TV Combination Seemingly Only Using One Tuner (1 Viewer)

[LightsOn]

Hi All,

I’m testing out MP after many years with DVBLogic as a backend. I am amazed at channel switch speed and everything I need seems well documented and all in one application. Thank you all. I however am struggling with ‘Channel Combinations.’

I have set x2 DVBIP tuners. On each I have loaded an M3u lists. There are some duplicates between them. Here I then am using ‘TV Combinations’ to in effect do the same as I did with DVBlogic’s ‘Channel Merge’.

I read in the wiki that the desired outcome should be if one client is watching a channel and another tries to tune to the same, it will use the next available tuner, leaving the existing tuner alone playing or recoding whatever it was. However in my case it does not do this and instead stops the playback on one client and starts it on the other, seemingly using only one tuner form the merged tuners. This is not the desired outcome of course and it is desired that it would see that one of the two tuners in the combination is in use and as such use the ‘free’ one, the tuner not in use.

Both streams tuners play fine simultaneously if channels are not merged (TV Combination added) but then you have the same channel listed twice in the channel guide, which is what I want to avoid.

Any ideas? I must be missing something right?

 

[Alexh]

Hope I'm not hijacking but I have a dual channel ATSC tuner. For the first time I had a recording enabled. When the recording started, I noticed I could only watch the channel (live) that was recording. All other channels simply displayed a blank screen. Just to be sure, I waited until the recording was completed and then I could watch any channel at will. So it's fairly certain a recording is blocking other available tuner(s).

This is on a client only install. I did not think to try my server based client but I can do that.

Thanks

 

[morpheus_xx]

If you have multiple cards of same type (DVBIP or ATSC), you have to map channels to all tuners of this type.
The "merge" is for another case: if you have tuners of different types, you can combine a single channel to have multiple tuning details (and thus possibilities to use different tuners).

See related wiki sections: TV Channels, especially mapping.

 

[LightsOn]

Hi,

Thanks for the help. So I read many times both map and combine in the wikki and did not pick up what you suggest.

So should I create 3x dvbip devices and map 1 and 2 over to 3 or just have 2x devices and map 1 to 2? Also one done will EPG show 1 channel once mapped or two?

I will try the above options shortly but interested to know what you propose.

Thank you.

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

 

[LightsOn]

Hi morpheus_xx,

Thank you again for the help. So I tried what you suggested but I have not managed to archive what I was hoping. If I map a channel for one DVBIP source over to the other DVBIP source where the same channel exists, All I appear to achieve is that both channels are now on the same source? And I still end up with two channels showing in EPG?

I seek to have duplicate channels merged so only one shows in EPG but if two clients select that channel simultaneously they can both watch that channel with each client using one tuner each.

At present I can’t understand how ‘mapping’ would achieve this? ‘TV combinations’ seems so close but it does not recognise if the tuner in use, instead it just kicks off the existing use of the tuner by one client in replacement for the call from the new client request.

Hope this is clear?

 

[morpheus_xx]

How did you do your initial channel scan?

Let me give an example like I do. I have 3 DVB-C tuners inside my HTPC. On initial setup there are no channels yet. I do select one tuner, do a single channel scan. Then the channels are only mapped to the scanning tuner.
Next I go to channel mapping and select the other tuner(s) and map all channels to them.
The number of channels is still the same (also in EPG), but they are mapped to 3 cards.

 

[LightsOn]

I add my .M3u file to the correct folder so it can be selected as part of a scan. I then scan as you would normally and channels are populated. I do this for DVBIP Number 1 and again with a different .M3u file for DVBIP number 2.

I have duplicates in the different .M3u files – this is expected and desired.

I do not wish for two channels to show in EPG however instead just for one to show.

I seek that if one tuner (DVBIP instance) is in use then that tuner to not be used and instead if a spare one exists as a result of a duplicate, then use that.

So – where there is duplicate channels, merge them so the two channels can be watched simultaneously but independently by two separate clients using different tuners, but only appearing once in the EPG listing. If no duplicate then only one client can watch it at a time and any other client would receive an ‘all tuners busy message’.

In DVBLogic this was simply a ‘merge channels by name’ and the software worked all this out itself – I am seeking the same functionality – possible?

 

[morpheus_xx]

Ok, your steps are more complicated

Only inbuilt option you could check is the "Enable channel movement detection". It could help to avoid duplicates.

If this does not work, you could:

• Manually remove the duplicate channels from 2nd .m3u
• Scan on 2nd tuner the 2nd .m3u
• Manually map the channels (you removed from 2nd .m3u) also to tuner2

 

[LightsOn]

-> Ok, your steps are more complicated

Really? Two channels the same, show them as one in epg, client 1 loads channel, it plays via DVBIP1, client 2 loads same channel, DVBIP2 plays it, Client 3 tries to play same channel, MediaPortal states all tuners in use. Surely this is simple?

- > Only inbuilt option you could check is the "Enable channel movement detection". It could help to avoid duplicates.

But I want the duplicates, just not listed in the epg. I need for duplicates so the same channel can be watched on a different DVBIP instance at the same time. Not the same channel distributed to all clients via one DVBIP instance.

-> If this does not work, you could:

• Manually remove the duplicate channels from 2nd .m3u
  • No because then I would only have one channel and I want the duplicates so two channels can be watched simultaneously.
• Scan on 2nd tuner the 2nd .m3u
  • ?
• Manually map the channels (you removed from 2nd .m3u) also to tuner2
  • Same EPG duplicate issue

I’m at a bit of a loss as to why this seems complex – I have been doing this for years in DVBLogic and would seem to me a basic need? Is my issue clear or am I explaining things badly?


Thank you for the help, it is appreciated.

 

[morpheus_xx]

Ok, new round

I think it's important for you to understand the way MP2 handles channels and tuners.

So I suggest following try:

• Remove all channels for clean start
  
• Create a new .m3u with exactly 1 channel which you like to share
• Scan this playlist on tuner 1
• You should have 1 channel found
• Go to channel mapping, add this channel also to tuner 2
• Test concurrent tuning from two devices

Result should be:

• 2 tuners
• 1 channel
• 2 mappings (1 channel > 2 tuners)
• 2 users should be able to tune concurrently