[Android MiniClient] Now in BETA

[dinki]

Originally Posted by stuckless

What's the issue you are having. is that you get an error, or that the video starts and then crashes. no audio? etc.

Of course. My apologies for not giving information on the issue.

The video/audio play much better than any other version I've used on the NP. I'm not seeing the pixelated frames I've seen in previous version.

I've tried playing using fixed and dynamic with Exoplayer and the results are pretty much the same: the video and audio play but in a stuttered way. The video/audio play smooth for a few seconds, then a slight pause, skips a few frames/seconds of audio, then it plays smooth again. Rinse and repeat. This is on a wired connection via USB dongle. I've only tried with 720P MPEG2 files as those were the ones I have not been able to view previously.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by dinki

Of course. My apologies for not giving information on the issue.

The video/audio play much better than any other version I've used on the NP. I'm not seeing the pixelated frames I've seen in previous version.

I've tried playing using fixed and dynamic with Exoplayer and the results are pretty much the same: the video and audio play but in a stuttered way. The video/audio play smooth for a few seconds, then a slight pause, skips a few frames/seconds of audio, then it plays smooth again. Rinse and repeat. This is on a wired connection via USB dongle. I've only tried with 720P MPEG2 files as those were the ones I have not been able to view previously.

If you can get the client log, then that might help. As mentioned, the PS stuff is new, there is likely to be some issues over the new month of or so as well tweak it... similar to how we had to work out the TS issues. FYI... the Dynamic mode should work better, mainly because it will buffer data (the PULL mode doesn't buffer).

I found a couple of issues this weekend but I didn't have time to create logs and troubleshoot things, so I'm hoping to get that done this week and then get Jeff's help in figuring out the kinks.

[AzJazz]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Yes, the HD-100 license is the same as placeshifter. Alternatively, if you upgrade your server to v9, there is no licensing, and you can connect a theoretical unlimited amount of clients, local or remote don't matter.

Thanks, Fuzzy! How solid is v9 these days? I've been really tempted to try it out, but I'm terrified about what would happen if my wife's shows don't get recorded ... Can I go back to v7.x if I wanted to?

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by stuckless

I don't know what version the Kindle Fire HD 7 uses, but this app has a minimum requirement of Android 4.1. The problem with Amazon's Android... is that we can't be sure what they have included or excluded I know it does run on the latest Fire TV, but other than that, I can't be sure. Typically to find the version of android your device is running, you should be able to go to an "About" section in the settings somewhere and it should tell you which version of android it's running (or might only tell you which version of Amazon it's running)

hi. is this the Nexus Player you speak of for mini client compatibility?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/google-n...&skuId=2445015

thanks

[nyplayer]

Nexus Player.

Using Dynamic Straming Mode

ExoPlayer
LiveTV.
H.264 TS plays fine cannot seek.
MPEG2-TS plays fine cannot seek.
MPEG2-PS Plays badly unwatchable.


IJKPLAYER
H.264 (1080i) TS Not so Good Video freezes breaks up after a while.
MPEG2-TS Will not play at all.
MPEG2-PS Will not play at all

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

hi. is this the Nexus Player you speak of for mini client compatibility?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/google-n...&skuId=2445015

thanks

It is.

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Nexus Player.

Using Dynamic Straming Mode

ExoPlayer
LiveTV.
H.264 TS plays fine cannot seek.
MPEG2-TS plays fine cannot seek.
MPEG2-PS Plays badly unwatchable.


IJKPLAYER
H.264 (1080i) TS Not so Good Video freezes breaks up after a while.
MPEG2-TS Will not play at all.
MPEG2-PS Will not play at all

Interesting results. I Don't have issues with H264 recorded contents (ts files from HDPVR), other than the occasional time that ExoPlayer fails to play it, so I use IJK player. I think I opted to use 720p instead of 1080i from HDPVR because of some bad experiences that I've read/had with 1080i a long time ago. I wonder if this is the difference.

I don't think I have any 1080i h264 TS files... if you can make the first 100mb available, i can do some testing.

Just to clarify... is your seeking issues related ONLY to LiveTV... or any completed recording.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by stuckless

It is.



Interesting results. I Don't have issues with H264 recorded contents (ts files from HDPVR), other than the occasional time that ExoPlayer fails to play it, so I use IJK player. I think I opted to use 720p instead of 1080i from HDPVR because of some bad experiences that I've read/had with 1080i a long time ago. I wonder if this is the difference.

I don't think I have any 1080i h264 TS files... if you can make the first 100mb available, i can do some testing.

Just to clarify... is your seeking issues related ONLY to LiveTV... or any completed recording.

Check your PM.

[cncb]

Originally Posted by cncb

In this case, the files that are failing have H264 video and DTS-HD MA and DTS audio tracks. I have several other files with the same video and audio tracks and they play fine.

It looks like the only difference in the mkv files ExoPlayer can't handle is 7.1 audio. That is, DTS-HD MA 5.1 plays fine, DTS-HD MA 7.1 fails.

[phantomii]

I have been going through the process of getting my Version 9 server install working which appears to have finally been successful last night. At the same time I have been playing with the Android client. I have bee experiencing some issues with the Android client but I am unsure if they are the client or more related to the Server issues I have been experiencing. I did though have one or two questions before I start prematurely posting symptoms.

1. Do I have to perform a separate install of the ExoPlayer or is it included in the SageTV Client? Can't seem to find this app anywhere

2. Are there any other items (other video players for example) that need to be installed as prerequisites to installing and testing the SageTV Client?

3. Should I expecct this version to play a variety of video formats like ripped DVD's (done with DVDFab for example), MP4 files or Blu-Ray files?

4. Are there other video formats we know have had issues playing?

Thanks and I look forward to more Beta Testing!

[dinki]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Nexus Player.

Using Dynamic Straming Mode

ExoPlayer
LiveTV.
MPEG2-TS plays fine cannot seek.
MPEG2-PS Plays badly unwatchable.

I haven't had a whole lot of time to experiment with settings, but I did try changing my old HDHR dual to:

encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false

I checked media info on a recording after the changing and it appears that it is now in TS format as expected:

General
ID                                       : 1 (0x1)
Complete name                            : D:\Media\tvrecordings\KATCTV3 News - 13578871-0.ts
Format                                   : MPEG-TS
File size                                : 2.19 GiB
Duration                                 : 34mn 58s
Overall bit rate                         : 8 960 Kbps

Video
ID                                       : 512 (0x200)
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : MPEG Video
Commercial name                          : HDV 720p
Format version                           : Version 2
Format profile                           : Main@High
Format settings, BVOP                    : Yes
Format settings, Matrix                  : Custom
Format settings, GOP                     : Variable
Codec ID                                 : 2
Duration                                 : 34mn 57s
Bit rate                                 : 8 324 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 8 420 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 59.940 (60000/1001) fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.151
Stream size                              : 2.03 GiB (93%)
Color primaries                          : BT.709
Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709

Audio
ID                                       : 513 (0x201)
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Format version                           : Version 2.5
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Codec ID                                 : 129
Duration                                 : 34mn 58s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 192 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 fps (1536 spf)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Delay relative to video                  : -1s 40ms
Stream size                              : 48.0 MiB (2%)
Language                                 : English

Text #1
ID                                       : 512 (0x200)-CC1
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : EIA-608
Muxing mode                              : A/53 / DTVCC Transport
Muxing mode, more info                   : Muxed in Video #1
Duration                                 : 34mn 57s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Stream size                              : 0.00 Byte (0%)

Text #2
ID                                       : 512 (0x200)-CC3
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : EIA-608
Muxing mode                              : A/53 / DTVCC Transport
Muxing mode, more info                   : Muxed in Video #1
Duration                                 : 34mn 57s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Stream size                              : 0.00 Byte (0%)

Text #3
ID                                       : 512 (0x200)-1
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : EIA-708
Muxing mode                              : A/53 / DTVCC Transport
Muxing mode, more info                   : Muxed in Video #1
Duration                                 : 34mn 57s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Stream size                              : 0.00 Byte (0%)

Text #4
ID                                       : 512 (0x200)-2
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : EIA-708
Muxing mode                              : A/53 / DTVCC Transport
Muxing mode, more info                   : Muxed in Video #1
Duration                                 : 34mn 57s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Stream size                              : 0.00 Byte (0%)

I was not able to get these files to play at all with exoplayer using any of the streaming methods (push, fixed, dynamic). I received a message on screen stating that the file could not be played. This is for both live tv and recorded 720p .ts formatted files.

I'm not a smart guy. I can't wrap my head around why some of you are having different results with the Nexus Player than I am. I do not have logs to post at this time but hope to get back to testing in a week or so. I'm also assuming that nyplayer's report is for 720p and 1080i content.

This project is very exciting thus my enthusiastic interest in getting it to work with my set up. Thanks for your patience with all my questions.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Check your PM.

Got it, and i can reproduce the failure... Still going to take time to figure out why, though

Originally Posted by phantomii

I have been going through the process of getting my Version 9 server install working which appears to have finally been successful last night. At the same time I have been playing with the Android client. I have bee experiencing some issues with the Android client but I am unsure if they are the client or more related to the Server issues I have been experiencing. I did though have one or two questions before I start prematurely posting symptoms.

1. Do I have to perform a separate install of the ExoPlayer or is it included in the SageTV Client? Can't seem to find this app anywhere

2. Are there any other items (other video players for example) that need to be installed as prerequisites to installing and testing the SageTV Client?

3. Should I expecct this version to play a variety of video formats like ripped DVD's (done with DVDFab for example), MP4 files or Blu-Ray files?

4. Are there other video formats we know have had issues playing?

Thanks and I look forward to more Beta Testing!

(1&2) When you see posts about ExoPlayer and IJKPlayer... therese are INTERNAL players for this app. THere is nothing extra that needs to be installed.
(3&4) I can say that there is some success with MKV, MP4 and TS files (h264). You cannot play DVDs or BluRay discs directly, but if they are ripped at MKV/MP4 you should be fine. Mpeg2 video is still not 100% as well.

Originally Posted by dinki

I haven't had a whole lot of time to experiment with settings, but I did try changing my old HDHR dual to:

encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false

I checked media info on a recording after the changing and it appears that it is now in TS format as expected:

I was not able to get these files to play at all with exoplayer using any of the streaming methods (push, fixed, dynamic). I received a message on screen stating that the file could not be played. This is for both live tv and recorded 720p .ts formatted files.

I'm not a smart guy. I can't wrap my head around why some of you are having different results with the Nexus Player than I am. I do not have logs to post at this time but hope to get back to testing in a week or so. I'm also assuming that nyplayer's report is for 720p and 1080i content.

This project is very exciting thus my enthusiastic interest in getting it to work with my set up. Thanks for your patience with all my questions.

ExoPlayer is a very picky. I only have HDPVR recordings (MPEG2TS H264) and probably 1 out of 5 recordings simply won't play at all ExoPlayer. Many players, like IJKPlayer (and certain the HD300 etc) are somewhat forgiving with the stream data, but ExoPlayer will just fail if expects a byte X and gets Y, etc. I have no idea what would cause one recording to work and another to fail, and to be honest, I haven't had the time to debug it as well

In my setup, I'll try ExoPlayer and if it fails, then I use the switch player action, and then I play it with IJKPlayer.

[nyplayer]

@dinky,


I have the same problem playing OTA recordings whether I record them in mpg or ts format. SageTV just stinks when it comes to muxing these files. What I had to do is record in mpg then remux to TS... using FFMPEG.

If I set this encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false and record a show in SageTV. It is mostly unwatchable.
I record the same program using NEXTPVR at the same time using the same unit and it plays just fine.

PS this is using HdHomerun OTA units.

[dinki]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

@dinky,


I have the same problem playing OTA recordings whether I record them in mpg or ts format. SageTV just stinks when it comes to muxing these files. What I had to do is record in mpg then remux to TS... using FFMPEG.

If I set this encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false and record a show in SageTV. It is mostly unwatchable.
I record the same program using NEXTPVR at the same time using the same unit and it plays just fine.

PS this is using HdHomerun OTA units.

Ouch. So not much hope without someone reworking the way Sage muxes files?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by dinki

Ouch. So not much hope without someone reworking the way Sage muxes files?

There was a great discussion on this see thread below. SageTV by far has the best logic I have ever seen in setting favorites and handling of recorded TV.... but the Internals themselves are outdated FFMPEG MPLAYER TSSPLITTER etc...

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...90&postcount=1

encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false

I did some further test EXOPLAYER will not play TS files correctly created by SageTV regardless of resolution. Audio is terrible and Video is slow and skippy.

[cncb]

Is it a general muxing issue or will we avoid it with the default MPEG2-PS recordings (which stuckless just added the parser for)?

[AzJazz]

Should I be able to connect the Miniclient to my Sage Server using the Placeshifter Locator ID?

I am occasionally running a VPN, and my IP address changes each time I connect. Connecting through the Locator ID would hopefully fix this.

I ran a test by going to locator.sagetv.com (as decribed here), and the SageTV locator redirected to my current VPN's IP address properly.

However, when I enter the same Locator ID (all lower-case) in the SageTV Miniclient, it appears to be resolving to an entirely different IP address that I don't recognize (I see the IP address momentarily in a pop-up toast message just before the Miniclient terminates).

Is the SageTV Miniclient using a different (and possibly less accurate) method for resolving the Placeshifter Locator ID?

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by AzJazz

Should I be able to connect the Miniclient to my Sage Server using the Placeshifter Locator ID?

I am occasionally running a VPN, and my IP address changes each time I connect. Connecting through the Locator ID would hopefully fix this.

I ran a test by going to locator.sagetv.com (as decribed here), and the SageTV locator redirected to my current VPN's IP address properly.

However, when I enter the same Locator ID (all lower-case) in the SageTV Miniclient, it appears to be resolving to an entirely different IP address that I don't recognize (I see the IP address momentarily in a pop-up toast message just before the Miniclient terminates).

Is the SageTV Miniclient using a different (and possibly less accurate) method for resolving the Placeshifter Locator ID?

https://github.com/OpenSageTV/sagetv...ient/issues/17

Eventually, yes, but not at the moment.

[AzJazz]

Thanks, Stuckless!

[nyplayer]

It appears that the MiniClient has problems playing HdHomerun Prime H264 content from Comcast.

[Gustovier]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

It appears that the MiniClient has problems playing HdHomerun Prime H264 content from Comcast.

It can it's just not really consistent with exoplayer. I've had a channel not play and then close the connection to the server, go back to the channel and it starts working. With the ijkplayer everything mostly plays even comcast h264 channels through my hdhomerun prime.