Tvheadend set up
#1
Hi,

New to the forum and been doing a bit of reading about tvheadend,not new to certain areas but new to this side of things.I read the setup guide posted on here and has explained alot to be honest but I'm looking,for a little more advice.

So from my understanding laptop/pc with dvb tuner to sat,Tvheadend on dedicated server and I can pull in channels to the server..thats the basic start I'm understanding.
If anybody can either DM me with some questions I  have would be great.

Ta
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#2
We can try and help out here in relation to using TvH with Kodi, but for more specific questions on TvH you may be better on their forum (here).

Basically the set-up is how you describe it. the tuner connects to the TvH server, which acts as a man-in-the-middle. On Kodi you then install the TvH PVR (wiki) from our official repo (depending on your device/OS it may already be installed but disabled - in such cases you just need to enable it). That too will then talk to the server, and it should enable you to get channels from your tuner into Kodi and view them there.

There is a wizard in the TvH server which helps you set it up, but it can be a bit fiddly sometimes depending on what you want and where you are.

If you have specific questions we can try and assist, or their forums, wiki and the other pages on their site can give you a lot of helpful info too.
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#3
Thanks for the reply Darren,that answers pretty much what I was asking to start.
ill take a look at the links provided,thanks.
As I said I'm not new so got good  knowledge is most areas,just never really looked at tvheadend and pulling directs in this way..sure a little more research and ill find what I'm after.

Again,thanks
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#4
No problem.

Generally it runs quite well, assuming the server and your tuners talk properly to one another (if not, that's one for the TvH forums).

On the Kodi end, once you have the PVR (wiki) addon installed, enabled and everything set up, you should see TV and Radio menu items appear. They will allow you to access the channels from your tuner, and also give an EPG and allow recording to be done (if it's set up on the server).

Personally I've got a TvH server set up on my Synology NAS box with recording saving onto it and fed by two HDHomeRun devices (a quatro and a connect). Works fine for me, at least when the TV aerial isn't being screwed up by atmospherics and weather.
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#5
(2021-01-27, 14:41)ajd2410 Wrote: So from my understanding laptop/pc with dvb tuner to sat,Tvheadend on dedicated server and I can pull in channels to the server..thats the basic start I'm understanding.

If you are describing the following :

PC/Laptop with USB or PCI/PCI-E DVB tuner running TV Headend (this handles tuning, recording, EPG etc.) This runs a web interface for configuration and allows you to schedule advanced recording schedules from the web UI.

Kodi client with the TV Headend PVR add-on - which handles viewing Live and Recorded TV (and allows browsing of the EPG and basic recording scheduling) running on another platform.

Then yes - that will work.

You can also run TV Headend and Kodi on the same device - but most of us recommend not to do this. You can also run TV Headend on some NAS and other Server platforms (unRAID). For a simple single-tuner Freeview HD set-up in the UK a Pi 3B+ or Pi 4B with a Pi TV Hat (which were available for around a fiver on Amazon at one point) is a neat solution for a standalone solution.

You can also get DVB tuners that connect to TV Headend over an IP connection rather than USB/PCI/PCI-E - such as the HD HomeRun Dual and Quad DVB-T/T2 tuners and SAT>IP satellite tuners (available in dual, quad, octo and more tuner variants) My current set-up is based around these. (The IP-connected tuners work particularly well with NAS/Server based TV Headend setups, or a small TV Headend install running on a Pi 4B, as you don't have to worry about the server/NAS/Pi having driver support for specific DVB tuners)
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#6
(2021-01-29, 13:02)noggin Wrote:
(2021-01-27, 14:41)ajd2410 Wrote: So from my understanding laptop/pc with dvb tuner to sat,Tvheadend on dedicated server and I can pull in channels to the server..thats the basic start I'm understanding.

If you are describing the following :

PC/Laptop with USB or PCI/PCI-E DVB tuner running TV Headend (this handles tuning, recording, EPG etc.) This runs a web interface for configuration and allows you to schedule advanced recording schedules from the web UI.

Kodi client with the TV Headend PVR add-on - which handles viewing Live and Recorded TV (and allows browsing of the EPG and basic recording scheduling) running on another platform.

Then yes - that will work.

You can also run TV Headend and Kodi on the same device - but most of us recommend not to do this. You can also run TV Headend on some NAS and other Server platforms (unRAID). For a simple single-tuner Freeview HD set-up in the UK a Pi 3B+ or Pi 4B with a Pi TV Hat (which were available for around a fiver on Amazon at one point) is a neat solution for a standalone solution.

You can also get DVB tuners that connect to TV Headend over an IP connection rather than USB/PCI/PCI-E - such as the HD HomeRun Dual and Quad DVB-T/T2 tuners and SAT>IP satellite tuners (available in dual, quad, octo and more tuner variants) My current set-up is based around these. (The IP-connected tuners work particularly well with NAS/Server based TV Headend setups, or a small TV Headend install running on a Pi 4B, as you don't have to worry about the server/NAS/Pi having driver support for specific DVB tuners)

Thank for the more in depth reply mate.

so ive got the basics running with a few minor things i cant seem to work out.
At the moment ive got it running over home network,raspberry pi at router and viewing over ip on kodi on tv..so all good..except a couple of channels which are pixelated and wont play,but not a worry at the moment..On a single tuner so limited.Also not sure why bu the epg doesnt seem to work??.There is about 3 channels that pull epg

Im interested more in being able to watch outside of the home...ie: when im away as we do have property abroad.
I understand there are other options but id rather use my own set up.
Also is there a way i can set to use on anything other than kodi..apps such as tivimate.

Any advice or guide for viewing outside of home network would be great

Thanks
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#7
(2021-02-01, 15:10)ajd2410 Wrote: Any advice or guide for viewing outside of home network would be great

Presumably if you have a static IP address you can open the relevant ports on your router.

I'm not convinced this is recommended!

Plex has TV support, and I believe this would be accessible from anywhere.
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#8
Not sure why it isn't recommended.  I believe a lot of people do this.  If you want to use Plex to watch your free TV off antenna you have to pay them a subscription fee.
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#9
Opening ports generally is not recommended, at least without due care and attention (and knowing what you're doing) as you risk opening your network up to security issues and unwanted access from the internet.

Plex does offer this, but needs a Plex Pass (the subscription mentioned above).

Rather than opening ports, the more secure way of doing things is to set up a VPN server on your local network and connect via that. Many routers and NAS boxes have them built in these days, but they are not something we directly support here.
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#10
(2021-02-02, 06:37)bluzee Wrote: Not sure why it isn't recommended.  I believe a lot of people do this.  If you want to use Plex to watch your free TV off antenna you have to pay them a subscription fee.

I've seen a couple of TV Headend installs hacked via this route (you can install scripts to be run if you get admin privileges).  

I use a DIY VPN solution to avoid this (used to use OpenVPN, more recently I use Wireguard) - and it has worked well for me abroad if my location has had suitable broadband (I don't transcode but stream at broadcast data rates)
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#11
(2021-02-01, 15:10)ajd2410 Wrote:
(2021-01-29, 13:02)noggin Wrote:
(2021-01-27, 14:41)ajd2410 Wrote: So from my understanding laptop/pc with dvb tuner to sat,Tvheadend on dedicated server and I can pull in channels to the server..thats the basic start I'm understanding.

If you are describing the following :

PC/Laptop with USB or PCI/PCI-E DVB tuner running TV Headend (this handles tuning, recording, EPG etc.) This runs a web interface for configuration and allows you to schedule advanced recording schedules from the web UI.

Kodi client with the TV Headend PVR add-on - which handles viewing Live and Recorded TV (and allows browsing of the EPG and basic recording scheduling) running on another platform.

Then yes - that will work.

You can also run TV Headend and Kodi on the same device - but most of us recommend not to do this. You can also run TV Headend on some NAS and other Server platforms (unRAID). For a simple single-tuner Freeview HD set-up in the UK a Pi 3B+ or Pi 4B with a Pi TV Hat (which were available for around a fiver on Amazon at one point) is a neat solution for a standalone solution.

You can also get DVB tuners that connect to TV Headend over an IP connection rather than USB/PCI/PCI-E - such as the HD HomeRun Dual and Quad DVB-T/T2 tuners and SAT>IP satellite tuners (available in dual, quad, octo and more tuner variants) My current set-up is based around these. (The IP-connected tuners work particularly well with NAS/Server based TV Headend setups, or a small TV Headend install running on a Pi 4B, as you don't have to worry about the server/NAS/Pi having driver support for specific DVB tuners)

Thank for the more in depth reply mate.

so ive got the basics running with a few minor things i cant seem to work out.
At the moment ive got it running over home network,raspberry pi at router and viewing over ip on kodi on tv..so all good..except a couple of channels which are pixelated and wont play,but not a worry at the moment..On a single tuner so limited.Also not sure why bu the epg doesnt seem to work??.There is about 3 channels that pull epg

Im interested more in being able to watch outside of the home...ie: when im away as we do have property abroad.
I understand there are other options but id rather use my own set up.
Also is there a way i can set to use on anything other than kodi..apps such as tivimate.

Any advice or guide for viewing outside of home network would be great

Thanks

What region are you in?  What DVB source are you watching?  Different platforms have different EPG standards that need to be enabled in the EPG config panel.
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