MediaMVP to Popcorn Hour/NMT Plugin...

[RenegadeELEN]

I've started working with the MediaMVP plugin and getting that to work with a Popcorn Hour (PCH) or Networked Media Tank media device. I wanted to post here and test the waters to see if anybody is interested at all.

Through the help of some of the posts here I've gotten the MediaMVP plugin to work with the newest Beta Hauppauge server software and with that it has enabled me to run this on the PCH I have. This is done through some great coding done by emveepee who helped get a lot working with the PCH (GBPVR among others). So all of the functionality of the plugin, Live TV, recording settings and priorities, and all recorded shows works with the PCH. The downside is that all of the limitations of that platform still exist. Currently you can't natively playback HD shows though it might work through transcoding (haven't tried), the skin is in SD so it doesn't look great on an HD TV.

I'm working on ways to use something different but right now they all look like uphill battles. Obviously you could just go the route of not including Live TV and that might make things easier but I would think people would like to have Live TV.

If you don't have an HDTV then a PCH doesn't seem worth it to me. So this really applies to anybody that would like an HD extender.

Some people might be interested in it and maybe somebody has already tried. I would like to hear about it so I can evaluate where to go from here.

[Nick Burns]

I don't have an NMT, but if this plugin works like a true Link-type media extender (LiveTV, scheduled recordings, etc - everything that Link can do), I'd definitely be interested in it and would buy the NMT immediately.

[RenegadeELEN]

Well ideally that is where we would want this to go to, if possible. The main problem is that I worry the closer it gets to "everything that Link can do" then Snapstream might have an issue with it since that might take away from Link licenses.

But right now that is not where this is so I'm worrying about how to get there first.

[itsnotme]

I'm interested. I was actually posting on their forums the other day inquiring about their closed captioning support.

[spaceghost]

I don't know why snapstream doesn't do this.

[RenegadeELEN]

Well it might not be worth the money to develop an HD extender if not many people want to buy one. I doubt they could make one and sell it for as cheap as a MediaMVP (SageTV's unit is going for $200). Their user base might be going down or there may not be a need with BTV users to have an HD solution. This thread isn't really getting a good response so that might be indicative of the community not needing one.

[dlightle]

I've looked at the PCH/NMT as well, ever since I first saw a post about them, I believe in the Beta area or something like that. It seems like a very near ideal solution, but you're talking about one of the last key pieces that are currently missing!

I am wanting to upgrade to HD (I use Dish network SD currently, so HDPVRs). However, I don't have any link machines capable enough to run HD, so an HD extender is exactly what I want. At the same time, though, I want both the ability to watch (live or recorded) as well as view the guide (to select somethign to watch or to schedule new recordings). I believe the PCH/NMT solution can do the first part (in a way, though not as smoothly, I don't think, as Link does), but pretty sure nothing on the latter (not even a web guide).

I truly wish BTV would create a specialized HD extender (similar to Sage's but with Link functionality instead), so that all we need is a cheap extender in a small package rather than an expensive full-size computer.

I don't know much about programming the plugin for something like this, but I've wanted to look into it as well. I would be very anxious/curious to see this project take flight (and possibly help in ways that I can if need/want be).

[RenegadeELEN]

Well like I mentioned before the MediaMVP plugin currently works with the PCH/NMT (with the proper modifications). That means that live tv, recorded tv, the guide, and some other stuff. It's just stuck in the MediaMVP limitations which doesn't take advantage of the PCH/NMT. I think all of that is possible it just requires some ingenuity and some work.

[spaceghost]

I wish snapstream would officially support this. I was never able to get 100% wife acceptance on the community developed mediamvp interface. I think a lot of people have quit asking for support because snapstream has shown no interest in it. I am sure some people have switched to other solutions that offer support. GBPVR supports it - and it is freeware. I would be willing to pay a modest fee for for this feature - something in the price range of the dvd burning plugin price or the price of a link license.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by dlightle

I truly wish BTV would create a specialized HD extender (similar to Sage's but with Link functionality instead), so that all we need is a cheap extender in a small package rather than an expensive full-size computer.

Since Sage's latest HD Extender (HD200) offers a stand alone mode, you should be able to simply point it to a shared folder... Ideally, SnapStream could probably create their own firmware to use it as a true BTV-Link, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

[cfaslave]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

Since Sage's latest HD Extender (HD200) offers a stand alone mode, you should be able to simply point it to a shared folder... Ideally, SnapStream could probably create their own firmware to use it as a true BTV-Link, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

Seems like this would be possible, but it would probably involve Snapstream getting involved in the process which seems unlikely.

The HD200 uses a slimmed-down linux distro too so that could be a problem as well. Then again, I'm sure someone with the skills could hack together something that would work to make the HD200 stream BTV shows and could probably make an interface that looked and felt much like the BTV interface without much trouble at all. I've made one for SageTV that makes the SageTV UI look and work much like BTV's with a few nice additions like movies, music, online video, photos etc. And since the HD200 firmware that SageTV provides lets you use those same UIs on the HD200 I guess I could toy around with this a bit. Sounds like a nice little after-Christmas project...

[RenegadeELEN]

Getting an interface together that looks like BTV and has access to the shows seems like the easiest first step. It's just getting the other features available as well (guide, set recordings, and live tv) that could be more difficult.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by cfaslave

The HD200 uses a slimmed-down linux distro too so that could be a problem as well.

First I'll admit that I have no clue how it really works, but as long as the linux distro is not on a chip, but is included as part of the firmware, than that could be replaced by Windows CE or something else. Alternatively, if the distro was on a reprogrammable chip, than it could also be done. Would it make sense as far as cost is concerned? Not likely...

[cfaslave]

Originally Posted by RenegadeELEN

Getting an interface together that looks like BTV and has access to the shows seems like the easiest first step. It's just getting the other features available as well (guide, set recordings, and live tv) that could be more difficult.

Exactly. This would be the tough part of putting BTV-like functionality on any CE device whether its PCH or a HD200.
I'm not capable of doing the tough stuff that is important such as interaction with the BTV liveTV, guide, setting up recordings etc. No programming skills whatsoever.

[cfaslave]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

First I'll admit that I have no clue how it really works, but as long as the linux distro is not on a chip, but is included as part of the firmware, than that could be replaced by Windows CE or something else. Alternatively, if the distro was on a reprogrammable chip, than it could also be done. Would it make sense as far as cost is concerned? Not likely...

it's all part of the firmware as far as I can tell. You can telnet into it to see what's on there, modify things etc.

For me, it's not really worth doing as I'm happy with what I have on the HD200, but I'm sure there are a few who might like to see it. If SS really wanted to grow the consumer business, this sort of thing would be a big step in the right direction.