Decided to go the VMC route for now. A few answers please!?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Decided to go the VMC route for now. A few answers please!?

Asmodeus

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#26916 7-Oct-2008 11:58

Hey guys,

Just built my new HTPC (waiting only on the Blackgold tv card now) and am wanting to set it up from a clean install soon, after a bit more tinkering/practicing. Ive decided I want to use VMC due to the interface, high WAF, etc. Will be using it for tv/music/pics/xvids/gaming/news/weather etc. I think that the best way to proceed currently is to use freeview dvb-s via way of dvbsbridge and sky via s-video in (will prob migrate to smartcard reader option when have time and a stable method is found). If someone has a better solution, plz do tell.

The main questions I have are:

1) Should I bother doing the tv pack update as this seems to be rife with issues and from what I can see not a huge help for NZ users? Should I just stick with "pre-fiji vmc"?

2) Which version of dvbs-bridge (dvbviewer, progdvb, etc) would be best (and therefore which other app should I buy)?

3) Is there a good walkthrough/setup guide for dvbsbridge -> vmc?

4) Is there a good guide to getting NZ dvb-s freeview working with vmc via this route? A guide to getting the s-video stuff working well woudl also be good...

5) Can the MCE remotes with IR blasters currently be purchased in NZ? I see alot being sold without the blasters...

Sorry for all the questions, hoping someone out there will have some quick answers. Not wanting an essay from you guys lol, just a nod in the right direction as Im sure this stuff is all laid out somewhere, just having a bit of trouble finding some of it.

Thanks again in advance

Asmodeus

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#169554 7-Oct-2008 12:42

Also, if you think Im making a mistake going this route, lol, please try to convince me :)

Quidam

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#169559 7-Oct-2008 12:49

Well Mediaportal RC3 is very close to being released.

You might want to give it a try before deciding?

ps. I might be wrong, but I'm sure I heard that TV Pack will give you dual tuner support in VMC -I assume meaning you can record 1 channel and watch the other etc..

"There is no way to Peace -Peace is the Way" (A. J. Muste)

Disrespective

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#169629 7-Oct-2008 18:17

Sorry i'm not much help on any of the questions, but i'd much appreciate the answers too if someone was kind enough to help.

I'm currently waiting for Mediaportal RC3 to be released before i do an HTPC rebuild with both VMC and MP installed to compare with.

Asmodeus

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#169677 7-Oct-2008 20:25

Right, guess I will check out MP RC3 too but am keen to give this a go.

I think Im sweet for questions 2, 3 & 4 (will use progdvb, will try use the instructions from that site first, found Rusty Gonads freeview/vmc thread)

So, just 1 & 5 then. I assume that tv pack being installed changes rustys' instructions for setting up freeview though?

And where to find an IR blaster?!

Regs

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Snowflake

#169740 8-Oct-2008 00:19

1) i think the main probs with the tv pack were in the dvbt h.264 area. you might be ok with the dvbs - i dont seem to have problems, but i'm still not running vmc full time...

2, 3) dunno about the blackgold tuners but you can get the hauppauge tuners to work in VMC without dvsbridge (freeview only)

5) a hauppauge blaster shown here: http://bdt.co.nz/computer/product.aspx?item=4613162 not sure if anyone has the Microsoft ones at the moment

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Asmodeus

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#169800 8-Oct-2008 10:02

Regs: 1) i think the main probs with the tv pack were in the dvbt h.264 area. you might be ok with the dvbs - i dont seem to have problems, but i'm still not running vmc full time...

2, 3) dunno about the blackgold tuners but you can get the hauppauge tuners to work in VMC without dvsbridge (freeview only)

5) a hauppauge blaster shown here: http://bdt.co.nz/computer/product.aspx?item=4613162 not sure if anyone has the Microsoft ones at the moment

Thanks Regs

So tvpack has enabled native dvb-s tuning in vmc, and this is what you have done? This is good newws, I guess this will save me from tinkering with dvbsbridge etc. Will give it a go

IS the hauppauge blaster fully compatible with everything the MS one does? Does it control media centre for non-tv related features? Don't suppose I can use my imon remote with it can I?

Cheers

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Nety

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#169805 8-Oct-2008 10:09

Sorry but I would say if you want to use the media centre for recording then stay way from the TV pack. Currently there is an issue with the way our epg data is formatted which means that recordings do not work. Hopefully there will be a fix for this soon but in the mean time I would say go for the tried and proven methods.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

trig42

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#170526 10-Oct-2008 21:53

It works sweet with the TVPack and DVB-S for WATCHING TV. Recordings off the guide are a nightmare, and don't work (scheduled manual recordings work fine). I haven't tried running Sky through it on S-Video, but don't imagine it would be a hassle.
I have a Hauppauge MCE remote and blaster - it is Vista certified so works all the functions of the MS one.