[custom-portal] Custom TV Portal

Custom Portal - Xtra1

Hi guys, this is my first time on here and I've been meesing around with HTML/JavaScript on the Custom Portal for a while now.

In the last week I submitted a new plugin for the Custom Portal called portal-xtra1.

It's a bit rough and ready at the moment - it's BETA software, so please forgive anything that just doesn't do anything in the menus yet, BUT it now has a News Ticker - from the BBC news RSS feed, and an onscreen clock - so I thought I'd release it into the wild.

---FULL PRE-PREPARED BLURB---
portal-xtra1 is an additional plugin for the Hummy custom-portal. Providing an on-screen clock, and access to some of the custom-portal extra applications.

It's main current feature is a BBC News headline ticker - press 0 to exit the news ticker and return to the colour button menu.

The TV Chat feature does NOT yet work, yes I will make it grey in the next release, until I get it working.

This is beta software some functions do not yet work.

Hidden functions:
iNFO button shows an About screen, press '9' for a hidden 'test' menu, features in here will change, connecting to the tv.tausoft.co.uk option will load the latest nightly build that I am running on my box at home.

Future Plans:
  • The News feeder will be updated to offer other RSS News feeds, and adding your own RSS news feed as a custom option, using an USB keyboard (or the infra-red remote when I have a software keyboard figured out).
    - Yes USB keyboards do work - at least on the HDR-T2.
  • Setting an override on the current custom-portal so xtra1 loads as the default, and a menu option to load the custom-portal page.
  • Adding other plugins (such as the portal-foscam) on the menus.
  • The next built-in app will be a TV chat function allowing users to chat with other hummy users - using the infra-red remote (and the above mentioned soft keyboard) or an USB keyboard.
    - (I have to figure out a user registration system - probably using oAuth - ie your facebook or google sign-on).
Any suggestions would be more than welcome.
---------
Also if anyone has any HTML/Javascript source code that interacts with the box itself that would be a help - has anyone managed to capture the HTML/JS from the Humax Official portal page?

...spayz (Ian)
 
Thanks Brian -- I have been busy since I submitted the plug-in, so I haven't checked anything out - I'll put everything in there now... --grin--
 
ChrisDaniels said:
When you say capture the HTML/JS.. do you know you can do this straight from the pc?
Just go to the unsecure portal address http://humaxtvportal.com/ or http://test.humaxtvportal.com/and view the sources.. ;)
Click to expand...
Well I thought Humax would of just blocked the code from anything that wasn't a Humax Box.

So yeah I'm looking through it now, though the German-MIT code has given me some really good pointers -- as I trawled through it making the change channel thing work.
 
I seriously considered buying a Foscam ip camera so that it would be compatible with the custom portal add on. However having compared specifications I decided to go for an AVTech AVN80X instead as it seemed to offer more features and was available at a good price from Maplin. Needless to say I thought I'd still try it with the custom portal anyway. The pproblem is that I get a pop up box asking for a user name and password even though I've already entered those in the webif settings and I can't find any way of entering letters just digits. The question is what is asking for my username and password? Is that a feature of the foscam plug in or is it my ip camera that is requesting the information?

I don't expect anyone to spend any time on this, I just want to satisfy my curiosity and I don't have the technical expertise to take it any further myself. I really don't need this feature as the AVN80X has an app that I can access from my iPad. The ability to view the feed via my TV as well would just be nice to have.
 
I'm not exactly answering my own question here but I have managed to find some information on the NetworkCameraReviews.com forum from a member called goldserve that might help:

"With some help, I was able to figure out the RTSP address.
rtsp://<user>:<pass>@<ipaddress>/live/h264

User can be guest. VLC works well to view this stream."

Am I correct in assuming that this information could be used to modify foscam.jim so that the Custom Portal would work with the AVTech?
 
Maybe. Af123 would be best placed to answer that one.
In the meantime just take a look at the code If you're comfortable and see if its just a case of altering a few lines.

I'm pretty sure however that rtsp isn't supported and af's code was just sending screenshots every few seconds to simulate a video stream.
 
First time installing either of the custom portals, so I have installed Chris' 'custom-portal'. I do have one query which is that upon starting the portals (TV Portal (button) --> Our Portal -->) I then have a choice of two Sky Player options followed by more App options. The options following the 2xSky are untested by myself but am referring to the two Sky App options. Is there a reason for both being present? The first Sky Go in the horizontal list gave me a problem when trying to exit, which required a 'standby-->switch off/on at back of unit' to restore any functionality. The second of the Sky options meanwhile, seems to work well, allowing exploration of the options presented through Sky Player and also playing the 'Watch Sample Channel' material, whilst also allowing proper exit (via 'Exit' on the remote) to normal viewing.

I would also like to ask whether watching Sky via this method (logged on to Sky Player/Go) affects existing recordings or scheduled recordings?

ChrisDaniels, answer quickly! I'll be about tomorrow afternoon (between ~1500-1600hrs) and there's a chance I may be able to help in your quest to watch F1 live - free, of course. I've a spare slot in a Sky Go account. I've got my PC in one slot and one is left, which my friend's interested in. If you manage to contact me early enough, I won't add my HDRT2 to the other slot. I'll watch on PC for awhile (till my slot is able to change device) and you can have the other slot. Of course, all precautions have been made to protect my account and privacy - but you will have to act respectfully.
 
Okay, I now see that both applications have different initial versions 0.8.15 as opposed to 0.9.1. What is the reasoning behind this? I have read every single post, including all the posts created for/by my citymate spayz (Ian).

ChrisDaniels - my last paragraph still stands.
 
Sweet! i'll take you up on that offer if i can :)

The two versions of sky player were found on the box in the firmware. No idea why there are two versions and what the differences are though. Thats Humax for you..lol
I concluded that the higher version number must obviously be the better version & contain some bug fixes, but why they are both included is anyones guess.

Interestingly, if you go to humaxtvportal.com on your PC, you will see they have added in some Sky Player buttons. These also refer to the same differing versions. Maybe this is where development stopped while they were debugging it and then Sky rang up and told them "oh you know that Sky Player app you've been working on for the past 6 months, well we're kinda changing the name/layout/backend..." - working in development myself, that kind of stuff actually happens!

EDIT: Watching anything via the portal should not affect normal operations of the box (recording) but then I dont know if anyone has actually tested this? I wouldnt have thought so because surely Humax would have thought about that one..
 
encouraging to see SkyGo is getting a mention... is it likely can we expect a full working SkyGo app on the custom portal soon?
 
Chris, I am so sorry for getting your hopes up. I have just learnt that the bill payer for the Sky account to which I have access has decided to give the other slot to the friend I mentioned in the previous post. However, after Melbourne is over, I'll reassess my decision whether to purchase a Sky HD package myself and if I do, you will be more than welcome to have a slot, if you'll still be interested at that time. In the meantime I will keep my ears and eyes open for any other available slots.

I apologise once more for raising your hopes, but as I don't pay the bill, I have little influence in the decision.

Rapster
 
Don't worry rapster, I'm more than grateful for you even considering it :)
Melborne's at 4am anyway isn't it? So I'll be watching that later on anyway.
 
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