pyTivo Discussion Forum

[wgw]

I've made an update to pyTivo that will bypass the aspect and resolution settings when transcoding to an HD Tivo. Use link below to download site and follow instructions on LatestBeta download page.

Let me know if you have any problems with this update. This is kind of a major change and I quite frankly am not sure ffmpeg and the HD Tivos will handle everything thrown at it. So I'm throwing it out there for user testing.

This update will check the height setting in pytivo.conf and will only reduce the resolution if the source has a higher height. Otherwise, it will transode using the same resolution as the source. This should speed up transcoding and reduce file size by not upsizing lower resolution sources during the transcode.

[krkeegan]

Interesting, I have just used an ffmpeg-pram line that omits the aspect_Ratio parameter. So far I havent come across any dimensions that cause issues. I suppose your mod would do the same thing but would correct dimensions that are too large?? Do we know if files beyond 1080 in height cause issues?

[wgw]

Don't know. I've never run across a file with a height above 1080.

The main reason I choose to compare heights is because transcoding 1080 to 1080 is extremely slow. 2 fps on my computer. This method will allow users that do not care about retaining such high resolutions to downsize 1080 to 720 and triple the transcode speed instead of retaining all resolutions.

[jm1fd]

Working well for me so far. Currently its beaming over a video file of 336x272, and playback is going just fine thus far.

[PaulS]

I can give this a spin later tonight. What would you recommend for a basic pytivo.conf setup ? Take the default ffmpeg_parms line ? Would something basic like this work :

[wgw]

I use those same settings with the exception of video_br=8Mi. I assume your spelling of auto_subshares is just a typo. aspect169 is a per tivo option but it defaults to true unless you have a backlisted Tivo 540 or 649. I use the default ffmpeg_prams with a few extra video options at the end as discussed in other threads.

[PaulS]

Yeah, those were typos. I was typing it up off the top of my head.

A bit of clarification, if you don't mind. Specifically, I believe there's potential for entanglement between the "optres" parameter and your new modification.

Clearly, the S2 doesn't need "optres", since it can only digest essentially one video format. Was that just an oversight, or do you intend it to do something for you for the HD units ?

[wgw]

[PaulS]

What restrictions/protections are in place for S3->S2 transfers ? Is it possible to transfer an "oddball" piece of video to an S2, only to have the S2 choke and die on it ? Or are the S3/S2 smart enough to detect and prevent this sort of thing from occurring ?

If the smarts are in place on the S2/S3, then there's no worry.

If the smarts are NOT in place on the S2/S3, the options are to either ensure that the S3 gets legit content in the first place, or simply require the user to re-transmit the content directly to the S2 from pyTivo. I'd like to believe that the same pyTivo instance would likely be visible from both S3 and S2, and it would be a simple workaround for the problem.

[PaulS]

OK, I've got it fired up using the following pytivo.conf file :

[wgw]

I found a way to enjoy the best of both worlds. It just took a little codger-tating.

This update is now tied to the optres setting.

optres=false (default) - All resolutions are passed to HD Tivo's without resizing. Resolutions above pyTivo.conf height setting are downsized, same as always.

optres=true - Optres takes over and resizes all video, if necessary, to match nearest established valid width/heights. Resolutions above pyTivo.conf height setting are downsized, same as always.

If you have previously removed the aspect setting from your ffmpeg_prams, you should re-add it. Or better yet, use the newly updated pyTivo.conf.dist to make a new conf file.

Separate optimized defaults for HD Tivos have been added. Please read the new pyTivo.conf.dist for the HD Tivo defaults. pyTivo should now work quite well with HD Tivos without having to tweak any of the default settings.

[PaulS]

Excellent. Wasn't too invasive a change, either, based upon a quick glance at your diffs. Nice work!

BTW, I still encountered an ffmpeg crash while transfering a few of those MKV files I mentioned previously (in a different thread). I know there isn't a newer Windows snapshot available yet, so it's either roll back to a previous rev, or wait for a new rev. Either way, it's a roll of the dice...


edit : OK, I'm cut over to the newest version. My pytivo.conf file is now very, very sparse...

[windracer]

Does the hack83 setting not work in the branch? I upgraded to this release to try it out and the transcoding works great to my THD, S3, and S2, but now I've got the subfolder problem again (where the contents of a folder are the contents of a previously viewed folder). The auto_subshares works, but I liked the hack83 fix better.

[PaulS]

Sorry, I can't tell you since I don't use the hack83 option. I unintentionally tried it out when I experimented with another branch (I believe it was wmcbrine's from a while back), and I found that I preferred the auto_subshares method better.

[wmcbrine]