FastChannels - FAST Channels aggregator/manager

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#3276

I have a test container up that I'm using right now, and it just looks so much better to my eyes. It's like I was going from macro blocking to just the great picture quality that I noticed on my Osprey boxes.

It could all be in my head, but I'd love to get some other eyes on it. As many eyes as possible, honestly, before you merge anything. I confirmed it's definitely using a different CDN path for sure.

I have a test container at mackid1993/fastchannels:yospace.

PR is here: https://github.com/kineticman/FastChannels/pull/65

I also, confirmed that I'm getting ads for local car dealerships, furniture stores, things in my immediate area that are regional.

#3277

My fear would be that pulling from the primary CDN could be used to monitor streams. I'd hate to lose the ability of having additional tuners available for limited stream users. If it's a toggle, we can test it then opt out if it does.
BTW, my old eyes can’t tell the difference with either. I remember when I first started watching ESPN3 college games. Though it was never crisp, we could al least get the game.

#3278

I tested five boxes at the same time, and they were all playing just fine.

It's like the non DAI version. I just can't figure out why it seems to look better to me. I notice a definite clarity difference and I just can't measure it. I don't know if they're doing some post processing or something that I just can't measure, but it's super weird. I confirmed you can definitely play more than two streams at once.

Edit: definitely bumps up the quality rungs faster. I can't figure out the difference because the streams are technically byte identical from what I'm seeing. But it looks better to me. I don't know why. I need like some more eyes to confirm that I am not crazy. Like it just noticeably looked like my Osprey boxes, whereas before I noticed a ton of blocking. I really don't know what's going on here, but turning DAI on and getting it working with all the weird local ads. I don't know if they're giving me higher priority or something because I'm appearing to be a normal DirecTV client. I can't tell.

#3279

@KineticMan https://github.com/kineticman/FastChannels/pull/66

I figured it out and it's in this pull. Although I do like having the DAI, like opt in as an option if possible. Definitely, I think it looks more correct to DirecTV to be serving up the correct local ads that they are expecting users to get. I don't know if you agree, but it's worth looking into. DirecTV expects ad stitching, I would imagine, so having it enabled is probably more transparent to them if done correctly, which I think I did it correctly because it's working.

The change in pull 66 is just pure picture quality, regardless. It seems to help just with initial sharpness and sharpness throughout the video stream. I personally like having DAI on because I was used to those local ads, and when they disappeared, I was kind of weirded out. Kind of like it was almost like watching Rick and Morty interdimensional cable. So, in my quest to avoid interdimensional cable, I would really like to have that as an opt-in feature or even an environment variable that I can just plug in if you don't mind adding it. If it doesn't break anything else.

The other change I just made is what I discovered from it and tested against my own boxes and account. It seems that this change does improve picture quality noticeably and lower latency.

I have a feeling tuning where their ad partner doesn't see anything coming through their feed probably doesn't look normal.

Edit: Another cursory side effect of DAI. I would have some of my RSN's fail Stream Audit and suddenly I did a stream audit with 0 errors.

Update:
Did a lot more testing with this today, and it's just not worth it. There's not a significant difference in quality. I couldn't measure any difference, and now that I'm watching back to back, I don't see a difference anymore, so it was probably just in my head. Sorry for any trouble. :slightly_smiling_face:

#3280

FastChannels 5.4.0 released

  • ESPN source: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network, NFL Network and MLB Network, played through the FastChannels Player bridge. Sign in with an ESPN account using a TV activation code (Activate - WatchESPN). The session renews itself, guide data comes from ESPN, and all nine have Gracenote IDs. Off by default.

  • DirecTV channel numbers (opt-in, per source): output each DirecTV channel's own number as tvg-chno, including sub-channels for feeds that share a number (e.g. 213 / 213.1, 305.1–305.3). The numbering matches the community ah4c/ADBTuner grabber scripts. Other sources are numbered around DirecTV, so there are no duplicate numbers. Based on PR #62, thanks!

  • Decimal channel locks: lock any channel to a number like 700.1 from the Channels page or the feed's Order & Numbers dialog.

  • Feed Order & Numbers: typing a number now locks the channel to exactly that number in every feed, even outside the feed's range. DirecTV-numbered and locked channels stay put when you drag or renumber, and the dialog explains when a number snaps.

  • Spectrum Travel Channels: Spectrum's streamable stand-ins for local stations you can't stream from where the server is. They're named, numbered and categorized after the home station they replace.

  • FOX One moves to Premium Sources with its own settings card. It can use the shared TV-provider account or its own separate login (with its own browser profile), and the home ZIP now lives on the FOX One card.

  • Bridge page devices card: lists every FastChannels Player device with its online state, model, OS, player version, what it's playing, the picture resolution, Wi-Fi signal and recent recoveries. Install or update the player per device, or all at once.

  • Outside-the-US warning: the dashboard warns when the server isn't in the US, since nearly every source is US-only. The stream audit now reports geo-blocks (HTTP 403/451/452) clearly. Set GEO_CHECK_ENABLED=0 to turn off the lookup.

  • ah4c scripts now come from ah4c itself (sullrich/ah4c, scripts/firetv/fastchannels, maintained there with @bnhf and @mackid1993). FastChannels ships the same set and shows each tuner's script version in the tuner check. Tuners on an older set get an update hint, and the export dialog includes a one-line in-place update command.

:wrench: Fixes

  • FastChannels Player 5.2.10: rides out live ad gaps by rejoining the live edge instead of exiting to the launcher, and rebuilds the player when it silently freezes. It also reports picture/recovery status for the new devices card.

  • Wake before tune: the bridge wakes a sleeping Fire TV before tuning. Before, the device accepted the tune but stayed dark.

  • Sling: fixed endless segment 404s and a soft/blurry picture on FastChannels Player, and ~1,800 schedule-API calls per hour per viewer are now cached.

  • TV Everywhere sign-ins:

    • NBC, AMC Networks, FOX and FOX One now keep a valid sign-in when only its short-lived token expires, instead of breaking hours after every sign-in.
    • Cox accounts now sign in through Spectrum's page, which is where Cox logins now go.
    • Discovery sessions are reused until Discovery rejects them, and it works with Spectrum and Cox again.
    • Networks that can't work with your provider are marked instead of failing.

  • Spectrum:

    • Re-tuning a channel no longer gives a black screen from an expired stream token.
    • "Change account" is clicked instead of Continue when Spectrum recognizes a different account on your home network.

  • Also fixed:

    • The Channels page sorts by the number actually shown.
    • Clicking away from a channel number no longer locks it.
    • The channel API rejects non-integer numbers.
    • Bridged DRM channels no longer log a misleading "auto-disable" on every tune.

:wastebasket: Removed

  • Cox Contour source retired, since Cox is folding into Spectrum and Contour sign-ins have been failing since mid-September. Existing Cox channels show as Retired and are purged after 7 days.

Upgrading?

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

Then to upgrade your FireStick/Android app:

  • Go to the Bridge page → FastChannels Player devices card. Any stick on an older player shows Update to 5.2.10. Click it per device, or click Update all. It installs over adb and keeps the app's data, so there's nothing to reconfigure. Updating restarts the player, so don't do it during a recording.
4 Likes
#3281

Updated thru Portainer. Had to reauthorize both Fire Stick 4K Max's.