Why does GBPVR exist?

[stefan]

I'm not questioning GBPVR's right to exist, but I'm rather curious to get a brief GBPVR history. When did the project start, and why? I was thinking that most people would have settled for the then (I think) already existing mythtv, and implement any "missing" functionality.

But no, sub had to go about and do it all by himself I'm really glad you did, but what where you thinking? Did you in any way envision the impact GBPVR would get? Or the amount of time you'd put into it?

Anyhow... I'm just a bit curious, that's it. And really, really thankful for all the work you've put into this for us. This far

[Koenie]

With my research background I have often posed this question when I saw a successfull project (to try to learn from it how to do things better in future). I have been amazed about some of the answers, so I am curious yet again.

I remeber sub once telling he simply had to learn .net programming and he chose this project. But still why THIS project?

[elite]

I was thinking that most people would have settled for the then (I think) already existing mythtv, and implement any "missing" functionality.

Well, myth was a PITA to install - especially if you don't have knowledge of linux, plus the support boards are fairly anti-newbie

[stefan]

Yes, I know... that's one of the reasons I started looking for (and found) other alternatives... but I'd never have figured it would have been easier writing a PVR application myself

[Ted the Penguin]

I think sub started it just to learn c# and the .net enviroment,
(begin speculation)
and he wanted a PVR app that did everything he thought one should do. then he probably posted it to an online community to see if people could help him find bugs, give feedback or whatever, and commited himself to making it as good as it could be when he saw the interest there was for it.
(end speculation)
now I can see myself doing the same thing, starting some random project and then not stop tweaking until I was completely satisfied, and if other people were using it as well, until they are satisfied too. yay compulsive tendancies

I apologize if I was out of line posting my speculation on the subject

and I want to say THANK YOU to sub, for all of the work you have done

[Fatman_do]

Here is some answers to your questions in this thread.

http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...tory+gbpvr

[sub]

Here is some answers to your questions in this thread.

http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...tory+gbpvr

Yep. A re-post for those that cant be arse clicking the link...



okay, here is where it all began...

I bought myself a PVR350 when I was on holiday in europe early in 2003. I'd read about them previously, but at the time they were selling for about NZ$780 (about US$500) in New Zealand - ouch! I bought one in Amsterdam for great price - I cant remember exactly but I think it was about NZ$300. Well under half.

We dont have anything like Tivo here in New Zealand, but I wanted something like it for recording TV, ideally with a tv guide. I initially setup a HTPC using one of the mini-itx VIA EPIA boards, and tried using the Hauppauge WinTV software, but quickly decided it was crappy.

Next I tried SageTV. It supported my PVR350's TV out (without OSD at that time), so sounded pretty promising, but I had all sorts of problems with - the old interface was butt ugly, it used to cause my PVR350 and machine to blue screen and lockup, and it didnt really cope with the different channel lineups on different inputs that I needed. I also tried MythTV around the same time, but after weeks of wasting time with that, I decided SageTV was a better option.

I persisted with SageTV for about six months, but was never really able to get the machine into a state where I could really start relying on it. I was one of the more vocal Sage users, pressing them to fix bugs and getting OSD support added for the PVR350 tv out. Around October 2003 they asked me to participate in a closed beta for SageTV v2, and was initially excited about it. Unfortunately it would have required me to sign an non-disclosure agreement which had some pretty stiff terms, including agreeing to not develop any tv software in the future. I was developer and was already thinking about maybe writing something - this gave me the final push. It was either give up these ideas and continue to use SageTV, or back myself to to develop something better.

After a couple of months of coding furiously in home office, I had a first release of GB-PVR. I posted a message on the shs forums asking for Hauppauge card owners that would like to give my secret project a test run. There wasnt much interest, but I did manage to get a few users willing to give it a try (Colin, AndyC, and some others).

These guys gave me good feedback, and I was giving them weekly releases. In early 2004, I posted a few screenshots on the shs website, and opened it up to the general public. It was pretty primitive, but had some great things going for it, like being first application to support the PVR350 tv out with full OSD, and the first application to support the MediaMVP.

The rest is history...

[sub]

Its funny though, at the time, one of my main motivations was the bugs I was seeing in apps like SageTV, and thinking I'll be able to do better. Looking back, I now know why a lot of these specific bugs werent fixed, and just how hard this stuff is in general. I now respect these guys for the great job they've done.

I know where the bugs are in GB-PVR, and where it's shortcomings are, but the required available time, my knowledge, or vendor support is not always available to address these. I slowly chip away at these each release. Its generally a pretty good app, and pretty proud of it.

[wtg]

I'd say it more than just pretty good. I've registered tons of shareware over the years, but this is the only free application that I've donated to, more than once even. Inspiring me to do that says something.

[rwmech]

The rest is history...

One thing I havent seen in here is how did it get the NAME GB PVR? What does the GB stand for?

I'm also curious what you do as your regular day job. I would imagine that gbpvr doesnt pay all the bills.