Is there a Mything Link?

[jbyram2]

Wondering if there was any interest in a MythTV backend emulator plugin for GBPVR. There are several MythTV Frontend development projects, for Xbox, MediaMVP, and other mediaplayers, and having the ability to use them might be attractive to some.

The "Mything Link" back end emulator would accept commands from a MythTV front end, and schedule/manage recordings in GBPVR's database, and serve up media when asked.

The alternative I see is writing a MediaMVP emulator for XBox, another for Xbox360, another for Dlink whatchamacallit etc... when other folks are already writing Myth frontends for these...or will be.

The down side? I don't know if Myth can handle the visual plugins very well, such as weather, VA panel, Ubustream, inset video, etc etc etc. Not sure how that would work. Skins would also be in the realm of the front end.

The advantage to this approach is that the server is still the Windows based GBPVR, while the front end is a small quiet set top box running linux. Response time of the front end is also much better if it does it's own menu and list generation, rather than the complex protocol used by MediaMVP. Also, Media players will become more popular. A standard protocol is needed to allow them to communicate easily with media servers, and GBPVR should support that standard, whatever it turns out to be. MythTV provides one standard; uPnP is another, (so they say); maybe an emulator/link should be written for that.

Thoughts? I would not expect sub to do all the work for this, since he has done such a great job already, and has enough to do keeping GBPVR running and up to date.

Gee... I think I've asked enough questions.

[-Oz-]

i think a bunch of us are here because mythtv was way too complicated to either:
a) setup
b) keep running after an update or two

I know I had both of those issues at one time or another. Thus I'd like to keep everything on windows or something supported easily.

[jbyram2]

If you could run windows on a set top box, I'd whole heartedly agree.

[wtg]

Not to discount the request because I'm all for options, and I played some with MythTV myself, but your can't get a Linux set top box any smaller, quieter or cheaper than an MVP.

[sub]

Wondering if there was any interest in a MythTV backend emulator plugin for GBPVR. There are several MythTV Frontend development projects, for Xbox, MediaMVP, and other mediaplayers, and having the ability to use them might be attractive to some.

The "Mything Link" back end emulator would accept commands from a MythTV front end, and schedule/manage recordings in GBPVR's database, and serve up media when asked.

The alternative I see is writing a MediaMVP emulator for XBox, another for Xbox360, another for Dlink whatchamacallit etc... when other folks are already writing Myth frontends for these...or will be.

The down side? I don't know if Myth can handle the visual plugins very well, such as weather, VA panel, Ubustream, inset video, etc etc etc. Not sure how that would work. Skins would also be in the realm of the front end.

The advantage to this approach is that the server is still the Windows based GBPVR, while the front end is a small quiet set top box running linux. Response time of the front end is also much better if it does it's own menu and list generation, rather than the complex protocol used by MediaMVP. Also, Media players will become more popular. A standard protocol is needed to allow them to communicate easily with media servers, and GBPVR should support that standard, whatever it turns out to be. MythTV provides one standard; uPnP is another, (so they say); maybe an emulator/link should be written for that.

Thoughts? I would not expect sub to do all the work for this, since he has done such a great job already, and has enough to do keeping GBPVR running and up to date.

Gee... I think I've asked enough questions.

This all sounds great, and I'll certainly help out any one that decides to tackle it as a project, but I should point out the major advantage to the MVP VNC type of client:

The client only needs to be very simple, but automatically gets the full functionality of GB-PVR. With as little as a few hundred lines of code, you can retrieve screen from GB-PVR and display them, and download video data. This allows you to see every screen in GB-PVR, including plugins etc. If GB-PVR changes in future to add extra screens or additional recording options, then you automatically get this.

Under the myth client approach, they locally code the functionality for each screen they want to support, so you end up with clients that dont do much, and does often look like the normal system - ie simple list of recordings or files to playback, maybe a screen to let you enter times to record, if you're really lucky maybe a TV Guide. As you've pointed out though, those screens can be much snappier if generated locally.

There are certainly benefits to both approaches, but the Hauppauge MVP was well suited to me and GB-PVR project given I was stretched pretty thin, and didnt have endless time available.

[jbyram2]

Not to discount the request because I'm all for options, and I played some with MythTV myself, but your can't get a Linux set top box any smaller, quieter or cheaper than an MVP.

Thats right. Unfortunately, the MVP does not have HD capability, and the set top boxes that have HD capability do not talk to GBPVR, as far as I know.

[sub]

Thats correct, but there is nothing to stop that few hundred lines of code being written on a box that does do HD in the future. If you've got to do any work adding support for a new type of client, this is probably the quickest way to get full functionality.

[jbyram2]

Oops, Thanks for the detail reply, Sub. I was talking to wtg.

I know you are right about the functionality. Almost all plugins work on MVP, except UbuStream non-channel mode, VA panel visualizations for music, and a few other exceptions. Is there something inherant in the MVP interface that makes it slow? I mean, besides the fact the MVP has to recieve the remote keypress, and send it to the server, the server has to receive the signal from the MVP, generate an entire new screen, transmit the entire new screenshot back to the MVP, and the MVP has to recieve it and display it. Is there a way to keep the functionality, yet do it quicker? Maybe using continuously streaming mpeg for the menus? Or a compressed format screenshot using .gif, instead of .bmp? Jpeg would fuzz up the menus too much. Or transmit only changes. Any such nonsense would require a new flavor of MVP server, as well as matching dongle software for the MVP.

The good thing is, once the super-duper-dongle is written, chunks of it can reused to create the equivalent for new set top boxes.

[sub]

Is there something inherant in the MVP interface that makes it slow? I mean, besides the fact the MVP has to recieve the remote keypress, and send it to the server, the server has to receive the signal from the MVP, generate an entire new screen, transmit the entire new screenshot back to the MVP, and the MVP has to recieve it and display it. Is there a way to keep the functionality, yet do it quicker?

Yeah, it has to do a fair bit of work which slows things down. That said, the faster your server, the faster the MVP seems to respond (due to the faster generation of screens, conversion from RGB to YUY2, and compression of resulting buffer). The speed of the server can make a huge difference. Your AMD Duron 1600 is on the slower side. I had a massive performance improvement when I moved from my previous Athlon 1800+ development machine to my current AMD 64 4400+.

The good thing is, once the super-duper-dongle is written, chunks of it can reused to create the equivalent for new set top boxes

Yes, I'm sure a fair bit of mvallands mvpmc code could be used to create a client on any other box.

I do agree with your original comments though that this isnt the only way things can be done, and I'm sure GB-PVR could accommodate a Mythtv type protocol if this eased use on other platforms.

[jbyram2]

The speed of the server can make a huge difference. Your AMD Duron 1600 is on the slower side. I had a massive performance improvement when I moved from my previous Athlon 1800+ development machine to my current AMD 64 4400+.

Hmmm.. *wonders how to use previous statement to justify new server to The Boss*

Good discussion Sub, thanks for the encouragement!