Intelligently record Tatasky+ /Tatasky+ HD programmes

[vinylrecord]

Hi

I've written a small program for my own use to record programs by automating recording using the Tatasky website, instead of recording a series from the device itself. My problem with Tatasky+ is that it never gets the recording correct. Deleting all the re-runs and constantly looking for any fresh movie is not fun.

Currently what the program does is:

- Record a serial without reruns. e.g. Adalat, Comedy Circus on SonyHD will record only the new episodes on Friday and Saturday in the evening time. Not some 20 episodes per week.

- Leech all movies from Star Movies HD i.e. record all movies and not record the 'Movie in Focus' segments. I'm currently building functionality to not re-record movies that have been recorded before.

- Record only the 9 PM Weekend movies from HBO on Friday, Saturday & Sunday.

Currently what I have is very hackish, not presentable, but works.

I'm not sure if there is anyone interested in using something like this. I can spend further time developing this into a more generic software, if there is enough interest from the group...let me know.

Thanks

 

[vinylrecord]

Reserved - for future use

 

[AshD]

Hello,

this is lovely.. i always thought (having very limited software skills) that someone at TS understands the challenges the way their STB records and makes some changes..

Glad that you have found a way to work around it.

Can you please explain how does the software actually interact with the STB. Are we hacking the h/w or s/w of the STB to make this s/w run over it and record intelligently?

It would be great if we can figure out a way to export the recorded stuff to a ext HDD.

Please share more information I am very interested in this and am sure once more people read your thread you will have a fan following..

 

[theironhorse]

this definitely seems intresting.. please keep updating us.. i am sure many of us are in the same boat..

 

[jbgude]

Great initiative : if you can build a functionality to skip the ad breaks that would be absolutely marvelous. Sadly, no one seems to care ( I have written and complained) about the cross advertising for upcoming programmes that are spalshed across the screen while the current show is running, most annoying are the animated pop ups that distract the viewer.

 

[amol12]

Hi

- I'm currently building functionality to not re-record movies that have been recorded before.

How are you doing this merely from tatasky website as the list of recorded movies does not appear there (the last i checked long back. Also I don't think there is a way unless one "networks" the STB which again the website should support).

 

[prepress]

Right now I am using this and found it never records repeat programs (this is what it should be) e.g. I am recording series of Anamika and it records only fresh program not repeats. And the good thing is sometimes when my setup box is off, then it records the missing episode only.

 

[rahuln]

Right now I am using this and found it never records repeat programs (this is what it should be) e.g. I am recording series of Anamika and it records only fresh program not repeats. And the good thing is sometimes when my setup box is off, then it records the missing episode only.

My experience is the same as well. For 1st time it might record the old episode, if they are not recorded earlier. In fact, I found it smart enough to know an episode was not recorded, say due to power failure, and records it on re-run. The only challenge is to know when this has happened .

 

[prepress]

Yes, and if you want to record any program's series, then active start (record series) on actual episode timings, never click record series on repeat episodes.

My experience is the same as well. For 1st time it might record the old episode, if they are not recorded earlier. In fact, I found it smart enough to know an episode was not recorded, say due to power failure, and records it on re-run. The only challenge is to know when this has happened .

 

[vinylrecord]

Hello,

this is lovely.. i always thought (having very limited software skills) that someone at TS understands the challenges the way their STB records and makes some changes..

Glad that you have found a way to work around it.

Can you please explain how does the software actually interact with the STB. Are we hacking the h/w or s/w of the STB to make this s/w run over it and record intelligently?

It would be great if we can figure out a way to export the recorded stuff to a ext HDD.

Please share more information I am very interested in this and am sure once more people read your thread you will have a fan following..

Its very simple actually... all I have done is to automate logging into the tatasky website, navigating to the correct channel & program and 'clicking' record.

Since the program decides what to 'record', we can write any combination of rules for recording. The TS website in-turn does the task of sending the recording signal to the STB.

All this is done by a desktop application that can run from any computer with internet connectivity, scheduled to run every morning.

There is absolutely no hacking required.

 

[vinylrecord]

Great initiative : if you can build a functionality to skip the ad breaks that would be absolutely marvelous. Sadly, no one seems to care ( I have written and complained) about the cross advertising for upcoming programmes that are spalshed across the screen while the current show is running, most annoying are the animated pop ups that distract the viewer.

Sorry, all I'm doing is recording from the online EPG... not possible to skip ads in this manner.

 

[vinylrecord]

Yes, and if you want to record any program's series, then active start (record series) on actual episode timings, never click record series on repeat episodes.

I feel like an idiot, I guess I was always recording the repeats and not the original show timings! Thanks for pointing this out...

 

[vinylrecord]

How are you doing this merely from tatasky website as the list of recorded movies does not appear there (the last i checked long back. Also I don't think there is a way unless one "networks" the STB which again the website should support).

Yes, you are right. What I'm doing is that when we record a movie, we save the name of the movie in a history list. For subsequent iterations, we record only those movies that are not on the history list. Even if you delete a movie from the TS HDD, since we have a record of that movie being recorded, it is never recorded again.

This solves the issue of seeing duplicates of movies, or again recording movies that need not be saved.

 

[vinylrecord]

First Release - Alpha v 0.1

Hi Folks

Here is the 1st test release for you to play with and provide ideas / suggestions.


Requirements

- Java JRE - minimum version 5. You can download the latest version from Java SE Downloads
- Firefox - any newer version. I have tested with version 18 & version 22.
Mozilla Firefox Web Browser Free Download mozilla.org
- OS - Should run on any OS that has Java and Firefox. Tested on Windows 7 and Mac OS 10.7.5 Lion.

Installation Instructions
1. Download and extract the files into any directory of your choice.
2. Do NOT extract the TataSkyRecord_fat.jar, it should remain as is.

Running
1. Windows users can double-click on the run.bat file, Mac and Linux users will need to open a command prompt and type "java -jar TataSkyRecord_fat.jar" without the quotes.
2. The main scren should open (hopefully).
3. Enter your creentials and click Record.
4. WAIT...WAIT...WAIT... there will be a big lag while Firefox loads and starts doing stuff.
5. You should be able to see Firefox doing navigating the site, click things etc.
6. If all goes well, the Activity log in the app will show you which movies it has recorded for you.


Features / Caveats
- Currently there is very limited functionality for testing purposes.
- Records all movies for Star Movies HD.
- Will automatically exclude 'Movie in Focus segments'.
- Will automatically exclude any movies 'it' has previously recorded for you.
- Only works for the current day i.e. as of now you need to run this everyday .

Daily Scheduling
- You can run this automatically every morning using any scheduler.
- When you run this from a scheduler script, you should pass a command-line parameter 'silent'. i.e. the full command will be "java -jar TataSkyRecord_fat.jar silent" without the quotes.
- When this parameter is passed, the program will automatically start and end using the saved login / password.
- Before you run with silent open, start the program once to enter your login / password, and test if the recordings are happening correctly.

Please note that this is just a proof of concept, alpha grade software. It does not handle incorrect udername/passwords etc gracefully for now. Please type in your login/passwords correctly.

Download Link -
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39463109/TataSkyRecord.zip

Do try and see if this is useful to you, and anything you want me add further.
Also I wanted to update the 1st post with this message, but I'm unable to edit that post now (expired?). Mods - can you please help?

Thanks

 

[vinylrecord]

Has no one tried running this? No comments, feedback, or issues? :sad:

 

[captrajesh]

Has no one tried running this? No comments, feedback, or issues? :sad:

Hmm! Looks like Vinylrecord has stopped visiting the forum feeling frustrated. I'm surprised noone seems to have taken this up after flurry of posts initially.

Has any computer whiz tried this?

 

[sathiamoorthy]

Thanks for reviving the thread sir. Very informative.

 

[srikar2011]

Hi,

After entering the tata sky credentials, Mozilla opened and message appeared at bottom "Choose what I share" I clicked on it. Nothing was showing after this in Mozilla browser.. As advised waited long... What should I do now to record.

 

[vinylrecord]

Guys,

Sorry I have personally stopped using TataSky, actually not watching TV at all. Have moved completely to online.

Thanks

 

[senthildent]

Yes, I myself dont get time to watch TV nowadays so watching only online or downloaded movies , TV is for the ladies of the house. Nice effort vinylrecord