Where's everyone moving to?

[Rich A]

Originally Posted by lschroeder

Did you try this yet? As stated in my earlier post, I just ordered a SD prime and was getting ready to use it on my Window 7 BTV server with NPVR or install NPVR on a separate old Winow's XP Sp3 P4 machine.

Can wait to here yours or others results? What I am thinking of doing is using the SD prime with NPVR on the Window's 7 BTV server if this works or using a second XP Sp3 P4 NPVR server for copy free content. Using my wife's Window's 7 I3 7MC for live and recorded HBO and Showtime content in either case and as a client for the other copy free NPVR server? I already use the I3 as a BTV link. Rich A, Zogg, and other BTV NPVR users, what do you think?

Tonight I tried to quickly set up NPVR on my existing HTPC running Win XP and BTV. I only had an hour until it would be time for BTV to beginning recording a busy prime time bunch of shows.

I did this while BTV was still running, (yeah I was really doing everything backwards) And I had a couple issues that I just didn't have the time to address. I ended uninstalling NPVR with about 2 minutes to spare. (In the next 2 minutes I had 4 of my existing HD Clear QAM turners and 2 analog tuners getting ready to record).

I'll try again after prime time when I can shut down BTV and have a little more time to experiment. This will be just to test how the two programs get along or don't. Next up will be a 2nd rack mounted computer running NPVR just as a recording device which will move the files over to the BTV systems recorded shows drives.

Eventually though, if NPVR works reliably, I will (sadly) pull the plug on the BTV unit. I'm still hoping SS goes for cable card support in their enterprise stuff and maybe it might trickle down to us. (Hope springs eternal) or something like that.

BTW, I kind of feel bad posting all this here on a SnapStream forum. Maybe I can start up a thread on the GBPVR forum .. maybe titled something like, "The thread for BTV orphans" or something.

Oh they are using the same GBPVR forum for NPVR. They still have a "legacy" forum area there for those who are still using GBPVR. Maybe they will change the forum name to N from GB ?

Just to confuse you, all the NPVR forum stuff is actually on a forum named GBPRV forum.

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by lschroeder

Did you try this yet? As stated in my earlier post, I just ordered a SD prime and was getting ready to use it on my Window 7 BTV server with NPVR or install NPVR on a separate old Winow's XP Sp3 P4 machine.

Can wait to here yours or others results? What I am thinking of doing is using the SD prime with NPVR on the Window's 7 BTV server if this works or using a second XP Sp3 P4 NPVR server for copy free content. Using my wife's Window's 7 I3 7MC for live and recorded HBO and Showtime content in either case and as a client for the other copy free NPVR server? I already use the I3 as a BTV link. Rich A, Zogg, and other BTV NPVR users, what do you think?

Should work fine as best I can tell. The P4 is a bit wimpy these days (but, OH, what a power hog! LOL) but since recording the show is pretty much just saving a stream to disk, it should work fine. The i3 should definitely be manly enough for HD playback.

[lschroeder]

Originally Posted by Rich A

...

I'll try again after prime time when I can shut down BTV and have a little more time to experiment. This will be just to test how the two programs get along or don't.

...

BTW, I kind of feel bad posting all this here on a SnapStream forum. Maybe I can start up a thread on the GBPVR forum .. maybe titled something like, "The thread for BTV orphans" or something.

...

I think while we are working with both systems, that the BTV forum is a good a place as any to post. Fellow BTV users need information about the cablecard options. Since at the present time 7MC and NPVR seem to be the main options. Having these be the front end for Beyond TV or considering moving to one of the alternative PVR's is a necessary option for BTV cablecard users. We all hope for BTV cablecard support, but need to deal with the current BTV situation.

This thread and the BTV cablecard thread help fill that need.

Please keep us posted on your experiment. Whether it be here or over at GBPVR forum. Your details help all of us. I can't hardly wait to try my cablecard! Your input is so helpful.

[Bill1426]

Originally Posted by lschroeder

I think while we are working with both systems, that the BTV forum is a good a place as any to post. Fellow BTV users need information about the cablecard options. Since at the present time 7MC and NPVR seem to be the main options. At the present time, having these be the front end for Beyond TV or considering moving to one of the alternative PVR's is a necessary option for BTV cablecard users. We all hope for BTV cablecard support, but need to deal with the current BTV situation.

This thread and the BTV cablecard thread help fill that need.

Please keep us posted on your experiment. Whether it be here or over at GBPVR forum. Your details help all of us. I can't hardly wait to try my cablecard! Your input is so helpful.

I agree.. Keep posting here..

[Rich A]

I spent some time today putzing with my BeyondTV HTPC and NPVR.

Right now I have NPVR running solid on my day to day Win 7 PC. It's a very "green" machine and doesn't use a lot of electrons to keep it happy. So I just leave it running. So far for about 5 days now, it's been running just fine. It's set up to record all the "cable" channels that I used to get via Cox analog TV. Only now I get them all in HD.

So today I installed NPVR into my BeyondTV HTPC server. Didn't even shut down BTV. (I was feeling adventurous)

The actual install went smoothly. Things are a little different in the "XP" environment. When it came time to configure NPVR, that is when I started having issues. One issue is that the MC2XML utility seems to run fine in XP, but NPVR's parsing of the channel data is not getting the channel "names". The data is all there in the *.xml file. But NPVR just doesn't display it. The result is that you can't use the "bulk" mapping feature when mapping your channels. The way it is supposed to work is that you set up the first channel manually. Then run the bulk mapping option. But there is only a blank space for the channel names so you have nothing but the numbers to match.

And that results in your on screen guide having only numbers and no channel name. But the actual epg is still populated and the show data is correct. For some reason NPVR running on my XP system can't find the channel names.

The other problem I'm working on is the codecs. In the Win 7 system everything was pretty much plug and play. All the codecs needed were found by NPVR. This could be because prior to NPVR I did have a working Window 7 media center running on that PC. So the codecs were already in place.

Over on the XP HTPC however, I'm having some trouble getting the video and audio working. I have to experiment with some codec packs or something I guess. Cause it just doesn't work with any of the "defaults".

I really think the best scenario and easiest to set up is going to be a windows 7 system for both BTV and NPVR.

All during this fooling around with both PCs the Win 7 NPVR kept on recording and running just fine and the BTV PC also kept running without any problems. Opps .. when running the HDHR Prime setup I did somehow loose one of my analog tuners. As soon as tonight's recording session is done I"ll re-run set up and get that tuner back.

Bottom line ... the win 7 64-bit setup for NPVR seems to have been a more plug and play scenario. The few problems I did have with the Win7 setup were simply my not being familiar with the new software ... and of course just jumping in without first devouring the documentation. What? Me read the docs? I should know better.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get some help over at the GBPVR forum with the XP system.

Right now, I have a bunch of newly recorded all HD cable channels on the NPVR server and another bunch of Clear QAM HD on the BTV server waiting for me to watch. More later ....

[lschroeder]

@ Rich A

Thanks for the info. I have been running BTV server on my windows 7 machine for quite some time. The BTV server is running 2 pci OTA tuners, 2 usb OTA tuners, 1 pci express clear QAM, 1 Hauppauge HD PVR and 1 HAVA that share my comcast stb, and 1 DTA analog box from comcast. This window 7 machine also has 7MC on it that I do not use. I only use Hauppauge HD PVR / HAVA with BTV Link for live HBO and encrypted channels or to record limited content. The DTA hardly gets used since I need to manually change its channel. The Hauppauge HD PVR needs me to manual reset it as well. The manual resetting is the reason for live or limited content with the Hauppauge HD PVR. The HAVA always works with HBO/Showtme/encrypted channels but only gets me DVD 16:9 quality.

Do you think when my SD prime arrives, I could install NPVR on this windows 7 machine as well? Remove the 1 comcast DTA analog from BTV, hook the prime to the DTA coaxial cable and network it to the switch located there. I would use the prime to record the comcast copy freely cable channels. The BTV server get used most of the time for the 4 OTA tuners and 1 BTV Link on my wife's window 7 daily I3 machine. Do you think BTV server and NPVT could coexist on 1 window 7 machine? Beside, the load might be too much.

I was going to put the NVPR/prime on a spare XP Sp 3 P4, but the problems you are having scare me. Especially the channel names. I do on my XP have the PowerDVD 7, Hauppauge TMT HD PVR, and BTV Link's codecs on this machine.

I also have a window 7 hp portable machine that I could experiment with NVPR/prime on. I think this my be the best route. What do you think? There is also the HBO/Showtime copy once stuff, but think that would have to be done on my wife's window I3 daily machine.

[SnakeDoctor]

I tried NPVR on a spare XP machine and could no get it to find any channels. It would see my 2 HDHRs and go through the scan process but nothing would show up in the Channels list. I checked the software requirements (.Net etc.) and also confirmed firewall settings as indicated in the forums but still no joy.

[Rich A]

Originally Posted by SnakeDoctor

I tried NPVR on a spare XP machine and could no get it to find any channels. It would see my 2 HDHRs and go through the scan process but nothing would show up in the Channels list. I checked the software requirements (.Net etc.) and also confirmed firewall settings as indicated in the forums but still no joy.

You should be able to view the *.xml epg data with notepad. See if all the info is there. I didn't have trouble getting the data to populate the EPG, except for the aforementioned missing channel name. Everything else is there.

Did you run the Silicon Dust HDHR set up again for the new NPVR server? If you already had your HDHRs setup with BTV, you are going to have to run the SD setup where you tell HDHR which software to use.

I had an HDHR installed with my BeyondTV server. When I got my HDHR PRime I ran the HDHR setup and that newest setup software seems to search the LAN for any and all HDHR type tuners (regular and Prime). This was NOT on the BTV server at that time. This was the HDHR Prime being used by NextPVR in another system.

Point being that the new HDHR install software showed all the HDHRs (the old ones serving the BTV HTPC and the new Prime on another PC.

So, I had to tell the setup to dedicate the regular HDHR's to the BTV server and the Prime to the new NextPVR system. I could see where there could be some problems if I had all the tuners set up for BOTH machines. There could be a problem where the BTV or NPVR might want one or more of the tuners. In that case you'll get a "tuner not available" or something.

So run the HDHR setup .. making sure you have the various tuners selected for various servers so there aren't any conflicts. Of course I have to say that I myself still have issues with the HDHR Prime running in XP. I really should set up a third PC with JUST the prime tuner being used in XP. I should get NPVR running correctly there first .. and then try running both servers on one PC. I'm kinda going about this backwards as far as troubleshooting etc.

[SnakeDoctor]

Rich,

Yes, I ran through the HDHR Setup utility and set the Application to "NextPVR".

When I go to Settings and select Devices, I get a list of all of my HDHR tuners (4) listed twice - once for ATSC and once for QAM. The list also indicates they are Present and Enabled. I then select one of the tuners (ATSC) and click Device Setup. On the resulting Digital Recorder Settings window, I click Scan. The window indicates it is scanning and I can also see the channels changing on the HDHR via the HDHR Config GUI. The channel list remains blank throughout the scan process. When the scan is complete, the channel list is still blank. After all of that, I looked for an XML file in the NPVR folder but there was none.

Thanks,
Bill

Update: After poking around for a while with no luck, I took a long shot and set the Application (in the HDHR Setup utility) to "Other: ATSC/QAM" and now the channel scans work . FWIW, setting the Application to "NextPVR" or "GB-PVR" did not work for me.

[Rich A]

Hi Bill,

Well I tried all the "other" options. Still no luck. I think we are talking about different things. My HDHome Run normal tuners work and install fine. It's the Cable card HD Home Run "Prime" tuner that I'm having trouble with.

I've got thread going over on the NPVR forum and will see if someone comes up with anything else.

- Rich

[bserebin]

The answer for some is Roku or new tv with built-in functionality. I've been on BTV for almost 5 and the time has come to leave BTV. I built a sweet HTPC with a Zalman case w/7" touch screen LCD, 2 tuners, separate RAID 1 arrays for OS and media, & HDMI direct to TV. What finally did it, was I was tired off getting charged for remote controllers I didn't want and overpriced cable tv. Yes, my cable company charges me $0.24/month each for 2 remotes. In the end, I cut my cable and switched to 3 services for BTV/cable tv replacement. The hardware (Roku 2 XS - I prefer the LAN & USB ports) is wife friendly and there's enough content on it. Roku has a # of channels. Far better than Apple TV.

1) Hulu Plus $8/month
2) Netflix DVD $8/month
3) Netflix Streaming $8/month

$24 vs $93 month. I'm sure you can figure out which route I went.

-Ben

P.S. I plan to freecycle my 2 x USB-UIRT hardware and SS remotes, sad but not worth the time to eBay it.

[lschroeder]

Originally Posted by Rich A

Hi Bill,

Well I tried all the "other" options. Still no luck. I think we are talking about different things. My HDHome Run normal tuners work and install fine. It's the Cable card HD Home Run "Prime" tuner that I'm having trouble with.

I've got thread going over on the NPVR forum and will see if someone comes up with anything else.

- Rich

Got my HDHR Prime today. Got it activated and running on my portable Windows 7 and my wife's Window 7 machine using 7MC. Was a little tricky since neither of them had ever run 7MC before. Found that all my comcast channels except HBO and Showtime were copy freely. Only installed three Prime tuners on these two window machine, since BTV on my HTPC (another Window 7 machine) is doing everything else. Will need to leave 7MC on them to allow live and recording of HBO and Showtime. Would like to use NVPR on XP Pro machine for copy freely channels.

I have an XP machine that I mentioned earlier that I could try to load NPVR on it and use it with HDHR Prime. I have found references where they said the Prime worked but no actual pages to explain how.

Can you give me a quick heads-up as to the major steps to installing it and any pointers you found. I know you are still having problems, but maybe an attempt with a different machine and cable provider would be helpful. If it fails I could try the opposite of you and install it on my Window 7 HTPC, but my wife will not be happy if it ruins my running BTV server that she uses with her BTV Link.

Heads-up like install NPVR, run hdhomerun_windows_20120405.exe and select NPVR or other Application, options used in the setup, etc. Info for doing 1. and 2. below:

1. Using EPG from MC2XM

2. codecs - using standard ffmpeg or GPU specific such as TMT that came with my HD PVR and allow hardware decoding or from this link referenced in Sage for people moving to NPVR

http://babgvant.com/blogs/andyvt/arc...g-your-pc.aspx

[Jakesty]

I've had some pretty good luck getting NPVR working on my Windows 7 64 bit test setup. I even installed it on an atom 330 computer and my everyday E6750 Win7 64 system. Each one has worked, but the Atom had the most trouble with HD content playback.
The nice thing about getting it set up, is once you are done, just copy the directory over to the new system and you are done. No registry bs to contend with. Constant patching and updates are always fixing problems and the developer is always online supporting the users along with several other staff members. Very helpful and open to suggestions.
I downloaded the TV LISTINGS plug in and the interface is very nice and provides much of what the BTV interface does. With everything being customizable, it's hard not to want to tinker with it.
I got my cablecard set up without a problem on all three systems. And to make a computer a "LINK" type of system or client, install the software and check box one box and enter the pc name to the server. Done, linked computer set up.

To be fair, I have not set up any remotes or DTA boxes. I'm hoping to get that done on my primary BTV server and let them co-exist, possibly this weekend.

[lschroeder]

Originally Posted by Jakesty

I've had some pretty good luck getting NPVR working on my Windows 7 64 bit test setup. I even installed it on an atom 330 computer and my everyday E6750 Win7 64 system. Each one has worked, but the Atom had the most trouble with HD content playback.
The nice thing about getting it set up, is once you are done, just copy the directory over to the new system and you are done. No registry bs to contend with. Constant patching and updates are always fixing problems and the developer is always online supporting the users along with several other staff members. Very helpful and open to suggestions.
I downloaded the TV LISTINGS plug in and the interface is very nice and provides much of what the BTV interface does. With everything being customizable, it's hard not to want to tinker with it.
I got my cablecard set up without a problem on all three systems. And to make a computer a "LINK" type of system or client, install the software and check box one box and enter the pc name to the server. Done, linked computer set up.

To be fair, I have not set up any remotes or DTA boxes. I'm hoping to get that done on my primary BTV server and let them co-exist, possibly this weekend.

Thanks for the info, especially the client setup.

Is the 7MC with cablecard still available after you install NPVR? I need it for HBO and Showtime channels. Are BTV and NPVR co-existing on separate physical servers?

I just replace the DTA box on my BTV server with HDHR prime. The quality of the DTA recordings were terrible. For now the prime tuners are running on my windows 7 laptop and wife's windows 7 desktop with 7MC.

Do you think there is any possibility that an XP Pro with an ATI AGP 3650 GPU could serve as a client for the NPVR copy freely HDHR prime channels hosted on the windows 7 NPVR server? Currently I use this XP Pro client system with hardware acceleration for BTV HD PVR HBO, Showtime, and all the encrypted channels for live and playback of these channels recordings. The problem is I need with the HD PVR hardware to periodically reset the box to make it work.

[lschroeder]

Couple of NVPR window 7 questions.

Rich A said to another member: "Did you run the Silicon Dust HDHR set up again for the new NPVR server? If you already had your HDHRs setup with BTV, you are going to have to run the SD setup where you tell HDHR which software to use."

I ran the HDHR setup software again and set HDHR prime to NVPR. I set the device tab, decoder tab, recorder tab, and folder tab in NVPR. The prime channel shows one moment please and then nothing with NVPR watch but all channels still work with 7MC. It must still be set to 7MC even though I reset it to NVPR. Would should I try next?

In devices I enabled my 3 prime tuners, scanned them, and moved to top of list. I have QAM ATSC listing for each prime tuned that I disabled. Also an IPTV device that I disabled. Is that what I should do?

In decoders, I set MPEG2 Video to Microsoft DTV-DVD Video Decoder and other codecs if I could to Microsoft ones.

I downloaded mc2xml, ran it, moved the xmltv.xml file to NVPR Program Files (x86) directory. Was able from Channels listing, Details set up the first channel. Then went to Bulk Map, set next entry, ask if I wanted it auto map, I said yes but nothing happened. Close dialog window with ok. Tried again with next entry, again asked auto but nothing happened. I can manually do each one from Bulk Map but is it suppose to be automated? I use the Update EPG and it worked for the values I entered.