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Support generic encoders and move config to file
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‎README.md‎

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# prime_encoder
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prime_encoder is network encoder for SageTV which tunes and streams video from an HDHomerunPrime.
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prime_encoder is network encoder for SageTV
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prime_encoder is currently considered beta. There are some things that need to be cleaned up in
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the code, but it has been my primary method of recording shows for the last few months with no problems.
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prime_encoder has been my primary method of recording shows for about five years and it has been
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very reliable.
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## Background
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When the Silicon Dust HDHomerunPrime was released using a Cable Card suddenly seemed like a possible
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option with SageTV since some cable providers have channels marked as "copy freely". However, getting
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a working Linux driver for the Prime seemed to be challenging.
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When the Silicon Dust HDHomerun Prime was released using a Cable Card with SageTV suddenly seemed like
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a possibility since some cable providers have channels marked as "copy freely". However, there was no
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direct suport in SageTV for the Prime and no Linux drivers for it (as it is a network attached device).
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I realized that the hdhomerun_config setup script allowed you to stream content from the Prime directly
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(other tools like ffmpeg can do this as well) - I just needed a way to get SageTV to tune the Prime.
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Luckily, SageTV support the concept of "network encoders" - other devices on the local network that act
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as tuner that SageTV can direct.
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The Silicon Dust hdhomerun_config setup script allowed you to stream content from the Prime directly
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(other tools like ffmpeg can do this as well) so I just needed a way to get SageTV to tune the Prime and
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start steaming. Luckily, SageTV supports the concept of "network encoders" - other devices on the local
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network that act as tuner/recorders that SageTV can direct.
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So I created prime_encoder to do this middle-man task.
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I created prime_encoder to do this middle-man task.
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prime_encoder script doesn't have to run on the same box as the master SageTV server. As long as you
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have it running somewhere on your network and have the recording directories set up correctly you
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should be fine. I happen to run the script on the same box as the SageTV server because the overhead of
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running it is fairly small and doesn't seem to impact the main SageTV performance.
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Originally I was using prime_encoder for recording from an HDHomerun Prime device, but it has
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been refactored to be more generic so that any command that generates video can be used.
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The SageTV server will automatically discover network encoders. It sends commands to the network encoders
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to record video and tells the encoders where to dump the video file, so the only config option that needs to
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be changed on the SageTV server is to enable discovery.
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The full set of network encoding commands is not supported. Primarily this means you can't "preview"
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channels from the Setup Video Sources screen.
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Be sure to install a startup script so that prime_encoder is started at boot time. A basic example Ubuntu script (<tt>prime_encoder.init</tt>) is included.
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## Install
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Or, you can add this to the bottom of /opt/sagetv/server/sagesettings, and the encoder will start when
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### Notes
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prime_encoder script doesn't have to run on the same host as the master SageTV server. You only need to
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have it running somewhere on your network and have the recording directories set up correctly using SMB or
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another sharing protocol.
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I run the script on the same host as the SageTV server because the overhead of running it is fairly small
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and doesn't seem to impact SageTV performance. This has the added advantage of not having to deal with
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network shares or mapping the recording paths across hosts.
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When it starts, the SageTV server will automatically discover network encoders. It sends commands to
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the network encoders to record video and tells the encoders where to store the video file. The only config
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option that needs to be changed on the SageTV server is to enable network encoder discovery.
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### Running at startup
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prime_encoder needs to start before the main SageTV process starts.
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The easiest way to do this is to use the basic example Ubuntu script (<tt>prime_encoder.init</tt>).
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Alternatively, you can add this to the bottom of /opt/sagetv/server/sagesettings, and the encoder will start when
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the SageTV process starts:
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if [[ ! $(ps aux |grep "[p]rime_encoder: Master") ]]; then /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/prime_encoder; fi
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Note that not all commands are currently supported. Primarily this means you can't yet "preview" channels
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from the Setup Video Sources screen.
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## Instructions
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### Assumptions
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These directions assume a few things:
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IPC::Run
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Proc::Daemon
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YAML::Tiny
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(these are libipc-run-perl and libproc-daemon-perl on Ubuntu)
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(these are libipc-run-perl, libproc-daemon-perl, and libyaml-tiny-perl on Ubuntu)
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* You have a non-root user to run prime_encoder as. I use the user name 'sagetv' in the instructions below.
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* The sagetv user can write to the recording directories that the SageTV server uses. This might require
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* If your Linux box is running a host firewall, you'll need to open holes for UDP port 8271 and TCP
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ports you define later for each encoder.
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## Install steps
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## Installation
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* Create a place for the script:
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* Create a place for everything:
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mkdir -p /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun
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chown sagetv:sagetv /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun
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chown sagetv:sagetv /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/prime_encoder
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chmod +x /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/prime_encoder
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* Get the Linux <tt>hdhomerun_config</tt> from SD and place it in <tt>/opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/</tt>
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* Copy the <tt>config.example.yml</tt> to <tt>config.yml</tt>
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* Get the Linux <tt>hdhomerun_config</tt> from Silicon Dust and place it in <tt>/opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/</tt>
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and make sure it's executable:
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chown sagetv:sagetv /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_config
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chmod +x /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_config
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* Make sure your HDHR Prime is already configured and enabled for CC reception. Use the SD provided tools
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to test that you can view video before continuing.
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* Make sure your HDHR Prime is already configured and enabled for CC reception. Use the Silicon Dust
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provided tools to test that you can view video before continuing.
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* Mount the recording directory from the SageTV server somewhere on your Linux box. This isn't needed if
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prime_encoder is running on the same server as the SageTV server.
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* Make sure the sagetv user can write to this directory
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* Run:
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* Discover the ID for the Prime device:
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hdhomerun_config discover
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* Update the encoders section of the prime_encoder script to have the id(s) of your primes. Each prime
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* Update the encoders section of <tt>config.yml</tt> to have the id(s) of your primes. Each prime
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should have 3 tuners (0,1,2) (although you don't have to enable or even list them all if you don't want
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to). Make sure each encoder has a unique port number and name.
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* Update the <tt>prime_encoder</tt> script and change the value of <tt>$ffmpeg_cmd</tt> to point to a
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version of ffmpeg that is 1.2.1 or higher. The version shipped with SageTV seems to be older than this,
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so get a more recent version. (I have seen crashes on versions earlier than 1.2.1.)
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* If your SageTV server is running on another host (either Windows or Linux) you'll have to update
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the <tt>remap_file_path</tt> function to make the path from the master server map to the path that the
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* Edit the <tt>config.yml</tt> to match how to tune your devices. See the examples in the file.
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* (Optional) Edit the <tt>config.yml</tt> so that the <tt>cmd_postprocess</tt> points to a version of ffmpeg
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that is 1.2.1 or higher. The version shipped with SageTV seems to be older than this,
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but a more recent version as I have seen crashes on versions earlier than 1.2.1.
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You do not need to specify a value for <tt>cmd_postprocess</tt> but I have found that it helps
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fix timing issues in the video stream that can occur when providers switch between shows and commericals.
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* (Optional) If your SageTV server is running on another host (either Windows or Linux) you'll have to update
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the <tt>remap_file_path</tt> function in <tt>prime_encoder</tt> to make the path from the master server map to the path that the
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prime_encoder process would see. You may need to run the prime_encoder once and try tuning to see
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what the master server is expecting.
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* Run <tt>prime_encoder</tt>:
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cd /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun
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* Stop your SageTV server.
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* Make a backup of your Wiz.bin and any other file you think are important (I usually back up the entire
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sage directory).
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* *Make a backup of your Wiz.bin and any other files you think are important (I usually back up the entire
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sage directory).*
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* Edit the Sage.properties file and make sure this line is there and that it's set to true:
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Fri Aug 9 22:44:40 2013 Discovery service announced 'HDHomerun Prime Tuner 2'
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* In SageTV, add a new encoder. The ones you defined in the encoders config should be listed. Proceed
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as normal. Note: Your SageTV server may have auto-detected the Prime on the network as a two-tuner
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* In SageTV, add a new encoder. The ones you defined in <tt>config.yml</tt> should be listed. Proceed
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as normal. Note: Your SageTV server may have auto-detected the Prime on the network as a two or three tuner
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HDHomerun (non-Prime). Do NOT select the HDHomerun devices. Select the names you gave your devices
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in the prime_encoder config section, which will appear such as:
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Fri Aug 9 22:06:52 2013 Tuner 'HDHomerun Prime Tuner 1': Tuning channel 506 on device 131760B8 tuner 1 filename: /var/media/tv/TheBigBangTheory-TheInfestationHypothesis-15413766-0.mpg
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* If you need to stop prime_encoder, just <tt>ps -ef | grep prime_encoder</tt>. You should see 2 processes plus
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* If you need to stop prime_encoder and you installed the <tt>prime_encoder.init</tt>, you can
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use <tt>service prime_encoder stop</tt>
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* If you need to stop prime_encoder and you didn't use <tt>prime_encoder.init</tt>, you can do
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something like: <tt>ps -ef | grep prime_encoder</tt>. You should see 2 processes plus
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one for each encoder you defined. Killing the "Main" process will stop the others.
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‎config.example.yml‎

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---
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#
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# Where to log messages (if we are logging)
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#
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logging:
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dir: /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun
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file: prime_encoder.log
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#
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# Encoders
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#
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# name - a name of the device (this will appear in the SageTV UI)
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# id - the ID for this device, used to identify the specific device
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# enabled - whether to use this encoder or not - 0 or 1
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# cmd_tune - command to tune the channel (optional)
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# cmd_encode - command to start the video capture
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# cmd_postprocess - command to pipe video data through (optional)
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#
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# Command strings can specify '%%CHANNEL%%' and/or '%%FILE_PATH%%' which will be replaced
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# with the appropriate value.
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#
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encoders:
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#
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# Example for an HDHomerun Prime
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# Change "12345678" to the ID of your Prime device
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#
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-
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name: "HDHomerun Prime Tuner 0"
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port: 7000
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enabled: 1
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cmd_tune: /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_config 12345678 set /tuner0/vchannel %%CHANNEL%%
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cmd_encode: /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_config 12345678 save 0 -
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cmd_postprocess: /usr/bin/ffmpeg -y -v quiet -i - -f dvd -vcodec copy -acodec copy %%FILE_PATH%%
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-
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name: "HDHomerun Prime Tuner 1"
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port: 7001
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enabled: 1
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cmd_tune: /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_config 12345678 set /tuner1/vchannel %%CHANNEL%%
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cmd_encode: /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_config 12345678 save 1 -
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cmd_postprocess: /usr/bin/ffmpeg -y -v quiet -i - -f dvd -vcodec copy -acodec copy %%FILE_PATH%%
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-
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name: "HDHomerun Prime Tuner 2"
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port: 7002
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enabled: 1
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cmd_tune: /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_config 12345678 set /tuner2/vchannel %%CHANNEL%%
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cmd_encode: /opt/sagetv/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_config 12345678 save 2 -
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cmd_postprocess: /usr/bin/ffmpeg -y -v quiet -i - -f dvd -vcodec copy -acodec copy %%FILE_PATH%%
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#
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# Example for a device attached to an HDPVR2
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# Change "E505-00-12345678" to the ID of your HDPVR2 device
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# Replace the cmd_tune command with whatever you use to tune your STB
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#
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-
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name: "HDPVR2 STB-1"
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port: 7003
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enabled: 1
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cmd_tune: /opt/sagetv/server/gentuner TUNE STB-1 %%CHANNEL%%
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cmd_encode: /opt/Hauppauge/bin/hauppauge2 -s E505-00-12345678 -i 3 -a 3 -d 2 -o /dev/stdout
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cmd_postprocess: /usr/bin/ffmpeg -y -v quiet -i - -f dvd -vcodec copy -acodec copy %%FILE_PATH%%

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