Self-contained end-to-end port of NextPVR to Linux - eg Raspberry Pi

[martinu]

I gather that NextPVR can be used as a front-end to TVheadend running under OSMC or KODI on a Raspberry Pi.

But how about porting the full end-to-end functionality of NextPVR to RasPi, to avoid the rather clumsy and temperamental UI of TVHeadend - eg its PVR is displayed as an event list rather than as a time-versus-channel grid. And the ability to edit individual channels and to support multiple decoders with intelligent allocation of overlapping scheduled recordings to the available tuners.

I'd much rather use NextPVR than a cobbled-together mix of some front end (eg NextPVR or KODI) and TVheadend as a backend. On Windows, NextPVR does it best, and it would be nice to have the same solution for a Raspberry Pi, as a lower-power alternative to leaving a Windows PC running 24/7. In my request to add the proper grid EPG in TVheadend, I've just cited NextPVR as the definition of how to do the job properly :-)

I'm not bothered about the programme-watching capabilities of NextPVR (other than for a quick confidence test that Live TV is working and that a scheduled recording is working OK) because I don't use these - I play everything through VLC since this has the ability to play at speeds other than real time, and to turn subtitles on and off more easily.

[mvallevand]

Why have the Windows backend run 24/7 Since you are using VLC for playback why not let it sleep, my machine is only awake a few hours a day.

Martin

[martinu]

The backend PC needs to be running whenever a recording is scheduled. If I was sufficiently disciplined, I suppose I could put the PC to sleep between one scheduled recording and another, and hope I never forgot to turn it back on.

There is another unrelated reason that the PC needs to run 24/7, and that is to record data every few minutes from a weather station. Again, if I switched to a Raspberry Pi, I could use that for logging weather data as well as for recording TV.

[mvallevand]

Windows can be configured to sleep automatically, mine is set for 5 minutes. NextPVR is smart enough to wake the PC for recordings and the EPG update.

Martin

[martinu]

Windows can be configured to sleep automatically, mine is set for 5 minutes.

I knew that, though I'd forgotten it.

NextPVR is smart enough to wake the PC for recordings and the EPG update.

I didn't know that. Have you found that it is 100% reliable or have you found that sometimes the PC doesn't wake up in time or wake up at all? If I was just using the PC as a PVR, and didn't have the extra requirement to log weather station data, I might well give it a try. Does it rely on any BIOS settings? I've got my BIOS set to boot the PC automatically if the power goes off and then comes back on again, so I don't have to be there to press the PC's ON button.

[mvallevand]

100% is a lofty goal but I can't remember a time that the recording service didn't wake up for one of the events for recording or EPG updates. I have had problems with WOL a few times a year and because my backend is headless (no monitor or keyboard) in a closet there have been a few times when it didn't sleep properly and I didn't notice. The biggest problem I have had is when my NAS is not available something that you will likely run into with the RPi

Martin

[gEd]

I knew that, though I'd forgotten it.


I didn't know that. Have you found that it is 100% reliable or have you found that sometimes the PC doesn't wake up in time or wake up at all?

I would say my PC is 99.9% reliable when it comes to waking from sleep to record a programme. I have it set in windows to go to sleep after 20mins of idle and screen and Hard Disk power settings off.
However (having read your signature) I recall that I used to run into some problems many years ago with an older motherboard and Nova-T USB and internal tuners not always waking from sleep correctly. Such problems went away when I got a Blackgold PCI tuner.
So basically, you'd need to test it out but if there are any problems with failed recordings, it is very very unlikely to be the fault of nextPVR (it just adds a wakeup event to a table in the bios).

[mikeh49]

I also am in the 99+% camp over several years of experience. I have been away for 2 weeks to a month, and not missed a program. The only catch is, I think, when the sleep timer and wake up timer coincide in close proximity and the sleep wins. At least that's the theory that possibly explains a couple of missed recordings over the years. I use a 15 minute sleep timer, set in the Windows power options. My BIOS is set to restart on power return.

[Maverick]

The backend PC needs to be running whenever a recording is scheduled. If I was sufficiently disciplined, I suppose I could put the PC to sleep between one scheduled recording and another, and hope I never forgot to turn it back on.

There is another unrelated reason that the PC needs to run 24/7, and that is to record data every few minutes from a weather station. Again, if I switched to a Raspberry Pi, I could use that for logging weather data as well as for recording TV.

You could get one of THESE. You would have the form factor and power saving of a RPi and still have Windows 10 OS to run what you need. NOTE: I do not suggest getting one with less than 64GB Storage since Windows will use up probably close to half of that and you need room for Windows updates down the road. You can increase storage with other drives though.