Me TV

How I ran 2 instances of Me-TV (0.5.30) with 2 dvb-t tv-cards.

Asked by Timf

How I ran 2 instances of Me-TV (0.5.30) with 2 dvb-t tv-cards.
==============================================================

1. Once you have your tv-cards correctly installed and working, look in /dev/dvb
- you should find:
adaptor0/demux0 dvr0 frontend0 net0
adaptor1/demux0 dvr0 frontend0 net0

-------------------------------------------------------------
2. In File Browser->View Click on "Show Hidden Files"
- then scroll through your home directory until you find .me-tv
- in ~/.me-tv, you should find these files:
 - channels.conf
 - epg.xml
 - me-tv.config
 - me-tv.log
 - video.fifo
 - xine.config

-------------------------------------------------------------
3. Make a copy of me-tv.config and call it me-tv2.config
- open me-tv2.config in a text editor.

- look for these lines:

<add key="dvr_path" value="/dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0"/>
<add key="demux_path" value="/dev/dvb/adapter0/demux0"/>
<add key="frontend_path" value="/dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0"/>

- change them to:

<add key="dvr_path" value="/dev/dvb/adapter1/dvr0"/>
<add key="demux_path" value="/dev/dvb/adapter1/demux0"/>
<add key="frontend_path" value="/dev/dvb/adapter1/frontend0"/>

- look for this line:

<add key="xine.fifo_path" value="/home/"your home directory"/.me-tv/video.fifo"/>

- change it to:

<add key="xine.fifo_path" value="/home/"your home directory"/.me-tv/video2.fifo"/>

- save the file.

-------------------------------------------------------------
4. Open xine.config in a text editor.

- look for these lines:

engine.buffers.audio_num_buffers:50
engine.buffers.video_num_buffers:1000

- change them to:

engine.buffers.audio_num_buffers:2048
engine.buffers.video_num_buffers:2048

- save the file.

-------------------------------------------------------------
5. In ~/.me-tv you should now have these files:

 - channels.conf
 - epg.xml
 - me-tv.config
 - me-tv2.config
 - me-tv.log
 - video.fifo
 - xine.config

-------------------------------------------------------------
6. Open a text editor.

- create this shell file called me-tv2:

#!/bin/sh
me-tv -c /home/"your home directory"/.me-tv/me-tv2.config

- save the file to your Desktop.

- at the command prompt:
sudo chmod 777 me-tv2

-------------------------------------------------------------
7. On the Desktop, double click on the me-tv2 icon.
- a message will display - choose "run in terminal"
- this instance of Me-TV is now running on your second tv-card

- click on the normal Me-TV icon
- this instance of Me-TV is now running on your first tv-card

- you will need to mute one of the Me-TV's, as they will both be
playing audio at the same time.

- you can now record one program (make it muted) in one instance
while watching a different program, which is on at the same time,
in the other instance.

-------------------------------------------------------------
8. In ~/.me-tv you should now have these files:

 - channels.conf
 - epg.xml
 - me-tv.config
 - me-tv2.config
 - me-tv.log
 - video.fifo
 - video2.fifo
 - xine.config

-------------------------------------------------------------

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Revision history for this message
steve davis (launch-faygate) said : 		#1

Many thanks TimF, I can now run 2 instances of MeTV.

Just one question; I don't have a xine.config file. Is this an issue?

Revision history for this message
Timf (timf) said : 		#2

steve davis wrote:
> Your question #36506 on Me TV changed:
> https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/me-tv/+question/36506
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> steve davis requested for more information:
> Many thanks TimF, I can now run 2 instances of MeTV.
>
> Just one question; I don't have a xine.config file. Is this an issue?
>
>
 Hi Steve,
I made a point of indicating that the version was 0.5.30
Which version are you running?
If I remember correctly, ubuntu gutsy 7.10 only goes up to version 0.5.27
and debian lenny only up to version 0.5.19.
As far as I can recall, these did not have a xine.conf.
Click on the Help->About - tells you what version.

The need for increased video buffers is in particular for when running 2
instances of HD TV.
If you have patchy video this can help.
The need for substantial increased audio buffers is to overcome
audio/video sync problems,
which start to occur after a period of time.

If you experience A/V troubles while running both instances, you may
need to upgrade to 0.5.30,
to give you the ability to choose your buffer sizes.
(Much of this also depends upon what hardware - CPU, size of RAM, size
of video RAM in graphics card/on board, etc you have).

Regards,
Timf

Revision history for this message
Timf (timf) said : 		#3

steve davis wrote:
> Your question #36506 on Me TV changed:
> https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/me-tv/+question/36506
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> steve davis requested for more information:
> Many thanks TimF, I can now run 2 instances of MeTV.
>
> Just one question; I don't have a xine.config file. Is this an issue?
>
>
 Woops! Sorry, my profuse apologies, I meant Hi Steve,
(Too many email replies is my only excuse)

Revision history for this message
steve davis (launch-faygate) said : 		#4

Timf,
sorry I missed the point concerning the V number (it was late & I'd been struggling to get my graphics card to talk to the TV).

The version downloaded for Ubuntu 8.04 is MeTV 0.5.17, so I guess its way out of date. I get lip-sync problems sometimes when playing DVDs on mplayer, so updates all round may be in order.

Many thanks for your help.

Steve

Revision history for this message
Timf (timf) said : 		#5

steve davis wrote:
> Your question #36506 on Me TV changed:
> https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/me-tv/+question/36506
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> steve davis proposed the following answer:
> Timf,
> sorry I missed the point concerning the V number (it was late & I'd been struggling to get my graphics card to talk to the TV).
>
> The version downloaded for Ubuntu 8.04 is MeTV 0.5.17, so I guess its
> way out of date. I get lip-sync problems sometimes when playing DVDs on
> mplayer, so updates all round may be in order.
>
> Many thanks for your help.
>
> Steve
>
>
 Hey, we all get tired!
Simple to update.
Open Synaptic, Repositories, Third Party
Add Source:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/lamothe/ubuntu hardy main
Reload
Search for me-tv -> upgrade
Done

If you want, I use VLC plus libdvdcss for DVD's, so much simpler.

Regards,
Timf

Revision history for this message
steve davis (launch-faygate) said : 		#6

Hi Timf,
thanks for the information (just knowing that these repositories exist & where they reside is a mystery to me!).

I've upgraded to v0.5.30 and increased the buffers. But I now find that when just watching a single instance of me-tv, AV sync drifts in and out several times during the course of (say) a 30 mins program. This did not happen with v0.5.17.

No other apps are running, and the pc is AMD Athlon 3200 with 1GB RAM.

I cant imagine that changing the buffers up or down from 2048 will improve this, so maybe something else needs attention?

Steve

Revision history for this message
Timf (timf) said : 		#7

steve davis wrote:
> Your question #36506 on Me TV changed:
> https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/me-tv/+question/36506
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> steve davis requested for more information:
> Hi Timf,
> thanks for the information (just knowing that these repositories exist & where they reside is a mystery to me!).
>
> I've upgraded to v0.5.30 and increased the buffers. But I now find that
> when just watching a single instance of me-tv, AV sync drifts in and out
> several times during the course of (say) a 30 mins program. This did not
> happen with v0.5.17.
>
> No other apps are running, and the pc is AMD Athlon 3200 with 1GB RAM.
>
> I cant imagine that changing the buffers up or down from 2048 will
> improve this, so maybe something else needs attention?
>
> Steve
>
>
 If you have A/V sync problems with mplayer, and with Me-TV, it would
suggest that you have hardware/driver problems.

You need to be aware that this question/answer section is here to guide
people on the use of Me-TV, and some
hardware issues specific to Me-TV. It is not intended as a forum for
discussing GENERAL hardware issues, that is too large an area.

Perhaps you could review the particular hardware that you are using and
if it is capable of handling high throughput data streaming.

This includes the sound card, and video card, and the motherboard, as
well as the RAM and the CPU.

Bear in mind that it is advisable to conduct thorough research into
tv-cards, as there are some which have sync problems within their driver.

This is information you can google in various ubuntu forums, be aware
this can be very time consuming,
but in the end a fruitful exercise, there are many people who can guide you.

I can tell you that the video card that I use is nvidia, has 256MB Video
RAM, and I specifically choose nvidia,
because, in my opinion, the nv driver that comes with ubuntu has not
kept pace with today's requirements,
and thus I make use of nvidia's restricted driver.

What I will suggest to you is google, google, google, and make a
decision - things don't necessarily just work, straight away
in linux.

Regards,
Timf

Revision history for this message
steve davis (launch-faygate) said : 		#8

Hi Timf,
I certainly don't want to clog this forum up with non-MeTV issues, but my main point was that this problem was not noticeable on V0.5.17.

I was only following the MeTV path out of interest. Here in the UK, I can now get a digital set top box with hard drive PVR for less than £70 (the pc tv card cost me £55). So there is no point in investing in a lot of pc hardware to overcome pc tv problems. But I've had an on-off love affair with Linux since Redhat v5, and with Ubuntu, I think it really has a chance of being accepted by regular pc users.

Thanks once again. I really do appreciate your help.

Revision history for this message
Michael Lamothe (lamothe-deactivatedaccount-deactivatedaccount) said : 		#9

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