CableCARD tuner support for MediaPortal 1 (5 Viewers)

[mm1352000]

What are the chance of this or something similar for MePo 2

Very good.
It will almost certainly happen by this code being integrated into TVE 3.5 (our TV engine rehash). That won't happen immediately as I'm busy on other stuff... but it will happen at some point.

 

[Owlsroost]

A quick note - CableCARD tuner support will be included in the upcoming MP 1.5.0 release - big thanks to mm1352000 for all the work on this

 

[CodeMonkey]

A quick note - CableCARD tuner support will be included in the upcoming MP 1.5.0 release - big thanks to mm1352000 for all the work on this

Big thanks indeed!

 

[mediacowboy]

This is great news. With this and the other improvements coming this is by far the best media center

 

[Sigpi007]

Hey mm... I was able to replicate the issue with the severe lag between changing channels. Ran MP in debug mode and exported the files, so would seem to be unrelated to any plugin conflicts (all turned off in debug mode). Additionally, before I ran the test I checked window task manager and did not see any processes that looked out of whack.

Attaching log files below. Any chance you can pin point what might be the problem? As stated before, I can workaround the issue by manually stopping the timeshift on the current channel before selecting another channel. (In the attached logs, I was trying to change channels around the 11:20am timeframe approximately.)

 

[mm1352000]

Heya Sigpi007

Thanks for reporting

So, I can see the problem there immediately. Basically TV Server encountered a communication problem part way through loading your first tuner and didn't properly handle it. It left TV Server in a state where it thought the first tuner was usable... but actually it wasn't. I won't bore you with the rest of the technical details except to say patch attached.

The DLL is compatible with version 2.2 of the main CableCARD patch from the first post, so please be sure to update from version 2.0 or 2.1 if you haven't done so already. To install it you'll need to stop the TV service and ensure TV Server configuration is closed. Then simply download and replace your TVLibrary.dll (in the TV Server install folder) with the one which is attached.

The problem is likely only reproducible by chance so it would be difficult to confirm that I've actually fixed the problem. However, if you could run the patch through its paces for a few days and confirm I haven't broken anything we'd be much obliged.

mm

 

[Sigpi007]

Thanks mm. Will work on this tonight and let you know if I encounter the problem again. Already on 2.2... so we should be good there.

FYI... I've been trying the option that allows the TV service to "pre-load" the tuners. This has helped significantly reduce the issue, but there are still occasional delays (up to 7 seconds) but not nearly as bad. I'll uncheck those options for the tuners in the TV config and test under similar settings as before.

 

[mm1352000]

Thanks mm. Will work on this tonight and let you know if I encounter the problem again. Already on 2.2... so we should be good there.

Thanks.

FYI... I've been trying the option that allows the TV service to "pre-load" the tuners. This has helped significantly reduce the issue, but there are still occasional delays (up to 7 seconds) but not nearly as bad.

Preloading will reduce the perceived delay on the first tune for each tuner.

According to your log files, the server normally it takes around 1.5 seconds to tune a channel. On first tune with each tuner there is additional "stuff" that has to be done which takes about 5 seconds. So all up, expect a first tune to take around 6..7 seconds. From then on in it should take around 1..2 seconds. Preloading does that additional 5 seconds of "stuff" when the tuner is first detected, so the first tune would then appear to take the normal 1..2 seconds.

Now, the fact that your occasional delays are around 7 seconds... that indicates that TV Server probably tries one tuner, fails to tune, then has to load another one in order to fill your tune request. That is exactly the kind of stuff I was seeing in your log file.

Make sense?

 

[Sigpi007]

mm... the modifications to the TVLibrary dll seem to be working so far. No lags of 15 seconds like I was seeing before. As I disabled the "pre-load" tuners option during this testing phase, I'm occasionally seeing the 5-7 second delay, but I figure I can go back to pre-loading after a week of testing.

Thanks for the patch... and all the work. I'm thoroughly enjoying HD cable in MePo!!

 

[Lyfesaver74]

Just a heads up for anyone still waiting for a good deal on a cablecard tuner....

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...?ClickID=cl4lxnas7snvakw4qlwnpl7nsesiqalvlzzk

3 Tuner HDHomeRun Prime for $119.99