[jameson_uk]

Originally Posted by lisag

Hang on....

Just found MPDisplay... now, that looks nice

The inbuilt mini display plugin works for most LCD displays but not sure how it copes with actual displays.

As for DVB-T2, this is basically the same as DVB-T (the only difference is the EPG as Freeview have compressed it. There is a version of a component which works with Freeview HD available on the MP forums).

[lisag]

Thanks Jameson. I am using WebEPG for my guide data, are you saying this will not work with Freeview HD?

There are some gaps actually, what would be the best way to get reliable guide data for DVB-T and DVB-T2 in Media Portal? I couldn't get the over the air DVB EPG grabber thing to work.

[jameson_uk]

Originally Posted by lisag

Thanks Jameson. I am using WebEPG for my guide data, are you saying this will not work with Freeview HD?

There are some gaps actually, what would be the best way to get reliable guide data for DVB-T and DVB-T2 in Media Portal? I couldn't get the over the air DVB EPG grabber thing to work.

Was only talking about OTA EPG. No reason why the web EPG grabbers won't work for HD.

I use digiguide for EPG as you get 14 days of great quality EPG info (including episode numbers etc) but that costs.

The OTA EPG is always an arse to setup but should work. Will have a go tonight if I get time

[lisag]

Many thanks!

One more question.. can you do keyword recording in MP the same way as you can in 7MC?

I have things set up like 'poker' or 'charlie brooker' and 7MC will detect anything in the guide data that matches that (including descriptions) and automatically record it for me.

lisa

[youreds91]

Originally Posted by lisag

I am re-visiting Media Portal. Just testing it out at the moment on my desktop with a spare USB DVB-T tuner.

Ha, you're doing the same MC 167Khz offset fix I did

Originally Posted by lisag

I am holding back installing it on my HTPC until I feel more confident about it, but I understand that DVB-T2 does work fine with it too.

I have 2 drives in my HTPC so have MC on one & MP on the other. MP is not quite at missus acceptability level yet, so revert back to MC when I'm not tweaking. DVB-T2 is fine here, loving the TV combinations thing that does the merging. I also like the fact that you can tinker away with this whilst it records, unlike MC that must stop everything.

[youreds91]

Like Lisag I am trying this out, all is well apart from one niggle. I leave the HTPC running 24/7 so there's no fiddling with 2 things to start up, it will also be a server when I get another telly in the spare room.

So the problem is, when I turn the telly back on, Windows redetects it & does a load of stuff of its own accord, changing refresh rate & stuff, once it's done I have a 1920x1080 desktop with the MP window stuck in the top 2/3 of the display, it has a wierd resolution of something like 900x760. There is a thread describing this issue here, but this is more related to restarting MP from standby. Seems common to ATI GPUs, I'll have a play with this later, but wondered if anyone was aware of this?

CD

[lisag]

Originally Posted by youreds91

Ha, you're doing the same MC 167Khz offset fix I did

Ha, yes, well, thinking about it!

It takes a bit of patience and perserverance, but so far, on my test machine things are looking quite promising.

It seems that I can configure it to use Reclock - Wasapi for live and recorded tv which should overcome the Freeview HD 5.1 audio problem that 7MC has. But not use re-clock for video / music playback which was causing problems on 7MC.

Also, I like the auto refresh rate changer a lot, it does just seem to work, but won't know for sure until I install it on the HTPC in the lounge, connected to the TV.

I also like the client - server thing, and have extended the desktop MP install to my laptop, which is handy for keeping an eye on the guide and recording schedulings.

The ts tv recordings, so far playback fine on all devices in the house, including Xbox 360 and Macbook and Mac Mini.

I like the Avalon skin.

Not too keen on the guide scheduling yet, need to research that a little more. I want to have keyword recordings set, so when the guide gets updated it will automatically record things that I may want, without me having to manually search the guide on a regular basis.

Not sure how sleep / S3 is going to work.

It takes an age to load up and get going on launch doesn't it!

lisa

[youreds91]

Originally Posted by lisag

It takes a bit of patience and perserverance, but so far, on my test machine things are looking quite promising.

I was surprised how well it just worked. My display problem is a pain, but I'm sure I can fix that, there must be loads of people using it with AMD & no problems.

Originally Posted by lisag

Also, I like the auto refresh rate changer a lot, it does just seem to work, but won't know for sure until I install it on the HTPC in the lounge, connected to the TV.

Only done telly so far, my mkvs are next up.

Originally Posted by lisag

I also like the client - server thing, and have extended the desktop MP install to my laptop, which is handy for keeping an eye on the guide and recording schedulings.

Same here, live TV was fine, a bit jerky though as I'm on a 54mb router wating for a replacement N router from O2.

Originally Posted by lisag

Not too keen on the guide scheduling yet, need to research that a little more. I want to have keyword recordings set, so when the guide gets updated it will automatically record things that I may want, without me having to manually search the guide on a regular basis.

Yes, I like the MC "double tap" for a series link. Only problem I had was the garbled Freeview HD guide data, but found the fix.

Originally Posted by lisag

Not sure how sleep / S3 is going to work.

Had a quick go last night & worked fine for me.

Originally Posted by lisag

It takes an age to load up and get going on launch doesn't it!

lisa

Must say it was pretty slick for me ...

CD

[lisag]

What was the fix for the Freeview HD guide data. I am using WebEPG at the moment as I couldn't get the OTA DVB EPG to work?

Good news on the other issues though

Oh, I have just stumbled upon a plug-in called 'For The Record' which looks promising for recording scheduling. There is a lot of install instructions to read though

[youreds91]

Originally Posted by lisag

What was the fix for the Freeview HD guide data. I am using WebEPG at the moment as I couldn't get the OTA DVB EPG to work?

(

Post #35 here. This is only a fix for garbled data from FreeviewHD, I'm using DVB-S2 & T2 cards, only the 4 HD channels had garbled epg data.
It does take a while to populate the guide data I found, you have to have an active tuner to kick it off. AFAIAA, it won't get data if the tuners are idle.

[jameson_uk]

Originally Posted by lisag

Oh, I have just stumbled upon a plug-in called 'For The Record' which looks promising for recording scheduling. There is a lot of install instructions to read though

Have not fully digested the other posts so this may not make sense....

FTR is a completely separate scheduling tool. There is also (optionally) a whole TV engine there (Argus) which completely bypasses the MP TV stuff. I have never been able to get on with it as whilst it provides a lot of features it seems to lack total integration with MP and there are a few things that MP provides that FTR does not.

You may want to checkout another plugin (TV Server Plugin: TvWishList | MediaPortal Forum) which does a whole lot more without the need to go through all that install and setup for FTR.

Edit: as for scheduling, have a look at the bottom option (weekly on this channel). This is what I use 9 times out of 10. Eg. I have a schedule setup of this type for Jools Holland on a Tuesday and this records it even if the start shifts a little (but not if it goes too far and into Wednesday) but I don't need to worry about series because the schedule just picks up new episodes when they are there and stays dormant else (The misses has various schedules for Waterloo Road on BBC One HD on a Wednesday, Wild at Heart on ITV1 HD on a Sunday and the HTPC remembering to record new series even if she forgets has earned me a few brownie points )

[spacemanc]

If you are using a DVB-S/S2 card try the Sky epg grabber which is great - it should work without a sky subscription becuase the EPG has always worked on my sky box in the past when I was occasionally between subscriptions:

Sky UK/IT/AUS enhancements | MediaPortal Forum

I find that the Streamed MP skin is the best, and it has great plugins like Moving Pictures as part of it:

streamedmp - StreamedMP Skin for MediaPortal - Google Project Hosting

For all codecs I use lav filters - everything works and no messing around:

lavfilters - Open-Source DirectShow Media Splitter and Decoders - Google Project Hosting

The only other add on I use for Mediaportal is program icon packs to make it look pretty:

UK TV & Radio Logos | MediaPortal Forum

(I use my own pack which has every logo for every channel on Sky)



All the above packs are very user friendly to setup and customise, and the end result looks very slick. Theres some screenshots on this post (I took them before I added all the TV logos):

Low Cost, High Spec TV/HTPC Build

[lisag]

Very nice!

I only use Freeview, SD and HD, but the WebEPG seems to be okay.

I have just tried recording all the channels from one mux with one tuner, which I had read about, and to my surprise it worked! On my test set up I recorded ITV1, C4 and C5 simultaneously, using just one USB DVB-T tuner.

I guess this means that once installed on my HTPC, MP will be able to record all 4 Freeview HD channels, using just one DVB-T2 tuner. That is really quite impressive. And opens up the possibility of still using the other tuners via the Xbox 360 as an extender to 7MC.

I am still playing around with MP, it is a lot to learn, and numerous plug-ins to try out. I want to be completely confident that I know what I'm doing before I install it on the HTPC. I hope to retain the option to revert back to 7MC if MP doesn't work out, so really don't want to screw up the codecs and general install on that machine if I can help it. So far, it is just the clunky tv recording scheduling within MP that is putting me off. The advantages far outweigh the negatives though, in theory, in comparison to 7MC.

I am using the Avalon skin, which I think seems a lot nicer than the default.

Thanks everyone for your help so far

lisa

[spacemanc]

Originally Posted by lisag

So far, it is just the clunky tv recording scheduling within MP that is putting me off. The advantages far outweigh the negatives though, in theory, in comparison to 7MC.

Low Cost, High Spec TV/HTPC Build

Lisa look at the second to last screenshot in my link above. If I click on a future program in the EPG, then it opens that screen. As you can see in the background, it shows every repeat of the same program whatever the channel. I also have the advanced recording options which you can see are opened on the screenshot.

I can't see how it could be any easier to use, and I have never seen such a complete set of PVR functions on anything.

[lisag]

Thanks spacemanc, I see your point, it probably is just a case of getting used to it as it is quite different to 7MC.

Did you use 7MC before?

I have a whole list of keyword recordings in 7MC so that each time the EPG is updated, 7MC will identify a tv programme (from title or description) and automatically set it up to record ifor me.

So I use things like 'poker' 'charlie brooker' 'james may'. With MP you seem to have to check the guide regularly by manual search to see what new shows are coming up?

lisa

[spacemanc]

You just use the Search function. I've attached some screenshots.

1. In the first picture you can see 'search' at the bottom.

2. That opens to the second screenshot, where you have various choices including 'search description', so I've opened that and searched description with 'charlie brooker'.

3. The third screenshot shows the results. You then click on the result you want, and as you can see the recording options screen opens up.

You may notice that there is a '3 red dots' symbol against the 10 o'clock show on 4HD - thats because I have that set to series link (It's a bit hard to see because I've actually got the 4music program selected).


Best of all it's all easily controlled from my logitech harmony remote. It's far better than Skys interface (which is pretty good anyway imo). I don't know how it compares to 7MC or even 'vanilla' mediaportal because I don't use either of them, but it does everything I want and it does it very well!

[lisag]

Thankyou!

That took some time and effort, I very much appreciate it .

Now, the question is, will MP now record all shows with Charlie Brooker in forever? So in a couple of weeks when the guide gets updated, I imagine it will pick up 10 O'clock live, as part of the series link, but will it also pick up another tv show that happens to have Charlie Brooker in, on a different channel, at a different time?

I think the answer is No, which is okay, I'll live with that, but if it is a yes, that would be most excellent!

lisa

[spacemanc]

Lol, you're right you can't set it to record every program with Charlie Brooker in it indefinitely. But you can set it to record any defined program indefinitely on any and every channel.

[jameson_uk]

Originally Posted by lisag

Thankyou!

That took some time and effort, I very much appreciate it .

Now, the question is, will MP now record all shows with Charlie Brooker in forever? So in a couple of weeks when the guide gets updated, I imagine it will pick up 10 O'clock live, as part of the series link, but will it also pick up another tv show that happens to have Charlie Brooker in, on a different channel, at a different time?

I think the answer is No, which is okay, I'll live with that, but if it is a yes, that would be most excellent!

lisa

It depends...
Out the box, there are two types of schedule in MP, time based ones and title based ones.

Check out Schedule Recordings - MediaPortal Wiki

One off is self explanatory
Record every time on xxx schedules just look for the same program name (no fuzzy logic though so needs an exact match)
Record every week at this time is time based so if you set a recording on e4 on Thursday 21:00 to 21:30 the schedule will record at that time regardless of what program is on (or even if there is a program that starts and ends at that time). This is a hang over from analogue TV with no EPG really.

Record every day at this time, weekdays and weekends are also time based (so ignore the actual title)

Weekly on this channel is the most useful (IMHO anyway ) and will record on a certain day based on title but is not fussy about the time.

I have not really tried it but the plugin I linked to earlier (TV Server Plugin: TvWishList | MediaPortal Forum) looks pretty promising for more advanced scheduling (searching in EPG description etc)

[spacemanc]

Sorry james I hadn't read the whole thread so I didn't see your link. The TvWishList does seem to be capable of doing exactly what you want Lisa. It's basically a more advanced version of what I demonstrated, and it seems to have a scheduling feature so it will find what you want indefinitely.

[youreds91]

Originally Posted by youreds91

So the problem is, when I turn the telly back on, Windows redetects it & does a load of stuff of its own accord, changing refresh rate & stuff, once it's done I have a 1920x1080 desktop with the MP window stuck in the top 2/3 of the display, it has a wierd resolution of something like 900x760. There is a thread describing this issue here, but this is more related to restarting MP from standby. Seems common to ATI GPUs, I'll have a play with this later, but wondered if anyone was aware of this?

CD

I managed to fix this by switching to a DVI>HDMI cable, losing the audio over HDMI which is no hassle. I think this is an AMD driver thing, which is worth some more investigation later...

Other than that I'm happy, still a few Codec related bits to set up, it plays some 1080p mkvs, but not all. O2 have delivered a new N router & it's serving my laptop upstairs just fine. Like Lisa I tried to max out the recordings, managing 18 channels at once at one point, quite impressive.

[lisag]

I use an ATI 6450 in my HTPC, so it sounds like I may have some issues when I install MP in the lounge too, I'll let you know. I always have to close 7MC at the end of each session and re-open at the beginning of a new session, otherwise it would seem to scale it all wrong. I hoped MP wouldn't have the problem, but sounds like it might be the same.

I would like to run it alongside 7MC for a while, but was just reading about tv services and once MP is intalled it will take over the tuners, so will prevent 7MC from recording anything, or prevent me using them via an Xbox extender?

I just tried to open 7MC on the desktop where I have MP installed temporarily and I was locked out, 7MC wouldn't open at all! A bit of research and I found that it had been disabled in the Local Group Policy Editor, I have managed to re-enable it and it allowed me to watch live tv with just the one tuner available. So that's a good sign.

EDIT: I have worked out, I think, then when you click that button to enable MP to use the MCE green button remote, this totally disables 7MC. I do use a Logitech Harmony remote, so I guess I need to set up a new activity for MP, that can sit alongside the 7MC, but use a different command for home, that isn't the green button?

[youreds91]

Yep, 7MC & MP don't sit well together, I tried, but went with separate installs on 2 different drives.
I managed to get MP playing some .wtv recordings last night with partial success, still some bits to do there.
I'll also investigate the display issue at the weekend, I think it's an HDMI thing, strange it's OK on a DVI>HDMI lead, I thought DVI was HDMI without audio?

[lisag]

I think the issue with HDMI is 'handshake', part of HDCP. Not an area I know much about, but I have experienced problems also. It actually all improved a lot when I changed my AV Amp. I have one HDMI from HTPC to amp, then one HDMI from Amp to TV, so the amp acts as a hub / switcher.

I have done a little research and it does seem that it is possible to have MP and 7MC working together on the same machine, but, of course, takes some work

I need to figure out a way to stop the green button opening 7MC (and the other direct keys like guide, live tv, recorded tv etc). LM Remote KeyMap looks promising, but can't work out how to use it at the moment.

An easier solution would be to just re-map the green button to a different command within MP, and set up a new activity on my Logitech Harmony remote. So I use the green button for 7MC and something different for MP, but I don't see a way at the moment of this being possible.

Can anyone help / advise?

lisa

[djcla]

Lisag make the change you wont regret it

Myself i just use the default skin which i really like and then LAVfilters and thats about it. I aslo get my guide data from digiguide using a xmltv plugin as it seems pretty reliable.

I also get a funny miniture MP screen when i turn the TV on now and then where i have to restart MP. My display is 1023 x 768 running at 720P. When the PC resumes from sleep i have it set to restart automatically which helps.

Lisag im sure Jameson linked to a test beta build of MP that did similar things to reclock a few posts back which may be worth checking out one day.

[youreds91]

Originally Posted by djcla

Lisag make the change you wont regret it

I think I'm pretty much sold, amongst other things I'm also impressed with the speed switching between screens, with 7MC there always seems to be a pause while the HD clatters away before you finally get presented with the guide.
Also the number of plugins available is good too.
Will have a proper play with it this weekend, I've been limited to an hour between putting the nipper to bed & my missus getting back from work to mess with it this week.

[lisag]

Thanks both - I think I am getting there

I have an MCE keyboard that works with the same IR receiver as the MCE remote. I can use this to program my Logitech Harmony with custom commands.

If I map a shortcut key to launch MP, I can then program that into the Logitech remote and that will launch MP. I can also map a command to exit MP, which seems to work from any screen within MP. I am using the teletext buttons (as I don't use teletext) to configure for shortcut commands to 'guide' 'recorded tv' etc.

Ultimately, on my Logitech Harmony, I should be able to keep my 7MC activity for using 7MC and have a new MP activity for using MP, without having to use any of the remote commands that will launch 7MC.

Bit of a mission

I need to keep 7MC though in order to retain the xbox extender functionality, which will give me access to the MP recordings, and live tv via 7MC on the Xbox 360.

[djcla]

So strange thing yesterday morning could not get any PCM audio from mediaportal only bitstreaming would work Tried removing every additional codec on my system but no luck. Really odd forgot to get logs and just rebuilt it . Rebuilding is not too much of a headache its mainly sorting all the channels out that takes yonks be great if there was away to backup that info from the TV server.

[djcla]

I always choose the single seat mode when installing MP should i still be able to stream TV stuff to another PC runnign MP with that option?

[ninja 12]

Originally Posted by djcla

So strange thing yesterday morning could not get any PCM audio from mediaportal only bitstreaming would work Tried removing every additional codec on my system but no luck. Really odd forgot to get logs and just rebuilt it . Rebuilding is not too much of a headache its mainly sorting all the channels out that takes yonks be great if there was away to backup that info from the TV server.

There's an export tab in the TV Server config , see the screenshot below .

You can use it to export your tv channels , schedules etc. then re-import them at a later stage .

Originally Posted by djcla

I always choose the single seat mode when installing MP should i still be able to stream TV stuff to another PC runnign MP with that option?

I initially installed MediaPortal as a singleseat setup , then further down the line installed the MediaPortal client on my office pc .

It works perfectly - tv movies , music etc.