SageTVTranscoder Plugin

[Carlton Bale]

Originally Posted by w4rh4wk

gotcha... im running 1.7.0-79b15.... quick google search.. i see Version 8 Update 281... go with that one?

I was receiving the same error. Updating from Java 7 update 79 to Java 8 update 281 solved it for me as well. Thanks for the help!

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by phantomii

So, I am also interested in a Linux version of this as I built several Linux SageTV Servers and had to learn some Linux to do this and to support them. I am not a developer, but have done some minimal coding in a few languages over time on Windows systems. I do though have several old Desktop PC's around I suspect I could build into a Linux dev environment to maybe help this along??? If you could point me to what might be needed to set this up I would be willing to give it a try. Might crash and burn but I love to learn new stuff anyway. Maybe it would keep my mind busy and out of trouble???

Sorry for the late reply! If you look at this branch (https://github.com/jvl711/SageTVTran...tv_from_v4.3.1) in the github repo, that is where I am doing all of my current changes. I have a build script that I wrote. I am not sure what your experience level is, but let me know if you have questions about the script. The good news, is this is pretty much just ffmpeg, so there is a lot of resources on the internet on how to compile ffmpeg. They will all be relevant. I am a beginner C developer, so I am googling guessing my way thru this.

build.sh

I would like to make the build.sh script be able to handle win32/win64/linux and to create the xml files for the plugin. It is handling win32/win64 and xml currently.

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss over email.

Thanks,
Josh

[Carlton Bale]

I had to uninstall this plugin. It breaks video playback in the SageTV Mobile Web Interface. The only way to playback recordings in iOS devices is through the Safari using the transcoder built-in to that plugin. This plugin requires Java 7 and is 32-bit only.

Is there a way to get both of these plugins to coexist?

[wayner]

Not directly answering your question but I use AirVideoHD to play back SageTV recordings in iOS. It is not a good UI as you are just selecting from filenames but it has stable playback. I don't know that AirVideoHD is still alive but it still works, at least for me.

For other SageTV content on iOS, like ripped movies or TV shows I use Plex. I run SageTV, Plex and AirVideoHD in dockers on my unRAID server. But they can all be run on Windows as well, and you can forward ports, or use a VPN, to access remotely.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Carlton Bale

I had to uninstall this plugin. It breaks video playback in the SageTV Mobile Web Interface. The only way to playback recordings in iOS devices is through the Safari using the transcoder built-in to that plugin. This plugin requires Java 7 and is 32-bit only.

Is there a way to get both of these plugins to coexist?

Wow, I thought I had done something wrong, but I think you nailed it: I too installed the transcoder, and it broke the Mobile Web/Remote interfaces. Rolled back my W7 install to prior transcoder plugin, and all working again.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wayner

Not directly answering your question but I use AirVideoHD to play back SageTV recordings in iOS. It is not a good UI as you are just selecting from filenames but it has stable playback. I don't know that AirVideoHD is still alive but it still works, at least for me.

For other SageTV content on iOS, like ripped movies or TV shows I use Plex. I run SageTV, Plex and AirVideoHD in dockers on my unRAID server. But they can all be run on Windows as well, and you can forward ports, or use a VPN, to access remotely.

Funny, I use AirVideoHD as well. Rock solid functionality. There were never great choices for Sage and iOS, it may have been the only one.
I wondered as well if it’s still alive - the author’s used to ask for money all the time for updates, and then they just stopped. Hopefully iOS updates won’t kill it, as it works really well remotely via DNS services when traveling...

[TGsell]

Agree -- Air video is a terrific IOS app.... grabs the Sage recordings without fail.

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by Carlton Bale

I had to uninstall this plugin. It breaks video playback in the SageTV Mobile Web Interface. The only way to playback recordings in iOS devices is through the Safari using the transcoder built-in to that plugin. This plugin requires Java 7 and is 32-bit only.

Is there a way to get both of these plugins to coexist?

I am going to assume that the Mobile Web Interface is passing a parameter to the SageTVTranscoder that is either deprecated, or that I am not properly supporting. Can you possibly see if there is something showing up in the SageTVTranscoder log when this issue occurs.

Thanks,
Josh

[Carlton Bale]

Originally Posted by jvl711

I am going to assume that the Mobile Web Interface is passing a parameter to the SageTVTranscoder that is either deprecated, or that I am not properly supporting. Can you possibly see if there is something showing up in the SageTVTranscoder log when this issue occurs.

Thanks,
Josh

This is the error that keeps showing up when I try to play a recording via iOS Safari:

################################ SageTVTranscoder (FFmpeg) starting ################################
Arguments: C:\Program Files (x86)\SageTV\SageTV\SageTVTranscoder.exe -threads 4 -flags2 +fast -flags +loop -g 60 -keyint_min 1 -bf 0 -b_strategy 0 -flags2 -wpred-dct8x8 -cmp +chroma -deblockalpha 0 -deblockbeta 0 -refs 1 -coder 0 -me_range 16 -subq 5 -partitions +parti4x4+parti8x8+partp8x8 -trellis 0 -sc_threshold 40 -i_qfactor 0.71 -qcomp 0.6 -ss 1660.0 -i \\Synology\TV Shows\SageTV\The Conners - S03E13 - Walden Pond, a Staycation and the Axis Powers - 12291864-0.mpg -s 480x320 -aspect 16:9 -y -f mpegts -async 1 -vcodec libx264 -level 30 -bufsize 2M -b 376k -qmax 48 -qmin 2 -r 29.97003 -vol 512 -acodec libfaac -ab 64k -ar 44100 -ac 2 -

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by Carlton Bale

This is the error that keeps showing up when I try to play a recording via iOS Safari:

################################ SageTVTranscoder (FFmpeg) starting ################################
Arguments: C:\Program Files (x86)\SageTV\SageTV\SageTVTranscoder.exe -threads 4 -flags2 +fast -flags +loop -g 60 -keyint_min 1 -bf 0 -b_strategy 0 -flags2 -wpred-dct8x8 -cmp +chroma -deblockalpha 0 -deblockbeta 0 -refs 1 -coder 0 -me_range 16 -subq 5 -partitions +parti4x4+parti8x8+partp8x8 -trellis 0 -sc_threshold 40 -i_qfactor 0.71 -qcomp 0.6 -ss 1660.0 -i \\Synology\TV Shows\SageTV\The Conners - S03E13 - Walden Pond, a Staycation and the Axis Powers - 12291864-0.mpg -s 480x320 -aspect 16:9 -y -f mpegts -async 1 -vcodec libx264 -level 30 -bufsize 2M -b 376k -qmax 48 -qmin 2 -r 29.97003 -vol 512 -acodec libfaac -ab 64k -ar 44100 -ac 2 -

Do you know if the parameters being passed to ffmpeg/SageTVTranscoder are configurable? I am pretty sure some of the arguments are no longer supported by ffmpeg.

Josh

[Malfunction]

I just installed SageTV transcoder this week. At first I thought it didn't work at all, then I noticed that my failures were mostly MKV. MKV has been hit or miss, and 100% fails when trying to transcode 1080i. AVI works just about 100% of the time and does work with 1080i!

Sun 4/4 18:24:07.547 [AWT-EventQueue-0@6aa8ceb6] Added for transcoding:MediaFile[id=88295371 A[87420898,87417336,"Mad Money",58780@0329.18:00,60,T] mask=TV host=SAGETV encodedBy=Hauppauge Siena Video Capture Good-H.264 format=MPEG2-TS 0:04:59 2884 kbps [#0 Video[H.264 59.94006 fps 1280x720 16:9 progressive id=1011]#1 Audio[AC3 48000 Hz 6 channels 384 kbps MAIN idx=1 id=1100]{SeriesInfoID=185326}] K:\SageTV II\MadMoney-S2021E53-87420898-0.ts, Seg0[Mon 3/29 18:00:00.001-Mon 3/29 19:00:00.001]]
Sun 4/4 18:24:07.547 [Ministry@25a28f0b] Initiating xcode for K:\SageTV II\MadMoney-S2021E53-87420898-0.ts
Sun 4/4 18:24:07.548 [Ministry@25a28f0b] Set Transcode format source=MPEG2-TS 0:04:59 2884 kbps [#0 Video[H.264 59.94006 fps 1280x720 16:9 progressive id=1011]#1 Audio[AC3 48000 Hz 6 channels 384 kbps MAIN idx=1 id=1100]{SeriesInfoID=185326}] dest=matroska 0:00:00 0 kbps [#0 Video[h264 4500 kbps progressive]#1 Audio[ ]{CompressionDetails=-coder 1 -flags +loop -cmp +chroma -partitions +parti8x8+parti4x4-partp8x8-partb8x8 -me_method dia -subq 1 -me_range 16 -g 250 -keyint_min 25 -sc_threshold 40 -i_qfactor 0.71 -b_strategy 1 -qcomp 0.6 -qmin 10 -qmax 51 -qdiff 4 -bf 3 -refs 1 -directpred 1 -trellis 0 -flags2 +bpyramid-mixed_refs+wpred+dct8x8+fastpskip-mbtree -wpredp 0 -rc_lookahead 0}]
Sun 4/4 18:24:07.548 [Ministry@25a28f0b] Using 7 threads for the transcoder
Sun 4/4 18:24:07.552 [Ministry@25a28f0b] Ministry is waiting for 180 sec
Sun 4/4 18:24:07.567 [AWT-EventQueue-0@6aa8ceb6] processOptionsMenu optionsMenu=default:BASE-50504|OptionsMenu:Conversion Started Dialog
Sun 4/4 18:24:08.553 [Ministry@25a28f0b] Ministry is waiting for 180 sec
Sun 4/4 18:24:14.335 [AWT-EventQueue-0@6aa8ceb6] processUserEvent-UserEvent[select] evtTime=Sun 4/4 18:24:14.335
Sun 4/4 18:24:14.335 [AWT-EventQueue-0@6aa8ceb6] KillTranscoding for:MediaFile[id=88295371 A[87420898,87417336,"Mad Money",58780@0329.18:00,60,T] mask=TV host=SAGETV encodedBy=Hauppauge Siena Video Capture Good-H.264 format=MPEG2-TS 0:04:59 2884 kbps [#0 Video[H.264 59.94006 fps 1280x720 16:9 progressive id=1011]#1 Audio[AC3 48000 Hz 6 channels 384 kbps MAIN idx=1 id=1100]{SeriesInfoID=185326}] K:\SageTV II\MadMoney-S2021E53-87420898-0.ts, Seg0[Mon 3/29 18:00:00.001-Mon 3/29 19:00:00.001]]
Sun 4/4 18:24:14.336 [Ministry@25a28f0b] Ministry is waiting for 180 sec

[Carlton Bale]

Originally Posted by jvl711

Do you know if the parameters being passed to ffmpeg/SageTVTranscoder are configurable? I am pretty sure some of the arguments are no longer supported by ffmpeg.

Josh

The transcoder parameters are not obviously configurable in the plugin. It maybe be in a configuration file but it wasn’t obvious to me.

[Malfunction]

I've also noticed that I can't convert a mkv file, just fails instantly.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by Carlton Bale

The transcoder parameters are not obviously configurable in the plugin. It maybe be in a configuration file but it wasn’t obvious to me.

yes you can add profiles to SageTV Properties I added one just to remux to MKV no transcoding. What exactly do you want to transcode to bitrate etc ... maybe I can create a profile for you.


transcoder/formats/MKV-Remux\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -map 0;]

the above translates to this ....

Arguments: C:\Program Files\SageTV\SageTV\SageTVTranscoder.exe -v 3 -y -threads 2 -sn -vsync 1 -async 100 -stdinctrl -i V:\SAGETEMP\Star Trek Deep Space Nine - S02E13 - Armageddon Game - 127860-2.ts -threads 7 -f matroska -c copy -map 0 -aspect 16:9 -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -priority idle V:\SAGETEMP\TVShows\Star Trek Deep Space Nine\Star Trek Deep Space Nine - S02E13 - Armageddon Game - 127860-2.tmp
Setting process priority
Priority Argument: idle

[nyplayer]

Here are MKV Profiles ... you can copy to properties ... You will need SageTVTranscoder plugin and the sage.jar provided by Josh.

These will copy all audio and subtitles but transcode the video.

transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\superfast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset superfast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\veryfast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset veryfast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\faster\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset faster -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\fast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset fast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\Medium\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset medium -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\slow\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset slow -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\slower\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset slower -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\veryslow\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset veryslow -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-Remux\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy;]

Snipped from FFMPEG Site.
Preset
A preset is a collection of options that will provide a certain encoding speed to compression ratio. A slower preset will provide better compression (compression is quality per filesize). This means that, for example, if you target a certain file size or constant bit rate, you will achieve better quality with a slower preset. Similarly, for constant quality encoding, you will simply save bitrate by choosing a slower preset.

Use the slowest preset that you have patience for. The available presets in descending order of speed are:

ultrafast
superfast
veryfast
faster
fast
medium – default preset
slow
slower
veryslow

[Malfunction]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Here are MKV Profiles ... you can copy to properties ... You will need SageTVTranscoder plugin and the sage.jar provided by Josh.

These will copy all audio and subtitles but transcode the video.

transcoder/formats/MKV-H264fast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset fast -c\:v libx264 -map 0;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264Medium\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset medium -c\:v libx264 -map 0;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264slow\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset slow -c\:v libx264 -map 0;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264superfast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset superfast -c\:v libx264 -map 0;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264veryfast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset veryfast -c\:v libx264 -map 0;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-Remux\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -map 0;]

Snipped from FFMPEG Site.
Preset
A preset is a collection of options that will provide a certain encoding speed to compression ratio. A slower preset will provide better compression (compression is quality per filesize). This means that, for example, if you target a certain file size or constant bit rate, you will achieve better quality with a slower preset. Similarly, for constant quality encoding, you will simply save bitrate by choosing a slower preset.

Use the slowest preset that you have patience for. The available presets in descending order of speed are:

ultrafast
superfast
veryfast
faster
fast
medium – default preset
slow
slower
veryslow

I tried copying all that into Sage.Properties and it didn't work. Should I add any one line and also add the Remux line?

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by Malfunction

I tried copying all that into Sage.Properties and it didn't work. Should I add any one line and also add the Remux line?

Hi,

Sorry for the late response. I am on Vacation . NYPlayer has answered the question perfectly. This is an upgraded version of the built in SageTVTranscoder. The newere ffmpeg this is based off of does not support all of the command line arguments that SageTV has in the built in profiles. Some of them have changed names, some have been removed. I did my best to translate them where I could, but I did hit some roadblocks. You need to build new profiles for MKV transcoding to work as NYPlayer stated.

At somepoint I will automatically add some to SageTV as part of the of the plugin, but I do not have a good set yet. I use the transcoder more for viewing content remotely, and converting unsupported content.

Let me know if that does not make sense.

Thanks,
Josh

[Malfunction]

Originally Posted by jvl711

Hi,

Sorry for the late response. I am on Vacation . NYPlayer has answered the question perfectly. This is an upgraded version of the built in SageTVTranscoder. The newere ffmpeg this is based off of does not support all of the command line arguments that SageTV has in the built in profiles. Some of them have changed names, some have been removed. I did my best to translate them where I could, but I did hit some roadblocks. You need to build new profiles for MKV transcoding to work as NYPlayer stated.

At somepoint I will automatically add some to SageTV as part of the of the plugin, but I do not have a good set yet. I use the transcoder more for viewing content remotely, and converting unsupported content.

Let me know if that does not make sense.

Thanks,
Josh

I got some of the command line options working, enough to see that it works. No thermometer yet, but I think I can figure out how to get it right after I spend some time on the FFDSHOW website.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by Malfunction

I tried copying all that into Sage.Properties and it didn't work. Should I add any one line and also add the Remux line?

You need to make sure SageTV is shutdown. I made a few changes. They work great. I use the Superfast on MPEG2 channels and you get good quality plus speed. You can copy the whole block.... or choose what you want.


transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\superfast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset superfast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\veryfast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset veryfast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\faster\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset faster -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\fast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset fast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\Medium\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset medium -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\slow\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset slow -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\slower\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset slower -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\veryslow\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset veryslow -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-Remux\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy;]

[Malfunction]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

You need to make sure SageTV is shutdown. I made a few changes. They work great. I use the Superfast on MPEG2 channels and you get good quality plus speed. You can copy the whole block.... or choose what you want.


transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\superfast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset superfast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\veryfast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset veryfast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\faster\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset faster -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\fast\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset fast -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\Medium\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset medium -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\slow\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset slow -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\slower\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset slower -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-H264\veryslow\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy -preset veryslow -c:v libx264;]
transcoder/formats/MKV-Remux\ MKV=f\=matroska;MCompressionDetails\=-c copy;]

This did the trick. I see you removed a couple slashes that were making up arrows.