Plugin: Web User Interface for SageTV 2.2-6.6 (V2.25 18 Sep 2009)

[jreichen]

Originally Posted by Gregavi

I'm trying to get the Web Interface setup and I'm running into some problems that hopefully someone can helpme with. When I try to run the webserver plugin setup on my server, it stops as states "SageTV Service is Running. Please shut down the SageTV service". There is nothing Sage running at the time. So I'm stuck there with nothing to shut down. If I hit cancel it says "Installation Canceled" but the setup menu says "Setup was completed succssfully". If I point my web browser to http://localhost:8080/sage/Home I get nothing. I'm obviously missing something. Any help is greatly appreciated.

That message is only displayed if the installer finds a process named SageTVService.exe running. Look in task manager to see if that process is running. Use some of the tips provided by others here to shut it down then restart the installer.

Originally Posted by Gregavi

I have now tried the "manual" proceedure and when I point to http://localhost:8080/sage/Home I get nothing still.

Can you turn on debug logging and post your log file here?

[Gregavi]

OK, I finally got it. It took closing Sage TV down through the Services menu. Who'da thought that would be necessary. Now I gotta figure out how to use this webserver thing. It seems waaaay different from what I'm used to, which is SlimServer. I'm assuming I will have the ability to access and play my music and video files from my laptop at my home stereo like with SqeezeCenter?

[jreichen]

Glad you got it running.

The installer has to add an entry for the web server to the load_at_startup_runnable_classes line in Sage.properties so the web server will be started when SageTV is started. Any changes made to the Sage.properties file while SageTV is running are overwritten when SageTV is shut down. Because of this the installer alerts the user if SageTV is currently running.

[mkanet]

This may sound like a dumb question. But, for some reason when "Sage Recordings" are sorted by groups... all the movie aren't put in the like all the other groups. Is there a hidden option to get movies to be treated like the rest of the groups? I'm not sure how nobody hasn't noticed this problem before. If there's no option for this, what are the chances someone would be kind enough to fix the bug?

Thanks,
-Michael

[jreichen]

I can't reproduce that. I recorded two movies on the same channel. If I group either by category or channel, a group is created for them.

Are your recordings split into multiple pages? In that case, the items don't necessary get displayed together depending on the sort order and you might get a "group" of one on the page you're viewing - and other members of the group would be on other pages. You could go to "Show Options" and set "Results per Page" to "All" so you'll only have one page of recordings and see if it creates the grouping as you would expect.

[BlueH2O]

When I try to play a live broadcast in an extender using the command from the web interface, I just get this message:

type:MediaFileId id:<some number> --java.lang.Exception: airing Id not found

[jreichen]

Are you referring to the "Play in Extender" link on the left side of the details page? And where is the error message displayed - log file, web ui, extender ui?

What version of the web server are you using? I tried it on the latest code I have (basically what will be 2.25) and didn't have a problem. Could you save the page and either post it here or PM me and I'll give you my email address and you can email it. This will let me look at the parameters that are being submitted to the web server.

[KJake]

I was thinking that the webserver was in need of an interface upgrade, so I checked out all the code and dependencies from SF last night and to my dismay, there is no separation of view and model in the servlets.

My plan would be to pull all HTML, etc out of the servlets and have them returning something XML (JSON, REST or SOAP) instead. Using this new back-end, a website could be created that is more independent from the core - meaning that people can modify the HTML without having to recompile Java servlets and it would be easier to have the site work with a mobile browser/device. Additionally, this is basically making a web API to the core API - meaning that more custom applications could use this to interact with Sage and having a unified/intuitive way of doing it.

Not having dealt with these ideas or the API before, I have a few newb questions that maybe some of the hardcore devs out there can answer.

Does something like this already exist for Sage? Again, I haven't really developed anything with the API and haven't taken a very active role among the Sage devs...so something like this may already exist.

Is there a plan by anyone to do this already? I don't want to duplicate efforts of make this competition if someone has already started to do this. Perhaps I can help in someway instead.

Is this a good idea?? I tend to think so, but maybe people are content with how the server is now or it is just a plain terrible idea.

Thanks for reading - and I definitely do not mean this post to be a judgement of anyone's code/project. It is merely my opinion on how the webserver can evolve to be better!

[Slugger]

Originally Posted by KJake

I was thinking that the webserver was in need of an interface upgrade, so I checked out all the code and dependencies from SF last night and to my dismay, there is no separation of view and model in the servlets.

My plan would be to pull all HTML, etc out of the servlets and have them returning something XML (JSON, REST or SOAP) instead. Using this new back-end, a website could be created that is more independent from the core - meaning that people can modify the HTML without having to recompile Java servlets and it would be easier to have the site work with a mobile browser/device. Additionally, this is basically making a web API to the core API - meaning that more custom applications could use this to interact with Sage and having a unified/intuitive way of doing it.

Not having dealt with these ideas or the API before, I have a few newb questions that maybe some of the hardcore devs out there can answer.

Does something like this already exist for Sage? Again, I haven't really developed anything with the API and haven't taken a very active role among the Sage devs...so something like this may already exist.

Yes, the remote APIs provide the model in the MVC pattern you discuss. They can return JSON structs, XML, etc. from any Sage API call.

Is there a plan by anyone to do this already? I don't want to duplicate efforts of make this competition if someone has already started to do this. Perhaps I can help in someway instead.

Yes, sort of. There have been preliminary discussions about doing this work amongst a few of us in this forum, but nothing has really gotten off the ground. Our timeline has always been to start sometime this fall, but the project is hardly a definite thing at this time. Why? It's a huge undertaking.

Is this a good idea?? I tend to think so, but maybe people are content with how the server is now or it is just a plain terrible idea.

Yes. But the goal [we've been discussing] isn't just to apply the MVC pattern to the current web server, but instead to completely update the UI - give it a Web 2.0 overhaul. Just applying the MVC pattern is in and of itself a rather large task, but with no real benefits (other than the one you mention of allowing others easier access to write different views of the models). Just applying MVC is more of an academic exercise, but doing it while refreshing the UI would be the goal, but, as I said above, it's a rather large undertaking.

[KJake]

Glad to know that something is being planned. Let me know if you need help anywhere and I'll see what I can do.

Thanks for pointing me to the sagex package, that saves a lot of work. I was able to throw together a simple TV recordings listing in a few minutes just using jQuery methods in a static page.

[jreichen]

KJake,

A rewrite is definitely not a terrible idea. We've had some discussion about which tools to use and we're looking at using the Google Web Toolkit. This is what Slugger and stuckless are using in their current web projects for BMT, SRE, etc. I haven't used it yet so I've been spending time reading up on it and experimenting with it.

If you're interested in contributing in some way let us know.

BTW, I used the web server code as a starting point for the mobile web interface and went through the exercise of separating the HTML from the logic. That was no small task

Jason

P.S. - One area we're lacking in right now is web/graphics design. If there is anybody out there with those skills, we'd be interested in having your help. The SageTV community will thank you for it

[KJake]

FWIW, I posted a little example of using client-side jQuery with JSON requests in the sagex-api thread: http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...&postcount=142

[KJake]

Originally Posted by jreichen

One area we're lacking in right now is web/graphics design. If there is anybody out there with those skills, we'd be interested in having your help. The SageTV community will thank you for it

Graphics! UI design is a terrible job. I like coding the back-end I'm not too shabby on _basic_ layouts - but they're really not flashy (since I don't like flashy). I'd be happy if you used some of the MythTV web interface as a guide - theirs is at least a bit more compact, less verbose.

I've heard good things about the GWT, especially if you're already a Java dev.

I'll keep my eye out for new developments, feel free to PM me if you need help, I'll see what I can do.

[Gregavi]

I need some help. Here's my setup: HD200 connected to HDTV via HDMI and my network via ethernet and to A/V Receiver via optical. I'm trying to use my HD200 in the following way:
From my laptop, which is also connected to my network, access files (audio, video, photos etc. i.e. play music, watch movies). I have installed the web interface plugin and can open browser to http://localhost:8080/sage/Home, but I can't see where I access my files on my server like I can with the remote on my TV. On the web interface I see "Media Library" but that only has search options. If I search I find artist, but I don't see how to play them on my music system. This was quite easy with my previous SlimServer setup by accessing the local intranet. Is this not capable of doing what I am trying to do? Do I need to do this with a Slim Server plugin? Is there a SlimServer plugin? If so, would I use it the same way that I used squeezebox and SlimServer or Squeezecenter? If that's the case, what about accessing movies and photos? Thanks in advance.

[jreichen]

I don't use the Media Library much. There is no way to browse the items in the library like you can in Placeshifter or on an extender. Search is the only way to see items in the library. To play songs, go to the Media Library menu and select Export Playlists. That will allow you to stream the songs to an audio player on your laptop. I think playlist content has to be managed from Placeshifter.

[jreichen]

Version 2.25 is now available on SourceForge.

ENHANCEMENTS

• (slugger, stuckless, jreichen) Run as an application on the Jetty web server plugin (deploy as a .war file)

• (jreichen) System Messages page and RSS feed (requires SageTV 6.5.17 or later)

The list is rather short this time, but I think they're a couple of good features.

Jetty Support
This release has a new build included that will deploy the web interface so it runs in Jetty. A lot of work went into maintaining compatibility so RSS and XML links from 3rd party apps that use the web interface as a data source will still work. The previous downloads for running nielm's web interface on its own web server (Tiny Java Web Server - TJWS) are still available for the time being, but it's definitely moving in the direction of being deployed in Jetty. Version 2.x will continue to be supported on TJWS, but version 3 will only run on Jetty.

For information about setting up the web interface on Jetty and for support, see this new thread.

Downloads
Beginning with this release, three downloads will be delivered for the web interface.

• Windows installer for web interface with TJWS
  (SageWebserverSetup_2_x.exe)
• Zip file for web interface with TJWS
  (webserver_2_x.zip)
• NEW: Zip file for web interface with Jetty (nielm_websrv_jetty_2_x.zip)

The first and second choices are Nielm's original webserver that runs on Tiny Java Web Server (TJWS). One in zip format and one with a Windows installer. Neither of these are for Jetty.

The 3rd one is the Jetty version of Nielm's webserver. This is the only one you should download if you want to run it in Jetty.

No matter what you should only download and install ONE of these three.
[Thanks to sleonard for clarifying the downloads.]

[Gregavi]

Originally Posted by jreichen

That will allow you to stream the songs to an audio player on your laptop.

I'm not trying to play songs on my laptop. I'm trying to use my laptop to control the HD 200 in order to play songs on my home audio system, that my HD 200 is connected to. Like with slimserver. I was under the impression that this could be done with the HD 200. It is one of the primary reasons I made the purchase.

Is this true? The HD 200 cannot be used this way? That would be shocking. Slim has been doing this for years. A very useful tool. To be able to control all your media from any computer in the network.

Any other comments from Sage TV experts?

Thanks in advance.

[b-morgan]

I'm sorry if this has been asked before but despite my best efforts, I could not get a search to find anything.

On the Home page under Video Disk Space is a link [Auto-Delete Recordings] which, when clicked brings up a list of recordings in the database with this flag set. On this page is the Action on selected: drop-down list which does NOT contain Set / Clear Auto-Delete flag.

Would it be possible to add these two options to this drop-down? I have some recordings that have this flag set due to an error on my part and I'd like to clear it. Is there another way to clear this flag?

Regards,

Brad

[jreichen]

Several criteria are involved in determining whether a recording can be auto-deleted or not so there's no single flag to set that value. To prevent a recording from being auto-deleted do one or more of the following:

• If it's currently a favorite recording, set the auto delete property on the favorite to No. This affects all recordings for that favorite
• If it's currently a favorite or intelligent recording, mark the recording as a manual recording
• Set the archived flag on the recording

[b-morgan]

Originally Posted by jreichen

• If it's currently a favorite recording, set the auto delete property on the favorite to No. This affects all recordings for that favorite
• If it's currently a favorite or intelligent recording, mark the recording as a manual recording
• Set the archived flag on the recording

The first item is how I got into this mess in the first place. I've set the property to No but that doesn't seem to affect the already recorded programs.

I'm not sure what the archived flag means. Can you give me a quick answer or pointer to RTFM

Speaking of RTFM... Is there a document that describes the colors and icons displayed on the web pages?

BTW, I just installed 2.25 under Jetty. Aside from the username and password changing case (still using the defaults and trusting my firewall), it went pretty smoothly. I have this and SJQ installed under Jetty.

Regards,

Brad