MythRecCal - Set Recordings in MythTV Using TitanTV and Your Calendar

MythRecCal is a script that can be set to run daily on a MythTV backend computer which allows setting recordings from other devices using titantv.com.  TitanTV provides free online guide information, and the site allows several methods for interacting with computers that have DVR software.  One of the options on TitanTV for each guide listing is to add the program information to your personal calendar.  MythRecCal checks your calendar and sets a corresponding recording in MythTV for each program added.

Usage Instructions

After doing the setup steps shown below, login to titantv.com.  If using a mobile web browser, it is necessary to choose the desktop site.  Select a future guide listing, and the calendar icon will appear as shown in the screenshot image above.  Click or tap the calendar icon to to add the program to your calendar.

If using an Android device with a Google calendar, tap the TitanTV calendar icon, select download, open, add to calendar, and tap the Recordings calendar as shown in the screenshot image below.  If the download prompt does not appear after tapping the calendar icon, tap the calendar icon again.  With some Android versions, the prompt to select the Recordings calendar is not available.  If the option to select the Recordings calendar is not supported, the method shown below for using a computer can likely be used on the mobile device.

If using a computer or other device with a web browser that is compatible with Google Calendar, tap the TitanTV calendar icon to download the calendar entry file.  Browse to and bookmark https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r/settings/export.  Click select file from your computer and select the calendar entry reminder(#).ics file, select the Recordings calendar, and click import.

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Setup Instructions

Notes:

1. The numerical portion of the channel information after the space in the calendar entry description must match the corresponding MythTV channel number as shown in the screenshot below.
2. Providing login information to access the Google Recordings calendar is not needed.  This is made possible by using the unique Google calendar url for specific calendars.  This url is put in the MythRecCal settings, and it is not shared.  It provides read-only access to only the Recordings calendar.  You can see what the script can see by putting the url in a web browser and opening the file that is downloaded with a text editor.  Only the Recordings calendar information will be visible in the text file. 
3. Making the Google Recordings calendar public is not required.
4. MythRecCal is compatible with Ubuntu.  Any operating system and device with a browser that is compatible with TitanTV and Google Calendar or other equivalent calendar can be used to set recordings. 

Setup:

1. Start a web browser, and navigate to https://github.com/heyted/mythreccal/releases.
2. Under the latest release, download the tar.gz, and extract the files to your home folder.
3. Open a terminal, and type "sudo ./install".  A message indicting the program was successfully installed should appear in the terminal.
4. The files placed in the home folder can be deleted.
5. In a web browser, navigate to titantv.com.  Sign up if you are not already a member, and create a channel lineup that matches the MythTV channel lineup.  If traditional cable TV is being used, be careful when selecting cable versus digital cable, as this will affect the channel lineup.
6. In a web browser, navigate to google.com/calendar, and add a calendar:
• Go to settings (gear icon top right)
• Click add calendar
• Click create new calendar
• Enter "Recordings" for the name
• The description can be left blank
• Select the applicable time zone
• Click create calendar
• Select the Recordings calendar on the left panel
• Scroll down to Integrate calendar
• Copy the "secret address in iCal format" (not the public address)
7. Start MythRecCal by viewing the Ubuntu applications menu and clicking on the MythRecCal icon.
8. Press the s key and then enter to access the settings.  This step will be skipped if no settings have been saved, and the prompt for settings will be displayed.
9. Enter the MythTV backend address and the calendar addresses that was copied as indicated above when creating the Recordings calendar.  When prompted for an additional address, enter another address or just press enter if done.  For the other settings, press enter to select the default, or change the value as applicable.
10. Set MythRecCal to run daily to check the calendar(s) and set recordings:
• Open a terminal and type "sudo crontab -u mythtv -e" (change the username to the username needed to run mythfilldatabase)
• Select nano if prompted to choose an editor
• Enter "30 14 * * * /opt/mythreccal/mythreccal.py" without the quotes at the bottom to run daily at 2:30 PM (change the time as desired)
• Hold Ctrl and press s to save
• Hold Ctrl and press x to exit nano
11. Optional if using an Android device:
• Open the Calendar app
• Tap the three-line (hamburger) icon
• Enable the Recordings calendar to make the entries visible on the calendar
• Tap settings
• Enable sync under the Recordings calendar

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MythTV v32 Example Installation Steps with Ubuntu 22.04

I used the steps shown below to install MythTV v32 on Ubuntu 22.04.  MythTV is open source media center software for a home theater or television computer, and it is most often used to watch and record TV content.  Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux operating system distributions.  

The MythTV frontend and backend were installed so the system can be used to watch and record TV content, and the system can be used by other MythTV frontends in my home.  An Asus H110T was used with Intel graphics.  A single hard drive was used for the operating system and all other files.  Also, an HDHomeRun Prime was used with Comcast Xfinity.  

The guide data source is from SiliconDust and TVMaze, and this differs from the more commonly used Schedules Direct source.  This video shows example backend setup steps using Schedules Direct, which differ from the steps shown below.

1. Install Ubuntu using the minimal install option.  The installation iso file and instructions for installing Ubuntu Desktop LTS can be found at https://ubuntu.com.
2. Boot into Ubuntu and start Software Updater.
3. Install all available updates.
4. Reboot, and repeat steps two and three until Software Updater indicates there are no more updates.
5. Set a static IP address:
• Left click on the network icon on the top-right of the screen, left click on the right arrow next to the network connection, and left click Wired Settings.
• Left click the gear icon next to the current working network connection.
• Left click the IPv4 tab.
• Left click Manual, and enter appropriate values for the address, netmask, and gateway.  The netmask and gateway values match what my Android phone lists when connected to my home network by tapping Settings, Network and Internet, Wi-Fi, gear icon, and Advanced.
• Left click the toggle to turn automatic DNS off, and enter appropriate values for the DNS addresses.  For example, 75.75.75.75,75.75.76.76 is common for Comcast.
• The automatic routes can be left on.
• Click Apply.
6. Reboot, start Firefox, and verify the connection is working.
7. Install Mythbuntu Control Panel (MCP) by following the instructions here.
8. Start MCP, click Repositories, select version 32, and click Apply.
9. Close MCP, start Software Updater, and install any updates found.
10. Start MCP, click System Roles, select Primary Backend and Desktop Frontend, and click Apply.  There is no need to select the XMLTV option if hdhrepg2myth or mythrecmaze is being used as guide data source.  Schedules Direct users need to select the XMLTV option.
11. Close MCP, and reboot the computer.
12. Start MCP, click Setup, and do the following:
• Do the first several steps here to add the current user to the mythtv group and add a link to config.xml.  The option to run MythTV Backend Setup as the mythtv user can be used if hdhrepg2myth or mythrecmaze is being used as guide data source, but it is optional.  Schedules Direct users need to enable this option to use MythTV Backend Setup to configure the guide data grabber.
• Always select the option to stop the backend if it is running.  This item will remain grayed out if the backend is not running.  At this step in a new install, the backend will normally not be running.
• Click the MythTV Backend Setup button.
13. Setup the backend (part one):
• In General, set the security pin to 0000.
• In General, set the IPv4 primary IP address to the address used in setting the static IP address above.
• In Capture Cards, press enter with new capture card highlighted, press the down key to highlight new capture card, and press enter.
• Select HDHomeRun networked tuner, press the right arrow key, press enter with use HDHomeRun... selected to enable it, and in Recording Options, deselect EIT scanning.
• Repeat the above step three times for the three available tuners.
• In Video Sources, create a new source, name it NG, set the listing grabber to no grabber, the CF table to default, and the network ID to -1.  This step will be different for Schedules Direct users (see the video linked to above).
• In Input Connections, create three connections, set the display name to Prime1, Prime2 and Prime3, set the name to MPEG2TS, and set the source to NG.  This step will be different for Schedules Direct users.
• In Storage Directories, set the default to /var/lib/mythtv/recordings/, and set live TV to /var/lib/mythtv/livetv/.  Do not copy and paste the path text.
• Save, and press Esc to exit myth-setup.  Do not start the backend, and do not update the database when prompted upon exiting.  This step will be different for Schedules Direct users.
14. Reboot the PC.
15. Start MCP, click Setup, and apply the option to enable networking.
16. Scan for channels and add channels to MythTV:
• Start Firefox, and access the HDHomeRun Prime's web page interface by going to  http://my.hdhomerun.com/discover and then going to the "base url" listed on the discover page. 
• Left click Channel Lineup.
• Left click Detect Channels, and give it about 20 minutes to detect all channels.  The channel numbers should appear as the scan progresses.  Channels marked "DRM" will not work with MythTV.  With Comcast, only premium channels such as HBO are generally marked "DRM".
• Add channels to MythTV using the hdhrchan2myth.py script.  The usage instructions can be found here.  This script is compatible with using the guide data sources noted above.  If Schedules Direct is to be used, using this script is not recommended.  This step will be different for Schedules Direct users (see the video linked to above).
17. Start MCP, click Setup, stop the backend if running, and click the MythTV Backend Setup button.
18. Setup the backend (part two):
• In Channels, delete or hide the channels that are not needed by pressing the D key or setting the visible option to not visible.
• In Input Connections, set the starting channel to the desired channel number.
• Exit the backend setup.  Do not start the backend, and do not update the database when prompted upon exiting.  This step will be different for Schedules Direct users (see the video linked to above).
19. Reboot the PC.
20. Optionally start MCP, and install Mythweb.  Mythweb is very convenient for setting and managing recordings.
21. Set the sound output in Ubuntu:
• Left click the lower left Show Applications icon, and left click Settings.
• In Sound, set the output to HDMI/displayPort-Built-in Audio.
• Close the settings window.
22. Setup the frontend:
• Left click the lower left Show Applications icon, and left click MythTV Frontend.
• In Setup, select Setup Wizard.
• In the wizard, choose an audio device, and select Test Speakers.  Change the audio device and test again until the test sound can be heard.  
• Also in the wizard, choose VAAPI Normal for the video playback profile.  After this step, it should be possible to watch live TV.
• In Video, select Playback.
• Use the arrow keys to highlight Current Video Playback Profile, and press the right arrow key.
• For the vaapi entry, deselect Deblocking filter, and set the primary and fallback deinterlacer to none.  I have all 720p channels, so I do not need deinterlacing.
• Set the deinterlacer quality for both rates to none. 
23. Optionally install hdhrepg2myth using the directions shown here.  This provides guide data from SiliconDust.
24. Optionally install mythrecmaze using the directions shown here.  This provides guide data from TVMaze.
25. Start MCP, click Startup Behavior, and apply the option to automatically start MythTV Frontend.