This is a "plugin" for the Video Disk Recorder (VDR). Written by: Sascha Volkenandt Project's homepage: http://www.magoa.net/linux/ Latest version available at: http://www.magoa.net/linux/index.php?view=streamdev See the file COPYING for license information. Contents: --------- 1. Description 2. Installation 2.1 VDR 1.2.X 2.2 VDR 1.3.X 3. Usage 3.1 Usage VDR-to-VDR server 3.2 Usage HTTP server 3.3 Usage VDR-to-VDR client 3.4 General Usage Notes 4. VDR-to-VDR client notes (PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVE ONE) 4.1 EPG data [OUTDATED] 4.2 Teletext / OSD Teletext 4.3 AnalogTV [OUTDATED] 5. Known Problems 1. Description: --------------- This PlugIn is a VDR implementation of the VTP (Video Transfer Protocol) Version 0.0.3 (see file PROTOCOL) and a basic HTTP Streaming Protocol. It consists of a server and a client part, but both parts are compiled together with the PlugIn source, but appear as separate PlugIns to VDR. The client part acts as a full Input Device, so it can be used in conjunction with a DXR3-Card, XINE, SoftDevice or others to act as a working VDR installation without any DVB-Hardware including EPG-Handling. The server part acts as a Receiver-Device and works transparently in the background within your running VDR. It can serve multiple clients and it can distribute multiple input streams (i.e. from multiple DVB-cards) to multiple clients using the native VTP protocol (for VDR-clients), or using the HTTP protocol supporting clients such as XINE, MPlayer and so on. With XMMS or WinAMP, you can also listen to radio channels over a HTTP connection. It is possible to attach as many clients as the bus and network can handle, as long as there is a device which can receive a specific channel. Multiple channels homed on the same transponder (which is determined by it's frequency) can be broadcasted with a single device. Additional clients can be programmed using the Protocol Instructions inside the PROTOCOL file. 2. Installation: ---------------- Let's say streamdev's version is 0.3.1 and vdr's version is 1.X.X. If you use anything else please exchange the version numbers appropriately (this way I don't have to update this section all the times;) ). After compiling the PlugIn as stated below, start either (or both) parts of it by specifying "-P streamdev-client" and/or "-P streamdev-server" on the VDR command line. What's important is that the client requests a channel using its Unique Channel ID. So, in order to find the channel at the server, it must have the same ID that is used on the client. You can achieve this by putting the server's channels.conf on the client, preferably after scanning (in case you use 1.2.X with AutoPID or 1.3.X). If you want to drive additional Input-Devices (with different sources) on the client, you can merge the channels.conf files. VDR will detect if the local device or the network device can receive the channels. Last, but not least you have to put the provided streamdevhosts.conf.example into the "plugins" subfolder of your config-directory (which is equal to your video-directory if not specified otherwise), rename it to streamdevhosts.conf and adjust it to your needs. The syntax is the same as for svdrphosts.conf, so please consult VDR's documentation on how to fill that file, if you can't do it on-the-fly. For example, if you didn't specify a separate config-directory, and specified your video directory as "/video0", the file has to be put to /video0/plugins/streamdevhosts.conf. 2.1 VDR 1.2.X: -------------- It is recommended that you apply a patch to VDR that improves thread cancellation. You can work without it, but you _might_ have delays in switching (especially when using VDR-to-VDR streaming) that are around three seconds. cd vdr-1.X.X/PLUGINS/src tar xvfz vdr-streamdev-0.3.1.tgz ln -s streamdev-0.3.1 streamdev cd ../.. patch -p1 " on your remote. If you want to enter "192.168.1.12", type "192168112". The parameters "Remote IP" and "Remote Port" in the client's setup specify the address of the remote VDR-to-VDR server to connect to. Activate the client by setting "Start Client" to yes. It is disabled by default, because it wouldn't make much sense to start the client without specifying a server anyway. The client is activated after you push the OK button, so there's no need to restart VDR. Deactivation on-the-fly is not possible, so in order to deactivate the client, you will have to restart VDR. All other settings can be changed without restarting VDR. The client will try to connect to the server (in case it isn't yet) whenever a remote channel is requested. Just activate the client and switch to a channel that's not available by local devices. If anything goes wrong with the connection between the two, you will see it in the logfile instantly. If you now switch the client to a channel which isn't covered by it's own local devices, it will ask the server for it. If the server can (currently) receive that channel, the client will show it until you switch again, or until the server needs that card (if no other is free) for a recording on a different transponder. You can choose a remote streamtype in the setup. I'd suggest TS streaming as it has a much shorter delay than PES streaming (compared to live-view of the same channel on the server), and transmits more information such as AC3 and teletext data. When setting the parameter "MultiPID streaming" to yes (the default) (only applies if the streamtype is TS), only the needed PIDs are transferred, and additional PIDs can be turned on during an active transfer. This makes it possible to switch languages, receive additional channels (for recording on the client) and use plugins that use receivers themselves (like osdteletext). The last parameter, "Synchronize EPG", will have the client synchronize it's program table with the server every now and then, but not regularly. This happens when starting the client, and everytime VDR does its housekeeping tasks. The only thing that's guaranteed is, that there will be a minimum interval of ten seconds between each EPG synchronization. The client has a Main Menu entry called "Streaming Control". This is used to control various aspects of the remote server VDR. Inside, you will find "Remote Timers", "Remote Recordings", "Suspend server" and "Synchronize EPG". The "Remote Timers" entry gives you the possibility to edit, create and delete the server's timers remotely. Every timer is synchronized before the requested action actually takes place. This only leaves a very short time-span (of a few milliseconds) in which a race-condition could happen. "Remote Recordings" shows up all recordings that the server can access. Only deleting recordings is implemented, yet. With "Suspend Server", you can send the server into suspend mode remotely, if the server is set to "Offer suspend mode" and allows the client to suspend. Last but not least, "Synchronize EPG" starts a synchronization in case you don't want to do it regularly, or in case you just activated it and can't wait for the first synchronization to happen by itself. 3.4 General Usage Notes: ------------------------ If there's still some debug output on stdout, please ignore it ;) 4. VDR-to-VDR client notes: --------------------------- 4.1 EPG data: -------------- [ OUTDATED, see "Synchronize EPG" in 3.2 ] 4.2 Teletext / OSD Teletext: ----------------------------- Usual teletext will probably not work on the client, if it has no DVB hardware. I never tried, and probably I never will, so don't ask about it please ;) Osdteletext-0.3.1 (and later) definitely work when used in MultiPID Streaming mode. 4.3 AnalogTV ------------ Works with ivtv and analogue cards according to Andreas Kool. 5. Known Problems: ------------------ - Recordings & Timers on the client side could endanger Timers & Recordings on the server, as they will have the same priority (by default). Set the default priority to i.e. 40 if you want the server to supersede the client. - Sometimes, if you reload VDR too often (for example while recompiling), the driver can get "stuck" in some situations. Try a driver restart if anything you think should work doesn't before sending a bug-report :-). [ ADDITION ] In the meantime I have discovered that this error is caused by the all- mysterical UPT (unknown picture type) error :-(.