Hauppauge HD-PVR & Colossus Support (2 Viewers)

[WileECoyote]

Is there a way to put in a delay (just for testing purposes) for say 3-4 seconds? Yes it would be annoying, but if it works correctly that will be something.

 

[mm1352000]

It should be possible. Would you mind posting some longer logs so that I can get a good idea of what a good value for the delay constant should be. I'm off to work now, but I'll hopefully have some time to throw together a test version tonight.

 

[WileECoyote]

Here you go...

Keep in mind, not all channel changes will have a blast event (some are from my QAM tuner.)

Let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks mm!
Wile E.

 

[Blue Energy]

I just got back here after a hiatus of 3 weeks (and some surgery). From what I can gather, 1.2 does NOT work with Colossus after all (and maybe not with HPDV either) unlike the earlier unofficial code, Running Bird (the potential co-writer) has given up on MP altogether and so a how-to-do-it guide is on the back burner (at least), and some other portion of the product that is more important, and yet giving problems, is being worked on instead. I realize that there could well be more important things going on from a veterans perspective (most especially a veteran who is actually doing the work...) and that the most important thing for each person is to get their own setup working the way they want it to work, and that everybody who is actually doing the work is working for free. So, I'm not criticizing. I just feel as if I'm on permanent hold waiting for a version that will live up to the promise. As someone whose goals are surely, at this point, well known by the group - I need some advice. How long is it going to be before I could do what I want to do using MP? When would it be stable enough to install it to do what I want for it to do? If I want to actually have my computer be the center of my entertainment center - part of which would be watching and recording cable television, how long should I count on waiting before the software and a guide as to how to set it up are available? Is it days, weeks, or months away? Should I be looking for some other alternative after all if I want something sooner?

Again - I don't want to diminish the hard work that is being done by - after all - talented volunteers who are giving away the fruit of their labor. And I recognize that I am a tick on the back of the MP beast: contributing nothing yet trying to get something anyway. But, that acknowledged, I have goals of my own that I've built a computer to accomplish and it would just be nice to be able to realize them in one way or another. How soon would MP be that solution? Can you help me out? Thanks!

 

[mm1352000]

I just got back here after a hiatus of 3 weeks (and some surgery). From what I can gather, 1.2 does NOT work with Colossus after all (and maybe not with HPDV either) unlike the earlier unofficial code...

Huh? 1.2.0b should work as well or better than the earlier builds (with one potential caveat on some systems - I can provide a patch in the unlikely event that your system is affected).

Running Bird (the potential co-writer) has given up on MP altogether and so a how-to-do-it guide is on the back burner (at least)

That was his choice, although we offered to help. I'm not sure of the status of the how-to...

...and some other portion of the product that is more important, and yet giving problems, is being worked on instead...

Huh? What are you referring to here? If it is what we've been talking about for the last few pages it is about ironing out the crinkles in Colossus/HDPVR supporting DD/AC3 <--> PCM/AAC switching. The basic support works fine. This was never working even with the HDPVR.

I realize that there could well be more important things going on from a veterans perspective (most especially a veteran who is actually doing the work...) and that the most important thing for each person is to get their own setup working the way they want it to work, and that everybody who is actually doing the work is working for free. So, I'm not criticizing. I just feel as if I'm on permanent hold waiting for a version that will live up to the promise. As someone whose goals are surely, at this point, well known by the group - I need some advice. How long is it going to be before I could do what I want to do using MP? When would it be stable enough to install it to do what I want for it to do? If I want to actually have my computer be the center of my entertainment center - part of which would be watching and recording cable television, how long should I count on waiting before the software and a guide as to how to set it up are available? Is it days, weeks, or months away? Should I be looking for some other alternative after all if I want something sooner?

I have to say that I feel somewhat offended. I have put *hours* of effort into this (as I'm sure you have too). Have you actually tried 1.2.0b?

Again - I don't want to diminish the hard work that is being done by - after all - talented volunteers who are giving away the fruit of their labor. And I recognize that I am a tick on the back of the MP beast: contributing nothing yet trying to get something anyway. But, that acknowledged, I have goals of my own that I've built a computer to accomplish and it would just be nice to be able to realize them in one way or another. How soon would MP be that solution? Can you help me out? Thanks!

I don't mind that you have expectations. I for one am not clear what they are, but like I said - try MP 1.2.0b. If you have trouble raise it here and I'll look into it ASAP. That is what everyone else has been doing, and on the whole I think we've made good progress. This issue with audio switching is a bit of a pain but I should have another binary (compatible with 1.2.0b) for testing this evening. I've only known about the issue for the last 12-24 hours so I don't know how much more you expect from me than that...

 

[WileECoyote]

I dont mean to be disrespectful, but I completely agree with mm,
I do feel a little offended, we have put in many hours working to get it to a 'Beta' state, which means it is put out for people to test with, not to be a Production replacement for 1.1.3. So many people on these forums are EXPECTING that 1.2 Beta should work perfect, they expect plugins and skins to be updated BEFORE the release, well Im truly sorry that is not the case. As much as we try to have things in perfect working order there are issues. As far as the expectations for plugins and skins I wont get into that here.

It will be a while before an updated version of 1.2 will be released with all the fixes we are doing here on this thread. I would suggest if you want a solution today to try Media Center for Windows 7, Hauppauge just released the driver that is Media Center compatible.

As far as the guide goes, yes I am still working on it and plan to have a step by step instruction for all new users. But again, 1.2 is still in Beta and is really for testing only.

BTW, the last post I noticed for you was on 5/1 and you were reporting back about a codec issue you were having playing movies (which I dont think had anything to do with the TV Server.) What issues are you having with the Colossus? Why havent you posted logs and asked for assistance? That is the feedback we need to try to 'stabalize' 1.2 for the final realease. Without someone telling us something is wrong, we do not know what to fix. And posting back that 'its broke' and nothing more is even less help to us.

Wile E.

 

[Blue Energy]

Whoa there! I meant no offense. In fact, I went way out of my way to avoid causing it. I did describe myself as being the 'tick on the back of the MP beast', after all, and you as the talented hard working volunteers doing good work for no pay. Where is the insult there? My frustration was not with you but with the apparent continued unavailability of the software I built a machine around to work with Colossus and HDPVR in particular. So: not with you, but rather with my situation.

My last post was three weeks ago. I just caught up today. In the catchup, the only person I have seen report on his experience installing the new MP was Running Bird - and he couldn't get it to work. And no-one disputed that or said that their installation did work. My conclusion was that it didn't work. I'm very pleased to hear that it does. I've been waiting to hear that for a long time. And, again - I am not implying that the 'long time' is your fault. When you don't do the work or pay for it you have no room to complain (and - that's me there - I'm the one neither doing the work nor paying for it to be done... and I'm not complaining).

As to whether I have installed 1.2b - no, I haven't installed anything yet. I've been on hold - first until 1.2 beta got here, and then until (after the only report I saw) it was fixed. And - I was also hoping that an installation guide would become available - nothing much, just something to tell me what to do in order. I haven't tried to do it but someone on the forum who did try to install it said that it was needlessly difficult because it wasn't documented.

Anyway, my conclusion from reading 10 pages worth of forum was that it didn't work and that there were no instructions to install it if it did. And, again - that's not your fault - that was my perceived condition of my project. So, that's why I asked how soon it, and some instructions to install it, would be available - which I presumed were the precursors to actually installing it myself and getting on with my project.

One more time, just to be sure: I appreciate the work of people who do things that may benefit me and most especially when they do not charge me for them. I don't feel that I have a right to expect anything besides an accurate description of the product and maybe a timetable from people volunteering their time to produce something of value that they will generously allow me to share. After that it's up to me to decide whether I want to make use of their generous gift within that time frame, in whatever state it is in, or not. I certainly don't feel that I owe more than that when it's me that's doing the producing - I can't expect more of others. And - yes, I have been the person doing all the work that everyone else waited on.

So, moving on. You say that it does work right now and that I could be recording TV via either an HDPVR or a Colossus today. Again - that's really good news to me. May I ask you to give me any guidance in installation that will help me? I am technically adept, but I am very un-knowledgeable about this particular technology. Something as simple as, 'follow the wiki, but when you get to <this> point - don't do that - instead do <this> because you are using the undocumented hardware rather than the hardware that is documented'? Anything would be greatly appreciated and thank-you.

 

[mm1352000]

Hi Blue Energy

The thing that I most took issue with in what you said was the thought that I was doing things to get specific setups working and ignoring bigger things that still had to be done to get the Colossus/HDPVR working for everyone. I'd totally understand your frustration if that was indeed what was happening. It's certainly not my intension to do that - I'd like to hope that everyone feels like I'm doing the best I can to resolve *any* problems raised by *anyone*. Hence my encouragement to try 1.2.0b and see how you go.

You're right: there isn't a guide right now, and that's partially because we haven't got things completely sorted yet. Like WileE said: this is beta software. There are going to be some issues. What is here is some "rough" steps with good links in the first post of this thread and some people that would be more than willing to help you if you get stuck. My experience of much of the HTPC world is a lot like what you see happening here: a bit of dabbling here, some head-bashing frustration there, a good dollop of trial and error... and most of all, a *lot* of time spent. And that is part of the fun. If you're not prepared for that then MP is possibly not for you. RunningBlind seemed to think he'd found good alternatives that just work, although he didn't say what they were - perhaps he'd mention them if you PM him. If you want to move on with MP though, let's forget this ever happened and get on with the fun stuff...

The first step would definitely be to install MP 1.2.0b. Since you're completely new to MP it is probably a good idea to have a bit of a look around first before you dive into HD-PVR stuff - try out some skins, set up your video and music libraries, explore the configuration tools... If you find anything that you're curious about then the wiki is always the best port of call for explanations and guides, but if that doesn't cover it then chances are that searching the forums will turn up some information. If you find anything that is clearly a bug then please do raise a bug report over in the bug report section (there is a link in my signature to tell you how to do that). Perhaps just as importantly: if you think something could be improved then please do tell us about it - we're always looking for ways to make setting up easier...

If you get bored with exploring or you're "dead keen" to get the HD-PVR working then the next step in that direction would be to set up some channels. Capture devices like the HD-PVR and Colossus are very different to the other tuners that MP supports in that you don't scan for channels. You're going to have to find another way to add them. MP is able to add channels manually one-at-a-time, but at that rate it could take you hours to get set up (this problem is something I'd really like to tackle for 1.3.0 if possible). Unless you're familiar with databases and can write yourself a script to do the job then I think most people here would recommend setting up a sub with SchedulesDirect. SD is apparently *the* way to get EPG if you're based in the USA, and the bonus is that it has some kind of smart mechanism for getting the channels into MP. It doesn't come for free though, so you may want to investigate other options that might only be applicable for your cable provider (a website scraper?). An [incomplete] list of possible alternatives can be found here (Mc2xml is apparently worth a look). Keep in mind that no matter which option you take as your EPG *source*, the actual EPG data itself will always be roughly the same - an XMLTV formatted XML file (they're just "souped-up" text files, so you can open them in any text editor if you're interested to know what is in them). That means that at some point you'll want to work your way through this to see how you get the EPG into MediaPortal.

Once you've got your channels and EPG into MP you are probably half way to done. After that it would be mostly a matter of setting up a blaster (the thing that tells your cable provider's box to change channels when you want to change channels in MP) and a remote. That particular exercise is *completely* outside my area of expertise, so I think I should stop and let someone else give you advice about that. Hopefully you've got more than enough to go on to keep you busy.

mm

 

[mm1352000]

Hey WileE

Do you have some client logs that I could look at?

mm

 

[WileECoyote]

Hey WileE

Do you have some client logs that I could look at?

mm

Ah crap... I do, but there at home and Im at work

I will post them tonight when I get home. Not sure if it helps, but I did post client logs with the previous two posts...

Sorry mm, I thought you only needed the TV Server logs to see the blast timings.