Advice Required: Building a new Freeview PC-PVR (1 Viewer)

groovybaby

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Thanks CyberSimian for your previous info.

The EPG will be "grabbed" on a schedule when the PC is powered up and MP is running, the schedule will be handled in different ways depending on the method chosen but for DVB EPG it is controlled from the TV config. as shown in the1st. screenshot below (those are the default values which normally work OK), i.e an epg grab will be attempted every 240 minutes but will time out if not completed in 10 mins. In the 2nd screenshot you can usually see it in action, it will say something like a channel name and "Grabbing". I use a different EPG grabber which is why it is not showing up there.

.View attachment 207152 View attachment 207153

OK: I completed the setup as shown here: DVB EPG Data
And I've read CyberSimian's version.
I've started MP2, and the screen that displays when I click on the TV-Icon, only lists 9 channels, with no program data.
And in the popup, I selected display all channels.
So why is there no data, and how do I display the remaining programs, eg, channel 10 etc ???

Update: Some program data is now displayed, but it still only lists 9 channels. So how do I display all channels ?

Also:
How do I set one or more programs to record automatically ?
I spent ages looking round but cant see how!
 
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CyberSimian

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    when I click on the TV-Icon, only lists 9 channels
    I have never used MP2 (I find MP1 sufficient for my needs), but the EPG panel should be scrollable vertically (it is in MP1). Try relevant buttons on the remote control, or keys on the keyboard, to see if any are pre-defined to scroll the panel:
    • CHANNEL_UP and CHANNEL_DOWN on the remote control are likely candidates.
    • PAGE_UP and PAGE_DOWN on the keyboard are likely candidates.
    How do I set one or more programs to record automatically ?
    Use the UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT buttons or keys to move the focus in the EPG to the programme that you want to record, and then press the OK button on the remote control, or the ENTER key on the keyboard. I think that a pop-up menu should appear with some choices. Explore those to find the recording options:
    • Record once, or
    • Record with various flavours of repeat (commonly called "series record", but more accurately called "repeated recording").
    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    joecrow

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    Update: Some program data is now displayed, but it still only lists 9 channels. So how do I display all channels ?
    The default number of rows displayed in the MP2 EPG is set to 9 but as @CyberSimian posted you should be able to navigate vertically down to view more channels. DVB EPG program data can sometimes take a while to populate but it does look like you are getting there.(y)
     

    groovybaby

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    The default number of rows displayed in the MP2 EPG is set to 9 but as @CyberSimian posted you should be able to navigate vertically down to view more channels. DVB EPG program data can sometimes take a while to populate but it does look like you are getting there.(y)

    OK Thank you and @CyberSimian for your info so far.
    At the moment I'm just using the Keyboard to use MP, as I don't yet have a remote installed.

    Making A Timed Recording:
    OK: When I start MP and click on the TV-Icon, it lists the first 9 channels, eg:
    There are 3 columns: TV Channel / Current Program / Next Program

    I can move down the full list of programs a screen at a time, by highlighting a channel, and then pressing the [PgDn] button.

    Selecting a channel, highlights that channels row, so I cant move to the right to check the Next Program or record a Program.

    Then I found this page:

    And the only reference I could find to a GUIDE, was in the list: Keys always active
    TV Full Guide / Keyboard key: [G]

    So pressing the Keyboard key: [G] now displays each channel, with the times (and names) of each program, to the right of the channel.
    I can now highlight just the channel, and move to each program by using the [->] key.
    I can then set it to record by pressing the [Enter] key.

    However: All of the text displayed on this Guide is to large for the boxes that its in, so it virtually unreadable. I am currently viewing this on my PC Monitor, so I don't yet know what this looks like on the TV.

    MediaPortal2 (64):
    I'm currently doing all this after clicking on the MediaPortal2 Icon,
    and not the MediaPortal2 (x64) Icon.

    When I try to start MediaPortal2 using the MediaPortal2 (x64) Icon, the MediaPortal2 screen briefly displays, and then closes, and then sometimes I get this popup error message:
    'Unhandled exception in application: could not find the MP.common.ILogger Service'
     

    CyberSimian

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    When I start MP and click on the TV-Icon, it lists the first 9 channels, eg:
    There are 3 columns: TV Channel / Current Program / Next Program
    I think MP1 has the equivalent of that panel, but I never use it as it seems pointless. The full EPG provides more information (and is the panel that I was expecting that you would see).

    However: All of the text displayed on this Guide is too large for the boxes that its in, so it virtually unreadable. I am currently viewing this on my PC Monitor, so I don't yet know what this looks like on the TV.
    It would be useful if you could post a screen shot showing the problem. This will allow the author of the skin (@ge2301) to assess the problem.

    To take a screen shot, click the MP window (so that it has the focus) and then press ALT_PRT_SCRN on the keyboard to copy the contents of the window to the clipboard. Then start the Windows "Paint" program and paste the clipboard into "Paint". Finally save the image as a JPG file (these occupy less space than PNG files).

    Write a post and use "Attach files" to upload the image and submit it with your post.

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    joecrow

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    As mentioned by @CyberSimian what you were looking at when you click on the TV icon is not the EPG which needs to be selected as shown in the screenshot below. When you click on that you should see the EPG like the 2nd screenshot. If you prefer you can change the settings (TV) to start playing straight away rather than displaying what you were seeing.
    tv.jpgepg.jpg
    When I try to start MediaPortal2 using the MediaPortal2 (x64) Icon, the MediaPortal2 screen briefly displays, and then closes, and then sometimes I get this popup error message:
    'Unhandled exception in application: could not find the MP.common.ILogger Service'

    Checkout these posts which may be the problem you have.
    [solved] - MP 2-2.3 x 64 crashing
    MP2 - V2.3 - MP2 x64 won't run
     
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    groovybaby

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    ...It would be useful if you could post a screen shot showing the problem. This will allow the author of the skin (@ge2301) to assess the problem...
    -- from CyberSimian in the UK

    (@ge2301) So please see this SS of my TV Full Guide screen, where the text is unreadable.

    TV_Guide_Scrn.jpg


    Update: Solved !
    I just realized, previously, to try and view more then 9 channels, I had increased the number of rows to 15.
    It now OK, after changing it back to 9!
     
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    groovybaby

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    * I've updated/corrected this post *

    OK thanks @CyberSimian & @joecrow

    1: I've completed the setup info for the: Server Configuration / Power Scheduler
    (except for the settings for the: Expert Mode)
    in wiki: Server Configuration

    2: I also tried to follow the setup info for the: Client Configuration / Power Scheduler
    in wiki: Client Configuration

    ** But I couldn't find that first screen shown, eg: Plugins < Process Plugins **

    So currently my system doesn't start-up or shut down automatically, so why, what am I missing ?

    NB: Both the above wiki's are for MediaPortal 1 / I couldn't find any similar wiki's for MediaPortal 2 ?
     
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    CyberSimian

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    Both the above wiki's are for MediaPortal 1 / I couldn't find any similar wiki's for MediaPortal 2 ?
    "TV Server" is the same for MP1 and MP2, but it is packaged differently, so you cannot use one with the other (i.e. you cannot use an MP1 client with an MP2 server, or vice versa). But the setup procedures and plugins are identical for MP1 and MP2.

    my system doesn't start-up or shut down automatically
    There are three common power states for Windows systems:
    • Sleep
    • Hibernation
    • Shutdown
    "PowerScheduler" works only with sleep:
    • If you manually shutdown your system, "PowerScheduler" cannot wake it to perform a recording.
    • If you manually hibernate your system, "PowerScheduler" can wake it to perform a recording, but "PowerScheduler" cannot hibernate your system when it is idle.
    As you are a beginner, you should be using "Plug & Play" mode. To get this working, use the client that is on the same system as the server, and ensure that the other clients (if you have any) are shutdown. Select the "HTPC" profile.

    The default sleep timeout is 30 minutes, which means that the HTPC should transition to sleep after it has been idle for 30 minutes. "Idle" means that you are not using the system, and "TV Server" is not recording or grabbing the EPG. To speed-up testing, you might prefer to change the sleep timeout to a smaller value (5 minutes, perhaps).

    If the system does not transition to sleep, the following may be true:
    • One of the devices on your system does not support this power state. To check this, try manually sleeping your system by using the "Start" button menu in the lower left corner.
    • Your system is busy doing something. I am not familiar with how the MP2 server works, so it might be busy. I am not sure how you check this.
    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

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