Setup TV Server (1 Viewer)

[tential]

Wow, so this is harder than I thought and has taken up the WHOLE day but I think I'm at the home stretch so crossing my fingers.

I'm at the TV Server Configuration and I'm trying to setup my Ceton InfiniTV 4 with MediaPortal. I'm at the point now where I scan for channels but I don't even know what to do?

Which Tuning Mode and QAM tuning Frequencies do I use when scanning?

 

[mm1352000]

First, hello and welcome!

I'm at the point now where I scan for channels but I don't even know what to do?

Which Tuning Mode and QAM tuning Frequencies do I use when scanning?

Okay, so you're using a CableCARD tuner... and therefore it would be beneficial to read the first post of this thread:
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/threads/cablecard-tuner-support-for-mediaportal-1.112585/

...starting from "At this point you should see one or more CableCARD tuners...".

There you will see that the instructions tell you to select "digital cable" as the tuning mode... and when you do that, you'll find that you don't need to select a QAM frequency plan.

Please be sure to read and follow the rest of the instructions carefully, but don't hesitate to ask if you get stuck or have more questions. I also note that our wiki can be a good source of general information.
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/

Hope that helps.

mm

 

[tential]

Thanks a lot.
Ya, I got frustrated today haha. It was a long day of getting this setup. First I tried to setup NPVR and didn't know it didn't work with Ceton. I needed .NET Framework 3.5 to setup NPVR and that wouldn't install due to some error. I spent the first half of the day figuring that out only to realize I couldn't even use NPVR (including reinstalling windows).

Then I went to Argus, realized I needed Microsoft SQL Express, set that up, got it all working I thought and then it wouldn't detect my Tuner. Have NO clue what I can do to fix that lol.

Then I went to Media Portal and got pretty far but just exhausted at this point lol.

Ended up setting up WMC but I DO NOT want to use WMC. I had to pay for it too but whatever. MS looks like they couldn't care less about WMC yet they charge me for it just makes me a little livid. I also hear the channel switching time in MP is pretty good with new updates so I want to see that!

Haha, I'll check this out real quick before I pass out I might as well. Thanks.

 

[mm1352000]

I fully empathise. Setting up HTPCs is not always as easy as some people make it out to be. In my experience the things that are trick often tend to be unexpected. Anyhow...

First I tried to setup NPVR and didn't know it didn't work with Ceton.

My understanding was that it could be made to work if you use SageDCT as an external recorder, but I could be wrong.

Then I went to Argus, realized I needed Microsoft SQL Express, set that up, got it all working I thought and then it wouldn't detect my Tuner. Have NO clue what I can do to fix that lol.

I'm pretty sure Argus doesn't support CableCARD tuners. However it can use the MP TV Server... so you could use a combination of Argus for scheduling and MP TV Server for tuner control if you really want. That is a bit of a complex setup, so I'd advise to get MP TV Server working first then extend if need be.

I also hear the channel switching time in MP is pretty good with new updates...

Yeah, I've seen a few comments that say the same. I'd be interested to know what you think once you get setup.

 

[tential]

It can work with SageDCT as an external recorder but I was discouraged at that point that it wasn't supported natively.

Argus does support CableCard Tuners as I see the HDHomeRun on their setup. I can't find anyone with Ceton though so maybe just not Ceton? Man I didn't know there was so much hate for Ceton support haha.

I'm ALMOST done the MP setup. It's long and the Channel Mapping is going to take forever with the Verizon FIOS having 1000+ Channel. I still need to setup an automatic guide updater as well that's getting a little confusing for me. Other weird thing, every channel name shows up 3 times during my setup process. Like when I'm adding ALL channels to each tuner each channel shows up 3 times. I dunno what the deal is, I haven't tuned in to attempt to watch TV using MP yet as the setup process has taken awhile but I'll let y aknow tomorrow. It's hard now but I figure once I get it setup, I'm 1 step closer to cutting the cord.

Then to figure out how to OC my 4770K, record TV, strip commercials, and compress to a smaller file. I'm hoping I get a good OC on it. Those last extra mhz chop a TON of time off the compressions. Made close to a 100 FPS difference when encoding a 1080p bluray file to a android phone size file. I might just end up using QuickSync though for thigns I don't care about . That's like 4 times the speed of whatever speed I'd get according to anandtech. One step at a time though.

 

[mm1352000]

It can work with SageDCT as an external recorder but I was discouraged at that point that it wasn't supported natively.

Ahhh, I see - okay.

Argus does support CableCard Tuners as I see the HDHomeRun on their setup. I can't find anyone with Ceton though so maybe just not Ceton? Man I didn't know there was so much hate for Ceton support haha.

From what I've read and seen, the HDHR PRIME driver allows it to show up as a regular clear QAM tuner in apps that don't support CableCARD. The InfiniTV tuners don't have the equivalent in their driver so AIUI they simply don't show. As far as I know that is the only sense in which Argus has support for the PRIME. Anyhow, I'm no Argus expert and I could very well be wrong.
@twemperor do you know what the deal is?

...and the Channel Mapping is going to take forever...

What do you mean by channel mapping?
I know a bunch of tricks that can help to speed up the setup process so I may be assist. I'm just not exactly clear what you're referring to here...

Other weird thing, every channel name shows up 3 times during my setup process.

Do you mean the East and West versions of channels?
I'm not sure if you're aware but I was the guy that added support for these tuners. One of the systems I tested on had FIOS. As I recall there were approximately 800 channels available. Many channels had East and West versions of which only one would actually work. If you look at the channel list in "TV Channels", any channel that shows as having channel number 10000 will not work. You can sort by channel number, select all the channels with channel number 10000 (hold down shift and use arrow keys or select with mouse to select lots of channels at once), then delete or deselect them.

I dunno what the deal is, I haven't tuned in to attempt to watch TV using MP yet as the setup process has taken awhile but I'll let y aknow tomorrow. It's hard now but I figure once I get it setup, I'm 1 step closer to cutting the cord.

Indeed.
If something is taking ages it is a sign you may not be doing things right. Don't be afraid to stop and ask if there is a faster way. I'm here to help.

The other thing I'd encourage you to notice and use is that TV Server configuration has an import/export section. You can use this to make backups of your progress along the way. Then you have the confidence that you can always roll back/forward between steps if something doesn't work out as intended.

 

[tential]

This image notice how each channel is listed once. In mine it's listed 3 times for each.... I don't know why lol.

So that's my first problem. My second one is I been trying to the EPG part. I used webgrab+ to get the channel listing from TVGUIDE.com (Which does take like 5 or so minutes). I followed the instructions up until I got the TVGUIDE.xml file. Now I don't know where to from there.

As for the East/West version of the channels? I went to my TV upstairs and looked up channel USA. I have Channel 50, 550, and 1500 for USA. So is 50/1500 the East / West version? I only have 550 for HD. In channel mapping, if I looked up USA I think I'd have nine listing for it. USA EAST, USA West, and USA HD, listed 3 times each I don't know why it does this. The EPG isn't working (due to the issue above), and I can't tune to the channels anyway.

I feel like I'm so close! haha. While I'm waiting for help on this, I'm testing out my recording through WMC to see how it is. Hope it works lol.

Thanks for the help. I don't understand why MS won't let anyone use the WMC and just put it in every program or whatever (like suport using WMC as a backend). If you won't update your program why not let other people at least use the pieces of it. Oh MS -.-

 

[mm1352000]

This image notice how each channel is listed once. In mine it's listed 3 times for each.... I don't know why lol.

Did you scan once and link your channels to each tuner as instructed in that linked post, or did you scan with each tuner?
Have you scanned more than once in total?

For this problem I think log files would be helpful to me:
1. Open TV Server configuration.
2. Click "open log directory" in the top left corner.
3. Zip up all the files you find in that folder and post the zip file here.

My second one is I been trying to the EPG part. I used webgrab+ to get the channel listing from TVGUIDE.com (Which does take like 5 or so minutes). I followed the instructions up until I got the TVGUIDE.xml file. Now I don't know where to from there.

Okay, so first thing to do is to enable the XMLTV plugin from the plugins section, set the location of the XML file in the top field on the "general" tab, then click "import". If everything has worked correctly, you should now be able to flip over to the "mappings" tab, click "load/refresh", and start do all the mappings.

As for the East/West version of the channels? I went to my TV upstairs and looked up channel USA. I have Channel 50, 550, and 1500 for USA. So is 50/1500 the East / West version? I only have 550 for HD. In channel mapping, if I looked up USA I think I'd have nine listing for it. USA EAST, USA West, and USA HD, listed 3 times each I don't know why it does this. The EPG isn't working (due to the issue above), and I can't tune to the channels anyway.

Without your log files or access to your system I can't really advise you properly.
However, the best place to explore this issue is to go to the TV Channels section in TV Server configuration. If we take your example of USA...
Enter "usa" in the "filter by channel name" box and see how many channels come up. Note there is a channel number column on the far right (might need to increase the width of the TV Server configuration window in order to see it) and that will tell you which channel is which.

I feel like I'm so close! haha. While I'm waiting for help on this, I'm testing out my recording through WMC to see how it is. Hope it works lol.

You are indeed close.

Thanks for the help. I don't understand why MS won't let anyone use the WMC and just put it in every program or whatever (like suport using WMC as a backend). If you won't update your program why not let other people at least use the pieces of it. Oh MS -.-

It is a DRM/copyright thing. WMC has access to channels that you may not be able to get in MediaPortal. For example HBO, Showtime... the premium channels. Assuming those channels are part of your subscription, WMC will allow you to watch them but may not allow you to record them. If it does allow recording, it encrypts the recording and only allows it to be played on the PC that you recorded on. MediaPortal doesn't have that level of lock down - no restrictions on recording etc. - but the trade-off is that we don't get access to the premium channels.

Now, if WMC could be used as a backend then it introduces a potential security hole between the backend and frontend that might allow people to circumvent the DRM/copyright/recording rules. MS would never allow this.

 

[RonD]

tential

So that's my first problem. My second one is I been trying to the EPG part. I used webgrab+ to get the channel listing from TVGUIDE.com (Which does take like 5 or so minutes). I followed the instructions up until I got the TVGUIDE.xml file. Now I don't know where to from there.

Assuming you have WebGrab++ setup and a tvguide.xml file you should be able to do the xmltv setup starting from the following step in the setup guide

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...e_Setup_(EPG)/XMLTV_mc2xml#Setup_XMLTV_Plugin

you need to set the correct folder for WG++ tvguide.xml file and put a copy of xmltv.dtd in the same folder