SageTVTranscoder Plugin

[hb4]

Here's my settings... not sure how they got that way. (Windows/FS4K/Prime)
Should I change them to match nyplayer's?

xcode/allow_multithreading_for_hdextender_placeshifting=true
xcode_disable_mono_audio=true
xcode_dynamic_audio_codec=mp2
xcode_fix_broken_hdpvr_streams=false
xcode_process_num_threads=0
xcode_process_priority_streaming=normal
xcode_reduce_process_priority=true
zzz=true

[CptKirk]

NPlayer

Should this be a requested changed to the SageTV installer to change the defaults used?

I noticed that the default SageTV settings for xcode are poor ... changing number of threads and priority to normal really helps in performance when transcoding.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by CptKirk

NPlayer

Should this be a requested changed to the SageTV installer to change the defaults used?

Not sure about that but I think they were set that way because many years ago devices where less powerful so I am sure they did not want the transcoder to take up a lot of resources or CPU power.

[CptKirk]

So I just did the following updates:

- SageTV x32 9.1.9 to SageTV x32 9.2.5
- OpenDCT 0.5.29 to OpenDCT 0.5.32

I did those so I could add the new plugins:

- SageTVTranscoder Plugin x64 1.0.5 (2021-04-30)
- Media Format Parser Plugin Windows x32 0.7 (2021-03-30)

This is on a Win7 x64 machine.

Once the updates were installed (no errors or problems encountered), I rebooted the machine and then went into Available Plugins to do the SageTVTranscoder Plugin first.

I noticed two items:

1. Too many shown. Based on this statement:

Q: How do I install this?
A: It is available under as a SageTV plugin under General. It is called SageTVTranscoder (FFmpeg) Windows x64. There is currently only a x64 build available. This needs to be run on a x64 bit version of windows, but can be run from either a x32 or x64 bit install of SageTV

I was expecting to see just one listed, but there were two.

SageTVTramscoder (FFmpeg) Windows x32, Version 1.0.2
SageTVTranscoder (FFmpeg) Windows x64, Version 1.0.2

If there is no x32 version now, it would probably be a good idea to get it pulled (if possible) so that it does not show up as available.

2. Latest version?

On the main page it shows releases:

Versions:
v1.0.0 - Initial feature complete (Beta) release
v1.0.1 - Added x32 windows build
v1.0.2 - Fixed an issue with thumbnail generation on client machine. "stv://127.0.0.1/" translated to locally accessible path.
v1.0.3 - Fixed an issue with live tv transcoding and transitioning to a new program.
v1.0.4 - Added libx265 support

And on Github is shows the latest release as v1.0.5

But it only shows v1.0.2 available for installation in the SageTV available plugins.

Is there a way to get the latest v1.0.5?

[Malfunction]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Not sure about that but I think they were set that way because many years ago devices where less powerful so I am sure they did not want the transcoder to take up a lot of resources or CPU power.

Or heat/fan noise when it's transcoding.

[CptKirk]

Sorry it is basically the same post for two different plugins but I want to track it in both places.

How do I go about getting the Sage system to offer up the latest version of the plugin so that I can install it?

[CptKirk]

Updating to Java 8 enabled me to get the latest rev of SageTVPluginsV9 with no errors. I was then able to install the SageTVTranscoder Plugin and the Media Format Parser Plugin.

[hvymetal]

Originally Posted by jvl711

Hi hvymetal,

I would make a backup of the existing ffmpeg, and use the one I posted. There no other changes required. It should be a drop in replacement. This build is super alpha, so I do expect there are going to be issue.

I appreciate any testing feedback.

Thanks,
Josh

jvl711 I have been using this build for a while and did not see any issues. I even have been transcoding to the miniclient to a FireTV 4K stick to my home server over Wiregauard VPN using cell link. The client is set for, IJKPlayer(Could not get ExoPlayer stable), fixed streaming, and always transcode. With this release of SageTranscoder will the current MediaFormatParserPlugin work with is for the Linux?

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by hvymetal

jvl711 I have been using this build for a while and did not see any issues. I even have been transcoding to the miniclient to a FireTV 4K stick to my home server over Wiregauard VPN using cell link. The client is set for, IJKPlayer(Could not get ExoPlayer stable), fixed streaming, and always transcode. With this release of SageTranscoder will the current MediaFormatParserPlugin work with is for the Linux?

So you think it would be OK to post a beta linux version. I think the only thing I was not able to get working so far was the h265 library.

Thanks for testing it out!

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by CptKirk

So I just did the following updates:

- SageTV x32 9.1.9 to SageTV x32 9.2.5
- OpenDCT 0.5.29 to OpenDCT 0.5.32

I did those so I could add the new plugins:

- SageTVTranscoder Plugin x64 1.0.5 (2021-04-30)
- Media Format Parser Plugin Windows x32 0.7 (2021-03-30)

This is on a Win7 x64 machine.

Once the updates were installed (no errors or problems encountered), I rebooted the machine and then went into Available Plugins to do the SageTVTranscoder Plugin first.

I noticed two items:

1. Too many shown. Based on this statement:



I was expecting to see just one listed, but there were two.

SageTVTramscoder (FFmpeg) Windows x32, Version 1.0.2
SageTVTranscoder (FFmpeg) Windows x64, Version 1.0.2

If there is no x32 version now, it would probably be a good idea to get it pulled (if possible) so that it does not show up as available.

2. Latest version?

On the main page it shows releases:



And on Github is shows the latest release as v1.0.5

But it only shows v1.0.2 available for installation in the SageTV available plugins.

Is there a way to get the latest v1.0.5?

The 32bit version is actually new. I forgot to update the Q&A. I removed the info about there not being x32 support.

[hvymetal]

Originally Posted by jvl711

So you think it would be OK to post a beta linux version. I think the only thing I was not able to get working so far was the h265 library.

Thanks for testing it out!

Yes I do not see why not.....Right now I do not use video encoded with h265. h265 would be nice for the future but to start I would be happy with the current version working with MediaFormatParser Plugin.

Thanks for all your work and keeping life into SageTV.

BR

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by hvymetal

Yes I do not see why not.....Right now I do not use video encoded with h265. h265 would be nice for the future but to start I would be happy with the current version working with MediaFormatParser Plugin.

Thanks for all your work and keeping life into SageTV.

BR

Awesome! I will try and package that up this week and push it out.

Thank you for taking a look.

Josh

[hb4]

My use case for Sage is accessing it remotely using the great 'Fork of SageTV MiniClient for Android TV' installed on a Firestick 4k to play recordings from Xfinity that are recorded exclusively in '.ts' format. Is there any reason why I would need the SageTVTranscoder or the Format Detector Plugins?

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by hb4

My use case for Sage is accessing it remotely using the great 'Fork of SageTV MiniClient for Android TV' installed on a Firestick 4k to play recordings from Xfinity that are recorded exclusively in '.ts' format. Is there any reason why I would need the SageTVTranscoder or the Format Detector Plugins?

I would say no.

Unless you ever want to view those recordings from a remote location (ie away from the house). Then you might want the transcoder option to be able to transcode the .TS format to something that uses less data to transmit. Even that isn't required depending on the internet speeds your home and remote site have.

[hb4]

Originally Posted by sic0048

I would say no.

Unless you ever want to view those recordings from a remote location (ie away from the house). Then you might want the transcoder option to be able to transcode the .TS format to something that uses less data to transmit. Even that isn't required depending on the internet speeds your home and remote site have.

In my case, I do most of my viewing from a remote location. I seem to have acceptable performance transmitting the .ts format, but once in a while do see halts for 10-15 seconds. Which formats use less data? (I generally see 10mb upload at the remote location and 20mb download at the viewing location).

[ojones]

HB4 - Apologies for chasing you over from the miniclient thread.

I am running Josh's parser and transcoder plugins (h264 in MKV) for my remote miniclient tests. I can't advise on file size savings though as most of my TV content is h264 in .TS/MPEG wrapper as that's what's getting transmitted by verizon these days. That said - EXOplayer seems to like the h264/MKV much better than the h264/TS files when streaming.

I'm curious if going to the transcoder would improve your issue with halts or not.

[craigap]

I've been using a Firestick with the SageTV miniclient. I record OTA with HVR-2255s and I am not able to get reliable playback using the exoplayer. I am forced to use IJK with software decoding. In the miniclient thread there was talk of developing a transcoder that would fix this issue. Is this the transcoder I'm looking for to be able to use the exoplayer on the miniclient on my Firesticks?

[ojones]

Originally Posted by craigap

I've been using a Firestick with the SageTV miniclient. I record OTA with HVR-2255s and I am not able to get reliable playback using the exoplayer. I am forced to use IJK with software decoding.

Craig - I have had success with mini client 1.8.0 (not 1.8.1), installing Josh’s parser and transcoder plugins and setting the mini client to force transcode. Exoplayer just works with it set this way. One caveat - I am running my source through OpenDCT which may be cleaning up the stream a little first and preventing Exoplayer from getting grumpy.

This combo has worked for me on fire hd7 tablets, X1 nvidia shield tablets, nvidia shield, various vintage Sony TVs running Android. It has been tested over moderate to fast wan download links (Comcast, Fios, verizon 4g hot spot) with ping times up to 100ms (some issues starting a stream or loading interface when Comcast hits packet loss of under load). Only variable I haven’t played with is my upload bandwidth - 1gb up.

[Malfunction]

Can I make entries to the transcoder list to change 480p 4:3 to 16:9? The local Comet TV has been shipping us 16:9 material in 4:3. I've told them about this several times. I'm thinking both compression and non-compression command lines.

I know I can just watch it in the right aspect ratio.

[phelme]

I tried an H.265 MKV the other day through my HD300 and while it definitely was being transcoded through the plugin (x64) , the quality wasn't great and was very pixelated. The server is a 4-core AMD so should be able to handle it.

Is there something I maybe need to configure that I haven't?

I'm not sure which version I'm using so I'll have to double check that.