ver 5 windows clients

[The Solutor]

That type of 'v4 server on the client' solution is only really useful for live tv. It doesn't really help you if you want to have access to your recordings etc throughout your house etc.

Why I shouldn't

I can just add a folder shared from the NPVR5 server machine to the Video library and you can access whatever you want.

What I'm missing here?

[sub]

Considering they indicated they liked the NextPVR UI, I'm guessing they want to be able to access the recordings screen to browse shows, and the guide to schedule/cancel recordings etc and have it work on the central server that feeds the whole home.

[The Solutor]

Considering they indicated they liked the NextPVR UI, I'm guessing they want to be able to access the recordings screen to browse shows, and the guide to schedule/cancel recordings etc and have it work on the central server that feeds the whole home.

Ok. One can always use the browser for that or access the server via rdp or use kodi just to schedule the program and NPRV4 do whatch the TV.

The solutions are endless


Whatever if you dont like the cascading server way. there is not here that I'm sure it works and requires just few mouse clicks and no installations on client side.

Just download (oon the server machine) that small free utility http://www.kimknight.net/remoteapptool, add the npvr5 desktop app to the list and create the specially crafted RDP link

Copy that link to the client machine and doublecick on it. You'll get a special rdp session that seamlessly show just the NPVR5 app, which run remotely.

More bandwidth needed than the "Plan A" but nothing that a modern network can't manage. Perhaps a really quick thing to test.

[sub]

An update for those wanting to know what happened with client mode in v5, and why it's not there, and whether it will be added:

The v4 frontend application had only ever be designed for running on the same machine as the NextPVR server, and needed direct access to the npvr.db3 database file. At some point I'd decided I could make a hack to provide a kind of client mode, with the client able to access the npvr.db3 via a shared network drive. It generally worked, but was had some downside (like being slow to load large lists of data, because of slow remote file access stuff going on behind the scenes).

With v5, I was trying to decide if I would create an entirely new UI application, which would be designed for client/server from day one, or would I fix the nextpvr.exe to remove it's dependency on the database file. I spent time experimenting with some of the cross platform UI technologies, and decided the ones I liked were not quite there yet, and they needed more time to mature, so would stick with existing NextPVR.exe UI and the v5 web UI for now.

On the client/server front, I would definitely still like v5 to be able to provide a client. The old hack had some major short comings, and this becomes alot more awkward now that NextPVR runs on other platforms like Linux. I began work to remove database dependencies in nextpvr.exe. It was a bigger job than you might expect. I got as far as having a client you'd start, which would show the normal NextPVR UI, with cut down menu with just options for 'Live TV' and 'Recordings', and these screens were fully functional. I began working through adding the 'TV Guide' screen as a next step, but ran out of steam and got busy with other stuff. (recordings and tv guide were going to be by-far the most complicated screens)

[NumberFive]

Thanks sub,

That's very interesting to read.  I can appreciate there must be a huge amount of work involved in that.  One of the things I really appreciate about NextPVR is the attention to detail on all these elements.

Considering they indicated they liked the NextPVR UI, I'm guessing they want to be able to access the recordings screen to browse shows, and the guide to schedule/cancel recordings etc and have it work on the central server that feeds the whole home.

That's it exactly!  I really like the NextPVR UI because it has a strong emphasis on being a PVR (for broadcast / IPTV), and all of the menus are very intuitive for that.  Having the NextPVR UI around the home is great, and with V4 I found the short lag on client machines completely tolerable considering the fantastic functionality it offers.  

I know the Kodi options work very well, but there's just something about the whole style of Kodi that I don't like.  Hard to say exactly why.

[greg in kansas]

An update for those wanting to know what happened with client mode in v5, and why it's not there, and whether it will be added:

The v4 frontend application had only ever be designed for running on the same machine as the NextPVR server, and needed direct access to the npvr.db3 database file. At some point I'd decided I could make a hack to provide a kind of client mode, with the client able to access the npvr.db3 via a shared network drive. It generally worked, but was had some downside (like being slow to load large lists of data, because of slow remote file access stuff going on behind the scenes).

With v5, I was trying to decide if I would create an entirely new UI application, which would be designed for client/server from day one, or would I fix the nextpvr.exe to remove it's dependency on the database file. I spent time experimenting with some of the cross platform UI technologies, and decided the ones I liked were not quite there yet, and they needed more time to mature, so would stick with existing NextPVR.exe UI and the v5 web UI for now.

On the client/server front, I would definitely still like v5 to be able to provide a client. The old hack had some major short comings, and this becomes alot more awkward now that NextPVR runs on other platforms like Linux. I began work to remove database dependencies in nextpvr.exe. It was a bigger job than you might expect. I got as far as having a client you'd start, which would show the normal NextPVR UI, with cut down menu with just options for 'Live TV' and 'Recordings', and these screens were fully functional. I began working through adding the 'TV Guide' screen as a next step, but ran out of steam and got busy with other stuff. (recordings and tv guide were going to be by-far the most complicated screens)

Thank you Sub for that is good to know, you want a new client.  For me now I am stuck on a old Win server V4 and am running a V5 docker on Unraid.  The WAF on the main box is thou the roof 2 tuner cards and a happage remote.  So I am waiting for a Win client with the old UI that is so good with  a remote and a 70 year wife!!. 
Thanks for most and longest used software in my life

[NumberFive]

Absolutely, the V4 server/client setup works absolutely fantasticly, bar the minor inconvenience of short delays on the clients. It's vastly better than other solutions I've tried. I also use Hauppauge remotes so get a very consistent experience around the house.

Just a thought, in the "new V5 client" it would be nice if there was something along the lines of a "guest mode" which allows a client to use LiveTV and to access recordings, but not to delete recordings / edit recurring recordings etc.