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0 services found in WMC - trying to get digital irish channels

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    #2
    watty
    Registered Users Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    The only Windows Media Centre any use is the Windows 7 version.

    On XP and vista you are better with 3rd party software that has its own MPEG4 Codec etc.
    http://www.techtir.ie/reviews/mobidtv-dual-usb-dtt
    http://www.techtir.ie/node/1003625


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    #3
    STB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭STB


    Forget MC under Vista.

    Install the free Mediaportal program. http://www.team-mediaportal.com/

    You should be fine with the tryouts with that program, these will also work.

    http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/11_Preparing_Your_System/1_Codecs/H.264%2f%2fx264_Codecs


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    #4
    rurs
    Registered Users Posts: 594 ✭✭✭rurs


    Maybe the aerial is the problem.

    Do you know which transmitter you are aiming for?
    You really need to have an indoor aerial in a window facing the transmitter.

    This page should help.

    Or have you TV with which you can fine tune the position of the aerial? An inch or two either way can make all the difference with indoor aerials.

    It still may not work well, as these type of amplified aerials are a vey compromised design. Something simpler, like this might be better. I bought one in Maplin Jervis St. a few days ago as I was travelling to Cavan for a few days.
    I managed to pick up Cairn Hill, over 20 miles away, from an upstairs window in the house I was staying in, on my netbook with a USB tuner.

    Nowhere near the £4.99 they're charging on the website though, €13.49 to you, sir. It's very lightweight, cheap plastic, but it's a good design, and it works.


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    #5
    dlol
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭dlol


    Hey Guys,

    Thanks for getting back. I've played around with MediaPortal a little before, but had some issues with the installation yesterday which I could go back and retry.

    One thing I'm unsure about (and it would be great if any of you could clarify):
    Whatever Media Centre I use, it should still pick up the channels. I might have problems viewing them without the codecs I need, but it should still find them when scanning?

    I should also add that I've now managed to find the radio stations when I scan, but no tv channels. Rurs, I didn't realise those tiny changes in the aerial position would make a difference, but moving it around eventually got me radio - so thanks for the tip!

    I'm a bit restricted in terms of how far I can be from the TV. From the map you pointed out, I should use 'Three Rock'; I have a window that points this direction, but I live in a basement apartment and I imagine other houses block my view. I may try the aerial you suggested to see if I can get it going.

    I also noticed that we have an old sky dish on my roof - I wonder could I plug that directly in to the PC and get the FTA channels?

    Finally (third question - sorry!), is it normal enough to just get radio and not tv if signal is low?

    Thanks again, I'll continue to tinker here!


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    #6
    desaparecidos
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,332 ✭✭✭desaparecidos


    dlol wrote: »
    Hey Guys,

    Thanks for getting back. I've played around with MediaPortal a little before, but had some issues with the installation yesterday which I could go back and retry.

    One thing I'm unsure about (and it would be great if any of you could clarify):
    Whatever Media Centre I use, it should still pick up the channels. I might have problems viewing them without the codecs I need, but it should still find them when scanning?

    I should also add that I've now managed to find the radio stations when I scan, but no tv channels. Rurs, I didn't realise those tiny changes in the aerial position would make a difference, but moving it around eventually got me radio - so thanks for the tip!

    I'm a bit restricted in terms of how far I can be from the TV. From the map you pointed out, I should use 'Three Rock'; I have a window that points this direction, but I live in a basement apartment and I imagine other houses block my view. I may try the aerial you suggested to see if I can get it going.

    I also noticed that we have an old sky dish on my roof - I wonder could I plug that directly in to the PC and get the FTA channels?

    Finally (third question - sorry!), is it normal enough to just get radio and not tv if signal is low?

    Thanks again, I'll continue to tinker here!

    No, the Radio and TV stations are on the same frequency, so if you are getting radio on DTT you should be getting TV.

    Vista Media Center may be intentionally ignoring the TV stations as they are MPEG4, but I would imagine they should show up in the listing anyway.

    As for the dish, yes, all you need is a coax feed from the LNB going into a DVB-S (get DVB-S2 to be safe) card on the PC. Vista Media Center does not support satellite TV so you will have to use third party like Media Portal, DVBViewer, ProgDVB, DVBDream, GB-PVR etc.

    Or try get a copy of Windows 7 and all your problems will be solved. Built in MPEG4 decoders, MHEG5 and satellite support so can have all the FTA sat and DTT channels on one listing, pause and rewind live TV, "series link" etc.

    Get a nice Media Center compatible remote control and you will have a great TV solution.

    EDIT:
    I see the HTPC has a GeForce 9300 GS graphics card. This supports hardware accelerated video decoding (dxva) so it's best to use a decoder which supports hardware acceleration to take pressure off of the CPU and ensure smooth HD playback. I'm not sure if the Nvidia PureVideo decoder comes free with Nvidia hardware, if it does use that, if not use CyberLink or Windows 7 decoders if you get Windows 7. ffdshow tryouts are good but the Hardware accelerated part is not fully working as far as I remember.


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    #7
    watty
    Registered Users Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    Core AVC is good for MPEG4 on XP and Vista. Not needed for Windows 7. It supports Nvidia Cuda (in the 9300 GS and others) "Purevideo HD" seems to be included with some Nvidia cards and not others. Nvidia's web site claims the "Buy me" Purevideo HD is only for GeForce 9 series. The non-HD version of Purevideo is MPEG2, not MPEG4


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    #8
    rurs
    Registered Users Posts: 594 ✭✭✭rurs


    dlol wrote: »

    I should also add that I've now managed to find the radio stations when I scan, but no tv channels. Rurs, I didn't realise those tiny changes in the aerial position would make a difference, but moving it around eventually got me radio - so thanks for the tip!

    I'm a bit restricted in terms of how far I can be from the TV. From the map you pointed out, I should use 'Three Rock'; I have a window that points this direction, but I live in a basement apartment and I imagine other houses block my view. I may try the aerial you suggested to see if I can get it going.

    Well a basement is always going to be tricky.

    Position the aerial as high as possible, either buy or make up a cable to extend how far the aerial is from the PC.

    I don't know if there's any software that shows signal strength and quality. If you can't do it with software, try to get a lend of even an old portable TV and tune it to TG4 analogue. That's on ch55, and the DTT is 54 from Three Rock. So with analogue you'll see a snowy picture, you can then move the aerial around to get the picture as good as possible, then connect the aerial to PC, and try a scan again.


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    #9
    dlol
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭dlol


    It works!

    It turns out that Media Centre was not showing the channels, probably as desaparecidos said due to it not thinking it could play it (I thought just installing ffdshow would enable this, but maybe I actually need to point it to the decoder). I got them displaying using dvbviewer though. It was a little choppy, but I imagine this will change based on my setup on the PC.

    Right, thanks a lot for the help guys. Next challenge will be trying to get a signal from the satellite on the roof, and maybe picking up a copy of w7 to solve all possible issues :) Either way, appreciate it!


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