[ozooha]

I wanted to install TVheadend on my Archlinux based PC using my HDHR Prime.
Looked here for the installation instructions (thread): http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=152630
In that thread there was a link to dvbhdhomerun at sourceforge - https://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/dvbhdh.../ticket/12
So I have the following questions:
1) Should I be installing this version of dvbhdhomerun (link above)?
I ask because the current AUR at https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/dvbhdhomerun-git/
for the dvbhdhomerun installation says (i.e. the first comment) that the current TVheadend version supports HDHR Prime out of the box.
2) Also does this current TVheadend support the encrypted channels for HDHR Prime?

Can anyone inform me about my questions and if possible direct me to an updated version of the installation instructions?
Thanks for your time and attention.
OZooHA

[bry]

1. I dont have an answer
   
2. only ootb for encypted hdhr content is WMC and soon-ish the official hdhr android tv app
   

[rpcameron]

The dvbhdhomerun drivers are unnecessary, as Tvheadend includes SiliconDust's libhdhomerun. However, the Prime is not supported, because CableCARD tuning uses virtual channels mapped through the CableCARD, and not frequency channels and programs as other methods use.

Therefore, the only way presently to really use the Prime with Tvheadend is to create an M3U playlist and add the Prime as an IPTV network. If you are using a current(/4.1 beta) build of Tvheadend, you do this with the IPTV Automatic Netowrk. When you create your network, give it a name, tell it the max number of streams is 3, and for the URL point it to a saved M3U you created. The M3U should be formatted as:

Code:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,[Name_of_first_channel]
http://[ip_address_of_prime]:5004/auto/v[cable_channel_number]
#EXTINF:-1,[Name_of_second_channel]
http://[ip_address_of_prime]:5004/auto/v[cable_channel_number2]

The first line needs to be "#EXTM3U", and each channel is defined by 2 lines. The first is "#EXTINF:-1," followed by whatever you want to name your channel. When you add the playlist, this is the name given to the Mux, when the Mux is scanned, this is the name given to the Service, and when you map Services, this is the name assigned to a Channel.

The second mandatory line is the URL of the stream on your Prime. Each of those lines should be identical, except for the number at the end of the line which relates to the cable channel you're turning.

[rpcameron]

Encrypted channels are supported, as they are decrypted by the CableCARD on the Prime.

CCI Copy-once and copy-never channels are NOT supported. Many people refer to "encrypted" when talking about protected content, but they are different. Tvheadend cannot use DRM protected content, only WMC on Windows can do that.

[ozooha]

First of all thanks to rpcameron and bry for the promptness and a ton of details.
However i have a few followup questions.
1)

The second mandatory line is the URL of the stream on your Prime. Each of those lines should be identical, except for the number at the end of the line which relates to the cable channel you're turning.

In the quote above the channel numbers should be the same number displayed like the one on the HDHR WebGUI i.e. say 712 or 702 OR
should this be extracted from somewhere else?

2) Also does this M3U method support :
-xmltv based EPG (any instructions on how TVheadend relates to EPG) and
-recordings?

3) Encrypted here is what I meant by using the cable card to access the channels. My current MythTV setup can access these channels through the cable card.
So if MythTV can then so can TVheadend?

4) If you have used MythTV - how does it stack up against TVheadend in terms of signal quality and ease of use.

Again thank you all for your efforts.
OZooHA

[rpcameron]

First of all thanks to rpcameron and bry for the promptness and a ton of details.
However i have a few followup questions.
1)

The second mandatory line is the URL of the stream on your Prime. Each of those lines should be identical, except for the number at the end of the line which relates to the cable channel you're turning.

In the quote above the channel numbers should be the same number displayed like the one on the HDHR WebGUI i.e. say 712 or 702 OR
should this be extracted from somewhere else?

2) Also does this M3U method support :
-xmltv based EPG (any instructions on how TVheadend relates to EPG) and
-recordings?

3) Encrypted here is what I meant by using the cable card to access the channels. My current MythTV setup can access these channels through the cable card.
So if MythTV can then so can TVheadend?

4) If you have used MythTV - how does it stack up against TVheadend in terms of signal quality and ease of use.

Again thank you all for your efforts.
OZooHA

1. Channel Numbers – These are the channel numbers your cable provider uses. They can be found from the Prime's web interface at: http://[prime_ip_address]/lineup.html. Incidentally, the "watch"/"play"/or whatever the link is called to start a stream from that page is the same URL you use to craft your M3U.
   
2. EPG – You must provide the EPG data separately, same as with MythTV. You can provide your own XMLTV file and pipe that into Tvheadend via a socket or you can use a grabber for a Schedules Direct account. There is tv_grab_na_dd, which uses Schedules Direct's older DataDirect API, which is the same format/interface that MythTV uses for Schedules Direct by default, or there is tv_grab_sd_json, which uses the newer JSON API for Schedules Direct's information.
   
   Tvheadend abstracts EPG data from channels, so you have two types of connections:
   • Network -> Mux -> Service -> Channel
     
   • EPG Grabber -> EPG Channel -> Channel
   Then you connect the two "Channels" together.
   
   As far as for "recordings", that's not related. The M3U is merely a way of telling Tvheadend how to tune the channels. Live streaming, timeshifting and recording are all supported if properly set up in Tvheadend. Think of the M3U as the "Capture Card" you would set up in MythTV.
   
3. "Enrypted" – Yes, if MythTV can access the channels, so can Tvheadend.
   
4. MythTV – Eh, it's tough to compare the two. It's a bit more of an involved setup getting Tvheadend initially setup, but I find it much more flexible than MythTV. Tvheadend is also much more lightweight, and does not require X and Qt5 and a whole mess of other libraries like MythTV. MythTV however has built in commercial flagging, whereas this has to be separately in Tvheadend. (Although you can easily set up a post-record script to flag commercials for Tvheadend.)
   
   Quality-wise, they're really about the same, but that's to be expected because they're just recording the same stream from the same device. The only place you might experience a difference is with some additional buffering or continuity errors in the stream, but that is because Tvheadend must use TCP to receive the streams, which will re-send data packets, versus MythTV using UDP to receive packets from the Prime which does not re-send lost packets.

[ozooha]

Excellent!!! Thank you.

First of all thanks to rpcameron and bry for the promptness and a ton of details.
However i have a few followup questions.
1)

The second mandatory line is the URL of the stream on your Prime. Each of those lines should be identical, except for the number at the end of the line which relates to the cable channel you're turning.

In the quote above the channel numbers should be the same number displayed like the one on the HDHR WebGUI i.e. say 712 or 702 OR
should this be extracted from somewhere else?

2) Also does this M3U method support :
-xmltv based EPG (any instructions on how TVheadend relates to EPG) and
-recordings?

3) Encrypted here is what I meant by using the cable card to access the channels. My current MythTV setup can access these channels through the cable card.
So if MythTV can then so can TVheadend?

4) If you have used MythTV - how does it stack up against TVheadend in terms of signal quality and ease of use.

Again thank you all for your efforts.
OZooHA

1. Channel Numbers – These are the channel numbers your cable provider uses. They can be found from the Prime's web interface at: http://[prime_ip_address]/lineup.html. Incidentally, the "watch"/"play"/or whatever the link is called to start a stream from that page is the same URL you use to craft your M3U.
   
2. EPG – You must provide the EPG data separately, same as with MythTV. You can provide your own XMLTV file and pipe that into Tvheadend via a socket or you can use a grabber for a Schedules Direct account. There is tv_grab_na_dd, which uses Schedules Direct's older DataDirect API, which is the same format/interface that MythTV uses for Schedules Direct by default, or there is tv_grab_sd_json, which uses the newer JSON API for Schedules Direct's information.
   
   Tvheadend abstracts EPG data from channels, so you have two types of connections:
   • Network -> Mux -> Service -> Channel
     
   • EPG Grabber -> EPG Channel -> Channel
   Then you connect the two "Channels" together.
   
   As far as for "recordings", that's not related. The M3U is merely a way of telling Tvheadend how to tune the channels. Live streaming, timeshifting and recording are all supported if properly set up in Tvheadend. Think of the M3U as the "Capture Card" you would set up in MythTV.
   
3. "Enrypted" – Yes, if MythTV can access the channels, so can Tvheadend.
   
4. MythTV – Eh, it's tough to compare the two. It's a bit more of an involved setup getting Tvheadend initially setup, but I find it much more flexible than MythTV. Tvheadend is also much more lightweight, and does not require X and Qt5 and a whole mess of other libraries like MythTV. MythTV however has built in commercial flagging, whereas this has to be separately in Tvheadend. (Although you can easily set up a post-record script to flag commercials for Tvheadend.)
   
   Quality-wise, they're really about the same, but that's to be expected because they're just recording the same stream from the same device. The only place you might experience a difference is with some additional buffering or continuity errors in the stream, but that is because Tvheadend must use TCP to receive the streams, which will re-send data packets, versus MythTV using UDP to receive packets from the Prime which does not re-send lost packets.