Calling all MP New Zealanders (Both of you!!) (7 Viewers)

[rlevis]

HD satellte/terestrial/FM radio card?

Hi guys,

I've got a HVR 2200 currently, but I want to add another card with all of the above. On rare occasions it would be nice to be able to watch a 3rd freeview channel/mux while 2 others are recording. MediaPortal also doesn't support the FM radio capabilities of the Hauppauge which means I need to keep an old tuner plugged into my amplifier with a dodgy audio switch. I'm moving to a house which has a satellite dish installed, so may as well tap into the additional Freeview channels and anything else available.

Anyone know of any cards available?

 

[mm1352000]

Hi again rlevis

First things first. MP *does* support FM radio on the HVR 2200 - it has been fixed in 1.2.0b. You can get a patch for 1.1.x from this thread...

Okay, with that out of the way, lets talk about the other requirements. So first you possibly want an additional terrestrial tuner. Keep in mind that additional Freeview HD muxes may be brought online in the next couple of years when analog is switched off. Since dual DVB-T tuners are relatively cheap, I'd recommend going for another dual hybrid or dual DVB-T USB tuner. You could even go for the new DigitalNow Quad and get rid of the 2200, but keep in mind that you'd need excellent signal, and the Realtek proprietary FM/DAB/DAB+ radio interface is not yet supported (working on it, hopefully to be supported in 1.3.0).

Regarding satellite: I have access to all the channels on Optus D1, D2 and D3/C1 as well as Freeview HD. To be completely honest, unless you're desperate for a particular channel I don't think you're missing too much with only having FV HD. Yes maybe the satellite tuner would be useful for the odd recording (perhaps instead of the additional terrestrial tuner?), but the picture quality from terrestrial is *so* much better. Maybe you're after some of the Aussie channels?

Channel 9, GEM, Go! on Optus D1 DVB-S2
SBS Tasmania on Optus D1 DVB-S
Channel 7, SBS Queensland, SBS WA, SBS SEA on Optus C1 DVB-S

These channels *all* have limited availability. I'd almost wager that the Ch 9 bouquet will probably disappear in the next few months. SBS Tasmania might stick around until there is more space on an Aussie-only beam on Optus D1. The Aurora channels on C1 (which are encrypted) will apparently be turned off at the end of 2013.

What about the current affairs/news/religious channels on Optus D2?

When you throw satellite into the mix there are quite a few more options that might suit. For a start, there are several ~$220 dual DVB-S2 PCIe tuners available in NZ, including TBS 6980/6981 and Tevii S480. You could get a single DVB-S2 tuner for roughly $120. Another option would be an HVR 4400 for DVB-S2 + DVB-T/analog/FM for roughly $175, or even a Blackgold BGT3595 (analog tuner not presently supported) for roughly $220NZD plus shipping from the UK.

So all depends on your budget, how much you really want satellite (0, 1 or 2 tuners), what interfaces you have available (PCIe, PCI, USB...)... More info required!

 

[rlevis]

Good to hear 1.2.0 will support the FM radio finally in the HVR 2200. I'll try the 1.1.2 patch.

PCI-e is the interface. When I do a search for the required features all I get is the HVR 4400. It's PCI-e and can record satellite at the same time as DVB-T. I'll investigate the other brands/models you mention, thanks.

I may be forking out for a Sky subscription one day and would only want to use MP directly for managing this. I believe this is possible with a card reader and special software, so that's another reason for DVB-S support.

I guess an ideal card would provide dual satellite DVB-S2 and dual DVB-T, but I guess none are available, and 2 additional cards would be required.

Cheers.

 

[mm1352000]

Good to hear 1.2.0 will support the FM radio finally in the HVR 2200.

It wasn't hard to add support. The reason it didn't work in the first place is down to the driver writers (NXP/Philips) not complying with BDA guidelines.

PCI-e is the interface. When I do a search for the required features all I get is the HVR 4400. It's PCI-e and can record satellite at the same time as DVB-T. I'll investigate the other brands/models you mention, thanks.

There are quite a few Tevii models available on Trade Me. They're about the only cards I would buy from there - the others are a bit riskier in terms of quality...

I may be forking out for a Sky subscription one day and would only want to use MP directly for managing this. I believe this is possible with a card reader and special software, so that's another reason for DVB-S support.

Yes, but you'd have to do it with softCAM software, and you need a specific smartcard (some luck required). I'm not going to provide any further information here - we don't allow discussions about this stuff on our forum, and I'm sure you're aware that it is a legal "grey area" in NZ. Try Geekzone HTPC section...

I guess an ideal card would provide dual satellite DVB-S2 and dual DVB-T, but I guess none are available, and 2 additional cards would be required.

The BGT3595 is dual DVB-S2 and dual DVB-T, which is why I mentioned it.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

PCI-e Tuner Products - BlackGold

You might want to think about the above selection.

 

[rlevis]

The BGT3595 sounds ideal. Looks like I need to import one from the UK.

mm1352000, I've installed your TVLibrary patch for 1.1.2, restarted TV Service, but I'm still not having any luck with FM radio. Scanning appears to start but stops prematurely at 87.9, so entered some frequencies manually, but a Preview in TV Server says Preview failed:UnknownError.

I did use to use a pre 1.0 MP a few years ago when the FM radio worked, so the card should be fine.

Any ideas?

 

[mm1352000]

I'm good, but I'm not that good - please post TV Server logs.

 

[rlevis]

Yes, sorry. Here is error.log. Let me know if you need more. Obviously it's this access violation, but what's causing it?

2011-06-10 23:16:43.455200 [(11)]: Exception ystem.AccessViolationException: Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt.
at TvLibrary.Interfaces.Analyzer.IMPRecord.DeleteChannel(Int32 subChannelId)
at TvLibrary.Implementations.Analog.AnalogSubChannel.OnDecompose()
at TvLibrary.Implementations.BaseSubChannel.Decompose()
at TvLibrary.Implementations.TvCardBase.FreeAllSubChannels()
at TvLibrary.Implementations.Analog.TvCardAnalog.Dispose()
at TvService.TvCardHandler.Dispose()
at TvService.TVController.FreeCards()

2011-06-10 23:17:22.798400 [(6)]: Exception ystem.MissingMethodException: Method not found: 'Void TvLibrary.Streaming.RtspStream..ctor(System.String, System.String, TvLibrary.Interfaces.ITVCard, Boolean)'.
at TvService.TVController.StartTimeShifting(User& user, String& fileName)
at TvService.TVController.StartTimeShifting(User& user, Int32 idChannel, VirtualCard& card, Boolean forceCardId, Boolean& cardChanged)

Hang on. I can't get TV to work now. same error. Rebooting the PC.

Reboot didn't help. The TVLibrary.dll will not work at all. Had to put the original one back to get TV to work again. Perhaps I should update MP to 1.1.3 and try the newer patch?

Ross.

 

[mm1352000]

Ross,

I bet you're using Miroslav's stuttering fix. Yes?

 

[rlevis]

Yes, you're right, I am. It's been working beautifully too. Can't I have both