recording from streaming services (Hulu etc.)

[tvmaster2]

Is it possible to use Sage to record a streaming service, such as Hulu? I’m a bit green when it comes to these services, and how they work, equipment used, etc. . As it is now, I feed Sage from the component outs of my Cox set-top box.
But as I’m not sure how streaming services deliver their channels, I’m miffed at whether or not there’s a way to record a channel. Hulu has their own dvr service, for a fee, which I assume records programs on their server in the cloud somewhere?

[rochurch]

I used to use a service called PlayOn. I purchased a lifetime subscription. It used to be great, however as they have updated their program they continue to remove channels. The last straw was the removal of ESPN.

[will]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Is it possible to use Sage to record a streaming service, such as Hulu? I’m a bit green when it comes to these services, and how they work, equipment used, etc. . As it is now, I feed Sage from the component outs of my Cox set-top box.
But as I’m not sure how streaming services deliver their channels, I’m miffed at whether or not there’s a way to record a channel. Hulu has their own dvr service, for a fee, which I assume records programs on their server in the cloud somewhere?

There are ways but nothing as easy as recording from cable. Here is a route I took: https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...8&postcount=10.

The main problem with recording from Hulu would be getting the content to play automatically (telling your streaming device what to play) and meta data for the recording. With Philio, this isn't an issue because it basically works just like cable (live TV that is based on a guide).

[Tiki]

Pretty much all the streaming services are designed intentionally to make it very difficult for you to record. They generally all us custom players (you have to install their playback software or their app), or they use players that are embedded inside webpages and rely on encryption technology.

Playon is the only service I know of that is designed to capture these streams.
It works by basically launching a hidden browser window, logging in to the service (like Netflix, or Hulu, or whatever) using your login credentials (you have to have accounts setup, and screen scraping to record the video. It does this in real time and can use a fair amount of computer resources. It also breaks a lot (anytime Netflix or Comcast, or Amazon change their sites, Playon has to update their software).

I have Playon and use it mostly to catch up on shows that I may have missed in Sage because of a recording error or something. So, basically I only use it like once every couple months. Every time I try to use it, I find something is broken (I think Comcast makes changes to their site on a regular basis to frustrate Playon). I end up spending time looking for updates and trying to make it work again. I also found that they made some change about a year ago and now it requires about 99% of my CPU capacity for Playon to record an HD show (I have been using an old slow AMD Athlon II cpu).

There is a UPnP plugin for Sage that can control Playon and make it record stuff, but the plugin never seems to work for me (I assume this is because Playon itself has not been very reliable for me).

So, bottom line is that it can work, but the experience is less than ideal.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by will

There are ways but nothing as easy as recording from cable. Here is a route I took: https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...8&postcount=10.

The main problem with recording from Hulu would be getting the content to play automatically (telling your streaming device what to play) and meta data for the recording. With Philio, this isn't an issue because it basically works just like cable (live TV that is based on a guide).

You haven't sheared any detail on how you did this

[jpwegas]

Originally Posted by will

There are ways but nothing as easy as recording from cable. Here is a route I took: https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...8&postcount=10.

The main problem with recording from Hulu would be getting the content to play automatically (telling your streaming device what to play) and meta data for the recording. With Philio, this isn't an issue because it basically works just like cable (live TV that is based on a guide).

Will,
If you have any details on how you created a custom guide in Sage for Philio (or any other similar service) I would be interested in hearing them.

And also would love to hear about your "custom batch tuning script I created that communicates with the Roku via the local web API". (I didn't know Roku had a web API!)

Thanks!

--John

[SHS]

Originally Posted by jpwegas

Will,
If you have any details on how you created a custom guide in Sage for Philio (or any other similar service) I would be interested in hearing them.

And also would love to hear about your "custom batch tuning script I created that communicates with the Roku via the local web API". (I didn't know Roku had a web API!)

Thanks!

--John

By the way John that Philo and as for EPG it is all ready available in SageTV,
What I like to know more about is how he done the custom batch tuning script being as far I know of none of apps support any kind number pad remote so a IR blaster can't tuning control a channel nor turn off and on live TV mode as it will be run 24/7 eat up a lot data.

[will]

@jpwegas and @SHS I sent you a PM with a write-up of how I got Philio working.

[will]

Originally Posted by SHS

What I like to know more about is how he done the custom batch tuning script being as far I know of none of apps support any kind number pad remote so a IR blaster can't tuning control a channel nor turn off and on live TV mode as it will be run 24/7 eat up a lot data.

So you're right, you would have your device streaming 24/7 so what I did was write a small batch script that runs every hour and checks if the recording drive is increasing in size, if it isn't, it sends the home command to the Roku through the web API which stops the streaming.

I mentioned this in the PM.

[jt4242]

Originally Posted by will

@jpwegas and @SHS I sent you a PM with a write-up of how I got Philio working.

Can you maybe post it here - I, too, would really like to know how it all works.......

[wayner]

Originally Posted by jpwegas

And also would love to hear about your "custom batch tuning script I created that communicates with the Roku via the local web API". (I didn't know Roku had a web API!)

Google and ye shall find - https://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdk...al+Control+API

This command will query all of the "apps" installed on Roku

http://192.168.1.134:8060/query/apps

launch Examples
The following command will launch the dev app on the box. The simplevideoplayer app that comes with the SDK will process the "url" and "streamformat" parameters and launch the roVideoScreen to play the passed in video. We assume simplevideoplayer is installed as the side-loaded developer application.

$ curl -d '' 'http://192.168.1.134:8060/launch/dev?streamformat=mp4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.ted.com%2Ftalks%2Fpodcast%2FVilayanurRamachandran_2007_480.mp4'
The following command will launch the dev app on the box. The launchparams app that comes with the SDK will process the "contentID" and "options" parameters and display them on a SpringBoard page. We assume launchparams is installed as the side-loaded developer application. This technique is a useful way to create "clickable" ads that launch a springboard page for a particular title in your channel. Roku now supports clickable ads on the home screen as well.

$ curl -d '' 'http://192.168.1.134:8060/launch/dev?contentID=my_content_id&options=my_options'

[samgreco]

Originally Posted by jt4242

Can you maybe post it here - I, too, would really like to know how it all works.......

+1 I am trying Philo tonight. But I wish they had more VOD. Going forward, recording to Sage would certainly help alleviate that.

[FlyingDoc]

+ another 1 ....

[jpwegas]

Originally Posted by wayner

Google and ye shall find - https://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdk...al+Control+API

This command will query all of the "apps" installed on Roku

http://192.168.1.134:8060/query/apps

launch Examples
The following command will launch the dev app on the box. The simplevideoplayer app that comes with the SDK will process the "url" and "streamformat" parameters and launch the roVideoScreen to play the passed in video. We assume simplevideoplayer is installed as the side-loaded developer application.

$ curl -d '' 'http://192.168.1.134:8060/launch/dev?streamformat=mp4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.ted.com%2Ftalks%2Fpodcast%2FVilayanurRamachandran_2007_480.mp4'
The following command will launch the dev app on the box. The launchparams app that comes with the SDK will process the "contentID" and "options" parameters and display them on a SpringBoard page. We assume launchparams is installed as the side-loaded developer application. This technique is a useful way to create "clickable" ads that launch a springboard page for a particular title in your channel. Roku now supports clickable ads on the home screen as well.

$ curl -d '' 'http://192.168.1.134:8060/launch/dev?contentID=my_content_id&options=my_options'

Nice! Now I need to buy a Roku to play with too!

The newer ones seem to support wifi only for networking (and I try to keep most of my Sage stuff wired). Any downside to getting a Roku 2 or Roku 3? Are there streaming apps that only work with newer models?

--John

[jpwegas]

Originally Posted by will

@jpwegas and @SHS I sent you a PM with a write-up of how I got Philio working.

Thanks Will!

--John

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by jpwegas

The newer ones seem to support wifi only for networking ...

All the Ultra's have Ethernet.

[brent76]

Originally Posted by will

The main problem with recording from Hulu would be getting the content to play automatically (telling your streaming device what to play) and meta data for the recording. With Philio, this isn't an issue because it basically works just like cable (live TV that is based on a guide).

It wasn't easy, but I finally have Philo up and running. I'm tuning channels by programmatically scrolling through the guide. Is that how it's done, or is there a better way that I haven't thought of?

[gsergeant]

@Will

Would it be possible to get same write up? I think I might have the skills to do that if I had a primer.

Thank you!

[brent76]

Originally Posted by gsergeant

@Will

Would it be possible to get same write up? I think I might have the skills to do that if I had a primer.

Thank you!

If there's a me-too list for the write up, please add me to it. Would like to see if there's anything I missed.

I used a Roku Streaming stick and a Hauppauge HDPVR 60. All of the newer Roku's are HDMI-only. Just make sure whatever capture device you use is both supported by SageTV and has an HDMI input.

The Roku devices use HDCP encryption. You'll need to find a way to strip out the encryption in order for the capture device to be able to use the signal.

I'd recommend starting by using the Hauppauge software and the Roku remote for initial testing.

Once you have the video working, then comes the interesting part: getting the tuner control to work. One nice thing about the Roku is that you don't need an IR blaster to control it. You can control it over the network, simulating all of the remote control commands, and then some.

Tuning from SageTV starts with the ExeMultiTuner plugin. This plugin sends a device name a channel number to an external program of your choice. It comes with the current release of SageTV, but is disabled by default. For SageTV 64-bit, you go into regedit and create a new key called ExeMultiTunerPlugin in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Frey Technologies\Common. Then you go into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Frey Technologies\Common\ExeMultiTunerPlugin and create a new string called command and set the value to a batch file or program that does the actual tuning. Example: cmd.exe /c "c:\program files\sagetv\sagetv\RokuMultiChg.bat" %DEVICE% %CHANNEL%

Even though you're not using an IR blaster, you still need an ir file. It gets stored in the SageTV directory under Common\RemoteCodes\EXEMultiTunerPlugin. I called mine Roku1.ir. It's just a regular text file with an ir file extension. The contents inside aren't all that critical, since none of it gets used. Some say that you can't leave it empty and should have some text and a blank line at the end.

At this point you should have everything you need to add the video source to Sage. Here's an example of what mine looks like:
Source: HD PVR 60 Capture Filter (HD) Digital
Network Enccoder: false
Input Type: Digital
EPG Lineup: Philo - National (sdepg)
Tuner Control: ExeMultiTunerPlugin Roku1

At this point you should see the video in SageTV. Tuning won't work yet, but you should have a program guide and see video if you play something using the Roku remote.

The final and most complicated part is the actual tuning. You'll need to develop a tuning script, (or program) or have someone that has already done it supply you a copy of what they're using.

I believe Will is using a batch file for the tuning, and a custom channel line up.

I'm using the Philo lineup from Schedules Direct. I use a batch file to translate the channel numbers in the Schedules Direct Philo lineup into numbers that match the actual channel order in the Philo app. Then the batch files calls a program that sends the tuning commands to the Roku/Philo.

By the time you get this far, hopefully others will chime in. If not, I can give you a copy of what I'm using.

[stewart710]

Originally Posted by will

So you're right, you would have your device streaming 24/7 so what I did was write a small batch script that runs every hour and checks if the recording drive is increasing in size, if it isn't, it sends the home command to the Roku through the web API which stops the streaming.

I mentioned this in the PM.

I would also love to get a copy if the write up.