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[Solved] Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 12:57 am
by wb8tyw
I am trying to migrate off of the EOL Microsoft Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV and possibly Kodi.

I have setup a Ubuntu 19.10 system that I plan to upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04 when that becomes available.

Ubuntu was chosen because it has drivers for a PVR-150 card that I happened to have, but I am not sure that it will be useful, since xawtv will not show any video, just audio for the video that I feed it. Looks like it may be a known issue with the libv4l library. While there are no broadcasts on anything this card can handle, I was hoping to use it for copying old home camcorder recordings or with old computer game capture.

The system is setup with a mirrored disk for redundancy.

The main tuners that I will be using are two SiliconDust HD Homerun dual tuners of different generations. These are also currently being accessed by the Media Center.

One is connected to Cable-TV and One is connected to a broadcast antenna.

I first tried installing version 30 from the Ubuntu repository. But that failed to connect / properly create the database.

I then with a bit of work removed it, and installed the PPA for version 31.

Still did not have a working backend database until I did a "drop database mythconverg; drop user mythtv@'%'; drop user mythtv@localhost;

And then I followed the instructions at the /wiki/Build_from_Source#MythTV_Database_Setup

That finally got the mythtv_setup program running.

But version 31 prompts are different than the Wiki, so now I am lost.

I do not see an option in the listing grabber to specify my schedules direct setup. It is only giving me the EIT guide option, or No Grabber.

I have verified through another program that I was trying that the I am getting Electronic guide info from the HomeRun tunner connected to the Antenna, but not from the tuner connected to the Cable.

The Wiki indicates that I should be able to select which HomeRun Tuner is which from a list. I am not getting a list.

So at this point I am stuck as what to do next.

It looks like I may be missing one or more packages or something,.

And why is it popping up a dialog for me to enter a password to start the backend service at the end of the mythtv_setup?

That password is already in the /etc/mythtv/config.xml file.

Thank you for any help.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:57 am
by heyted
I would not use 19.10, and I would not upgrade to 20.04. Since 20.04 is being released next month, I would wait and do a fresh install of Ubuntu or Xubuntu 20.04.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 10:26 am
by MikeB2013
For the operating system, a Long Term Release e.g. Xubuntu 18.04 LTS is recommended. The use of something like Xubuntu 19.10, which only has a 9 month support life time, is not recommended, as it will need to be upgraded after the 9 month period.
As far as Xubuntu 20.04 is concerned, there will be a point release sometime after the initial release (typically several months), at which point you will be able to upgrade an existing Xubuntu 18.04 LTS installation if desired.
Personally, for stability reasons, I tend to stick with an LTS release until I have to upgrade to a newer LTS release (new hardware or some other feature I need). LTS releases typically have a support life time of 3 to 5 years, rather than 9 months.

A few answers relating to mythtv:

"I do not see an option in the listing grabber to specify my schedules direct setup. It is only giving me the EIT guide option, or No Grabber."

Answer: package xmltv needs to be installed (sudo apt install xmltv), you can then select the grabber you want in Videosource, see https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/XMLTV

"And why is it popping up a dialog for me to enter a password to start the backend service at the end of the mythtv_setup?

That password is already in the /etc/mythtv/config.xml file."

Answer: the password is the same one you use to login or when a sudo command is used, it is not the mythtv password in /etc/mythtv/config.xml.
The reason the login password is required that stopping and starting mythtv backend uses systemctl commands and needs root permissions, which sudo temporarily grants.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 3:33 am
by wb8tyw
I am aware of wanting to run on an LTS release, and I plan to upgrade when Ubuntu 20.04 LTS comes out.
But unless I have a very strong reason to go through a complete reinstall, the system for now is going to stay at 19.10 until then.

I will try installing XMLTV.

I did not install it because the wiki I was reading stated that in the U.S. that MythTV does not use the XML interface for Schedule direct.

I also still need to know what to do to get the Silicon Dust Homerun tuners to be recognized so that I can try recording / displaying some content.

The WIKI states that the homerun packages in the Ubuntu repositories are not used by mythTV. I notice that some of the packages are libraries though.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 8:55 am
by MikeB2013
For hdhomeruns the configuration method changed starting from mythtv 30, it looks like various parts of the mythtv wiki have yet to be updated.

There is a new guide see https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Channel_Sca ... Run_tuners

Mike

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:05 pm
by wb8tyw
I do not have a "Tick box" to select the specific hdhomerun tuner when following the instructions in the link you provided.

I have a HDHR4-2US and a HDHR5-2US and I can reach them via the network to verify that they are working on other systems, TVs, and android tablets.

Neither device is visible to the GUI.

This leads me to believe that I need to have additional software installed such as: libhomerun4.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:24 pm
by bill6502
It is required, as it's one of the libraries that no longer has private copies in the
MythTV codebase.

Ref: https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Release_Not ... te_Changes

dpkg -l hdhomerun4 should answer the question.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:05 pm
by MikeB2013
Using ppa:mythbuntu/31 packaged version of mythtv I have not had to install any additional software for ota hdhomerun

Try running hdhomerun_config discover from a terminal on your linux machine with mythtv installed.

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mike@mike-GL62-7QF:~$ hdhomerun_config discover
hdhomerun device 1251E907 found at 192.168.0.214
I would also run hdhomerun_config <ip_address> /sys/version to get firmware version e.g.

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mike@mike-GL62-7QF:~$ hdhomerun_config 192.168.0.214 get /sys/version
20190621
As of writing, latest SiliconDust firmware is 20200225 (I have yet to upgrade to this version)

Mike

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 7:09 pm
by wb8tyw
Got xmltv and libhdhomerun4 installed

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malmberg@aviary:~$ hdhomerun_config discover
hdhomerun device 103C4324 found at 192.168.0.145
hdhomerun device 1043918B found at 192.168.0.107


mythtv:
  Installed: 2:31.0+fixes.202003140858.f599c35~ubuntu19.10.1
No change in behavior for running mythtv_setup for Capture Cards.

I now do have Schedules Direct options for video sources.

I also notice that the only option is to delete a capture card is to delete all the cards configured.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 7:21 pm
by wb8tyw
I also have:

Code: Select all

 mythbackend --version
Please attach all output as a file in bug reports.
MythTV Version : v31-branch
MythTV Branch :
Network Protocol : 91
Library API : 31.20200101-1
QT Version : 5.12.4
Options compiled in:
 linux profile use_hidesyms using_alsa using_oss using_pulse using_pulseoutput using_backend using_bindings_perl using_bindings_python using_bindings_php using_dvb using_firewire using_frontend using_hdhomerun using_vbox using_ceton using_hdpvr using_ivtv using_joystick_menu using_libcec using_libcrypto using_libdns_sd using_libfftw3 using_libxml2 using_lirc using_mheg using_opengl using_egl using_qtwebkit using_qtscript using_qtdbus using_taglib using_v4l2 using_v4l2prime using_x11 using_libbluray_external using_xrandr using_profiletype using_systemd_notify using_systemd_journal using_drm using_bindings_perl using_bindings_python using_bindings_php using_freetype2 using_mythtranscode using_opengl using_egl using_drm using_vaapi using_nvdec using_vdpau using_ffmpeg_threads using_mheg using_libass using_libxml2 using_libmp3lame
And have the group libraries set up as symbolic links.

Code: Select all

ls -l /var/lib/mythtv
total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 26 Mar  8 16:29 banners -> /data/mythtv/group/banners
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Mar  8 16:29 coverart -> /data/mythtv/group/coverart
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 29 Mar  8 16:29 db_backups -> /data/mythtv/group/do_backups
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 26 Mar  8 19:48 default -> /data/mythtv/group/default
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 25 Mar  8 16:29 fanart -> /data/mythtv/group/fanart
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 25 Mar  8 16:29 livetv -> /data/mythtv/group/livetv
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 25 Mar  8 16:29 recordings -> /data/mythtv/group/target
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 25 Mar  8 16:29 screenshots -> /data/mythtv/group/target
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 28 Mar  8 16:29 streaming -> /data/mythtv/group/streaming
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Mar  8 16:29 trailers -> /data/mythtv/group/trailers
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 25 Mar  8 16:29 videos -> /data/mythtv/group/videos

ls -l /data/mythtv/group
total 40
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:56 banners
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:58 coverart
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Mar 14 13:20 default
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:58 do_backups
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:58 fanart
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:58 livetv
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:58 streaming
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:58 target
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:58 trailers
drwsrwsr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 23 15:58 videos
If I set the directories under /data/mythtv/group to be owned by the mythtv user, the mythtv_setup application which is started from a shell session logged into my my username can not find the group directories.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 7:36 pm
by wb8tyw
I had the default storage directory to the point where mythtv_setup was not complaining about it.

Then I changed the ownership to mythtv based on another article about tuners not being found.
I have not got it working from changing the ownership back to root.

The GUI for the storage directory is letting me add more storage directories to the default group by accident. I can find no way to delete these extra directories.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 8:02 pm
by bill6502
d to delete.

mythackend (running as user mythtv) needs read/write/search permissions.
I'd make the group mythtv too with the same permissions. [775]

I don't use links, I just usethe actual path for the Storage Directory.

As to running mythtv-setup as yourself, you can either add yourself to the mythtv group (and restart
your GUI) or ignore the errors that say the test file can't be written.

Be sure your config.xml files for user mythtv and yourself match (typically, in *buntu, they're symbolic
links to /etc/mythtv/config.xml.) ls -ld {/etc/mythtv,~mythtv/.mythtv,~/.mythtv}/config.xml to check.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 9:02 pm
by wb8tyw
Did what I think was a full remove to start over:

Code: Select all

sudo mysql -u root
Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 28
Server version: 8.0.19-0ubuntu0.19.10.3 (Ubuntu)

Copyright (c) 2000, 2020, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

mysql> drop database mythconverg;
Query OK, 86 rows affected (6.70 sec)

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get remove --auto-remove mythtv
And then re-ran my ansible playbook to install mythtv.

This time the database appears to be created correctly.

The GUI for selecting directories is hard to use via VNC on a laptop with a touch-pad. With out a scroll bar it is very hard to scroll through the directories. The scrolling function on the touchpad only seems to work on VNC less than 10% of the time for me. Had to switch to using the screen. The lack of a "Back" or "Commit" button and assuming that the user knows to hit the escape key also takes some getting use to. Not something friendly to new users.

Adding a HDHomeRun Network Tuner still does not bring up the additional dialog box for selecting which SiliconDust system and Tuner that it should use, which still appears to be the blocking issue to proceeding.

The Schedules Direct is now showing up as a Video source.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 9:40 pm
by wb8tyw
D for delete works, Thanks.

But that is a bad GUI practice to rely on people knowing what special keys do by default.

I found a bug in my ansbile mythtv role for configuring the symbolic links, so that is working now.

I see that the GUI allows me to add the direct paths. I was just going by earlier documentation that said that the storage should be mounted in the /var/lib/mythtv directory for default access, and was using symbolic links as I have read elsewhere that they should be used instead of mounts.

I got past the user needs be in the mythtv group, earlier, so my mythtv role is handling that now also. And my ~/.mythtv/config.xml is a link to /etc/mythtv.conf.

I can not find anything in the logs in /var/log/mythtv to indicate it is even trying to lookup the hdhomerun tuners.

Re: Trying to migrate from Media Center to Ubuntu MythTV

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 9:53 pm
by wb8tyw
Group directory setup:

Code: Select all

ls -l /var/lib/mythtv
total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 26 Mar 14 15:29 banners -> /data/mythtv/group/banners
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 27 Mar 14 15:29 coverart -> /data/mythtv/group/coverart
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 29 Mar 14 15:29 db_backups -> /data/mythtv/group/do_backups
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 26 Mar 14 15:29 default -> /data/mythtv/group/default
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 25 Mar 14 15:29 fanart -> /data/mythtv/group/fanart
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 25 Mar 14 15:29 livetv -> /data/mythtv/group/livetv
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 25 Mar 14 15:29 recordings -> /data/mythtv/group/target
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 25 Mar 14 15:29 screenshots -> /data/mythtv/group/target
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 28 Mar 14 15:29 streaming -> /data/mythtv/group/streaming
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 27 Mar 14 15:29 trailers -> /data/mythtv/group/trailers
lrwxrwxrwx 1 mythtv mythtv 25 Mar 14 15:29 videos -> /data/mythtv/group/videos

ls -l /data/mythtv/group
total 40
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 banners
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 coverart
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 17:01 default
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 do_backups
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 fanart
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 livetv
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 streaming
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 target
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 trailers
drwxrwsr-x 2 mythtv mythtv 4096 Mar 14 15:42 videos