Play Back WIndows Recordings Uing Linux NextPVR

[jw1]

I have a Windows PC recording TV shows to my Linux file server. I have it set to convert the files to 1080p  MP4 files after recording is completed.

I also installed NextPVR on my Linux file server. just for viewing the videos. I would like to use the Linux version to play back the files. Is there a way to do that?

I want to continue to use the Windows machine for recording and file conversion because it is much more powerful than the Linux machine.

Thanks.

[mvallevand]

Why not just play the mp4 files via the Windows server?

Martin

[jw1]

I realize that I can do that but if I use the Linux server then I can reboot the Windows system without having to worry about cutting off anyone.

I actually would rather use the Linux system to record, but it will be overloaded when converting the files from .ts to mp4.

[mvallevand]

You can import missing recording into the Linux server using my NextImport utility but you'd need to set up a cron job to run the import or do it manually. If you really want to get sophisticated there are utilities that would allow you to trigger a remote cron job or run a script via ssh with Putty's plink in PostProcessing.bat.

You could also use direct play clients instead of the browser to avoid transcoding and upconverting everything to 1080p

Martin

[jw1]

I am transcoding to save space. Is Nextimport what is called when I click on the Import button in the web settings?

I tried this where I chose the XML file that was in the directory with the video but could not get it to work.

One problem might be that the paths are something like d:/next/show_name/... on the windows system but on the linux system they are /home/videos/show_name/...

I also see there is a utility called vidimport but that is windows only.

Thanks

[mvallevand]

No NextImport is my utility, a bit like VidImport. It will read the filename.xml and fix the linux filename for you when you import but you would need to scan the full folder to find the changes. I could probably add on option to filter on the filename

1080p files can be pretty big even as h264 and any 480i and 720p channels could end up being bigger unless you are also cutting quality. 720p might a better choice even for 1080i.

Martin

[jw1]

Hi MArtin,
That would be great if you could add that option.

Can Nextimport do anything with files that were not recorded in NextPVR?

I have 13 years of TV recorded using BeyondTV. The files do not have any XML or descriptions associated with them. They are grouped by directories and I could probably group them by seasons.  I would like to import them just by name.

I will have to check what the sizes of 480i and 720p files are after conversion. In BeyondTV one could choose to keep the resolution the same and just convert to mp4 format.

Thanks.

[mvallevand]

NextImport can parse metadata in the filename if there is any. I do have an option to scan the folder and provide me a debug log to see what I can do.

Are your files all mp4, if I remember correctly BTV used an odd extension for ts files.

Martin

[jw1]

I have some very old files that are .avi. Divx format I think. It looks like I switched to MP4 at the beginning of 2011.

BeyondTV used .tp. I have some files that I am converting right now to .mp4.

[mvallevand]

My utility will find avi and mp4, I will confirm my debug mode still works and you can try it and pass me the file so I can check.

Martin