User talk:Skinkone

Welcome
Hi, welcome to ScreenPlay Pro HD! Thanks for your edit to the User talk:JCoug page.

Please leave a message on my talk page if I can help with anything! -- JCoug (Talk) 21:33, October 6, 2009

SSERVER
SSERVER is not on the screenplay. It is a barebones compact limited memory system. If you want other things, you'll need to compile them yourself or find a copy compiled for mipsel (and for the screenplay library). If you're familiar with compiling, and you can locate the source for sserver and ggrab, then you can check out the toolchain that I built and see if you can add GGRAB and SSERVER. They aren't part of the standard toolchain, so I don't know what is going to be necessary to add them. One thing you might want to check is to google for "mipsel ggrab sserver" to see if the "white russian" version works on the Screenplay. Some others have had success with other white russian binaries. No promises, though. --JCoug 05:15, October 8, 2009 (UTC)

Problem partially solved for recording from Dreambox, but...
I abandoned the SSERVER/GGRAB idea as I realized I was way over my head. Instead of using Ngrab to record (it would record on a PC share, but not on the Screenplay), I found the Timer...DVR function on the Dreambox. This worked on the ScreenPlay...Hallelujah! However, the video quality is terrible due to missing frames. I can only hypothesize 3 causes:

1) the DVR function records things differently from Ngrab I used Ngrab to record to a PC share, and the quality was fantastic

2) the network is slow Don't think it's this because a well-recorded video in playback from ScreenPlay back to the Dreambox is just fine

3) ScreenPlay can't keep up with the incoming stream In this case, is there any hope?

I will try recording with the DVR function onto the PC to see if I can eliminate #1. In the meantime, is #3 a possibility?


 * The Ngrab can send the video to a PC share, but not to the ScreenPlay? Does it not detect the screenplay's share?  The ScreenPlay uses the same protocol for sharing as Windows does, so if it is just using that protocol, there shouldn't be any problem with it storing it there.  I don't know anything about the dreambox, so I'm making certain assumptions as to how it works.  If you understand why it doesn't, let me know.  If you copy the video from the PC Share to the SPP, is it good quality?
 * Are you using the composite input for #3 and using the SPP's ability to record? Is that what you meant?  From what I've seen, the SPP can keep up with an NTSC signal.  I don't know about a PAL signal, which I am guessing is what you are sending it.  It should be able to keep up with that as well.  The quality isn't high def, it's standard def. --JCoug 17:19, October 8, 2009 (UTC)

To clarify a bit, all recording is taking place over the LAN through the RJ45 inputs. It is a PAL signal. Copying a good quality file to the SPP results in good quality playback.

A little about the Dreambox 500S: this is a satellite decoder with a Linux base and networking capability. I've connected the Dreambox to my router through an ethernet cable. Also on the LAN are a PC and the ScreenPlay. There is a configuration center on the Dreambox that allows you to mount external hard drives. I was able to accomplish this using CIFS on the PC an SMBFS on the ScreenPlay. From the Dreambox, you can then navigate these mounted disks and play back the files.

The Dreambox has a built-in codec for playing mpeg2 streams and .ts; anything else and you need to install a VLC client on it which then communicates with a VLC server on the PC. I won't go into that, though!

There are two ways of recording from the Dreambox: Ngrab (this produces an mpeg2 file) and DVR (this produces the .ts file). It works through Port 4000.

Ngrab: recording onto the PC works perfectly. Playback from the PC to the Dreambox is smooth. I installed this tiny program called "Ngrab Lite" on my Windows XP PC that apparently "listens" on port 4000. I don't think I'd be able to record onto the PC without this program.

Can't record using Ngrab on the ScreenPlay. I found a program called ggrab and sserver that I thought could be installed on ScreenPlay. Since my Linux limit is basically copying and pasting commands someone else has cooked up in a recipe, I didn't get far.

DVR: recording onto the PC and onto the ScreenPlay both work, but with heavy frame loss. Both playback on the PC itself and onto the Dreambox are similarly poor.

Any ideas how to move forward? I will look into the "white russian" solution, but I'm afraid of voiding my warranty. I'm afraid if I can't get ScreenPlay to work, it's rather useless and I'll probably just return it.


 * From what you've said, I would theorize that you could use ngrab on your PC and then have a network mapped folder to your screenplay so that it could store the saved file directly onto the screenplay instead of storing it on the PC. Would that work for you? It means you'd have to have your PC and ScreenPlay on for recording, although playback could be done just through the screenplay as needed.  --JCoug 22:26, October 9, 2009 (UTC)

While I think that *could* work, it defeated the whole purpose of having a network drive so that I didn't have to leave my PC on. As I felt I was in over my head on all of this configuration, I ended up returning the ScreenPlay (here in Italy you only have 10 days to return merchandise, so I didn't want to take any chances of being saddled with something I wasn't going to use). I'm trying to figure out whether the problem is the disk speed or the LAN output speed from the Dreambox 500.

Still, the solution would be the ability to install that darn "Ngrab" or "Ggrab" (or other stream capture) server directly on a NAS.

I want to thank you again for your wonderful site and for being so responsive!
 * You're welcome. You may want to look at the eGreat or another popcorn hour compatible unit.  Here's a forum thread discussing streaming the dreambox to an eGreat.  Good luck.  --JCoug 16:23, October 12, 2009 (UTC)