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Windows => Television => Topic started by: Dai Guinness on February 06, 2018, 11:31:40 am

Title: Live TV
Post by: Dai Guinness on February 06, 2018, 11:31:40 am
Hi, I have JRiver set up on an HTPC which is getting OTA signal from an HDHomerun Connect - this is working great.  I also have a laptop (both machines are running Windows 10 64 bit btw) which I'm using as a client (I think???), the media library is visible and useable, both audio and video, but the TV doesn't work.  Under the TV menu I have a box with "Double-click here to run television set up"  Doing this starts the TV set up menu and I can select the country UK and enter my post code and click next. I then select Antenna (over the air) and the next page gives you the option Digital (DVB-T) or Analog antenna, I'm selecting Digital here and I'm guessing this is where I should see the networked HDHomerun but it's not there and I can't see an option to scan for it.

Am I doing something wrong please.  In case it makes a difference, all the hardware is hard wired using cat 6 cable.

Thanks in advance

Dave
Title: Re: Live TV
Post by: Dai Guinness on February 06, 2018, 11:33:21 am
Sorry, should've said I'm using MC23
Title: Re: Live TV
Post by: tzr916 on February 06, 2018, 01:02:21 pm
On Clients do not run Tv Setup. If you have, delete/reset everything in there. The only setting needed on a Client should be disabling all the discovered tuners in MANAGE DEVICES under TV. This will force the client to get tuners and guide info from the Server.

If it doesn't work after that, tell us what exactly happens when you try to use tv? Can you see the guide? Can you select a program in the guide? Then what happens? Error message?
Title: Re: Live TV
Post by: Yaobing on February 06, 2018, 01:06:56 pm
As tzr916 said, you do not need to set up TV on a client.  Once set up on the server, and the client connects to it, you should be able to watch live TV using client server setup.

You can do it on the client if you choose to.  For HDHomerun, you need to make sure you install SiliconDust's software/driver on the client.
Title: Re: Live TV
Post by: Dai Guinness on February 08, 2018, 04:47:02 pm
Hi Guys,

This is going to be a lengthy post but I need some help to get a few problems ironed out - I'll be as thorough as I can but I'm beginning to tie myself up in knots.  I think I need explaining how the library works and the relationship to servers/clients.  If I explain what I want to achieve first, then show you what I've got, if someone can then tell me where I'm going wrong I'd really be grateful.

I have an HTPC which I've labelled HTPCLivingroom with JRiver MC23 installed.  My plan is to keep all the data (music files, movies, recorded TV and pictures) on the 4TB in that machine and only there. I want to use this HTPC for my live TV and movie watching as it's attached to the main TV in the house.  I have a Seagate NAS drive which I intend to use for backing up the files.  For some reason this NAS drive is showing up as SCSS DLNA Server in J River.  I have a laptop Davelaptop with JRiver MC23 installed which I want to use to watch TV, set recordings to the data drive in the HTPC, play music and view pictures.  There are also Android phones and tablets, these are less important at the moment but the intention is to stream TV and movies to these too.  TV signal is coming from an HDHomerun Connect.

I've enabled the DLNA on the HTPC, obtained the Access Key and followed the instructions to enable sharing the library with the laptop.  JRiver seems to have automatically scanned the network to look for media files (I don't recall setting up any libraries).  This has resulted in (because my media files are poorly organized) triplication of some files as they currently live in main data file, back up on the NAS and on the laptop - I can work to organize this better.

The attached Snip 6 shows the "Now Playing" list for MC on the HTPC, it's picking up the HDHomerun and channels listing.  Snips 1 - 5 show a bit more detail about MC and the libraries on the laptop.  At the moment, when I try to use the Television on the laptop, it renders (think that's the right word) to the HTPC, but I can't get any TV servce on the laptop.

I've tried deleting some of the libraries but after the "are you sure you want to delete the dynamic library ****" the library reinstates itself after a few second.  I think some help in how to delete libraries and perhaps an explanation as to why I seem to have so many libraries showing would also be helpful.

Please, can someone help? I've got precious little hair left already but I feel like I'm going to start pulling even that out soon.

Thanks in advance.

Dave
Title: Re: Live TV
Post by: JimH on February 08, 2018, 05:09:06 pm
MC won't normally scan other machines on the network.  Maybe you have one or more mounted as a drive on the PC where you run MC.

You could clear your library and import again.  File > Library > Library Manager.  Before you do that, set up auto-import so that MC knows which drives you want it to scan.
Title: Re: Live TV
Post by: Yaobing on February 08, 2018, 05:44:45 pm
I hope I understand your questions correctly.  Here are some suggestions:

1.  You should just ignore "HDHomerun DMS 123..." on the Playing Now library list.  The device presents itself as a DLNA server, but we do not actually handle such device that way.  HDHomerun is handled under "Television".

2. To play live TV on the laptop,
    A. Make sure the laptop acts as a client to your HTPCLivingRoom (your Snip 3, 4, and 5 show it was connected correctly, as a client of HTPCLivingRoom).   
    B. Make sure you click "Player" under Playing Now, not "There".
    C. Click "Television".  The EPG shows up in the main window on the right.
    D. Choose a program from EPG and click "Watch".  Or double-click a channel to watch that channel.
Title: Re: Live TV
Post by: RoderickGI on February 08, 2018, 06:05:48 pm
Most NAS drives have a DLNA Server installed and running on them. That is why you see your NAS as SCSS DLNA as a Library under Playing Now. It is a DLNA Library. I see you have a PLEX DLNA Server running as well, or did. It looks like you turned that off. I didn't know that HDHomeRun tuners turned up there as a Library though. Except for the HDHomeRun MC calls them a Dynamic Library because the Libraries are actually separate from MC and run by the NAS and PLEX. MC must have found the DLNA Servers and as it is set to be a DLNA Renderer it is showing you those DLNA Servers and can play from them.

Anyway, if you turn off "Options > Media Network > Advanced > DLNA Renderer" then I think those DLNA Servers will disappear from the "Playing From" list. You may need to restart MC for them to drop off.

BTW, I know that MC Use DLNA for discovery of the HDHomeRun, but the change above shouldn't stop that from working. Just be aware. Television function will be under the "Television" item in the left navigation bar.

If you try to watch video on the laptop and it plays to the HTPC, that is because MC is acting as a remote control for the HTPC installation on MC, and that is because you have the target Zone set to "There". Just select "Player" under Playing Now on the laptop, then double-click a channel under Television to play, or select a channel and click the "Watch" button. You can also change and see what Zone is selected in the main menu under "Player > Zone". The active Zone is ticked. It will also be marked as "(current)" under "Playing Now > Overview".

EDIT: Yaobing beat me, but I'll post the above anyway.  8)
Title: Re: Live TV
Post by: Dai Guinness on February 09, 2018, 07:01:30 am
Thanks very much guys, great advice as always.  I've got my library configured the way I want on the HTPC, clearing the main library as JimH suggested and configuring the auto import worked.  I couldn't delete the other Plex and SSC NAS dynamic servers (they still reinstate themselves for some reason) but as they are not in the main library now it doesn't matter so I just "hid" them and this gives a more logical view in the now playing list.

The library is available all round the network now, TV works on the client machine as well.  Only thing left to check out now is the recording functionality - a good job for the weekend. 8)