Good software for using linux as vcr?

Satriani · 10-14-2005, 03:20 PM

Hi all,

I am searching for good software to use for linux VCR.. I got my TV card running, and now i am looking for simple software to add / remove entries to record a program. Preferrably with a webinterface. MythTV is too big for my taste... A lot of overkill on features which i will not use at all...

Is there something like that? WebVCR(plus) looked nice, but is no longer supported / developed... So i guess there is a replacement for it... But What?
Please post your expierences here, so we all can benefit from them!

TIA!

Satriani

acid_kewpie · 10-14-2005, 04:02 PM

if you don't like MythTV then freevo would be the best alternative, a lot lot faster and smaller.

Satriani · 10-14-2005, 04:15 PM

Freevo looks like an entire suite also.. I will take a look at it more deeply.
However, just some bg info:

I have a server running slack. No monitor whatsoever attached. In that server is my tv card (runs fine)
Now i want some simple program to logon to a website, and say : Tape this channel on this date starting at this hour, ending at this hour to this file.... And maybe even have the option to say, do this every day / week / month / weekday, etc...
Then later, I can connect with my xbox to that server and watch the show...

Thats all I am looking for.. So not for an entire suite with beautiful skins and so...

acid_kewpie · 10-15-2005, 08:37 AM

erm, ok. so despite the fact that both freevo and mythtv are perfectly capbable of doing what you want, you don't want to use them as they can do lots of other things too, for free, that you won't use? That makes no sense whatsoever. if you don't want to use the functionality... then don't.

mykrob · 10-15-2005, 09:40 AM

not to hijack this thread, but i am having trouble getting Freevo to work. Seems that either it is not creating some of the config files it is supposed to, or i am missing something obvious.. Here's what i get:

Code:

myk.robinson@linux:/usr/share/freevo> freevo

Error: local_conf.py not found

Freevo is not completely configured to start
The configuration is based on three files. This may sound oversized, but this
way it's easier to configure.

First Freevo loads a file called 'freevo.conf'. This file will be generated by
calling 'freevo setup'. Use 'freevo setup --help' to get information
about the parameter. Based on the informations in that file, Freevo will guess
some settings for your system. This takes place in a file called
'freevo_config.py'. Since this file may change from time to time, you should
not edit this file. After freevo_config.py is loaded, Freevo will look for a file
called 'local_conf.py'. You can overwrite the variables from 'freevo_config.py'
in here. There is an example for 'local_conf.py' called 'local_conf.py.example'
in the Freevo distribution.

If you need more help, use the internal webserver to get more informations
how to setup Freevo. To do this, you need to set
WWW_USERS = { 'username' : 'password' }
in your local_conf.py and then you can access the doc at
http://localhost:8080/help/

The location of freevo_config.py is /usr/share/freevo/freevo_config.py
Freevo searches for freevo.conf and local_conf.py in the following locations:
  .
  /home/myk.robinson/.freevo
  /etc/freevo
  /usr/local/etc/freevo


Since it's highly unlikly you want to start Freevo without further
configuration, Freevo will exit now.

i cant find local_conf.py.. seems like the files and directories it speaks of dont exist..

help?

Thanks,
-myk

acid_kewpie · 10-15-2005, 02:12 PM

how on earth is that NOT hijacking this thread!?! read the docs or start your own thread. Hell, even read that very error message, states clearly what you need to do.

mykrob · 10-15-2005, 06:25 PM

kewpie, i clearly understand the error message, but the files that it references are not there.. Sorry to have p*ssed you off to that degree, i will start another thread

Satriani · 10-16-2005, 07:07 AM

kewpie, thank you for your question...
I feel its needed to "defend / explain" myself (in a positive way).
The main reason for my question is that mythtv uses xml_tv to update station / program info. For what I have seen, freevo does the same thing.

I dont need all that (needs xml_tv, mysql, etc...)
I just want to do something like ffmpeg does: grab the input from a pctv card into a compressed (encoded) file in ie. mpeg / xvid / divx format.

I know what time and channel should be recorded. I want to only add that info.
Currently im working on a php-page, which allows me to enter: date, time to start, time to stop, channel, repeating, [optional filename].

But, as i stated before, i have to look at freevo more deeply, going to do that later this day, i am not throwing it away completely without checking it out. It could well be that freevo does everything i want, and has many extra features i do not use at all. I will get back to you, but let me check some things before i can say anything useful here.

acid_kewpie · 10-16-2005, 03:10 PM

well xmltv is great, why wouldn't you want to use it? that aside i'm pretty sure you still can just directly enter details without it.

shengchieh · 10-16-2005, 05:35 PM

There's alot out there, although I keep hearing Mythtv most.
Surf in

http://www.websamba.com/Linux_Docs_Links
-> softwares
-> Movie/Video (including TV)

Sheng-Chieh

Satriani · 10-19-2005, 04:40 PM

Well currently i am struggling with freevo... It keeps telling me to install mmpython, which i downloaded from sf.net and installed it... But freevo still keeps telling me to install mmpython... Im going nuts here....
Anyone ?

Satriani · 10-26-2005, 01:10 PM

Yup... I really had it now...

As recommended, i tried installing freevo:

After installing mmpython, PyXML (Which took me a while to find out that that was the problem with Freevo wining about mmpython), PyGame, SDL, Imaging, and then finding out out I need Twisted, and in Twisted realizing that Twisted depends on zope.interface i can say only one thing: F**K IT!!!!! I wanted something simple.... Not something to find out that i need to install all other bunhes of software to get where i want... I stopped at Twisted... zope.interface will definitively ask for whateverpackage.tar.gz which will p[robably depend on.... Well you get the picture.....

I am still looking for a very easy / simple VCR... And both mythtv as well as freevo just is too much garbage on my system. I had a very fast, very clean system.... Now it has several strange packages on it which i do NOT! want.... Only because some other program to record a tvshow....

carl0ski · 10-31-2005, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mykrob
not to hijack this thread, but i am having trouble getting Freevo to work. Seems that either it is not creating some of the config files it is supposed to, or i am missing something obvious.. Here's what i get:

Code:

myk.robinson@linux:/usr/share/freevo> freevo Error: local_conf.py not found Freevo is not completely configured to start The configuration is based on three files. This may sound oversized, but this way it's easier to configure. First Freevo loads a file called 'freevo.conf'. This file will be generated by calling 'freevo setup'. Use 'freevo setup --help' to get information about the parameter. Based on the informations in that file, Freevo will guess some settings for your system. This takes place in a file called 'freevo_config.py'. Since this file may change from time to time, you should not edit this file. After freevo_config.py is loaded, Freevo will look for a file called 'local_conf.py'. You can overwrite the variables from 'freevo_config.py' in here. There is an example for 'local_conf.py' called 'local_conf.py.example' in the Freevo distribution. If you need more help, use the internal webserver to get more informations how to setup Freevo. To do this, you need to set WWW_USERS = { 'username' : 'password' } in your local_conf.py and then you can access the doc at http://localhost:8080/help/ The location of freevo_config.py is /usr/share/freevo/freevo_config.py Freevo searches for freevo.conf and local_conf.py in the following locations: . /home/myk.robinson/.freevo /etc/freevo /usr/local/etc/freevo Since it's highly unlikly you want to start Freevo without further configuration, Freevo will exit now.

i cant find local_conf.py.. seems like the files and directories it speaks of dont exist..

help?

Thanks,
-myk

I had that problem and was pulling my hair out (metaphorically speaking of course)

run
freevo setup
as your user from a command line

or

change the owner of

/etc/freevo/local_conf.py

from root to your user because without at least read access i couldnt veiw it and got that error in Freevo.

Satriani · 11-02-2005, 11:39 AM

OK I have continued on freevo.. Its installed.. However, it states that the recording server is not running, after i started freevo (freevo start)

Any ideas?

acid_kewpie · 11-02-2005, 01:04 PM

i forget the exact use, but you'd need to explicitly enable it in your local.conf. full details are in the freevo wiki