How to view IPTV in WMC?

[To The Pub]

Hello all,

Long time since my last post.
Which means I'm a very happy user.

However, my old PC has to retire.
A good time to dive into WMC again.
In my setup I use DVBLogic.
Unfortunately, I did not buy an IPTV license in time.
And now I would like to add IPTV.
With DVBLogic EOL I won't be able to buy it anymore.

What are my options?

Thanks in advance

Gr.E

[Kevin Chalet]

Hey,

What are my options?

The WMC + Tvheadend + HDHRProxyIPTV combo is a great option, tho' it requires a bit of time to set up
More info here if you're interested: https://www.thegreenbutton.tv/viewtopic ... 97&t=14290.

Cheers.

[To The Pub]

Hi,

Thanks for quick reply!

Is it possible for this to work beside DVBLogic for my DVB-C?
Or do i need to redo that part also in TvHeadend?

[Kevin Chalet]

Is it possible for this to work beside DVBLogic for my DVB-C?

It's not something I've personally tried, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. For that, you'll need to tweak HDHRProxyIPTV_MappingList.ini to point to the DVBLink HTTP streams instead of Tvheadend (https://docplayer.net/142462284-Tvmosai ... th-it.html should hopefully help you figure out what the correct URLs are).

That said, if I were you, I would definitely consider giving Tvheadend a try, even for DVB-C: my tests with DVB-T tuners - and acer-5100 on MDL came to the same conclusion - showed that Tvheadend + HDHRProxyIPTV is not only much more stable but also offers shorter channel switching times. Not to mention it is insanely more flexible than DVBLink

[To The Pub]

Hi,

Thanks again for swift reply.

Got some hollidays comming up in a few weeks.
Looks like a nice project for rainy days

Gr. E

[Kevin Chalet]

My pleasure!

Please keep us informed on how it goes

[To The Pub]

@pinpoint, Pfff just spend a few hours on WSL and trying to get TVHEADEND installed.

I don't know the first thing about linux and i'm afraid this is way over my head.
I like to get it to work thou....
And think it might be useful for other WMC users as well.

Maybe you (pro) and I (complete amateur) can make a How To for dummy's?
Start point, getting WSL on windows and installing it.
End point a working system.

But I don't know if you feel for this............ (no hard feelings if you don't)

Curious,

Gr. E

[Kevin Chalet]

Well, WSL is definitely not the simplest option (and if you plan on adding a PCIe or USB tuner, it will be a real PITA). It also has annoying aspects: systemd is not enabled by default (yet it used by Tvheadend to start automatically) and systemd services are not automatically started with the Windows session: you need to open a WSL shell for them to start (or hack something with the Windows scheduler).

For users who are not super familiar with Linux, I'd recommend buying a Raspberry PI (e.g 3 or 4) or a NUC-like minimachine and installing Raspbian on it using the Raspberry PI imager utility.
In this case, installing Tvheadend is as simple as running

Code: Select all

sudo apt install tvheadend

.

Where are you currently blocked?

[To The Pub]

Thank for clear answer.
As I started this I didn't realize it was all in code.
And all I wanted was add IPTV to my PC that is using: Digital Devices (PCIe)DVB-C tuners --> DVBLink
(Server & TVSource) --> WMC.
Looks like it's better to find another way.

[Kevin Chalet]

Thank for clear answer.
As I started this I didn't realize it was all in code.

Hum, what code are you referring to, exactly? Except for populating the WMC database, no "code" was required to integrate WMC with Tvheadend (and I provided the compiled binary for convenience )

That said, yeah, it definitely requires more time to set up than a traditional DVBLink installation. But it's also way more flexible and Tvheadend is still supported.

And all I wanted was add IPTV to my PC that is using: Digital Devices (PCIe)DVB-C tuners --> DVBLink
(Server & TVSource) --> WMC.
Looks like it's better to find another way.

To my knowledge, DVBLink Server or the approach I mentioned (i.e using the HDHomeRun BDA driver + an HDHR emulator) are the only documented options available, so if you don't have a working DVBLink Server instance with a valid IPSource license activated, it will drastically reduce your options (it's not even possible to download or request an evaluation license for the IPSource plugin via the UI, as the website no longer exists).

(note: I mentioned a Raspberry PI or a NUC-like machine in my previous post, but of course, if you have an extra PC you're no longer using, it's an even better option: it's a great opportunity to give that PC a new life, even if it has modest specs)

[To The Pub]

Hi,

Thanks for still reaching out!

Where are you currently blocked?

I'm stuck at the 100% beginning, can't get TVHeadend installed. see image

Thanks.
Gr.E

Edit:

[To The Pub]

hmm, can't see my image

Edit:
fixed

[Kevin Chalet]

Where are you currently blocked?

I'm stuck at the 100% beginning, can't get TVHeadend installed. see image

Not all distros provide packages for Tvheadend (including Ubuntu). Luckily, you can still use Tvheadend's own APT repository in this case.
For that, run this script that will add the repository for you, then run apt update and apt install tvheadend:

Code: Select all

curl -1sLf \
  'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/tvheadend/tvheadend/setup.deb.sh' \
  | sudo -E bash

More information here: https://tvheadend.org/projects/tvheaden ... positories

[Kevin Chalet]

Note: you'll also need to enable systemd support in WSL: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandl ... le-in-wsl/

[To The Pub]

Nice, thanks!
Getting somewhere.

I'll be back with more questions I think

[prsa01]

Note: you'll also need to enable systemd support in WSL: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandl ... le-in-wsl/

Hi Kevin,

I installed tvheadend in wsl following some instructions on the tvheadend forum, below, including installing ubunto. tvh SEEMS to be working correctly,, I'm struggling with configuring iptv via Cabernet. Anyway, I did not enable systemd AFAIK. I'll verify if it is enabled via the links you provided. Did installing ubunto take care of the systemd requirement?

https://tvheadend.org/boards/4/topics/44613

I don't believe getting web iptv streams (pluto, etc) into wmc was a significant goal of what you did so am guessing you didn't monkey around with cabernet. It's supposed to make importing m3u & epg into tvh much more straightforward. Hopefully I'll get that figured out and can eventually get the hdhr proxy/wmc part of the process tested.

Thanks much for providing this solution!

[Kevin Chalet]

Hey!

I installed tvheadend in wsl following some instructions on the tvheadend forum, below, including installing ubunto. tvh SEEMS to be working correctly,, I'm struggling with configuring iptv via Cabernet. Anyway, I did not enable systemd AFAIK. I'll verify if it is enabled via the links you provided. Did installing ubunto take care of the systemd requirement?

Ha, interesting! I haven't tried but it's definitely possible Microsoft decided to enable systemd by default in recent versions of WSL.

I don't believe getting web iptv streams (pluto, etc) into WMC was a significant goal of what you did so am guessing you didn't monkey around with cabernet. It's supposed to make importing m3u & epg into tvh much more straightforward. Hopefully I'll get that figured out and can eventually get the hdhr proxy/WMC part of the process tested.

While IPTV was indeed not really a goal for me (maybe I'll change my mind if I find a reliable IPTV provider someday ), I briefly tested Streamlink to import a Youtube live stream as an "IPTV" channel in WMC: it worked really well!

(while I don't do IPTV, I do very cool things with Tvheadend's SAT>IP feature: viewtopic.php?t=14079#p152571)

Thanks much for providing this solution!

My pleasure

[prsa01]

Does anyone know, or think they have a decent idea, of the drm ramifications as atsc 3 becomes the only option? The little bit I've read from people using the new hdhomerun atsc 3 tuners mentions some us broadcast networks already being fully drm. Any idea if using your designed process to downconvert to 1080 for wmc use will somehow resolve the drm? I don't know if the drm is only meant to protect uhd and the tuners will/can be setup to pass on 1080 without drm.

I understand it may be too early to know and "we'll know when we know" but figured I'd see if anyone has an educated opinion.

If I just want to replicate my existing pvr/dvr/wmc-like capabilities (not particularly caring about preserving uhd)
hdhomerun (or similar) -> network -> dvr/pvr pc(s)
typical dvr functions
don't necessarily care about being able to move recordings but remote watch thru some mechanism would be nice

Anyway - thoughts, links, and knowledge are appreciated

[Kevin Chalet]

Any idea if using your designed process to downconvert to 1080 for WMC use will somehow resolve the drm?

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea (and I have no way to give it a try, as ATSC is - luckily? - not a thing in Europe).

The first thing to test is if you can get a watchable stream from HDHomeRun for an ATSC channel (e.g by accessing http://[IPv4 address of your HDHR Prime]:5004/auto/v[channel number as defined in the provider lineup] from VLC).
If you can't, well... all hope is lost.