Boxee Box / PVR Software

[MattsShack]

After trying to research this myself I thought I would ask the advise of the community.

I currently use Mythtv to record OTA shows. I have used Mythtv for about 8 years and I am very comfortable with it, however I have not found a good way to reliably get the recordings to show up in the "Shows" section of the Boxee Box. I have tried a number of scripts, however I believe the challenge is the naming structure Mythtv uses. I can browse to the Mythtv UPNP or Samba share with no problems. But I want them to show up in the Shows area of the Boxee Box for better WAF (Wife Approval Factor).

So now the question . If anyone is using PVR software (Mythtv and ANY other flavor) to record shows, how are you getting the them to show up on the Boxee Box? I am not opposed to changing to another PVR software, but I would like some feedback before I start blindly trying deference ones.

Thank you in advance,
-MattsShack

[darcilicious]

I use SageTV for my PVR and use NFO files for movies. I understand the latest beta release of SageTV 7.1.x now includes season/episode info in a way that Boxee likes but I haven't upgraded yet (waiting until after the Stanley Cup is over )

If you want to stick with MythTV you're probably going to have to use NFO files minimally. It should work fine for movies but I don't know how MythTV stores recorded TV shows that are part of a series and if that would interfere with using TV/episode NFO files or not.

[twistybox]

Are there any configuration settings you can make in MythTV to change how it names shows? Someone with enough experience could modify the source code and re-compiled, but that's not something most consumers are going to be able to do.

Changing the naming format will be the first step, but you'll also need to be able to get the season and episode numbers to make it work smoothly with Boxee. I'm not sure if MythTV has access to this information using XML2TV or whatever other avenue they now have to obtain guide data.

If you can get that bit of information and change the naming scheme, then something as simple as

NameofShow.s##e##.mpg will work.

It works from another PVR system, SageTV, which as of this last beta round has started offering season and episode numbers for its guide data. SageTV is commercial, but is also available for Linux as well as Windows and Mac OS. The Windows version is always the first to be updated as it's where the primary development takes place before the final versions are ported to Linux and Mac OS.

[darcilicious]

Last I read, SageTV 7.x is not available for Mac OS unfortunately, including the beta version that does season/ep naming for tv shows.

[MattsShack]

Thank you for the feedback.

I asked about renaming the shows in the mythtv IRC channel and I was told they can not get the Season / Episode information because it is not provided by Schedules Direct (The listings services they use). I have tried the MythicalLibrarian script, but it is very hit and miss.

I will look into SageTV. Does it run in a Front end / Back end fashion? Looks like time to read and join another forum.

Any other suggestions are very welcome. I will post back to the forum the solution when I find one.

-MattsShack

[darcilicious]

Yes, SageTV does run server/client and also includes a "placeshifter" client for remote/streaming access from outside your home network.

I've been using for 2.5 years now and really really like it. The folks over at the SageTV forums are very helpful and friendly too

There's a trial version available for 1 or 2 weeks for free.

Also, get the Diamond theme, it totally rocks

[twistybox]

Last I read, SageTV 7.x is not available for Mac OS unfortunately,

You're right, 7.0 is only available for Windows and Linux at this time, with 7.1.x betas only available for Windows.

I'm primarily a Mac shop, but there's no way I'd ever consider running SageTV on a Mac. First because Sage has limited hardware support under Mac OS, second because.. why waste a Mac as a server?

The Windows version is easy to set up. The Linux version means you don't need to pay for an OS. Both run on commodity hardware without hacks. I have kept a system dedicated to SageTV (and Squeezebox server) since 2004. SageTV has been my only UI to Live/PVR TV since I first set it up. It's currently running with a Core2Duo, 4GB of memory and about 4TB of recording space on 4 internal drives. Programs are recorded with 5 tuners on three cards, 3 HD OTA and 2 QAM/Analog.

I don't have the time to try the new beta, so I'll probably wait until it's released before jumping on 7.1 and trying the new file naming support with Boxee Box. At that time I'll probably also try the Diamond skin with Sage as I'm currently still using the 6.x UI under version 7. No one in the house likes the 7.0 default UI at all (not even visitors) - it's too painful to use and look at.

[darcilicious]

I'm primarily a Mac shop, but there's no way I'd ever consider running SageTV on a Mac. First because Sage has limited hardware support under Mac OS, second because.. why waste a Mac as a server?

Right but since you can't mix and match versions between the server and the client, you're still SOL if all you have are Mac clients...

[twistybox]

That's true, but personally, I've never run SageTV client software nor do I have any intentions of ever doing so. A stand-alone extender is the way to go for TV-based connection, and with season-espidode naming, some people will be able to use a Boxee Box for playback of recorded content.

If I did need to run the client however, it should work under VMWare.

[jamiek03]

MattShack:

I use the following and it works really well with a little setup and effort. As well, my recorded shows are under "Shows" on Boxee Box.

Windows Media Center as PVR (shows are recorded as .wtv)

MCEBuddy 1.1 is always running in background. It performs a commercial skip and compresses the large .wtv file to a tidy .mp4

At this point BB can play the files, but they are not named correctly to end up under "Shows". For this I use TV Rename.

Now for the part that pertains to you:
TV Rename requires adding your TV Shows (so it knows what you want to track). I have it set to scan a couple times a day. TV Rename recognizes the files and puts them in the correct show folder. Subsequently the file now has all the correct info for BB to recognize it.

It has an option to "Look for airdate in filenames" with this I have been able to get it to recognize my recordings pretty flawlessly. Here is an example of my tv show filenaming:
American Idol - Winner Announced - 2011-05-25-19-00-00.mp4

As you can see it includes Showname, episdoe name, and airdate with time (time is not needed but thats how WMC does it).

TV Rename uses theTVDB for its data (which I believe Boxee Box also uses for tv shows). As a nice added feature TV Rename will also download nfo files (if you want). They are working really well.

How are your filenames coming out of MythTV?

Hope this helps