Questions[mythtv](ubuntu)

I have downloaded the backend and front end of mythtv for 14.04 but when I open up the backend to configure I get a screen to select country then on the next page I get: MythTV could not connect to the database. Please verify your database settings below. Required fields are marked with and asterisk (*).

*Hostname: localhost [/]Ping test server? Port:3306 Database name: mythconverg User: mythtv Password: mythtv

All of that was already filled out, I haven't changed anything. The only answer I have found to this issue is for mythbuntu located here.

I am trying to convert mythtv recorded mpg (mpeg2) files into streamable mp4 files. Converting to an mp4 is simple, however, the entire file must be converted first before it is usable. Even using conversion tools that put the "mov atom" at the start of the file for quick streaming require that the entire mp4 be encoded before that happens.

I read on avconv docs that "The mov/mp4/ismv muxer supports fragmentation." which can put a "fake" mov atom at the start of the file and then puts a new one at each keyframe throughout the file so the video can be streamed while it is being transcoded or if the conversion is interrupted.

I believe I have followed the avconv instructions (http://libav.org/avconv.html#MOV_002fMP4_002fISMV) on how to convert a file, but continue to get errors that indicate the encoder does not understand the parameters. Below is my command, and the error output it generates. I have exhausted google and myself searching for answers and have come up blank so any help would be greatly appreciated.

System running ubuntu 12.04x64 with avconv version 0.8.1-4:0.8.1-0ubuntu1.

Command:

avconv -i 1081_20111227200000.mpg -f mp4 -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov -c:v libx264 -c:a copy output.mp4

Error:

[mp4 muxer @ 0x36772e0] [Eval @ 0x7fffeddb69b0] Undefined constant or missing '(' in 'frag_keyframe'
[mp4 muxer @ 0x36772e0] Unable to parse option value "frag_keyframe+empty_moov"
[mp4 muxer @ 0x36772e0] Error setting option movflags to value frag_keyframe+empty_moov.
Output #0, mp4, to 'output.mp4':
    Stream #0.0: Video: libx264, yuv420p, 1920x1080 [PAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], q=-1--1, 90k tbn, 29.97 tbc
    Stream #0.1(eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1, 384 kb/s
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (mpeg2video -> libx264)
  Stream #0:1 -> #0:1 (copy)
Could not write header for output file #0 (incorrect codec parameters ?)

I have tried different muxers (-f parameters like h264 etc) and had other errors like the movflag wasn't even supported (logical).

Am I missing a package, dependency, or just the point? Thanks in advance.

I'm using MythTV to watch TV on my ubuntu computer and I'm having a problem with the resolution.

It seems that the GUI resolution is matched with the channel resolution, so If I'm watching a HD channel, I get a nice GUI but If I'm watching a SD channel, then it's crap.

A couple of screenshots to show the difference:

High Definition Channel:

Standard Definition Channel:

I haven't found any similar issue in the internet and neither an option in the settings menu of MythTV (backend and frontend).

I have another small problem that you can see in the first screenshot, the channel name is cut (it shows "Telemadri" and the last letter is not completely shown). Anyone know how can I fix this too?

Thanks in advance

I am looking for software programs to use my TV Tuner card in Ubuntu. I have mythTV installed and use it quite a bit. But I am looking for a program that can tune my tuner card in just a window, not only a full-screen.

E.g. - I would like to watch something in a browser, while having a TV channel playing in another window. Maybe a program like VLC that can control my tuner?

What I'm trying to do is send caller ID (CID) information from a system running Asterisk+FreePBX to all (3) MythTV frontend systems on my network. I'd like the CID information to pop-up over top of whatever is going on (eg, whether it's on a menu, or playing back a recording). Eventually there may be other information as well, but for now CID would be a great start.

The libnotify-style notifications are fine (though I probably need to increase text size to make it visible). I was thinking something like Growl, though this doesn't seem to exist for Linux.

Ideally I'd just be able to do some kind of broadcast to the whole network, eg, from the FreePBX system I could run a command like:

notify --broadcast  --title "Incoming Call"  "Smith J\n613-555-1234"

And then on any mythtv frontend, it would appear somewhere on screen.

Note: there is a MythNotify plugin, which I have used in a previous iteration of my setup, but it has a severe limitation (I believe based on the way MythTV's OSD stuff works) that it can only display notifications during video playback: not while in menus. I also remember it being a pain to get displaying properly: it uses XML for messaging then XSLT to change to mythtv's XML format. If you want to display something slightly differently, you have to make a small handful of new XML files and even then getting the "callerid-from-phonebook.xml" message to actually render to the (remote) "callerid-from-phonebook-osd.xml" file for display is some kind of black art.