Tag: Software

Ubuntu 16.04, tvheadend and SiliconDust HDHomeRun

Decided I would compile Tvheadend again and install it on a Ubuntu 16.04 host. Below is some of my notes that will help others with this installation and problems I hit along the way.

Required packages.

apt-get install unzip libcurl4-openssl-dev pkg-config git build-essential dvb-apps gettext libssl-dev cmake liburiparser-dev libavahi-client-dev
apt-get install hdhomerun-config

Installation/Compiling steps.

wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/libiconv/libiconv-1.15.tar.gz
tar zxvf libiconv-1.15.tar.gz
cd libiconv/
./configure
make install

I created a user called “tvh” which will be used for the running of the software, this way it doesn’t run as root. Plenty of guides about that detail how to create your user and associated correct group assignments to it. So I won’t cover these steps/operations.

Noticed when I executed the product post being compiled i was getting an error.

tvh@oscar:/usr/local/bin$ ./tvheadend
./tvheadend: error while loading shared libraries: libiconv.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

As you can see from the output below, it’s a library issue.

tvh@oscar:/usr/local/bin$ ldd tvheadend
        linux-vdso.so.1 =>  (0x00007fff1d1e6000)
        libdvben50221.so => /usr/lib/libdvben50221.so (0x00007f3545385000)
        libdvbapi.so => /usr/lib/libdvbapi.so (0x00007f3545180000)
        libucsi.so => /usr/lib/libucsi.so (0x00007f3544f69000)
        libssl.so.1.0.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libssl.so.1.0.0 (0x00007f3544d00000)
        libcrypto.so.1.0.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcrypto.so.1.0.0 (0x00007f35448bc000)
        libz.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libz.so.1 (0x00007f35446a1000)
        liburiparser.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/liburiparser.so.1 (0x00007f3544486000)
        libavahi-common.so.3 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libavahi-common.so.3 (0x00007f354427a000)
        libavahi-client.so.3 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libavahi-client.so.3 (0x00007f3544068000)
        libdbus-1.so.3 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdbus-1.so.3 (0x00007f3543e1c000)
        libdl.so.2 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdl.so.2 (0x00007f3543c18000)
        libpthread.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread.so.0 (0x00007f35439fa000)
        libm.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6 (0x00007f35436f1000)
        libiconv.so.2 => not found
        librt.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/librt.so.1 (0x00007f35434e8000)
        libstdc++.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6 (0x00007f3543166000)
        libc.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 (0x00007f3542d9d000)
        libsystemd.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libsystemd.so.0 (0x00007f3542d17000)
        /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00005642bf9af000)
        libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00007f3542b01000)
        libselinux.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libselinux.so.1 (0x00007f35428de000)
        liblzma.so.5 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/liblzma.so.5 (0x00007f35426bc000)
        libgcrypt.so.20 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgcrypt.so.20 (0x00007f35423db000)
        libpcre.so.3 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpcre.so.3 (0x00007f354216a000)
        libgpg-error.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgpg-error.so.0 (0x00007f3541f56000)

Perform the following steps to address it.

cd /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu
ln -s /usr/local/lib/libiconv.so.2.6.0 libiconv.so.2.6.0
ln -s /usr/local/lib/libiconv.so.2 libiconv.so.2
ln -s /usr/local/lib/libiconv.so libiconv.so

It would appear that Tvheadend has had some improvements since the last time I compiled and installed it.

As shown below we now see a new logo for the product, and now get a wizard which helps with the setup.

Tvheadend is such a great application.

February 28, 2017

DVBLogic updates DVBLink TVSource to version 6

My DVBLink TVSource setup has continued to run quite good. I was glad to see that when DVBLogic announced updates to DVBLink TVSource I was excited to see what this included.

It was a bonus to see that I got a free upgrade to the new release since I had purchased the product in the time frame required to qualify.

I jumped all in and upgraded my setup. I was a bit concerned on the process but after a bit of reading and cross checking I went for it.

Essentially the upgrade process is to export a backup of your configuration. Now remove DVBLink TVSource add on, upgrade the license in your license portal. Grab the new version of the product and run the upgrade batch file. Once done install the new DVBLink TVSource and license it. Now import configuration saved earlier.

Seemed to all work without a hitch.

I noticed DVBLink Viewer application, but not sure if that was new to this release. Just hadn’t used it until post upgrade. Can see numerous UI tweaks in the various parts of the product too.

Go read more about it here.

June 2, 2016
Docker Beta

I finally got my Docker Beta invite/code. Had the email arrive today. I had signed up for this several weeks back. I signed up soon as I seen it was announced on Twitter.

I haven’t installed it yet, let alone started to tinker. Going to install it on Windows and play around with a few Linux docker images. Should be good, as I want to test out a few things. This will be perfect for that.

April 19, 2016
An honest opinion on DVBLink TVSource from DVBLogic
This is my honest opinion on DVBLink TVSource from DVBLogic.

In basic terms, DVBLink and DVBLink TVSource is software that can be used on NAS, PC, Mac and Raspberry Pi platforms that will enable you to enjoy your favorite Satellite (DVB-S/S2), Cable (DVB-C and QAM), Terrestrial (DVB-T/T2 and ATSC), IPTV and Analog channels and recordings within your home network and on the go.

In the case of Australia, this would mainly be used for Terrestrial DVB-T broadcast FTA (Free To Air). Of course you need applicable hardware to be able to interface the software to the broadcast. Will discuss more on that soon.

For background I should mention the recording of DVB broadcast television using a computer is not exactly new to me. I once played a little with Mythtv, and ran a Mythtv backend. However, it never took in the household as it never passed the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). I also some years later used some USB tuners on a Macintosh with EyeTV. Over the last year or more I have dabbled with TvHeadEnd and quite liked it, but I wanted to run a product that could run on Windows if possible and be used on a Desktop computer that could do other things as well.

Eventually I got wind of DVBLink TVSource from DVBLogic. I do not remember how I found out about the software, but I did and that started the idea of perhaps it could do what I wanted.

First thing I worked out is that generic USB tuners won’t work with it. You know the cheap ebay Realtek clone ones (read more about that here). So I thought perhaps I will invest in a nice dual tuner PCIe version, as the computer I planned to use it on that available slots (came to the conclusion that a safe purchase would be DNTV Dual Hybrid 7164 PCIe DVB-T Card.

My DVB-T card arrived, and I was certainly impressed. Terrestrial DVB-T cards have certainly improved over the years. If you want to see more pictures of my card you can check them out here.

DVBLink Server is free and DVBLink TVSource can used for 20 days under a trial license to evaluate. So I installed both and installed the hardware drivers for my DVB-T card. To my surprise at the time the card was visible and configurable (considering I hadn’t had any hardware compatible at this point – it was a win).

Now I would be able to scan for the TV Channels, so that was my next step. Sure enough with a bit of work I was able to achieve this too.

After this had to wait for the EIT guide data got populated, and once that was done I was able to browse the web interface that shows up and coming shows on each of the channels.

This is also where you can program it and pick what you’d like to be recorded. The web interface is quite responsive and does a good job at doing what it is designed to do.

I found that it was also handy you could see at a glance on the Monitoring web page if the tuners are Idle or in use.

You can play back recordings from the web interface to other devices, however this would incur a cost on CPU power, as transcoding will occur. I personally don’t mind using VLC to play back the files directly from the machine itself, otherwise you can install XBMC/Kodi somewhere and configure the PVR addon for the product. This works really well from my experience. The PVR addon allows you to watch the Live TV and/or recordings. These are streamed over the network.

Live TV and Recordings can also be accessed using VLC using a special formed URL.

Recordings:
```
http://192.168.n.n:8100/mobile/?command=get_recordedtv_m3u
```
TV Channels:
```
http://192.168.n.n:8100/mobile/?command=get_playlist_m3u
```
You can check out the DVBLogic/DVBLink wiki page for more details on the above feature.

The DVBLink TVSource also broadcasts itself over UPnP/DLNA procotol too.

All in all I am quite happy with the product, and when my trial license expired I set about becoming a registered one. I hope to join the forums and contribute some feedback that might help make the product even better.

This post is NOT sponsored by DVBLogic, it is my own opinion based on my own usage of the product.
April 14, 2016
DVBLink TVSource from DVBLogic Registered and Licensed

Registered and Licensed our DVBLink TVSource installation from DVBLogic.

I really do like the product. I like the fact it runs under Windows as a service and does the job it was designed to do.

It also does lots of other things it was designed to do, but the thing for me is it will record DVB programs based on EIT broadcast data.

April 12, 2016
DVBLink from DVBLogic Trial over

I’ve been running DVBLink from DVBLogic in Trial/Demo mode for the last 19 days.

My trial concluded today, as it has expired.

I think the product could certainly use some improvement and I will be pursuing to push a few points on how I think that can be done. Perhaps my ideas have already been suggested by other users in the community.

Generally I would have to say the product works really well, and I didn’t have much issues with what it does best, which records DVB streams.

The license costs when converted to AUD are quite expensive, which works out to be $73 AUD dollars. However, I do think I will be purchasing a license as it works very well under Windows 10, which I have used for part of the trial period, while I was also running it on Windows 8.1 as well too.

Well worth checking out if you have some compatible hardware, and would like to record DVB streams.

April 10, 2016
Windows Preview – Running Bash on Ubuntu on Windows

This is something that hit the news in the last 24 or so hours and is a in my opinion a game changer. I expect this will have significant impact in the way a lot people might work.

Just click the image below to be redirected to the site/video.

I’ll admit, I would probably configure this myself on my Windows 10 computer(s) if and when it becomes available.

March 31, 2016
unRAID 6 from Lime Technology is simply amazing

I’ve managed to play around with unRAID 6.1.7 from Lime Technology a little further and I cannot describe just how good this product appears to be.

The fact that you can install plugins, enable Virtualization (uses KVM) and enable/install Docker (and have access to a large number of Docker images). This impresses me so much. This software gives you so much flexibility in what a computer running unRAID can be allowed to do and perform.

While I do think a traditional NAS appliance still has it’s place in the market, if you want something a bit more, unRAID is certainly the goods in that department.

Below is a few screen grabs from my demo/test install which I am using a trial key/license.

The way in which you can manage the Docker images when installed and enabled via the Web UI is simply amazing (as shown above). It seems to work so very well and a user with very little experience can be running these within a very short amount of time.

Highly recommend you check out the follow thread here on the Lime Technology forums on what community contributed Docker templates have been made available.

February 6, 2016
Upgraded 2nd TiVo Series 3 with 2TB internal drive

As per my last post here. We’ve now upgraded out 2nd TiVo Series 3 with 2TB internal drive.

Followed the same process I did last time, and everything is working fine. Soft restart/reboot works without any issues.

October 29, 2015
New IceTV sales tatics

So IceTV sends me the following email…

However, I don’t have any recording device associated with my very legacy account. I haven’t been a paid subscriber with them for probably 5 or more years. Yet as you can see they thought it might be nice to send me an email that might provoke me to do something.

Hate to say it IceTV, but I won’t be giving you any money now or in the future. I promptly unsubscribed from the emails. Since IceTV and I will never be friends, now I will be a customer. They burnt the brand with the whole Skippa.tv saga.

EDIT: Looks like they dropped the skippa.tv website, so links to http://skippa.tv currently do not work.

October 29, 2015