TV (2 Viewers)

[mdm]

Hello,
Im new to mediaportal and I would like some information or help on the following.
I would like to install a TV card to my computer, what would you recommend. What channels will I be able to receive on mediaportal and do I need to install a cable or ariel or can I just receive streamed tv. I know that some channels you have to pay for.

Thanks MDM

 

[zicoz]

To use the TV-part of MP you need some sort of TV-signal, be it cable (DVB-C), satelite (DVB-S) or ariel (DVB-T). You can find a list of supported TV-cards here:

TV Cards - MediaPortal Wiki

But you must also make sure that you use a distributer that "supports" HTPC use. Don't know who does/does not do that i the UK.

 

[funkstar]

With an aerial and a DVB-T card you can receive anything that is on Freeview on a normal TV. DVB-T is the underlying system for transmitting Freeview services.

Pretty much any card that is Windows Media Center compatible will work with MediaPortal.

Streaming TV is possible, but not through the TV part of MP, you need to install the OnlineVideos plugin for that. I'm sure it supports iPlayer and it may do the ITV player and 4OD, not 100% sure on the last two though.

 

[porky996t]

Funkstar is correct - the OnlineVideos plugin does support BBC iPlayer - not seen ant other UK "catchup" services on it though.

mdm - I have three cards installed in my PC, one is a dual tuner satellite card to get Freesat and others (using my old Sky dish) and the other two are dual tuner Freeview (DVB-T) cards. We use MediaPortal on the main TV all the time now.

The cards I have are:

DVB-S - TBS6980 dual tuner (see here ) - this card has been flawless for me.

DVB-T - Peak Dual Tuner - (see here ) - again, this card has been very quick and reliable for me.

DVB-T - Hauppauge WinTV Nova500 - (see here) - this card does the same as the Peak card, but to me seems less accepting of poor TV signals.

It may be prudent to go for a Freeview HD card as this enable you to get the standard channels in addition to the HD ones (if they are available in your area) Currently, BlackGold do one here , but it seems to be a bit of a bugger to get running well on MP (from reading comments on the forums)



HTH,


M.

 

[SimondusMaximus]

Hi mdm,

For online TV I use a plugin called Multishortcut to launch a browser window from within MP and go directly to the home page of 4od, Sky Player, SeeSaw, etc. This does mean using my RF keyboard and touchpad to navigate, rather than a remote, but it works really well. MP is minimised whilst the browser is open and when closing the browser, MP pops up again and all is well. Pretty seamless really.

As for BBC iPlayer, as the chaps mentioned above this is supported within the Onlinevideos plugin but it is not currently working in version 0.27. Version 0.28 will be released shortly, however, and iPlayer will be fixed. In the meantime I'm using multishortcut for BBC iPlayer too. Job's a good un!

Cheers
Si

 

[mdm]

First of all let me thank all of you for the support and information, really great. Now that I know what tv card to get and what channels I will receive I will go ahead with this. What does the "distributer" do and do I need this for the DVB-T card.
Thanks again.

 

[porky996t]

mdm

Can elaborate what you mean with 'distributer' - I don't mean to be facetious, but I only know of cars having them.


M

 

[SimondusMaximus]

porky - Lol! That takes me back to days restoring my old Veedub Beetle. With very dire consequences!

mdm - I think Zicoz means distributor as in a person/company that distributes goods specifically for the correct UK spec.

All the cards mentioned by porky are ok for use in the UK with MP. In fact (as mentioned above), nearly all cards are universal. DVB-T is terrestrial TV, i.e. requires a standard aerial input. DVB-S and DVB-S2 are satellite TV, i.e. via a dish. DVB-C is cable TV, so requires a cable TV input.

I only have an aerial at my gaff, hence I use numerous DVB-T tuners such as - Hauppauge Computer Works Ltd : WinTV-NOVA-TD 500 - which is a pci card and works really well. I also have the USB version which also works really well if you have no internal slots free. But a friend of mine has a dish and uses the TBS6891 (the updated version of Porky's TBS6980) and this is one of the best cards I've come across so far.

Enjoy!

Si

 

[porky996t]

ahhh, the old days... points, plugs & condenser -a Beetle eh?? I do prefer a flat 6 to a flat 4.

I didn't notice that Zicoz had mentioned the distributer - doh!!



The TBS link shows the card, and you can buy it direct from them, there is an Online Order at the top of screen, which takes you here. It is for sale direct for £96 - the same card is on Amazon for nearly £170!! If you are quick, there is one on eBay from a UK seller going for £94.95 on a Buy It Now. You do need a sat dish for this card though. The TBS website has all the latest drivers, and a forum to post any probs. The forum seems to be updated by TBS's card designers and developers which is great. (shame BG don't do this!)

The Peak link is to Amazon, who seem to be doing the best deals on that card around £32

The Hauppage is to their own website, but if you want to buy this card just search Google shopping, the card is about £55-£60 new, I got mine for just shy of £40 of eBay. Hauppauge also have a forum which helps with any problems.

Good luck...


M.

 

[robbo100]

Hi mdm,

For online TV I use a plugin called Multishortcut to launch a browser window from within MP and go directly to the home page of 4od, Sky Player, SeeSaw, etc. This does mean using my RF keyboard and touchpad to navigate, rather than a remote, but it works really well. MP is minimised whilst the browser is open and when closing the browser, MP pops up again and all is well. Pretty seamless really.

As for BBC iPlayer, as the chaps mentioned above this is supported within the Onlinevideos plugin but it is not currently working in version 0.27. Version 0.28 will be released shortly, however, and iPlayer will be fixed. In the meantime I'm using multishortcut for BBC iPlayer too. Job's a good un!

Cheers
Si

Si,

Have you tried using multishortcut to run NeverMissTV. NeverMiss is a front end that gather together all the UK online suppliers under one user interface so you only need one shortcut in the MP home menu to get to all players. It works really well.



mdm,

It might be worth listing the most important channels/features that you consider important for your every day intended use of the HTPC. That way people will be able to help make sure you have selected the right card. For instance, if you want to receive HD channels and you are in a Freeview HD area, then getting a DVB-T2 card might be better for you than getting a DVB-T card. Or it might be that you want to have some HD channels and are in an area that can't get Freeview HD, in which case FreeSat might be a better option (if you are happy to have a satellite dish on your house) - you can get HD satellite cards for £25 these days!

Cheers

Roboo100