TVHarbor desktop client for Tvheadend

ManuA · 2026-08-21T15:56:26+00:00

I'd like to give you an early look at a small project I've been working on: TVHarbor. TVHarbor is a standalone desktop client for TVHeadend with an integrat...

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

Hi,

Yesterday I rebuilt and installed TVHeadend version 4.3-2816~g5a32b04b9.

Unfortunately, since the update, the tool no longer works properly. I can connect successfully and I can see the EPG, but playback/streaming does not start.

However, in TVHeadend I can see that the stream itself is running.

Does the tool have a log file where I can check what is causing the problem?

ManuA

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

Hi Andreas,

I just tested it with that version. Everything is working fine here.

But yes, it does have a log (which is currently extremely extensive). You can find it under %LOCALAPPDATA%\TVHarbor\logs\playback.log

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

Hi,

I try today again but the same result with a fresh compiled binary of THV 2824....

as you can see on the screenshots everything is ok but the stream are dark... :

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

Here are a part of the log file..

When I use VLC the Stream is starting...

log.txt

12kB

ManuA

Kann you please check if the vlc-plugin-video-output plugin is installed.

dpkg -l | grep -E 'vlc-plugin-video-output|libvlc'

ManuA

Forget my last post... Based on the screenshots in the first post, I thought you were using Linux. How did you set up the streaming profiles in TVH, or is that the default?

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

Hi,

here my Profiles Codec and Stream:

ManuA

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

I'm not entirely sure anymore if this is a general TVHarbor issue.
Yesterday, I experienced the same problem as you with the black screen. However, it wasn't in TVHarbor, but in dreamPlayer for TVH on the FireTV Sticks.

Could you please update TVH again to the new version 4.3-2826~ gbc5e863a4? My Fire devices are working again with this version.

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

I compiled the last Version but it's again black with the same errors in the Log file.

When I use the profile pass than it's running.

ManuA

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

OK, so there's an encoding issue caused by hardware acceleration... I'll have to set up a test TVH (LXC) with GPU pass-through...

It might take 2-3 days; I probably won't get to it until the weekend...

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

Thanks for your help..... ;o)

ManuA

I ended up getting around to running the first tests a little earlier than expected.
I made sure to use exactly the same settings as in your profiles.

I tested it with the current Beta 5. I’m experiencing some minor glitches here and there, but the video and audio are there.
I still need to “dig through” the log files to figure out why that’s happening. But I don’t understand why it isn’t working at all for you. The only difference: You have an NVIDIA GPU, and I have an Intel GPU.

Bug fixes will be included in Beta 6 along with many new features, such as Timeshift (server-side).
And while we’re on the topic of TVH streaming profiles… In the future, you’ll be able to select the profile you want in TVHarbor, regardless of what’s set as the default in TVH.

Andreas Lxxxxxxx

Hi,

today I try also some settings on my Server. The problem is the Container. I change from mkv to MPEG-TS/av-lib and it's running.

ManuA

Very interesting - it's running smoothly for me (except for a few minor glitches right now) with mkv/build-in.

I've now created three GPU profiles and briefly tested them:

mkv/built-in: works, with minor glitches
mkv/av-lib: audio only; need to check the logs
MPEG-TS/av-lib: works, seems to run without glitches

The only difference between the profiles is the container type.

Give me a little time on this - I really need to run some long-term tests with the profiles.

Ronny Bachmann

I’ve done a little testing on Debian Trixie now. I noticed one thing: under Recordings, recordings that have already been deleted are also listed. Does it seem to show all recordings that are in the database? To handle duplicates, I keep all recordings in the database. I tested the API call via "api/dvr/entry/grid_finished", and the deleted entries don’t show up there. How do you retrieve them in the desktop client?

ManuA

Ronny Bachmann

Thanks for reporting this. You’re right: the desktop client currently requests api/dvr/entry/grid?limit=1000, which returns all DVR entries, including entries TVHeadend marks as removed. It does not use grid_finished. That’s why recordings whose files have been deleted can still appear in the All view when TVHeadend keeps their log entries. The grid_finished endpoint excludes those removed entries. I’ll review the recordings list so it handles removed entries as expected.

ManuA

TVHarbor Beta 6 - Pre-Release

Pre-release: This version is still being tested and may contain bugs. Please report any problems you encounter.

This pre-release is available for Windows and Linux. The macOS version is planned for the final Beta 6 release.

What's new since Beta 5

Pause live TV: Pause and resume live television with TVHeadend timeshift when your server supports it. Otherwise, TVHarbor falls back to the player's regular pause and resume controls.
Choose an audio track: Switch between the audio tracks provided by a channel or recording. Track names include clearer information, such as language and audio format, when the stream provides it.
GPU passthrough optimization: Live-TV playback has been optimized for GPU passthrough setups.
Choose a TVHeadend stream profile: In the server setup window, select Test connection to load the profiles available on your TVHeadend server. You can then choose one from the TVHeadend stream profile list. This can be useful when you want TVHeadend to use a particular stream or transcoding profile. Selecting a specific profile uses HTTP streaming, so live-TV timeshift is unavailable in that mode.
Portable Windows version: Run TVHarbor from a single self-extracting executable without installing it. It unpacks to a temporary folder while running and removes that folder after TVHarbor closes.
Signed Windows releases: The Windows installer and portable executable are digitally signed by All-Solutions IT-Consulting. Windows can use this signature to identify the publisher and check that the file has not been changed since it was signed. It helps Windows distinguish the official release from an unknown or modified file; it does not guarantee that software is free of bugs.

Platforms

Windows installer and portable executable
Linux Debian/Ubuntu package
macOS will be included with the final Beta 6 release.

Download

all-solutions/TVHarbor-PublicBetareleases/tag/0.2.0-beta.6-pre

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