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HTPC viewing NTL/Sky channels (MythTV, PVR-150)

  • 04-04-2008 7:49pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,066 ✭✭✭


    I'm good with computers, but crap with TV and that stuff! :)


    I have MythTV installed and working well with a PVR-150. OS is Ubuntu.
    What I don't know is, how does one get MythTv to work with the white Sky box (non-DVR) and/or the NTL Pace? Is there a way of accessing all the channels via MythTV?

    Also, is anybody else using MythTV and if so, how do you pull down the TV listings? I'm having problems configuring XML-TV. It seems to want me to configure 207 or so channels... Pain.


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 325 ✭✭stiofanD


    Hey, I have my myth box working with my ntl/upc set top box. I bought one of these babys which allows Myth to set the channel on the ntl box when it come time to record somthing. It works fine with the ntl pace box and I believe it will also work with a Sky digibox.

    As for getting the listings, what sort of problem do you have? I find it easier to edit the xmltv config file directly rather than use the clumsy 'config' mode of xmltv. The config file is in ~/.xmltv AFAIK. If you want to take a look at mine, I can send it on.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,066 ✭✭✭10-10-20


    Hi StiofanD.

    What method are you using to get video from the NTL? Scart to s-video or something else?
    I had a look at the site, thanks for the link.
    I'll have a look at the config file on my system- I was unable to find it previously. The XMLTV tool is a pig altogether.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,066 ✭✭✭10-10-20


    OK, I had no luck in finding the config file.
    I assume I'm looking for the config for tv_grab_uk_rt? If so, I managed to find "channel_ids" which just provides a list of channels and URL's, but I don't get how I can link this to the terrestrial channels I have presently. I assume I have to input the channel details via mythtv-setup, but what links them to the XML scripts?

    Maybe if I saw your file I would have a notion...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 325 ✭✭stiofanD


    I have a SCART to composite/audio cable, something like this between the ntl box and my hauppage card. Picture quality is very good, even though its composite and not s-video. You can't use s-video as the ntl pace box does not put out an s-video signal.

    As for setting up the channels, when you create a video source through mythtv-setup, there should be a file in ~mythtv/.mythtv/<source>.xmltv where <source> is whatever name you gave to the video source. If you open this file, there should be a list of your channels in there. For example, for the ntl analogue channels:
    channel rte-1.rte.ie
    channel rte2.rte.ie
    channel tv3.ie
    channel tg4.ie
    channel utvlive.com
    channel channel4.com
    channel northern-ireland.bbc1.bbc.co.uk
    channel northern-ireland.bbc2.bbc.co.uk
    channel sky-one.sky.com
    channel sky-news.sky.com
    channel discoveryeurope.com
    channel mtv.co.uk
    channel livingtv.co.uk
    channel e4.channel4.com
    
    finally, if you have mythweb installed, go to the channel settings page and make sure that the xmltvid column for each channel in mythtv matches what you have in the xmltv config file.

    Hope that make some sense for you


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 535 ✭✭✭Dorsanty


    Okay I'm new to this scene too but have successfully got my HTPC up and running with Vista MCE. Am quite happy with it so might not go MythTV quite yet. STB is the UPC one. Doing composite video into a HVR-1300.

    How do you setup a situation where you can watch and record at the same time? Only with 2 TV cards and 2 STBs?

    I can plug in the basic non-digital NTL service and have access to all the channels that way. I assume that would allow watch and record with one STB and one TV card. I assume I can't plug in the basic cable and the composite source and have it record from one and let me watch the other.

    Could someone tell me 2 things that makes MythTV better then the windows MCE? Just so I can being to choose between them.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 325 ✭✭stiofanD


    Dorsanty wrote: »
    Okay I'm new to this scene too but have successfully got my HTPC up and running with Vista MCE. Am quite happy with it so might not go MythTV quite yet. STB is the UPC one. Doing composite video into a HVR-1300.

    How do you setup a situation where you can watch and record at the same time? Only with 2 TV cards and 2 STBs?

    I can plug in the basic non-digital NTL service and have access to all the channels that way. I assume that would allow watch and record with one STB and one TV card. I assume I can't plug in the basic cable and the composite source and have it record from one and let me watch the other.
    No, afraid not. The HVR card can effectively only encode one analogue signal into MPEG at a time. It can take the signal from either the composite port or via the co-ax tuner, but not both at the same time. You need two tuner cards for this. Or a Hauppauge PVR-500 which has two tuners built in. However, I believe this is now an end-of-line product.

    Looking at the Hauppauge website though, it looks like the HVR-1300 also has a digital tuner, so maybe (if you are close enough to 3-rock) you can record from the DVB-T transmission at the same time as you watch/record something from the cable.
    Could someone tell me 2 things that makes MythTV better then the windows MCE? Just so I can being to choose between them.
    Ummm.. never used MCE, but one advantage is that MythTV will happily run on a tiny mini-itx board with a puny 1GHz Via C3 processor. No need for a power-hungry P4!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,066 ✭✭✭10-10-20


    Another difference between Myth and MCE... You will learn linux quickly with Myth...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,949 ✭✭✭SouperComputer


    Dorsanty wrote: »
    Could someone tell me 2 things that makes MythTV better then the windows MCE? Just so I can being to choose between them.

    Its hard TBH. The main thing MythTV has over MCE is the lower specs needed and also the fact that its a proper server/client framework which is great for distributing your media throughout the home.

    Im at a stage where I feel they are two different things, MythTV is an excellent PVR with very powerful (read mindboggling detailed) scheuling options but its really weak at many other areas other than TV compared to MCE (music/photos/videos). As a media center as whole MCE in either 2005 or Vista flavour is well ahead of MythTV.

    HTPC's are a pretty personal thing, try MythTV and see if you like it. It never got the WAF (Wife acceptance Factor) in our home, and the clunkyness of the non-TV plugins resulted in it being scrapped for us. I have installed it for clients and they are quite happy with it. A couple of years ago, the killer features for MythTV were the ability to automatically remove ads and also to stream on the web. Both of these are taken care of (and debatably implmented better) for free now on MCE.

    KnoppMyth, Mythdora and Linux MCE are probably the easiest paths to start installing MythTV from.

    In general, what took you under three hours to setup with MCE, may well take a couple of days to have running on MythTV.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,066 ✭✭✭10-10-20


    I've had limited luck with XMLTV since.
    I managed to locate where the config files are stored... the .mythtv directory is hidden from view on my install for some reason.
    I added the channels you provided into the source.cfg file test the grabber, and I was able download the listings using tv_grab_uk_rt. So, it works to a point.
    Now, what I can't do is get myth to match up the channels to the grabber listings. I've configured some sample channels in Channel Editor and given them the XMLTV ID of rte-1.rte.ie, but even after running "mythupdatedatabase --manual" it fails to display the listings in the channel guide in Myth...

    I really do not find the manuals helpful at all. They make too many assumptions and aren't well formed.

    I appreciate your help.
    stiofanD wrote: »
    I have a SCART to composite/audio cable, something like this between the ntl box and my hauppage card. Picture quality is very good, even though its composite and not s-video. You can't use s-video as the ntl pace box does not put out an s-video signal.

    As for setting up the channels, when you create a video source through mythtv-setup, there should be a file in ~mythtv/.mythtv/<source>.xmltv where <source> is whatever name you gave to the video source. If you open this file, there should be a list of your channels in there. For example, for the ntl analogue channels:
    channel rte-1.rte.ie
    channel rte2.rte.ie
    channel tv3.ie
    ~~~~~~~~
    channel livingtv.co.uk
    channel e4.channel4.com
    
    finally, if you have mythweb installed, go to the channel settings page and make sure that the xmltvid column for each channel in mythtv matches what you have in the xmltv config file.

    Hope that make some sense for you


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 171 ✭✭adrian.s


    10-10-20 wrote: »
    I've had limited luck with XMLTV since.
    I managed to locate where the config files are stored... the .mythtv directory is hidden from view on my install for some reason.
    I added the channels you provided into the source.cfg file test the grabber, and I was able download the listings using tv_grab_uk_rt. So, it works to a point.
    Now, what I can't do is get myth to match up the channels to the grabber listings. I've configured some sample channels in Channel Editor and given them the XMLTV ID of rte-1.rte.ie, but even after running "mythupdatedatabase --manual" it fails to display the listings in the channel guide in Myth...

    I really do not find the manuals helpful at all. They make too many assumptions and aren't well formed.

    I appreciate your help.

    Sounds strange, when you run mythfilldatabase (I presume that's what you meant to type in your post), do you get to see it inserting all the data into the DB? Should be a lot of output on the command line.

    Have you checked on mythweb (TV, Channel Info) that the xmltv id's are set up correctly there.

    And I know this is a remote possibility, is there any chance you might have two databases around?

    A.


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