ADBTuner: A "channel tuning" application for networked Google TV / Android TV devices

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#685

The NBC App for Android has all the NBCU channels, such as MSNBC, USA, E! Network, etc. It supports deep links and is reliable for the tuner. However, the app sometimes has a popup banner that overlays on the video and can obscure recordings.

This banner has been discussed here (source of above picture): ADBTuner: A "channel tuning" application for networked Google TV / Android TV devices - #295 by krazijoe?

My use case was to record MSNBC occasionally. So I did not have to look out for the banner, started using the NBC News APP. So far, I have not seen the banner.

#686

I'm still catching up on understanding. Can you use the ah4c setup and still use adb? I thought I read over there that adb is included and can be enabled. If I go this route, would like to use Magewell card (ah4c support) but also have adbTuner. Is that possible? Or maybe it's not necessary?

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#687

Both the ADBTuner project and ah4c rely on the Android Debug Bridge (adb) to control streaming devices connected to an HDMI encoder to create virtual tuners.

If the the streaming service you want to use supports deep links use this project. If it doesn't (like DTVStream and Prime Premium Channels), use ah4c. You can run both projects on the same host computer, but each needs exclusive access to a set of streaming devices and encoder ports.

#688

The streamer device needs to be Android though and not an Apple TV? What about Shield TV?

#689

Shield TV is Android.

#690

Has anyone discovered whether the AndroidTV Pluto app has deep links and will work with ADBTuner. I know that there are easier ways of getting Pluto into ChannelsDVR (such as Pluto for Channels and the NonDocker Pluto for Channels). And I do use the NonDocker source. But those means cannot provide the subtitles/CC that most Pluto channels have because the ChannelsDVR cannot bring in the kind of subtitle stream (the Devs did try at one time but that did not work out too well). The ADBTuner method may be able to burn these subtitles in if there are deep links. My attempts with tv.pluto.android and urls pasted from the NonDocker .m3u have not been successful. And the HDMI capture project can't get rid of an OSD overlay.

EDIT ADDITION: I have managed to get it to at least start the pluto app with package tv.pluto.android/.leanback.controller.LeanbackSplashOnboardActivity. But tuning is still not possible. So it tunes to the last view channel and full screens 25 seconds later which is something. And ADBTuner does also correct an OSD overlay that I haven't been able to remove with the HDMI capture project.

#691

I've had incredible success with adbtuner and youtube tv. I'm still on the fence with leaving xfinity and my hdhhomerun primes but this is easily the first solution I have found that even comes close to replicating what I have currently.

Does anyone have a combined json with all the youtube tv channels and sunday ticket together?

#692

I would not give up my Primes ... Youtube can easily change the links etc ... I am Glad I kept my Primes after losing some TVE Channels. I use ADBtuner and XFINITY Stream to Capture my DRM Channels HBO Showtime etc ...

If you are planning to leave XFINITY all together then I can see you selling your Primes.

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#693

Here is one.

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#694

You might be overthinking it, as some quick testing with my setup and I was using deep links in the form:

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/5b4e92e4694c027be6ecece1

I got the URLs by channel from the Pluto TV webpage, and had subtitles turned on already in the Pluto app. I use FireSticks, so I had the usual one time prompt regarding whether I wanted to open the link in the Pluto TV app, or using the Silk browser. The ID was definitely channel specific, as the show was joined in progress, and the ID didn't change when the program changed.

#695

Yeah I probably was over thinking the tuning part, because now using the website URLs I am able to switch channels. However, I am still confronted with an always present OSD element as you can see in the image below. Anyone have any ideas on how to get it to go away. I have tried firing off various ADB keycodes with no success.

RelentlessOSD
RelentlessOSD1280×1098 200 KB

#696

I'm not seeing that on my setup. Maybe try rebooting your streaming stick? It doesn't make sense to me that they would have something like that pinned to the screen -- with no timeout.

#697

Thanks, is there an eastern time zone one?

#698

Actually I get it on multiple streaming sticks. For example I’m watching two ADBTuner channels right now each on a different channel on a different device. One device is a Onn and the other is a Chromecast. One is being displayed on my PC and the other on my Apple TV. Both with the OSD bubble. Very odd.

#699

There are a number of threads that talk about how to get the StationID from getting it directly from zap2it.com to using scripts folks have built to extract it from ChannelsDVR. Here are a couple of threads that talk about how to get the StationIDs.

3 Likes
#700

for station IDs - go to this URL on your Channels DVR Server

http://192.168.2.121:8089/dvr/guide/stations

or maybe it's this one:

http://192.168.2.121:8089/devices/TVE-YouTubeTV

(obviously use your proper IP address)

1 Like
#701

If the CPU I was using struggled with HDMI for channels does it likely mean a similar experience with either of the options you mentioned?

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#702

Do you mean Chrome Capture for Channels? AndroidHDMI-for-Channels (now known as ah4c) puts no load on the proxy host it's running on.

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#703

Have you tried the Live Channels app? It pulls in all of the Pluto channels without all of their OSD nonsense. It’s a good app, so of course they deprecated it, but it might work for your purposes

#704

Is there a way to get the locals from YTTV using adbtuner. How are the deep links found for channels?