Tvheadend

The very, very latest versions seem to have some issues which are being actively worked, but I think it's mostly around specific use cases (e.g. config migration).

I've been using the 3.9 versions for the past couple of months, and specifically 3.9.438 since it was built three weeks ago. I've had one crash in that time - and that was last weekend, when the BBC changed the schedule of a programme at the last moment. Otherwise, very stable. In terms of reliability, I've had one or two bad recordings in that time - duff audio tracks - which I've had from time to time since 2.x.

It's not hugely difficult to install, setup and reinstall if something doesn't work, so I'd try the latest versions and see if they work for you. If they don't, either go backwards towards .470/.438 or thereabouts - or wait a bit to see if newer versions appear that stabilise any issues (I've seen new builds go out tonight, for example).

My only disclaimer: I don't use it for live TV that much, and it's mostly a backend system that I control through the web interface.

It's always a tough one for me to give advice on this, because as a developer I'd prefer people moved to the newer stuff so I don't have to spend time tracking down bugs in code that no longer exists (although mostly I'm just ignoring 3.4 now, as it is pretty stable as you point out).

However I can only really say what I do and what I'm using. I'm in the same boat, I ditched sky about 2 years ago, and now all TV is entirely TVH. I have a wife and 2 kids, so if the TV doesn't work, I get it in the neck (although they've learnt to accept a certain level of brokeness ). So I'm usually pretty cautious about switching.

I was pretty late switching to 3.4 (although pre the official release) and same with the new 4.0 code. I actually starting running side-by-side systems (so I could test) around Sep/Oct last year and made the switch to master just before Xmas (given the amount of recording I do over Xmas, that was probably not the best time :p). I have no issues with what I'm running and by that point master was pretty stable. However there has been some recent activity (mostly not by me) that has potentially reduced the stability somewhat.

If you absolutely cannot take the risk, stick with 3.4, if you want to take the risk use 4.0 (keep copies of config, then you can always switch back). If you want to find a possible middle ground, try self-compiling 0b753c6362895c9ae1d6a48e5316a9560ce1d50b, this is the version I've been using for the past few months without issue.

Adam

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I'd generally prefer to be on the newer releases, but balancing that with grief (1 wife, 0 kids), so I might try either of the versions you guys have suggested.

Is it worth having two installations on the same machine. 3.4 and a 3.9? Is it just a soft-link for binary and config files, or is there anything else messy behind the scenes?

Tom,

I strongly recommend that you look at Development. This roughly describes how I run TVH for development (as myself, manually, etc...). But I'd also recommend it to anyone that's currently running a stable version and wants to test-drive a more recent version.

In a nutshell:

1. Download code
2. Compile
3. Copy your existing config (or not if you want to start from scratch)
4. Start manual instance (no installation) directly from build directory against the test config (copy).

Adam

Perfect, that's what I'll do. Thanks!

It's a major enough config change that you'll want to keep them separate, Tom.

Adam's version is this one if you can use an auto-build .deb, by the way:

https://tvheadend.org/builds/tvheadend/build/4039

and mine is this one:

https://tvheadend.org/builds/tvheadend/build/4578

You obviously have to install these, though, so you can't run the parallel model Adam recommended (which I do if I've just checked out the latest version or am breaking something in Adam's otherwise finely-crafted code ).

All hail the code