Now what!

[Chris]

Wow, so much to reply to, and so little time... The issue about DHCP and booting the MVP, what does the MVPLoader actually do? The problem with routers giving out IP addresses is that a router can't tell the MVP the IP address of the TFTP server. I havn't experimented with what the MVP does if this information is not there, but it sounds like it does something?

Unless the MVP does something intelligent if it isn't given a TFTP server address there's nothing vomp can do about it.

[Chris]

First I want to say, that I'm impressed by the work done here. Vomp is actually my favorite - I tried all others, and none satisfied me more than vomp 
Very very very good work - faster boot than any other MVP client, fast connect to server. Stable for me with some minor faults (picture disruptions by using forward and backward buttons).
Some things that may be improved if there is time for it: a) time to load channel list is very long (for me: 25 seconds [1245 channels, because I'm too lazy to work on my channel list - just copying]) - b) vomp dies if channel is not available - c) initial volume is always max on starting (startup parameter ?) - d) channel switching while showing OSD
But I agree with Chris, there are things much more important than these to work on (EPG..).
Again - great server - keep on.

@Hoochster: there is a way to make it work without a full dhcp-server. I use the standard dhcp-server of my router and then I use mvploader to provide the dongle for the MVP. Works like a charm. Here the link for this piece of software: http://www.vdr-wiki.de/wiki/index.php/Mvploader

My config: gen2vdr-RC3, vdr-1.3.27, dongle 0.0.8, FF-DVB-S 1.5 & 1.6

Thanks for the comments, always nice to hear someone likes it!

As for your could-be-betters:
A) 25 seconds is ridiculous. I will look into what is happening.
B) It shouldn't die if the channel is unavailable. Does it just go to a black screen? What kind of unavailable is it? VDR recording something else, channel not being transmitted?
C) Initial volume is something that will go in as a configuration option. That one is listed on the SourceForge RFE too
D) When I get the EPG into that box I will make OK change channel. Otherwise press back to get rid of the box and then change channel. New remote users will have enough buttons to be able to have the option of scrolling through the EPG or changing channel.

[Hoochster]

Ya, mine is long on the channel list too, but I wasn't gonna complain after you had to mod the gui to show it in the first place!  

As far as the DHCP thing, I will be trying the MVPLOADER this afternoon, but basically as you said the MVP has to know where to get its Firmware from, the original software for the MVP setup a Broadcast server that the MVP knew to look for to get the firmware.  The Standalone MVP Server has an MVPLOADER that does essentially the same thing, resulting in not needing a seperate DHCP server.  But the MVP Plugin and Vomp Plugin as default require some sort of Broadcast server to send out the info or do as we have been by building a standalone DHCP server for the process.  I am guessing someone was able to take the MVPLoader part out of the standalone server and make it where it will run by itself.  Which is great!  That way people don't have to do away with their router/dhcp servers! 

[radiofreak]

Now that I have installed and evaluated VOMP, I have to say that I am impressed. The possibility to develop the dongle file and the server (plugin) all by himself gives the programmer a lot of advantages. I will also take a look at the VOMP development environment.

That drove me to a new idea for VOMP. When I power up my satellite receiver I always get a live picture showing the last selected channel. I think that this should also be possible with VOMP. There could be a selection menu where one could select either the OSD or the Live-TV to be shown after start.

While the MediaMVP should not only be a frontend for a satellite receiver, but also a general purpose multimedia player, there could also be other options in the menu, e.g. DVD, video or MP3 library. This would give the user the possibility to configure the default behavior of its MediaMVP, e.g. for being a DVD player.

I ask myself if this would be a big issue to implement.

[davep]

VDR 1.3.30 introduced a new framework to allow plugins to interact directly, rather than through VDR. This may eventually provide a method of implementing new features, so for example instead of vomp playing MP3 files directly it calls the MP3-player plugin.

In the meantime though I agree that the important thing is to get the basic set-top-box and PVR functions working.

Dave

[Chris]

Radiofreak, you are right, developing both client and server myself allows me to do pretty much anything I want that is within my programming ability... (And the daft limitations of the MVP). However it does mean that development is slower because I'm working from scratch. It's swings and roundabouts, for anyone who understands that expression! I have added your startup idea to the Request For Enhancements list on the SourceForge site. My views on the general media player aspect of the MVP are already on here, but I have to say that the possibility of playing a DVD through it interests me. Which is a bit stupid as it would be the most complex one to code with all that menu system DVDs have. Anyway, that's a long way down my list!

[AronSira]

Hello Chris

ad dies: I don't know actually whether it dies, but you are right - the screen gets blank, but additionally the MVP does not react any more  . So for me the only way to get it back working is to unplug and switch it on again  .
I will also take a look at the developement environment and try to understand implementation there ..

Thx,
Robert

[torsten]

@AronSira:

Have you tried to telnet the box and to log in as root?
If can log in then you can check via linux ps command whether the client still works. You can restart it yourself. It resides in the root directory of the box. It will be more verbous if start it with the -d option.

Torsten

[AronSira]

Thanks torsten,

I will try this asap (currently at work ) and post my findings.

Have a nice day

[Chris]

It sounds like the client is exiting to me. If the screen ever goes black like that the client is waiting for data transfer from the server. If that doesn't come, and you press the back button, the client will return to the menu after the TCP timeout time. Which is either 10 or 30 seconds I think. If pressing back and waiting doesn't do it, the client is probably dead. The only other thing that could cause unresponsiveness is threads deadlocking, but I don't think that will happen playing live tv.

I have thought about making an option to vompclient that makes it boot up and show a message like "Sorry, I crashed" etc. Then the startup script could loop and run vompclient again. But there are negative points about that idea too. Hmm!

[AronSira]

Hello Chris

.. first of all - sorry for the delay  .
My channel unavailability is, that I have a channl in my list, that has moved to another transponder (maybe it has even moved from Astra to Hotbird) - so the channel definition is no more valid.
As for me the back/exit button does not work any more (and any other button).
But as torsten told me, I telneted to the box - and it it was all alive.
I restarted the vompclient manually and it worked again  .

But surprisingly something happened I never thought about: I pressed the LiveTV button and my channel list was there - elapsed time: incapable of measurement  - it was this fast  . What I could see at the telnet window: every channel was listed at the telnet window.
Just could not believe it and retried it 3 times: faster as fast! 

I hope this helps (I did not find the time to try to set up a developemnet environment for the client and thus had no possibility to take a quick look at the code): output at the telnet windows is eg:
here 1186 RADIO PLUS
here 1187 RMF Classic
here 1188 Jedynka - PR
here 1189 Trójka - PR
here 1190 RTL RADIO
here 1191 OE3
here 1192 OE2 Tirol
here 1193 OE1
here 1194 OE2 Wien
here 1195 OE2 Niederösterreich
here 1196 OE2 Burgenland
here 1197 OE2 Oberösterreich
here 1198 OE2 Salzburg
here 1199 OE2 Vorarlberg
here 1200 OE2 Steiermark
here 1201 OE2 Kärnten
here 1202 FM4


Does the client not return to the command line (init does not end, but stop at /vompclient) ? 

Thx again for this great piece of software (I'm sure this will become #1 for VDR users  )


Robert

[Chris]

I think I know what is happening with the long channel listings. If I'm right, it's a printf line I left in the program by mistake for dongle 0.0.8 - it seems that if the program is started by init and friends, and then it starts printfing lots, at some point it pauses for a while. It should only happen the once I think, further channel listings should be quick. Which I think is what you are saying AronSira..?

[AronSira]

Sorry, but it's only quick when vompclient is started manually.
When started by init it's always slow.