MVP Help

[possum]

Alright everybody. I've been reading thread after thread about setting up the MVPs and so far I'm still lost. I have analog cable running into a Hauppauge PVR150 in my eMachines computer using an ATI 9250 for the Svideo out to my TV. This box has been serving as my cable box for quite some time and I LOVE IT. I'm moving into a new house that has a finished basement with a bar and all that so I thought having the benefits of GBPVR down there would be mighty nice as well as in the living room. Now, to set this up I know obviously I'm going to need another machine. Thats the easy part. Now, heres the questions:

1) Will I need a TV turner in my client in order to view live TV even if the server tuner is idle?

2) Is there a way to control GBPVR from a distance with a remote control without using the IR remote of the PVR150(maybe a windows remote could control PVR, maybe there's another solution)?

3) If I do in fact use a tuner card in the client for Live TV(if necessary), or for the remote function(if necessary), can the server that holds the recordings take advantage of this tuner should it be idle?

I hear everyone say that MVP is the way to go, but it seems a little bit silly to me if you need another tuner in the client to view Live TV and to get remote function. Most people who visit my current home don't even know that I'm on a PC based PVR until i window it to do a google search at the same time. I love it. Let me know what the story is, or if any of you have suggestions concerning my setup(other than a HD projector and 16 harmon kardon speakers)

Thanks guys!
-possum

[Mr. Camaro]

I'll try to answer your questions about the MVP.

So you want to have GBPVR in the basement. If you get an MVP (There is a wired version and a wireless version) you just need to hook it to your network. Then go into your config in GBPVR on the MVP tab and set it to autostart one server. Then plug in your MVP and let it boot up and load the dongle.

Your done. Now you can see everything on your TV in the basement just like you were on the other TV upstairs. The MVP comes with a remote so you will use that to control everything in the basement.

Now if you want to watch something in the basement while someone else is watching something on the main machine, you will need another capture card. If you are only going to be watching one TV at a time you won't need this.

Hope that answers the question. If you have another question let me know.

[cginzel]

Just some minor clarification... "Now if you want to watch something in the basement while someone else is watching something on the main machine, you will need another capture card." only when two users want to watch live TV at the same time. One capture card is fine if you are mostly just watching recorded shows.

[possum]

So if I'm understanding this correctly, an MVP is only like a special set-top box. Its not a computer that functions as one. I was on the understanding that the MVP was(or at least COULD BE) another PC. I like having the PC because it allows playing games, surfing the internet, etc. The MVP I would purchase wouldn't come with GBPVR software(as far as I know). Do you load the software from remote, or use the server to configure the client's paths and use a different interface to watch? I'm so confused...

-possum

[soccerdad]

I think you are making much more of this then it really is. Hang in there. The MVP is really just a remote interface so you can watch AND control stuff that is on your computer. If you are using your PC with GBPVR today, you already have everything you need to make the MVP work, except the MVP box, and some network cables. You do not need any additional software. Your current GBPVR already has it installed. You only have to start a recording service (just set it to 1 in Config) and when you turn on your MVP, the MVP sniffs your network looking for a program, then your computer will send the MVP a dongle, which is just a small program, and you will magically have the GBPVR interface on your remote TV. You can do almost anything from this satelite that you can do on the PC, except maybe run DVD's without transcoding.

You can watch recorded shows, listen to music, look at pictures,and almost anything the plugin folks come up with through the MVP. And you can do this while you are watching a different show on your PC. If you want live TV, you can use a tuner off GBPVR if you have it available (not in use on the PC) or add another tuner, or watch it off a cable feed through the TV's tuner (which is what I usually do).

You can't surf the web off the MVP, but you can see web pages with a plugin.

You can also schedule shows, delete them, etc through the MVP.

You can have a bunch of them on one system and they don't take much horsepower to run.

I hope this helps. I think it is a great little device that make remote use of GBPVR a snap. Keep posting questions and we can help.

[Mr. Camaro]

http://www.snapstream.com/Community/articles/mediamvp/

Take a look at this. It shows you a picture of the MVP and how it is hooked up. As you can see the MVP comes with some of its own software that you could use to play music or look at some pictures. However when you use this with GBPVR you will see the GBPVR interface that you see on the computer now.

At the bottom of this article it talks about using the MVP with SnapStream Beyond TV 3. In this case instead of SnapStream you will be using GBPVR.

If you have more questions keep asking, I know there is a lot to learn. It took me awhile to get mine going.

[UncleJohnsBand]

If you were planning on getting a PC for the basement then you could consider using the PC Client mode of GBPVR (just released in the last release) to access everything GBPVR has to offer.

MVP's are great.....but they still are not as rich as the native PC based GBPVR.

[Mr. Camaro]

MVP's are great.....but they still are not as rich as the native PC based GBPVR.

Also when navigating the menus of GBPVR using the MVP's remote the response will be a little sluggish compared with a remote used directly connected to the PC. This is due to the fact that everything is passing through the network.

Watching DVD's is also not possible unless you transcode them first.

My MVP also occasionally loses its connection and you have to wait a minute for it to connect back up. Reading the forums this seems to be fairly common.

All in all though, the MVP serves its purpose. In fact, one plus that is not usually mentioned is you could use it on a TV that does not have a cable jack near it. Since all the video is coming through the network you only need a network connection nearby. Better yet use the wireless MVP, then you only need power nearby!

[possum]

It sounds like my best bet would be to use a PC in client mode. I would really like to be able to surf the web and also play video games in the basement too. I understand the whole MVP concept now(thanks to your help). I think it would be a lot cheaper to drive the MVP road but as long as I'm considering an upgrade, why not treat myself? A simple question about the PC client mode(and I know its a new thing): If I have a single tuner in my server and no more PCI slots, can I add a tuner card to my client and have my server take advantage of both of them? Or should I be looking for my next PC to have an extra PCI slot so I can use more than one PCI slot for tuner cards without trashing my PVR150 and going up to a PVR500?