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chiefie

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#5310 18-Oct-2005 15:45
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Okay. so over the weekend at Harvey Norman store. My partner and I went down for a nosey and in the end, we walked away with a huge purchase...

first. we got the philips's 32 lcd screen with HDMI and AmbiLight and PixelPlus2, $4999!

secondly. we decided to replace most of our gadgets and devices that we are using with Windows Media Center... so this mean Dell PC, Sony HDD-DVD, Sony Home Theatre System are gone... in with HP's M7199a, $4299 (oh and it comes with hp 21" WS monitor!!! 1680x1050 droools!)

Then we squeeze them for a deal on chucking in a Microsoft Media Center wireless keyboard remote controller, priced at $199.

Then we found out that they overcharged us for $200, so we got ourselves 2x Logitech wireless Xbox controller and a MadCatz wireless PS2 controller, shame they ran out of stock for the wireless PS2 controller... in the end, we added another $50 for the excess.


HOWEVER! not all things have good ending... we took our LCD home and put it on, and was greeted to a big screen and all joy! When we put it on the stand, we noticed the locking screws are hard to bolt in. And I also noticed one of the screen on the backpanel is skewed. (BAD SIGN!) Anyhow, we proceeding with the installation. surely enough, the display is funked! got the sound, but not display, not even the menu!

So on monday, we took it back... good thing though, our 21" monitor is great! :-)

Our HP MCE system wont be here till perhaps tomorrow or thursday as they need to courier it in from Dunedin. (finger crossed hope it is all good!)




We are also looking at getting the Logitech Z5500 Digital speaker to replace our Sony's DVD Home Theatre, and utilising MCE as our media box/receiver...





Now, questions...
1) I still can't find relevant information on how to get NZ's EPG for MCE 2005. i went to thegreenbutton.com/ but still don't find any good info about it.


2) i also read from thegreenbutton.com/ that you need to use 3rd party plug in to creat DVD-video archive of the recorded programmes... what is good out there?


3) how to filter/edit/cut out commercial from DVR-MS? plug in and tools, please suggest!


4) Is MCE a "home" or "pro"? I read that it is a variant of "pro" but without the ability to join domain, is this true?


5) I need suggestion how i should configure/connect my gadgets together... I have a few plan and idea but i like to hear a few other views/ideas.

Philips LCD TV:
AV1: Composite, S-Video, Component, Audio L/R
AV2: Composite, S-Video, Component, Component+H/V, Audio L/R
AV3: HDMI (DVI), Audio L/R
Side: Composite, S-Video, Audio L/R
Monitor Out: Composite, Audio L/R

HP MCE:
AV1: Composite, S-Video, Audio L/R
AV2: Composite, S-Video, Audio L/R
Common: SPDIF In, SPDIF Out, 6.1 Analog Out, Line In, Composite, S-Video

XBox: Composite+Audio (possibly looking at getting Advanced AV Kit)

PS2: Composite+Audio, SPDIF Out (possibly looking at getting optical cable)

TelstraClear Saturn Digital TV: 2x Composite+Audio

Joytech AV switcher (4x in, 1x out: Composite+Audio, S-Video, SCART, SPDIF)

Sony DVD Home Theare (for the time being until Logitech Z5500 Digital)
AV1: Composite+Audio (in and out)
AV2: Composite+Audio, SPDIF
DVD out: Component-Out, S-Video
monitor out: Composite (and S-Video i believe)

Logitech Z5500 Digital (DTS decoding):
Analog: 6.1 direct in OR 3x stereo in
Digital: SPDIF in, Coaxial In


mmmmm I would like to keep the connections as simple as possible.



Hope you guys have as much fun as i am planning the connections! LOL

(if you think this is fun! wait till i have to rearrange the power cable arrangement this coming weekend!)





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freitasm
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#21681 18-Oct-2005 16:02
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The only thing I can say is the Windows XP MCE is Pro, with a funky UI and few add-ons.

As for the local EPG, there are a couple of people that managed this, don't know if they read Geekzone or not, but will try to find out.





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jpwise
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#21691 18-Oct-2005 23:56
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Looks to be some information at:

http://www.epgrunner.net/site/294/default.aspx#NewZealand

and also:

http://mr.geek.nz/epg/
http://mr.geek.nz/category/epg/

Jp.




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Authorised Service Agent for Apple, BenQ, Sony, and Toshiba - warranty & non-warranty repairs.


chiefie

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#21709 19-Oct-2005 09:30
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Cheerios JPwise... do you use MCE too?

I did check those sites out (lastnight) but still kinda blurred about it or more specifically, which one to use...



And also, i won't be running normal OTA broadcast, and will use video-input from my telstraclear digital decoder in to MCE... so my set up may be different... now, if only there is a way to "extract" EPG data from the digital decoder/cable modem (as the technician told me the main purpose of the modem is to receive/request EPG and PPV info)




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jpwise
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#21713 19-Oct-2005 10:05
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Nope, but the post caught my attention so I did some digging.

From what I can tell you'll need to install EPGRunner on the unit, then configure it for TER (Free to Air VHF/UHF), or SKY (Sky TV). I believe EPGRunner is grabbing it's data from mr.geek.nz as it's EPG source anyway, but that's just from what I can tell reading into it.

There isn't an option for Saturn Cable (assuming you're meaning cable tv by TelstraClear), but I expect that should just be a matter of time until it's added to the EPG data as an option.

AFAIK there isn't any EPG data transmitted as part of the cable signal, but it's been a while since i had cable TV. Last status I knew was that the only Program Guide information they had was the channel that scrolled the listings (and used to run on a mac which was quite funny when the listing crashed one day and it just showed the desktop. ;)

I'd give EPGRunner a go and see what you find. You should at least be able to get the Free To Air stuff going. Assuming you're online 24/7.

Jp.




Working for Service Plus - www.serviceplus.co.nz

Authorised Service Agent for Apple, BenQ, Sony, and Toshiba - warranty & non-warranty repairs.


chiefie

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#21715 19-Oct-2005 10:14
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Thanks again JPWise.

The programme guide channel is still available on TelstraClear TV (analog) however i've upgraded to TelstraClear Digital TV service and it is essentially a cabled version of SkyTV. But once 5th December comes, TelstraClear Digital TV and its decoding unit will be few years behind of SkyTV's MySky PVR... shame....



Anyhow, i guess with my setting i can use "SkyTV" setting on EPGRunner. One thing that i don't understand clearly yet is, does EPGRunner automatically get its XMLTV feed from mr.geek.nz? or do i have a choice/options to use other XMLTV feed?




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jpwise
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#21717 19-Oct-2005 10:30
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Hrm.. I do so hate it when firefox decides to refresh the page instead of just selecting it. screws up everything i've already written.

Quick summary of the post that disappeared.

Yes, looks like you can select other sources. Have a look at these links:
http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?forumid=41&messageid=90599
http://www.nerdthings.com/forum_viewtopic.php?4.625

There's also an option in epgrunner to change the channel mapping, which should get you around any channel number differences between cable & sky.

Jp.




Working for Service Plus - www.serviceplus.co.nz

Authorised Service Agent for Apple, BenQ, Sony, and Toshiba - warranty & non-warranty repairs.


chiefie

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#21719 19-Oct-2005 10:47
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i don't suppose that MCE can be taught to switch channel on Cable box via its IR-blaster/extension eh?




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jpwise
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#21721 19-Oct-2005 10:53
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Heh, I was wondering how long before that came up as an issue. :p It's nice to be able to get the program listings, but if you can't change the channel it makes programming it to record a bit pointless. :/

What make/model are the Saturn Digital decoders they're using?




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chiefie

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#21724 19-Oct-2005 12:06
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check the link here




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jpwise
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#21729 19-Oct-2005 12:43
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Not 100% certain on the Ir Blaster side, but you could give the MS thingi a go:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mce/expert/bowman_dualtuners.mspx

Has a pretty straightforward set of steps for programming it in. Also it appears the StarHub PVR is a slightly modified/rebranded version of the ADB3000 STB. So if the above doesn't work, then it's be worth keeping an eye out for drivers/mods that support the StarHub as they'll probably work on the ADB3000 aswell.

Jp.




Working for Service Plus - www.serviceplus.co.nz

Authorised Service Agent for Apple, BenQ, Sony, and Toshiba - warranty & non-warranty repairs.


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