New iOS-app for managing MythTV

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fransgl
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New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by fransgl »

Hi fellow-MythTV users,
This is to let you know that I am in the process of developing a MythTV-client for iOS. My aim is to make something that allows users to quickly check the EPG, set recordings, see the list of upcoming recordings and recorded programs and more.
A first version is now live in the AppStore. Search for 'Glorious MythTV'. It runs on iPad/iPhone.
I just submitted an update to the app that includes the preview images for recordings. This update should be available within one or two days.
Next up my list is full control over your recording schedule; the current version only does one-off recordings. My experiences with consuming the MythTV-api have been quite positive so far: pretty complete, well-documented and it seems to 'just work'. Looking at the api for managing recordings, I think I will have to ask the odd clarification. But we'll see.
Of course I'm completely biased, but I am happy with the clear view on the EPG that the new app offers. On a laptop or desktop, MythWeb is just fine, but on mobile devices it involves a lot of scrolling, panning and zooming to see what I want. This app makes that quick and clear.
When you first run the app after installation, you will be prompted for the connectivity info of your backend. Usually that's a local IP-address or hostname, with port 6544.
I hope you will find this app a useful addition to MythTV.

Any feedback is welcome.

Good luck and best regards, Frans
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iPhone X-Recorded programs detail.png
iPhone X-Recorded programs detail.png (242.55 KiB) Viewed 14765 times
iPhone X-Recorded programs overview.png
iPhone X-Recorded programs overview.png (219.51 KiB) Viewed 14765 times
iPhone X-EPG Program guide.png
iPhone X-EPG Program guide.png (176.83 KiB) Viewed 14765 times
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pvr4me
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by pvr4me »

Can't find it in the Canadian app store?

Craig
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fransgl
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by fransgl »

That's weird, Craig.. I wouldn't think that access is restricted in any way. I can't include a link in this message, but I did attach a screenshot with the link as an image. And if I use Google to search for 'GloriousMythTV AppStore', I do get the right link. Have you tried that?
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pvr4me
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by pvr4me »

Must have had fat fingers...found it now.

However, does it need a certain MythTV version? I've got 0.28 and I'm getting an http 500 error.

Craig
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fransgl
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by fransgl »

Interesting.. I'm using 0.29, protocol 91. Looking at this page: https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/API_parameters_29 I can't see a reason why it would not work with 0.28. The services I use appear to be the same in 0.28 and 0.29, except for StopRecording, which was introduced in 0.29. So if you get an http 500 error when trying to stop a running recording, then I can understand.
When do you get the 500? Are you able to connect at all, i.e. do you get past the first page that tests the connection? And are you sure the backend IP-address/hostname and port are correctly set up and accessible from the network your iDevice is connected to?

Is there a reason why you are on a relatively old version of MythTV? 0.29 was introduced mid-2017. But as I said, it think you should fine with 0.28 and the app, except for StopRecording. Let's see if we can get it to work.

By the way: the update version of the app is now available on the AppStore. Version 2.1.
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by pvr4me »

fransgl wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:39 pm
Interesting.. I'm using 0.29, protocol 91. Looking at this page: https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/API_parameters_29 I can't see a reason why it would not work with 0.28. The services I use appear to be the same in 0.28 and 0.29, except for StopRecording, which was introduced in 0.29. So if you get an http 500 error when trying to stop a running recording, then I can understand.
When do you get the 500? Are you able to connect at all, i.e. do you get past the first page that tests the connection? And are you sure the backend IP-address/hostname and port are correctly set up and accessible from the network your iDevice is connected to?

Is there a reason why you are on a relatively old version of MythTV? 0.29 was introduced mid-2017. But as I said, it think you should fine with 0.28 and the app, except for StopRecording. Let's see if we can get it to work.

By the way: the update version of the app is now available on the AppStore. Version 2.1.
I'm not getting anywhere with the app. I get a screen that says "No connection ..." that has a button to go to Settings or Retry. Your app is using the built-in http server in mythbackend, right? If I use a browser and go to <mybackendip>:6544 I get a MythTV Status page. BTW, I do not have MythWeb running.

My backend is running on Mac OS--I package MythTV for Mac via MacPorts. There are Mac-specific problems with 29 and later so I haven't upgraded my 'production' server.

Craig
PS I'm going to be away for a few days so I may not get a chance to play with this until the end of the week.
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fransgl
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by fransgl »

Update: we figured it out: in order to let the app connect to the backend, you need to set the 'Security PIN' in the backend. After a fresh installation of MythTV this is blank. If you put in '0000', then it will allow connections. See below snippet from the documentation:
"When using a remote frontend MythTV will auto discover your backend. For security you must enter this PIN into the frontend to gain access. This feature removes the need for manually configuring the $HOME/.mythtv/config.xml. Use four zero's (0) to allow any client to connect and request database credentials. Leave the setting blank to forbid any client from receiving database credentials. If you set this other than 0000 you will have to setup config.xml on your remote frontend machines."
See https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Setup_Gener ... _.28v29.29
Hope this helps others who had the same issue.
fransgl
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by fransgl »

If anyone would be interested to beta-test the iOS-app, please send me a PM with your AppleID/email-address. I will then add you to the TestFlight-group. And I will only this email-address for this app, nothing else. No spam.

I would help me to have several people with (undoubtedly) different versions, configurations and devices to test out the app.

Thanks!
fransgl
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by fransgl »

Hi all, there is an updated release of the Glorious MythTV app for iOS. It is pretty usable right now (or so I think). It gives access to the EPG, upcoming recordings and completed recordings. Also, the functionality for managing recordings is now in pretty good shape. You can manage recordings rules. Finally, I removed the need to set a security pin on the backend.

Please take the app for a spin. I am interested to hear about your findings. Enjoy!
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by pvr4me »

fransgl wrote:
Thu May 23, 2019 8:20 am
Hi all, there is an updated release of the Glorious MythTV app for iOS. It is pretty usable right now (or so I think). It gives access to the EPG, upcoming recordings and completed recordings. Also, the functionality for managing recordings is now in pretty good shape. You can manage recordings rules. Finally, I removed the need to set a security pin on the backend.

Please take the app for a spin. I am interested to hear about your findings. Enjoy!
Very nice! Gave it a quick spin with my 0.28 backend running on OSX and everything worked OK. The only thing I noticed right away was in Program Details. If I tap on any of the field, they turn white and the text is no longer readable.

How do I schedule a new recording from the EPG?

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fransgl
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by fransgl »

That's good to hear, Craig, thanks!

For setting recordings, first tap a program from the EPG (or Upcoming Recordings for that matter). Then you see two buttons: the top one affects the showing only, while the bottom one is for managing a rule, that effects (potentially) all showings of this title.
You use the top one ('Record this showing' or 'Do not record this showing' or 'Stop recording' depending) to manage recording of this particular showing only. It is basically a toggle: if it is not scheduled to be recording, you can record it as a one-off. If there is a rule in place that would record this showing, you could override that by tapping 'Do not record this'. Or if the recording is in progress, you can stop that by tapping Stop recording. These three functions are mutually exclusive, so one button suffices to control all that.
The 'Manage recording rule' button is for setting up the, well.., recording rule. :-) It has all the basic settings that you find in the MythTV-front-end or MythTV.
If you play around with it a little, I think you'll quickly get the hang of it.

About the cells in Program details turning white: you're right, thanks. It does not do any harm, but is unintended. It has been fixed now and will be part of the next release.

I've been experimenting a little with playing of recordings on your iOS-device. That would be cool functionality to have, I think. The server needs to set up an HLS-stream for this. I am currently trying out OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software). Let's say it's not trivial. :-)

To be continued..
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by pvr4me »

Hmmm, perhaps I'm missing something obvious but I don't seem to have any button. This is what I see when I tap a program in the EPG:
Program details from EPG
Program details from EPG
gloriousepgdetails.jpg (134.07 KiB) Viewed 14415 times
Craig
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by fransgl »

HI, this looks like the page that you see when you tap a program that has already been broadcasted. In that case recording it is no longer an option, hence the buttons are not there. Do you get the same when tapping a future program? As a hint, the currently showing program has a yellow-ish background, past programs have a grey background and future programs have a white background.
Please let me know if this helps. If not, I will look further into it. Perhaps something timezone-related?
Good luck!
Frans
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by pvr4me »

Ahhh, I didn't notice that it was showing listings from yesterday. I see entries for programs from more than 12 hours ago. Why show those? I have more than 2 screenfuls of old listings to scroll past.

I confirm that the buttons you mentioned do appear for programs airing in now or in the future.

Regarding future listings, the couple of channels I looked at only show future listing for the next 8 or 9 hours. Via Schedules Direct, I have about 13 days of listings data. Why is so little displayed?

A quibble. After I select a channel to view listings for, if I go to select again, the list is positioned at the very beginning. Typically in iOS, the currently displayed item would be the initial position in the list. Incidentally, using the circular scrolling picker to select the channel seems clumsy to me. I don't know if you've prototyped other interfaces but I think there must be a better way.

A request: a tab showing upcoming programs by name. Sometimes, I will hear about a new program that I might be interested in recording. Often, I only know the name of the show--not when it is airing or even what network it is on. If I can search by program name, I _never_ have to care about those details. Myth will find it and record it whenever a new episode airs.

Craig
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Re: New iOS-app for managing MythTV

Post by pvr4me »

fransgl wrote:
Thu May 23, 2019 1:42 pm
...
I've been experimenting a little with playing of recordings on your iOS-device. That would be cool functionality to have, I think. The server needs to set up an HLS-stream for this. I am currently trying out OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software). Let's say it's not trivial. :-)

To be continued..
Some time ago, I played with Myth's ability to output an HLS on the fly. When it works, it is pretty cool. As I recall, the main problems where lag and stuck jobs. There is a non-trivial lag while the server converts and buffers a few seconds of audio and video before starting to serve the client. It feels like an eternity looking at a black screen waiting for something to appear. This is with a few-years-old Core i5 machine as the server. I know everything could be re-encoded when it is recorded, but this is very wasteful of resources for the few things I might want to watch via iOS.

I also had several cases where a transcoding job got stuck in the queue. I think this mostly happened if I stopped watching a recording before the end. The transcode job wasn't properly killed. I believe the transcoded files also just piled up in a directory?

Perhaps there have been some fixes since I looked at it but my impression is that this code hasn't seen much love. Maybe you can offer some? ;)

Craig
Formerly the MacPorts guy.
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