Introduction

MythExport is a script that can be added to MythTV as a User Job and used to export recordings into a format playable on portable devices such as iPod Video, iPod Touch, and PSP. Besides converting your recordings, this script also grabs data from the MythTV MySQL database and injects it as iTunes data into the exported video so that it will show up correctly on your iPod.

Installation

If you installed MythExport and AtomicParsley by hand previously then you will need to remove them (Also note that mythexport.pl has now become mythexport in the new installation):

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/mythexport.pl
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/AtomicParsley

On Gutsy you need to add additional sources before installing, this is not needed on Hardy. Add the following to your /etc/apt/sources.list:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/rhpot1991/ubuntu gutsy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/rhpot1991/ubuntu gutsy main

Install MythExport and AtomicParsley:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mythexport atomicparsley

Script Configuration

Use the script usage below to choose your settings. You can reference this when you need them later.

john@ultramagnus:~$ mythexport

How to use mythexport:

chanid = Channel ID associated with the recording to export.
starttime = Recording start time in either 'yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss' or 'yyyymmddhhmmss' format.
exportdir = Directory to export completed MP4 files to (note the user the script runs as must have write permission on that directory).
size = Frame size of output file.  320x240 is the default value.
aspect = Aspect ratio of output file.  Valid values are 4:3 (default) and 16:9.
audio_bitrate = Audio bitrate in output file in kbps.  Default value is 96kb.
video_bitrate = Video bitrate in output file in kbps.  Default value is 300kb.
export_codec = Acceptable export codecs: mpeg4, xvid, h264.
export_device = Acceptable export devices: ipod, psp.
debug = Enable debugging information - outputs which commands would be run.

Example: mythexport exportdir=/mythtv/ipod starttime=20060803205900 chanid=1006 size=320x240 aspect=4:3 audio_bitrate=192kb video_bitrate=300kb export_device=ipod export_codec=mpeg4 debug

MythTV Configuration

Enable a User Job to be used:

If you have multiple backends, check this box so that you don't get errors with a backend trying to export a file it doesn't have:

Fill in a name for your User Job. Then add the command you want the custom job to run: Here is my command for medium quality:

mythexport exportdir=/mythtv/ipod starttime=%STARTTIME% chanid=%CHANID% size=320x240 aspect=4:3 audio_bitrate=192kb video_bitrate=600kb export_device=ipod export_codec=mpeg4

The User Job name and command can also be modified in MythWeb (by clicking on the MythTV Settings button), but it must first be enabled in mythtvfrontend as shown above:

Exporting a Recording

Execute your user job in MythTv:

Media Library -> Watch Recordings

You can check that your job is running in the Info Center (Information Center -> System Status -> Job Queue):

The User Job can be configured to run on recordings after they are created (Post Recording Processing Menu on the Recording Options screen):

Troubleshooting

Verify that the user which runs the script has permissions to create files in the directory you are exporting to.

If you get an error about config.xml missing, this can normally be found in the home directory of the user who runs your MythTV Fronend, and can be fixed by creating a symlink in mythtv's home directory (because that is the user who runs user jobs from the backend).

If you get any errors about aac, xvid, mp3, or h264 then your ffmpeg version may not have those enabled. The easiest way to fix this is to enable the Medibuntu repositories.

CategoryDocumentation