[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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