[Maedhros]

Hi all,

I have now set up a complete and working instance of MediaPortal with TV Server (version 1.0 RC2) on my brand new home server rig. Since it might seem a bit tricky here and there for some, I decided from the start to simultaneously create a How-To guide for the whole process for anyone else who might want to setup an environment like this.

First things first... a bit about my server

Case: ThermalTake Armor (Silver w. 25cm side fan)
Mainboard: Asus P5KC
Processor: Intel Core2Duo Q9450
Cooler: ThermalRight HR01-Plus
Fans: 3x Noctua 120mm fans
RAM: 2x2GB OCZ DDR2-6400
HDD: 1x120GB Seagate (system), 1x1TB Western Digital (media)
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 7600GS
Sound: Soundblaster X-Fi eXtremeAudio PCI-e
TV Card: Hauppauge PVR-500 MCE

Well.... let's get to it. The guide covers an installation on the above hardware. Other hardware may "kindly" provide you with trouble because of driver support (or the lack of ).


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Guide for setting up MP as a Mediaserver on Windows Server 2008
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This guide is written during the installation of my new home server. This home server is supposed to host Madiaportal with TV Server along with being a file server, development server (SVN and Hyper-V test machines) and a backup server. For the future there are plans for a much more advanced server with features such as Voice-controlled Home Automation and Entertainment.
The following steps have been taken in the following order.

1. Install Windows and make sure to update via Windows Update.

2. Install features:
a. .NET Framework 3.0
b. Desktop Experience
c. Remote Server Administration Tools / Role Administration / Hyper-V Tools
d. Windows Internal Database
e. Windows PowerShell
f. Windows Server Backup and Command-Line Tools
g. Windows System Resource Manager

3. Run Windows Update and enable all Microsoft Update.

4. Run Microsoft Update (still called Windows Update).

5. Create a new user “MediaPortal” and set a password. Keep the user standard.

6. Make sure that all drivers are installed and download MediaPortal (if not already done).

If no drivers for your hardware is available for Windows Server 2008, then just find the same drivers in their Vista-version, since the two systems use the same core and therefore this little trick will work in most cases. Just remember to never mix x86 and x64 versions unless you really, really know what you're messing with. Otherwise ask on the forum or Google.

7. Log in as Administrator and install MediaPortal and TV Server (Follow the respective guides).

8. Make sure that the MediaPortal user has access to the Mediaportal program files and application data (should be by default).

9. If you, like me, place your media on a different drive, then remember to set access rights for the MediaPortal user on these directories.

10. Start using MediaPortal using your new MediaPortal user. Eventually follow the guide further down to set up automatic start of MediaPortal.


As a final step install and configure your codecs. My setup is as follows and installed in that order:
1. Haali Media Splitter
2. FFDShow without h.264
3. CoreAVC

Remember to setup MediaPortal to use the correct codecs.

Note: I have a Hauppauge PVR-500 MCE in the server and updated without problems from their driver CD ver. 3.2. Use the hcwdriverinstall.exe file, because Setup.exe won’t work on this CD (stupid OS check).


Please provide feedback in case I have forgotten anything or you have something to add. Let's kill the lack of documentation for Windows Server 2008 once and for all :-)

/Maedhros


NB: I will make sure to post a similar guide for setting up the complete and ultimate home server with Mediaportal, Backup (online w. eg. iDrive), Home Automation, Voice and AI. However, this is a bit into the future since it is quite a project in the end with a few issues still to work out. MAybe ready for MediaPortal 2


Update: Auto-logon for automatically starting MediaPortal
To ensure that MediaPortal starts up automatically after a reboot (eg. after windows update or power failure), please follow this guide.

1. Follow the steps in the following article using your created MediaPortal user: How to turn on automatic logon in Windows

2. Once logged in as your MediaPortal user open the MediaPortal Configuration and set MediaPortal to start up when windows starts up.

Note: The Autostart setting in MediaPortal is defined in the registry using the current user registry section. So this will not affect a remote login by eg. the administrator account.

[wima]

For what do I need the MediaPortal user?

Greetings
wima

[pnyberg]

Hi maedros, and thanks for the guide!

One question - have tried using EVR and DXVA?
Considering using W2K8 myself... but if EVR does not work it will fail since I rather would like to use DXVA (h.264 decoding).

thanks in advance.

[Maedhros]

Originally Posted by wima

For what do I need the MediaPortal user?

Well.... I know that you could use the built-in administrator account. And all considered, it will be easier to set up everything for you, since permissions are not a problem at any point. However, first of all, I NEVER recommend anyone to use the administrator account for everyday tasks. If someone wants to exploit your system it is easier. If you get a virus or other malware, it is easier to trash your system. However, if you run as a normal windows user with only the rights for a few folders, you are toughened against these attacks. And in general it is good practice (also from an organising point of view).
I personally have a separate user for running MediaPortal only for all the reasons above, but also because this is supposed to become THE home server utilizing different other applications. For now MediaPortal, uTorrent (with separate user), and Development using SVN and MS-SQL is running also. I use the administrator account to log on and set up a new service or other administrative tasks.

I can only recommend that you make use of separate users per task.

[wima]

Should the TV Service run with the MediaPortal account?

[Maedhros]

Originally Posted by pnyberg

One question - have tried using EVR and DXVA?
Considering using W2K8 myself... but if EVR does not work it will fail since I rather would like to use DXVA (h.264 decoding).

DXVA: DirectX Video Acceleration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hi pny,
I have not messed around with this feature myself. I personally use CoreAVC for h.264 content and I am very very satisfied. It is (as far as I know) software-only, except for some de-interlacing it may pass through to the video adapter. I have however tried to use PureVideo, which offloaded most of the decoding on the video adapter. However, in my experience CoreAVC does a better job overall than PureVideo.
For anything else than HD I use the MPV codec. Is it possible to get it to use DXVA? I missed that setting

Originally Posted by wima

Should the TV Service run with the MediaPortal account?

I can't give you a final answer on that one, since I haven't had time for that part yet and the server is still standing without cable-tv
I need to drill on-hell-of-a-hole in the wall in the office next to the room to lead DVI and audio cables through. In the office I have antenna available for the server.

However, I expect everything to work out just fine using a separate TVServer account. But I will not strip you of your honour if you stick with the MediaPortal user for this one. It will simplify the procedure a bit I guess... about 5 minutes

My PVR-500 MCE TV-Card looks like it works fine with Win2008. Again, if your card(s) work with Vista, you can be 99% sure that it will work with Win2008 too

This guide is not final. I plan to expand it to cover the TV-Server in-depth and a few other things. However, time is critical. I have a lot of stuff to take care of every day .... But I will try to take care of it during this week.

[voyagerx]

I am going to install TV Server on top of Windows 2008 Server in the coming days, and I have two TV Tuner cards to install. I thought that I would follow the guide in this thread:

http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/ge...-server-36905/

which involves running a script on a Vista machine, and copying the files to the Windows 2008 server to make the Tuner cards work. Now that this thread has been posted, it seems as this was never necessary. Am I missing something, or do I really just need to install the .NET 3.0 framework and the Desktop Experience Package to be able to run TV Server on Windows 2008 and use my tuner cards?

Thanks!

[Maedhros]

Which TV cards do you have?

[voyagerx]

I have the Hauppauge HVR-1600 and 1800 cards

[Maedhros]

Originally Posted by voyagerx

I have the Hauppauge HVR-1600 and 1800 cards

Okay.... I just checked out the driver package(s) for your cards. It looks like you have Vista support.
On website: "Note: this package is for Windows XP, Windows XP Media Center Edition, and Windows Vista."

As long as you follow my footstep in the guide. Don't bother to launch the Setup.exe in Win2008. It will just say that the OS is not supported and exit. use the "HcwDriverInstall.exe" to install with, as this is the same installation just without OS-check. If you already tried to mess with some BDA dirvers in some way, then execute "hcwclear.exe" to be sure that you are ready to install.

Since Win2008 basically uses the same kernel as Vista SP1 you should be home free. I only have drivers installed and no tools and stuff that came with the CD. But you shouldn't need WinTV or anything once you get your TV-Server set up (which I will get into as soon as I have time for other things than my contractors).

Please tell me how it went.

Remember to have backup of any important data before you start playing around. You shouldn't trash your windows by doing this, but I ALWAYS back up before messing around ;-) .... that way I never cry ;-)