Changing over from WMC to Media Portal? (1 Viewer)

[Marvin Miller]

Hi Folks!

I could use some quick advice about what will be involved in changing over from Windows Media Center 7 w/ single Colossus
over to Media Portal.

First, Is there a guide provided with Media Portal? If not, what do you do?
I'm using a stock Media Center remote and usb receiver along with the Hauppauge IR Blaster to control a set top box - will this work?

I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 TB in series and movies recordings all recorded in H.264 in the .WTV container. Would Media Portal be able to make use of the metadata and that file format?

Can you selectively delete channels in the guide? We get something like 900 channels of which I only list about 80 or so.

Is there native Blue-Ray support?

Lastly, I have about 650 future recordings scheduled (mostly movies) - is there any way to port that information over into Media Portal? How about Series recording histories? Has anyone done any work on exporting/importing that info into Media Portal?

Also, any 'gotchas' that I might have missed?
Can an install be banged out quickly?

Thank you in advance for choosing to consider this post's questions and for replying!

 

[Lehmden]

Hi and welcome here.

First, Is there a guide provided with Media Portal?

We have a more or less complete wiki. You can find it in navigation bar on top

I'm using a stock Media Center remote and usb receiver along with the Hauppauge IR Blaster to control a set top box - will this work?

The stock MCE Remote is working out of the box.

I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 TB in series and movies recordings all recorded in H.264 in the .WTV container. Would Media Portal be able to make use of the metadata and that file format?

I' not sure about the container as this is something really special never used outside WMC. The "old" dvr-ms container is supported, but I don't know if MP working with wtv. But you can remux them to mkv pretty easy in no time. MKV is the best available container these days and can be used to store everything that is a video... If you need advice for that, I can provide you with informations and free software. Metatags for videos can't be used within MP1 at all. I know the new MP2 (it's in alpha state so it will take a while until it's complete) can handle such metatags as I'm using this daily...

Can you selectively delete channels in the guide?

Ofc you can do so. You can add groups of channels (e.G. HD channels, or Kids channels), you can add or delete single channels exactly as you wish...

Is there native Blue-Ray support?

Yes, there is a native BluRay support. But... (there always is a "but") this is working only for non encrypted BD. If you want to use commercial (encrypted) BD you need extra tools like Passkey or AnyDVD HD...

Lastly, I have about 650 future recordings scheduled (mostly movies) - is there any way to port that information over into Media Portal? How about Series recording histories? Has anyone done any work on exporting/importing that info into Media Portal?

This is not possible and I don't know about any plans to do such a tool...

Edit:
I just read that MP can play WTV files also I never tried it (never get my hands on a wtv file)

 

[Marvin Miller]

Thanks Lehmden - I appreciate the well-thought out reply. I did take a look at the Wiki but couldn't really make heads or tails of whether or not MP comes with a guide service. There seems to be a lot of information on ways to make guides work but I couldn't really wrap my head around the basics of even something as simple as whether or not it comes with a guide.

With respect to Windows Media Center, it comes with the Zap2it guide so a guide service is a non-issue.

 

[mm1352000]

MP doesn't come with a guide service. You have to sort that out for yourself. Reason: guide data costs money. MS can afford that; we can't.

Here are the options for you:
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/threads/setup-help.124506/#post-1061869

Note: the above only applies for the US and Canada. Most of the rest of the world broadcasts EPG data over the air for free.

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.

guide service

Ok, sorry for my bad english. I thought you're talking about a setup guide for MP. But now I think you're talking about Electronic Program Guide. If I'm right with this, there is more than one way to get EPG data for MP. If your Broadcast Provider delivers EPG Data via DVB MP can handle those. Or you're using a tool called "mc2xml" to convert Microsoft EPG data to a universal readable format (xml) that can be handled by MP also. Third option is to grab EPG data from websites. This could be done automatically by a MP TV Server plugin (WebEPG)...

 

[Marvin Miller]

Awesome guys!

Not be smart, but it might be an idea to mention in the Wiki, straight up, that MP does not come with a guide service but that you can hook into, and make existing use of, Zap2it via Windows Media Center. The way the wiki is written makes one think that it is describing options as opposed to requirements.

Just a thought, but the idea of hooking into Zap2it via WMC is great. It does bring about another question though, in order to hook into Zap2it via WMC does WMC need to be installed? (Along with the cooresponding WMC services)?

Thanks again!
Marvin

 

[mm1352000]

Hello again Marvin

Not be smart, but it might be an idea to mention in the Wiki, straight up, that MP does not come with a guide service...

Noted... though again please be aware that as usual North America is the exception to the rule. Outside North America my understanding is that WMC pulls guide data from the broadcast stream... which TV Server can and does do by default. To say that MP doesn't have a guide service is true; to say that WMC has a guide service for all countries is not true. MediaPortal is mostly developed and used by people outside North America. That doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't use MediaPortal. Just expect some of the lingo and the things you've come to expect from WMC to not be quite so smooth.

...but that you can hook into, and make existing use of, Zap2it via Windows Media Center.

To be clear, I didn't say that and I don't think Claus did either. Yes, you can use mc2xml to pull from a variety of guide sources:
http://mc2xml.hosterbox.net/

...however Zap2it is only mentioned once on that page, and the new MS service requires a donation.
[edit:
In fact, it looks like mc2xml doesn't support Zap2it. There is a separate app for that:
http://zap2xml.awardspace.info/

...but based on the last update in 2009 I would be very surprised if it works.
]

The way the wiki is written makes one think that it is describing options as opposed to requirements.

It is written that way intentionally. There is no "one size fits all" approach with MediaPortal. Some options will work for some people but not for others, because of different local broadcast conditions etc. etc. etc.. The options I linked for you will work for you... but not for me here in NZ.

Just a thought, but the idea of hooking into Zap2it via WMC is great.

Again, I didn't say that was possible. I also note that mc2xml has historically been pursued by copyright people for doing what they do. That is one reason we don't integrate a similar function.

It does bring about another question though, in order to hook into Zap2it via WMC does WMC need to be installed? (Along with the cooresponding WMC services)?

No, I don't think WMC has to be installed for mc2xml to pull from the MS data source.

mm

 

[Marvin Miller]

Interesting...just for reference, the 'new' guide service they talk about (in Windows 7+) is actually the same old guide service which is provided to Windows Media Center users by Zap2it. I suspect the 'new' references he's mentioning are due to the extra metadata fields that they now include in the stream (Director etc).

I do wonder if it's required though as my cable provider does send (in some fashion) guide data to the STB that they provide. It would have to be fed over the cable but whether it's something MP can decipher natively is probably something I won't know until I try it. This brings me to my last question (I promise!);

Is it possible to do a side-by-side install of Media Portal alongside of Windows Media Center? I know this was possible with SageTV (and very handy).

Thanks again!
MM

 

[mm1352000]

I do wonder if it's required though as my cable provider does send (in some fashion) guide data to the STB that they provide. It would have to be fed over the cable but whether it's something MP can decipher natively is probably something I won't know until I try it.

Yeah, I've spent a fair amount of time over the years trying to understand how this is done. The conclusion I've come to is that each provider (Verizon, Cox, Comcast etc.) have their own undocumented and proprietary way of doing this which may or may not involve transferring data via an "out-of-band" channel that clear QAM cable tuners can't receive (CableCARD tuners can receive it though). For the moment I've given up on making this work. Putting that aside, there'd be no way to make this work with a Colossus anyway.

This brings me to my last question (I promise!)...

Don't make promises you can't keep!
On a more serious note: please feel free to ask as many questions as you need, from the obvious through to the complex. I'd much rather you ask and get a link to the answer in the wiki than feel like you have to struggle through setup by yourself.

Is it possible to do a side-by-side install of Media Portal alongside of Windows Media Center?

Yes, absolutely.

mm

 

[Marvin Miller]

Awesome!

As soon as I encounter a 'light' recording day I'll start in on an install and see how things shape up. Being able to do a side-by-side is a very useful thing as it means I'm not stuck with one or the other on the way to getting it right and getting familiar with it. I'm guessing the MP components run as a service so they can be set to disabled if desired? (on a temporary basis during eval).

BTW, thanks for the encouragement and support!