Enigma2 Service Watcher Program

[iBoston]

I love what i can do with Enigma2 receivers!!! I wrote a program a couple years back, which i called e2kodi. But, i need to rename the program because it is much more than that.

The program watches what channel i watch and is triggered if i turn to certain channels (services). I wrote the program originally , as there were a few channels on 34.5w that were not compatible with my receiver. So, if i turned to those channels, it would automatically initiate a stream of that channel onto my Kodi box and switch my video source to kodi, and then if i turned off that channel, would stop the stream, and set the video source back to my satellite receiver. It was a seamless way of watching those incompatible channels.

But, i also added a method of displaying information for me. I wrote it so that if i turned to a certain channel, it would popup a display message showing me the contents of a TEXT file. I utilized this method to show me my EPG statistics to help me troubleshoot any EPG issues i might be having.

Well, since all the programming was 99% there, i added yet a new feature. This one detects when i turn to one of the Muzak channels and then automatically displays the Current Song Playing. When i stay on the channel, it will refresh every 30 seconds, and if the song title changes, will then display the next song information. The only modification i had to add to my program was instead of just being able to display a file, i made it so it can pull in a HTTP and decipher the XML headers to get the song information. (Functions that already existed from other programs i wrote) Took me less than 30 minutes to add-in , and now, i don't have to ask "What song is that?"

 

[iBoston]

Well, i have been messing around, and found the python script that effects event info, specifically the EventNow and EventNext. The thought was, instead of using a message box to display the Song Artist and Title, to have it show in the EventNow and EventNext. In working on this, i have resolved another issue as well :

If you have an enigma2 receiver, with or without EPG, you might have come across the following text when you pull up an info window referring to whats current and whats on next :

• dummyEventName
• Current
• Next

PBS Montana as an example : Even though i have EPG data for PBS montana, that signal sends a junk epg information referring to whats on now/next. It overrides my EPG data in the info bar and shows Current and Next. But, i was able to modify the python script within the system files of the satellite receiver watching for junk data. As you can see in the second image, it now shows my EPG data instead of the junk data that is within the satellite stream data.

Ill post more, as i am learning as i am going....

 

[iBoston]

Well, i hit my first hiccup. At appears to only load this DATA when you first tune to the channel. I am unable to refresh, or update the EPGnow or EPGnext unless i turn off the channel, and back onto it.

This creates an Chicken or Egg first scenario. I don't know what channel i am until i turn to it, and by then its already loaded in the EPGnow/EPGnext.

This isn't a waste thou, due to the fact i have fixed the DummyEventName/Current/Next issue - so ill no longer see those silly junk text any more instead of the intended EPG. It is a fairly easy fix, and if interested, ill tell you how to modify the python script to resolve that. - You will want to save the modified python script as a backup somewhere , as if you ever update images, that file might get overwritten, in which case you re-add the patch.

Ill have to figure out if i can invoke a EPGnow/EGPnext update on a info bar display.... So, back to the grind for me, although i think i am done for the day...

 

[Hyper Casey]

You blow my mind with this stuff iBoston.

I dont know how you do it.

I am so far behind ........ lol

 

[iBoston]

You blow my mind with this stuff iBoston.

I dont know how you do it.

I am so far behind ........ lol

Believe me, i still get LOST and feel inferior at times... Ugh, i need to step away for a few days.. Trying to get the internals of Enigma2 figured out is like reading Chinese. Example : In theory, i should be able to set the new artist and song title through the enigma2 python files, and detect that change and automatically show the infobar. Well, that has proven to be a bunch of frustrations and dead ends, and a bricked unit, where i had to restore the firmware.. So, its not all roses....

However, i have left my tuner tuned to 80's channel for hours, and its nice to see the message box popup at every new song. -- But, its all done OUTSIDE enigma2.

But, in attempts of doing this inside enigma2 work, I did fix the : dummyeventnext and current/next, and i figured out how to show my infobar CLOCK in 12 hour format. Why they didn't make that a config option is beyond me! Those Europeans gotta remember, people on the other side of the pond use enigma2 too!

 

[iBoston]

I added another feature to my program. I just added channel surfing. If i tune to a specific channel that i named "*Channel Surf", it then mutes the volume and enabled channel surf. As an example, i can then jump to 97w KU, and tune to the first channel. I then un-mute and the STB will cycle through all the channels. If i hit the mute button, the channel surfing will PAUSE. When i un-mute, the channel surfing will resume.

If i cycle the mute on/off 3 times, it will disable the channel surf with a screen notification. It can be re-enabled within 30 minutes without having to tune to the *ChannelSurf channel by cycling the mute on/off 3 additional times. - I thought that feature was pretty slick.

It is time delayed between channel changes at 10 seconds, although it is a configuration option to change that.

I do channel surfing from time to time, and my finger gets tired of hitting the remote every few seconds... It will also be great that i can do that and walk around the house. Being i channel surf a couple times a month, i suspect ill do it more often now that it is more convenient.

 

[iBoston]

Update... I made a few tweaks here and there. - Just because i could, when you turn to the channel that turns on channel surfing, it MUTES the Satellite Receiver, and UN-MUTES the AVreceiver. It then sets the VOLUME of the receiver (remember STB is muted - messing with the av VOLUME wont blow the ears.) to match the SECONDS delay, It then sends a message to the satellite receiver telling me i have 30 seconds to set the volume of the receiver to match the # of seconds i want the channel delay to be. So, i then set the volume of the AV receiver to, for example, 30, and then i hit the mute button to let it know I'm done. It then sets the channel change delay to 30 seconds, and then resets the volume of the AV receiver to what it was before and then un-mutes the satellite receiver. - It then saves that channel delay for next time, so that if i don't want to actively change the delay seconds, i just hit the MUTE button and it defaults to the last set delay.

If i just want to pause the channel change because of a bath room break, i just hit the mute button. It will pause as long as it's muted. But, if i want to actually pause so i can watch the same channel for awhile with sound, i then toggle the mute 3 times within 10 seconds, That will disable/enable channel surfing. I can leave it paused for up to 30 minutes before having to re-enable by going to the *Enable Channel Surf Channel.

I have literally let it run for hours cycling through channels every 30 seconds... Its kinda cool, i have found some interesting content in just the last day or two.

Here are a few pictures giving you a better visual :

When i get the last message, i then close out that message and go to the channel list i want, example 97w KU, and click on the 1st channel. I then click to un-mute the sound, and in 30 seconds and there after, it advances to the next channel. When its reached the last channel in that list (ie boutique/favorites or particular satellite, or particular transponder) it jumps back to the first channel in that list and repeats until i stop it or we have a power failure.