Kodi 18.7 on OpenVix 5.3 will not play .ts movie files

[FlexMcMurphy]

My set up:

ZGemma H7S
OpenVix 5.3 (also tried 5.2.045)
Kodi 18.7 (downloaded from plugins menu)

When I click on "File List" on the remote I can play movie recordings from my list. Most of them are recorded from the TV and are in .ts format.

When I try to play those same .ts files in Kodi 18.7 they freeze after about 2-3 seconds. Does anyone else have this problem or find a way to get it working?

I read through this thread (https://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?57372-Audio-files-not-playing-(KODI-17-3-on-Solo4K)-use-of-external-player-required) and this thread (https://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?63092-Kodi-playback-issue).

Do I need to create a playercorefactory.xml file and specify the enigma2 player as an external player (https://kodi.wiki/view/External_players)? If so can someone please help me make that file? I can't find the location of the default enigma2 player on my OpenVix installation.

I also took a log of what was going on when I tried to play a .ts file in Kodi.60478

I tried booting into OpenVix as Kodi and as PiP.. the box crashes when I try to boot into the PiP slot version.

I also tried installing OpenVix 5.2.045 and downloaded Kodi from the systemplugins which gave me Kodi 17.0

This is even more buggy than Kodi 18.7 and won't play .ts files even for a few seconds and also the Kodi menu was breaking up on me.

Any help very much appreciated.

Flex

[FlexMcMurphy]

Just to add that I also hooked my USB drive of movies up to a Raspberry Pi running OSMC with Kodi 18.7 and it DOES play the .ts files from there.

Flex

[Andy_Hazza]

Kodi isn’t really tailored for e2 boxes like it is for specific Media devices like Nvidia Shields etc. Just a bonus to actually work on e2.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Joe_90]

Yes, I was going to say that I find that Kodi can play Vix .ts files perfectly fine on dedicated media players, but I was afraid of being branded a curmudgeon if I said that Kodi on enigma was a bit crap. I have several times in the past expressed the opinion on this forum that Kodi on enigma boxes is a bit of a gimmick. If it works for you - ok. However, I have been using Kodi for years on dedicated media players and have seen it evolve into a superb platform for HD video and multichannel audio when it's installed on the right kit. Any time I've ever used it on my mutant HD51 it is a bit of a poor relation to the experience I get even on a cheapo 4K dedicated media player as regards audio and video quality. On the flip side, the media players are not great at handling DVB satellite and terrestrial tuners. You can't beat the enigma platform for a really good telly-watching and recording environment.:)

[FlexMcMurphy]

Thank you both for your replies.

I'd like to know if it is definitely possible or not possible.

To get Kodi running in OpenVix on a Zgemma H7S to play a .ts file without freezing.

Any advice on how to test, debug... things to try?

Cheers,

Flex

[FlexMcMurphy]

I think what I need help with is how to make an entry in the Kodi "PlayerCoreFactory.xml" file for a player of type "ExternalPlayer".

I guess I would start by trying to specify the media player that enigma2 uses on OpenVix. I need to know the path to this media player but I don't know what that is? Or even if that would work where the player might be a python script rather than a .exe file.

There is a PlayerCoreFactory.xml file... in /usr/share/kodi/system/PlayerCoreFactory.xml
But to add new parameters to this file you need to make your own in the userdata folder as explained here (https://kodi.wiki/view/External_players).
In this file you add a player of type "ExternalPlayer" and a rule that tells Kodi when to use that player instead of kodis own media player.


In my case I created a new file: /media/hdd/.kodi/userdata/PlayerCoreFactory.xml

I'm not sure what it's supposed to look like.. something like this I suppose as mentioned here (https://kodi.wiki/view/External_players).


<playercorefactory>
<players>
<player name="Enigma2MediaPlayer" type="ExternalPlayer" audio="true" video="true">
<filename>Path to Enigma2MediaPlayer goes here</filename>
<args>"{1}" /fullscreen /close</args>
<hidexbmc>false</hidexbmc>
<hideconsole>false</hideconsole>
<warpcursor>none</warpcursor>
</player>
</players>
<rules action="prepend">
<rule filetypes="ts" player="Enigma2MediaPlayer"/>
</rules>
</playercorefactory>

If the .ts files play OK through OpenVix then surely I just need to know how to tell Kodi to use that OpenVix media player?

What do I need to put in <filename>...</filename> above?

Cheers,

Flex

[FlexMcMurphy]

Apologies, I keep coming back with more info to add but by then I cannot edit my last post anymore as more than 30 mins have passed.

From testing I find that the above playercorefactory.xml file in the userdata folder doesn't work to make .ts files play but at least it doesn't stop .mp4 files from playing. So it sort of works except it seems the <filename>...</filename> bit is wrong. Here is a log output (https://paste.kodi.tv/qubibaxuvu.kodi) of the error on trying to play a .ts file.

Flex

[FlexMcMurphy]

Well it looks like this thread didn't get much traction!

I have a solution that seems to work alright. Here is some explanation. It might not all be completely correct or apply to other peoples situations but i figure spreading the knowledge is better than no one knowing what the options are.

Enigma2 media players are all based on the Gstreamer framework. The FFMPEG framework can do a better job of playing some media types such as internet streams and (I found) .ts files. FFMPEG is not a regular part of Enigma2. You have to install it along with a different media player and then activate that new player using a third tool.

From a command line window to the ZGemma install ffmpeg, exteplayer3 and serviceapp:
# opkg update
# opkg remove enigma2-plugin-systemplugins-serviceapp exteplayer3 ffmpeg
# opkg install ffmpeg exteplayer3 enigma2-plugin-systemplugins-serviceapp

Configure ServiceApp to make exteplayer3 the default media player in enigma2:
Now from OpenVix… Menu > Setup > System > ServiceApp
Enigma2 playback system: serviceapp
Player: exteplayer3
I left all the options underneath unchanged except "Auto turn on subtitles" (I set this to false)

Update the advancedsettings.xml so kodi knows what the enigma2 default media player is:
/usr/share/kodi/system/advancedsettings.xml
Change... <defaultplayer>E2Player</defaultplayer>
To
<defaultplayer>exteplayer3</defaultplayer>

Update the Kodi SYSTEM playercorefactory.xml file so Kodi knows what the enigma2 default media player is:
/usr/share/kodi/system/playercorefactory.xml
Change… <player name="E2Player" type="Enigma2Player" audio="true" video="true">
To
<player name="exteplayer3" type="Enigma2Player" audio="true" video="true">

Now reboot the Zgemma.

Controlling playback of .ts files played through Kodi

When watching a movie from Kodi you use the same controls to pause/play/stop/skipforward the movie as though you were watching the movie from OpenVix.
You don't get nice Kodi style on screen controls as you do in other dedicated Kodi devices or OSs such as OSMC.
The fastforward >| and rewind <| buttons don't seem to work when playing a movie from Kodi but they DO work when playing the same movie from OpenVix.
The lack of ffwrd and rewind is a known limitation of exteplayer3.

A workaround is to simply skip forward and back by a fixed number of seconds using the number buttons on the remote: 1/3=15 secs, 4/6=60 secs, 7/9=300 secs.
These durations can be changed in: OpenVix Menu > Setup > Recordings, playback & timeshift > Recording & Playback > Custom skip time for.....

You can also long press the left and right arrow buttons (either side of the OK button) and then additional presses skip forward or back by a time that is configurable in:
OpenVix Menu > Setup > Recordings, playback & timeshift > Recording & Playback > Seekbar sensibility
I found that 1 = 9 seconds and 10 is 65 seconds in Kodi,

After I did all of this, I am able to play movie recordings (.ts files) I made in OpenVix on the ZGemma H7S though the Kodi plugin. So far Kodi 18.7 in OpenVix 5.3 on the ZGemma H7S seems to work ok for this purpose.

Hope this helps someone,

Flex