Newbee......

[neil_ross]

Hi everyone!

Newbee here! just thought i would say hi before i start asking you all questions! lol

my pc knowledge is limited but i would like to build a home pc/media system, ive built a car pc and it works fine so this is my next project.

Can anyone give me some guidance on the best way to build it and could someone also tell me what gbpvr can do? is it an OS or does it work WITH windows? can i run NTL through it to record etc? what more does it do?

Thank you all!

Neil

[McBainUK]

It runs on top of the OS, Windows. If you havn't found it there is a useful wiki here: http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php. Intro here: http://www.gbpvr.com/index.php?option=co...&Itemid=33, and a little feature list here: http://www.gbpvr.com/index.php?option=co...&Itemid=35

Have a read and post again if you have questions.

[-Oz-]

GBPVR can record TV, organize movies, music, etc.

To record TV you'll need a tuner card.

It can also skip commercials automatically for you.

It is NOT an OS. It requires windows to be installed (but not MCE).

I have no idea what NTL is.

Tuner Cards:
http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manual/CaptureCards
http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Hardw...reCardList
http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Hardw...ptureCards

My PVR also works via remote control. Serves music and video throughout the house. Compresses the video, cuts out the commercials, tells me the weather, and gives me the news among other things.

[McBainUK]

I have no idea what NTL is.

NTL is a cable provider in the UK. Together with a tuner like the Hauppage 150 and a blaster you should be able to record and watch NTL via GB-PVR. Although someone else would be more qualified to tell you the details (I only have freeview cards)

[HtV]

Welcome to gbpvr.
It's a bit hard to answer questions so wide/vague so you might want to do some reading first . Please come back for more detailed questions.
http://www.gbpvr.com/index.php?option=co...e&Itemid=1
http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php

Edit: I noticed some others answered before me but I still think my advice is valid.

[gEd]

welcome!

a list of many of gbpvr features are listed off the home page (I don;t mean this as an RTFM I just want to save typing)

http://www.gbpvr.com/index.php?option=co...&Itemid=35

gbpvr is a client/server app that runs on windows 2000/xp/vista. Most people run XP here.

essentially, gbpvr uses an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) to enable you to schedule recordings to run on one or more tuners (either analogue or digital).

It will also play divx (etc) files in your videos folder and play internet radio streams.

there are a lot of plugins written by the members here to do loads of other stuff as well.

If you want to record from an NTL box, I think (I don;t have one) that you will need to take an s-video feed from the NTL box into an analogue tuner such as the Hauppauge PVR-150. To get the NTL box to change channels as necessary, you will need to use an IRblaster, an Infra-red transmitter that points at the NTL box and sends the channel change requests as required.

Alternatively (or as well) you could get a dual-tuner freeview tuner such as the Hauppague Nova-T 500 that will enable you to record 2 x freeview channels at the same time.

You don;t need an especially powerful pc to run gbpvr but you do need 512MB minimum (IMHO).

You can run the client on a seperate pc from the server if you wish) or run multiple clients (client+server on main pc in living room and use client on laptop / other pc to watch & schedule recordings)

Graphics card: again you don;t need an uber-card. I use an old ATI 9600 pro to feed a decent CRT TV and it looks good. A passively cooled card will reduce noise levels considerably. Noise can be a big issue if you intend to stick the pc under the TV in the living room so you may have to select quiet components if you think that this could be an issue.

Does this help?

[edit: jeez, guys, give me chance to type this up!] :-)

[McBainUK]

Noise can be a big issue if you intend to stick the pc under the TV in the living room so you may have to select quiet components if you think that this could be an issue.

You said you've built a car PC, a HTPC can be just as complicated. A few more sites to do some reading on:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/
http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/home

[HtV]

[edit: jeez, guys, give me chance to type this up!] :-)

[flyswatta]

Since it sounds like you're starting from scratch, the best advice I can give is: figure out what you want to do.
Then we can throw you some ideas on how to do it and what it will take to accomplish it.
Think about things like:
1. How many TVs do you plan to have hooked up to the system?
2. Do you plan on watching live TV while recording another channel at the same time?
3. Is your signal feed digital or analog or both?
4. Are you planning on using existing hardware or buying what you need?
5. Are you recording or playing back HD content?

Another thing to try is to install it on your computer and dork around with it - just get a feel for the interface and different config options. You can download sample movie files from around the net to mess with if you don't already have a capture card.

If you decide that GBPVR is what you want to use for your PVR solution, then the biggest piece of advice I'd give is to:

1. Buy commonly used and GBPVR supported capture cards (Hauppauge, etc) There's lists of cards in the WIKI that can help you decide.

There's some nice plugins that add a lot of features, although I'm still waiting for the "Laundry" plug-in. Now THAT would be some major WAF

[herbs]

I use gbpvr on a virgin media set top box (ex-ntl area) i used a hauppauge pvr usb2 with a mce ir reciever/emitter and remote. You could easily replace the pvr usb2 with a hauppauge pvr 150 as the others suggest. Also you will need to use an application called HIP remote to get the pc to change the set top channels for you.