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Considering Switch: Vista MCE ->?????? (no flames, real issues)

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  vladd 
#1 ·
I have been using VistaMCE on my x2 4400/2GB/7800gtx/HDHomerun (QAM)->73736 DLP Mits for some time. It has served me well and I will not bash it. However, now that I have tried slimserver/duet etc the thought and simplicity of plugins, extensibility, itunes integration, non-dvrms formats is really apealling for a number of reasons.


I have been researching mediaportal and gbpvr. These are free (good) but mainly opensource wtih alot of apps.


this is what I want:


TV (in USA): Easy EPG setup (or at least doable) with HDHomerun adn QAM Comcast. My first attempts at GBPVR are disasters with yahoo tv or xmltv


Standard format. DVRMS ok (mediaportal) but just hte raw TS would be great


A DVRMSToolbox like plugin for comercial "detection" but not "cutting" so in case it is messed up


works with MCE remote


Music:


Integration wtih Itunes. I just want to see my itunes (non wth DRM) playlists, ratings etc, and play music!


Photos:


Would it not be GREAT if it read IPTC tags.... or EVEN Adobe Elements WITHOUT a cluncky and crashing app (VMC)


Cool plugins for youtube, netflix etc


Weather


Streaming stations


Launching of PC games with SOME automation (I do not want to write XML files)



So does this exist? The FIRST hurdle with GBPVR or mediaportal is the poor documentation on how/which is the "best/easiest" way to get good guid info for QAM viewing (HDHOMERUN and Vista MCE easy)


Anyway, please no flames. I have read the wikis. If a pay solution is good fine - but most seem NOT to have good guide, or QAM, or itunes integration.
 
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#2 ·
The HDHomeRun works just fine in GBPVR. Since you already have your channels remapped, all you need to do is add the HDHomeRun to your bda.ini file and then set it up and scan just like you would any other digital tuner. The instructions for adding the bda.ini entry are on the SiliconDust forums. If you have any trouble, post your device ID and I can give you the entry to add.


GBPVR also supports YouTube and there is a Netflix plugin available.
 
#3 ·
GBPVR will do a whole lot of stuff. More than MCE. For the most part, GBPVR and SageTV do similar stuff but GBPVR is free and Sage comes with an EPG. If you want the easy EPG way out with GBPVR, sign up for Schedules Direct for $20 a year. There is also a plugin that uses your MCE guide. Might be a bit annoying to setup, but once it's setup that should be it.


GBPVR does all the other stuff you listed except I'm not sure about games or Itunes or that specific thing for photos. I listen to internet radio on it but don't use it for mp3 files since I rarely listen to mp3 files.


I wouldn't bother with MediaPortal for TV. Just too unstable. Many people love it for things other than TV, but I'd say many/most would agree TV is not its strong suit. Some people use MediaPortal for everything else but use GBPVR as sort of a plugin for it for TV.


I, personally, don't see any big deal about using DVR-MS with GBPVR. The .ts is almost up to the stability/functionality of DVR-MS on it but not quite. Should be fine, but having full functionality with .ts is a fairly new thing and some people have some minor problems yet.


A main problem is some/most ATSC people can't record straight to mpeg due to it going out of sync. The Cyberlink mux has problems with ATSC and so does ATI mux. Some people have them work fine, others aren't so lucky. I record in DVR-MS/.ts since I'm not so lucky. Anything I want to archive I edit and convert manually anyway to make it perfect, so not recording straight to mpeg isn't a big deal to me.
 
#4 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheFranchise /forum/post/14327958


There is also a plugin that uses your MCE guide.

I can help with setting up that utility (since I'm the one who wrote it), but for ease of use I highly recommend Schedules Direct. The Yahoo EPG utility is good but the data stream from Yahoo is not entirely dependable.
 
#5 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by sjchmura /forum/post/14327261


Standard format. DVRMS ok (mediaportal) but just hte raw TS would be great

The mux filter you choose to use in GB-PVR dictates the type of file you end up with. The Microsoft DVR-MS mux will give you these .dvr-ms files, but you can use the "TS Mux" if you want .ts files.
 
#6 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by vladd /forum/post/14328098


I can help with setting up that utility (since I'm the one who wrote it),

lol, if I had known this was you, I would have said "the kickass-awesome" MCE EPG plugin.


Makes my Windows Media Center not be completely useless.



Shout-out to sub, too. Looks like he's running his TARDIS full-throttle as usual.
 
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