DVB-T Radio (and FM!)

[sub]

(PS I wonder if sub is still watching...)

Yes, I'm still reading but I dont have really have any ideas about the stuttering.

I would have only expected DVB radio to work with live preview mode on the PC, not via an MVP or other client machine.

[ACTCMS]

I would have only expected DVB radio to work with live preview mode on the PC, not via an MVP or other client machine.

I assume there is some technical reason for that...

[sub]

Yes.

It doesnt really make sense to record an MPEG2 video file that only contains the audio and no video. Playback of one of these files would produce unknown results and probably isnt something the creators of the MVP and Directshow filters would test.

[ACTCMS]

Yes.

It doesnt really make sense to record an MPEG2 video file that only contains the audio and no video. Playback of one of these files would produce unknown results and probably isnt something the creators of the MVP and Directshow filters would test.

So (UK) DVB-T STBs work fine because they are designed to handle this situation. With the MVP it's just a case of pouring the stuff into one hole and seeing which (if any) other hole(s) it comes out of.

So is transmitting audio only fairly unique to DVB-T?

[sub]

So (UK) DVB-T STBs work fine because they are designed to handle this situation.

Yes. Live preview mode in GB-PVR works a very similar way to a set top box, which is why it should be ok.

With the MVP it's just a case of pouring the stuff into one hole and seeing which (if any) other hole(s) it comes out of.

With the way you're trying to do it, yes.

If I was to implement real support for DVB radio for the MVP, it'd be recording the audio stream to a .mp3 file, then feeding that to the MVP. This is not a trivial change though, and would require lots of support stuff to change, including "viewing" it somewhere other than live tv etc, so new screens etc required. This is probably not something I'll have time to do soon.

So is transmitting audio only fairly unique to DVB-T?

No, but having .mpg files with only audio is fairly unique.

[ACTCMS]

If I was to implement real support for DVB radio for the MVP, it'd be recording the audio stream to a .mp3 file, then feeding that to the MVP.

That makes sense... screensaver would then be available. But I can see why it wouldn't be a priority for you.

Still, even if this little project turns out to be completely futile, it's still a useful and fun way of learning a bit more about HTPC stuff.

Alex

[bgowland]

sub - if you remember (I vaguely do - getting old ). Sometime back on the same subject, I asked if it was possible for a plugin to play a 'buffer' style file (like the Net Radio and FM Radio buffers). You said it wasn't possible but you'd see about adding this.

My idea at the time was to have a separate DVB-T radio service (Windows Service) that output a buffer file in mp3 format and a DVB-T plugin could play it back just like Net Radio etc.

I seem to remember at the time it was only possible for user plugins to playback 'tracks', i.e., fixed recordings. Did you ever add this ability?

Cheers,
Brian

[bgowland]

If I was to implement real support for DVB radio for the MVP, it'd be recording the audio stream to a .mp3 file, then feeding that to the MVP. This is not a trivial change though, and would require lots of support stuff to change, including "viewing" it somewhere other than live tv etc, so new screens etc required. This is probably not something I'll have time to do soon.

Ooh, ooh, ooh (sorry - monkey impression off - I just had an idea though).

If you're porting Net Radio to PVRX2, how about a name change? 'Digital Radio' plugin and extending it to tune DVB-T radio stations as well. You wouldn't need to provide any tuning info support other than perhaps reading in from an XML file (or whatever format) that we users construct ourselves and it could be 'unsupported'.

One extra list in the menu that read a DVB-T 'playlist' file instead of a .pls file then tuned an available tuner, buffered to mp3 then played back.

Cheers,
Brian

(5 minute jobs - I love them. Except for when I've a thousand of them on my ToDo list )

[sub]

RE: 'buffer' style file

I assume you mean some type of circular buffer file. No, but the scheme I use for net radio seems adequate for most people. With net radio it just downloads to an ever growing file then tells the MVP to play it.

But I'll eventually run out of disk space!!! I had some rule in net radio saying the biggest .mp3 file it would create is something like 40MB, then the radio would stop recording to the file. Sure, that means you could leave radio running 24x7 because it'll eventually stop, but this limitation has never caused any complaints in net radio, and I'm sure would be adequate for DVB radio also.

40MB is nothing for temporary file when you consider even the smallest video file recorded is massive.

[sub]

If you're porting Net Radio to PVRX2...

Net radio for PVRX2 was release as a patch weeks ago.