[addon] MediaMVP for BTV 4.8.1

[sffish]

I'm getting a white background and I'm using the 3.2 firmware. I just want to double check that I'm "installing" the firmware properly, I uninstall and delete the MVP installation first, then run the .exe file for the firmware. I then go to my MediaMVP and unplug/plug the power from it. That's it, to "reinstall" the new firmware since it loads everytime. I'm not sure why I'm getting the white background, I have IE7. Any ideas? Thanks.

[darien]

hi there.

i am having trouble with getting the latest version of mvpbtv to work.

first, i had trouble with the mvp getting stuck in a constant reboot loop when attempting to access any feature on the main menu (even just pressing the down button on the remote caused it). after reading this forum and the two threads on mvpbtv, i reverted to version 3.2 of the software by way of ripping out the installation and installing over again, and then installing the mvpbtv software over again.

this resulted in the menu finally being accessible, but not being able to access the "recorded shows" submenu. the error i get is:

Runtime Error

File: file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/All%20Users.WINDOWS/Application%20Data/Huappauge%20MediaMVP/Users/XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX/RecordedShows.html

Line: 57
Error: Object doesn't support this property or method



in reading the forum further, some seemed to have luck getting rid of the "Object doesn't support..." error by updating to IE7. i decided to try this fix, and it led to about an hour of pain and suffering, since i haven't had a need to update my tv recording machine in at least a year or so.

after updating, i am still getting this error.

i can view the files that btv records via the "Videos" submenu, but watching them this way has a little 'status pie' trivial-pursuit wedge icon that displays in the lower right hand corner throughout the duration of playback, which is a little bit annoying. no more annoying than a station id icon, although i dislike these because they tend to burn-in on crt's if you watch a particular channel a lot (and i'm using a crt-based television).

i am unclear as to how to implement either the webservice.htc fix (which i assume the latest 'beta 3' build is supposed to fix anyway), and the config.js fix is also radically unclear to me, even in reading the forum messages.

how can i get rid of this error message and be able to access my recorded shows normally?

further, i have a couple of other questions...

1) the 'videos' submenu is really quite handy and i would love to be able to view video files this way (especially handy for when i have to move recorded files to a different hard drive). is there any way that that the status trivial-pursuit pie wedge can be gotten rid of?

2) this is slightly unrelated to the problem, but since there's lack of documentation for the mvpbtv skin, i am unsure of where to ask this. so here goes. is there a 'page up/down' feature available via the mvp remote? ie if i'm in the recorded shows feature, is there a way to page down through your recorded shows other than just holding down the "down arrow" on the remote?


any help in fixing the ability to use the 'recorded shows' feature again would be spectacular.

thanks.

--darien!

[carteriii]

Any error that points to Documents & Folders/All Users must be coming from a 3.4 version of firmware (because that's when they changed the paths), which isn't going to work. Any error messages from 3.2 or earlier will point to the Program Files folder.

You say you reverted to 3.2, but I suspect that simply didn't work for some reason. One possible reason is that the service wasn't or couldn't be stopped to remove the old version. If you look at your list of services (right-click on My Computer, then Manage, then Services) you should see MediaMVP and something like MediaMVPSvc. Try stopping them manually, then try installing 3.2 again, which should be able to both uninstall the previous version and overwrite the files this time.

[romanoj]

Originally Posted by carteriii

Any error that points to Documents & Folders/All Users must be coming from a 3.4 version of firmware (because that's when they changed the paths), which isn't going to work. Any error messages from 3.2 or earlier will point to the Program Files folder.

Excellent observation. That's a great way to find out which firmware version is active. I encountered some of that as I was testing the different versions. You really have to stop all MVP services to get a successful unistall. Uninstall using the uninstall program and maybe manually delete all of the Hauppauge directories that were created. THEN insall the new firmware.

It is crucial to note that this current release of the MVP BTV project will not work with any version higher than Hauppauge firmware 3.2. That is a fact. Don't even try. I'm not mad, I just want people to read this. Like I said, it's possible to make it work but it's not pretty.

first, i had trouble with the mvp getting stuck in a constant reboot loop when attempting to access any feature on the main menu (even just pressing the down button on the remote caused it).

The other key is that you should unplug the MediaMVP for at least 30 seconds. One time, I unplugged it for just 5 seconds or so. It looked like it re-loaded and re-started okay but it WASN'T. It started rebooting everytime I pressed a button on the remote. It was aggravating until I found out about having to keep it unplugged from the wall outlet (and ethernet) for more than 30 seconds helped. It sounds like that may have happenned here to darien.

Originally Posted by darien

Runtime Error

File: file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/All%20Users.WINDOWS/Application%20Data/Huappauge%20MediaMVP/Users/XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX/RecordedShows.html

Line: 57
Error: Object doesn't support this property or method

Finally, this error message is a result of not having the webservice.htc file in your MediaMVP Hauppuage directory. Except in this case, the message is indicating that you are running version 3.3 or 3.4 of the firmware. As a result, it will not find the webserivce.htc as well as have other problems. Please downgrade properly.

For those that need that webservice.htc file, here it is (please unzip it first before copying it over)

[Lala]

Originally Posted by darien

2) this is slightly unrelated to the problem, but since there's lack of documentation for the mvpbtv skin, i am unsure of where to ask this. so here goes. is there a 'page up/down' feature available via the mvp remote? ie if i'm in the recorded shows feature, is there a way to page down through your recorded shows other than just holding down the "down arrow" on the remote?

Hey Darien, have you tried pushing the skip forward button (>|)?
Although, if you're in the Program Guide, to scroll down a screen you'll have to push the blue button on the remote.

[darien]

Originally Posted by carteriii

Any error that points to Documents & Folders/All Users must be coming from a 3.4 version of firmware (because that's when they changed the paths), which isn't going to work. Any error messages from 3.2 or earlier will point to the Program Files folder.

You say you reverted to 3.2, but I suspect that simply didn't work for some reason. One possible reason is that the service wasn't or couldn't be stopped to remove the old version. If you look at your list of services (right-click on My Computer, then Manage, then Services) you should see MediaMVP and something like MediaMVPSvc. Try stopping them manually, then try installing 3.2 again, which should be able to both uninstall the previous version and overwrite the files this time.

that's really strange, since before i put 3.2 back in (have no idea what version i was running previously to be honest) i manually stopped the service using the shortcut. i then uninstalled the mediamvp stuff, rebooted, and then reinstalled using the 3.2 installer.

Originally Posted by romanoj

It is crucial to note that this current release of the MVP BTV project will not work with any version higher than Hauppauge firmware 3.2. That is a fact. Don't even try. I'm not mad, I just want people to read this. Like I said, it's possible to make it work but it's not pretty.

it is also crucial to note that perhaps the uninstaller for any version of the mediamvp software is buggy at best?

honestly man, i went through the stop service / uninstall / reinstall mediamvp / reinstall mvpbtv / reboot process like 10 times yesterday trying to get this to work and still kept getting that same error message and problem.

note also that this quote discouraged me a little bit. i'm a little new here, but i'm not new to running your skin and i've been running btv for about a year and change now. the quote reads like you've made the assumption that i didn't read or do what you suggested, when i did. kind of an unfriendly way to get down to business with my first post to the board and a request for help.

while i appreciate that what you've done with this skin could be somewhat thankless, i was just askin' fer help ... and i wasn't lying when i said i reinstalled the 3.2 version because i did. like a zillion times. unfair to assume that i didn't. why bother with my elaborate post if i hadn't done that?

not trying to start a battle, or flame war, or anything else, because honestly man, i really like this skin -- it makes life with btv and the mediamvp box REALLY quite awesome -- i don't have to burn dvd's and i haven't had to seek out a better 'player' type box for the living room because of it. i realize the same repetitious cry for help over and over could be potentially annoying ... but then again, it is also annoying that the new version of btv broke such a nice piece of software too.

maybe there should be a version available that is friendly with the newer firmware? if i'd have seen that on the sourceforge page, i would have tried it and perhaps it would have worked a bit better ...

also, it honestly appears that this combination of software and hardware (ie the mediamvp and the btv skin) are quite popular. perhaps the snapstream dev team should alert you when they're going to make a big enough change and as to what is going to change? let me know who to petition or call, and i'll gladly do it.

Originally Posted by romanj

The other key is that you should unplug the MediaMVP for at least 30 seconds. One time, I unplugged it for just 5 seconds or so. It looked like it re-loaded and re-started okay but it WASN'T. It started rebooting everytime I pressed a button on the remote. It was aggravating until I found out about having to keep it unplugged from the wall outlet (and ethernet) for more than 30 seconds helped. It sounds like that may have happenned here to darien.

i did unplug the mediamvp for at least a minute each time. did that about a bazillion times yesterday as well.



in thinking about all this, the fact that i was still getting the same error despite the fact that i did what all the posts suggested and the assumptions that i hadn't removed the other version of the mediamvp software kind of pinged something in the back of my head.

i wondered if perhaps something from the other version of the mediamvp software i had had installed previously just hadn't gotten removed during the uninstallation process.

just a little while ago, i stopped the mediamvp service, uninstalled it, and then deleted the "c:\documents and settings\all users.windows\application data\huappauge etc etc" folder, since that error message pointed directly to a file there.

i rebooted, reinstalled, installed the mvpbtv skin, and rebooted again. then i unplugged the mediamvp for about 2 minutes, and plugged it back it.

this seemed to work.

however, now i too have the 'white background' problem.

basically what i see here is that the older or newer version of the mediamvp software doesn't remove itself completely when you uninstall. either that, or the mvpbtv skin doesn't overwrite a file that's in there that it should? don't know. don't know enough about where everything gets written with the skin.

so even if you have reinstalled the old 3.2 version of the mediamvp software, traces of the other stuff could be left behind and could cause problems.

perhaps this should be added to the 4_8_1 skin troubleshooting book -- that you have to delete that folder if backpedalling to an older version of the mediamvp software....

any suggestions on how to fix the white background issue?

thanks for any help,

--darien!

[darien]

another dumb question:

is there a way to keep the host computer from playing the ie-style 'link click' sound whenever you select something from the mvpbtv menu without disabling the sound completely? i like to have that sound werk when i'm doing stuff with the machine locally, but it'd be really nice if the mediamvp didn't trigger this ...

cheers.

--darien!

[Lala]

Darien, did you download MVP 3.2 from this site?
Looks like a few people on the sourceforge forum have had the same white background problem too, but have been able to resolve it.

For some odd reason, Hauppauge has two versions of its MVP support pages. On one site, you can download version 3.2. The other one shows 3.3!

As for the sound, I've never noticed it playing those sounds on my machine. Although my server is on the 2nd floor and the MVP is on the first floor, on the opposite side of the house, so I probably wouldn't hear any sounds anyway. I tried to see if the sounds would play with show_ui.bat. It was silent.

[darien]

hi lala.

Originally Posted by Lala

Darien, did you download MVP 3.2 from this site?

yes. in fact, i found it there on my own via a google search before i waded through the forums.

Originally Posted by Lala

Looks like a few people on the sourceforge forum have had the same white background problem too, but have been able to resolve it.

in reading that thread under that link, it isn't entirely apparent as to how they resolved it -- the only thing i gleaned from it was that they solved it by installing beta2 of the mvpbtv skin. which, after reading, i attempted. by doing a full uninstall of 3.2, a reboot, a full reinstall of 3.2, and an install of mvpbtv beta2.

no change.

still have the white background.

for grins, i installed beta3 over beta2, and still have the same white background.

i should note that the Recorded Shows section does work, btw. so i can get to my shows, its just impossible to read what's what with the white background and migraine yellow text.

i'm still guessing that this is a direct result of having a newer version of the mediamvp software installed, even though the current one is 3.2.

Originally Posted by Lala

For some odd reason, Hauppauge has two versions of its MVP support pages. On one site, you can download version 3.2. The other one shows 3.3!

yeah, well, they probably assume everyone would want 3.3 or above since its newer and probably fixes bugs or is more stable in their eyes... who knows. it is difficult to tell with that company sometimes.

Originally Posted by Lala

As for the sound, I've never noticed it playing those sounds on my machine. Although my server is on the 2nd floor and the MVP is on the first floor, on the opposite side of the house, so I probably wouldn't hear any sounds anyway. I tried to see if the sounds would play with show_ui.bat. It was silent.

what's even stranger is that i've changed it so that zero sounds are enabled in windows on the host machine, and it still plays the sound.

thanks for the tip on the 'skip' buttons -- that seems to page down ok. though sometimes it relocates the 'selection' bar, but hey ... i'll take what i can get.

cheers for your reply...

--darien!

[romanoj]

Originally Posted by darien

it is also crucial to note that perhaps the uninstaller for any version of the mediamvp software is buggy at best?

You're right. I know that and I'm sorry if I sounded mean in my last response... Let's see if we can't fix you up.

Originally Posted by darien

any suggestions on how to fix the white background issue?

Here are things you can do:
1) the whitebackground is a result because the skin can't find the file called "background_sml.png". For 3.2 installations, it is located in your "C:\Program Files\Hauppauge MediaMVP\image\English" directory. During the install, all of the images from the Beyond TV directory image folder ("C:\Program Files\SnapStream Media\Beyond TV\FSMedia\Images") are copied to the Hauppauge image English directory. Also, it copies image files from the install package image directory as well. If the copy fails (because the directory is in use or something like that), you can copy the files yourself.

2) Check if you can see the MediaMVP BTV on your PC screen. A lot of times, it will show error messages that you would not see on the MediaMVP itself.

What I found is that most people just re-ran the MVPBTV install and it copied files correctly the second time (probably after re-booting the PC first). Also, like I said, if you have a firmware version 3.3 or 3.4 (or you PC still thinks you have those installed), it will try to find the image file in that "all users" directory and it will fail and give you the white background.

is there a way to keep the host computer from playing the ie-style 'link click' sound whenever you select something from the mvpbtv menu without disabling the sound completely?

I believe this is the sound you hear when you click on things using your Internet Explorer (or file explorer). It can be turned off by going to your control panel -> Sound and Audio Devices properties dialog. Click on the tab labeled "Sounds". At the bottom, there's a list. Look for the item called "Start Navigation" under the Program events. Get rid of the speaker symbol by selecting Sounds to None.

[Dave Gestens]

Hi Jack. Just reporting that Beta 3 worked great for me. All the stuff that is supposed to work, does work just like you describe.

Thanks for all your hard work and I hope you enjoyed the drink I sent by.

[mksennett]

I appreciate the work you have done with beta 3 it works for me now, however when i try and do anything that releats to beyond tv i get an error msg stating (this is for Recorded shows):
Runtime Error File:
file///C:/Program%20Files/Hauppauge%20MediaMVP/Users/00-0F-22-00-04-9B/recordedshows.html
Line:114
Error: Raw.xml is null or not an object
(however this message also applys to Live TV, Program Guide, and any of the options from Setup Recordings).

That is my first issue my second is more like a question about capability is it possible to tell the unit to look on a different computer on the same network for music, videos, and pictures?

Again thanks for everything as everything else finally works for me.

[romanoj]

Originally Posted by Dave Gestens

Hi Jack. Just reporting that Beta 3 worked great for me. All the stuff that is supposed to work, does work just like you describe.

Thanks for all your hard work and I hope you enjoyed the drink I sent by.

Yes, thank you. That hit the spot. Anyway, there are more updates coming.

[romanoj]

Originally Posted by mksennett

I appreciate the work you have done with beta 3 it works for me now, however when i try and do anything that releats to beyond tv i get an error msg stating (this is for Recorded shows):
Runtime Error File:
file///C:/Program%20Files/Hauppauge%20MediaMVP/Users/00-0F-22-00-04-9B/recordedshows.html
Line:114
Error: Raw.xml is null or not an object
(however this message also applys to Live TV, Program Guide, and any of the options from Setup Recordings).

Are you sure it's line 114? And all BTV functions fail? You might want to check your BTV Password entry.

[CAW63082]

I just installed Beta 3, and I'm having some problems. When I go to pick a recording, it pauses for a moment and goes back to the main menu. No error messages, it just won't go to the screen with the show details to play it. Any ideas? I just uninstalled the firmware and went back to 3.2 and reinstalled, same issue.

Thanks!