Client to TV Server connection issue (2 Viewers)

[CyberSimian]

TVE 3.5 identifies the PCI/PCIe slot in order to automatically detect hybrid tuner relationships, so it is possible... but it's not easy, somewhat brittle, and potentially error prone. Note that I hadn't intended to display this information in the tuner list due to its fallibility. Do you think I need to reconsider?

The tuner-card/slot relationship is useful information, but probably only in a relatively small number of cases.

If a tuner develops a fault (resulting in failed recordings or no live TV on that tuner), one needs MP to log a message somewhere identifying the tuner that failed. This is what WMC does -- it has a "History" panel that logs each recording made, and (for failed recordings) the tuner that failed, and (where possible) the nature of the failure. MP currently lacks a History panel.

The "History" panel would need to identify the tuner unambiguously (e.g. "tuner 7" in "TV Server Config"), and then the user needs some way of mapping that to a PCI slot, PCI Express slot, USB tuner, or network tuner. This is a problem only when there are two or more identical cards/sticks/network-devices.

Anthony's case is different because, to be useful, MP's tuner labelling algorithm would need to be identical to WMC's labelling algorithm, so that he could allocate easily different tuners to each media center. But that precludes MP being identical to the labelling algorithm used by other media centers (although in fairness WMC is probably the most important "other media center" to be compatible with ).

If identical cards/sticks/network-tuners are labelled "Card 1", "Card 2", etc, there is no obvious indication which card is in which slot. Are the cards numbered from top to bottom, or bottom to top?

Identifying the slot for each card would be useful, but I can see that there are difficulties. And it is hard to grade this as anything other than a low priority enhancement.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[mm1352000]

If identical cards/sticks/network-tuners are labelled "Card 1", "Card 2", etc, there is no obvious indication which card is in which slot. Are the cards numbered from top to bottom, or bottom to top?

Neither. There would be no claim about the relationship between cards and physical slots (because such information cannot be known). The label would solely serve as an indication of whether given tuners are (or are not) physically co-located on the same card/stick/device.

 

[Anthony Vaughan]

Hi CyberSimian

Sounds like a horrendous problem you had with the TBS6284 cards. I initially bought TBS6285 cards and I got blocks all over the screen; intermittently, not all the time. After I reported the problem to TBS, they recognized that they had a design issue caused by using the wrong PCIE chip. To their credit, they sent me a TBS6205 card to test and that fixed the problem. I had 6 x TBS6285 cards and all of them were replaced by TBS6205 cards. The first software release of these cards had a bug where the computer would crash in Windows during a cold boot, but not during a warm boot. They issued a new release and I haven't had a problem since.

I guess we have to be inherently patient in this game.

Tony[DOUBLEPOST=1435772720][/DOUBLEPOST]Hi mm

Sorry, I misunderstood your 8 tuner comment. When it comes to naming tuners, I had imagined that you would be able to detect when there is more than one occurrence of the same brand tuner and that you would be able to manually, as it were, rename the tuner card uniquely for each instance of tuner card. I understand that you might not have thought that necessary when you started out as I'm sure you were concentrating on getting everything working, but it would be much appreciated now.

The change to the firewall entries occurred a day after I had installed the MP server software on that machine; so I am non-plussed as to how it happened. Today, two days after installing MP Server, the 'allow other network users' checkbox was enabled when it hadn't been before (see below) .

This setting stopped WMC extenders from working. Once again, I have no idea what would have changed this - the machine has been stable for 5 years.

While I am comparing WMC and MP, would you please let me know if MP does the following:

• When a programme runs late or runs longer, does MP recognize the schedule change and automatically record the programme with the new schedule?
• If there is a signal loss, does MP search for another occurrence of the programme (say on ITV+1 when the original was on ITV)?

These behaviours are very difficult to test so I'd appreciate knowing how MP handles these.

Testing of MP going very well so far and I'm impressed. I just need to be fully aware of what MP can and can't do.

Thanks again.

Tony

 

[CyberSimian]

Sounds like a horrendous problem you had with the TBS6284 cards.

Quite a few people who bought the TBS6284 card had problems with the card being absent from Windows "Device Manager" on wake from sleep. I had that problem too, but only in two of the three PCI-Express slots -- the 1x slot, and the 16x slot (normally used for the graphics card); the 4x slot seemed to work correctly. It transpired that TBS had used a rare version of the PCI interface, namely PCI-Express version 1.0a (note the "a" suffix), which many motherboard manufacturers had forgotten to implement. This was confirmed by those users who reported the fault to the motherboard manufacturer, who then issued an updated BIOS which cured the problem. Unfortunately, my HTPC was well outside warranty by then, with no further BIOS updates from the manufacturer (Dell), so I was stuck with the way that it was.

Because the Dell BIOS is lacking support for PCI-Express 1.0a (or implements it incorrectly), it is quite possible that the interruption to the output from one tuner when a second tuner starts is actually a result of the BIOS error, and not an inherent fault in the way that WMC manages the tuners. But whatever the cause, it does not occur with MP.

I solved the sleep problem by discovering that the TBS cards do not disappear from "Device Manager" on wake from hibernation, which is why I now use hibernation instead of sleep.

To their credit, they sent me a TBS6205 card to test and that fixed the problem. I had 6 x TBS6285 cards and all of them were replaced by TBS6205 cards.

That is excellent service! I think that the TBS products are generally good quality, but their forum can sometimes be a bit cryptic, due to the problem of English not being their native language.

I am currently in the process of updating my HTPC. I have just purchased a new television, and have an SSD to install for the OS. I am debating whether to buy a new case, motherboard, and CPU combination, and thereby eliminate the sleep problem (but I have been debating that for two years now ). I would like to keep the TBS6284 cards, but they are full height, so that places constraints on what case I can buy.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[Anthony Vaughan]

Hi mm

Forgot to mention that when I set up my shares for programmes on the server and then go to Video, MP displays the detail of the first video folder, rather than a list of the video folders. Would it be possible to change the code so that when there is more than one folder the folder list is displayed first?

Thanks again.

Tony[DOUBLEPOST=1435776608][/DOUBLEPOST]Hi mm

Sorry to bombard you with questions but is there a quick way to remove the navigation bar after the mouse has activate it?

Tony

 

[RonD]

Forgot to mention that when I set up my shares for programmes on the server and then go to Video, MP displays the detail of the first video folder, rather than a list of the video folders. Would it be possible to change the code so that when there is more than one folder the folder list is displayed first?

Tony, not 100% sure of your question, but you can show all folders by clearing the "check" in front of the folders, see wiki, copy/paste from that page

"Checking a folder means that folder will display by default. If no folder has a check mark against it, all folders will display as the root menu in Shares view."
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...Portal_Configuration/2_Videos/1_Video_Folders

 

[Anthony Vaughan]

Hi mm

Weird. It's just started to do what I want; i.e. list all of the shares.

Tony

 

[mrj]

is there a quick way to remove the navigation bar after the mouse has activate it?

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/14_Using_MediaPortal/8_Plugins/Topbar

mrj

Edit/Added direct link
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...n/MediaPortal_Configuration/95_Plugins/Topbar

 

[Anthony Vaughan]

Thanks mrj

I am not finding the Topbar plugin anywhere. Am I missing something?

Tony

 

[mrj]

Hi Tony
run configuration.exe
choose plugins
it is among the window plugins


Edit/Added direct link

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...n/MediaPortal_Configuration/95_Plugins/Topbar

Edit 2/
Set Expert Mode (Top right corner)