[mythtv-users] MythTV on Kodi

[Joseph Fry]

On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 11:34 PM, Kirk Bocek <t004 at kbocek.com> wrote:

>
>
> On 6/22/2015 4:06 PM, Nick Rout wrote:
>
>
>
>     Playback is great and yes, you do need/want the hardware acceleration
>> if you playback HD mpeg2 content.  If everything is mpeg 4, or only SD for
>> mpeg2 (dvd's) than you shouldn't need it.  there is also a license for VC-1
>> if you need that.
>>
>>  Both together will cost you about $5 USD.  A small price for a huge
>> performance jump.  I was able to play content un-accelerated, but it wasn't
>> smooth.
>>
>>  However if you transcode all your HD content to mpeg-4, or you use a
>> device that records HD in mpeg-4 you can probably pass on them and save
>> yourself $5.
>>
>>  Note: I have no experience with the rPi... just the rPi2.  I suspect
>> that the standard rPi may struggle to decode even SD mpeg 2... but the rPi2
>> plays it just fine in software (no license).
>>
>
>  The raspberry pi and the raspberry pi2 have the same GPU.
>
>  The GPU decodes h.264 in hardware out of the box. It will certainly do
> up to bluray bitrates. With latest kodi test builds it will asl do MVC
> encoded 3D files in an mkv container and 3D MVC in an ISO is being worked
> on.
>
>  The GPU decodes mpeg2 and VC-1 in hardware IF activated by purchasing a
> codec for a very small amount. It is purchased online and you get a key for
> each codec, which is unique to your pi/pi2.
>
>  People have been using pi for SD xvid material for ages, whether this is
> decoded in hardware, or is just so light it is decoded by the pi CPU I am
> not sure.
>
>  The pi2 has more ram and a quad core CPU. Because of those improvements
> it will do much more than a pi like:
>
>  1. Much faster through menus and rendering fanart, UI etc
>
>  2. Decode HD audio formats (DTS-HD/MA and Dolby TrueHD) and pass them as
> PCM to your AVR/Receiver (up to a certain bitrate). Pi does not have enough
> CPU for that.
>
>  I believe in recent test builds there is also support for HEVC decoding
> up to a certain point (720p I think).
>
>  Overall you wouldn't buy a pi now when a pi2 is the same price. If you
> have a pi and want to try it, then go for it, but know that a pi2 will be
> much better.
>
>
>
> I actually own both a 1 and a 2. The 1 is hard to find now. I tried, gave
> up and bought a 2. I'm only using the 2 for Lakka right now which really
> doesn't stress it at all.
>
> But I started this thread after seeing the Kodi wiki page about their
> MythTV plugin and wondering how capable it is. Sounds like a possibility.
> But still a couple of questions.
>
> You say the RPI/2 has the *power* to downsample DTS, etc. to 2-channel but
> does Kodi offer this capability they way MythFrontend does?
>
> And someone brought up the issue of playing generic media files. Really
> important. I'm currently using mplayer externally through mythfrontend.
> Does Kodi play media files over the network?
>

Honestly, Kodi is a much more capable media player than mythtv frontend.
The only reason I don't like it is that I feel that the PVR plugin lacks
some UI features that my family has gotten very used to over the last 10+
years with mythtv.  For example:


   - Commercial notify but do not skip (a pull request was submitted for
   this feature just today:
   http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=208206&pid=2035922#pid2035922)
   - Folder based video library... this may be possible with custom menus,
   but I haven't quite figured it out yet.
   - Scheduling... curious about how the changes in 0.28 will change my
   family's use of mythweb... right now they don't like using it.
   - Leaving recordings or videos and going back into them takes you to
   where you left off rather than to the root of the tree.... which can be
   confusing when the system is used by several people.
   - Not very "guest" friendly.  My guests who have used our myth frontends
   always talk about how it's easier to use than their cable provided DVR's.
   I think Kodi would get the opposite reaction... I have yet to find a skin
   that I think is truely user friendly.
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