TVHeadend Bouquet installation

PJtharsaile

JohnBoy1951

Your message here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=113382889&postcount=21

was useful, but can you expand on the HINT at the bottom?

Do you delete the automatically generated Bouquets when using your own, or, I presume just disable the corresponding channel tag? I looked for a Bouquets directory and didn't find one. I am not yet clear how all this works and why some of the data is exposed and some not. Am I right in thinking that most in in a database but that the bouquet files you add are text files that are not imported to it?

Yes, I could use a dummies guide to this, or better, a YouTube video showing step by step how to simply separate Saorview and Satellite FTA channels, ideally with quick way to zap all encrypted channels and various other dross.

I am not clear on the significance of the offset. I am quessing it's something like this

Bouquet A: 10 channels; could expand by 50%, say; offset 0
Bouquet B: 50 channels; allow 100% for expansion; offset 16 (15+1)
Bouquet C: 50 channels; offset 100 (if offset is from last Bouquet? or 116 if it's from start?)

Kudos, btw, for the bash script that generates a full list of services.

Now, out of the blue, again, I'm getting

PVR Manager is starting up 0%

Johnboy1951

Regarding the hint .....

If I create a bouquet of Saorview channels ...... lets say 12 of them ....... then I might start the second bouquet with an offset of 20.
In essence all it means is that each list is separated with no overlaps, and as the numbers (offsets) can go into the thousands there is no need to keep them close - because the bouquets are listed in Kodi in sequence, both for the list itself and also according to the offsets of each.

I have some Cameras listed using an IPTV plugin and I put these first in the Kodi list, so I give the Saorview an offset of 10 to ensure there is no overlap with the cameras.
The next bouquet has an offset of 30 (or is that 50 now?, don;t remember) but any number that ensures no overlap is good.


Hopefully that explains what I was getting at with the 'hint'.

Johnboy1951

I disable all bouquets except my own.
IIRC I tried deleting them but they are regenerated automatically, so disabled works.

So from the top ....... as far as I now recall .......
After the mux scans are completed, I manually went through the list and mapped those channels I wanted to be able to watch.
They then appeared in the Channel list but in no sort of order worth mentioning.

Once I was satisfied with the mapped channels I generated a list with the bash script.


Yes it is a completely manual process initially, but it needs to be done only once and the lists/bouquets can be saved on a PC for future use in case of a mishap.
As channels change frequency, I will manually map the new one, copy the Picon number and apply it to the master list. Disable and re-enable the edited bouquet applies the new setting.

I could then delete all the mapped channels again as they were all in my list/bouquet file.

From then I used the master list to make several shorter lists ....... Saorview ... ITV .... BBC .... NEWS or however you might wish to divide up the channels.
I put those in the order I wanted them to appear in each list, and applied offset to each list/bouquet to ensure they were listed (overall) in the order I wanted to see them, when viewing ALL channels.

Yes it is a once off manual process, but very simple to maintain thereafter.
If a channel changes or a new one comes along, I manually map it, copy the Picon number; delete it again and edit the relevant bouquet/list to reflect the change.
Disabling and re-enabling the bouquet gets the edited file updated in Kodi.

PJtharsaile

Thanks, that's helpful.

As a matter of interest do you use Kodi only as a Live/TVPVR or do you use other features -- music streaming etc. I keep my media files on a NAS and tend to access with different apps. I haven't felt confident enough in the robustness of Kodi to want to go beyond simply not paying for Sky (I'm afraid of breaking it and having to reinstall again; your Bouquet solution might materially change that).

Have you looked at, got any views on, things like Echannelizer.com and similar?

My PVR is a 12 year old Zalman case with a silent PSU (no fan) and an Asus E45M1-M Pro motherboard with 4Gb RAM. Should have been ok for 1080p but I added a Radeon 450 to keep it from dropping frames. I have occasionally thought a satbox would pay for itself in reduced electricity consumption but haven't had time to investigate until recently. I like the features of the ZGemma H7S but I have yet to dive into the firmware options and implications. Looks like quite a learning curve.

Johnboy1951

PJtharsaile wrote: »

Thanks, that's helpful.

As a matter of interest do you use Kodi only as a Live/TVPVR or do you use other features -- music streaming etc. I keep my media files on a NAS and tend to access with different apps. I haven't felt confident enough in the robustness of Kodi to want to go beyond simply not paying for Sky (I'm afraid of breaking it and having to reinstall again; your Bouquet solution might materially change that).

Kodi does all I require ....... LiveTV, recording, playback, and playback of stored media on my file server.
All of that is centralised in the wee server device.
The client devices do little more than selecting the content and playing it.

Kodi automatically picks up and mounts the file server. I can then select to add films/videos/music from there to my Kodi Library on each client separately.

Have you looked at, got any views on, things like Echannelizer.com and similar?

I think this should explain why I have no experience or interest in it

What are the minimum requirements?
Windows 10 / 8 / 7 SP1 / Vista SP2 (32/64 bit)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5
10 MB of free disk space

As mentioned previously I have no Win OS here.

My PVR is a 12 year old Zalman case with a silent PSU (no fan) and an Asus E45M1-M Pro motherboard with 4Gb RAM. Should have been ok for 1080p but I added a Radeon 450 to keep it from dropping frames. I have occasionally thought a satbox would pay for itself in reduced electricity consumption but haven't had time to investigate until recently. I like the features of the ZGemma H7S but I have yet to dive into the firmware options and implications. Looks like quite a learning curve.

My PVR does not connect to a display at all (although it could).
It is used purely for managing data throughput using TVH server.
Presently that is a €30 ARM device which comes with Android, but which is also capable of running a stripped out Linux - JeOS - and each of the client devices is similar except they do the display only for the TV or monitor using TVH client plugin for KODI.

The system here is completely distributed and divided ...... like those old 'separates' for audio where you had a record player; CD player; Amplifier and tuner all in separate boxes so you could upgrade any one function without interfering with any other.

Most of those ARM devices are now well capable of driving a 4K TV with HDR etc. (not that I have such a beast )

So, I have no STB in use at all.
The tuners are LAN connected and the TVH server manages them for all the clients which display to the TVs as well as laptops, PCs, tablet, phones etc..

This was the way I had it set up when I had Eir Sport through a Sky box ... but the rest of the set up is reasonably accurate .....