integrating German TV into my mythtv system

For discussion related to MythTV which doesn't belong in another forum.

Moderator: Forum Moderators

Post Reply
amyo777
Newcomer
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2020 12:33 am
Germany

integrating German TV into my mythtv system

Post by amyo777 »

I have a stable v30 mythtv system. I get programming via satellite (hdpvr2) and HDHRs (local stuff).
I live in the US. I have subscribed to a package of German TV channels (want to improve my German) and it is delivered via web or android tv box. I think there are probably ways to record and I'm not too worried about that aspect right now.

My main question is about the listings. And the time difference. Germany is 6 hours ahead of my CDT and goes off daylight at a different time than I do. It looks like schedules direct has German listings on JSON but I failed miserably in getting a JSON setup when I tried upgrading to v31. So I'm wondering would I be able to use something like epgData alongside my normal schedulesdirect non-JSON setup?
amyo777
Newcomer
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2020 12:33 am
Germany

Re: integrating German TV into my mythtv system

Post by amyo777 »

I'm thinking for a start it might be simpler to build this thing on a pi4 as an isolated mythbackend. That way I don't have to worry about screwing up my main system and I can always mythlink the programs and mount that drive as a video drive in my main system. Besides, I think mythtv would decide not to record Columbo episode 38 (for example) if I had it recorded in English even if i would like to also record it in German. I have a 4 Gig Pi4 lying around from when I worked from home that I can repurpose and a couple of external drives.

Not only do I enjoy the familiar shows from my youth (Columbo, Star Trek) but also the uniquely German shows like Tatort, PolizeiRuf 110 and the Wapo (Water Police) series. Though I have to say, I have become quite concerned about the unsafe conditions of Germany's waterways. (Wapo series show people constantly being beaten over the head, then drowned or otherwise incapacitated and then drowned and otherwise brought to death in the waters of Germany). I will be sure to avoid them when I visit next winter. I do realize this is the equivalent of all the New York police procedurals constantly showing people being killed in New York City.
amyo777
Newcomer
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2020 12:33 am
Germany

Re: integrating German TV into my mythtv system

Post by amyo777 »

Well, the fresh 31 based backend for German recordings lives and does manual records (the scheduled ones will have to wait until I get lirc setup with a transmitter (or give up on that and just use adb)). I also need to export my recordings mythlink directory to be a video drive on my main mythtv system. And set up some scripts etc.

I found the xmltv business to be just as confusing as I had found it before. That came down to two separate problems.

1. My channels database got populated by xmltv without channel nums and therefore my export script to create an m3u playlist didn´t have the right format. Simply running a mysql statement to set the channum = chanid worked. What I wound up with was a situation where I had channels in the channel table but mythtv would not report any. Having my channels be 10000-10060 wont be a problem, since the channum is only going to be interpreted by the remote stuff. and

2. I ran it as my regular user instead of the mythtv user. Seems to be working nicely now. And its nice to have listings as my supplier does not provide much in that way.

I think Iḿ ready to convert my regular system to 31 soon. I have a better handle on how to work the xmltv stuff.
Post Reply