2005-10-05, 01:54 AM
The very short version:
I'd like a recommendation for a remote control to use with GBPVR ( have Hauppauge 500MCE, so no joy there ).
The very long version:
About three months ago, I began looking into building my own PVR, and GBPVR was my very first stop. Easy to install ( XP Pro, on Dimension 2400, nVidia PCI graphics card ), capture card configured fine, and I then ordered the generic MCE remote from NewEgg ( I'd provide a link, but apparently NewEgg doesn't carry them any more... wonder if there's any connection ... ).
After working with this setup for a while, I was nearly happy with the results. GBPVR worked well, but I never could get the remote to be anything but flaky ( red light would light up on the receiver, but response would be sluggish or non-existant, with the occasional double- or even triple-responses ). There was also the very rare, but still occasional, reboot for no reason at all.
So, with a sigh, I reluctantly reloaded the box for MCE, to try the official MS solution. With a 30-day trail ( before required registration ), I figured I could see if a more expensive solution would work better. In a word, nope. MCE blue-screened fruequently ( at least once a day ), remote was still flaky, lots of other trouble. Best user interface I've used to date, but much less reliable. Even splurged by trying a second machine briefly, in case the 2400 with a PCI video card ( no AGP / PCI-e slot ) was unsuitable. Still no luck.
Grumbling about having to deal with Linux, I finally dug out MythTV and gave it a whirl. Extremely complicated setup ( even following guides and HOWTOs ), lots of options, a pretty-good-but-still-complicated UI, and still the occasional problem: this time it was MythTV would choose to record audio sometimes, but not others. Later, it switched to recording audio on the first tuner most of the time, and never on the second tuner.
Somehow, my wife didn't find it funny when Jeopardy! would record without audio. It made finding out the answers a bit more difficult.
So, back to the original drawing board. Remembering that GBPVR gave me the least trouble of the three, I reloaded XP ( home this time ), got everything working, and I'm now back in business. Two minor problems this time so far:
1) Whenever I start decoding ( watch TV or recorded show ), I have at least a five second lag before playback starts. Annoying, but liveable.
2) The remote, despite my best efforts to make it work better, still is flaky as all get-out. Now that I've tried four different installations, (XP Pro, XP MCE, Fedora Core 4, and XP Home ), three different drivers ( MCE drivers, MCEIR custom drivers, and Linux drivers ), three different PVR software setups ( GBPVR, MCE, MythTV), two different computers, I've decided that the common factors with the flaky remote are (1) me and (2) the remote.
Since replacing me isn't an option, I've decided to replace the remote. Anyone have recommendation for a remote that's easy to configure and relaible to operate?
I'd like a recommendation for a remote control to use with GBPVR ( have Hauppauge 500MCE, so no joy there ).
The very long version:
About three months ago, I began looking into building my own PVR, and GBPVR was my very first stop. Easy to install ( XP Pro, on Dimension 2400, nVidia PCI graphics card ), capture card configured fine, and I then ordered the generic MCE remote from NewEgg ( I'd provide a link, but apparently NewEgg doesn't carry them any more... wonder if there's any connection ... ).
After working with this setup for a while, I was nearly happy with the results. GBPVR worked well, but I never could get the remote to be anything but flaky ( red light would light up on the receiver, but response would be sluggish or non-existant, with the occasional double- or even triple-responses ). There was also the very rare, but still occasional, reboot for no reason at all.
So, with a sigh, I reluctantly reloaded the box for MCE, to try the official MS solution. With a 30-day trail ( before required registration ), I figured I could see if a more expensive solution would work better. In a word, nope. MCE blue-screened fruequently ( at least once a day ), remote was still flaky, lots of other trouble. Best user interface I've used to date, but much less reliable. Even splurged by trying a second machine briefly, in case the 2400 with a PCI video card ( no AGP / PCI-e slot ) was unsuitable. Still no luck.
Grumbling about having to deal with Linux, I finally dug out MythTV and gave it a whirl. Extremely complicated setup ( even following guides and HOWTOs ), lots of options, a pretty-good-but-still-complicated UI, and still the occasional problem: this time it was MythTV would choose to record audio sometimes, but not others. Later, it switched to recording audio on the first tuner most of the time, and never on the second tuner.
Somehow, my wife didn't find it funny when Jeopardy! would record without audio. It made finding out the answers a bit more difficult.
So, back to the original drawing board. Remembering that GBPVR gave me the least trouble of the three, I reloaded XP ( home this time ), got everything working, and I'm now back in business. Two minor problems this time so far:
1) Whenever I start decoding ( watch TV or recorded show ), I have at least a five second lag before playback starts. Annoying, but liveable.
2) The remote, despite my best efforts to make it work better, still is flaky as all get-out. Now that I've tried four different installations, (XP Pro, XP MCE, Fedora Core 4, and XP Home ), three different drivers ( MCE drivers, MCEIR custom drivers, and Linux drivers ), three different PVR software setups ( GBPVR, MCE, MythTV), two different computers, I've decided that the common factors with the flaky remote are (1) me and (2) the remote.
Since replacing me isn't an option, I've decided to replace the remote. Anyone have recommendation for a remote that's easy to configure and relaible to operate?
