# TiVo recording status on a photo frame



## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

It seems like the time to replace my trusty original Series 3 with a Premiere Elite may be approaching. One thing I will hate to give up is the OLED display. I like that I can tell with a glance whether an important program is recording without risking any spoilers - at least in so much as you can trust the guide data.

So I've written a Perl script that I call 'nooled'. It applies the recording status of my TiVo to a photo in a style similar to the OLED display on an S3 TiVo. I run this script from cron on my Linux box and I make the image files available on a shared drive which is available to my wireless photo frame.



















I haven't tried this on Windows, I'm sure it would need some changes to run there. I also haven't tried this with an actual Premiere because I don't have one yet, but I assume the data is the same as the S3.

It does require a few Perl modules and the ImageMagick "convert" command. It works for me as-is, if others are interested in using it I'd be happy to continue tinkering with it to fix any bugs, etc.

Right click the link below and save it as a file. Set it as executable and enter *nooled --help* for full command usage.

*Update:* The link below has been replaced with a new version that does run on the Windows XP box I've been testing with. That's just the VM that I had handy, I'll try Win7 when I get a chance. I tested with the Community edition of Active State Perl. Install Perl. Install the Crypt::SSLeay package through their package manager. Install ImageMagick. Save the script as nooled.pl and run it from the command line.

*Update:* For Windows users who don't want to mess with downloading Perl I've added a link to an exe file below. This is actually a packaged Perl executable that will extract its required files into temp space on first execution. The result is that it will be slow the first time you run it, or any time after your temp space has been cleaned out. After that it should run normally.

http://www.offcamber.net/files/nooled
http://www.offcamber.net/files/nooled.exe


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

I have an Elite and & would actually very much like this... the idea that it can be output to a photo frame / display console as one might call it is a nice bonus. Me personally, I run a windows PC as I suspect many others do as well so something thats starting with XP compatable would be awesome.

Edit: I do have a Linux VPS outside of my home network if that would somehow work as well. I live in Pa and the VPS I think is somewhere in Va... I use it for my websites, Minecraft server among other things.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> I have an Elite and & would actually very much like this... the idea that it can be output to a photo frame / display console as one might call it is a nice bonus. Me personally, I run a windows PC as I suspect many others do as well so something thats starting with XP compatable would be awesome.
> 
> Edit: I do have a Linux VPS outside of my home network if that would somehow work as well. I live in Pa and the VPS I think is somewhere in Va... I use it for my websites, Minecraft server among other things.


The box that the script runs from needs to be able to talk to your TiVo to get the Now Playing data and then save the file somewhere that your photo frame can get it.

I've just never bothered trying porting my scripts to a Windows Perl installation. I may give it a shot just as an exercise.


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## Fofer (Oct 29, 2000)

That's fantastic. Kudos. I love projects like this.

You might want to post about it in the TiVo Underground sub-forum, as there's an active audience that likes to discuss this sort of thing.

You've got me thinking, I'd love to simply pull up the "currently recording" data via a webpage. Then I could turn it into a dashboard widget on my laptop.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> The box that the script runs from needs to be able to talk to your TiVo to get the Now Playing data and then save the file somewhere that your photo frame can get it.
> 
> I've just never bothered trying porting my scripts to a Windows Perl installation. I may give it a shot just as an exercise.


Well I hope you do tinker around with it because while I don't know what the userbase is for Linux I do know that a ton of people still use Windows.


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## lesliew (Oct 11, 2003)

Great idea

I think this would be perfect use for a chumby, they are cheap enough that you could dedicate it 24/7 to displaying the Tivo status, they also have wifi and can run linux.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

lesliew said:


> Great idea
> 
> I think this would be perfect use for a chumby, they are cheap enough that you could dedicate it 24/7 to displaying the Tivo status, they also have wifi and can run linux.


Chumby ?


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## Fofer (Oct 29, 2000)

It's a small little digital photo frame/internet appliance:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumby


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Fofer said:


> That's fantastic. Kudos. I love projects like this.


+1 ... creative stuff like this is really cool. I don't have a photo frame but I'll probably play around with this a bit (on Linux).


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Fofer said:


> It's a small little digital photo frame/internet appliance:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumby


Thx for that but that seems to be a bit on the bulky side if someone wanted to use it as a recording status display.

Edit: What would be an inexpensive wireles photo frame to use for this ?

Trying to see what my options are in hope of getting a windows compatable version of this.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Slick.










I see you've got options in there for Suggestion and Transfer titles as well, which is cool.

Now to figure out what to use it for.  I have the RSS feeds that show what my TiVos recorded, or the PHP for the Now Playing List .. I guess I could put a bunch of these images on a web page and have an at-a-glance status page of everything recording at once.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Ah, here we go:


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

Fofer said:


> That's fantastic. Kudos. I love projects like this.
> 
> You might want to post about it in the TiVo Underground sub-forum, as there's an active audience that likes to discuss this sort of thing.
> 
> You've got me thinking, I'd love to simply pull up the "currently recording" data via a webpage. Then I could turn it into a dashboard widget on my laptop.


Thanks, I posted here since I thought it might be of more general interest, but I'll throw a link in there (at the risk of double post complaints  ).

It would be pretty easy to thrown in an option to output a basic HTML file with an image link in it. Another possible to do.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> Well I hope you do tinker around with it because while I don't know what the userbase is for Linux I do know that a ton of people still use Windows.


I actually tinkered with it some tonight and got it pretty close to working. Just need to make the system calls to convert a little more resilient. Maybe tomorrow.



TiVo_Fanatic said:


> Thx for that but that seems to be a bit on the bulky side if someone wanted to use it as a recording status display.
> 
> Edit: What would be an inexpensive wireles photo frame to use for this ?


The Chumby unit in the Wikipedia page is an older model. A variety of devices have come out with the Chumby interface, although most of them aren't particularly small or cheap.

http://www.chumby.com/pages/chumby_devices

I don't know enough about the Chumby to suggest the best way to automate getting an image to it so I'd be interested to hear ideas.

I use a Kodak W820 photo frame which has WiFi and the ability to pull images from a shared drive. This makes it easy but it's an older model and photo frames with WiFi generally run around $100.

It would be great if people come up with new and interesting ways to get these images to useful places. If I can help out with improvements to the script I will.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

windracer said:


> Slick.
> 
> I see you've got options in there for Suggestion and Transfer titles as well, which is cool.
> 
> Now to figure out what to use it for.  I have the RSS feeds that show what my TiVos recorded, or the PHP for the Now Playing List .. I guess I could put a bunch of these images on a web page and have an at-a-glance status page of everything recording at once.


Thanks, great to see it working out in the wild, particularly with a Premiere. I tried it different ways and settled on running it with titles for transfers but not suggestions but I wanted "classic TiVo S3" as the default.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

As far as my unit goes I have an Elite, and as far as display devices go... I'll need to look in to that unless there's some sort of specific compatability issues that need to be addressed.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

The link in the first post has been replaced with a new version that does run on the Windows XP box I've been testing with. That's just the VM that I had handy, I'll try Win7 when I get a chance. I tested with the Community edition of Active State Perl. 

Install Perl. 
Install the Crypt::SSLeay package through their package manager. 
Install ImageMagick. 
Save the script as nooled.pl and run it from the command line.

Enjoy.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> The link in the first post has been replaced with a new version that does run on the Windows XP box I've been testing with. That's just the VM that I had handy, I'll try Win7 when I get a chance. I tested with the Community edition of Active State Perl.
> 
> Install Perl.
> Install the Crypt::SSLeay package through their package manager.
> ...


Thx NRC, you rock... now I just need some sort of output device to test with. That said... I assume what you posted with all the installs are some instructions of sorts. Would you maybe try to clean that up a bit for dummies like me ?

Right now I'm looking at that half drooling goin duhhhhhhhh...

Thx and my apologies for the bother.

Edit: I'm just lost on the whole perl thing along with tha crypt stuff whatever that is.

All I can tell if is that I'm running a Windows XP laptop.

Edit 2: Def need help now, I just clicked hte link in the original post and was hoping to see a program of sorts. Not a lot of code... so ya, I might be running a Win XP laptop but that code makes me go duhh more lol.

I'm really sorry for sounding liek a total noob but I can't be the only one who looks at that and scratches their head.


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## nyjklein (Aug 8, 2002)

Wow! Thanks for this script. I'm running it in Windows 7 x64 with ActivePerl. It works on all five of my TiVos including my Elite. But for some reason the third entry for my Elite is missing the circle:


nooledPic by nyjklein, on Flickr


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

Fofer said:


> That's fantastic. Kudos. I love projects like this.
> 
> You might want to post about it in the TiVo Underground sub-forum, as there's an active audience that likes to discuss this sort of thing.
> 
> You've got me thinking, I'd love to simply pull up the "currently recording" data via a webpage. *Then I could turn it into a dashboard widget on my laptop*.


That is a fantastic idea!


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> Edit 2: Def need help now, I just clicked hte link in the original post and was hoping to see a program of sorts. Not a lot of code... so ya, I might be running a Win XP laptop but that code makes me go duhh more lol.


We can't all be computer nerds.  I should be able to post a Windows executable version of this script later tonight. That will at least eliminate the hurdle of having to install Perl and modules. There will still be some nerdy parts around running the program but maybe we can iron that out over time.



nyjklein said:


> Wow! Thanks for this script. I'm running it in Windows 7 x64 with ActivePerl. It works on all five of my TiVos including my Elite. But for some reason the third entry for my Elite is missing the circle:


Interesting. Is the the third circle always missing or only when it's two suggestions and then a scheduled recording? I'll look into this.


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## nyjklein (Aug 8, 2002)

nrc said:


> Interesting. Is the the third circle always missing or only when it's two suggestions and then a scheduled recording? I'll look into this.


Seems so. With three suggestions, the first two have yellow circles, the third has nothing. With three recording going, the first line is a suggestion with yellow, the 2nd is red, the third is missing and the 4th is red.

Jeff


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Fofer said:


> You've got me thinking, I'd love to simply pull up the "currently recording" data via a webpage. Then I could turn it into a dashboard widget on my laptop.


NRC's solution is cooler, but I remember using this old Vista dashboard widget a long time ago.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> We can't all be computer nerds.  I should be able to post a Windows executable version of this script later tonight. That will at least eliminate the hurdle of having to install Perl and modules. There will still be some nerdy parts around running the program but maybe we can iron that out over time.


I am a bit of a computer nerd, just not on your level lol.

As far as a windows based app goes, that would be awesome, since I assume the program is something that has to stay actively running I guess your going to make it with the ability to run in the background with a taskbar icon like the TivoDesktop server ?


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## csell (Apr 16, 2007)

Can this work for a Tivo HD?


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## Fofer (Oct 29, 2000)

windracer said:


> NRC's solution is cooler, but I remember using this old Vista dashboard widget a long time ago.


<drool>

I would love to see something like that for Mac.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

csell said:


> Can this work for a Tivo HD?


Yes. It looks like the information that it pulls from the TiVo has remained consistent.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

nyjklein said:


> Seems so. With three suggestions, the first two have yellow circles, the third has nothing. With three recording going, the first line is a suggestion with yellow, the 2nd is red, the third is missing and the 4th is red.
> 
> Jeff


I think I figured this out. I've miscalculated the vertical position of the record circles. The third circle is shifted to the position of the fourth and the fourth is off the image. I think that shifting around may also be causing the color mix-ups.

I'll upload a fixed version tomorrow after I test it on Windows.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

I've uploaded a new version that should fix the bugs that nyjklein pointed out. I also added a .exe version which is really a packaged Perl executable.

I also added an option to copy the image to multiple files that are numbered sequentially. The reason for this is that my frame seems to work more smoothly if it thinks that it's stepping through multiple images.

http://www.offcamber.net/files/nooled
http://www.offcamber.net/files/nooled.exe


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## nyjklein (Aug 8, 2002)

Hadn't had a chance to check it out until tonight, It does indeed resolve the issue I was having on my Elite.

Jeff


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> I've uploaded a new version that should fix the bugs that nyjklein pointed out. I also added a .exe version which is really a packaged Perl executable.
> 
> I also added an option to copy the image to multiple files that are numbered sequentially. The reason for this is that my frame seems to work more smoothly if it thinks that it's stepping through multiple images.
> 
> ...


What would be the proper steps to run and get the exe goin successfully ?

Or should I just run it and follow the prompts I assume are in there ?

Edit: See pic...


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> What would be the proper steps to run and get the exe goin successfully ?
> 
> Or should I just run it and follow the prompts I assume are in there ?
> 
> Edit: See pic...


Looks like the packager I used failed to bundle one of the libraries. My apologies, I'll have to repackage and make sure I test on a box that doesn't already have the library outside the package.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> Looks like the packager I used failed to bundle one of the libraries. My apologies, I'll have to repackage and make sure I test on a box that doesn't already have the library outside the package.


No worries ;-)


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

Ok. I fixed the dependencies and this time I actually tested the packaged version on a machine (win7) without Perl installed.

You'll need to install ImageMagick. http://www.imagemagick.org/

Then try something like:

.\nooled.exe -t tivo_ip -m MAK -i image.jpg -o imageout.jpg

Or maybe just .\nooled.exe --help


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Ok, so I sort of got this working...

Anyway, with this being a one hit wonder on Windows. How would I automate this since I'm not on Linux where if I was I could do a 2 minute cron ?

Lastly, how can I have it to do random images, so again, when I get a digital frame I dont have to wait for the nooled image to roll around and display what's recording if that makes sense.

Here's what I'm running from the Windows command prompt right now.

.\nooled.exe -t T_IP -m T_MAK -S -T -F 20 -i .\input\Andy21.jpg -o .\output\Andy21.jpg

Edit: I'm also curious if it's possible to use a "config" file on the Windows application. Reason I ask is because the more I need to "run" this the more I need to enter the IP & Mak of the TiVo in question along with the other defined options.

Ty for your hard work and patience with me ;-)

Edit 2: 

I dont have a digital photoframe yet so I still need to figure out how to make this work for me. That said, photoframes as I understand them rotate the images so the recording info will only ever be shown on the one image when it rolls over right or does this project assume the user would only ever be using one image which would always be displayed on the frame ?


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> Ok, so I sort of got this working...
> 
> Anyway, with this being a one hit wonder on Windows. How would I automate this since I'm not on Linux where if I was I could do a 2 minute cron ?


Originally I figured that it could use Windows task scheduler. nyjklein reports success using Windows task scheduler in Win 7, but in XP it's very limited.

I will probably add a looping feature with a configurable delay at a minimum. I'll investigate other options as well. Going the full Windows Service route seems painful and non-portable to me so I'm going to avoid that unless interest builds. Particularly since it doesn't seem necessary for Win7 and beyond.



> Lastly, how can I have it to do random images, so again, when I get a digital frame I dont have to wait for the nooled image to roll around and display what's recording if that makes sense.


I think I need to describe this better in the help document. The intent is for nooled to handle any picture switching and only provide the frame with the image that will contain the current recording status.

So if you point to a directory full of images with as the source, nooled will pick one of those to use. For the next hour (by default) nooled will use that same file and apply the current recording status to that image. After an hour it will pick a new image and use that for the next hour. You can change the frequency of changing images with the "frameUpdate" option in the config file.

Of course this assumes that your frame will update the frame display even if the name of the file remains unchanged and there's only one file in the place that it's looking for photos. If not, you can use the -C option which makes multiple copies of the image so that your frame can happily think that it's doing a slide show when it's really just updating the same image over and over until nooled swaps it out for a new one.

So when you do this command:

nooled -m MAK -t TIVO -C2 -i C:\photodir -o Z:\framedir\tivostat.jpg

nooled will pick an image at random from C:\photodir and save it with your TiVo recording status to tivostat1.jpg and tivostat2.jpg in Z:\framedir\. For the next hour it will pick that same photo (actually a temp copy of it) and just update it with any recording status changes.



> Edit: I'm also curious if it's possible to use a "config" file on the Windows application. Reason I ask is because the more I need to "run" this the more I need to enter the IP & Mak of the TiVo in question along with the other defined options.


Yes, for Windows it will look for the config file by default in your user directory which is normally just above My Documents. Just beware that you create .nooledrc without any .txt extension and it should read it fine. Alternately you should be able to give it the -c option to have it read any file you like.

A couple of words of caution about photo frames. First, some photo frames say wireless but they actually need a dongle to work with wireless. Some of the Pandigital ones are this way. Second, I'm not sure how many other models besides Kodak will access photos from a Windows share. I wouldn't mind to make allowance for other ways of sharing but I don't have a good idea of what else might sense. What I have now works for me and I don't want to mess with other mechanism if nobody is going to use them. I'm guessing that FrameChannel is out.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> I will probably add a looping feature with a configurable delay at a minimum. I'll investigate other options as well. Going the full Windows Service route seems painful and non-portable to me so I'm going to avoid that unless interest builds. Particularly since it doesn't seem necessary for Win7 and beyond.


Assuming that works, I would like to suggest something that allows it to be minimized to the tray by the clock so I don't have to always keep a prompt window open. I sort of suggested this before... so users don't need to keep anything physically open like you would with a web page your using. As for goin the funn windows route whatever that means, I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd consider a small donation to this project ;-)

I would add that I don't have PayPal right now but could easily send you a check, mo or even pay you via Paymate, if you use that.



nrc said:


> I think I need to describe this better in the help document. The intent is for nooled to handle any picture switching and only provide the frame with the image that will contain the current recording status.
> 
> So if you point to a directory full of images with as the source, nooled will pick one of those to use. For the next hour (by default) nooled will use that same file and apply the current recording status to that image. After an hour it will pick a new image and use that for the next hour. You can change the frequency of changing images with the "frameUpdate" option in the config file.
> 
> ...


I def like the way you wrote and redescribed this. So if the frame pulls its images from framedir then there's only ever the one image in it which is replaced during the script updates. Any way, so I can say that I asked... if I use your provided command, it will use any images from the photo directory and get placed in the frame directory ?

Also, since I'm running this on Windows... it looks like the only thing I need to change is nooled to .\nooled.exe and then add the extra stuff like which would make it for me look like this.

.\My Documents\nooled\nooled.exe -m T_MAK -t T_IP -C2 -S -T -F20 -i C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\input\ -o C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\output\TivoEliteStat.jpg

Question about the -C2, even with it keeping two copies of an image wouldnt there still always be at least one image with the same name that might cause an issue with the frame or does that "bug" kind of void itself out since it would as you said be like a slide show where it should rotate through the images without issue regardles of their names ?



nrc said:


> Yes, for Windows it will look for the config file by default in your user directory which is normally just above My Documents. Just beware that you create .nooledrc without any .txt extension and it should read it fine. Alternately you should be able to give it the -c option to have it read any file you like.
> 
> A couple of words of caution about photo frames. First, some photo frames say wireless but they actually need a dongle to work with wireless. Some of the Pandigital ones are this way. Second, I'm not sure how many other models besides Kodak will access photos from a Windows share. I wouldn't mind to make allowance for other ways of sharing but I don't have a good idea of what else might sense. What I have now works for me and I don't want to mess with other mechanism if nobody is going to use them. I'm guessing that FrameChannel is out.


So I don't screw this up might I ask you for a favor ?

Using the below command which I will use.

.\My Documents\nooled\nooled.exe -m T_MAK -t T_IP -C2 -S -T -F20 -i C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\input\ -o C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\output\TivoEliteStat.jpg

Wold you create the config file for me and tell me where it should be placed ?

Actually, speaking of file placement, wouldnt it just go in the nooled folder where the exe is ?

Which right now is Desktop > My Documents > nooled

Then in the nooled folder is where my output & inout image folders are which are named output & input.

Ty for your hard work and dedication with this ;-)

Edit: On the note of randomness, each time I run my command seen below, it should choose a random image right ? Well it seems to always use the same image so my question is this, even under an automation process for Windows which I hope can be found. Just how random is it supposed to be ?

Or does that hr thing still apply where it's somehow sensing what time it is and since it last ran or whatever ?


```
".\My Documents\nooled\nooled.exe" -m T_MAK -t T_IP -C2 -S -T -F20 -i "C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\input" -o "C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\output\TivoEliteStat.jpg"
```


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> Assuming that works, I would like to suggest something that allows it to be minimized to the tray by the clock so I don't have to always keep a prompt window open.


I think if I put a loop in you'll be able to run it at startup as a Windows scheduled tasks and not have to have a command line window open. I doubt that I'll venture into system tray icons.

And thanks for the appreciation but I'm doing this for my own interest and entertainment so there's no need for a contribution.



> Question about the -C2, even with it keeping two copies of an image wouldnt there still always be at least one image with the same name that might cause an issue with the frame or does that "bug" kind of void itself out since it would as you said be like a slide show where it should rotate through the images without issue regardles of their names ?


I'm not sure that I follow the question. In the example command that you provided it will create TivoEliteStat1.jpg and TivoEliteStat2.jpg and always update those same two images. It doesn't actually create the TiVoEliteStat.jpg file (without the digit) in that case.



> Using the below command which I will use.
> 
> .\My Documents\nooled\nooled.exe -m T_MAK -t T_IP -C2 -S -T -F20 -i C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\input\ -o C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\output\TivoEliteStat.jpg


To put these options in a config file, create this file and save it as: C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\.nooledrc


```
tivo = T_IP
mak = T_MAK
copies = 2
suggestionTitles = yes
transferTitles = yes
textSize = 20
imageSource = C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\nooled\input\
frameTargetImage = C:\Documents and Settings\nooled\output\TivoEliteStat.jpg
frameUpdate = 3600
```



> Actually, speaking of file placement, wouldnt it just go in the nooled folder where the exe is ?


Right now it looks in your "%HOMEPATH%" ($HOME in Linux) directory. The next version it might be worth checking the current directory first and then the home directory.



> Edit: On the note of randomness, each time I run my command seen below, it should choose a random image right ? Well it seems to always use the same image so my question is this, even under an automation process for Windows which I hope can be found. Just how random is it supposed to be ?


It will pick an image at random and then it will continue to select that same file every time you run it for an hour, only updating the recording status (if any). If you want it to change images more often change "frameUpdate = 3600" in the config file I included above to a smaller number of seconds.

I did it this way because I prefer to keep the same image up for a while rather than have it constantly switching photos. The frame sits on our TV stand and I find a slide show type display to be distracting. With the same image and no slide transition on my frame it just looks like a static picture with the recording status updating every five minutes.

It can tell how long it has been since it picked the current image because it saves a temporary copy of the file and it can check the creation timestamp on that.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Thxx for that, in regards to the startup / loop thing... what if you want to edit it. Would you have to restart the system or just mess with the task ?

As for the config file, C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\ is where the exe is at so what I was asking was wouldnt I want the config there too ?

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\nooled.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\nooled\.nooled

Edit: With the config file in mind, all I should need to now run would jusr be nooled.exe right ?

Edit 2: Looks like my answer is no, I ran the exe and got images not found in nooled so it's def missing the config file which right now I have placed in the sane folder as the exe as seen above.

Might I suggest having, at least for the exe version, it look for the config file in the location of the exe ?


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

The links in the original post now point to an updated version.

I've added a --repeat n option (or -r n) where 'n' is how many minutes to wait between updating the image. It actually tries to align on the nth minute (so that it can hit the start/end times of programs as closely as possible). The program will run until it is killed when -r is used. Without -r it remains a one-shot program.

Also, now if it doesn't find .nooledrc in your current directory it will next check in the directory the program is running from, and then finally your HOME directory.

It still doesn't run as a service - I haven't found a free way to do that within the executable. But I've experimented with a utility called nssm (Non-sucking Service Manager) which allows you to pretty easily install the program as a service now that it can run continuously with the repeat option.

I've just started testing this with nssm but it seems to be working pretty well. You should make sure that you give nooled the "quiet" option so that it doesn't try to print stuff out while it's running as a service.

Here's my (Windows) .nooledrc as and example:

```
mak = 555555555
tivo = 192.168.10.100
imageSource = Y:\PhotoQueue\
frameTargetImage = Y:\Photos\Frame\nooledPic.JPG
copies = 2
quiet = 1
repeat = 5
```


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Ok, so I downloaded the new exe and when I run it from XP's cmd I get no images found and then it shows the file path it looked at which ended with the folder names nooled.

I don't know if that means it's not finding the config file in the nooled folder where the exe resides but somethings wrong.

FWIW, here's my config file...


```
tivo = 1.2.3.4
mak = 123456789
copies = 2
suggestionTitles = yes
transferTitles = yes
textSize = 20
imageSource = C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\nooled\input\
frameTargetImage = C:\Documents and Settings\nooled\output\TivoEliteStat.jpg
frameUpdate = 3600
quiet = 1
repeat = 5
```
Edit: Hold that thought, might be because my config file is nooled and not nooledrc


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Edit 2: Ok, it seems the rc was the issue. It now I guess seems to be finding the config file but now this weirdness.

See attached image, ok, now look at the file path in the config file. What's shown in the cmd image isn't right.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

Maybe I'm not reading something correctly, but it's complaining that "C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\nooled\input\" doesn't exist. That appears to be the image source directory in the .nooledrc you posted. Am I misreading something?

If that directory does exist something odd is going on. I've tested with a very similar setting (ie, under Documents and Settings\User\etc) with no problem.

Oh, btw, I also changed "frameUpdate" to "switchImage". It seemd more descriptive since the frame image updates more often than we actually switch the picture.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> Maybe I'm not reading something correctly, but it's complaining that "C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\nooled\input\" doesn't exist. That appears to be the image source directory in the .nooledrc you posted. Am I misreading something?
> 
> If that directory does exist something odd is going on. I've tested with a very similar setting (ie, under Documents and Settings\User\etc) with no problem.
> 
> Oh, btw, I also changed "frameUpdate" to "switchImage". It seemd more descriptive since the frame image updates more often than we actually switch the picture.


My apologies, I just realized I was a horses ass.

I never added the My Documents folder to the link, just did a manual recording, ran nooled.exe it picked up the config file and is showing Seinfeld.

So it looks like were G2G, just need to figure out the automation thing since even with the repeat = 5 which I assume is every 5 minutes it's still a one hit wonder under XP's cmd screen.

Edit: About frameupdate, I should change it to switchImage then right ?


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> My apologies, I just realized I was a horses ass.


No worries, this isn't exactly a friendly user interface.



> So it looks like were G2G, just need to figure out the automation thing since even with the repeat = 5 which I assume is every 5 minutes it's still a one hit wonder under XP's cmd screen.


Hmm. It really should keep running if you give it the repeat option. Note that if you run it from the command line with the quiet option it will just set there without returning a command prompt, but otherwise appearing to do nothing unless you check the files that it's updating. If it's really not staying in the loop I may ask you to gather some debugging information for me.



> Edit: About frameupdate, I should change it to switchImage then right ?


Yes, that's correct.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> No worries, this isn't exactly a friendly user interface.
> Hmm. It really should keep running if you give it the repeat option. Note that if you run it from the command line with the quiet option it will just set there without returning a command prompt, but otherwise appearing to do nothing unless you check the files that it's updating. If it's really not staying in the loop I may ask you to gather some debugging information for me.


I actually didn't let it stay running, I just assumed it was still a one hit wonder because I wasnt sure how the repeat worked with cmd. That said, assuming even with CMD staying open keeps it running then I guess what I should have said was now that were G2G we just need to figure out a way to keep it running without me needing to keep a cmd screen open where I may accidentally close it which I have done before with browser windows, even those that are minimized.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

I've posted a new update to this utility.

Perl: http://www.offcamber.net/files/nooled
Windows: http://www.offcamber.net/files/nooled.exe

Primary change is that it fixes a bug where it would fail to update the program information sometimes when running in continuous loop mode (--repeat).

It now also attempts to shorten the program title to fit the shadowbox if it would overflow. The maximum length is a guesstimate. You can set the maximum length by setting "maxLabelWidth" in your config file to the number of characters allowed.

Finally, when running in continuous loop mode it will only update the image if the active recordings change or the timer to switch the picture expires (as opposed to every time it checks). This cuts down on the number of updates which can sometimes confuse my frame.

I've had good luck running this as a service using the nssm utility linked above. Just create a folder and put nooled.exe and nssm.exe in it. Create a configuration file called .nooledrc in that same directory with your preferred options (presumably including the repeat option). Then run ".\nssm.exe install nooled". You'll have to run it in Administrator mode if you're on Windows 7. It will pop up a file selector. Select your nooled.exe executable and click "OK." It should confirm creation of the service but note that you'll have to start it manually the first time. Either bring up the Service management interface, select the service and click "Start", or run "net start nooled" at the command line.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Thx for the update, will also try the service thing on XP and see how that goes.

In any event, I have a question...

Would it be posible to modify this in a way to read the todo list and have filters that would allow you to show those items not recording by say conflicts with other higher priority recordings ?

Edit: Ok, so it seems I was able to run .\nssm.exe install nooled andd then select the nooled.exe and it said the service was successfully started but how do I check running services ?

Also, I asume .\nssm.exe install nooled needs to be "ran" upon every reboot right ?

Ps; I did close the cmd window if that matters which if it does would seem to defeat the purpose of what I guess nssm is supposed to do.

Right now I started a manual recording after I started nssm so here's hoping it works.

Edit 2: Nothing after half an hr ;-(


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> Would it be posible to modify this in a way to read the todo list and have filters that would allow you to show those items not recording by say conflicts with other higher priority recordings ?


As far as I know there's no way to pull that information directly from the TiVo like I do with the Now Playing list. Some folks have done work pulling the To Do list from the TiVo web site, but I'm not sure that the information there would allow you to find conflicts.



> Edit: Ok, so it seems I was able to run .\nssm.exe install nooled andd then select the nooled.exe and it said the service was successfully started but how do I check running services ?



Right click on My Computer in the start Menu and select "Manage".

In the left pane of the window that opens, expand "Services and Applications" by clicking the "+".

Select "Services".

You should see the nooled service that you created in the services list in the right hand pane.

 Right click the service and select "Start".
nssm doesn't start the service when it creates it, but it installs it as a service and sets it to "automatic" so that it should start automatically each time your system reboots. That's the point of running it as a service.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Looks like were golden, you rock ;-)

Sucks about the TD list, I would soooo love to be able to do something like this for it or at the very least hack the damn tivo it self so the TD list nly shows issues due to scheduling conflicts since I don't care about the other stuff. I mean the space ones nice but it would be so cool just to be able to sort the darn thing.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Been some time since I've used this but I wanted to make a how to use doc on my end.

Any way, to install the service using nssm, this is what I do right ?

nssm install ./path/to/.nooledrc

Then every time after the computer shuts down, restarts etc I never have to worry about changing anything except for maybe the TiVo's IP in the nooled file.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> Been some time since I've used this but I wanted to make a how to use doc on my end.
> 
> Any way, to install the service using nssm, this is what I do right ?
> 
> ...


Glad to hear that you're finding this useful. I finally have a Premiere Elite on the way and I can't imagine giving up my S3 without something to display recording status.

The second argument to nssm is just a name for the service. It doesn't matter what you name it, you just have to remember what name to look for if you manually start or stop the service. For example, "nssm install nooled" names the service "nooled".

When you execute nssm you'll get a prompt to select the executable that you want to run as a service. At that point you should select your nooled.exe file. nooled will look in the same directory as your .exe for the .nooledrc file.

With all your options set in the config file the same settings will take affect each time your reboot and the service starts. To avoid having my TiVo IP address change I set my router to assign the same IP for my TiVo every time. You could also set your TiVo IP manually as long as you make sure you set it to something within the subnet but outside the range that your router will assign.


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

nrc said:


> Glad to hear that you're finding this useful. I finally When you execute nssm you'll get a prompt to select the executable that you want to run as a service. At that point you should select your nooled.exe file. nooled will look in the same directory as your .exe for the .nooledrc file.will assign.


I clicked nssm yesterday, got prompt that was on screen for like 3 secs and then went poof. Thats why I wanted to ouble check on the execution. I don't remember what I did the first time when I got it up and urnning.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

TiVo_Fanatic said:


> I clicked nssm yesterday, got prompt that was on screen for like 3 secs and then went poof. Thats why I wanted to ouble check on the execution. I don't remember what I did the first time when I got it up and urnning.


Just clicking nssm won't work since nssm requires command line options. Here's the full usage page for nssm:

http://nssm.cc/usage


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## TiVo_Fanatic (May 29, 2006)

Got it, Thx.


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