Ready for xubuntu 20.04

[bluesight]

Thanks for reminding me of what I should have documented to myself the first time I went through this. Sorry for the bother...it works as it should on my 20.04 install.
Tnx
b

[bluesight]

Something that I was looking for the first time around was a way to throw the DVB/ATSC EPG line away (with a trash can) on the settings>guide>EPG Sources screen so that it would "default" over to the Schedules Direct line/option. I probably did eventually find the wiki entry, but having it right there "naturally" would have been nice...

Tnx
b

[mvallevand]

I suggested to sub that ATSC and QAM should not default to OTA especially on linux. That would certainly make it clearer.

Martin

[bluesight]

Sorry again for the Schedules Direct distraction...the fundamental issue still remains the same. The guide info is now in place. And the channels and channel icons are there as well. But, if I start (a) certain operation(s), the liveTV stops streaming. Specifically, it appears that if I request an EPG update and let it go to the "Scanning 527028615 SID:9 1 seconds remaining..." point, then starting a liveTV stream fails. Strangely, if I start the stream  before it gets to the "1 second remaining" line, the stream will continue. But if I stop and attempt to restart the stream, it will be stuck with something like:

Receiving Data. (23818284)

And if I try reloading EPG, the EPG info line may end up stuck with:

"Checking for any broadcast DVB/ATSC EPG listings"

Initial loading of EPG looks normal until is starts counting down 60 seconds.My 18.04 system does not do the countdown, and just says "saving EPG listings".

I had been rebooting to clear this, but just stopping and restarting the "service nextpvr-server" clears it as well.

This is probably my fault for forgetting some setting I was supposed to deal with. But I can't remember stuff like this from my earlier install.

Here's the latest log zip...though there is probably pertinant info in earlier logs if the guide issues are ignored...

Tnx 
b

(PS - EPG update sequence):
Requesting channel listings 10-20 of 33 from Schedules Direct
...
...
Scanning 527028615 SID:9 56 seconds remaining...
...
...
Scanning 527028615 SID:9 1 seconds remaining...
(liveTV stream locks after this and the 1 second remaining message stays for a long time...)

[mvallevand]

Your system isn't able to transcode in real time

2020-05-11 14:06:39.489 [DEBUG][15] [FFMPEG]: frame= 240 fps= 36 q=28.0 size=N/A time=00:00:05.20 bitrate=N/A speed=0.772x

Did you use the web player before? Perhaps you used Kodi which uses direct play so doesn't experience this issue.

You might also want to see it VAAPI h/w transcoding works for you.

Martin

[bluesight]

I use Kodi on my 18.04 system. I should just move on to that and not worry about the web player since I won't be using it. Even when it is working, the web player gives warnings that it can't keep up (per above), so maybe that is related. I can't replicate the behavior on my (beefier) 18.04 system, though I did just see a similar liveTV lockup there when I was fiddling with it. But can't make it happen again.

I was mainly testing to make sure the base PVR service was OK on 20.04 before moving on to Kodi. The schedules direct snafu just lead to this (rathole) discussion. If something shows up later, I'll get back...but otherwise..again..sorry for the distraction.

Tnx
b

[sub]

Even when it is working, the web player gives warnings that it can't keep up (per above), so maybe that is related.

That is exactly what the message is trying to tell you. I might change to message slightly, to make it clearer.

It currently says 'Server is not fast enough for playback in a web browser'

[bluesight]

This is likely back to an Ubuntu 20.04 question, but I'm trying to track down why this system (Vaio AMD laptop) is having trouble keeping up with NextPVR (per above message). It actually has worked pretty well with WMC under Win7. I hadn't tested it on the 18.04 Xubuntu install I also had on it. So, this eval is strictly under Xubuntu 20.04. The general specs (AMD Athlon II P340 Dual-Core at 1.8Ghz, 7G memory and 1T hard drive) are up to the Windows requirements you have posted (didn't find a Linux requirements page). Not sure if the integrated graphics is considered modern enough (AMD Mobility Radeon HD 4225/4250 256MB). But it's modern enough to support an HDMI output, even up to 1920 X 1080. And, again, it seemed to work fine with WMC. My concern is whether the 20.04 drivers are all up to snuff. I tried finding "Additional Drivers", particularly for the Radeon M graphic, but nothing shows up. So I'll keep looking for that. Or maybe 20.04 just requires more resources than 18.04 and put this system on the wrong side of adequate.
Tnx
b

[sub]

When you're viewing in WMC, it's just playing the native stream. (in the same way that it would if you were running NextPVR on Windows and running the nextpvr.exe client...ie low CPU requirements)

When you're trying to watch in the web browser, it's much more complicated. The machine has transcode the content on the fly to a format that can be played in a web browser. This requires significantly more CPU than just playing a native stream.

--
Ultimately, it's hard to post a minimum specs list because it varies wildly depending on where you're going to be watching your content, and what the source content is. For example, you could probably watch content find in the web browser, with server running on a lowly RPi3, if you were using an IPTV source. If you were using an ATSC tuner, instead you'd definitely not be able to watch content in the web browser with a RPi3.

To be able to watch in the browser, with pretty much any type of content, you probably want an i5 or higher, or equivalent processor, or have decent hardware acceleration.

[mvallevand]

Since you posted that you used Kodi on 18 maybe you just don't have enough experience with transcoding. I doubt the video drivers are worse but I really have no idea and no desire to help with experiments when I am sure Kodi will be fine. You can trying VAAPI transcoding but if that doesn't help you should try out ubuntu h/w forums, it isn't going to be a NextPVR issue.

Martin