[mythtv-users] Is Nvidia Shield the future for Mythtv Frontend??

James Abernathy jfabernathy at gmail.com
Wed Dec 26 16:26:51 UTC 2018



> On Dec 26, 2018, at 9:47 AM, Greg Oliver <oliver.greg at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On Wed, Dec 26, 2018 at 6:45 AM James Abernathy <jfabernathy at gmail.com <mailto:jfabernathy at gmail.com>> wrote:
> On 12/26/18 7:30 AM, George Poulson wrote:
>> On Wed, 26 Dec 2018, at 03:18, James Abernathy wrote:
>>> The advances of small multi-core CPUs with built-in GPU has been great since I retired from the industry. I know that a PC that you spend $400 for will do the job. Also an old PC with a good Nvidia graphics card with do the job.  For me form factor is also a big issue.  That's why I spent a lot of time debugging performance on the 3rd gen Core i3 NUC. But that performance is going down not up.
>>> The RP3 B+ is quite good on Kodi but still lacking on mythfrontend. Neither can do SlingTV, Prime Video etc.
>> 
>> I'm following this thread (and a related thread on mythtv-dev) with interest.
>> 
>> I have a 29.1-fixes combined backend and frontend running on an ASUS Q87T mobo with Intel Core i5-4460S CPU and integrated Intel graphics. This all works pretty well and mythfrontend's playback of my UK DVB-S2 HD (AVC/H.264 1080) content using VAAPI is perfectly watchable, although fast-panning scenes and fast-moving credits show that it is only just able to cope.
>> 
> Sounds like your visual evaluation is the same as mine. I use MPEG2 that HDHR receives OTA. If you could change Kodi's frontend to skip like mythfrontend, I'd quit looking for improvements. 
>> As a number of other users have commented, mythfrontend's skipping performance blows anything KODI-related out of the water, yet KODI's visual appearance exceeds that of mythfrontend
>> 
>> I'm looking for alternative frontends and so far I have tested an RPi3 running Libreelec with KODI's mythtv-pvr plugin, and while its visual appearance beats that of mythfrontend, the skipping performance is a bit of a disaster.
>> 
>> I've also installed Peter Bennett's Android frontend APK on a Xiaomi Mi-box (S905X Quad-Cortex-A53 @2.0GHz, Mali 450 @750MHz, 2GB DDR3, 8GB eMMC, 5GHz WiFi) but surprisingly this won't play any of my HD recordings without severe stuttering. Even my SD recordings seem to struggle on this box, which surprises me given the graphics hardware performance claims, which as I'm typing this is making me wonder if I have a WiFi performance problem.
>> 
>> I'm considering trying a FireStick4k (I can't justify GBP150+ for a Shield) but am sceptical that this hardware will perform any better than my MiBox. Can anyone verify decent quality playback of HD UK DVB-S content on any Android hardware?
>> 
> I'll spring for a FireStick4k or a Shield, but not both.  But I want to be sure the Mythtv Frontend is as good on the Shield as on a PC with an Nvidia GK208 [GeForce GT 710B].  I can't use PCs with Nvidia PCIe GFX cards for all my Frontends because of the size and heat, not to mention the cost.
> 
> Jim A
> 
> 
> I have had Shields for quite some time and just yesterday loaded the mythfrontend on the new model (the new ones are about 1/3 the size of the originals and a bit snappier).  Mythfrontend runs very well on them - as fast as any remote frontend I have ever used.  The only thing I noticed (and it possibly happens on every remote frontend) is that when you are recording something and watching it and jump to the current recording position, about 50% of the time it stutters before it catches up properly for a couple seconds.
> 
> Also, if you have a Harmony remote and hub, the keys are much better (you get the a-z keyboard keys in the harmony app) if you set it up as a Windows PC rather than a nVidia Shield device.  This of course will keep the power command from working, but you can set the shield to go to sleep after inactivity in it's settings to overcome that.  The nVidia devices in Harmony will only allow you a few buttons to work on the remote - this way, they all do and you can assign them any way you like as usual.

I do have the Harmony Smart Control with the hub.  It’s much easier to setup that any other remote. I like that the buttons change config as I switch devices. That’s why I have a RP3 setup for Libreelec(KODI) and one x86 for Mythtv FE. I use the buttons the same, but the codes are all different inside the hub.
> 
> I watched (with mythfrontend) all day yesterday and never had an issue and it was an excellent experience all around (except that there should be football on Christmas like Thanksgiving)!!!

I agree. only thing on was NBA and you couldn’t pay me to watch that.

> 
> I have not (and will not) buy another TV stick again.  I had suck a bad experience with the Roku sticks being so slow, I still have a bad tatse in my mouth.  The new Shields are small enough that I will travel with one instead of my Roku now.

Good input. I’ll get the Shield and forget the 4k FireTV stick.

Jim A
> 
> -Greg
> 
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