Will GB-PVR fit my needs?

[numzie]

I am looking into building an HTPC but i need an OS that can do everything i need it to do. I have a storage server running FreeNAS and need it to pull media off there, it also needs to be able to show an interactive channel guild of all programs from my digital cable box(which will be run through the HTPC i assume) and allow me to record shows easily(including HDTV shows). It also needs a GUI that can be controlled with a TV-like control and not a keyboard/mouse.

[SuMo]

Welcome !

I think most HTPC apps out there can do what you described.
The best thing of GBPVR is this community/forum, and euhhhh..... oh it's FREE
seriously, I don't think you'll find another app that will fill your needs more than gbpvr, it's easy, does the things you want it to do and support is outstanding.
Give it a try and be amazed.

[Ted the Penguin]

well
GB-PVR isnt an OS, its an app that sits on top of windows. so, assuming that you can map your FreeNAS server's share to a windows drive... yeah, you ca just add the directories where your media is stored on that drive to the directories searched for music/videos etc.

I see you are in the USA, so for an EPG (electronic program guide) you can either pay for data, from schedulesdirect, or some other provider. or you use xmltv to screen scrape websites. there are a couple other hacks, but those are the two main ways.

and yes, GB-PVR has a 10 foot interface. I am assuming that you either have a remote that works with your PC, then you can just map buttons to keystrokes. or if you have a hauppauge remote, GB-PVR can go and do that for you.

do you have a TV tuner card? there is a supported hardware list, but basically if you want HD you are down to the hauppauge HVR 1800/1800, the hdhomerun, or the onair usb hdtv GT. and for SD you will need a card with a built in MPEG2 encoder.

good luck

[-Oz-]

I am looking into building an HTPC but i need an OS that can do everything i need it to do.

GB-PVR is not an OS. GB-PVR is a program that runs on the Windows Server/XP/Vista/2000 operating system.

I have a storage server running FreeNAS and need it to pull media off there,

All you have to do is map the drives in windows as drive letters then tell gb-pvr to use those so... yes

it also needs to be able to show an interactive channel guild of all programs from my digital cable box(which will be run through the HTPC i assume)

Many EPG sources are available and one or more will give you the guide (but it won't come directly from the cable box). You can run the cable box into the HTPC through the tuning card via RCA ports (or something similar) but you will need an IR blaster to get the computer to change channels on the box (unless the box has firewire/serial access). I don't have a STB so I don't know more than that.

[quote=numzie]and allow me to record shows easily(including HDTV shows).

As soon as you have above working (switching channels) it'll work.

[quote=numzie] It also needs a GUI that can be controlled with a TV-like control and not a keyboard/mouse.

Easy for GB-PVR.

[lumpy]

Recording from cable box, yes. recording HD pay channels? not a chance. no PVR can do that other than the Cablecard enhanced Tivo Series 3 or the locked down vista MCE that will have so much DRM in it it will ooze out of the corners of the computer.

Tuner card recording will only record unencrypted ANALOG channels. A compatable HD QAM tuner will only record unencrypted digital channels. encrypted non HD digital channels can be recorded off the Composite or S video output of the Cable Set top box. encrypted HD channels... nope not gonna happen.

also if you are wanting to do HD, get way more processor than you think you need. I have a AMD Athalon64 bit 3200+ processor and it barely can do mpeg2 HD. I reccomend a 4000+ processor or higher. 64bit is useless, it does not help when your OS and apps are all 32 bit. HD takes 4x to 8X more computer than SD does.

Playback of Divx HD content works good though even on a old-low end 3ghz Pentium4 . for some reason Divx HD files are far better for playback.

[blizard]

I recommend numzie to learn more about codec and video from those guides on doom9. Make use of their forum (link to the left side), but read sticky and FAQ before you ask question as new members are supposed to make some effort and must follow forum rules. There are several threads about HD content and some also about what kind of hardware that will be demanded for different type of task.

...
also if you are wanting to do HD, get way more processor than you think you need. I have a AMD Athalon64 bit 3200+ processor and it barely can do mpeg2 HD. I reccomend a 4000+ processor or higher. 64bit is useless, it does not help when your OS and apps are all 32 bit. HD takes 4x to 8X more computer than SD does.

Playback of Divx HD content works good though even on a old-low end 3ghz Pentium4 . for some reason Divx HD files are far better for playback.

There is a need to explain lumpy's post here.

First of all his Athlon64 3200+ must be a single core CPU. He recommend anything that are dual core which make use of performance rating (PR) from 4000+ and more. This will mean have a clock speed from 2000 Mhz (it is two core on the same CPU). I did find an Athlon64 4000+ single core with 2600 MHz on AMD compare. Make use of filter on this site and you will find out both correct clock speed (for each type of PR and socket). I don't know that very well Intels dual core offer on the lower scale of price, but don't forget to also compare what motherboards that will work with each type of socket and CPU. There are plenty of good hardware sites like planetAMD64 (which also can give advice about Intels CPU; this site is dedicated to all kind of x64 (or x86-64) based CPU and not only AMDs CPU. If you don't know if your CPU support do support x86-64 (=64 bit extension). Do download CPU-Z. It will let you see what kind of CPU you have.

In general you would only need to focus on dual core today as those have been more affordable and will give you good capacity to handle transcoding (HD content from my understanding take huge amount of storage space to store).

When it come down to 64 bit vs 32 bit today it is clear that almost all CPU sold today are 64 bit capable (x86-64) and you don't need to worry about that when you look for a CPU. What you must consider instead are what kind of mode that your OS will run in. Windows XP exist in 32 bit (most common) and there is Windows XP x64 bit edition professional, which you still can download as a trail version from MS. Trail version on MS website. It is sold as OEM version only and can today be hard to find as it is replaced by Vista in all version of x64.

I use Windows XP x64 myself so there is nothing to complain about hardware support or stability for my part. It is now in Service Pack 2 which means that have grown to stable OS and is built from Server 2003 kernel, not from the same Win XP 32 kernel in other words.

Vista is another story and I do not enough to explain everything, but the main difference will be how Vista will handle what is called DirectShow on all windows XP version (google any wiki to learn more about Directshow, hardware support and API). This is replaced with another model for hardware support on both video and sound which have had some problem with sound cards and video. Vista will work in another way to protect content (DRM) and demand hardware and OS to communicate in a way that Windows XP never had support to do.

DirectShow are the building block for GBPVR which is used to build a chain of filters between media files and hardware.

The last part I want to point out that Lumpy make a mistake in comparing MPEG-2 HD with MPEG-4 based standard for HD content, in his way to show the difference in how much power that the one need to handle High definition content compared with the other standard. MPEG-2 was designed in a time where SD and DVD content where the main point. MPEG-4 had a wider goal as a standard set by motion picture expert group (MPEG), that is why MPEG-4 can be used from everything starting at portable player/cellphones up to HD 1080p content. Xvid is the open source based version of DivX which are both based on the same MPEG-4 standard (Advanced Simple Profile or ASP) which means that you only need a player that will follow specification made for how to use predefined profiles to be able to play media encoded towards hardware players. There are also the thing we call H.264 or AVC that is another development in codec that might be better to handle HD content and storage.

What is needed to point out are that there is also different support on video processing unit (VPU or GPU) that might offer less need for a high end CPU to do the decoding of HD content. The new DirectX10 based video card from both nvidia and AMD/ATI are said to even provide better support for H.264 play back, but I this could just be hype. Make sure to read trust worthy review and benchmark from different web sites if you invest on video card to off load your CPU from MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (ASP and AVC) task.