🏒 Hockey Stream Auto‑Resume Player – Native VLC · actimeo=1

1. Install VLC and required tools

Install native VLC (preferred), NFS client, a cron daemon for the auto‑mount, and playerctl. Flatpak is optional – the launcher will use it only if native VLC is missing.

2. Mount the NFS share automatically at boot

Add this line to root’s crontab. It waits 15 seconds for the network, then mounts the NFS share with actimeo=1.

sudo crontab -e

Paste this single line:

@reboot sleep 15 && mount --mkdir -t nfs 192.168.40.45:/mnt/data /mnt/crow -o actimeo=1,rsize=1048576,wsize=1048576

• --mkdir – creates /mnt/crow if it doesn’t exist.
• actimeo=1 – attribute cache timeout 1 second (live file‑size updates).
• rsize/wsize=1 MB – large chunks for smooth playback.

Prerequisite: The NFS server exports /mnt/data. Videos must be under /mnt/crow/videos/Hockey (i.e. 192.168.40.45:/mnt/data/videos/Hockey). Adjust the VIDEO_DIR variable in the script if your layout differs.

Test the mount manually before rebooting:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/crow
sudo mount -t nfs 192.168.40.45:/mnt/data /mnt/crow -o actimeo=1,rsize=1048576,wsize=1048576
ls /mnt/crow/videos/Hockey   # should show .ts files

3. Create the hockey launcher script

Save as /usr/local/bin/hockey. This script auto‑detects native VLC, falls back to Flatpak, and uses hardware‑accelerated decoding. It restarts VLC from 5 s before where you left off whenever VLC exits (EOF, manual reload, etc.).

#!/bin/bash
# Hockey auto‑resume player – native VLC first, Flatpak fallback; HW‑optimised
VIDEO_DIR="/mnt/crow/videos/Hockey"
TIME_FILE="/tmp/vlc-last-time"
SEEK_BACK=5

# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# 1. Locate a working VLC (native → Flatpak → exit)
# --------------------------------------------------------------------
if command -v vlc &>/dev/null; then
    VLC_BIN="vlc"
    USE_FLATPAK=0
elif command -v flatpak &>/dev/null && flatpak info org.videolan.VLC &>/dev/null; then
    VLC_BIN="org.videolan.VLC"
    USE_FLATPAK=1
else
    echo "VLC not found. Install it natively or via Flatpak." >&2
    exit 1
fi

# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# 2. Performance options – suitable for RPi5, Sandy Bridge, modern PCs
# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# Allow user override with the environment variable VLC_PERF_OPTS.
if [ -z "$VLC_PERF_OPTS" ]; then
    # --avcodec-hw=any    → enable hardware decoding (VAAPI, V4L2, etc.)
    # --no-osd            → disable on‑screen display (save CPU on weak hardware)
    # --no-mouse-events   → ignore mouse input while playing
    # --no-snapshot-preview → skip thumbnail creation
    VLC_PERF_OPTS="--avcodec-hw=any --no-osd --no-mouse-events --no-snapshot-preview --fullscreen"
fi

# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# 3. Video directory & file selection
# --------------------------------------------------------------------
if [ ! -d "$VIDEO_DIR" ]; then
    echo "Directory $VIDEO_DIR not found." >&2
    exit 1
fi

mapfile -t FILES < <(find "$VIDEO_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -type f -name "*.ts" -printf "%f\n" | sort)
if [ ${#FILES[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "No .ts files in $VIDEO_DIR." >&2
    exit 1
fi

echo "Available .ts files in $VIDEO_DIR:"
select file in "${FILES[@]}"; do
    if [ -n "$file" ]; then
        FULL_PATH="$VIDEO_DIR/$file"
        echo "Selected: $FULL_PATH"
        break
    else
        echo "Invalid choice."
    fi
done

# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# 4. Cleanup & time‑logging preparation
# --------------------------------------------------------------------
: > "$TIME_FILE"                          # ensure an empty time file

if ! command -v playerctl >/dev/null; then
    echo "Warning: playerctl not found – playback position won't be saved." >&2
fi

# Trap signals and kill the background time‑logger and VLC
trap 'kill "$STORE_PID" 2>/dev/null; kill "$VLC_PID" 2>/dev/null; exit' INT TERM

# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# 5. Main loop – play, log time, restart on exit
# --------------------------------------------------------------------
while true; do
    # Determine start time
    LAST_TIME=0
    if [ -f "$TIME_FILE" ] && grep -qE '^[0-9]+' "$TIME_FILE"; then
        LAST_TIME=$(cut -d' ' -f1 "$TIME_FILE")
    fi
    if [ "$LAST_TIME" -gt "$SEEK_BACK" ] 2>/dev/null; then
        START_TIME=$(( LAST_TIME - SEEK_BACK ))
    else
        START_TIME=0
    fi

    echo "Starting VLC..."
    if [ "$USE_FLATPAK" -eq 1 ]; then
        flatpak run --filesystem="$VIDEO_DIR" --filesystem=/tmp \
            "$VLC_BIN" $VLC_PERF_OPTS --start-time="$START_TIME" --play-and-exit "$FULL_PATH" &
    else
        "$VLC_BIN" $VLC_PERF_OPTS --start-time="$START_TIME" --play-and-exit "$FULL_PATH" &
    fi
    VLC_PID=$!

    # Background logger – writes current playback position every second
    (
        while kill -0 "$VLC_PID" 2>/dev/null; do
            if command -v playerctl >/dev/null; then
                # Try the usual MPRIS name for VLC (lowercase)
                POS=$(playerctl -p vlc position-raw 2>/dev/null || true)
                # If that failed, try the capitalised name sometimes used by Flatpak
                if [ -z "$POS" ]; then
                    POS=$(playerctl -p VLC position-raw 2>/dev/null || true)
                fi
                if [[ "$POS" =~ ^[0-9]+([.][0-9]+)?$ ]]; then
                    echo "${POS%%.*}" > "$TIME_FILE"
                fi
            fi
            sleep 1
        done
    ) &
    STORE_PID=$!

    # Wait for VLC to finish, then stop the logger
    wait "$VLC_PID" 2>/dev/null
    kill "$STORE_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
    wait "$STORE_PID" 2>/dev/null || true

    echo "VLC exited. Restarting..."
done

Make it executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/hockey

4. Create the reload helper script

Kills the VLC process (native or Flatpak). The wrapper will restart from the saved time. Save as /usr/local/bin/vlc-reload.

#!/bin/bash
pkill vlc

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/vlc-reload

5. Create the stop helper script

Kills the konsole terminal running the hockey script, effectively stopping everything. Save as /usr/local/bin/hockey-stop.

#!/bin/bash
pkill konsole

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/hockey-stop

6. Bind Meta+R (reload) and Meta+Q (stop)

Add two global custom shortcuts in your desktop environment.

KDE Plasma

1. System Settings → Shortcuts → Custom Shortcuts → New → Global Shortcut → Command/URL.
2. Reload: Name Hockey Reload, Trigger Meta+R, Action /usr/local/bin/vlc-reload.
3. Stop: Name Hockey Stop, Trigger Meta+Q, Action /usr/local/bin/hockey-stop.

GNOME

1. Settings → Keyboard → Custom Shortcuts → +.
2. Reload: Name Hockey Reload, Command /usr/local/bin/vlc-reload, then press Super+R.
3. Stop: Name Hockey Stop, Command /usr/local/bin/hockey-stop, then press Super+Q.

XFCE

1. Settings → Keyboard → Application Shortcuts → Add.
2. Command /usr/local/bin/vlc-reload, press Super+R.
3. Command /usr/local/bin/hockey-stop, press Super+Q.

i3 / Sway

bindsym Mod4+r exec /usr/local/bin/vlc-reload
bindsym Mod4+q exec /usr/local/bin/hockey-stop

7. Optional: Desktop launcher

Create ~/.local/share/applications/hockey.desktop to launch with a double‑click.

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Hockey
Comment=Watch growing .ts recordings
Exec=/usr/local/bin/hockey
Terminal=true
Type=Application
Icon=vlc
Categories=AudioVideo;