Dual boot system?

[kgl]

I have an old laptop that I've just installed Linux Mint on because it won't upgrade to Windows 11.
I'm curious to know if the icebox software could be installed to make a dual boot system?
I realise the Icetv system needs to be on all the time to record etc but this laptop would be supplementary to my main PC and to my Beyonwiz recorder, so I could use it as a laptop or tv recorder as needed.
Can the Icetv software operate from a plugin USB?
Could files from the BW be moved to the laptop and played back on the Icetv software? I have ethernet connections in various rooms of the house.
Thanks
G

[raymondjpg]

I have an old laptop that I've just installed Linux Mint on because it won't upgrade to Windows 11. I'm curious to know if the icebox software could be installed to make a dual boot system?

If you can install Linux Mint then you should be able to install Icebox BYO alongside it. If you mean install IceBox on Mint, I doubt it because the installer sets up standalone LibreELEC. It may be technically possible, and there are LibreELEC/TVJeadend experts here who might comment.

With Icebox BYO you will need USB tuners and a reasonable antenna connection.

Can the Icetv software operate from a plugin USB?

Not sure about what this means. Are you asking if Icebox can be run from a USB? Again I doubt it but the experts here will be better qualified than I to comment. My experience trying to run LibreELEC/TVJeadend in a VM was that the LibreELEC drivers for the USB tuners could not properly manage the tuners plugged into the Windows host. They worked perfectly well plugged into a standalone LibreELEC/TVJeadend installation.

Could files from the BW be moved to the laptop and played back on the Icetv software? I have ethernet connections in various rooms of the house.

Yes. files can be moved to a Windows PC via File Explorer or OpenWebif, and IceBox, like all installations of Kodi, has a file player that can access recordings stored on a Windows PC.

[kgl]

If you can install Linux Mint then you should be able to install Icebox BYO alongside it. If you mean install IceBox on Mint,

The reason I asked was I read somewhere that the installation completely wipes the disk but I wondered if there was an option to install into a different partion. I suspect not.

Not sure about what this means. Are you asking if Icebox can be run from a USB?

when I tried Linux Mint I could boot it and run it from a USB stick before actually installing it on the HDD. My question is can the Icetv software be booted and run from a USB stick drive?

My experience trying to run LibreELEC/TVJeadend in a VM was that the LibreELEC drivers for the USB tuners could not properly manage the tuners plugged into the Windows host.

I have no intention of using a VM, nor Windows.  With a dual boot system you choose which system to use at boot up, in my proposal either Linux or the Icetv. The extension to my question is to run the Icetv at boot up from a USB stick drive.

With Icebox BYO you will need USB tuners and a reasonable antenna connection.

this shouldn't be a problem because I would buy the tuners which I suppose plug into USB ports and I have cabling from an external antennae in more than one room that I could plug into. The only query would be if the Icetv  running from a USB stick drive could find the tuners.

dual boot system

I suspect to make a dual boot system I would need to install the Icetv software first and then the Linux. My understanding is that it is always better to install windows first and then Linux in a dual boot system because Linux can detect the other OS and create a new partion. I am guessing the same procedure would apply with a dual boot Icetv/Linux dual boot system unless Icetv can work from a USB stick drive which would negate the need to install it onto the HDD.

[Daniel Hall at IceTV]

Hi G,

For this one we would defer to the LibreELEC wiki at https://wiki.libreelec.tv/configuration/dual-boot

Basically it says while it's technically possible, it's not something that is supported. The same would be said here, while it's technically possible it's not something we can put time into supporting.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

Another option could be if IceTV released their Kodi addons in an unbundled form.  You would still need an IceTV subscription, etc, but you could run the addons on any Linux system with Kodi/TVHeadend installed.

[kgl]

Thanks everyone for your replies
G

[raymondjpg]

I suspect to make a dual boot system I would need to install the Icetv software first and then the Linux. My understanding is that it is always better to install windows first and then Linux in a dual boot system because Linux can detect the other OS and create a new partion. I am guessing the same procedure would apply with a dual boot Icetv/Linux dual boot system unless Icetv can work from a USB stick drive which would negate the need to install it onto the HDD.

Dual booting linux with Windows is always going to be tricky, particularly with Windows set up as GPT/UEFI. Even with MBR setups I never successfully got the two systems to co-exist happily in the Windows bootloader, although IIRC things were happier in grub. I have long since abandoned attempts to dual boot these O/Ss although I suspect that linux enthusiasts would tell me it's a breeze.

My only experience with IceBox BYO is installation alone on a HDD. From what you say it should be possible to install IceBox in a partition alongside Windows. Perhaps an expert could comment.

I mentioned my experience with a VM to illustrate that USB tuners compatible with IceBox will only work properly when directly connected to a device running LibreELEC. So it would not, in my opinion, be possible to run IceBox from a USB drive even if it were able to detect USB tuners plugged into the device, which seems unlikely to me. I have, however, never tried it.

[srto2]

Another option could be if IceTV released their Kodi addons in an unbundled form.  You would still need an IceTV subscription, etc, but you could run the addons on any Linux system with Kodi/TVHeadend installed.

Yeah!!!

[IanL-S]

Copying recordings from Beyonwiz to notebook computer.

Both Beyonwiz and BYOB IceBox support SMB, so if you map a drive to the Movies directory of the Beyonwiz and another to the the TVshows directory on the BYOB, and they copy the files directly from the Beyonwiz to the BYOB. I think you need to use the TVshows directory rather than the Recordings directory (where TVHeadend places recordings) - @Delta Mike Charlie may have thoughts on this.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

Both Beyonwiz and BYOB IceBox support SMB, so if you map a drive to the Movies directory of the Beyonwiz and another to the the TVshows directory on the BYOB, and they copy the files directly from the Beyonwiz to the BYOB. I think you need to use the TVshows directory rather than the Recordings directory (where TVHeadend places recordings)

If you give the files appropriate names, Kodi can scrape metadata and provide more on screen information (Actors, genre, year, synopsis, etc) about the programme or movie.

Start by having a look here for some more details: https://kodi.wiki/view/Naming_video_files/TV_shows

If you are able to extract the recording metadata from you Beyonwiz yourself, you can create an NFO file for Kodi to ingest:  https://kodi.wiki/view/NFO_files