Recorded TV HD

From TGB WIKI

Introduction

Recorded TV HD in an add-in for Windows Media Center (Windows 7 and above) which enables you to browse and watch your recorded tv shows with more style and ease. It adds a more modern browsing experiencing to Media Center, similar to that found on other media platforms. The user interface theme is customisable with a 'media center like view', a 'poster view', a 'metro theme' and a 'list view'. No more coloured boxes in place of missing movie posters.

You content can be sorted by date recorded, original air date, or genre. If desired, movies can be listed separately to TV shows, and multiple favourites lists can be setup, allowing different family members can have their own personalised view. Recorded TV HD will track and show how much of an episode/movie you have watched and also indicate when it has been completely watched.

Metro Theme
Poster Theme Single
Poster Theme Double
Genre View
Episode List White Theme
Episode List Media Center Theme

The Recorded TV HD background service will attempt to identify the TV show or movie and download the poster and background art and other meta data automatically from either TheTVDB or TMDB by using their free APIs. It can do this for both your TV tuner recordings and also other media files you may have, providing a combined view of all your content.

Official Release

Recorded TV HD was launched in 2011 by MJT Software (who also developed My Memories) as commercially licensed software and was developed and enhanced in the subsequent years (see change log below). The last stable release was v1.9.5 in December 2013. However, a handful of alpha/beta releases were made available in the Recorded TV HD support forums. Towards the end of 2016 the software was made available for free. Official development ended in January 2020 with the v2.0.3 beta release which included support for TheTVDB API v3. The Recorded TV HD website finally went offline in March 2020 but the developer kindly gave their permission for the installer and product key to be freely distributed and so here they are for The Green Button community. Sadly, MJT declined to release the original source code.

Community Patch

Whilst the v2.0.3 beta release worked OK, it did still contain a number of bugs. Further changes to TheTVDB servers then broke the image download function. In July 2020 work was begun on a community patch by members (dophdahl & IT Troll) of The Green Button forum. The programmer (dophdahl) did some amazing work without access to the original source code; decompiling the executables, wrestling with the architecture, fixing bugs and even adding new features!

The culmination of that effort is Recorded TV HD v2.1.1 which fixes many legacy bugs in the old code, restores all the functionality lost after TheTVDB.com updated their servers, and even adds several new features!

Installation

  1. If you are upgrading from an earlier version, take a precautionary backup of your existing Recorded TV HD database using the Backup function within the Recorded TV HD Settings utility.
  2. You must first install the last official MJT release of Recorded TV HD, beta v2.0.3
  3. When prompted enter the free product key: 4DFE-HJUM-GQAS-C67N-HNKO
    • Take care when entering the key. Whilst you can't copy/past the whole key, the safest way to avoid mistakes is to copy/paste each individual block of four characters into the corresponding input box.
  4. You can now install the community patch, v2.1.1
  5. Now configure Recorded TV HD to your required preferences, this can be done in two ways:
    • Within the Recorded TV HD add-in in Media Center, navigate down to the Settings (wrench/spanner icon) at the bottom right of the screen.
    • For more advanced settings, including those relating to the background service, use the dedicated Recorded TV HD Settings utility which is standard Windows desktop application.
  6. It is recommended to disable checks for new updates. There will be no official updates and the old recordedtvhd domain now redirects to an ad site. This setting can be changed using either of the above methods. This then sets UpdateCheck=False in GlobalSettings.ini.

Tips & Tricks

Clear Button Functions

Delete Series - If you press Clear on the remote (keyboard equivalent Delete) whilst you have a series highlighted you are given an option to delete all episodes in the series.

Reset Watch Status - If you press Clear on the remote (keyboard equivalent Delete) whilst you have the Resume button highlighted you get the option to clear/reset the watched status.

Media File Support

Recorded TV HD can scan and incorporate local media files in addition to your TV tuner recordings. First, use the Settings utility to configure which additional file types and directories you wish to monitor, e.g. .MP4 and .MKV files types. This doesn't enable playback though for these file types, you need to install and configure the required codecs to achieve this, or alternatively select an external player application. The background service will then use the filename to download images and meta data. The following are the officially supported filename conventions, other variations may still work depending on pattern matching.

  • Series Title.S01E01.Optional Episode Title or could be blank or ignorable text.mkv
  • Series Title - S01E01 - Optional Episode Title or could be blank or ignorable text.mkv
  • Series Title - 01x01 - Optional Episode Title or could be blank or ignorable text.mp4
  • ID=12345.S01E01.mkv (using TheTVDB Show ID - useful for problem characters in title)
  • Directory names can also be used instead of having the series title on the file itself, e.g.:
    • Series Title\Season 1\S01E01 - Episode Title.mkv
    • Series Title\S01E01.mp4
    • Series Title\Season 1\1x01.mkv
    • Series Title\Season 1\01- Episode Title.mp4 (iTunes naming convention)
  • Movie Title.mp4
  • Movie Title (2021).mkv

Monitored Folders

Credentials for UNC folder monitoring.

Recorded TV HD can be configured to either monitor the same folders as Media Center, or use a separate list of folders.

If you are using a networked shared folder (e.g. a server or NAS) which requires login credentials you must add these in the Recorded TV HD Settings. This is done on the the same screen used to configure the folders and you should enter the credentials of a local user on the local RTVHD machine which matches the user which has been granted access to the shared network folder. The RTVHD Service is running using the Local System account, which doesn't have network access, the service will then switch to the local user you have specified to access the shared network folder using passthrough credentials.

Custom Menu Tiles

It is possible to customise the appearance of the tiles used on the Menu by changing the Focus and NoFocus images located it the Recorded TV HD Program Folder.

Log Troubleshooting

The community patch adds background service logging which can help to troubleshooting issues. This defaults to INFO level and logs to C:\Users\Public\RecordedTVHD\Logs

DEBUG and OFF levels can be configured through the [Settings] section of the GlobalSettings.ini configuration file, e.g. LogLevel=DEBUG

Slow Boot

Depending on your system configuration, and the size of your media library, Recorded TV HD may slow boot times while Windows waits for the service to initialise. The solution is to set Recorded TV HD service's start to Manual. Then create a task to run with a trigger to Run At Log On Whether User is Logged On or Not and an Action of NET START "RecordedTVHDService", or alternatively, SC START "RecordedTVHDService". Recorded TV HD's service will now start in the background without hanging up your boot times. Time difference can be about 80 seconds.

Database Corrections

Recorded TV HD uses a local SQLite database to store the meta data for your media. The Settings utility includes the facility to make some edits to this database. For more advanced corrections, it is possible to use a SQLite browser/editor to directly edit the database.

Help & Support

Whilst there is no official support, members of The Green Button forum are friendly and helpful.

https://thegreenbutton.tv/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2185

Change Log & Release Notes

Community Patch v2.1.1 - 8/8/2020

This patch includes new versions of both the RecordedTVHDSettings utility and the RecordedTVHDService background service which does all the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

Fixed & Updated
  • [Settings] Search button on Edit Series screen will now show results from a web search of the series name at TheTVDB.com.
  • [Settings] Default artwork (highest ranking) can once again be downloaded based on the provided TheTVDB ID (no more 404 error).
  • [Settings/Service] Total overhaul of artwork file handling to fix file locking issues.
  • [Service] Updated database engine libraries.
  • [Service] TV artwork downloads fixed for season specific posters and episode thumbnails.
  • [Service] Fixed mismatched case issues in filenames and titles.
  • [Service] Additional database health checks and housekeeping. Including repair of orphaned movie titles broken by previous bad TMDb API calls (you may find some missing, but not deleted, movies will reappear in the Media Center GUI).
  • [Service] Even better handling of Media Center Manual recordings.
  • [Service] Resolved permanent database locking by background service.
  • [Service] Improved search logic when matching series/episodes.
  • [Settings] Improved error handling for bad artwork URLs.
New Features
  • [Settings] New Select Backdrop and Select Poster buttons which allow you to preview and select your preferred artwork for the TV series from all those available.
  • [Settings] Similar artwork functionality has been added to the Edit Movies screen, so you can now:
    • [Settings] Perform a web search of the movie name at TheMovieDB.org.
    • [Settings] Use the TMDb ID to preview and select your preferred backdrop and poster for the movie from all those available.
  • [Settings] Artwork override selections can be filtered to show just English & Unspecified or All Languages.
  • [Settings] Artwork which has been overridden now has a visual indicator (download the default artwork again to clear the override).
  • [Settings] Add Movie dialog for unidentified files now supports Title or TMDb ID search and downloading of metadata and default artwork.
  • [Service] TMDb ID is now stored in database for movies when automatically identified or if input manually.
  • [Service] Added background service logging.
Known Issues
  • Recorded TV HD was developed for Windows 7 & 8. Some people do have it working in Windows 10 & 11, but compatibility may depend on build and configuration variances.
  • The Media Center GUI reports as v2.0.2. This is because since v2.0.2, changes have only been made to the background service and settings utility. Without the source code for the Media Center add-in component, it will not possible to make changes to the GUI.
  • The Tips & Tricks section within the add-on are no longer available. These videos were hosted on a server which is now offline.
  • The background service which downloads TV images and meta data currently uses TheTVDB legacy API v3. It is not compatible with TheTVDB API v4 which requires a paid subscription. Switching to v4 would require that the background service is updated and recompiled to use a newer version of TvDBSharper which facilitates the API access.

Sunset Beta Releases

v2.0.3 Beta - 16/01/2020 (Final Sunset Beta Release)

  • TvDbSharper library updated to v3.0.0 to support TheTVDB API v3.

v2.0.2 Beta - 18/12/2017

  • TvDbSharper library updated to v1.0.1
  • Old artwork is only deleted if new artwork is downloaded successfully.

v2.0.0 Beta - 30/06/2017

  • TvDbSharper library updated to v0.6.3 to support TheTVDB API v2.
  • Improve handling of titles with special characters.
  • Deprecate the "Fix Artwork or Identification Problem" section in the Recorded TV HD Media Center interface.

v1.9.8 Alpha 29/8/2014

  • Manual identification of files now possible in Recorded TV HD Settings utility.

v1.9.7 Beta - 13/2/2014

  • Possibly only a change to a message box being disabled stating that the programs service has stopped and needs to be restarted.

v1.9.6 Beta - 17/1/2014

  • Possible bug fix for the program freezing when going into "more options". This might be only related to those using comskip.

Official Stable Releases

v1.9.5 - 12/12/2013 (Final Official Stable Release)

  • Added option to increase the text size for easier readability.
  • Added some solid backgrounds for the metro theme.
  • Moved play button on media center like theme to avoid accidental deletion.
  • Added more options to the commercial break viewer (under Menu Strip, Recycle Bin & Other options)
  • (for those with stability problems related to the commercial break viewer: adjust the option to show the commercial break viewer only when first play video or never and use a button on the remote to manually show it when you want to)
  • Added option to change resume/watched location so you can share with multiple pcs (in external settings program).
  • Added option to use an external video player (in external settings program).
  • Fixed some problems with watched check-marks not showing up when they were supposed to.
  • Fixed other bugs.

v1.9.0 - 2/9/2013

  • Metro Theme Option.
  • Performance increases.
  • TheMovieDB API upgrade.
  • Genre auto-generation of artwork.
  • Changed the search option to the "add recording" option.
  • Fixed other bugs.

v1.8.0 - 29/5/2013

  • Improved speed and efficiency when working with scheduled recordings
  • Added option to cancel series and cancel recording from within the interface.
  • Commercial Break Viewer improvements to speed and stability
  • Fixed error: "could not convert from current position to timespan..."
  • Better file identification.
  • Added Recording Storage Pooling (Under "Media Library" in settings in UI)
  • Added thumbnail generator so all episodes should now have thumbnails
  • Added warning message when selecting an episode if the file is unreachable (network location)
  • Added additional delete/recycle options for multiple deletions under the episode screen.
  • Adjusted Recorded TV HD Service for memory consumption and reliability.
  • Added easier way to register the program for purchasers.
  • SageTV file naming - works on most native recording files.
  • Added option to adjust Height of Info at bottom of screen (list view and episode list views)
  • Added indexing to database to increase performance in Media Center
  • Added conflicted scheduled recordings to the list so you can see what isn't going to record. Simply cancel one of the other shows set to record during the same time slot to force the conflicted recording to record.
  • Fixed problem where specials were not properly identified for other file types.
  • Added option for scheduled button on the menu strip.
  • Fixed random crashing problem.
  • Added option to show full screen video in the place of the backdrop when video is playing (is not stable for some)
  • Added a clock in the corner of some menu screens
  • Added option for subdued backdrop on only poster views.
  • Now reads metadata from movie.xml and .properties files.
  • Added options in the UI for automatic check for stable and beta releases.
  • Added Series/Episode protection from accidental deletion.
  • Added a threshold setting for the watched status. If you haven't met the threshold it won't show watched indicator and will still show up in unwatched lists.
  • Added play all unwatched option in play menu
  • Added option to start Recorded TV HD automatically when Media Center starts up (after the background add-in loads)
  • Added original air date on the episode details screen in poster and list view.
  • "play all..." options now work on extenders.
  • Fixed identification problem when manually identifying episodes.
  • Added other small features.
  • Fixed other bugs.

v1.7.3 - 2/6/2012

  • Fixed Memory Leak
  • Improved Season and Episode number identification for recorded content.
  • Fixed service from crashing right after starting when TV recording has not been configured on the machine.

v1.7.0 - 8/5/2012

  • Pretty much all settings are now in the Media Center UI. (Wrench icon in the corner of the screen)
  • Added an option to use a "Recycle Bin" instead of just permanently deleting recordings. - Improved from last beta.
  • Added ability to add VIDEO_TS DVD directories into Recorded TV HD
  • Added new header options of unwatched tv and unwatched movies
  • Added options for date banner/tags when viewing list ordered by date, or just on scheduled recordings.
  • Added sort by season and episode number to the list of sorting options to the series episode list.
  • No longer show the commercial break viewer while in fast forward 1 (ff1) playback.
  • Commercial Skip Forward and Back buttons (configured in DVRMSToolbox settings) now work while commercial break viewer is visible if you use Left+Right or 1+3 to skip commercials manually.
  • Improved file name detection for custom file types.
  • Improved Season and Episode Number identification for recorded episodes.
  • Now attempts to download artwork for future recordings even if you haven't recorded any episodes for the series before.
  • Detection of movies of any file type. Name the file either "Movie Name (2010).mkv" or "Movie Name.mkv"
  • Play button while highlighting series allows you to:
    • Play oldest unwatched episode
    • Play a random episode
    • Play all episodes in random order (watched/resume data and commercial skipping will not work)
    • Play all episodes in order (watched/resume data and commercial skipping will not work)
  • Option to hide the episode count badge when the episode count is 1.
  • Option for each favourite list to hide series if all episodes have been watched. (Change in settings program for each favourites list you would like)
  • Press the clear button on your remote while "resume" is highlighted and you will be asked if you would like to remove the watched/resume information for that episode.
  • Hopefully fixed problem where, for a few unlucky people, sometimes new recordings do not show up unless the service is restarted.
  • Changed so that if you press the movies button under the Recorded TV HD strip on main Media Center screen you will now go back to the main Media Center screen when pressing the back button instead of going back to Recorded TV HD.
  • Tab in settings program for files that are not identified properly. (You can identify them in the settings in the Media Center UI.)
  • Fix for times when focus is not properly assigned (and remote doesn't work) when returning to Recorded TV HD from another location in Media Center.
  • Added additional supported naming conventions for other file types (pretty much any combination of the below in addition to the original formats supported):
    • Directory names can be used instead of having the series name on the file itself... examples:
      • Series Name\Season 1\S01E01 - Episode Name.mp4
      • Series Name\S01E01.mp4
    • Can now also use 1x1, 01x01, 1x01, 01x1 in addition to S1E1 combinations to indicate which season and episode number it is. Examples:
      • Series Name\Season 1\1x01.mp4
      • Series Name - 01x01 - Episode Name.mp4
      • Series Name.1x1.mp4
      • Series Name\Season 1\01- Episode Name.mp4 (iTunes naming convention)
    • Beyond TV Naming Conventions:
      • Series Name-(Episode Name)-2012-04-03-0.wtv (or any extension)
      • Series Name-2s012-04-03-0.wtv (Only where the recording date is the original air date of the episode. Also can be any extension)
  • Fixed problem with [HD] in filename of Amazon VOD naming conventions not properly being identified.
  • Added option under Series Override to combine series that have different names. Example: "CSI: NY" and "CSI New York"
  • Added support for manually created WTV & DVR-MS files. If there is not enough metadata in the file itself it will check if the file is named with the proper file name conventions. If it is the correct metadata will be pulled.
  • If a movie is recorded and for some reason doesn't have the proper "movie" designation you can set the genre as "Movie" and it will properly hide it from the standard view if you have the "Hide recorded movies from standard view" checkbox checked.
  • When on the single episode screen the play button on the remote will now play/resume that episode in addition to the remote's select button.
  • Added more transparency to the menu strip icons that are not in focus to better match the rest of Media Center
  • If Recorded TV HD is open and a user uses the green button and then tries to launch one of the Recorded TV HD buttons it will now work properly instead of just returning the user to the last location.
  • Pressing the right arrow while a preview video is highlighted will move the header option to the right when viewing a list.
  • Option to "Allow deletions from inside the interface" (Default is to allow)
  • Bug fixes

v1.6.0 - 22/12/2011

  • Added 'media center like' theme/view.
  • Added integration with My Channel Logos. All channel logos are displayed if My Channel Logos is installed when using version 2 of MCL. If you are using V1 of MCL you will not get affiliate logos (abc, cbs, nbc, etc.)
  • Added ability to add your own posters for genres when using poster view.
  • Made some UI changes including different animations when certain things are focused upon.
  • Added 'search' menu strip item option (an automated workaround)
  • Added season and episode information to the interface for each episode.
  • Added ability to set a new scheduled recording to favourites lists before it records. Just select the scheduled recording in the UI. You can also do it from within the settings program.
  • Added sort/group by channel header option. Also includes channel logos in poster view if My Channel Logos is installed.
  • Added a scheduled recording cache so if you exceed the Media Center limit you can still see scheduled recordings from the cache.
  • Added a favourite icon in the scheduled recordings list to show which scheduled recordings are in a favourites list.
  • Added option to turn off poster recording count badges.
  • Improved navigation if using a mouse.
  • Fixed a couple of reported bugs... Left and right arrow keys were not working on episode page when using list view. Checkbox for 'hide recorded movies from standard view' was not saving properly.
  • Fixed missing episode information on bottom of screen when the group by series option is unchecked for date recorded and you are sorting by genre and or a couple of others.
  • Made Commercial Break Viewer a little bit faster and hopefully less prone to the "stuck on blue media center screen" issue.
  • Made some other slight UI changes.
  • Fixed problem if the series does not show up in the Series Override tab even if the episodes are listed in the Episodes Override tab in the settings program.
  • Fixed sorting problem when adding some other file types.
  • Reduced setup file size by optimizing some images.
  • Some changes in the settings program where made.
  • In poster and 'media center like' theme/view you can use ff/rw or skip forward and back to change the header option in that direction.
  • Changed service so that if a network location is no longer available it will not remove episodes from the database. If you try to play a file located on a disconnected network location you will simply get a Media Center file not found error.
  • Made changing between header options more smooth with better user interaction.
  • Other bugs and smaller changes.

v1.5.2 - 25/10/2011

  • Poster view options - View 1 or 2 rows of posters instead of the series list.
  • Added white colour scheme.
  • Added repeating header options in the Media Center interface.
  • Added "group by season" option when you have episodes in more than one season (turned on by default), also downloads season posters when using poster view.
  • Added episode metadata override options in settings program.
  • Added preview screenshots of different appearance options in settings program.
  • Fixed sorting problem on the episodes list screen.
  • Fixed issues with some other file type episodes not loading correctly due to corrupted XML metadata files.
  • Fixed issue with view scheduled error message popping up over and over. It will now only popup once if there is an error.
  • Fixed other bugs.

v1.4.30 - 2/10/2011

  • Support for other file types if named correctly.
  • Backup/Restore feature. Also allows you to restore onto a different machine if needed.
  • Show parental ratings inside the interface.
  • Option to ungroup episodes on the date recorded header choice. (Gives an episode list like the native recorded tv interface.)
  • Pressing the "play" button will play/resume the episode from the list instead of having to go to the episode screen first.
  • Pressing the "clear" button will allow you to delete the selected episode(s).
  • Added an option to have "movies" as a header choice.
  • Added an option to have "recently watched" as a header choice. (Allows easier resuming so you don't have to go looking for something you have recently watched.)
  • Fixed non-favourites list to hide movies if the user has the "hide recorded movies" option selected in the settings program.
  • Enhanced the delete warnings. Tells you which favourites list(s) the series is set to.
  • Fixed CPU and memory over usage by the background add-in.

v1.4.22 - 15/8/2011

  • Optional remote control integration. Allows you to remap the recorded tv button to launch Recorded TV HD.
  • Choose which header choices you want to appear on the top.
  • Option to add non-favourites list to the header choices.
  • Choose how many days of scheduled recordings to show. This will help if you schedule a lot of recordings and are getting the error about exceeding the limit.
  • Option to show the file path on the episode page.

v1.4.20 - 7/8/2011

  • Fixes for Commercial Break Viewer including problem with x64 systems.
  • Other bug fixes.

v1.4.18 - 2/8/2011

  • Commercial Break Viewer.
    • Requires commercial scanning software such as ShowAnalyzer and DVRMSToolbox.
  • Options in settings to change menu strip.
  • Changed scheduled recordings view/access.
  • Added option for left column width.
  • Fixed rare problem with missing episodes and duplicate series entries.
  • Fixed problem with some missing thumbnails.

v1.4.10

  • Easier Readability
  • Option for high-contrast mode for even easier readability.
  • Added option to shrink screen to fit tv for extenders (if experiencing problem).

v1.4.9

  • Added jump in list using remote triple-tap. Allows you to enter letters using your remote to jump further down or up the list.

v1.4.8

  • Added enhanced sorting options (Click on category header to change sort).
  • Changed default to resume instead of play.
  • Added option in the settings program to hide movies from general list (you still can add movies to a favourites list).
  • Added option to stop a recording in progress.
  • Fixed other bugs and annoyances.

v1.4.4

  • Added support for automatic download of Movie fanart.
  • Added entry point for recorded movies.
  • Fixed bug with non-English versions of Windows 7.
  • Fixed other bugs.

v1.4.2

  • Updated UI (moved the view scheduled button, added some fading effects, and made now playing video section bigger)
  • Can now change categories by pressing the right and left keys while scrolling through the list. This is so you don't have to scroll all the way back up to the top of the list to change categories.
  • Fixed bug that would end your trial 10 days too early :)
  • Added instant update to artwork when changing TheTVDB.com ID in the settings program under series override.
  • Fixed other bugs.

v1.4.1

  • Added option for black or blue colour scheme
  • Added option to show or not show the watched indicator
  • Fixed bugs with missing or corrupted backdrops

v1.3.9

  • First Public Release
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