While it is alpha, I am not concerned with bugs. I have my list already set and I am working my way through it. The only reason I released an Alpha was so people could see that it is being worked on and will be an actual project. This is simply a preview of what is to come. Bugs are expected during this phase of development. Once I have a stable beta ready, then I will worry about bugs.
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sorry if this is a bug, but what is the audio decode path?
a couple of my OTA streams have decoding audio anomalies that don't exist in VLC native, channels web, channels client, or MPC-HC
The project is not finished. I have said several times to expect bugs. This is not a finished product that is ready for use. This is just out there to preview what I am working on. I have a large list of things that need to be done before it will be released as a stable beta release. If you find issues with the beta release, which will probably be a few weeks before I have it to that point, then we will worry about it. Audio and video quality improvements are on my agenda. I have not even finalized the many different options that will be available when it is finished. This is not polished and this is not complete. I understand wanting a polished product out of the gate. Building an application from scratch takes time. I promise I will do everything in my power to provide a working HTPC.
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I am aware..just highlighting an anomoly...
Your github doesnt have any notes yet..i didnt want to be the first..
This is looking great and the player works very well on my PC's!
I'm about ready to release the first Beta version of the app. I'm going to continue testing over the next couple of days and have it ready by this weekend, assuming I don't uncover any big issues. My plan for the first part of the Beta cycle will be to fix bugs, performance issues and bottleneck crashes. After the base is functioning properly, I will start on feature requests and enhancements. If you have a feature request, feel free to submit it. I will make a list and work through them after the initial bug hunt.
Prefered method for reporting player related issues:
If it is a player issue. I have a Debug Logger setting in the Settings menu under Advanced tab. I ask that you enable the logger and try to play the content that caused the issue again and exit out of the app after the issue happens. The file will be generated on your desktop as feral_debug.log. Copy the contents of the file and paste it in the forums with a description of what happened. You can and should turn the logger off in the settings once you finish. You can delete the log file also.
Prefered method for reporting a crash:
If you experience an app crash, provide me with what you were doing and on which section you were on when it happened. This is probably a bottleneck from something sending too much information too fast and should be easy to fix with steps on how to recreate the issue.
Feature Requests:
I will keep a list of feature requests and work on them after the app is stable.
I have not tested it on all the various ways Channels DVR can be installed and I am sure some things will have to be changed to make it work correctly. Stream Links and Stream Files have been filtered out because I can not figure a reliable way to determine the location of the files to read the links. I have added a way to play links through the apps page though. Thanks.
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I'm looking forward to trying the beta.
Will your log file include the server version, or would you like us to include it? I run the pre-release, but it might not always be the latest pre-release.
It has the version number and a check for updates button
Oh, I understand now, you are referring to the log file from feral_debug.log. I shouldn't need to know that. The log should tell me why it acted flaky. I have improved playback in the upcoming beta quite a bit. Hopefully most issues are resolved already.
Does this (or will it) support playback of HEVC (H.265) content recorded by Channels DVR?
Yes. VLC has native support for HEVC.
I am going to push the Beta release off for a few more days. I am so close to getting the Virtual Channels to work consistently, but it is complicated. I really want them in there since I use several Virtual Channels for my grand kids. On top of that, I am feeling burnt out at the moment. This project has taken a lot more time and effort than I thought it would.
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Thanks for all your efforts on this project! I am sure that there will be many Channels DVR users that will use it.
when the time comes, do you want bug reports/feature requests here, or on your github?
Here. It makes is much easier to locate. GitHub is a PITA to view issues.
Just gave this a try. Liking it so far.
Few things. I have to manually enter in my server IP address into the selection box in Live. Does not populate or show the IP i entered into the settings.
Scaling maybe an issue. At least for me. The Guide is very small font for me. I am on a 1440P display.
Tried Win 11 Scaling/ High DPI compatibility settings, but they seem to do nothing.
Increasing/adjusting GUI size and text size hopefully something that is possible.
I do like pop out/separate playback window for video playback. I can still browse the guide while the video plays. Though, the mouse disappears when video is playing and you try to navigate the guide.
I would think a option to no pop out the video, to have it play in the same program window would be a option some may want, to make it work like most players or the mobile CDVR app.
I despise VLC. Much prefer MPV as playback engine.
Far as i know MPV is superior, more tweakable, and is what CDVR uses as its backend player.
But...i have no idea how to work with either to make a custom program such as this...
I have seen, in the past, Emby's windows client used to offer various settings for backend players, maybe a future thing to look into, offering VLC or MPV as player backend.
As far as useability with tis, so far. Pretty good for a Alpha.
Playing TVE channels seems to be the most unstable, freezes quite often for me, or Channels reports the stream connection closed.
m3u channels like Pluto, Plex etc, seem tad more stable, though, ad breaks tends to cause havoc.
(they do that for me unless i set CDVR to MPEG-TS stream).
Nitpick, but, dark theme is ok...but thats more grey to me. "Dark" means black to me. Would like to see a Black theme at some point.
Overall, very impressed with this so far.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
I been using my Mac Mini M4 and the CDVR app on MacOS for a bit...and it been nice to have Channels useable on a computer, not just TV.
I haven't released anything but a alpha version that was just a preview. The beta is a few days away.
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I think I finally have the Virtual Channels working correctly. A few more tests and some final touches before it will be ready.
Is there any other kind of project, lol?
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I have finally released the Beta version. It is not 100%, but it is a lot closer to it. There are still situations where the app will crash when playing poor quality streams/content. Please read the README on GitHub for installation and use directions.
I was hoping to have a more polished version ready, but it has exhausted me to get it to this point. I will be taking a week or so away from the project to get refocused and rested. I prefer to have issues posted to the forum instead of on GitHub. I will start work on the next release as soon as I get some other things resolved. Thanks and enjoy.
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