2015-01-17, 20:12
I absolutely love Kodi and the implementation of PVR functionality is spot on, but one thing I'm mystified by is its handling of communicating with the PVR backend. It appears to have been designed to assume that the PVR backend is an "always on" computer, which is rather rigid IMHO. Unlike content such as movies, music, etc. which can be hosted on a low-power NAS, a PVR backend has to be an elaborate PC that many would prefer not be on at all times.
The plugin I use, ServerWMC, has the ability to send a WOL packet to the PVR backend, but that is always done when Kodi is launched. The problem with this is that 80%-90% of the time I launch Kodi, I'm doing something other than watch live TV. I'm using it to launch a streaming service like Netflix or HBO Go, watch a movie local to that client, or play an emulated video game. So every time I simply intend to watch something on Netflix, the PVR backend PC is unnecessarily woken up putting unneeded wear and tear on the 4 hard drives I have in it and wasting energy, something I'd rather avoid. Another side effect of this implementation, is that if I want to actually watch Live TV after watching a 2 hour movie, the PVR backend has since gone back to sleep and I won't be able to access it (since the PVR backend is being woken up when Kodi starts, as opposed to when Live TV is actually entered).
I even tried using the Advanced Wake On LAN plugin for Kodi which allows one to wake a computer only when launching something specific within Kodi. It's an elegant solution when you want to wake up a backend PC that hosts all of your movies, ONLY when you enter the Movies hub within Kodi (personally I'd love to see this sort of functionality native to Kodi). Unfortunately this doesn't work so well for Live TV because Kodi insists on checking the PVR backend when it first starts, and not when you enter the Live TV hub. Kodi will attempt to connect to the PVR backend when starting up and signal an error that it couldn't be contacted. If memory serves, it'll continually do so which makes it painfully obvious that it expects the PVR backend to be always on. When I enter Live TV, Advanced Wake On LAN does its part and wakes up the PVR backend, but Kodi has already given up communicating with the PVR backend. I need to go into settings and essentially clear the EPG so it forces an update with the backend. Far from an elegant solution.
It certainly seems more logical for Kodi to only communicate with the PVR backend when Live TV is actually used, which would at least allow using Advanced Wake On LAN in the way I mentioned above. Ideally Kodi would have the facility to send a WOL packet to the backend upon entering Live TV and wait an optional amount of time before downloading the latest EPG/PVR data. And given that Kodi will have EPG from a prior download, it's not as though it couldn't show the channel lineup for the short duration spent waiting for the PC to wakeup. My observations are with using Gotham, so it's possible some of this has changed in Helix. I'd love to know what the developers think of this, and if any plans to implement a slightly improved communication mechanism with the PVR backend is in place. Thanks.
The plugin I use, ServerWMC, has the ability to send a WOL packet to the PVR backend, but that is always done when Kodi is launched. The problem with this is that 80%-90% of the time I launch Kodi, I'm doing something other than watch live TV. I'm using it to launch a streaming service like Netflix or HBO Go, watch a movie local to that client, or play an emulated video game. So every time I simply intend to watch something on Netflix, the PVR backend PC is unnecessarily woken up putting unneeded wear and tear on the 4 hard drives I have in it and wasting energy, something I'd rather avoid. Another side effect of this implementation, is that if I want to actually watch Live TV after watching a 2 hour movie, the PVR backend has since gone back to sleep and I won't be able to access it (since the PVR backend is being woken up when Kodi starts, as opposed to when Live TV is actually entered).
I even tried using the Advanced Wake On LAN plugin for Kodi which allows one to wake a computer only when launching something specific within Kodi. It's an elegant solution when you want to wake up a backend PC that hosts all of your movies, ONLY when you enter the Movies hub within Kodi (personally I'd love to see this sort of functionality native to Kodi). Unfortunately this doesn't work so well for Live TV because Kodi insists on checking the PVR backend when it first starts, and not when you enter the Live TV hub. Kodi will attempt to connect to the PVR backend when starting up and signal an error that it couldn't be contacted. If memory serves, it'll continually do so which makes it painfully obvious that it expects the PVR backend to be always on. When I enter Live TV, Advanced Wake On LAN does its part and wakes up the PVR backend, but Kodi has already given up communicating with the PVR backend. I need to go into settings and essentially clear the EPG so it forces an update with the backend. Far from an elegant solution.
It certainly seems more logical for Kodi to only communicate with the PVR backend when Live TV is actually used, which would at least allow using Advanced Wake On LAN in the way I mentioned above. Ideally Kodi would have the facility to send a WOL packet to the backend upon entering Live TV and wait an optional amount of time before downloading the latest EPG/PVR data. And given that Kodi will have EPG from a prior download, it's not as though it couldn't show the channel lineup for the short duration spent waiting for the PC to wakeup. My observations are with using Gotham, so it's possible some of this has changed in Helix. I'd love to know what the developers think of this, and if any plans to implement a slightly improved communication mechanism with the PVR backend is in place. Thanks.
