Is Mediaportal dying out? (2 Viewers)

[emphatic]

As long as my NAS works, I will use MediaPortal to access and playback my ripped DVDs, as my AppleTV can't do that AFAIK. I'm very happy as is, but I no longer use MediaPortal to playback music, as it's not very good at it anymore. There's always something wrong in that part for some reason...

Streaming is great, sure, but I'm stuck in the limbo of waiting for many shows to catch up with what I'm currently downloading the day after it's aired in the US.
Emph

 

[CyberSimian]

I think that "younger folk" probably overestimate the popularity of watching TV via streaming from the internet.

I read recently on the "Digital Spy" web site that in the UK only about 3-4% of BBC programmes are watched by streaming via the BBC iPlayer, the other 96-97% being watched via DVB-T/T2 or DVB-S/S2. This is in contrast to the 10-12% of the BBC licence fee that is consumed by providing these internet streaming services.

My broadband has a 12 GByte per month limit. A 2-hour HD movie is about 4 GByte, so that would be 3 HD movies that I could watch per month. I have no inclination to pay more for my broadband.

As Mark Twain said when commenting on broadcast TV:

Reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[HTPCSourcer]

My broadband has a 12 GByte per month limit.

Broadband in Germany is mostly unlimited with a flat fee. If you live in a city, i.e. more than a few 10000 people, you will have high-speed access with download rates of now more than 50 MBit/s.

I think that "younger folk" probably overestimate the popularity of watching TV via streaming from the internet.

I am member of the "older folk" and observe my own children's (21 and 19) behavior: live TV? Not really, they rather use their MacBooks and consume online sources.

I read recently on the "Digital Spy" web site that in the UK only about 3-4% of BBC programmes are watched by streaming via the BBC iPlayer, the other 96-97% being watched via DVB-T/T2 or DVB-S/S2. This is in contrast to the 10-12% of the BBC licence fee that is consumed by providing these internet streaming services.

Don't believe statistics that you have not faked yourself . In this particular case percentages are a relative statement where absolute numbers would be the dimension to look at. Also I am not sure if BBC is the right source to analyze; one would need to look at how many users are now on Netflix, Amazon & Co.

 

[Rick164]

Well Netflix in non-us countries is still pretty poor content wise and doubt they can resolve that any time soon with the local broadcasters as those are stuck in the past and seeing that in their ratings, do think HTPCs will always have a place as they offer more customization because there's no one size fits all app.

 

[mm1352000]

Slightly off topic, but I can't resist responding (I want to understand so that any problems can be solved in future)...

And if something is changed on the provider side: you need to start over again, tuning a single transponder...

This is personal preference. You could "update satellite list" then scan the whole satellite and channels should be updated properly.

tuning a single transponder, changing a single setting like rollover, nothing is automated on the dvbs-site

Of course. This is intended for experts only. That's why it is part of the "advanced tuning options" section.

With TVE 3.5 it will be possible to select the transponder to scan. You don't have to manually enter the tuning details (frequency, polarisation etc.). It is still considered as an advanced/expert function, because most people wouldn't know which transponder to scan to find/update particular channels.

you can't even re-scan a sattelite or package and have all your channels updated the way it should.

As above: it should be possible to rescan a satellite. What goes wrong for you?
About packages: there's no such thing as a package in the DVB specifications, so scanning packages will never be possible.

That's ok to me, because I like that and I know how to, but my wife, friends, parents, children. They'll have no clue if they are left over the weekend with MP, if am traveling for bussines, and something goes wrong.

Yes, I agree - scanning single transponders is an expert function. Not suitable for most wives, children, friends etc. That will never change. For wives etc. the full satellite scan should be working fine. If it's not, I want to know the details please.

 

[The Doctor]

Ok, rescanning sattelites to obtain the latest transmission details for every transponder and each channel is not working because the 'updated satellite list' is never up to date.
Rescanning a single transponder is not working either because it gets its tuning details from the satellite list, which is never up to date.
I always need to fall back on http://nl.kingofsat.net/ or http://www.lyngsat.com/

No need to say that I know how stuff works inside MP, I use it for almost 7 years with countless satellite configurations and pc-hardware setups and a plentora of clients.

If you want to get the tv-engine working the way it should, it should be able to fastscan your package(channel) and have all its valid tansponders and channels updated just like a simple topbox would do. And most for all it should be (any setting) accessible from the front-end.

If I let my canal-digtaal setopbox perform a fastscan (easily accessible with the remote)for the channels I have subscribed for, I can watch TV in less than 30 sec. or have channels updated if they are moved around to other sattelites or transponders with or without altered transmission settings. That's how the tv-engine should work.
I tried MP2, and basically it's the same tv-engine. So no improvement there, let alone to use it as a stable MP. That's not working yet.

It's pretty simple : MP should be very very very simple to use for everyone or the most. Latest examples are Spotitfy, Netflix, BluRay and Google Photos. Try that on MP without anoying problems. It's possible but with many many many issues.

Thats why it will die. The media landscape is changing fast, only mp is limping behind. If there is no need for me to maintain MP because we get other accesspoints that work better, like my android phone or tablet, i will leave mp behind. No doubt.

 

[Rick164]

Watching at scheduled times is certainly dying out but accessing media "freely" isn't as that will always be there even if streaming services extend their service areas and increase content, this is the reason why you see other solutions like Plex on the rise as they solely serve that market.

Mediaportal to some extend has always served to a niche market with its packed features and image quality making it somewhat harder to setup for new users.
For the foreseeable future I don't see anything that can come close to what was build over the many years of Mediaportal 1, the way plugin support was designed alone is far better then any of the others out there allowing total freedom (unlike Kodi / Plex where the API is limited).

Decline in downloads is also because the mayor release was postponed to include more features and allow for better testing, what some don't get is that Mediaportal unlike others doesn't need a fast release schedule because it's a mature product which also doesn't need to multi-platform as well (less complexity).
With Kodi you see a problem as it has to support so many hardware / vendors which such a small group of core devs and rapid release cycle.

 

[mm1352000]

Ok, rescanning sattelites to obtain the latest transmission details for every transponder and each channel is not working because the 'updated satellite list' is never up to date.

The "update satellite list" function gets the latest satellite transponder details from FastSatFinder.com. Sometimes it takes a few days for FSF to update their lists (AFAIK they do it on Saturdays???) after a change. This is out of our control. In any case, to say that the list is "never up to date" is surely an unfair exaggeration.

Rescanning a single transponder is not working either because it gets its tuning details from the satellite list...

In TVE 3 (current TV Server) all single transponder scans require tuning details to be manually entered. Therefore this statement is simply false.

If you want to get the tv-engine working the way it should, it should be able to fastscan your package(channel) and have all its valid tansponders and channels updated just like a simple topbox would do.

I assume when you say "fastscan" you mean some kind of network information table (NIT) scan.
TVE 3.5 supports a new NIT scan mode which will be faster than the current NIT scan in TVE 3. However, for this to work, the TV provider must provide the required information. Unfortunately many providers don't do that. If yours does, consider yourself lucky.

And most for all it should be (any setting) accessible from the front-end.

Might I ask why?
One of the major points of having an HTPC is that it should be more flexible and powerful than an STB or TV. If everything has to be done through a front end with "10 foot" design and limited UI elements (ie. just like an STB or TV) then many of the major advantages of an HTPC are lost. The HTPC becomes just a dumb STB replacement. Personally I'd have no interest in a system like that. If that's what you want, maybe WMC would suit you better. MP is not designed to be this way.

If I let my canal-digtaal setopbox perform a fastscan (easily accessible with the remote)for the channels I have subscribed for, I can watch TV in less than 30 sec. or have channels updated if they are moved around to other sattelites or transponders with or without altered transmission settings. That's how the tv-engine should work.

Hah! Just remember your STB has been specifically designed to work with your provider (Canal Digitaal). TV Server must work with all providers from all around the world. It's a much harder job for us.

It's pretty simple : MP should be very very very simple to use for everyone or the most.

Again, it sounds like you should be using WMC or other instead of MP.

Thats why it will die. The media landscape is changing fast, only mp is limping behind. If there is no need for me to maintain MP because we get other accesspoints that work better, like my android phone or tablet, i will leave mp behind. No doubt.

From my perspective that's no problem. Like Rick164 says: MP has a niche, and that niche is not the dumb STB replacement that you seem to want. If MP doesn't meet your needs, move on to something that does.

 

[The Doctor]

Well. We have discussed the tv-server before. It didn't change than, so I believe it won't change now. I don't see why it has to be impossible to rescan a channel or transponder or whatever setting from the front-end. It just makes live easier for users. But argumenting every issue that I bring up will not solve it.

If transponderlists would be uptodate even after a few weeks, then it would be no hassle to find a channel that is moved to another transponder or has its settings changed like roll-off or on, polarity etc. How come I always need the websites mentioned before to get the correct settings?


Part of the fun is the customization you can do in MP, but there are limits. At times I just want it to work. If my family can't play a BluRay because it hangs somewhere at a menu.......well I can tell you BluRays are played with a standalone player just because of that. Whatever function is build into MP it should work without hassle. Take a look at watching pictures in MP, MP can play videos in a directory of photos. But how often does it stall ? Too often.

I tried WMC, pretty stable but not so easy for sattelite reception, STB sattelite indeed very fast but no possibilty of recording uncoded programs (you need the cam and card to watch recordings).

MP is nice, but difficult, not idiot-proof and what I said cannot cope with the latest media landscape.

The thread is called: Is MP to die, I said why. So don't comment every thing i said. Think about it and change the direction of MP, else I need to leave it sooner or later.

 

[mm1352000]

Well. We have discussed the tv-server before. It didn't change than, so I believe it won't change now.

Looking back at your older posts I see we had a great discussion here:
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/threads/automatically-delete-unwanted-channels.129351/

You wouldn't have seen any change as a result of that discussion yet, but I can tell you I definitely made changes to TVE 3.5 code based on your feedback. You'll see those changes when TVE 3.5 becomes available.

I don't see why it has to be impossible to rescan a channel or transponder or whatever setting from the front-end.

I didn't say that such a feature was impossible. Rather, I said that I don't understand why it's so important to you. That's why I asked "why...?".
If you can explain why the feature is so important to you, maybe I can understand and implement something that will meet your needs.

But argumenting every issue that I bring up will not solve it.

I agree. I'm not trying to argue; I'm trying to understand. Understanding requires many questions for clarification of what you mean.

It just makes live easier for users.[/

Okay, so you think it makes life easier. Can you please expand: in what way does having this feature (at the moment I'm thinking particularly of scanning and channel organisation) make it easier?
I ask because for me it is far far easier to use a regular program like TV Server Config than a "10 foot" front end interface, especially for tasks like those we've been talking about. Some of the reasons I think it's easier include:

• I can use a regular keyboard for typing names and channel numbers
• I can use keyboard/mouse shortcuts (CTRL, SHIFT, HOME, END) for quick selection (eg. select all channels in list except 4, 9 and 11)
• I can view websites (eg. KingOfSat) at the same time (eg. for scan result checking/comparison)
• I can see more list items at a glance (smaller font)
• list scrolling is so much easier due to mouse track wheel and/or click + drag of scroll bars

So to repeat: why do you think it's easier to use the front end?
Is it just that you don't have to close the front end and open a separate program, or...?

If transponderlists would be uptodate even after a few weeks, then it would be no hassle to find a channel that is moved to another transponder or has its settings changed like roll-off or on, polarity etc. How come I always need the websites mentioned before to get the correct settings?

I don't know why you think you always need the websites. I was hoping you could help me understand with a specific example, like: channel X moved from transponder 123 to transponder 456 on date X/Y/Z, and the transponder list still doesn't include transponder 456 after X months.

Part of the fun...

Sure, I understand this, and I agree: it's great when things just work.

Take a look at watching pictures in MP, MP can play videos in a directory of photos. But how often does it stall ? Too often.

Please report issues like this. They won't be fixed unless they're reported.

The thread is called: Is MP to die, I said why. So don't comment every thing i said. Think about it and change the direction of MP, else I need to leave it sooner or later.

I don't really want you to leave, and I definitely don't want MP to die. Therefore I need to comment in order to understand what is causing you to think about leaving. Change of direction can only come after understanding what needs to be changed.