EGreat M34A Client
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2009-10-06, 03:14 AM
To avoid any confusion, I saw a post about the new EGreat EG-R1 http://www.egreatworld.com/en/ProductShow.asp?ID=173 and although it looks a lot like the EG-M34a it is not an NMT and it will not run mvpmcx2. Add it to the list of about 10 low-priced Realtek players that are available.
Martin
2009-10-09, 11:18 AM
OK - complete Newbie (to GBPVR) ! I have an eGreat M34A and a dedicated HTPC (on Visa/Win7 dual boot) currently running DVBViewer/Recording Service and somewhat struggling. I am tempted to tear all that up and start again with GB-PVR but would like some head patting to tell me this will be a good move!? In particular, I need to know:
1) Do I need to add an HDD to the M34A? Can I make this a USB drive? (I have one handy!) 2) Will I get live TV - particularly BBC HD from FreeSat? 3) Would GB-PVR work best with a Vista or Win7 host OS? 4) Will my wife be able to work it? (main problem with current set-up!) please go gently on an old fart!!
2009-10-09, 12:18 PM
PerryM Wrote:OK - complete Newbie (to GBPVR) ! I have an eGreat M34A and a dedicated HTPC (on Visa/Win7 dual boot) currently running DVBViewer/Recording Service and somewhat struggling. I am tempted to tear all that up and start again with GB-PVR but would like some head patting to tell me this will be a good move!? In particular, I need to know: I'll let other GBPVR users answer the quality questions Quote:1) Do I need to add an HDD to the M34A? Can I make this a USB drive? (I have one handy!) You can use USB but I prefer running from a share Quote:2) Will I get live TV - particularly BBC HD from FreeSat? Yes with the appropriate capture cards. Quote:3) Would GB-PVR work best with a Vista or Win7 host OS?I have used Vista for 2 year with 2GB of RAM with no problem. Win7 would be better buying new, but I wouldn't upgrade just for better GBPVR performance. Martin
2009-10-09, 02:31 PM
PerryM Wrote:1) Do I need to add an HDD to the M34A? Can I make this a USB drive? (I have one handy!) There is no need for one. (I'm saying that as a PCH user rather than an eGreat user - t'other Martins answer has more authority. Quote:2) Will I get live TV - particularly BBC HD from FreeSat? With a DVB-S tuner, then yes. Let us know which tuner you use and you will get replies on how easy it is to set up all channels. Quote:3) Would GB-PVR work best with a Vista or Win7 host OS? Either AFAIK. Quote:4) Will my wife be able to work it? (main problem with current set-up!) That is a dangerous question to both ask and answer. I have used DVBViewer and for scanning channels I think it is a little better than gbpvr as it stands at the moment - although this only has to be done at extended intervals. I get my EPG from the Radio Times via Birtles XMLTV software (all free) and this gives 2 weeks EPG. I would say navigating around gbpvr both on a PC and the media extender (they both appear identical) is quite simple and easily got used to. Although we are all biased on here, I'd certainly say spend a couple of hours installing and configuring it to give it a go. Playing BBC HD on the server or PC client requires an H.264/AVC codec but the eGreat just plays it fine. Any questions, just ask, friendly folk on here. Martin
2009-10-10, 04:05 PM
Thanks folks, but perhaps I should have been more specific:
1) The eGreat has NO HDD, so do I have to add one to install software on this end? It has an eSATA port but I have a suitable USB drive if this will work. 2) I know my tuner card works fine on FreeSat (inc BBC HD). I just want some reassurance that using the eGreat as a client on GBPVR will work fine on live tv. This actually works fine at the moment with DVBViewer. (it is watching recordings that currently give me grief, they work fine in Network Explore but not in DVBViewer!) 3) Let's take my wife out of the equation! cheers Perry
2009-10-10, 04:24 PM
PerryM Wrote:Thanks folks, but perhaps I should have been more specific: 1. No Hard Disk or USB Drive is required. You can run from a share. My suggestion is to spend an hour install GBPVR without mapping the card an play some of your DVBViewer captures then decide 2. You weren't specific enough since you didn't mention the capture device. Digital capture are all the same though so they should play. 3. Impossible. Martin
2009-10-10, 05:58 PM
I think I was down a different alley! I was looking at the feedback for the MVPMCX2 gizmo which I understood works with GBPVR and I assumed was installed at the NMT end? I now see that this is not essential but I would appreciate any comments on it.
2009-10-10, 06:20 PM
PerryM Wrote:I think I was down a different alley! I was looking at the feedback for the MVPMCX2 gizmo which I understood works with GBPVR and I assumed was installed at the NMT end? I now see that this is not essential but I would appreciate any comments on it. Provided your sat tuner is supported and works with gbpvr then live tv is no problem with BBC HD and a PCH or compatible. (the old dear is watching 'strictly' in HD as I type this in peace. mvpmcx2 is just a piece of software (dare I say just ??!!) that runs on the media device to bring the gbpvr interface to the media extender. The only requirement for it is that it is loaded when the device starts up. This can be from a network share, or a drive (internal, external, flash stick) on the device. Probably the easiest to get going and most supported is the share method and Martin has written install tools for this (and the whole lot in fact). I found that reading about it before doing it was a mistake as there is too much information about that without it in front of you adds to the confusion !!.
2009-10-10, 08:46 PM
I think the two Martin's have covered all this in their messages but as a fellow M34a user I just thought I would add my 2c worth.
My M34a doesn't have a HDD or USB stick attached & is running GB-PVR really well with TOTALLY BRILLIANT WAF (wife approval factor), to the stage now that when she couldn't use it recently for one night (for the life of me I can't remember what went wrong that night, nothing major I'm sure) I got complaints about the number of add's & not being able to skip them & the rubbish programs on at night. When I first setup GB quite a number of years ago live TV was one of the things right up near the top of my list of "has to work well" but these day's we don't watch ANY live TV at all, including the five+ hour motor race I plan to watch this afternoon, I have already setup a number of recordings for it so I can start watching an hour or so after the race starts & skip the add's when I get to them, better than live TV any day  As for feeding GB-PVR to your M34a, like all Windows things there are a number of different way this can be done, the most common is to have mvpmcx2 & it's related files in a shared directory/folder (share) on your server & the NMT loads them from there at startup. The NMT install program that Martin wrote mostly takes care of this for you, by making the directory, giving it correct access privileges & adding all the necessary files with correct network addresses & names etc. So like Martin said I would recommend you just set it up & give it a go then you can make up your own mind. Don't hesitate to ask more questions, this forum has a lot of people who are ready & willing to help answer your questions & also if you run into any problems.
2009-10-10, 08:57 PM
I'd agree with Jaggy about Live TV. we hardly watch any now. After some time and judicious use of season recordings over a period of time, gbpvr just picks up things we like to watch. A scan of the Saturday paper with the weeks highlights to see if anything else worth watching is coming and to be tagged and that's it. The broadcasters can keep their crap evening viewing - we'll watch what we want.
If we miss something, the iPlayer plugin hoovers it up 
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