs go the ones that just are cast targets have the best shot at their 'smarts' being useful past 2/3 years.

btl.

[SomeWhatLost]

my preference, would be for both a HD400 and the Miniclient getting all the love and updating required... they both would be of value to me...

that said, how do we go about getting an unlimited amount of Dev resources involved in sage?
I am all for just chaining the existing Dev's to their computers and making them code 24/7, but they may not appreciate that very much...
so anyone got any good ideas on how to get more dev's involved?
I am guessing that kidnapping Kodi devs would be frowned upon?

[trk2]

Originally Posted by SomeWhatLost

I am all for just chaining the existing Dev's to their computers and making them code 24/7

It's for the greater good.