How do I copy recordings to new IceBox?

[XO462]

I am going to get one of the new icebox units, but want to keep all my old recordings from my TP2460. How do I copy the files from the old box? I assume I can copy them to an external HDD, and plug that into the new icebox?  Any advice welcomed!
Cheers,

[raymondjpg]

I'm pretty sure all Topfields of that era recorded to .ts format, and transfer of files from the PVR would be via FTP. So the first thing would be to get the files onto a PC. Could be Windows or a Mac, but what to do after that with a Mac I'd leave to others to comment.

On a Windows PC you should be able to play the .ts files with any media player, but if you really want to transfer them to an Icebox implementation of Tvheadend then I guess you should be able to using SMB. I know that it is possible to configure LibreELEC with a static IP address that is readable in the network section of Windows file explorer, as I have done it with LibreELEC running in a VM. I see no reason it could not be done with a standalone implementation of LibreELEC (if networked), but I haven't tried that.

If you can access the file storage folder of LibreELEC in Windows then file transfer from PC to Icebox should be straightforward. Again, I haven't tried that, or encountered any possible file permission issues that might arise.

My recollection of using Tvheadend in LibreELEC is that recordings are also in .ts format, but I can't be sure without going back and trying it all again. Also, my recollection is that Tvheadend does not record any companion files to the main .ts, but I could be wrong about that too.

Finally the Icebox might not like the Topfield implementation of the .ts format, and it would then be a matter of running the .ts files from the Topfield through something like TSReader to see if they can be made readable.

A lot of ifs and maybes.

Edit: I overlooked that you are suggesting running an external HDD with the Icebox. That is also an unknown as far as I am concerned. I do know looking at the configuration for Tvheadend that there was no way of changing the recording directory, so possibly the playback directory. Maybe Icebox has some way of overcoming this limitation.

[MD]

I'd also suggest copying them to a USB hard drive and using the spare USB port on the side of the IceBox (the other side one has the tiny remote wifi dongle) to mount it. Then using Kodi via "TV Shows" or "Videos" on the IceBox menu they should be able to be played. IceTV uses "TV" in that menu. In theory, repeat "theory"!, you may even get TVDB metadata or graphics added, or you may just see a plain list.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

There are multiple options depending on your level of technical knowledge.  The time required to copy the volume of recordings may also be a factor.

The 2460 saves recordings in 3 files:
MPG - The actual transport stream of the program;
INF - The EPG/MetaData associated with the recordings in a proprietary format;
NAV - Some more proprietary data to help 'navigate' (pause, FF, REW) through the recording during playback.

I have successfully renamed the MPG to TS in the past and it has worked fine on other platforms, however, the EPG is lost.  On some occasions, I have had to pass the MPG through FFMPEG (copy codecs only) to rebuild it but this depended on the robustness of the playback software.

Out of the box, you should be able to copy to an external drive via USB or eSATA.  The external drive should be formatted using NTFS so that recordings larger than 4GB can be copied.  I've never tried eSATA, but USB is slow and I'm not sure if you can copy multiple files in a batch.

If your 2460 is networked, then FTP is also an option and if the IceBox has an FTP client, perhaps you could copy directly between the 2 PVRs.  The native FTP server on the 2460 can be flakey, so be prepared for a number of retrys.

If you don't mind getting into the hardware:  The HDD is just a normal SATA drive, but it uses JFS as its format.  There is a windows tool called 'TFTool' that can read JFS drives directly.  You could use this to copy your recordings to a PC.  TAKE HIGH VOLTAGE PRECAUTIONS BEFORE OPENING THE TOPFIELD.

If low-level Linux command line stuff is familiar to you:  I have also had a lot of success with 'SystemRescurCD'.  I install the 2460 drive in my PC, boot with a SystemRescurCD flash drive, mount the Topfield drive and a USB drive and then copy files directly.  It may void the IceBox warranty, but perhaps you could even use this method to copy directly to the IceBox HDD.

The 2460 supports 'TAPs' (Topfield Applications).  There are TAPs that provide a more stable FTP server as well as NFS and SMB connectivity.  You could try one of these and mount the 2460 directly on the IceBox.

There is also a Telnet daemon that can be enabled via a TAP.  If you have Linux command line skills, you could do a wildcard copy from the PVR drive to your external drive.

Some more resources:

https://ttd.tms-taps.net/?lng=en
https://oztoppy.forumchitchat.com/

Best of luck.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

I did some playing around with the KODI file manager and I was able to copy recordings from my Topfield PVR to the local drive without too much ado.

Using only the FTP server built in to the Topfield PVR, I was able to copy files locally (I used a mouse and a keyboard).  The 2 devices need to be on the same network and the FTP server needs to be enabled on the Topfield.

In the KODI file manager:

• Add source
• Browse
• Add network location...
• Protocol = FTP server
• Server address = IP address of Topfield (Topfield – Menu|Installation|Network Setting|IP Setting|IP Address)
• Remote path = /DataFiles
• Username = guest
• Password = 0000 (4 x zero)
• OK
• Select the newly created share (ftp://a.b.c.d:21/DataFiles)
• OK
• Enter a name
• OK
• That source should now show on the left hand pane of the file manager
• Go to the right hand pane and select 'Add source'.
• Go through the share creation process again, but this time select 'Home folder' and then 'tvshows' before selecting OK.
• Enter into this new location on the right pane.
• Go back to the left pane and go into the Topfield source created earlier.
• Select the recording(s) that you want to copy and press 'c' or right click, this should display the 'Context menu'.
• Select 'Copy' and then confirm.

Using the TMSServer TAP, I was able to access the Topfield over the network and play recordings directly.  I was also able to copy files via NFS too.
Create a network location as follows:
Protocol = 'Network File System(NFS)'
Server address = IP address of Topfield
Remote path = /mnt/hd/DataFiles
No username or password.

[MD]

That's really useful info for the forum and many thanks. Now we need to get new IceBox users to go to the forum so everyone can share their knowledge. I shall persevere!

[IanL-S]

This is the sort of information that will be ideal content for the IceBox wiki. Due to a wide range of factors its creation is way behind schedule. There will be no progress until I return from holidays towards the end of the month. Too hard to creat it on the iPad and after all I am on holiday.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

I'm sure that this method could be adapted to be used to access other network-enabled PVRs such as Beyonwiz.  Perhaps you could even network multiple IceBoxes within the same household.

I'm currently looking into how one would go about writing a KODI 'scraper' that would be able to read the metadata contained in the Topfield .INF file for presentation to the user.

The .INF (and INF+) file format is well known to me, however, lots of the data is in a binary format and I don't know much Python (yet).  There is a demo scraper on the KODI web site, so that will be a place to start.

Given the Topfield file name 'example.mpg', I simply need to open 'example.mpg.inf', parse out the required data before returning it to KODI.

This could also be a multi-step process: Once the basic Title/Description/etc information has been extracted, it could be used to query an external database, like ICE TV, for even more details.