read this article today because i was on business trip.
I have a similar configuration, only using a Dbox2 cable instead. With MP 0.2.3.0 and latest SVN it is working fantastic without problems. I also use udrec as streaming server on my HTPC.
VLC with ffdshow is playing every video and audio content for me. Inside the VLC plugin of MP i mapped all extensions to VLC. First i thought i do need Mplayer but it was not neccessary.
The UDREC server i run automatically with Autostart and option "udrec.exe -sso -chepg -ts" to receive the EPG channel information. Then i can set a timer on the Dbox and the TS will be recorded with EPG info .