Android App: Phoenix for SageTV

[mdnttoker]

Originally Posted by stuckless

Over on Google+ I just posted the following post, detailing the future of this application...

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10088422...ts/RkS9ANiAHxv

I won't copy verbatim, but in a nutshell, I'm looking at making certain features paid features, and basing the amount of attention this app gets on it's sales performances, compared against my other apps.

You can share your thoughts here or on Google+

Any thoughts to using something like kickstarter to set a goal for each feature, so we can see goals and status?

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by mdnttoker

Any thoughts to using something like kickstarter to set a goal for each feature, so we can see goals and status?

Interesting... I've never thought about using Kickstarter for something like this.

EDIT: It looked interesting until I realized that I had to in the US or UK

[tvmaster2]

nice app so far. the two things I would pay the most for would be the ability to schedule/cancel recordings, and reliable streaming. Priority would be the scheduling.

Watching tele on a 3.5" screen is nearly a complete waste of time, but for ten minutes in an airport, it has a purpose.

Air Video has been the best streaming app I've found so far, and it's $2.99, which is a steal...no Android version, however, and no file manipulation or scheduling capabilities either.

As it stands now, what stops us from streaming movie-length items in the current app? I can stream music videos just fine.....longer programs just spin the wheel

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

nice app so far. the two things I would pay the most for would be the ability to schedule/cancel recordings, and reliable streaming. Priority would be the scheduling.

Watching tele on a 3.5" screen is nearly a complete waste of time, but for ten minutes in an airport, it has a purpose.

Air Video has been the best streaming app I've found so far, and it's $2.99, which is a steal...no Android version, however, and no file manipulation or scheduling capabilities either.

As it stands now, what stops us from streaming movie-length items in the current app? I can stream music videos just fine.....longer programs just spin the wheel

When I add in the ability to purchase the premium unlock, I'll post a "Poll" here with some features that people have requested, and the most votes will get the priority. (I really liked the kickstarter idea, but that's not an option for me in Canada).

You won't see "reliable" streaming in the poll The reason is that there are not enough sagetv users to raise the $100K-$200K of money required to solve this issue and create reliable streaming. There are simply too many variables (devices, versions of android, etc, video file types, etc). The best we can hope for is sem-reliable streaming. For example, the App today can stream files, as is, over the network (ie, wifi network), and if the device has native support for the codecs, then the file "may" play. My son uses this quite a bit to watch TV recordings (HDPVR .ts files), and it works "ok" with some pausing from time to time as he's watching the show. (These are 4gig files that are being copied across the network, so you'll see why it's not an option over 3g). While this "streaming" works for .ts files there some MKV files that simply don't work, or they work but no audio, etc, so it's not relable

I am working on another "semi-reliable" solution that will work over 3g and WiFi, but again, it'll be hit or miss for users, depending on the files, devices, network, etc.

The other problematic part of streaming is seeking/pausing/ skipping commercials, etc. All that, will basically a pipe dream. When/If we get semi-reliable streaming... it's unlikely to contain those features.

All that being said, you can get "reliable" streaming today, if you just transcode ALL your files to multiple formats and that compatbile with your device over different network conditions.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by stuckless

When I add in the ability to purchase the premium unlock, I'll post a "Poll" here with some features that people have requested, and the most votes will get the priority. (I really liked the kickstarter idea, but that's not an option for me in Canada).

All that being said, you can get "reliable" streaming today, if you just transcode ALL your files to multiple formats and that compatbile with your device over different network conditions.

cool - I'll vote for scheduling/deleting recordings if it's included in the poll. Duh - didn't think to try wifi on my T-mobile HTC 4G - that will likely produce better results. Generally speaking - how long would your son have to wait for one of those .ts files to begin playing, and is there an app you'd recommend (right now trying out Mirage Player and MX Player, neither with great results. I transcode using Handbrake, usually to 720p iPad or Apple TV format

[Dargason]

I had some time today, so I played around with streaming stuff to my tablet. I had some success, so I thought I'd share.

I got VLC installed and working on my webserver for streaming SageTV. I tried a couple different android video players, and found that MX Player worked pretty well for playing h264 videos muxed into .ts. It even used hardware decoding.

Unfortunately, using it this way is a mess. To get the webserver streaming you have to give it a rather long URL, for example:

http://username:password@fakename.fakeserver.com:8080/sage/public/MediaFileTranscode?MediaFileId=10738245&Segment=0&mode=vlc&vc=h264&vb=1024&ac=mpga&ab=128&scale=0.5&mux=ts&deint=1

Within MX Player, you choose "Network stream" from the settings menu, and type in this long thing using a crummy touch screen... yea, right. I'd rather shoot myself in the foot.

So I built a very crude android app with the URL hard-coded and started MX Player using an intent... works fine. Presumably a program like Phoenix for SageTV could build the string based on the user input.

Of course, the streaming functionality is limited... you can pause the program or stop it, but that's about it. No seeking or skipping forward or backward. And if you leave the app and return to it later (or presumably if you get a phone call) the stream starts over.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by Dargason

I had some time today, so I played around with streaming stuff to my tablet. I had some success, so I thought I'd share.

I got VLC installed and working on my webserver for streaming SageTV. I tried a couple different android video players, and found that MX Player worked pretty well for playing h264 videos muxed into .ts. It even used hardware decoding.

Unfortunately, using it this way is a mess. To get the webserver streaming you have to give it a rather long URL, for example:

http://username:password@fakename.fakeserver.com:8080/sage/public/MediaFileTranscode?MediaFileId=10738245&Segment=0&mode=vlc&vc=h264&vb=1024&ac=mpga&ab=128&scale=0.5&mux=ts&deint=1

Within MX Player, you choose "Network stream" from the settings menu, and type in this long thing using a crummy touch screen... yea, right. I'd rather shoot myself in the foot.

So I built a very crude android app with the URL hard-coded and started MX Player using an intent... works fine. Presumably a program like Phoenix for SageTV could build the string based on the user input.

Of course, the streaming functionality is limited... you can pause the program or stop it, but that's about it. No seeking or skipping forward or backward. And if you leave the app and return to it later (or presumably if you get a phone call) the stream starts over.

Thanks for sharing. I've been working on a streaming solution, and I initially released the server components today (in Phoenix 2.3.61). This solution uses vlc, but also, I've incorporated a "generic" script backend, so that if people want to try something different they can.

I'll be pushing out more information about this, and I still need to a bit more testing in my App before I release an update.

In my solution, I basically allow for 2 network states, wifi and mobile (3g, etc), and for each network state there are 3 modes, "low", "normal", and "hd". I expose the configuration for this via the bmt web ui, so each person, should they feel daring enough, can basically tweak the vlc options for each of those modes.

For now, you still have the same limitations that you've listed, in that you cannot skip, but you can pause.

[waynedunham]

I did a search through the thread and couldn't find anything, but is it possible to access my servers remotely via a dyndns connection? I can see/use my servers just fine over my WiFi at the house, but can't seem to get remote access.
I'd like to be able to do that so when I'm away from home I can still use this app on my phone.

The app is AWESOME BTW!!

[Dargason]

Originally Posted by waynedunham

I did a search through the thread and couldn't find anything, but is it possible to access my servers remotely via a dyndns connection? I can see/use my servers just fine over my WiFi at the house, but can't seem to get remote access.
I'd like to be able to do that so when I'm away from home I can still use this app on my phone.

The app is AWESOME BTW!!

Yes, this is how I do this. If you're having trouble, my guess is that the port forwarding isn't set up on your router. I think the SageTV Webserver uses port 8080 by default but you can configure this to something else if you have another webserver app already using that port.

[stuckless]

Version 2.0 has been updated to the Google Play store, it may take a few hours before the update shows up.

In this release I've added 2 key things.

1. Ability to use VLC to stream files to the device with on the fly transcoding using the HLS protocol. In my testing (Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus 7) I can watch these streams using either the MX player or the Native Android player.

NOTE: This requires some setup by the user, in that you need to install VLC 2.0+ on the SageTV server AND you need to configure the full path to the VLC exectuable using the "Phoenix Streaming Server" configuration section in BMT.

Once this is setup, you have 4 profile options when you stream; low, normal, hd, and no-transcode. These are subjective in that they simply create different streams, except for no-transcode, which sends back a raw stream. These streams can be configured in BMT VLC section, if you know what you are doing. Out of the box, I've set them to "reasonable" values. Also, you can configure different profiles for WIFI and 3G. ie, "hd" for 3g, may be lower bitrate, etc, just to keep the stream sizes down.

2. I've added an In App purchase to buy an premium unlock for the App ($9.99 CAD). Currently, this doesn't "unlock" anything, since the App is fully unlocked, even in this release. But, if you do "purchase" you help determine if I'm going to continue to spend effort on the App. And 2, if you purchase, and at some later time I start moving "features" like streaming into the "premium" licence, then you will get those features. I haven't set a date for when that will happen... but it will happen. The reason it's fully unlocked, right now, because you are the QA people When you do purchase the UNLOCK the Buy/Unlock menu option should go away. I couldn't really test this easily, so I'd like some feedback, especially if you buy the unlock, and you are still seeing the menu option to buy/unlock.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[waynedunham]

Originally Posted by Dargason

Yes, this is how I do this. If you're having trouble, my guess is that the port forwarding isn't set up on your router. I think the SageTV Webserver uses port 8080 by default but you can configure this to something else if you have another webserver app already using that port.

I figured it out. I was entering the address wrong by leaving the trailing "/" at the end of the dyndns address. Thanks

[Dargason]

I unlocked the app, and it immediately crashed... was that supposed to happen? I got a receipt, so it must have gone through.

Regarding streaming, here's what happens... I long-press a recording, select "Play on device" and it says "Checking" forever. On the server, I see an instance of vlc.exe show up, and the command line args are "-version". If I kill the vlc.exe process, the "Checking" dialog goes away and it asks me which player I want to use. I pick "MX Player" and the stream begins. Odd, because I can no longer see an instance of vlc.exe running.

How do I know which mode is being used? It was running into some serious sync issues and I noticed is was using the SW decoder, when I know it was using HW before.

edit: When I type "vlc.exe --version" at the command line, it comes up with a new window that says "Dumped content to vlc-help.txt. Press the RETURN key to continue..."

[rnadeau]

Google play doesn't give me the option to pay for it.

Edit: Sorry I just reread your post about purchasing it in the app.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by Dargason

I unlocked the app, and it immediately crashed... was that supposed to happen? I got a receipt, so it must have gone through.

Regarding streaming, here's what happens... I long-press a recording, select "Play on device" and it says "Checking" forever. On the server, I see an instance of vlc.exe show up, and the command line args are "-version". If I kill the vlc.exe process, the "Checking" dialog goes away and it asks me which player I want to use. I pick "MX Player" and the stream begins. Odd, because I can no longer see an instance of vlc.exe running.

How do I know which mode is being used? It was running into some serious sync issues and I noticed is was using the SW decoder, when I know it was using HW before.

edit: When I type "vlc.exe --version" at the command line, it comes up with a new window that says "Dumped content to vlc-help.txt. Press the RETURN key to continue..."

I am getting the same thing stuck on checking I see 2 Instances of VLC on server. The 2 instances occurred because VLC does not close.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by Dargason

I unlocked the app, and it immediately crashed... was that supposed to happen? I got a receipt, so it must have gone through.

First, thanks Second, No, that's not supposed to happen Did you get the option to "report" the error, so I can see where it failed. I did notice last night that when I tried an In App purchase on my home tablet, it actually crashed the first time I hit the "buy" link. Fortunately I was able to report it, so I'll be tracking that down tonight (It doesn't crash at all on my phone, which is what I use for development)

Regarding streaming, here's what happens... I long-press a recording, select "Play on device" and it says "Checking" forever. On the server, I see an instance of vlc.exe show up, and the command line args are "-version". If I kill the vlc.exe process, the "Checking" dialog goes away and it asks me which player I want to use. I pick "MX Player" and the stream begins. Odd, because I can no longer see an instance of vlc.exe running.

How do I know which mode is being used? It was running into some serious sync issues and I noticed is was using the SW decoder, when I know it was using HW before.

edit: When I type "vlc.exe --version" at the command line, it comes up with a new window that says "Dumped content to vlc-help.txt. Press the RETURN key to continue..."

Originally Posted by nyplayer

I am getting the same thing stuck on checking I see 2 Instances of VLC on server. The 2 instances occurred because VLC does not close.

OK, I'll try to get a fix out tonight... For the streaming, I add a check to make sure that vlc is configured and that vlc is running at the correct version. I use vlc --version and capture the output to check the version string. On Linux that appears to work find, but that appears to not work consistently on windows. Instead of the using the "VLC.exe" could you try "CVLC.exe" and see if that makes a difference? I'll fix this in the next build but cvlc.exe may work as a work around.

BTW, the reason I do the check, is that I don't want to prompt the user with 4 different profiles, if they can't actually support any (since vlc is not configured). I'd just end up with a bunch of "When I select 'Normal' I just get a message video can't be played" support requests... I guess this backfired on me

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by Dargason

I unlocked the app, and it immediately crashed... was that supposed to happen? I got a receipt, so it must have gone through.

One more thing... could you check to see if the "Buy/Unlock" option goes away, if so, then the App is detecting that you have purchased it.

This is my first attempt at using In-App purchases (which I want to add to other apps), so basically you guys are helping me work through issues, which is why, for now, the "Purchase" option doesn't actually do anything, except show support for the App.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

The 2 instances occurred because VLC does not close.

The VLC advanced menu has an option to run in single instance mode, assuming you're not going to stream simultaneously to multiple devices... I think there's also a command line parameter for that.

[Dargason]

Did you get the option to "report" the error, so I can see where it failed.

No, it just said something like "Unfortunately, Phoenix Remote has stopped."

The 'buy' option is no longer available.

As for using CVLC, I don't have that as an executable.

[mechling-burgh]

Bought it this morning and it crashed also, sent error report.

[rnadeau]

I can't find it in the app to purchase it.