[Solved] Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

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nomotivo
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[Solved] Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by nomotivo »

hi -

Mythtv newb here. My last working series 3 tivo is dying a painful death, so decided to give Mythtv a go. Got a new HDHomeRun prime, slapped a cablecard in it, and screwed in the FiOS cable connection. That's all up and running, vlc can stream channels from it.

My plan was to install the Mythtv backend and use use Kodi as the front end on my htpc (Intel NUC running Linux Mint Cinnamon). I think I ran into a problem with various versions getting installed...

I have a Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS server here that does various duties. (Will update to 20 at some point). Decent amount of disk space and ram, so figured I'd try that for the backend. I installed Mythtv backend via apt : mythtv-backend/bionic,now 2:29.1+fixes.20180414.329c235-0ubuntu3 amd64

Since it's a server, I used a remote xterm to run mythtv-setup. Pfaffed about over the weekend playing with mythtv-setup and lots of other things as I followed the various install guides and chased wiki rabbitholes... Even signed up for xmltvlistings.

On Kodi I installed the MythTV PVR addon. It could connect to the backend, view the schedules, but every channel showed the "unavailable" screen. I noticed that the addon config screen mentioned it was good for mythtv 30. Hmm, apt reports 2:29.1 as shown above...

I tried installing mythtv front-end on a linux mint desktop VM, but it complained about database version being behind. So I installed the front end on the same box as the server, and started the front-end client from a remote xterm. It wouldn't play live tv either.

I uninstalled all the apt installed mythtv packages, and the new plan is to download the current source and build it.

Is that the path to true enlightenment? Tips & hints appreciated!
gedakc
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Re: Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by gedakc »

The Kodi Add-on:MythTV PVR Client is stated as working with MythTV backend versions 0.27 to 31 according to the quote:
The released PVR client addon for Kodi have been tested with MythTV PVR backend (server) version 0.27 to 31.
Personally I've run the Kodi MythTV PVR client with my MythTV 0.27 install on Mythbuntu 14.04, and also with my MythTV 31 install on Raspberry Pi 4 4GB so I can confirm the add-on works.

One thing to check is to ensure that the MythTV backend is correctly set up to support remote frontends, such as setting a PIN for access, and ensuring a non "localhost" IP address.
nomotivo
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Re: Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by nomotivo »

Yep, had done both those things, although it's possible (probable?) that something wasn't done correctly. Interesting that the page at MythTV_PVR_Client mentions 31, while in Kodi the actual client says supported up .30

Mythbuntu is gone, so will press on with building the latest version
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heyted
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Re: Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by heyted »

Welcome. My last TiVo was a TiVo Premiere.
Mythbuntu is gone
Mythbuntu as a separate Linux distribution no longer exists. The Mythbuntu MythTV Updates repositories (PPAs), however, never went away and are updated frequently. Mythbuntu Control Panel is based on the former Mythbuntu Control Centre, and it can be installed on the desktop version of Ubuntu and used to install MythTV and configure the system.

If you're interested, more info can be found on this forum post and this wiki page.
Ted | My blog
nomotivo
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Re: Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by nomotivo »

Thanks - Checked it out, and well... I responded on the thread you referenced. That looks really good though!
nomotivo
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Re: Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by nomotivo »

I added the mythbuntu/31 ppa and installed it from there on my 18.04 LTS server. I have a mostly working system now, other then a lot of garbage/non working channels in my listing. I probably need to read more about the options for scanning.

I don't think this will be the final configuration though, but I can mess with mythtv to learn more about it.
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Steve Goodey
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Re: Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by Steve Goodey »

I probably need to read more about the options for scanning.
https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Channel_Scanning
Don't forget the Wiki.
nomotivo
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Re: Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by nomotivo »

After some mis-steps, I have v31 running on Ubuntu 18.04.05 using the mythbuntu ppa. That system is really intended to be backend only, as it's a server in a rack of gear, no audio or other peripherals. The tuners are two HdHomerun Primes on VZ FiOS with cablecards. I'm using xmltv with schedules direct.

The frontend is an Intel NUC running Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa with Cinnamon desktop. I was intending on using Kodi with janbars pvr.mythtv. That setup works pretty good, and the video quality seems to be quite a bit better then my TiVO ever managed.

I could not get a working schedule no matter what I did - the channel numbers are way wrong, and of course the schedules are not synced with the channels. Futzed with that for far too long before I decided to try the mythtv frontend. Ran it remotely via ssh, and SURPRISE!! The channel numbers and schedule are mostly correct it seems. I installed the v31 mythtv frontend on the htpc and the schedule looks correct.

So not actually a mythtv issue it seems but a kodi plugin issue...
The pvr plugin, installed via apt, is 5.10.15 - the most recent version is 7.3.0, but Mint 20 (Focus) doesn't like the ppa . No support for anything beyond Bionic. If anyone here knows how to resolve this issue, that would be great. I'll cruise on over to the Kodi forums and poke around there too...
nomotivo
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Re: Ubuntu and Mythtv versions?

Post by nomotivo »

I figured out the issue with the channel / guide listings. It was a Kodi issue. Under Settings / PVR & Live TV / General, there is a setting for "Use channel numbers from backend". This setting is only visible under ADVANCED mode. This defaults to off apparently. Turning it on gives the expected results.
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