What's going on with TV Cards (1 Viewer)

[ld9474]

Hi everyone,
i plan to build my htpc in a few months and started to test a few things on my pc. I have tested some htpc softwares and finally decided to use Media Portal which fits best to my desires (and is WAF complient graphically speeking).
So i started to test 3 weeks ago and could not get my TV cards to work. So i went on this forum to try to see what was wrong. I looked several threads and was stoned to see that, though analogical cards were suported, they are not anymore (it's the first time i see a soft that drops a part of its functionnalities from a version to another).
Basically i have a WinTV Go and an AIW 9000. None of them work...
So why the support of "older" cards were left (i don't think i'm the only one with this kind of hardware, am i?) ? And the biggest question, how do i make EPG to work without a supported TV card.
Thanks for all the answers.

 

[jawbroken]

Software encoding cards were dropped because they are such a huge hassle. Not many people, as far as I know, have ever been able to get them working acceptably, at least not with very good processors, etc. This level of hardware is not suited for a htpc because it produces more heat. The developers decided it was best to stop supporting software cards because when they did support software cards a lot of people would complain about their experience (can't watch TV while recording so no timeshifting, dropped frames, audio sync problems). I guess now they just get a lot of people complaining about dropping software cards support instead .

I hear that they are removing VMR7 support now, which will enrage more people I would guess. But really, to get acceptable htpc performance, VMR9 and a hardware card are required.

 

[ld9474]

I can understand the problematic but i can't understand such choices:
- All HTPC can be build brick by brick (component by component) so there will still be the need of old hardware support until they are changed.
- Will MP ever use the latest technology and so force us to use the latest hardware? I don't want to buy a new PC every 6 months in order to be up to date with an app. I think an app should fit to the hardware and not the contrary. DirectX 10 will be out soon. What will hapened then. Should we change our hadware? Ok i stop here with my complaints. MP is fantastic but the developpers should be aware of that. :lol: :lol:
Though i have not looked at the code, MP seems to be a modular app. So is it possible to get the latest version that supported these kinds of cards, compile the TV plugin and add it as a plugin to the actual version of MP?
If so, can someone tell me what is the last stable version that will support my WinTV Go? What is the last version that supports AIW9000 if it is possible?
A more generic question to finish will there be a definitive version of MP or will it still be growing the way it is nowadays?
Once again thanks a lot and sorry if i was a bit agressive. I did'nt mean to but i am disapointed and so a bit angry but let me clap my hands towards the developpers.

 

[jawbroken]

If you want to try to use your software cards you can always roll back to an earlier version and give it a shot. They are all available on the home page. You can give 0.1.3.0 a try and see if that helps you, or go back even earlier if necessary.

EDIT: About your "always updating hardware" comment: The developers are just trying to give the user the best experience they can. The problem they have is that if they keep supporting software cards, people will keep buying them and being disappointed with the results. Also, software cards have a lot of issues which eat up development time on hardware that is not really suitable for a htpc.

 

[ld9474]

I agree with you, but maybe i was misunderstood (english is not my mother tongue). The fact is what is the aim of MP? Is it to be always at the top and leave many users unsatisfied unless they change their hardware or be up to date even though some functionalities are not implemented and satisfy as much users as possible?
Concerning my problem, i'd like to thank you for your help and will try MP with an earlier version.

 

[Callifo]

Really, MP doesnt require any hardware upgrades at all, IF you build your box to the specifications. Software capture cards and dx8.1/dx7 video cards have never been on the the supported list so users buying them obviously havent read the requirements thoroughly enough.

Providing you meet these requirements, then there wont be any real future need for anymore upgrades (bar you wanting to of course). DX10 wont be used on anything but a Vista machine, and I cant see MP being adapted over that way anytime soon. Hell even my gaming machine doesnt get an upgrade every 6 months ;P

 

[ld9474]

Excellent then
I'm not a PC power user so i've never used to have powerfull PC and in fact, i don't want to. So as you say that nowadays specifications will last a while that sounds great. Thanks for all your answers.

 

[pigster]

Well, after all MP is GPL software right?
So if somebody wants SW Card support, he can make patch / modul and contribute. Thats how GPL works. If the program hasn't future you want. Make it. Contribute. And be happy

 

[ld9474]

Hi pigster,
though i can develop, my knowledge in TV programming is almost nothing and i do not have enough time to try to learn how to program a TV card. So i rely on those who are able to do such things. As a matter of fact, i am actually developping a plugin that will display ADSL TV Progs of the French ISP named Free. It will display all free channels through VideoLan.

 

[James]

See my post on this topic here:
http://nolanparty.com/mediaportal.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=72401#72401

/James