CableCard refugees: What's next?

Playground Hardware
#22

I'm watching this thread closely as I like things to just work.

When Verizon FIOS started to drop my cable card support I did an evaluation of options. I had a rather premium and legacy and discontinued plan for FIOS. I did the following:
Made a spreadsheet up of what channels and we I watch and prioritized them.
Then I looked at different ways to receive them and the costs. My conclusion was that an antenna and streaming got me most of what we watch for much less per month. I use SLM to integrate our streaming into Channels and this is great having everything in one place. When installed the antenna I was amazed to see that there are 90 broadcast channels in NYC and that FIOS was only providing about a dozen of them. There are multiple movie channels broadcast in NYC providing many of the classic movies that we can also get via Fast Channels. I'm now paying $100 less per month for equal to better content. There are a few shows I'm missing and looking for reasonably priced ways to get them and that's my interest in the encoder projects.

#23

It's possible to add CC to any recording without permanently burning them in. Here's such a system: Synchronized Closed Captions for Channels

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#24

To complement your delving into encoder projects, I highly recommend suppose.tv if you haven't used it before. You can easily find the cheapest OTT bundle for whatever last few shows/channels you need.

#25

Thank you,

The pricing looks exactly like what I just ran away from. I want 1 show from each of 4 different streaming services. This is the Cable TV game, make you pay for things you do not use. When they stop bundling and hitting me with there carriage fees I'll play.

Morris

#26

Awesome! Now it just needs to be fully integrated into Channels DVR to remove another level of complexity for the end user.

#27

It's fully integrated in the sense that it monitors the DVR and automatically adds captions to whatever recordings that you designate by rule or individually. It also cleans up after itself. Its a Docker image so it's pretty straightforward to install. The tricky part is getting the GPU support. If you install it in Linux or Windows and you have an NVIDIA GPU, it will just work (it says here ;-). Otherwise, you will need to work out the GPU integration. It will work without a GPU, but it's at least 5 times faster with it.

#28

Gotcha. Thanks, Jay!

What you just explained with the complications and all is the perfect reason to just roll it into an update for Channels DVR. The user barely even knows that it happens, except for a checkbox somewhere in the Channels DVR server software, and it just works!

2 Likes
#29

while I agree that'd be great, these are custom inputs and hdhr & tve include the captions in the stream.

this is why I haven't used it yet, i'm already stretching my n100 pretty thin

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#30

Well, let's hope there's a checkbox to disable the feature for folks who don't have the hardware to pull it off. Or not.

1 Like
#31
  • What streaming device are you using?

After a quick survey of the devices being used and talked about, I decided on the Onn 4k Pro and LinkPi ENC1-V3 combination

  • Why?
    Mostly because there are other people using them and therefore some experience to draw from

  • What did you try before?
    I used CC4C and PrismCast, but I couldn't get either of them to work acceptably reliably

  • What makes it better?
    When CNN started encrypting, I essentially wanted 24x7 recording, so hardware seemed like the best solution. The thing that's better is the reliability, once the glitches were worked out

  • What sucks about it?
    I had to deal with the CNN app crashing about every 8 hours or so. I needed to schedule a process on my media server to kill and restart CNN every 6 hours.

  • What middleware are you using?
    I started with ADBTuner, but it turns out that I don't need it (yet) since this is only for CNN. The source definition in Channels is pointed directly at the encoder's output.

The only channels I really need the cable card for are local news and such and I can get most of them with OTA hardware. Everything else is currently available via TVE. I am recording one program on MS Now using CC4C. IT failed again last night... The 5 channel LinkPi is on the expensive side, so I'll be checking out cheaper solutions once I get completely familiar with this tech, and as more sources abandon TVE.

#32

I actually have three of the ENC1-V3s and highly regret buying them.
I ended up getting two ENC5-V2 units. One to really use, and one to kind of play with. There are a little bit more, but to be honest, you do need more capacity sometimes, especially around that prime time hour. You can really run out of tuners. If you are okay with just two tuners, one recording and one live, then they are fine. But if you need three or four tuners potentially, then I would highly suggest getting an ENC5 unit. It is less expensive in the end.

#33

I don't want to hijack this thread any more, so if you have anything else to say about PyCaptions, please follow up here: Synchronized Closed Captions for Channels - #3 by jay343

Incidentally, I ran into a wall with Intel GPU support. The underlying tech, Ctranslate2, doesn't support Intel at all. I may look for a workaround, but don't hold your breath. Meanwhile, check out my post about hardware and performance in the link above.

#34

It is possible to get seamless 5.1 with both the Magewell PRO (pcie) and the magewell eco (m.2). The system hosting the card has to be linux based using this wrapper.

Cheapish Magewell Pro duals. You would probably have to 3d print a backplate though. This seller might have the stl file.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/377298512881?

You have the option of running it directly in ah4c using a command or you can set it up so that it streams the feed over the network. This way you can feed it into adbtuner. There is also the option of just using ah4c and using @bnhf 's method of sending the feed from ah4c to adbtuner.

Your video sizes would depend on the quality you set in the wrapper.

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#35

I dropped FIOS for DTV Stream a few months back. Prior to that I loved CDVR being the front end for all my TV. I only integrated my HDHR and Pluto, but I converted the house over to AppleTVs and no cable boxes.

Now... CDVR still covers Pluto and a few channels from other FAST providers via FAST Channels. It still works better for me than navigating Pluto's app. It also pulls in the few TVE stations available. When I want 'cable TV' I go the DTV app. With ATVs everywhere, it's not bad. I don't have to switch inputs on any TVS, just switch apps.

I'd love to integrate DTV back into the mix so it's one interface again. If I used an ADB based solution I'd need at least two streams if not three and it looks pretty expensive and time consuming to get setup. The geek in my thinks it might be fun, but I also don't have much time to fiddle with it as I used to.

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#36

Left cablecard for ADBTuner 3 years ago and it's been working well ever since: Highly recommend LinkPi ENC5V2 + YTTV; I'm using 3 x FireTV 4K Max sticks + ethernet OTG adapters + 2 Onn TV HD sticks (via WiFi) - FireTV can keep ADB enabled with OTG ethernet, but Onn TV cannot - just have to accept it's 2.0 audio - there's a lot of other options out there which is a bit overwhelming, but ADBTuner is relatively easy and works well - I also have Prismcast working well on my Unraid Server, but video quality is not as good as the ENC5V2, so it's just an experiment right now - as a backup, I use the YTTV app with their cloud DVR - oh BTW also have an antenna with HDHR for locals too

#37

As promised in an earlier post, here's a less expensive (as compared to a PoE-powered rackmount), compact way to build a five tuner LinkPi-based setup.

This uses a well-built seven port USB 3.0 hub for power, some short USB A to right angle micro-B cables (to keep voltage drops low), and some right-angle HDMI adapters.

The streaming sticks are FireStick 4K Max (Gen 2) (currently 20% off with trade-in), as they support Wi-Fi 6, and have a great form factor for a compact build like this.

Due to the proximity of the FireSticks, I would highly recommend the router or AP they're connected to support both 5GHz and Wi-Fi 6 (which has been specifically designed for this kind of high density WiFi, among other things).

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AndroidHDMI for Channels (ah4c): A virtual channel tuner using HDMI Encoder(s) + streaming stick(s)
#38

I don't love that this is wifi, but I can't not be impressed with what this setup can do, vs the footprint.

:clap::clap::clap:

#39

I feel the same. My rackmount setup will continue to be my daily driver, but this is handy for me for development. I had Multiview running on an iPad for hours-and-hours with all four connections to this little build, and it worked just fine. For those that don't have the space, infrastructure or budget for a PoE-based rackmount build -- I believe this is a workable alternative.

I've had a nearly identical setup, with just three FireStick 4K Max devices running for years in a remote location. In that case, I used a TP-Link smart power strip instead of a USB hub for power. With that power strip, everything can be power-cycled individually (remotely using a containerized HA). The sticks are installed in every other port on the LinkPi in that installation, for whatever benefit that may give the WiFi connections.

#40

I kind of just drive my wife crazy. I should set up a little development rig. :rofl:

#41

  • What streaming device are you using?
    I got a old firetv 4k max and an onn puck connected to a linkpi and a usb encoder respectively. The usb encoder is connected to the linkpi so that gives me an extra tuner. Everything is piled up and connected through a wifi router and a poe.
    https://community-assets.getchannels.com/optimized/3X/e/f/efe79de4134b064257fe2050e4f4a13c85708d82_2_375x500.jpeg

  • Why?
    Price and also due to the fact that I can connect a cheap usb tuner to get an extra tuner. I don't really record much stuff and I watch a lot of sports live and I got usenet/torrents/real debrid so this is really to watch sports.

  • What did you try before?
    I tried CC4C and underground IPTV options and I found both of them to be buggy and very uncooperative with the Channels environment especially the latter. Recordings didn't work and on top of that, the PQ wasn't worth it on top of the crazy buffering I experienced

  • What makes it better?
    You don't to rely on your computer to run it which frees up resources and also theres a lot less buffering to deal with

  • What sucks about it?
    Obviously, the more tuners you need, the more hardware you'll need to get but I'm content with I got even as TVE options are shrinking. Theres enough content for me on FAST, and all the bridges and HDHR as well to go by.

  • What middleware are you using?
    ADBTuner tho I have used ah4c before regularly (and testing the CC feature now tho I don't think I really need it since I can get subs for the program I record via HDHR or FAST or even through OpenSubtitles)

  1. TV Plan price
    I got YTTV Sports only pack with 4K for about 63 bucks after tax. Of course, I'm always on a lookout to get all my sports teams on the cheap. I've pondering about going to slingtv. Its all about price for me on that front. I'm out of market and the endgame is to watch all Red Bulls, Giants, Yankees, Knicks, Man Utd and Rangers games (or at least about 90% of them). I also have Real Debrid, usenet, torbox, Paramount free via Walmart, AppleTV via Prime, Prime itself, HBO Max for nothing (since they forgot to downgrade me :smiley:), Netflix free via T-Mobile, MLB.tv via T-Mobile and I plan to get NBA LP in the fall.
  2. How much maintenance is there? Is it set and forget and reliable?
    Not much maintenance on the hardware side of things bar the occasional lockup because one of the containers went rouge and I have to hard reboot the system once in a bluemoon but thats about it. On the software side, same thing. It's really just the streaming service side that may need some attention as I continue to be cautious with my money :smiley:
  3. How do you power all these at scale?
    Again using a TPLink Omada Poe and also a TPLink Wifi router. The wifi router is just for me to run an adblocker and also give me extra ethernet inputs if I need them.
  4. How do you organize all of the physical objects?
    Got my tower rack thingy. Not as sexy as @bnhf's or @mackid1993's but its good enough.
  5. How much do the devices cost?
    Not much. Around 20-40 bucks depending on what you need. If you need more space on the drive, consider getting a beefier onn device or firetv. Alternatively, you can probably use a usb drive you need more space as apps take up space and usually these devices are bloaty AF and you can't remove all of the bloat. Obviously, something to think about if you want to run @babsonnexus' adbtuner native configs. If you're trying to use the OTT/Cable provider app directly, then it doesn't really matter.
  6. How fast is it from a channel change to a tuned channel?
    Eh...depends on the app and the configs. Maybe 30 seconds max