Below is something I wrote up to document what I have been through the last few days setting up my system. Perhaps it could become a sticky or added into the wiki. Comments are welcome. I think it is technically correct, but am open to changes for clarity. The word document is also attached.
DUMMIES GUIDE TO STARTING NPVR ON THE NMT ON A USB DRIVE, HAVING THE SERVER WAKE ON LAN, AND ADDING AN INDEX FILE TO MAKE IT EASIER TO LAUNCH INTO NPVR.
This is a guide to how I set up my system to meet the needs of my family. Everyone's needs are different, but this setup works well and is easy for my wife and kids to use.
Goals:
To start the PCH interface into NPVR with the push of a single button
To allow the NPVR server to sleep and have it wake up when the PCH is used.
Background:
I had a working PCH installation using a share to my Vista server. While this worked fine, I like to let my server (and all other PCs sleep) when not in use. Since I don't have an internal hard drive in the PCH, I chose to use a USB drive at the PCH to launch to NPVR.
My setup uses a PCH A100 without an internal hard drive.
My server is running Windows Vista
Prepare Server to allow it to wake on LAN activity: In Device Manager->network adapters, pick your network adapter and select power management tab. Check “allow this device to wake the computer” and “ only allow a magic packet to wake the computer” This will keep the computer from waking on basic LAN traffic but will allow a WOL packet to wake it up.
Install mvpmc to a USB stick:
Insert a USB stick that you will dedicate to the project in your NPVR server PC. Use the NMT Install 2 found here http://forums.gbpvr.com//showthread.php?47179. Select the USB drive and install to the stick. You will need the PCH MAC address that is found on the PCH setup screens. If you already have NPVR installed, you won't have to reinstall it so you can uncheck those boxes. More detailed installation information is found on the link above.
Test the installation:
Put the USB stick into the PCH and cycle power to the PCH. If all goes well, once the PCH loads, it will eventually switch over to the Start screen. You can navigate to the selection (files) on the far right and then find the mvpmc folder. In the folder select NPVR and you should get a start box. Choose start NPVR via USB from the list and it should connect to and start you in NPVR. Get this working before you attempt to do anything else.
Set up Wake On Lan to wake the Server from the PCH
Download the ether-wake file from here- http://www.mvpmc.org/~mvallevand/ether-wake.zip
Unzip the files into your mvpmc folder on your USB drive.
Insert the highlighted line below into the .cgi file. Replace the mac address shown with your mac address from LAN card on your server PC. You can find this address by typing ipconfig/ all from a dos prompt on your server PC.
echo "Telnetd started on port 23............";
fi /etc/mvpmc/ether-wake 00:00:00:00:00:00 <--- add this line
killall gaya
sh -c /etc/mvpmc/startmeup 2>/dev/null >/dev/null &
exit 0; Test the Wake on LAN
You can now put the USB drive back into the PCH and cycle power. Put the server PC into sleep mode, then start NPVR from the USB drive. The PC should start. If it does not, very that you have the MAC address correct in the line you added and that you have placed the ether-wake file in the mvpmc folder.
At this point, you should have a working system that will WOL when you launch NPVR. You can stop here, but to make it more user friendly, you can add a start script. This will allow you to launch into NPVR with a single button push after you turn the PCH on. This is done with an index.htm file.
Build an index.htm file
There are a variety of index files you can create. Many of these are discussed on the NPVR wiki here- http://www.nextpvr.com/nwiki/pmwiki.php?...t.NMT#toc3 . One of the easiest index files to create is to use editpad to copy the contents of the NPVR.html file into a new file named index.htm. Place this index file in the root of the USB drive. Now when you power up the PCH, it will automatically go to the launch screen without any additional navigation.
Hopefully this has helped to get you going. PLEASE remember to get your basic PCH configuration running smoothly first, before you try any advanced installations.
Hey guys, I'm setting up an NPVR client machine to my main NPVR box and I hit a small snag. It's an ultra-slim profile desktop and I don't have a riser card for it. That means I can't put my spare PVR-150 in it, which I would use only for the remote control interface.
Has anyone had any experience with this? Would this work with NPVR? It seems like a cheap and easy way to solve my issue, assuming this works with NPVR.
Any ideas?
Alternately, if there are any other remote kits that would work, or any other ideas for controlling this thing, that would be great. My only alternatives right now are to buy the Hauppague 950 usb stick with remote which is a waste since I only need the remote, a wireless keyboard/mouse combo (bluetooth?), or find a different machine that I can put a capture card in, which is still a waste since I only need the remote control... grr...
I have used GBPVR for many years with no problems.
However when I tried to use NPVR I found that around 30% of recordings failed.
The recorded files appear normal but when editing or viewing is tried the pictures are striped or pixelated and when I try to fix these I get Invalid File. Sometimes I get multiple resolutions indicated. The failed recordings are on PSB2 channel.
In general the files are much shorter than successful recordings - possibly indicating low resolution transmissions. (see attached screen grab).
I am using Caradon Hill transmitter which has HD transmission and have had to update my Sony TV to accept the BBC HD channel which switches between p and i every few seconds.
I wonder if ITV is obtaining extra bandwidth by switching the transmitted resolution?
I had hoped that the latest NPVR would solve the problem but it has made no difference.
I have reverted to using GBPVR 1.4.7 and now have no problems with completely trouble free recording (15 over the last two nights using a variety of channels with hibernation in between).
The problem seems to an incorrect header on the recorded file but until a fix is found I will continue using GBPVR.
NPVR's DTV works great now (after few hours of testing different settings). However, I haven't succeeded to give any life to the DVD playback function. When I select the DVD function, only a blank screen appears. Changing the decoders did not change anything.
Sometimes (not always) when I select "Stop", question about resuming playback appears just before the main menu is displayed. No such question is displayed before "Stop" is selected from the context menu.
In the log there is some Direct3D problem; however, DirectX has been updated as specified and graphics drivers are up-to-date. However, I think that it should not prevent DVD playback because DTV works without any problem.
I did not want to add too much new trash to the other thread, so I am starting this one. I tried restarting the server and also reinstalling mvpmcx2 using NMTInstall2. Both cases give me the same cannot find telnet error. This is both from run and dos prompts.
:confused:Situation: Running 2 Colossus on the same machine.
in settings/devices: the first card is activated and showing the present status
the second card is activated but is not showing the present status.
Live tv : Unable to find available card when selecting one of the applicable channel.
I've decided to finally give Universe and PlayOn a serious try. I'm just wondering if you have any thoughts on running the PlayOn server on the main NPVR box. How heavy is it? Does Universe have any problem connecting back to PlayOn on the same computer?
