What happened to GBPVR?

[astradtn]

This used to be a fantastic program that I could reliably use to manage my television watching, but over the past several releases, it has deteriorated to the point where I can't even use it now. It doesn't record properly anymore, the fast forward, rewind and pause buttons completely don't work, and it crashes constantly. What happened? I think too much time is being put into useless "features" such as the PC Client, and not enough time is being spent on testing the product before it's released. Thanks to the well established policy of not hosting older versions, I can't even go back to the .96 series, that at least reliably recorded programs. Because of this program, I spent a lot of money on PVR equipment which is mostly useless without this program.

My complaints summarized:
1) If the recording service isn't restarted at least once a day, it may not record shows, or claim that all of the tuners are in use. The log says something about writing to protected memory. My VCR never caused me to miss my favorite show due to a programmer error.

2) The fast forward/rewind/pause buttons don't do anything on the MVP anymore. They used to work fine. Now, if you try to use them, the whole thing locks up and crashes.

3) Periodically, the program will claim that there are no tuners available, when there clearly are. I have 3 tuners, and there is nothing worth recording at 9 am.

4) The MVP interface seems to crash a lot, and periodically has a very noticeable lag between button press and response.

My setup is: Dedicated GBPVR server with a PVR500 and PVR350, currently GBPVR 98.13, and 2 MVP clients. The server runs nothing else but a VNC server. It is an AMD 1800+ with 512MB RAM.

There was another PVR software that I tried once, and it worked great, I don't remember what it was called, but I do remember that it was unreasonably expensive. It had a great MVP interface, and 0 lag time. I think it was something like $150 though, and that seems a bit much. If I can't find one of the older versions of this program that actually worked around my computer, I might just have to shell out the cash for the superior program.

[86atc250r]

Sounds like you are having a config or system problem.

I've been using GBPVR for over a year now and update to each latest release as they become available & have not experienced the problems you are complaining about.

Before claiming the software the problem and posting an angry message here, you might want to verify it's not something on your end and asking questions in a more reasonable manner.

[Brian_W]

Why not post regarding the problems so everyone can help you fix them instead of just saying the software is junk. I have had 98.13 running since it came out with only a couple of minor problems. It's understandable that running programs like this can be frustrating when things don't work right, but the group of people here are some of the most helpful I have ever seen on a forum board, and a great asset to helping people that are having problems.

Brian

[stefan]

You never told us whether you stopped using the non-supported vista? If you would have posted your problems here, one at a time and in the recommended fashion, I'm sure sub would fix any bugs you have discovered.

If I can't find one of the older versions of this program that actually worked around my computer, I might just have to shell out the cash for the superior program.

*cough* I'm quite positive I know what sub thinks of this

[skippy_nz]

have you posted your logs showing your issues so people here can help you ? i gotta agree with the other guys - the support here is fantastic. perhaps it would have been wise to keep a copy of the installers so if you have issues with an upgrade you could go back to the previous release... i know i have a few back (not that ive needed to or intend to use them)

[narkuma]

2) The fast forward/rewind/pause buttons don't do anything on the MVP anymore. They used to work fine. Now, if you try to use them, the whole thing locks up and crashes.

I guess sub has posted a fix for this in his thread "98.13 survival guide" on top of this forum.

[congenictv]

I think too much time is being put into useless "features" such as the PC Client, and not enough time is being spent on testing the product before it's released.

I find that feature to be very useful. New releases do undergo testing before it's released. How can you possibly test it on every configuration before its released? I'd rather have a new release to try out for myself.

Thanks to the well established policy of not hosting older versions, I can't even go back to the .96 series, that at least reliably recorded programs.

Since you know it's such a well established policy, I find it unusual that you don't keep a backup copy of the older gbpvr versions before you upgrade.
It's also not a secret that you can request for an older version and someone usually PM's you back offering to send you the file.

Because of this program, I spent a lot of money on PVR equipment which is mostly useless without this program.

I wish companies like Hauppauge would read this and give sub a share of their profits.

My complaints summarized:

If you have a problem, search the forums to see if there's an answer. Otherwise, post a thread with log files or screenshots and ask for help.
You of all people have experienced sub's amazing response time. Your questions were answered within minutes by sub! Try getting that support with other programs.

There was another PVR software that I tried once, and it worked great, I don't remember what it was called, but I do remember that it was unreasonably expensive.

What's reasonable, free? And whatever amount you come up with, did you donate that amount or even a fraction of it to Sub to support gbpvr?

I might just have to shell out the cash for the superior program.

You spent allllll that money on your PVR hardware, why not pay a fraction of what you spent on hardware for software?

I forgot which user has the links to all the messages where sub mentions that he is but one person who handles the development, testing and support for this program. He not only has to juggle his time working on gbpvr, but he also holds a full time job and has to spend time with his young family.

I don't think you will find anyone here that will hold you back from going out and buying a PVR program. All the best to you.

The way I see it, you can quit the whining and help improve gbpvr by 1) donating money to the project so sub can devote more time to it or 2) report your problems and provide information so sub can diagnose and hopefully fix the problem.

[dneprrider]

There was another PVR software that I tried once, and it worked great, I don't remember what it was called, but I do remember that it was unreasonably expensive. It had a great MVP interface, and 0 lag time. I think it was something like $150 though, and that seems a bit much. If I can't find one of the older versions of this program that actually worked around my computer, I might just have to shell out the cash for the superior program.

I just had to say this after reading the above. I'd love to try and help someone who asks for help. Otherwise spend the $150 and take the negative attitude elsewhere. This is a forum for advice and learning.

[sub]

I was initially just going to tell you to fuck off, but decided to reply more constructively.

This used to be a fantastic program that I could reliably use to manage my television watching, but over the past several releases, it has deteriorated to the point where I can't even use it now. It doesn't record properly anymore, the fast forward, rewind and pause buttons completely don't work, and it crashes constantly. What happened?

There is always someone that thinks the last release was better than the current one. Thats clearly not the case, GB-PVR is sooo much better than it was even a year ago.

The initial v0.97 builds were small step backwards in terms of stability from v0.96. This is because specific release underwent some massive changes moving to .net 2.0, and introducing a new database abstraction layer. v0.98 resolved these issues.

I honestly believe v0.98 has been the best, most reliable version we've ever had.

I think too much time is being put into useless "features" such as the PC Client, and not enough time is being spent on testing the product before it's released.

So are you offering to personally test each release to make sure its ready for the public? If so, then I'll happily take you up on the offer.

I have a pool of about 20 people that have access to pre-releases. They're a great help, but lets be honest - testing GB-PVR is not their job, so they're often only interested in testing problems that have affected them in the past, or bugs they encounter in their day to day use of these pre-release versions. I'm cool with this, and thats all I'd expect.

I try to focus my testing efforts in those areas they're less likely to test, but there is always be people using different hardware and/or software combinations, or differences in digital broadcasts which will introduce new problems never seen before, and the best thing people like you can do, is to constructively post information about problems you encounter. I may not have a solution for everything reported, but I do read everything, and I do think about it. If multiple people post about a specific problem, then I focus more attention on that problem, and usually we'll get a resolution.

Thanks to the well established policy of not hosting older versions, I can't even go back to the .96 series, that at least reliably recorded programs. Because of this program, I spent a lot of money on PVR equipment which is mostly useless without this program.

oh, boo hoo

My complaints summarized:
1) If the recording service isn't restarted at least once a day, it may not record shows, or claim that all of the tuners are in use. The log says something about writing to protected memory. My VCR never caused me to miss my favorite show due to a programmer error.

2) The fast forward/rewind/pause buttons don't do anything on the MVP anymore. They used to work fine. Now, if you try to use them, the whole thing locks up and crashes.

3) Periodically, the program will claim that there are no tuners available, when there clearly are. I have 3 tuners, and there is nothing worth recording at 9 am.

I'm not aware of any widespread problems with the above, so it may just be something enviromental at your end. The best thing you can do is make posts for these problems, and attach the logs, giving me a chance to work through the issues.

On my lounge PC, I've been running my recording service for weeks without restarting, doing at least a few recordings a day, and its worked flawlessly for me. I'd expect you should be able to do the same.

4) The MVP interface seems to crash a lot, and periodically has a very noticeable lag between button press and response.

Did you try this patch: http://forums.gbpvr.com/showpost.php?p=1...ostcount=6. It addresses a MVP related stability issue I'm aware of in v0.98.13, which may be causing this problem for you.

There was another PVR software that I tried once, and it worked great, I don't remember what it was called, but I do remember that it was unreasonably expensive. It had a great MVP interface, and 0 lag time. I think it was something like $150 though, and that seems a bit much. If I can't find one of the older versions of this program that actually worked around my computer, I might just have to shell out the cash for the superior program.

Maybe you should just do that then.

In summary, please remember I'm just one guy, and I'm doing the best I can. This project is freaking huge. Finding time for support, development and testing is tough, particularly when I have a family and a life to get on with. I dont need people giving me shit. I am happy to help you out, but posting threads like this doesnt help anyone.

[wtg]

FYI, the 350 is unsupported as well. Sub has mentioned many times that he's had to drop support for this card due it's instability, and he doesn't even own one now. Some people still use it successfully, but if you search the forums it's caused an awful lot of grief for people.

By the way, some free advice: is you want people's help, especially for something you didn't pay for or offer any financial support, be polite.

Sub owes you nothing, nor does anyone else on this forum. Sub and virtually everyone else who frequents here is incredibly helpful and if you can't appreciate the favor sub has done for all of us by making the fruits of his hard work available for free, then why should he or anyone else care if it doesn't work for you?

Maybe you should go buy that other software. Maybe it'll work for you, but if it doesn't you'll at least have a right to complain. Or why don't you give Hauppauge a call and complain about their PVR or MVP software that you obviously didn't find satisfactory? See how responsive they are.

If you do need help you'll be hard pressed to find someone that supports their software as well and as responsively as sub does. He doesn't charge, but he does and should have the reasonable expectation of some courtesy.