Anyone know about SageTV Client port numbers / context?

[wayner]

I have written a driver for IP control of SageTV from Control4 using the webremote types of commands. This works well with miniclients as they use the MAC ID and that stays constant.

But things are not so simple for SageTV Client. The context for SageTV Client is the IP address plus a port number and the port number seems to change every time the client restarts.

You can see this client number and the context when hovering over this client name from the SageTV web UI home page. For example, right now I see

http://192.168.1.99:7070/sage/ExtenderDetails?context=%2F192.168.1.98%3A64862

And the 64862 is the port number. But a few minutes ago before restarting that port number was 64253.

Why does this port number change, and is there any way to keep it constant?

[ojones]

Wayne - Thanks for posting this! I know this has come up in the past for other developers - EnterNoEscape - I think might have run into it (trying to obtain the full context for each client including port).

If anyone has any ideas or pointers I would be very grateful! Using Wayne's control4 driver I am very close to seamless remote control for my HTPC clients.

Alternatively, if anyone knows how to form the HTTP messages to command clients via IP or MAC alone without specifying the client listening port that might also do the trick!

-Owen

[wayner]

Owen - the other way to skin this cat, although less elegant, would be to send keyboard commands to the PC. This could be done via IR or IP but would be much less elegant of a solution, but would have the advantage of being able to have the PC start the SageTV client app.

Former C4 executive Charles Kindel built the MCE Controller app for PCs starting 16 years ago and he still maintains it - it is on Github: https://github.com/tig/mcec.

MCE Controller provides robust remote control a Windows HTPC (or any PC) over the network. It runs in the background listening on the network (or serial port) for commands. It then translates those commands into actions such as keystrokes, text input, and the starting of programs. Any remote control, home control system, or application that can send text strings via TCP/IP or a serial port can use MCE Controller to control a Windows PC.

And Garry Newman did a C4 driver: https://github.com/garrynewman/Contr...ntrollerDriver

So using MCEC is a potential solution to this problem as well if we can't solve the problem from the SageTV server side.

[wayner]

FYI - the way that we are solving this is that we have installed an instance of the SageTV web UI on the client. Then we are using a connection to that client with a context of SAGETV_PROCESS_LOCAL_UI to be able to control the client.

It is the same as using the Web Remote with the server, except you are using the IP address and port of the client's instance of SageTV web server and you are using as the context ID instead of a miniclient's MAC or the client's IP address/port.

So the command

http://192.168.1.98:8081/sage/SageCommand?context=SAGETV_PROCESS_LOCAL_UI&command=Down

is the same as pusing the down button on the remote or keyboard of SageTVClient running on an IP of 192.168.1.98 on port 8081

[stuckless]

If the sagex apis are installed you can call the GetUIContextNames (or maybe GetConnectedClients) and use that information to determine the correct context.
http://download.sage.tv/api/sage/api...IContextNames()

https://github.com/stuckless/sagetv-...sing-sagex-api

[wayner]

Originally Posted by stuckless

If the sagex apis are installed you can call the GetUIContextNames (or maybe GetConnectedClients) and use that information to determine the correct context.
http://download.sage.tv/api/sage/api...IContextNames()

https://github.com/stuckless/sagetv-...sing-sagex-api

Yes, actually the GetConnectedClients Sagex call is what I need. Using JSON encoding I get this returned: {"Result":["/192.168.1.98:62142"]}

@stuckless - Any idea why the client uses a different port every time it connects to a server. Is there any way to force it to use a constant port number?

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by wayner

Yes, actually the GetConnectedClients Sagex call is what I need. Using JSON encoding I get this returned: {"Result":["/192.168.1.98:62142"]}

@stuckless - Any idea why the client uses a different port every time it connects to a server. Is there any way to force it to use a constant port number?

In order to support multiple clients, wouldn’t they have to use unique port numbers? Typically TCP/IP connections are opened under a “common” port and a new, semi-random port is used for further communication for that specific client.

From http://www.steves-internet-guide.com...-ports-sockets

“Ports 49152-65535– These are used by client programs and you are free to use these in client programs. When a Web browser connects to a web server the browser will allocate itself a port in this range. Also known as ephemeral ports.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephemeral_port

[wayner]

I guess it would just be easier if those ports weren't epehmeral and you could assign a specific port to each client for control. If I remember correctly this is how Fonceur's SacgeTCP used to work.