TV Server problems (1 Viewer)

DNHB

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I successfully Installed MP1 v1.12 on my Win 7 PC. After upgrading the OS to Win 10, MP1 continued to work OK (I'm concerned only with TV mode here). I then uninstalled MP1 & tried MP2 (Summer 15) but found that the TV picture was stuttering every few seconds so uninstalled MP2. On re-installing MP1 I got an error message to the effect that the TV Server Controller could not "get cards ( )". On attempting to uninstall MP1 - thinking that the download had been corrupted or something - I received a message "unable to stop TV service (error 3)". Task Manager showed the TV service process as "Stopping" but I was unable to stop or start it from that application. Restarting the PC caused the TVService to stop but further attempts at fresh installs of MP1 (both v1.12 & 1.13) & MP2 resulted in the "get_cards ( ) " error. I did manage to get MP2 working once again (still with picture stuttering) by adding 2 lines to the host file in Windows/System32/drivers/etc . The lines - which I found on a post related to Win 8 installation "get Cards" problem - are " 127.0.0.1 localhost" and " :1 local host". I added these after experiencing the "get Cards" failure and, having done so, on re-opening the MP2 TV Server app I was able to get the TV stations. I then uninstalled MP2 & re-installed MP1 thinking that this change to the host file would allow that version to work. However MP1 still did not "get_cards". Since then, despite careful uninstalls and re-boots, I cannot get either of the 2 MP1versions or MP2 to work. I offer this as general feedback but obviously if anyone has any suggestions to offer I would be grateful. And of course my thanks to all those who have developed MP so far. Incidentally I heard about it in an article in ComputerActive magazine which recommended MP as a alternative/replacement for Windows media center.
 
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HTPCSourcer

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    Hello and welcome to MediaPortal,

    We'll be happy to help you getting a running MediaPortal Installation. However, the team will appreciate some effort at your side to present your issues in a more readable manner;).
    Generally speaking there is not much sense in installing, uninstalling and installing again. THings will not get any better this way and it is advisable to seek support earlier.

    Since then, despite careful uninstalls and re-boots, I cannot get either of the 2 MP1 versions or MP2 to work.
    Both MP1 and MP2 bring their own Windows services. Since you did not post any logs or other ionformation it is difficult to judge what happened, but probably something got messed up between the different services. Your system may now have been left in a in-between state.

    In case that your system - Windows 10 as you wrote - created restore points, the easiest and safest way might be to restore to a state before you started yopur MediaPortal experience. If this is not possible, I suggest that you first check your Windows services if there is any MediaPortal TV service left active, stop it and then uninstall everything from the control panel, that relates to MediaPortal. Depending on what SQL database you chose at the beginning you may also want to look for MySQL and uninstall it.

    I have found that at this point a manual clean process ensures future functionality. Next thing is then to delete the following directories:

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Team MediaPortal
    C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal
    ... MySQL - I am not sure where this is located since I am not using this databae software

    Using a registry cleaner at this point to delete any trace of MediaPortal would not be a bad idea.Then restart the PC.

    If you would like to use MP2 then download the Update1 version. I can ensure you that MP2 can be run without any hassle such as stuttering. Then report back here if you require further assistance.

    Attention: If after having installed MP2 you would like to test MP1, you do not need to uninstall MP2. However you will need to deactivate the respective WIndows MP2 TV Service. MP1 can then be installed in parallel to MP2. Alternatively start with MP1 and then deactivate the respective service before attempting to install MP2.

    Note that the MP installer/uninstaller is sometimes not able to stop the TV service. It is therefore highly recommended to manually stop this Windows service whenever attempting an update or uninstall.
     

    DNHB

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    Thank you for taking the trouble to respond despite the fact that I did not attach any details such as logs etc. The fact is that the issues arose on my wife's PC which she uses in the kitchen & serves as our TV there (this is probably too much information !) whereas I wrote my post at my desk. Also I'm pretty ignorant regarding identifying the appropriate log files & how to submit them, I'm afraid. I did try to use the MP1 Watchdog application but that seemed to 'hang' at the "collecting information" stage. I didn't knowingly use MySQL for anything - I just used 'standard' installs/set up options. The only specific thing I did (when the SW worked) was to select the right TV Card/DVB to use for searching for TV channels.

    Anyway I will follow the advice you have kindly offered. Incidentally I could not manually stop the TVService via Task Manager or System Explorer: the only way to do it I found was to reboot the PC after uninstalling the MP software (I used IOBit uninstaller for this with its 'Powerful uninstaller' option). Anyway, thanks again for your response.
     

    HTPCSourcer

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    You're welcome.

    Please don't hesitate to ask again if you encounter problems.
     

    DNHB

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    Hello again,

    I followed your advice and MP v1.12 then installed without any problems - i.e. no 'get cards' message. I carefully followed the wiki Guidance and used the help button on each 'page' of the 2 configuration apps (MP & TV Server) including setting up the EPG options as recommended. I now appear to have a working system although there is no EPG information showing yet: maybe it takes a while to be 'grabbed'. Thanks to you I'm now out of the Dog House - well, sort of !
     

    resa

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    If EPG not show up from itself...

    Remember that you maybe have to activate the grabbing for the channels in TV-Server Setup first... to be found under the knot DVB-EPG on the child-page TV Epg grabber ... I reommend to only activate the channels for grabber, that are necessary and especially to only activate languages you really need (to do so will save time on grabbing through the list and avoiding crashes maybe)...

    Also remember that you have activate the cards for EPG grabbing in TV-Server Setup also... at knot TV-Servers there is an child page named like your PCs networkname... there you can see the list of cards installed on your system... check the column "Grab EPG" ... has to be YES for all cards with channels to grab... to toggle doubleclick the entry and check checkbox...

    best regards...
     

    DNHB

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    Thanks for your interest in my EPG issue.
    I have already activated EPG grabbing in TV Server setup & for just the Channels I will mainly use and only for English language; and both cards (IP & DVBT) shown under the PCs network name show a tick in the column Grab EPG. However, as I only activated the EPG function after scanning for channels initially I wondered if scanning for them again would do the trick. Alas, there is still no information being shown other than the channel number & name :-(
     

    resa

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    Have you tried to activate "Grab while Timeshift/Recording" and maybe set the timeouts near to zero? ... With this option activated you can tune in an Channel for live watching and then wait some minutes, EPG Data should be grabbed while watching for this channel and maybe some other Channels on the same Transponder or same Network too.

    Only let live tv running and then control if EPG was grabbed for actual channel by using "i" Button on remote from time to time...

    best regards.
     

    HTPCSourcer

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    DNHB,

    EPG info will not fall from heaven. Pleased tell us where you are and how you are capturing TV, e.g. cable or dish. Also we don't have glass balls to read in but depend on hard facts, which we take from logs. In short: set your TV Server log level to debug, restart the service, watchbTV for some 20 min and then collect blogs please.[DOUBLEPOST=1449249944][/DOUBLEPOST]And please: fill in you system specification in your profile and activate visible...
     

    DNHB

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    After my last post in response to resa's suggestions I upped the EPG Grabbing priority from 1 to 10. When I checked back after 30 mins or so I found that some of the EPG lines , principally for BBC services, were filling up. So I will now do as resa suggested @17:17 and leave the TV running and accept that it will take a while for the EPG to be populated. In response to HTPCSourcer: 1. I am in the UK & capturing Freeview TV on a DVB-T card. 2. I have filled in those aspects of the spec I have to hand & will add details as I get them. 3. I appreciate logs are needed to sort many problems but as I'm new to this I thought it was more likely that there would be something basic I was or was not doing which is what seems to be the case (both with my original problem HTPCS helped with & the EPG one). Thanks, people !
     

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