[mythtv-users] iPhone Frontend Issues

Chase Douglas chasedouglas.lists at gmail.com
Wed Mar 18 02:02:09 UTC 2009


Hello everyone,

A while back I detailed my plans for an iPhone frontend and a  
supporting MythTV Transcode Proxy. I've been working diligently on the  
two and have gotten to the point where I can stream live tv across  
wifi or the 3G cellular network without pause. However, there are  
drawbacks due to the software decoding (ffmpeg) that I have been  
forced to use because the iPhone could not handle true streaming  
(where the file has an indefinite length).

Apple detailed (and released to devs like me :) iPhone OS 3.0 today.  
Part of the new OS is built-in support for true streaming, albeit with  
one severe limitation. The only built-in support for video playback is  
through their own video player. The only controls available are: vol  
+/-, play, pause, and seeking. This means that if I choose to use the  
iPhone's video player, any channel changes will require exiting live  
tv, selecting a different channel, and re-entering live tv. Further,  
commercial skipping will be all or none; there's no way to  
programmatically determine where playback is at any time nor seek to a  
specific point in the stream. The user is the only one who can seek by  
using the player interface.

This would lead me to continue my work on my own software decoding  
player, which will be able to have control overlays and true  
commercial skipping support. However, there are substantial drawbacks  
to this as well. Because the decoding is done in software, I can only  
support mpeg2 video at 256x256 pixels scaled to full screen at around  
200 kbps and 20 fps. There's no horsepower in the device for anything  
more. Further, this means that the battery will drain rather quickly.

This leads me to the following question: Given the pros and cons of  
each approach, what would other LIKELY users of an iPhone MythTV  
frontend prefer to see implemented?

Built-in:
* High quality (h.264 level 3 + mp3 or aac-he, full resolution and  
framerate, high bitrates)
* Low battery consumption
* No commercial skip
* No extra controls (for changing channels, etc.)

Software Decoding:
* Full commercial skip support
* Overlay controls are possible
* Lower quality (though still very acceptable)
* Very high battery consumption

Thanks,
Chase Douglas


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