ServiceApp – 4097, gstplayer and exteplayer3

ServiceApp connects Enigma2 to additional playback services. An interface such as EMC chooses the reference; ServiceApp supplies the services. Settings belong to individual service sections and are not automatically shared between 4097, 5001 and 5002.

Install and test individually

Install enigma2-plugin-systemplugins-serviceapp from the feed. The reviewed feed installs gstplayer2 and exteplayer3 as dependencies. Open MENU → Setup → Playback, Recording & Time Shift → ServiceApp. The plugin checks player versions before opening setup. “Not installed” can also mean detection failed.

The plugin supplies Play with ServiceGstPlayer and Play with ServiceExtEplayer3 actions for the native movie list. Access them through the context menu or extension actions, depending on list/button configuration. This lets you compare one file. In an IPTV bouquet, you can change only the first number of the relevant entry.

Replace 4097 or select 5001/5002 explicitly

Choice	Effect
Enigma2 playback system original	4097 remains built-in ServiceMP3/GStreamer. 5001 and 5002 remain independently available when ServiceApp is loaded.
Playback system serviceapp, player gstplayer	ServiceApp takes over 4097 using gstplayer.
Playback system serviceapp, player exteplayer3	ServiceApp takes over 4097 using exteplayer3.
Reference starts with 5001	Explicit gstplayer; uses the ServiceGstPlayer (5001) settings.
Reference starts with 5002	Explicit exteplayer3; uses the ServiceExtEplayer3 (5002) settings.

Unsaved form example: serviceapp and exteplayer3 reveal the 4097 options. The actual registration of 4097 was not changed. Open original image ↗

When changing the playback system, press Green/Save and accept the offered Enigma2 restart. This affects media and streams whose interfaces use 4097. Native DVB service 1 is not replaced. To revert, select original, save and restart the GUI. Reflashing is unnecessary.

gstplayer – output and buffering

Separate 5001 section. Version numbers were read from the installed executables. Open original image ↗

Option	Meaning
Sink	Output component connecting to the decoder; choices depend on installed sinks. “Experimental” is not a general quality mode. Start with Original.
Embedded subtitles	Supports subtitle tracks inside the medium. An available track must also be selected or enabled automatically.
Buffer size	Memory buffer in kilobytes. Source default 8192 KB, range 1024–65536 KB.
Buffer duration	Value in seconds, range 0–100. The source default is 0. More buffering can delay starting/switching; it cannot fix a consistently slow connection.

Key groups: config.plugins.serviceapp.gstplayer.servicegstplayer.* for 5001 and ...gstplayer.servicemp3.* for replacing 4097. Keys: sink, subtitle_enabled, buffer_size, buffer_duration.

exteplayer3 – audio processing

The software decoding switches apply to the listed audio formats. They do not imply general software video decoding. Open original image ↗

Option	Meaning
AAC software decoding	No, To AAC ADTS or To AAC LATM: different AAC processing paths to compare individually for AAC audio problems.
EAC3 / AC3 / DTS / MP3 / WMA software decoding	Separate switches for software processing of each audio format. May help when direct hardware playback struggles; uses CPU resources.
Stereo downmix	Mixes multichannel audio to two channels during software decoding. Different from unchanged passthrough to an AV receiver.
LPCM injection	Sends PCM through the LPCM output path instead of WAV PCM; a driver compatibility option.
RTMP protocol implementation	auto, ffmpeg or librtmp for RTMP sources; does not generally change HTTP/HLS.

Key groups: config.plugins.serviceapp.exteplayer3.serviceexteplayer3.* for 5002 and ...exteplayer3.servicemp3.* for 4097. Keys: aac_swdecoding, eac3_swdecoding, ac3_swdecoding, dts_swdecoding, mp3_swdecoding, wma_swdecoding, downmix, lpcm_injecion (plugin spelling) and rtmp_protocol.

Shared options, separately configured per service

Option	Purpose
Auto turn on subtitles – autoturnon_subtitles	Activates available subtitles; does not supply a missing track.
HLS Explorer – hls_explorer	Discovers variants in an HLS master playlist and exposes them as subservices for quality selection. A simple media playlist need not contain variants.
Auto select stream – autoselect_stream	Selects a discovered variant using the connection speed.
Connection speed – connection_speed_kb	Guidance in kb/s (kilobits per second); neither a speed measurement nor a router bandwidth limit.
Debug – config.plugins.serviceapp.debug	Extra diagnostic output; enable for a specific problem and turn off afterwards. See logs.

The four per-service keys belong to config.plugins.serviceapp.options.servicemp3.*, ...servicegstplayer.* or ...serviceexteplayer3.*. Hardware-specific AC3+ passthrough fixes and delays appear only on certain receivers; details will follow in a hardware appendix.

Subservices here are alternative streams/qualities. SubsSupport is the subtitle plugin. A player change can affect track selection, seeking, subtitles, startup and EPG mapping. Compare the same URL, quality and audio track, changing one factor at a time.

Source version: ServiceApp setup and integration. These pictures document settings, not a complete compatibility test of every player/format.