TV-Server DVB-IP card scrambled channel problem (1 Viewer)

[Franzkovic]

Hi,

I am doing the following ... I am using my linux receiver as some kind of tv card by entering the stream urls to mediaportal tvserver's dvb-ip card. Working pretty good so far.

I do encouter one issue however. When I am trying to watch a paytv channel (e.g sky sport) I am receiving the error "scrambled channel" despite the stream is open (already decoded in my receiver) and I can watch it flawlessly in VLC or WMP.

I have tried to edit the channel as "free to air" in tv-server but without success. Anyone has some suggestions on how to solve this problem?

Thank you!

 

[mm1352000]

Hello

My guess is that your receiver is not marking the stream as "free" after it descrambles it. I don't know what you can do to solve that except to "fix" the receiver.

Regards,
mm

 

[Franzkovic]

ok ... strange thing is the very same stream url is working in VLC and Windows Media Player? I thought when I mark the stream url as "free to air" it would just pass it through because then the stream should work

 

[mm1352000]

ok ... strange thing is the very same stream url is working in VLC and Windows Media Player?

We have never said that streams that work in VLC and/or WMP will work in TV Server. In other words, just because a stream works in VLC and WMP does not mean it will work in TV Server.

I thought when I mark the stream url as "free to air" it would just pass it through because then the stream should work

No. TV Server checks that the stream really is not encrypted.

I suggest you post log files if you want further help. Otherwise there's really nothing more I can say or do to help you.

 

[Franzkovic]

No. TV Server checks that the stream really is not encrypted.

Is there a possiblity to bypass this check by chance?

Attachted are some logs. Let me know if you need any further information!

Thank you!

 

[mm1352000]

I confirm that your receiver is not marking the stream - specifically the TS packet headers - as "not encrypted" after decrypting. The result is that TV Server thinks the stream is still encrypted and will not allow MP to try to start timeshifting. The only way to fix this would be to have the receiver mark the stream correctly, or create a hack/patch for TV Server to ignore the encryption flag.

 

[Franzkovic]

thank you. thats too bad ... unfortunately I am not able to code the needed patch/hack. Would it be possible to code this behaviour in a tv-server plugin? Is there some kind of marketplace for experienced mp programmers who could do this job for me?

Of course the resulting plugin could be provided to the community afterwards. Unless its really complicated and costs a couple of 100$ in which case I would have to look for a different solution

 

[mm1352000]

Would it be possible to code this behaviour in a tv-server plugin?

No. Plugins cannot read or change stream contents. The modification would need to be made in [at least] TsWriter, which is a core component.

Is there some kind of marketplace for experienced mp programmers who could do this job for me?

No. You can only ask nicely and hope that somebody will be willing to make the change for you. Sorry, that person won't be me.

Of course the resulting plugin could be provided to the community afterwards.

I can't imagine many people would get any use from the "plugin". In all my years working on MediaPortal this is the first time I've encountered such a request/situation.

Unless its really complicated and costs a couple of 100$ in which case I would have to look for a different solution

The simplest solution would be a one line hack to mark all encrypted TS packets as not encrypted here:
https://github.com/MediaPortal/Medi...ShowFilters/TsWriter/source/TsWriter.cpp#L463

Something like:
tsPacket[3] &= 0x3f;

That sets the packet transport_scrambling_control field to 0 (= not scrambled).
Of course any streams which really are encrypted will then appear to be not encrypted, which would be wrong... but you can delete/ignore such channels.

I wouldn't expect you to pay $100 for that.

 

[Franzkovic]

just asked the guys from openpli if there is still some encryption flag apparent after the channel is decrypted and streamed. This is the answer:

Apparently the PMT states the service is a "subscription" service and that is not a thing that changes after the stream is decrypted. The "encrypted" flags in the ts packet header is cleared when it's decrypted and that is what important. If the "mediaportal tv-server" uses the PMT do determine whether the stream is encrypted, than that is wrong.

I have to admit this stuff is a little over my head ...

I wish I would understand the "fix" you suggested in github but I have no clue how to implement that into my mp

 

[mm1352000]

The "encrypted" flags in the ts packet header is cleared when it's decrypted and that is what important.

This statement is correct, but it really looks like openpli is not doing this, even though they say they are.