Answered: XBMC, PVR Support and the Xios DS

[davilla]

PVR addons are not ready

[FANTOM]

There are any dates when they will be ready?
Thank you!

[davilla]

when I fix the issues with the handling video coming from pvr addons, then those will be enabled. no ETA on this.

[chrisroge]

Is PVR support a big priority for Pivos Xios HD? For me, it is the most important feature and I probably will return my recently purchased Xios HD's if it does not look like PVR functionality will be a priority (or at least start working soon). I chose the Xios because of the close relationship between XBMC developers and Pivos, else I would have looked seriously at purchasing a simple Linux front end that I could spin up Ubuntu on.

Any updates on where Xios PVR support is? Any chance it will be in the next build?

I am trying to compile a build right now from Git, so maybe already solved there?

Thanks in advance, hope this does not come across harsh in any way, I am just scratching my head that PVR is not something that is working already so I am worried that it is not a big priority for the developers?

[davilla]

There are lots of things that are of high priority, pvr is just one of them.

[goon]

I too purchased xios ds because of the xbmc team .I watch alot of anime on it and subtitles are wacky on it. But I dont mind waiting. I hate this entitlement people have. like," I bought it, so fix it now!" you knew when you got it that it was in its alpha stage. Be patient and wait. We know xbmc team will get it done. just give em time.

[chrisroge]

If this were strictly about an open source project I would completely agree with you, I'd be 100% wrong to show impatience waiting for the feature I care about... but the Xios is a commercial product and that is where the usual "when we get to it we will let you know" attitude probably should change. I knew when I purchased my Xios' boxes that PVR support might not work just based on some of the discussion threads but I hoped because Xios is a commercial product that the developers would move quickly to close the gap. I am still hoping, the product so far has met my expectations in performance but since I want to use Xios to eliminate my Uverse DVR and set top boxes I am (hopefully understandably) impatient as I continue to pay $20/month for the privelege of using the horrible Uverse DVR.

[aasoror]

If this were strictly about an open source project I would completely agree with you, I'd be 100% wrong to show impatience waiting for the feature I care about... but the Xios is a commercial product and that is where the usual "when we get to it we will let you know" attitude probably should change.

XIOS is indeed a commercial product but the XBMC is not .. distinction should be very clear.

"when we get to it we will let you know" attitude fits pretty nicely in the grand scheme of things (as of right now), its very clear that you are supporting an ongoing project (you can tell its ongoing by checking the commit log in the source code, these commits might not be relevant to everyone, but these are the ones deemed important by the developers), when in "alpha/beta" your priorities is actually nothing near "support every single customer wish and commit yourself to a deadline which you might/might not be able to meet", priorities are to iron out as many bugs as it possible and get the "base" release in a good shape. Priority goes to where the return is maximized, fix 10 bugs or spend the very same time investigating PVR (assuming all it takes is time, which is actually not true, there are some driver issues involved that actually requires collaboration with chipset manufacturer, as indicated several posts above).

The good thing is being already in XBMC mainline, it should be doable (once everything related is resolved), there is no ETA because there is currently no plans to address PVR (promises better not made than made and be broken).

[chrisroge]

XIOS is indeed a commercial product but the XBMC is not .. distinction should be very clear.

"when we get to it we will let you know" attitude fits pretty nicely in the grand scheme of things (as of right now), its very clear that you are supporting an ongoing project (you can tell its ongoing by checking the commit log in the source code, these commits might not be relevant to everyone, but these are the ones deemed important by the developers), when in "alpha/beta" your priorities is actually nothing near "support every single customer wish and commit yourself to a deadline which you might/might not be able to meet", priorities are to iron out as many bugs as it possible and get the "base" release in a good shape. Priority goes to where the return is maximized, fix 10 bugs or spend the very same time investigating PVR (assuming all it takes is time, which is actually not true, there are some driver issues involved that actually requires collaboration with chipset manufacturer, as indicated several posts above).

The good thing is being already in XBMC mainline, it should be doable (once everything related is resolved), there is no ETA because there is currently no plans to address PVR (promises better not made than made and be broken).

I guess I struck a nerve. I am sure there are very well meaning developers who are trying to maximize return on their time... for me, PVR is the only reason I would need or want to use XBMC/Xios because it allows me to eliminate the ongoing pain of dealing with the cable company POS PVR... in the end I suppose XBMC/Xios is more focused on delivering media content which is streamed or already exists on the LAN rather than being a PVR... so perhaps I just purchased the wrong product and should return my Xios boxes... perhaps a better choice for someone interested in PVR would be to run XBMCbuntu on a plain old PC?

[aasoror]

I guess I struck a nerve.

not at all

for me, PVR is the only reason I would need or want to use XBMC/Xios because it allows me to eliminate the ongoing pain of dealing with the cable company POS PVR...

Understood, who wouldn't want that anyway.

in the end I suppose XBMC/Xios is more focused on delivering media content which is streamed or already exists on the LAN rather than being a PVR...

Actually thats not that case, the focus is getting the base features to a satisfactory state before moving to the optional ones, if you check the release history, earlier versions of the port had a very problematic online streaming and add-on support, this had to be pushed back till more basic local playback issues are resolved, once that got out of the way online streaming issues were tackled and solved (mostly), PVR will not be any different.

so perhaps I just purchased the wrong product and should return my Xios boxes... perhaps a better choice for someone interested in PVR would be to run XBMCbuntu on a plain old PC?

If you are not willing to wait for it to materialize then yes, the way to go is elsewhere.