SageTV Recordings > Roku

[mwittl]

See attached photo. Rudimentary program work in progress...success! Not pretty, but very functional!

[stuckless]

A few years I did a plex channel that I ran/tested on Plex on Roku... My biggest challenge was actually video playback. Maybe doing a native app on the Roku will be better.

looking forward to seeing what you come up with. (and seeing additional screenshots)

[mwittl]

Originally Posted by stuckless

A few years I did a plex channel that I ran/tested on Plex on Roku... My biggest challenge was actually video playback. Maybe doing a native app on the Roku will be better.

looking forward to seeing what you come up with. (and seeing additional screenshots)

To keep from 'taxing' the Sage server yet get really good high quality HD video, I'm using a custom server application running on a spare PC. It uses the latest FFMpeg with the latest settings to provide really nice HD playback. I've tested it remotely as well and it's awesome! The server component communicates with Sage using the Sage Web API (Sagex) and the Roku component (Brightscript) communicates with the transcoding server. It's an extension of a Brightscript > transcoding server application I wrote to deliver my HDHR Prime content to Roku. I'll post additional pictures next week if anyone is interested. I'm heading out for a long weekend!

[NetworkGuy]

One TV has a Roku and HD300. The Roku has an app for Xfinity, so that is one less cable box I need. It would be nice if Roku could access the SaveTV server.

[wayner]

Any advantage in using a Roku over an AndroidTV device like a MiBox? Are there apps available on Roku that aren't on AndroidTV - like Amazon (given the recent fight between Amazon and Google)?

I guess the Roku may be a bit cheaper and if you already have one you may not want to spend the $70 to buy a MiBox.

[KarylFStein]

Originally Posted by wayner

Any advantage in using a Roku over an AndroidTV device like a MiBox? Are there apps available on Roku that aren't on AndroidTV - like Amazon (given the recent fight between Amazon and Google)?

I guess the Roku may be a bit cheaper and if you already have one you may not want to spend the $70 to buy a MiBox.

FYI, the SHIELD has Amazon video.

I bought my parents a TV with Roku built-in. It would be neat if they could access my server from it, (or when my daughter takes off to university next fall something like could be an option for her too--less boxes and stuff to deal with).

[KryptoNyte]

Originally Posted by wayner

Any advantage in using a Roku over an AndroidTV device like a MiBox?

It burns me that I spent any money on the MiBox only to find out that I all those links to sideload Amazon Video were no longer working, so yeah, I'd chalk one up for the Roku.

[wayner]

Some folks apparently have had issues with Neflix as well but I haven't had any - I don't really use Amazon Video - perhaps I should. The one MiBox that we have is primarily used by my daughter for YouTube and Netflix.

[KryptoNyte]

The MiBox has been a fairly solid device otherwise. I unfortunately refrained from doing my homework on it ahead of time (with regard to Amazon Video specifically), so my own fault on that.

I have Amazon Prime for all the crap I buy from Bezos, so the video is just a perk I suppose. I have found a few things there that I like, but I will admit, every time I go there with a movie in mind, I have to pay more for it, if they even have it. Watching paid streaming video is an experience that is completely different. You don't go to your streaming service with an idea of what you want to watch, you have to go there with an open mind, and see what's available. I will also admit that in this day it's frustrating to see the price of a bluray shipped to my house cheaper than actually paying to buy the digital streaming version - that system obviously needs to change.

Streaming services are somewhat of a disappointment for the way I watch movies and television. On the other hand, I like to watch stuff on a 70" television - and let's face it, we're just old if we aren't watching our media on a screen that's 10 inches or less.

[NetworkGuy]

If you have Comcast / Xfinity, Roku has an app that lest you watch live and on-demand TV without a cable box. A savings of up to $10 a month. That pays for a Roku in less than a year.

[hb4]

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy

If you have Comcast / Xfinity, Roku has an app that lest you watch live and on-demand TV without a cable box. A savings of up to $10 a month. That pays for a Roku in less than a year.

I don't believe that works for remote locations, I think it checks whether your internet service is Xfinity.

[FMAX]

How did you Install Channel?

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

....Streaming services are somewhat of a disappointment for the way I watch movies and television. On the other hand, I like to watch stuff on a 70" television - and let's face it, we're just old if we aren't watching our media on a screen that's 10 inches or less.

rotfl. i’ve got my walker all fired up.....

[mwittl]

Taking up where I left off, I am able to view all my SageTV recordings on all my Roku devices, even remotely. I've attached a few more images of what I have.

Communication from the Roku device goes to a transcoder server application running on a spare PC. This communicates with Sage using the Sagex api's accessed via the SageTV Web server. Using a middle transcoder was the key to getting excellent HD video playback. The media api in Sage uses VLC transcoding, which sucks for Roku and is not usable within Roku. If it had been ok, I could have written the Brightscript Roku program to communicate directly with Sage; however, that would still not address the issue of how taxing transcoding is to the SageTV server. Anyhow, the middleware transcoding approach does what I need it to do, and very well.

The Roku app is for viewing SageTV recorded programs ONLY. It is not for adjusting SageTV settings or anything other than viewing. If you want to add favorites or schedule a recording...use a SageTV client.

Anyhow, simplistic approach but it works very well for placeshifting and viewing recordings on all my Roku TV's that don't have an HD300 hooked up.

Sorry for the image quality on the attachments. I used my phone to shoot photos of the Roku screens.

[mwittl]

Two additional images attached.

[alfi33]

Very cool!

Is the middle transcoder a Windows app?
Any chance it could run in a Docker?

[NetworkGuy]

Originally Posted by hb4

I don't believe that works for remote locations, I think it checks whether your internet service is Xfinity.

True. But I am using the Roku to replace a Xfinity Cable Box on all othere TV in the house. Xfinity charges $10 a month for additional TVs.

[mwittl]

Originally Posted by alfi33

Very cool!

Is the middle transcoder a Windows app?
Any chance it could run in a Docker?

Yes, right now the middleware transcoder is a Windows 10 console application started automatically on boot with the task scheduler...basically because that's the platform I have spares laying around!

To be honest, I'm not sure about Docker but I'll look into it. I retired as a software engineer about 4 years ago and haven't had much reason to keep up with current trends, but it sounds interesting enough to check it out!

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by mwittl

To keep from 'taxing' the Sage server yet get really good high quality HD video, I'm using a custom server application running on a spare PC. It uses the latest FFMpeg with the latest settings to provide really nice HD playback. I've tested it remotely as well and it's awesome! The server component communicates with Sage using the Sage Web API (Sagex) and the Roku component (Brightscript) communicates with the transcoding server. It's an extension of a Brightscript > transcoding server application I wrote to deliver my HDHR Prime content to Roku. I'll post additional pictures next week if anyone is interested. I'm heading out for a long weekend!

It would be nice to have the option to run FFMpeg on the Sage server if you have enough CPU power to handle the load. Some other addons like OpenDCT can optionally use FFMpeg and it does run on the server. How hard would it be to set this up to run on the same system?

[mwittl]

Originally Posted by Zogg

It would be nice to have the option to run FFMpeg on the Sage server if you have enough CPU power to handle the load. Some other addons like OpenDCT can optionally use FFMpeg and it does run on the server. How hard would it be to set this up to run on the same system?

Well, when I first approached this, I was thinking it was 100% do-able...that is, have the Roku application talking directly to the SageTV server where all transcoding would take place. My experiments with Roku consuming transcoded media from Sage were a bust. None of it would play.

For it to work without the middleware transcoding, one of two approaches would work. The easiest (I'm always a fan of easy) would be a rework of the SageTV Web server sagex plugin to rework their code (sagex media api) to use FFMpeg rather than VLC for transcoding. I tried everything I could think of, but the VLC transcoding is not at all liked by Roku. Also, it would be advisable if the plugin was reworked in such a way to use the latest versions of FFMpeg, along with the ability for a user to configure the FFMpeg transcoding parameters to suit their usage. I spent a lot of time finding the right parameters to use to get a high quality viewing experience at minimal bandwidth and without taxing the server too much.

The second approach...which is way more intense...would be to write a separate ROKU plugin and have it do all the heavy lifting. While the separate plugin would probably be more efficient, the existing Sage Web interface to the Sagex api's is more than adequate if they were reworked.

Keep in mind, all I want to do is view my recordings....I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel by writing a full-blown Roku/SageTV client. All I want to do is have my granddaughter be able to watch Mickey Mouse and Paw Patrol on my Roku's!! Right now, she's a happy camper!!