Help smooth my transition from MythTV, questions inside

[goofygrin]

OK, got GBPVR up and running on a Windows 7 box and since I'm a long time MythTV user, I've got some differences that I'm trying to reconcile.

• Comm flagging. I think I need to install the commflagging plugin per the wiki, right?
  
• Season Recording, first runs only. I don't see an option for this? I searched and I found some less than definitive posts about it relating to the fact that outside the US this data isn't really available. I have some season recordings that will be "first showing only" (i.e. prime time shows) and others that won't be (i.e. PBS shows for my son). I use Schedules Direct as my EPG source.
  
• Setting up a season recording from the web interface. I've installed the EWA, but I just don't see a way to do this from this interface. I've likely missed something.
  
• Setting up EWA to run under IIS7 on Windows 7 is giving me issues with the web.config (it says that the entry removing the default web service handler for asmx files isn't allowed at this point?). I know, not enough info to go on... My wife is cool with using a web interface to manage/schedule recordings, but I hate remembering a port (I did reset it to an easier to remember port, so at least that worked ).
  
• I have 6 tuners (PVR 500 + 2 HDHomeRuns). They all are setup with the same EPG provider. Will GBPVR hit Schedules Direct 6 times, once for each source? Or is it smart enough to not do that?
  
• In the Guide, my HD channels seem to be blank and then pop in after 10 seconds or though.
  
• When watching live TV, channel changes on the same tuner are very fast (like instant, very cool). However, when I switch from an HD channel to an SD channel, all I get is a black screen. If I exit Live TV and get back in it's on the SD channel and it works fine and I can go to an HD channel just fine, but back to SD = black screen. I don't have speakers on this computer, so I don't know if it's just a video glitch and audio's still playing or what.
  
• When setting up a recording that will use a HDHomeRun (QAM) tuner, I get the option for quality. I searched and saw that most people think this is ignored for ts recordings. I just wanted to verify this because transcoding the recordings is something I want to avoid.
  

I'm sure there are more... but this is a good list to get started

I've posted on the NMT forum about my issues getting my NMTs to talk to the GBPVR server.

[sub]

OK, got GBPVR up and running on a Windows 7 box and since I'm a long time MythTV user, I've got some differences that I'm trying to reconcile.

• Comm flagging. I think I need to install the commflagging plugin per the wiki, right?

You'll need to download comskip.exe and put it in the gbpvr directory, then enable commercial detection in the config app.

• Season Recording, first runs only. I don't see an option for this? I searched and I found some less than definitive posts about it relating to the fact that outside the US this data isn't really available. I have some season recordings that will be "first showing only" (i.e. prime time shows) and others that won't be (i.e. PBS shows for my son). I use Schedules Direct as my EPG source.

Thats true. There is no built in support for 'first runs only', since the majority of the world does not have this information available. Some SchedulesDirect users get around this limitation using utilities (names escape me right now) that add a asterisk to the title of all first runs, that way they can schedule season recordings with the '*' to get first runs.

• Setting up a season recording from the web interface. I've installed the EWA, but I just don't see a way to do this from this interface. I've likely missed something.
  
• Setting up EWA to run under IIS7 on Windows 7 is giving me issues with the web.config (it says that the entry removing the default web service handler for asmx files isn't allowed at this point?). I know, not enough info to go on... My wife is cool with using a web interface to manage/schedule recordings, but I hate remembering a port (I did reset it to an easier to remember port, so at least that worked ).

Sorry, I dont use EWA, and I'm not very familir with its use.

• I have 6 tuners (PVR 500 + 2 HDHomeRuns). They all are setup with the same EPG provider. Will GBPVR hit Schedules Direct 6 times, once for each source? Or is it smart enough to not do that?

No, it'll only go once.

• In the Guide, my HD channels seem to be blank and then pop in after 10 seconds or though.

What do you mean?

• When watching live TV, channel changes on the same tuner are very fast (like instant, very cool). However, when I switch from an HD channel to an SD channel, all I get is a black screen. If I exit Live TV and get back in it's on the SD channel and it works fine and I can go to an HD channel just fine, but back to SD = black screen. I don't have speakers on this computer, so I don't know if it's just a video glitch and audio's still playing or what.

Post the logs and I'll take a look.

• When setting up a recording that will use a HDHomeRun (QAM) tuner, I get the option for quality. I searched and saw that most people think this is ignored for ts recordings. I just wanted to verify this because transcoding the recordings is something I want to avoid.
  

The quality setting only applies to analog recordings. The app will not even show the quality setting unless you have an analog capture source set up. Digital recordings capture the original broadcast bit stream with no manipulation.

[mvallevand]

[*]In the Guide, my HD channels seem to be blank and then pop in after 10 seconds or though.

There is an index change to speed up loading large EPG's which I think is included in 1.4.x

Martin

[Deusxmachina]

[*]Setting up a season recording from the web interface. I've installed the EWA, but I just don't see a way to do this from this interface. I've likely missed something..

Unless I don't have the newest version and something changed, just click on the show in the guide, and the record options should be there for "record every day" with "every time slot" and all that. That's how I do it, anyway. There should be various recording options there. I generally do all my guide programming through the EWA since I'm usually at a non-HTPC computer.

Btw, imagine my surprise when I noticed a different but popular PVR software doesn't have anything like that. Nor being able to use an MVP or Popcorn Hour, nor being able to.... :p

[dennit]

[*]In the Guide, my HD channels seem to be blank and then pop in after 10 seconds or though.

This sounds like an SQL EPG load time issue. Look here for a trick to speed this up. From the post above, it sounds like this additional index will be added to the next version.

[goofygrin]

This sounds like an SQL EPG load time issue. Look here for a trick to speed this up. From the post above, it sounds like this additional index will be added to the next version.

OK I'll try the SQL update. I don't mind getting my hands dirty to make it work (C#/ASP.NET developer by day, python by night).

Unless I don't have the newest version and something changed, just click on the show in the guide, and the record options should be there for "record every day" with "every time slot" and all that. That's how I do it, anyway. There should be various recording options there. I generally do all my guide programming through the EWA since I'm usually at a non-HTPC computer.

I tend to do the same (setup through the browser) since it's faster. I saw those options, but I wish they were more "friendly" (and I'm not saying that Myth is friendly). I'm thinking more like the regular app where you can explicitly say "Season Recording" (or even better the "record button twice" like is some other DVRs).

Btw, imagine my surprise when I noticed a different but popular PVR software doesn't have anything like that. Nor being able to use an MVP or Popcorn Hour, nor being able to.... :p

I had Myth and my NMT working together

[sub]

I had Myth and my NMT working together

Ah, but did it have the normal MythTV UI?

[goofygrin]

No, but I wouldn't necessarily call that a bad thing

No live TV though, and that's what I'm really gunning for on the NMT.

[mvallevand]

No, but I wouldn't necessarily call that a bad thing

No live TV though, and that's what I'm really gunning for on the NMT.

I've used a few of the NMT interfaces and while the web interface is ok it doesn't correct the underlying problem the NMT has with mpeg files that sub and I have for the most part worked around.

Martin