TV Server and WHS ( Windows Home Server ) (3 Viewers)

[MyPVR]

I thought about MP and WHS too, but integrated both in a different way:

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/ongoing-htpc-projects-60/ms-windows-home-server-htpc-via-vm-53070/

I'am using a virtual machine (VMWare Server) ontop of my HTPC (which includes the TV-cards) installation. In this setup you do not need to worry about missing updates etc., because you can install and configure every installation as it is needed. The environments are isolated. Works great for me....

Regards,
MyPVR

 

[ChrisPenrose]

Server 2003 / WHS installation advice

Hi,

Current setup:
I have a HTPC runnimg Media Portal 1.0.0 on XP.
- DVB-T HD TV is received from a Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T-500 PCI card.
- Hardware H264 decoding is done by an ATI 3850 AGP graphics card. HDMI 1080p output.

Going forward:
I would like to move the Nova-T-500 card to WHS and setup Media Portal server because:
A. I have WHS (Server 2003), which is always on, serving everything but TV.
B. One thing I have not sorted is getting the HTPC to reliably wakeup & sleep to record TV.

Server 2003 / WHS issues list:
Watching the forums, the main issues appear to be:
1. No MediaPortal support under Server 2003 (or WHS). ==> Don't expect any offical support.
2. Certified Server 2003 drivers are not up to date, and you can not install uncertified drivers.
3. The whole BDA driver layer does not come with Server 2003. It is essential for DVB-T card control.
4. WHS is where I store everything, so I don't want it 'unstable'.

Advice appreciated
I would like some advice from current Media Portal Server + Server 2003 / WHS experts.
Otherwise it is likely I will break my server trying it out.
I would really appreciate being put straight about the issues listed above (and others).
I would ideally like enough information to pull it together as an installation plan.

 

[clintebb]

i had no issues.. i found i had to have media player 11, and had to have cyberlink power dvd, cant remember anything else i had to do

 

[ChrisPenrose]

Server 2003 / WHS installation advice

Thanks for the feed back but I was really lookig for a bit more 'Media Portal Server' specific detail.

As I already have a Media Portal Client (with Power DVD Ultra 8 codecs), I will not be installing PowerDVD, WMP11 etc.

What issues did you have:
- Installing BDA drivers: Does DirectX9c + BDA Fix work on Server 2003?.
- TV tuner drivers: Does your tuner come with Server 2003 drivers? What model? Any issues?
- Crashes. Does the TV tuner crash and does the Server need to be rebooted to sort it out?

More information would be greatly appreciated.

PS: I have looked at WHS running in a VM on top of XP.
I went as far as setting up 'off line' trials of Virtual PC, Sun VirtualBox and Virtual Server 2005.
I felt each VM had its issues hosting WHS. (Restricted resources & hardware, network bridging etc).
I could still go down this route but I think WHS / Server 2003 will not be a stable.

 

[clintebb]

i mentioned those because i was required to install mediaplayer 11 and cyberlink power dvd, tv server would not function without them, i dont use the WHS as a client, only a MP server, so i suggest installing them, or at least trying your tv server and if it doesnt work then install them, which is what i did.

i just installed the normal xp drivers. i didnt do any bda fixes or anything, and everything works for me, so i dont see a need for it. never have tv crashes, my server runs 24/7 no restarts, i used to have it go to sleep when inactive but my motherboard has issues with sometimes not waking up properly so it stays on all the time now, but those times the motherboard did resume correctly tv server also worked fine, no issues.

 

[joit]

What issues did you have:
- Installing BDA drivers: Does DirectX9c + BDA Fix work on Server 2003?.
- TV tuner drivers: Does your tuner come with Server 2003 drivers? What model? Any issues?
- Crashes. Does the TV tuner crash and does the Server need to be rebooted to sort it out?

1. yes
2. xp bda drivers are fine
3. no. just had some resume probs after standby. if your whs is always on, thats not a problem.
make sure to install MP (and timeshift folder) on a drive that is not mapped to the whs pool because of performance issues. I wrote a tutorial on how to install MP on whs here:
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...-auf-whs-windows-home-server-einsetzen-53420/
althoug it's in german, you might be able to understand most of it. if you have any questions let me know.

 

[ChrisPenrose]

Server 2003 / WHS installation advice

Hi joit.

Most of that makes sense (picking out the words I can understand).

I have actually turned off Windows Media Connect 2 and am running 'PS3 Media Server 1.04' to stream ISO's to my PS3.
I think I will do some more research to see if 'Media Portal Server' actually requires WMP11 (or the underlying services). For me, 'Less is more' as far as the server is concerned.

Thanks again,
Chris

 

[joit]

I'm not sure but I don't think mp will start without wmp

 

[ChrisPenrose]

You and clintebb are correct.
The Media Portal installer checks that WMP11 is installed.
Thanks

 

[clintebb]

and after that i found i couldnt watch tv on my clients until powerdvd 8 was installed on the server, the clients just had a black screen.

and with that mediaplayer 11 i did half the installation described in the info i found, i didnt do the part where it installed the mediaplayer sharing or streaming stuff, i dont remember exactly, but basically the last half of the instructions i didnt do i think. it was something about disabling the whs media sharing and installing then enabling mediaplayers mediasharing i think.

and with that dvb fic you mentioned.. whats it do? ive always done it on my xp servers, but this whs server i never did it, and i havent had any issues. come to think of it, my tv server and everything MP related has worked perfectly on whs compared to having issues on xp and some issues on vista.

i would love to see MP being supported on whs, and a whs console addin being made for mediaportal, so you can configure any tvserver settings and do whatever else from within the whs console which can easily be accessed from any pc, sage tv has a version for whs which has an addin for whs console