News

Source code moved to github
20.10.2013

I have just moved the source code of TV-Viewer to github. For a long time I have been using git and github. Only TV-Viewer was still hosted on sourceforge and used bazaar. I think enough is enough :) TV-Viewer development totally stalled in 2013. It is unlikely I will do much on the project in the future. I will fix bugs if one is reported but don't expect much more. Analog TV is dead and porting TV-Viewer to the area of digital TV isn't easy. I think a complete rewrite is required and I don't know if it is worth the effort. Nevertheless the application is in good shape at the moment and the latest source code runs really well. So if anyone wants to use it, go ahead. I think you might enjoy it, but be sure to use the code from the repositories rather then latest stable or beta releases!

TV-Viewer and TCL/TK 8.6
30.12.2012

I just saw that the development Team of Tcl/Tk finally released version 8.6 The good news is TV-Viewer (latest Beta) is working flawlessly with the new version. Furthermore with version 8.6 installed you don't need tkimg anymore as Tk finally supports new image formats. There are other nice new features which I could make use of but development is really slow these days so don't expect something new soon.

I wish everyone a happy new year. Hopefully TV-Viewer development will gain more speed in 2012 :)

TV-Viewer 0.8.2b1 released
29.09.2011

After a long development cycle of over one year we are releasing today the first beta Version of TV-Viewer 0.8.2. Many things have been changed in this release and some of you will hardly recognize it yet. We fixed many Bugs and rewrote most parts of the code, which should make future development much easier.

If you want to know what is new and has been changed please have a look at the revision history in our bazaar repository.

We encourage everyone to install TV-Viewer 0.8.2b1 and test all new features. If you find bugs please file a bug report or contact us. We do not plan to release another beta version unless we find some critical bugs. This means you can expect the next stable release within the next weeks.

Wiki not reachable / Progress update
23.08.2011

As of late the wiki was no longer reachable when one tried to enter the website over http://tv-viewer.sourceforge.net/ This was caused by our tracking software Piwik which is installed on a different server. This server has not been contactable since some days so I deactivated the tracking code and we are searching for a different host for Piwik.

Nearly one year ago I reported version 0.8.2 would assume shape but it took me another 10 month so TV-Viewer 0.8.2b1 would be ready for deployment. There are some minor things still to do concerning readme and documentation updates, but that should be possible within this week. So be prepared for the next release of TV-Viewer...

Version 0.8.2 is assuming shape
28.09.2010 The semester break is nearly over and we worked hard on the next version of TV-Viewer. Yesterday we moved back to our main development branch, trunk. This means the code is now stable enough for experienced users and all features implemented in 0.8.1.1 are working again. This has to be mentioned, because with version 0.8.2 we made some fundamental changes to the interface and accordingly we had to rewrite many parts of the code. In addition new features have been implemented, as for instance editable key sequences, new menu structure and context menus, fresh configuration options, use of external tuners and most important the innovative interface. To get a glimpse of the current development have a look at the screenshot section.

Although the code seems to run very stable, there is still some work to do. The radio feature and some minor things are still completely missing. We will release a first alpha version within the next weeks. For all those, who don't want to wait can get the latest source code using bazaar.

Some users, having installed a 64bit system and Tcl/Tk 8.5.8, did report problems with segmentation faults when TV-Viewer is started. Please note this is a bug in Tcl/Tk 8.5.8 which we can not fix. Your only chance to get TV-Viewer running, is to install ActiveTcl as described in our howto.

So far, TV-Viewer is only available in english and german. This means we are searching for volunteers which want to provide translations in different languages for fame and honor. This is now much easier, interested parties should have a look at our translation page.

Bugfix release 0.8.1.1
10.05.2010 This is the first release in 2010 and corrects mainly bugs. But there are also some other changes. First of all the installation has been changed slightly, which could also be important for package maintainers. But we also added one new feature which many users asked for. It is now possible to schedule recordings using external applications. A concrete example using TV-Browser is in the howto section. Visit the download section to get the new version.

As some of you may already have noticed the TV-Viewer homepage is now located at sourceforge.net as a wiki. We hope you will contribute for example in improving our user guide or writing new howtos. Especially if you are interested in translating the wiki pages you should read our language policy first. Currently most articles are only available in English.

New homepage / wiki online
25.01.2010 Currently we are merging our stuff from the old site to this wiki. This will be the central meeting point in the future.

Stable release 0.8.1
27.12.2009 Today i'am releasing the new stable version 0.8.1, after one year of development with several alpha and beta versions. During this period of time TV-Viewer evolved from a simple Gui, able to change stations, to a stand-alone TV Application. The most important features are listed here, and please note the screenshots.

An important hint for all users of TV-Viewer &lt; 0.8.1a1. Please delete the configuration directory "~/.tv-viewer" und create a new stations list and check the configuration before you install the new version. Otherwise problems can be expected.

As always if you find errors or you have something else on your mind, please contact me.

Best regards

Releasing a third beta for 0.8.1
16.12.2009 This time the third beta is not necessary because of too many bugs, but I decided to add some minor new features.


 * Installer now checks for dependencies
 * xdg-utils are now mandatory
 * Improved routines to suppress the screensaver
 * Log-Viewers do now have sorting capabilities
 * Decreased cpu load
 * Save timeshift video files permanently

There will be no new features for this development branch. In about one week I will release a new stable version based on this release. Download the new version here.

Best regards Christian

Second Beta of 0.8.1
25.11.2009 In the first Beta some errors slipped in. This is why it took more time to complete the second Beta 0.8.1b2. There are also some new things.


 * All MPlayer options now configurable.
 * Improved zoom.
 * Improved readability of the logfiles.
 * Increased speed of the lirc binding and other parts of the program.

The last point of the "new features" is reached by using tclsh. If you have installed more than one version of Tcl, it might be necessary to adapt the symlink /usr/bin/tclsh like you have to do with the symlink wish. But one thing for sure, it pays the effort. As always you'll find the new release in the download section.

Regards Christian

Version 0.8.1b1 ready
20.09.2009 After three more months of development it has finally been done. The first beta of version 0.8.1 is ready. This means all features are included and only bugs will be fixed if necessary. As always fixed issues in this release can be found via the Bugtracker. New Features:


 * Timeshift
 * Reworked Record-Wizard
 * Improved OSD
 * Beautified GUI
 * Unix man pages
 * New file selection dialoges
 * Support for vdpau and xvmc
 * Many minor things

I'am no longer maintaining the Changelog. TV-Viewer is now managed by a VCS. Changes in the source code can be traced on sourceforge. Who always wants to have the latest code on his machine may use bazaar. How bazaar works is described here. The best way to report issues is by using the bugtracker, the new release can be found in the download section.

Best regards Chrstian

TV-Viewer irc channel
13.07.2009 As of late there exist a irc channel for TV-Viewer. In this channel you may ask questions, express wishes or report bugs. I will be in this channel as often as possible, but of course not always. In order that i get notified about your post you have to mention my nickname. For example: saedelaere, i need help...

The channel #tv-viewer can be found on irc.freenode.net, if you don't have an irc client, you may use webchat.freenode.net.

Regards Christian

New alpha release 0.8.1a1
03.06.2009 First of all, I have decided to skip the stable release 0.8. This is because lots of people wanted to have the possibility to schedule recordings. Therefore I was working hard for the last two month to integrate this and many other features. Now it is time to release the first ALPHA of version 0.8.1. All bugs reported for version 0.8b1 have been fixed.

New features:


 * Record Wizard to manage and schedule recordings.
 * Improved Station Editor.
 * Station search can now perform a full frequency sweep and you can search on all available video inputs.
 * Changing stations by typing in numbers via keyboard or remote control.
 * Right-Click menu for video window.
 * Parts of the interface are now resizable.
 * Video window can stay on top and started in full-screen mode.
 * Autozoom 16:9

Known issues:


 * Timeshift is still not working.
 * OSD for changing stations via remote control.

As always the changelog provides complete overview of the changes that were made. As you can see many things have been changed or were implemented. There is one important thing for users using 0.8b1. The station list has been changed slightly. Please start the station editor after the installation and safe your station list once. If you find any bugs, use the bugtracker please. Go to the download section to get the new release.

Best regards Christian

TV-Viewer 0.8b1 released
23.03.2009 TV-Viewer 0.8b1 (BETA) is out and brings many improvements compared to version 0.8a3. All things that were missing in the last release have been integrated. If you are interested in the bugs that were fixed in this version have a look here.

New features:


 * More options in the preferences.
 * Integrated support for docking the app into the system tray. This means you don't need kdocker anymore.
 * Support for remote controls.
 * User guide and german translation.
 * Improved logviewers.
 * TV-Viewer now has it's own "On screen Display". So the dependency xosd is obsolete.
 * The application also works without tkimg (libtk-img). In this case lower quality gif images will be used for the icons.

If you want see all changes have a look at the changelog. So far TV-Viewer was installed into /usr/share. This has been changed to /usr/local/share so a manual installation does not interfere with the package manager of your distribution. From now TV-Viewer is in a code-freeze so there will be no new features for version 0.8, only bug fixes. I will wait about one week to release the next stable release. All bugs reported in this period will be fixed. If you want to file a bug please use the bugtracker on sourceforge.net.

See the download section on how to get the new version.

Best regards Christian