MP vs. GBPVR (1 Viewer)

[Gemini1706]

I am currently using GBPVR and love it.
Any advantge in switching to MP?

They probably do similar stuff, but I find GBPVR has bigger community and issues get resolved quickly thanks to sub and his efforts.

Anyone tried both? Which one you like better and why?

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[Spragleknas]

Isn't GBPVR "only" a PVR? You do know that MP is MUCH more than that? Did you read about the client/server feature in beta ATM (TVe3)?

 

[Nemulate]

GBPVR does more than just tv and did client/server tv a long time before MP! I use them both at different times as still not decided which one to use as my default htpc app! lol

 

[alpax]

Well, I've tried both, and here are my thoughts (note: I used MP several months ago).

GBPVR was more stable on my machine than MP. Its PVR functionality was much better than MP's. It's been using client/server architecture from the very beginning (or at least for a long time already), and it does not require the monstrous MS SQL server to be installed for this. It was much easier to setup to get TV guide from Zap2It, and this feature worked flawlessly - just set once and forget. Recording options were better in GBPVR - for example MP didn't have an option to record a TV show season in a given timeslot - for those shows, which start time varies a little. GBPVR recorded directly to .MPG, and natively supported comskip - could skip commercials without need to cut them out. A very solid PVR component was the main reason why I chose GBPVR.
But all other HTPC features in GBPVR are very basic. Interface is very simple. It is quite functional, with big readable fonts, clearly defined controls and functional areas on the screen, but it is too unsophisticated. Even skins do not improve that a lot. I would compare it to MP as PalmOS to Windows Mobile in PDA world (if you understand what I mean). Photo, Music, Video plugins are very basic. There are some replacement plugins, but not all of them work with the latest version of GBPVR, and also have some issues (like most of them are quite slow).

MediaPortal is definitely a much richer HTPC application. It is very configurable, nice looking, has a lot of features, useful plugins, all the bells and whistles... But it froze and crashed too frequently on my machine. Its TV/PVR functionality did not compare to GBPVR - there were no separate recording service, direct recording to MPG, auto-skipping of commercials, fast channel switching, and there were issues with TV guide (for several months of using MP I was continuously struggling with TV guide hiccups, and still don't understand how to make it work properly). So after some time I gave up and on the next clean Windows setup did not install MP at all.

For the last 4-5 months I've been with GBPVR only. I'm happy with that how it handles TV recordings, I found some plugins, which improved other features a little bit. But I'm tired of its boring interface, I miss some configurability - I want to change remote button actions, I need good photo/music/video plugins (some of those I've been using still have issues to be resolved, but are not supported anymore).

So I'd like to give another try to MP. TV server seems to be a good thing - it should improve some aspects in PVR area, though I'd prefer if it didn't use MS SQL server. Hope Zap2it plugin is already polished enough to be used successfully for automatic TV guide update. But I don't see any mentioning of the improvement in commercials handling. Hasn't the situation changed yet? The only way to skip commercials was to cut them out with a risk to lose a part of the recording, is it still the same?

I would be really happy if MediaPortal's PVR functionality could finally match GBPVR. This is basically the only area, where GBPVR wins. I'm waiting for that moment when I finally could leave only one application on my HTPC and do not miss the other.

Sorry for the long message. Thanks for reading!

 

[Marcusb]

heheh, thanks for the long message alpax. It's good to see an unbiased review of the two and gives everyone something to consider.
As far as MP stability goes, there has been a lot of ground made on that front over the last six or so months. MP is now more stable and less resource intense than ever before. I caqn run it on the GF400 built in gfx card of my mobo when a year ago it just wasn't "beefy" enough.

I think the TV server has better support for ComSkip, but I don't know much about that. I still use the good old TV v2 model.

 

[Noelix]

All of the things you're asking for are available right now on MP, but unfortunately they take kind of a lot of work to get set up properly. I used GBPVR for a number of months as well, before going back to MP. I switched after the Zap2It plugin came out. It works great, and is now included in the tv server svn, so in the future you won't even have to download it separately. There's pros and cons to both GBPVR and MP. MP is catching up in a lot of the backend features (tv server functionality, recording to .mpg, comskip inclusion, stability, etc.) and continues to offer new functionality all the time. When it came down to it, although GBPVR does a lot of the same basic things, and does them very well, it doesn't look pretty. Maybe that's just me being shallow, but it makes a difference in my living room. Sure, MP isn't perfect, but it's being improved constantly by a number of people, not just one. After all, it's open souce.

 

[alpax]

All of the things you're asking for are available right now on MP, but unfortunately they take kind of a lot of work to get set up properly.

If it's true, that's just excellent! Proper setup takes time anyway - even if it generally works from the very beginning, there are always small things, which could be polished, so I'm ready to invest some time if I'll be sure about the result (for example yesterday I spend half a day preparing proper thumbnails for all my videos - so kids could easily choose their cartoons, and the result is great in MP - exactly what I needed).

But could you elaborate more on this please?
I'm specifically interested in comskip functionality. I haven't looked into that yet - what exactly was improved? Is it now possible to skip commercials while watching, but have an ability to rewind and watch the skipped part if needed - like in GBPVR? Where can I find more details on that (I guess TV server manual should have this, but may be there was some related discussion)?

Does TV server have more recording options now? "Record season in a time slot" is what I'm looking for mostly.

I used GBPVR for a number of months as well, before going back to MP. I switched after the Zap2It plugin came out. It works great, and is now included in the tv server svn, so in the future you won't even have to download it separately.

I tried it when it just came out, but I got some issues at that time (not only with this plugin). That's good to know it's improved and even comes with TV server. I will definitely use it.

There's pros and cons to both GBPVR and MP. MP is catching up in a lot of the backend features (tv server functionality, recording to .mpg, comskip inclusion, stability, etc.) and continues to offer new functionality all the time.

Yes, I see, and it is very promising.

When it came down to it, although GBPVR does a lot of the same basic things, and does them very well, it doesn't look pretty. Maybe that's just me being shallow, but it makes a difference in my living room.

Well, I have the same feeling. GBPVR is working, but all this time I've been looking for something else - something prettier, richer, more customizable... I was monitoring MP's progress, and it seems like TV server is already stable enough to be tried.

Sure, MP isn't perfect, but it's being improved constantly by a number of people, not just one. After all, it's open souce.

Yes! I'm still hoping I'll find time to get the source code and dig into it. I can even implement the features, which I need, myself! That's is very good to have such a chance!

 

[Gemini1706]

I think I will stick with GBPVR.
I am running an OLD machine (Pantium III 800MHz mind you) + PVR250, with PCI Radeon 7500 (bought it for $15 from a friend) with ATI native codecs from their website and LATEST drivers which made a big diefference for me.
In this minimal system, GBPVR works like a CHARM.

Smooth playback, very stable, and not resource hungry at all. Zap2it is seemless.
(I am using Girder + USB-UIRT for remote control. Very powerful and customizable remote control setup).

Besides, all other needed functioinality is there (Video playback, DVD, Music Library, Photos, Weather ...etc.) so why go to a more resource intensive applicaion with big headaches to install and config just because it has a couple of skins that are 'nicer' looking?
I do not care if my screen is not too colorful with skins. The basic blue skin in GBPVR is enough for me, and it is not 'ugly' at all.

Thanks everyone for feedback.
Stability, resource hunger, easy of installation and config is far more important to me than 'pretty' interface.

 

[Noelix]

But could you elaborate more on this please?
I'm specifically interested in comskip functionality. I haven't looked into that yet - what exactly was improved? Is it now possible to skip commercials while watching, but have an ability to rewind and watch the skipped part if needed - like in GBPVR? Where can I find more details on that (I guess TV server manual should have this, but may be there was some related discussion)?

In the tv server configuration there is a place where you can link to a comskip batch file. I think comskip (downloaded separately) comes with some sample batch files that you can easily modify with notepad to fit your needs. I'm not sure about when it is triggered, I haven't played around with that feature of the tv server yet. I used to use comskip when I was on the GBPVR kick but I could never get it perfect, and after one too many times of it cutting off the end of a television episode (where they reveal the mystery), I cut comskip loose.

Does TV server have more recording options now? "Record season in a time slot" is what I'm looking for mostly.

MP has "record show every week at this time on this channel", which is similar to what you're asking about. I use it all the time. MP is not smart enough to figure out when there is a rerun and MP will not tell you if the schedule changed. For example, I have mine set to record Family Guy and American Dad every week, hoping to get a new one every week. So I go into the recorded tv shows and I find out that instead of getting the shows I wanted, it recorded two half hour segments of X-Men 2. MP recorded on the time and channel I wanted, but didn't tell me that Fox was airing a movie instead of their usual programming. It can be frustrating, I won't lie to you. Supposedly someone is making a plugin which handles something like a "season pass". I haven't seen a release yet so keep your fingers crossed.

 

[Rhys.Goodwin]

I've never used GBPVR but to me open source code is a big deal.