TV Engine? Newbie MediaPortal set up issue (1 Viewer)

[Jezston]

Hi, I've just installed Mediaportal and seemed to be stuck setting it up.

After installing, a readme webpage opens which guides me through the configuration process.

It mentions that if I wish to view TV, and wish to use the built in TV Engine which supposedly I had the option to install when installing the main app (no such option was given, even in advanced mode), and then under Television I should select the capture card submenu and chose my card. No such capture card menu is visible under the television menu!

I've tried searching plugins for TV engine, but found nothing. The included plugin installer application (sorry I forget the name and am in a different boot!) also appears to find no plugins at all!

Can anyone help? Thanks!

 

[geov]

A few questions for you...

1) When you were installing you were asked if you will be using TV....did you select yes? This will determine if you will get further TV options to select from.

2) If you selected yes on question1, you will be asked if you will be watching HD-TV or not....did you select the HD-TV option? If you selected HD-TV mediaportal will install SQL-Server database, and install the TV-Server. If you don't select the HD-TV option, then MediaPortal will install the outdated/internal TV function, which will only work with some TV-Cards.

3) If you selected the HD-TV option, then you have to setup the TV-Server by selecting the "Configure TV-Server" under the START/All Programs/Team MediaPortal/TV-Server" menu....did you do this configuration? If you did not select the HD-TV option then you will have to configure the TV-Card under the "MediaPortal Config" under the "START/All Programs/Team MediaPortal" menu.

Let me know how it goes....

 

[Jezston]

Hi, thanks. I assumed that TV server was something to do with streaming stuff across a network. And they *really* need to get rid of that seriously unhelpful thing about the password in the FAQ

So, I now have TV! Thanks very much. However, currently stuck on a couple of things. I'll check around the site for info, but if you or anyone else knows anything that might help me with the following, it would be most appreciated.

- Can't seem to get TV programme info working. Been through everything on the settings, but the tv list doesn't tell me the name of programmes or the TV schedule.

- Mediaportal doesn't respond properly to all the buttons on my Windows Media remote - cursor and ok button works, but everything else either does nothing, or causes WMC to load up!

 

[Pom]

Hi - sounds like you need to have a good old play around with the configuration settings for both TV server and Mediaportal itself. Once you know what you're doing you'll soon be able to do an installation from scratch in less than an hour! I'd also recommend trawling the forum for solutions to problems - there's a tonne of useful information in there.

MP is a great application - probably the best there is - but trust me it takes time to get it all customised and working beautifully (i've been using it for nearly 3 years now and still actively updating it and configuring it).

Good luck!

 

[Jezston]

Hi thanks, got the WM Remote working through the config options.

Still stuck on the EPG stuff (now I know what EPG means!) seems horribly complicated, and really don't understand why seeing as all the info is in the broadcast.

 

[dcwp]

Hi Jezston,

Glad you're finding your way through the setup. The first time can be a bit daunting, but it is totally worth it, and if you can maintain this level of patience, you'll find lots of help here.

I'll address your questions out of order.
2) In the main configuration window, select the "remote" tab and make sure the MCE remote is checked. The great thing about this remote with MP is that there is basically no other configuration that *should* be required. If you still have trouble with it after checking that box, let us know.

1) Program info varies widely by location, provider, etc. What you want to search for on the forum is EPG (Electronic Program Guide). I think in the UK you can actually use the built-in MP EPG or WebEPG, but I don't know since we aren't so lucky stateside. In my experience, setting up the EPG is one of the more difficult tasks so I'll advise an extra dose of patience with that.

Lastly, depending on your problem, it sometimes helps to have extra information from you including system specs, which can be entered in UserCP (for an example of how they will appear, click the "My System" link under my avatar). It is also often helpful to have logs when trying to narrow down a problem. Here's a link that can help with that if you need it: Forum/How_to_post_logs - MediaPortal Manual Documentation

Good luck and welcome!

Edit: I just saw that you posted while I was typing. Glad you figured all this out without me!

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Jezston

Are you talking about dvb epg, ie digital not analogue, the more information you give us the better, dvb epg can take upto 30 minutes to populate the very first time TVServer installed.

 

[Pom]

Jezston - how are you receiving your TV (Freeview, Freesat, analog...?) If you're feeding a digital TV signal straight into your PC then EPG set-up is simple. In TV Server setup you need to do a 'select all' on the 'which of these channels do you want to get EPG data from' set up option (under TV card bit i think). Then, just watch some TV and give it half hour or so to populate the EPG in the background for you.... (EPG data is included in the received digital TV signal).

You've then also got to do things like drop the TV channel logos into the relevant folder - i'll let you figure all this out! Yes first time set-up can be a chore, but also sort of exciting (spoken by a non-nerd!)

If you don't have a digital TV signal going into the of the PC then it's a bit more complicated, i think i used WebEPG when i was in this boat, seemed to work ok. Also a little tip from me - i wouldn't bother setting the PC to 'wake up' in the middle of the night to grab EPG data. Standby/resume problems were the bane of my life for a while. Just let it get the EPG data whilst the PC is on/you're using it.

 

[Jezston]

Hi, thanks very much everyone - I appreciate how much all of you are happy to bring yourselves down to my newbie level and help me out!

I'll do what I can to provide the info you are asking for:

Yes I am talking digital TV, through an aerial in to a Peak dual tuner card.

I think I've been confused a bit by all the info online about EPG data - been banging my head against the wall with the webepg application and despite following all the instructions I don't have TVguide.xml file in either the location the guide or the server configuration expects them to be - and can't find any info on why this is!

I've got everything ticked in the TV EPG Grabber (including languages - is this wise?), but still not getting any info - however I have been going in and out of MediaPortal all day so I guess I just need to leave it running for a good while and see what happens.

Will report back in an hour or so and let you know if anything has changed. Until then, any suggestions appreciated!

(while I'm here if you don't mind - can anyone tell me how I can turn TV subtitles on and off whilst watching TV? There's not a subtitles button on my remote - managed to turn them on in the configuration app, and struggling to find info on how to turn them on and off whilst in MediaPortal itself)

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...tus-icon-plugin-now-standalone-app-too-24773/

If you like your Windows media centre systray icon, above may be of interest to you, gives status of TVServer, ie like grabbing epg

Your epg settings should be the same as mine, pictures are always better



Should be populated in under 30 minutes for all channels.