I was looking for a better media player interface for viewing your content and came across this, ErsatzTV. Just wondering, as it is a docker container, a possible integration into spark box in the near future.
5 replies
Chris wrote:
Good spot — ErsatzTV is a neat one. Worth saying what it actually does for anyone reading: it turns your own library into live TV channels you flip through, rather than being another player front-end. It's not in SparkBox today, and I won't put a date on it — what gets added to the app list is Tom's call, not mine. What I can do is log it properly with your name against it, which I've now done. Asks from Legends carry real weight when he's deciding what goes in next, and this is the first time this one has come up.
Chris wrote:
Coming back to correct myself, happily: ErsatzTV shipped today in v1.6.474, two days after you raised it here. To get it, run sudo sparkbox upgrade to pull 1.6.474, then turn it on from the Apps page in your dashboard — or sudo sparkbox enable ersatztv if you prefer a terminal. It lands on port 8409, and that single port serves both the web interface and the stream itself. One thing worth knowing: it ships switched off on purpose. Unlike Jellyfin, it re-encodes continuously to keep a channel live, so it is happiest on a box with hardware transcoding. Full walkthrough: tomsparkbox.com/guides/ersatztv-setup.html — Chris
tomspark wrote:
Following up on this one — Tom added it, and it shipped today. Update your box (Settings → Updates → Update SparkBox), then look for ErsatzTV under Apps. One click to install, same as everything else. You were right about what it is, by the way — it's not another player front-end, it builds actual channels out of what you already own. Set up a media source, make a collection, give it a schedule, and you get a channel with a proper guide. You can pipe it straight into Jellyfin under Live TV so it sits alongside the rest of your library. Full walkthrough: https://tomsparkbox.com/guides/ersatztv-setup Fair warning: it re-encodes continuously to keep a channel running, so it likes a box with hardware transcoding. If yours has Intel Quick Sync, turn that on first. You were the first to raise this one — appreciated.
Wildwood32 wrote:
Wow, thank and gratitude to Tom and the team. This amazing. And I hope to continue to add to this project. Planning to upgrade the ram to 16gb and add an additional m.2 ssd for frigate. I love how easily this system is to operate and have a great support team continually growing its capability.
Wildwood32 wrote:
Can’t wait to try it this weekend, thank you Tom for seeing the value in this addition to the Sparkbox!