Please help me get directv working

diehard2 · 2006-06-22, 23:53

Hi guys,

I'm trying to switch over to MP from Meedio. I'm using the latest SVNs and I really like how the stability has improved over the last couple of weeks. I only have one sticking point. I can't figure out how to get directv to work. My directv box is connected to my serial port and it uses the coax input on channel 4. I have posted in other directv threads and still can't get it to work. I miss how easy this was to setup in Meedio, but I think I need to move on. If someone has set up directv in this manner, I would really appreciate a hand. For those who are going to use those eye rolling icons and give me other directv links that don't help, please leave this thread alone. I want to switch over and can't do it. Thanks for any help.

delicious · 2006-07-13, 09:35

Unfortunately, right now, I'm with you in that boat. I'll let you know if I can make it work. I'm close, I can feel it!

edit: Yup, it's only 2 minutes later, but I can make it change channels, using the DirecTVTune plugin, but it's not intuitive. As of right now, it looks like I'm going to have to set up each channel that I want manually in the setup program. Bleh, then I've got to get the epg (using zap2it) to match the channels. I'm also having issues getting the card to initialize.... I'll be back!

delicious · 2006-07-13, 20:28

OK. Everythings working, even though it wasn't fun or easy. If you're still around, diehard2, let me know and I can help you through it. Or if there's anyone else having trouble, I can probably help now. Maybe. Sort of. :wink:

mzemina · 2006-07-13, 21:03

delicious - Are there any suggestions you coul dmake to either developer (DirecTVTune or Zap2It) to help make it easier for the user?

diehard2 · 2006-07-13, 23:07

Hi delicious, any help would be greatly appreciated!

~Steve

delicious · 2006-07-14, 04:58

mzemina - Good thinking. I'll post it into the threads when I get a little further in, but off the top of my head, DirecTVTune needs better documentation and there are some tweaks that I have seen made in the serial tuner for mythtv that could probably be easily implemented. Also, it'd be nice if the Zap2It plugin would fill in the channel list. Most of the painful tasks (which I have yet to fully tackle), are going to include massive changes to channellist.xml. There are threads around with ppl trying to do similar things, so I'm hoping one of them will make a script before I have to break out my obsolete coding skills.

Steve - How far along are you? I can tell you everything I have done if you like. One thing you need to realize, however, is that I've been using MP for exactly one day now, so I may have taken the long way around. I'm glad you're still trying, though. At least I have someone to suffer along with me! :wink:

diehard2 · 2006-07-14, 05:17

If you could start from the beginning, that would be great! I have the DirectTVtune plugin installed, but I can't seem to make it change channels. Did you download the Directvtune plugin from the mediaportal downloads, or from the thread? I'm willing to totally start over to get the TV working. Thanks for the help.

delicious · 2006-07-14, 10:44

Ok, well, I'll start at the beginning, but it sounds like you have your channels already. I'm going to write this as broadly as I can, so that maybe someone else will also find it useful.

First off, I'm using two plugins, as mzemina already surmised, the DirecTVTune plugin to tune my stb via the serial port and the Zap2It plugin for my epg information.

DirecTVTune thread
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/vi...hlight=directv

DirectTVTune plugin download
http://www.team-mediaportal.com/comp...leinfo/id,125/

Zap2It plugin discussion
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=16034

Zap2It plugin
http://www.team-mediaportal.com/file...p2itEPGPlugin/

First off, I would make sure that your serial cable is working. I've been using mine with mythtv, so I know it already works. Information on making the cable and software to test it is here:
http://www.dtvcontrol.com/

Ok, onto MP. Configure the plugins according to the instructions provided from the download pages. Media Portal Setup - Plugins.
Next, fire up MP to make sure that the guide is populating correctly. This takes a few minutes on broadband.

Here is where I ran into my first real issue. I didn't have any channels in MP Setup - Television - TV Channels. I had to go to MP Setup - Television - Program Guide, scheduler tab and run the grabber. Discussion is here:
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=12165

A couple of notes on the grabber. I had to use an older xmltv version, not the current one, as it didn't seem to have support for tv_grab_na_dd. Also, just run it once to populate the tvguide.xml file. Why doesn't the Zap2It plugin do this? I don't know. Perhaps I missed something.

Ok, after tvguide.xml is populated, go to MP Setup - Television - TV Channels and hit the "Import from TV guide" button. And now you have your channel list. Note that it is completely out of order and all the types are set to internal. This is where some scripting is going to come into play. Hopefully.

Some discussions on mass changing ChannelList.xml:
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=7319
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=10777
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=10330

Back on topic, the things that need to be changed in the channels are: 1. The order of the channels 2. The id? of the channels, which is preventing me from tuning them via number input (I need to research this more) and 3. The type of input that is being delivered.

The third is the one that is most important here, as it allows us to use the DirecTVTune plugin. Set it up manually for now. Pick a channel and hit edit. Go to the external tab. Set type to "Received by external settop box". Set input via to whatever you are inputting the signal on. I'm using the coax input on a WinTV-PVR-150, so I chose SVHS. Now set channel number on settopbox to the channel number of whatever channel you are editing. DO NOT set it to the channel number output of your settop box, as MP instructs you to do. Now, do a few of these and when you go back into MP, you should be able to tune them through the epg.

Now, without looking at the source code of the DirecTVTune plugin, I am guessing that it has channel 3 set as the default input channel. This is what I am outputting on and I can see and change channels just fine.

Sometime this weekend, I'll research the mass changing of the channellist.xml file and report back.

Good luck, Steve. Let me know how it goes!

delicious · 2006-07-15, 10:38

An update. First the good. I have all my channels set up and they are in order. The TVDatabaseV21.db3 file is the one that has to be manipulated. See
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=10330
and thanks to kaliatech.

And now, the bad. It's not possible to use direct number entry to change the channels. Well, it'd be possible if you were to put dummy channels into the channel list (AND make them viewable). Right now, number selections take you to the indexed channel, not an actual channel. i.e. if channel 4 is the first channel in your list, then you press 1 to change to it, not 4. Apparently, this was an issue that was addressed with the "Select channel by index (non-US)" checkbox in the Television setup of MP, but it only works for internally tuned channels.

I think I'll submit a bug report to make sure the devs are aware of this, but I'm guessing that they are.

Anyways, if I can't get this worked out, it's probably a deal breaker for me. I watch far too much television.

P.S. Still waiting for Steve to make his box work!

diehard2 · 2006-07-15, 16:16

Hi delicious,

I haven't got the time to sit down with it yet. Thanks for all of your hard work. I can't believe that the rest of MP is so polished and the one area that most people want (TV) is not. European TV watching must work much better in MP, because I can't believe the Devs would leave settop box setups in this state for so long. Thanks, and I'll update you as to how its going

2006-06-22, 23:53	#1 (permalink)
diehard2 Portal Developer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 515 Thanks: 2 Thanked 13 Times in 9 Posts Country:	Please help me get directv working Hi guys, I'm trying to switch over to MP from Meedio. I'm using the latest SVNs and I really like how the stability has improved over the last couple of weeks. I only have one sticking point. I can't figure out how to get directv to work. My directv box is connected to my serial port and it uses the coax input on channel 4. I have posted in other directv threads and still can't get it to work. I miss how easy this was to setup in Meedio, but I think I need to move on. If someone has set up directv in this manner, I would really appreciate a hand. For those who are going to use those eye rolling icons and give me other directv links that don't help, please leave this thread alone. I want to switch over and can't do it. Thanks for any help.

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2006-07-13, 09:35	#2 (permalink)
delicious Portal Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Unfortunately, right now, I'm with you in that boat. I'll let you know if I can make it work. I'm close, I can feel it! edit: Yup, it's only 2 minutes later, but I can make it change channels, using the DirecTVTune plugin, but it's not intuitive. As of right now, it looks like I'm going to have to set up each channel that I want manually in the setup program. Bleh, then I've got to get the epg (using zap2it) to match the channels. I'm also having issues getting the card to initialize.... I'll be back!

2006-07-13, 20:28	#3 (permalink)
delicious Portal Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	OK. Everythings working, even though it wasn't fun or easy. If you're still around, diehard2, let me know and I can help you through it. Or if there's anyone else having trouble, I can probably help now. Maybe. Sort of. :wink:

2006-07-13, 21:03	#4 (permalink)
mzemina Retired Team Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ft Smith, AR Posts: 2,051 Thanks: 38 Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts Country:	delicious - Are there any suggestions you coul dmake to either developer (DirecTVTune or Zap2It) to help make it easier for the user?

2006-07-13, 23:07	#5 (permalink)
diehard2 Portal Developer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 515 Thanks: 2 Thanked 13 Times in 9 Posts Country:	Hi delicious, any help would be greatly appreciated! ~Steve

2006-07-14, 04:58	#6 (permalink)
delicious Portal Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	mzemina - Good thinking. I'll post it into the threads when I get a little further in, but off the top of my head, DirecTVTune needs better documentation and there are some tweaks that I have seen made in the serial tuner for mythtv that could probably be easily implemented. Also, it'd be nice if the Zap2It plugin would fill in the channel list. Most of the painful tasks (which I have yet to fully tackle), are going to include massive changes to channellist.xml. There are threads around with ppl trying to do similar things, so I'm hoping one of them will make a script before I have to break out my obsolete coding skills. Steve - How far along are you? I can tell you everything I have done if you like. One thing you need to realize, however, is that I've been using MP for exactly one day now, so I may have taken the long way around. I'm glad you're still trying, though. At least I have someone to suffer along with me! :wink:

2006-07-14, 05:17	#7 (permalink)
diehard2 Portal Developer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 515 Thanks: 2 Thanked 13 Times in 9 Posts Country:	If you could start from the beginning, that would be great! I have the DirectTVtune plugin installed, but I can't seem to make it change channels. Did you download the Directvtune plugin from the mediaportal downloads, or from the thread? I'm willing to totally start over to get the TV working. Thanks for the help.

2006-07-14, 10:44	#8 (permalink)
delicious Portal Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ok, well, I'll start at the beginning, but it sounds like you have your channels already. I'm going to write this as broadly as I can, so that maybe someone else will also find it useful. First off, I'm using two plugins, as mzemina already surmised, the DirecTVTune plugin to tune my stb via the serial port and the Zap2It plugin for my epg information. DirecTVTune thread http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/vi...hlight=directv DirectTVTune plugin download http://www.team-mediaportal.com/comp...leinfo/id,125/ Zap2It plugin discussion http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=16034 Zap2It plugin http://www.team-mediaportal.com/file...p2itEPGPlugin/ First off, I would make sure that your serial cable is working. I've been using mine with mythtv, so I know it already works. Information on making the cable and software to test it is here: http://www.dtvcontrol.com/ Ok, onto MP. Configure the plugins according to the instructions provided from the download pages. Media Portal Setup - Plugins. Next, fire up MP to make sure that the guide is populating correctly. This takes a few minutes on broadband. Here is where I ran into my first real issue. I didn't have any channels in MP Setup - Television - TV Channels. I had to go to MP Setup - Television - Program Guide, scheduler tab and run the grabber. Discussion is here: http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=12165 A couple of notes on the grabber. I had to use an older xmltv version, not the current one, as it didn't seem to have support for tv_grab_na_dd. Also, just run it once to populate the tvguide.xml file. Why doesn't the Zap2It plugin do this? I don't know. Perhaps I missed something. Ok, after tvguide.xml is populated, go to MP Setup - Television - TV Channels and hit the "Import from TV guide" button. And now you have your channel list. Note that it is completely out of order and all the types are set to internal. This is where some scripting is going to come into play. Hopefully. Some discussions on mass changing ChannelList.xml: http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=7319 http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=10777 http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=10330 Back on topic, the things that need to be changed in the channels are: 1. The order of the channels 2. The id? of the channels, which is preventing me from tuning them via number input (I need to research this more) and 3. The type of input that is being delivered. The third is the one that is most important here, as it allows us to use the DirecTVTune plugin. Set it up manually for now. Pick a channel and hit edit. Go to the external tab. Set type to "Received by external settop box". Set input via to whatever you are inputting the signal on. I'm using the coax input on a WinTV-PVR-150, so I chose SVHS. Now set channel number on settopbox to the channel number of whatever channel you are editing. DO NOT set it to the channel number output of your settop box, as MP instructs you to do. Now, do a few of these and when you go back into MP, you should be able to tune them through the epg. Now, without looking at the source code of the DirecTVTune plugin, I am guessing that it has channel 3 set as the default input channel. This is what I am outputting on and I can see and change channels just fine. Sometime this weekend, I'll research the mass changing of the channellist.xml file and report back. Good luck, Steve. Let me know how it goes!

2006-07-15, 10:38	#9 (permalink)
delicious Portal Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	An update. First the good. I have all my channels set up and they are in order. The TVDatabaseV21.db3 file is the one that has to be manipulated. See http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=10330 and thanks to kaliatech. And now, the bad. It's not possible to use direct number entry to change the channels. Well, it'd be possible if you were to put dummy channels into the channel list (AND make them viewable). Right now, number selections take you to the indexed channel, not an actual channel. i.e. if channel 4 is the first channel in your list, then you press 1 to change to it, not 4. Apparently, this was an issue that was addressed with the "Select channel by index (non-US)" checkbox in the Television setup of MP, but it only works for internally tuned channels. I think I'll submit a bug report to make sure the devs are aware of this, but I'm guessing that they are. Anyways, if I can't get this worked out, it's probably a deal breaker for me. I watch far too much television. P.S. Still waiting for Steve to make his box work!

2006-07-15, 16:16	#10 (permalink)
diehard2 Portal Developer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 515 Thanks: 2 Thanked 13 Times in 9 Posts Country:	Hi delicious, I haven't got the time to sit down with it yet. Thanks for all of your hard work. I can't believe that the rest of MP is so polished and the one area that most people want (TV) is not. European TV watching must work much better in MP, because I can't believe the Devs would leave settop box setups in this state for so long. Thanks, and I'll update you as to how its going