MEDIA PORTAL. THE ULTIMATE HTPC FRONT END

[SciDoctor]

For those seriously fedup/lost with the ATI MMC and run W2Ksp4 or XPsp2 then you should try MEDIAPORTAL. .NET 2.x has to be installed.

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/

http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/sh...ad.php?t=11531

Open source,daily updates if you wish Better than MCE or CMC.Friendly and helpful FORUM

XP has to have sp2 installed for the latest streambuffer engine.

W2ksp4 needs the files sbe.dll, sbeio.dll and wmvcore2.dll added to system32 folder then run 'regsvr32 sbe.dll' and 'regsvr32 wmvcore2.dll' to upgrade to the stream buffer engine.

ATI drivers.

CCC isn't required so you can use the control panel if desired .
(Remember the CATALYST package is three basic parts DRIVER,WDM and CCC they can be instaled independantly)

6.5 driver is probably the best to use as later version have severe problems with many programs .

6.5 driver is the best and last to use with pre9500 ATI cards.

You can use later than 6.5 driver with post 9500 cards if desired but be aware that there may be problems .

WHICH WDM TO use ?

For pre 9500 cards then use the WDM NSP drivers found with 6.2 - 6.4 catalyst package.

All ATI WDM drivers need to be release 6.14.10.6325 in the device manager.

For certain AIW like the 9000 you will need to manualy force the instal of the NSP drivers as the basic ATI auto instal will not.

Post 9500 cards use the latest T-200 driver which should instal without any problems.


MPEG encoding the analog stream?

This is required from the ATI 6.6 encoder package or the latest 6.8 package .

The important file is the ATIMCENC.dll in the system32 folder ('regsvr32.dll atimcenc.dll' if you manualy copy this file)

This will now give you the three ATI Media Center filters required for MPEGstream encoding. All cards will also now work with MMC9.15 if desired!? and MCE )

Leting MediaPortal now how to handle your card and filters?

Media Portal uses a filter graph construct to enable TV cards to be recognised and feed the required MPEG2 stream to the MP engine (at the moment based on the MS streambuffer encoder engine)

More details are over at the MP Forums but the basisc graphs are as follows.
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54

For T-200 drivers post 9500 cards.

<capturecard commercialname="ATI All-in-Wonder X series (Analogue)" capturename="ATI T200 AVStream Analog Capture" devid="ntativrv01">
<capabilities tv="true" radio="true" mpeg2="true" mce="false" sw="false" bda="false"/>
<tv>
<interface cat="mux" video="" audio="" mpeg2="0"/>
<filters>
<filter cat="tvtuner" name="ATI T200 AVStream Analog Tuner" checkdevice="false"/>
<filter cat="tvaudio" name="ATI T200 AVStream Analog TV Audio" checkdevice="false"/>
<filter cat="crossbar" name="ATI T200 AVStream Analog Xbar" checkdevice="true"/>
<filter cat="capture" name="ATI T200 AVStream Analog Capture" checkdevice="true"/>
<filter cat="videncoder" name="ATI Media Center Video Encoder" checkdevice="false"/>
<filter cat="audencoder" name="ATI Media Center Audio Encoder" checkdevice="false"/>
<filter cat="mux" name="ATI Media Center Multiplexer" checkdevice="false"/>
</filters>
<connections>
<connection sourcefilter="tvtuner" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="crossbar" sinkpin="%tvtuner%"/>
<connection sourcefilter="tvtuner" sourcepin="1" sinkfilter="tvaudio" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="tvaudio" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="crossbar" sinkpin="%audiotuner%"/>
<connection sourcefilter="crossbar" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="capture" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="crossbar" sourcepin="1" sinkfilter="capture" sinkpin="1"/>
<connection sourcefilter="capture" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="videncoder" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="capture" sourcepin="4" sinkfilter="audencoder" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="videncoder" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="mux" sinkpin="1"/>
<connection sourcefilter="audencoder" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="mux" sinkpin="0"/>
</connections>
</tv>
</capturecard>


For WDM NSP drivers and pre 9500 cards.

capturecard commercialname="ATI AIW 9200 Cards or earlier" capturename="ATI Rage Theater Video Capture" devid="ntativrv35">
<capabilities tv="true" radio="false" mpeg2="true" mce="false" sw="false" bda="false"/>
<tv>
<interface cat="mux" video="" audio="" mpeg2="0"/>
<filters>
<filter cat="tvtuner" name="ATI TV Tuner" checkdevice="true"/>
<filter cat="tvaudio" name="ATI TV Audio" checkdevice="true"/>
<filter cat="crossbaraudio" name="ATI TV Audio Crossbar" checkdevice="true"/>
<filter cat="crossbarvideo" name="ATI Rage Theater Video Crossbar" checkdevice="true"/>
<filter cat="capture" name="ATI Rage Theater Video Capture" checkdevice="true"/>
<filter cat="videncoder" name="ATI Media Center Video Encoder" checkdevice="false"/>
<filter cat="audencoder" name="ATI Media Center Audio Encoder" checkdevice="false"/>
<filter cat="mux" name="ATI Media Center Multiplexer" checkdevice="false"/>
</filters>
<connections>
<connection sourcefilter="tvtuner" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="crossbaraudio" sinkpin="%tvtuner%"/>
<connection sourcefilter="tvtuner" sourcepin="1" sinkfilter="tvaudio" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="tvaudio" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="crossbaraudio" sinkpin="%audiotuner%"/>
<connection sourcefilter="crossbaraudio" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="crossbarvideo" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="crossbaraudio" sourcepin="1" sinkfilter="crossbarvideo" sinkpin="2"/>
<connection sourcefilter="crossbaraudio" sourcepin="2" sinkfilter="crossbarvideo" sinkpin="1"/>
<connection sourcefilter="crossbaraudio" sourcepin="3" sinkfilter="capture" sinkpin="1"/>
<connection sourcefilter="crossbarvideo" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="capture" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="capture" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="videncoder" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="capture" sourcepin="4" sinkfilter="audencoder" sinkpin="0"/>
<connection sourcefilter="videncoder" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="mux" sinkpin="1"/>
<connection sourcefilter="audencoder" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="mux" sinkpin="0"/>
</connections>
</tv>
</capturecard>


PROBLEMS.

Most problems are due to different hardware specs of the TV cards specific to the user, this means that the 'pin' in/outs may be different on certain filters and need changing. See the MP hardware forums for more help and the use of GRAPHEDIT to find details.

Also the devid="ntativrv"?? where ?? mathces the filter specific to your cards .

[zob]

I tryed MEDIAPORTAL with AIW x1900 & CCC 6.9 Program see's no tv tuner card.

[SciDoctor]

I tryed MEDIAPORTAL with AIW x1900 & CCC 6.9 Program see's no tv tuner card.

Did you post on the MEDIA PORTAL hardware forum for help?

Problems like these can normaly be sorted quickly with a little help with graphedit and checking you have the correct filters installed and which pins are present with respect to your card.

A filter graph construct is then added to the required xml file and then all should work fine.

Head over to the MP forum for help .

[Sharkfood]

Whoah! Thanks SciDoctor!

I wish I knew about this thing earlier... I've been doing a ton of work with XLobby (ripping movies) and had just adandoned any kind of TV/tuner capability using ATI hardware.

I'm gonna play with this as it looks like a LOT less work than I've been putting into XLobby (which I've been digging totally).

Sidenote- do you know off the top of your head if anyone has made a RW plug-in or similar for this beastie? I'm gonna dig into this neato looking open source software in the next few weeks.

[Sharkfood]

Well, I spent about an hour gacking with MediaPortal. Nice toy so far.

I have one question though.. I see you referencing "6.6 encoder" alot.. which version is this? 9.13/9.14/9.15? The encoders on ATI's site jump from 6_5..encoder.exe to 6_8..encoder.exe. (I manually plunked an atimcenc.dll from the 6_8 one from 9.15 and this seems to work, but planning on doing a fresh re-install WITHOUT MMC on the HTPC in the living room).

So far I've got all the TV tuner stuff working but quality looks pretty... poor by comparison to ATI's TV or other TV tuner apps. Of course I also had the audio sync issue but choosing different audio renderers, I found one much closer to being in-sync.

A lot of promise! I'll have to dig into TV-guide/program info. next as there doesn't seem to be any drop-in help for us Yanks' here in California. Given how extensible and configurable this thing is, it should be trivial at best to make my own plug-ins for it. This is definately something I'll be using.

[SciDoctor]

6.5, 6.6 (came on an ATi CD) and 6.8 ecoders all work.

There is very little difference between them . The important issue is geting ATIMCENC.dll registerd for the ATI Media Center filters as you have found and which ATI try to stop being installed on alot of their cards.

Odd you find TV quality poor; I find my 9800 and 9000 and 7000pci (all THEATRE 200 based) give much better PQ in MP than any other app espeacialy compared to the MMC 9.09-9.15 which force TOD.

I still prefer the Cyberlink ATI filters with thte ATI cards and audio sync seems to be a problem with some setups unless you choose default direct sound.

There is native X10 support for the RW inbuilt into MP, you need to turn it on in the config. If running native you will need to disable the ATI RW software as youwill now get duplicated responses.
There was a RW ammo plugin but it is no a little out of date, seee the RW plugin website.

[Sharkfood]

Thanks again SciDoctor! I got the X10/ATI flavor working with the remote and still pluggin' away.

This thing blows MMC away in just about every way.

The TV/IQ thing is mainly since it's being blown up to a 50+" HDTV at 720p. Believe it or not, DVD-High even on MMC 9.15 looked pretty good as we have a strong analog signal + 25dba booster on the house feed. It seems to be more the scaling that's the problem as MMC's TV would zoom/scale it up to better fit the 16:9 screen, but it's boxed in MediaPortal and going wide adds all sorts of scaling artifact's ATI's doesn't.

I think we're going to just toss the whole AIW line and try going with an HDTV Wonder or Hauppauge. We've got a UHF antenna the size of New Jersey on the roof we're gonna see if it picks up OTA HD UHF signals as we're about 8 miles from an OTA HD broadcast point/clear shot with no big trees or buildings. I'm definately going to stick with this MediaPortal though as it's something I've been looking for.

Thanks man! I'm gonna dig into tv-guide listings this week. Looks like it feeds from an XML file, which I'm sure I can likely massage Titan-TV feeds to XML with a simple program.

[rjgeisler]

I had some trouble getting this to run. I followed all the instructions and finally found one method, actually 2, that worked for my ATI AIW X800 XT.

First, good luck finding the 6-3_encoder unless you managed to download it prior to the AMD Convoluted mess they call a website. I used:
6-4_encoder_31959 from MMC 9.13.

I edited the "CaptureCardDefinitions.xml" to include the 3 definitions for the X-Series boards. They are all commented out.

When I setup MP it showed the ATI board but nothing worked so I selected it and then deleted it and then clicked on add. It will find the board and then you need to set it up for the correct broadcast standard. It defaults to PAL!

Now I can play to see if I like this!

[Agustus]

Yeah, I really liked MediaPortal, its so good that you can’t help thinking to yourself “This it FREE!?! OMG!!!”

I ran MP some time ago on an ATI TV Wonder VE (never really got sound working right) and later on a Theater 550 Pro (everything worked great!).

As I recall setting up XMTV listings seemed a bit difficult but it really wasn’t, in fact it was actually very easy. There was a good guide for setting up listings (complete with pix) and if I can find it I’ll post it.

I don’t use MP because I moved on to MCE before I actually tried MP and I like MCE better but they were really doing some great things with MP,…. its really good software.

[Shoey Peachew]

First, good luck finding the 6-3_encoder unless you managed to download it prior to the AMD Convoluted mess they call a website.

The old drivers are hidden away at their website and I figured out how to access them.

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33873367

A bit of a hassle but it works.

[krutknut]

Pretends to be Nero and Crashes

Can't see what you people are so excited about. The configuration tool crashes aready at the page trying to find tv channels. It pops up a window with the title "Nero" and complains that it can't find a dll which I actually have on my system.

[SciDoctor]

Can't see what you people are so excited about. The configuration tool crashes aready at the page trying to find tv channels. It pops up a window with the title "Nero" and complains that it can't find a dll which I actually have on my system.

If you have problems then use the MediaPortal forums where you will find a lot of help.

As I have no basic problems using MP on w2ksp4, XPsp2 and VISTA 32bit with a lot of ATI hardware then your viewpoint is a little odd.

In future post a little more info if you want help espeacialy when you post on the MP forums; their guide gives in detail what is helpful to include for forum users and devs to help debug your problems.

There is also logs produced in th MP directory that can help with pinpointing errors with your setup.

A little patience and you could have yourself a very good HTPC application running.

[kencl]

Thanks for the lead!

Just installed my TV Wonder 650 last night and decided to skip ATI software altogether and went straight to MediaPortal 0.2.2.0. Other than a crash during setup when scanning channels, and a known bug which causes problems switching between windowed and fullscreen (just choose to start fullscreen in config and you'll have no problem) all is great!

Here's a link to help people in North America setup their EPG: Mediaportal XMLTV Setup - North America

And here's one for a free CODEC installer / viewer utility to help you figure out what you need / have.

I previously purchased Cyberlink's PowerDVD 6 and I find that chaning the video CODEC to the CyberLink Video/SP Decoder results in better looking TV (or seems to).

[SciDoctor]

With ATI hardware the Cyberlink ATI decoders do offer the best performance and so they should as they are optimised.

In the config you can also adjust the (any) decoders atributes if you choose post processing.

With respect to the resizing bug, a workaround is to ensure you have NO video playing and you are in the HOME screen and then Direct x crashes are very rare.

[WarlorD721]

This not compatible with my 8500 AIW

[SciDoctor]

This not compatible with my 8500 AIW

The problem is that the RAGE theatre drivers aren't pin compatable with the ATI MEDIA CENTER filters. MediaPortal like MCE relies on the software mpeg encoding of the video stream done by these filters.

Only Theatre 200 chipset AIW are supported.

[Hyrax]

Hey SciDoc. I was actually searching through the Media Portal forums to see why my AIW 9800 Pro wouldn't work and saw you were a poster there.

Can you offter any assistance as to why it says it can't find a tv tuner?

[SciDoctor]

Which TV engine version of MediaPortal are you using.

TVe2 is the standard version and should worl fine with the AIW with either T200 drivers or the WMD-sp/nsp.

The newer TVe3 (the TV service ) is not compatable with many software based TV cards like the AIW or TV wonder and majors in the DVB-T,-S, etc digital broadcasts.

Post your MP logs in the thread over at MP Forums and I will have a look at them and see what the problem is.

My AIW 9000 (with WDM-NSP drivers and CATS 7.1)and AIW 9800 (either T200 or WDM-NSP drivers) works fine with standard MP.

[D3xx]

Does anyone know how the 2600xt/pro cards work with Media Portal? Does MP make use of the gpu hardware acceleration?

[SciDoctor]

Does anyone know how the 2600xt/pro cards work with Media Portal? Does MP make use of the gpu hardware acceleration?

As the hardware accleration features are part of the DSHOW filters and codecs then MP shouldn't pose any problems as it builds the GRAHPS form the desired filters.

ATM there does seem to be the usual ATI/AMD driver problems with these new cards, some peple are resorting to editing the REG to get features that should work, working.

A couple of CAT releases should see the problems ironed out .

[CurlySue]

Hi SciDoctor...

Regarding your enthusiasm for your MediaPortal software....

I am "seriously fedup" and totally disgusted, dismayed and lacking all trust in ATI technical support or their ability to communicate and resolve issues with the OEM Cyberlink clowns, and run Windows XP SP2 with all current updates, rollups, etc, all DirectX 9c updates, and all .NET Framework 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0 updates as well.

> For those seriously fedup/lost with the ATI MMC and run W2Ksp4 or XPsp2 then you should try MEDIAPORTAL. .NET 2.x has to be installed.

I have a TV Wonder 650 PCI and while I now know that the CMC software is SERIOUSLY FLAWED, I am looking for an alternative that will record 720p free-to-air HDTV or ATSC programs.

> http://www.team-mediaportal.com/

After reviewing the web page, http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/Supported_TVCard_ATSC, it appears that my ATI TV Wonder 650 is not supported.

I am curious, does anyone know that the askerisk (*) denotes? It is shown three times for the ATI HDTV Wonder, but the web page offers no explanation.

On the http://www.team-mediaportal.com/requirements.html web page, it states "1080i HDTV Minimum Hardware Requirements" but does not mention anything regarding 720p requirements.

Since I am primarily interested in software capable of recording 720p channels (without AV sync problems, like the P.O.S. TV Wonder 650 and its CMC software), it seems reasonable to conclude that I should not waste your time or any of my time pursuing this software given the current state of its' applicable cards, etc.

CurlySue

[Andrew 1961]

I went and found the 650 included twice, one ATSC and one NTSC just as you'd need for MP to identify the ATi 650. So, I'm guessing you'd be SET. I know MP has no problem identifying my HDTV-Wonder or my HVR-1600. IF you're concerned about 1080i performance, open your TaskManager and watch your CPU&#37;, see if your video card has hardware assist, and set your drivers accordingly.

- <capturecard commercialname="ATI TV Wonder 650 (NTSC)" capturename="ATI AVStream Analog Capture" devid="ven_1002&dev_4d50&subsys_a6981002&rev_00">
<capabilities tv="true" radio="true" mpeg2="true" mce="false" sw="false" bda="false" />
- <tv>
<interface cat="mux" video="" audio="" mpeg2="0" />
- <filters>
<filter cat="tvtuner" name="ATI AVStream Analog Tuner" checkdevice="true" />
<filter cat="tvaudio" name="ATI AVStream Analog TV Audio" checkdevice="true" />
<filter cat="crossbar" name="ATI AVStream Analog Xbar" checkdevice="true" />
<filter cat="capture" name="ATI AVStream Analog Capture" checkdevice="true" />
<filter cat="mux" name="ATI AVStream MPEG2 Multiplexer" checkdevice="true" />
</filters>
- <connections>
<connection sourcefilter="tvtuner" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="crossbar" sinkpin="%tvtuner%" />
<connection sourcefilter="tvtuner" sourcepin="1" sinkfilter="tvaudio" sinkpin="0" />
<connection sourcefilter="tvaudio" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="crossbar" sinkpin="%audiotuner%" />
<connection sourcefilter="crossbar" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="capture" sinkpin="0" />
<connection sourcefilter="crossbar" sourcepin="1" sinkfilter="capture" sinkpin="1" />
<connection sourcefilter="capture" sourcepin="3" sinkfilter="mux" sinkpin="0" />
<connection sourcefilter="capture" sourcepin="4" sinkfilter="mux" sinkpin="1" />
</connections>
</tv>
</capturecard>
- <capturecard commercialname="ATI TV Wonder 650 (ATSC)" capturename="ATI BDA Digital Capture" devid="ven_1002&dev_4d50&subsys_a6981002&rev_00">
<capabilities tv="true" radio="false" mpeg2="true" mce="false" sw="false" bda="true" />
- <tv>
<interface cat="capture" video="3" audio="4" mpeg2="1" sectionsandtables="2" />
- <filters>
<filter cat="networkprovider" name="Microsoft ATSC Network Provider" checkdevice="false" />
<filter cat="tunerdevice" name="ATI BDA Digital Tuner" checkdevice="true" />
<filter cat="capture" name="ATI BDA Digital Capture" checkdevice="true" />
</filters>
- <connections>
<connection sourcefilter="networkprovider" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="tunerdevice" sinkpin="0" />
<connection sourcefilter="tunerdevice" sourcepin="0" sinkfilter="capture" sinkpin="0" />
</connections>
</tv>
</capturecard>

EDIT: As you see from my signature, my system is several years old and I have NO PROBLEM with 720p or 1080i material. I'd also suggest trying the SIMPLE application, WatchHDTV if you need to 'test out' your system. It's free and does what it does, VERY WELL! It's just not as integrated as MP.

[CurlySue]

I must be blind or . . .

. . . on the wrong page, Andrew.

Thank you for your reply too!!

The web page that I referred to in my posting only lists or contains:

Supported ATSC TVCards

note:

ATSC support is still work in progess

• HowTo add a Card
• always use the latest drivers

Common name
Chipset
Interface
Live TV
Record TV
Timeshift TV
Radio
Common Interface
ATI HDTV Wonder
Conexant 2388x
PCI
Yes*
Yes*
Yes*
N/A
/
AverMedia AVerTVHD MCE A180
Philips SAA713x
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
Dvico FusionHDTV II ATSC
Conexant 878A
PCI
???
???
???
???
/
Dvico FusionHDTV III ATSC
Conexant 2388x
PCI
???
???
???
???
/
Dvico FusionHDTV5 Gold Plus
Conexant 2388x
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
Dvico FusionHDTV5 Gold Lite
Conexant 878A
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
?Dvico FusionHDTV5 USB
Conexant 878A
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
PCHDTV
Conexant 2388x
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
Twinhan VisionDTV ATSC
Conexant 878A
PCI
???
???
???
???
/
VBox DTA-110
BIC 951
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
VBox DTA-111
BIC 951
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
VBox Cat's Eye DTA-150
BIC 951
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
?VBox Cat's Eye DTA-151
BIC 951
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/
VBox Cats's Eye USB-A 3560
BIC 951
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
/


MediaPortal Wiki: Supported TVCard ATSC (last edited 2007-02-03 12:39:46 by idioteque)

As before, I see nothing for the TV Wonder 650. I also checked every web page associated with the following link and info:

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/Sup...ard+ATSC%29%29

Supported TV Cards

Here you can find a list of natively supported TV tuner cards by MediaPortal:

* Analog Hardware Encoding
* Analog Software Encoding
* DVB-C (Cable) DVB-C Wikipedia
* DVB-S (Satellite) DVB-S Wikipedia
* DVB-T (Terrestrial) DVB-T Wikipedia
* ATSC(United States HDTV) ATSC Wikipedia
* Hybrid (combination of analoge and/or DVB on one card)

Perhaps, if you share the precise web page where you found such detailed info, I could find the same.

In addition, it is not 1080i performance that concerns me, its 720p performance and the INABILITY of the TV Wonder 650 (with or without CMC - my jury is out on this issue) to record free-to-air ATSC 720p channels without suffering AV sync problems.

What has your experience been recording 720p channels with your HDTV-Wonder?

I am curious, since I am fairly naive regarding getting the most out of what I currently classify as P.O.S. tuner and software, the TV Wonder 650 PCI and CMC, how to set my driver(s) accordingly?

I do understand how to watch my CPU% as I have done this before - if memory serves me, it ran somewhere between 11% to 17% (approx).

My video card is an ATI 256MB 1300X PRO, and I am running the latest ATI Catalyst 7.8 Driver 8.401.0.0 version.

Hey, I wish I had purchase the Hauppauge HVR-1600 before dropping $130 plus $10 for the TV Wonder 650 P.O.S. and Remote Wonder Plus. Once again, however, I am PRIMARILY concerned with its ability to successfully record, without AV sync problems, free-to air ATSC 720p channels. Any experience recording 720p with your HVR-1600?

Also, back to the website, I found nothing on the Hauppauge HVR-1600. Do you have an similar link for it?

A few weeks ago, I did download WatchHDTV and while it was nice software to watch HDTV, I was unable to record and when I tried, it would lock up or freeze. I suspect it could not communicate with the ATI WDM driver, but since I was also a new TV Wonder 650 PCI owner, I expected ATI technical support to be something better than "...do you want fries with that?" service. Of course, I realize that's an insult to McDonald's fans and employees, since, in my experience with ATI, they are VASTLY SUPERIOR in both INTELLECT, EXPERTISE and ABILITY than the MORONS at ATI. But I digress.

Thanks again!!

Suzanne "CurlySue"

[Andrew 1961]

CHILL dude! MP is FREE and will most likely work on your system. I say "most likely" as you've not clearly stated your OS. WatchHDTV is not supported on newer OS but is for WinXP and a few more. Also WatchHDTV does support the 650... did you said you're running WinXP-Home/sp2? For more on this look here: http://watchhdtv.net/program.aspx

As far as MP you really should be posting on THEIR site... there are a lot of talented folks on it. Please don't get all EXCITED about the documentation, it's behind at best... and it's FREE! Did I mention it's FREE? What's it gonna cost you to download a FREE copy of their latest RC, load it and configure? I included the actual lines of code from their latest CaptureCardDefinitions.xlm file which IS the source, which you too can examine because it's in the download and is F___! If you want to complain about their documentation, join in and submit updates for all to read! If you want a solution, download it and give it a try -- you'll be amazed!

As far as using WatchHDTV, did you understand how to configure it? Set it up? Did you use the included Utility to create your decoders.txt file? How about establishing the folders for the recordings to go into BEFORE you open the app and try recording/time-shifting. It's a SWEET, basic and free app written as a non-resource hog... You've gotta chill.

Once more, my system spec shows how 'old' MY system is and I have NO ISSUE recording, timeshifting, or playing back either format. The RW has a couple o' .dll files you let the ATI RW icon load up to control WatchHDTV just fine! Unless the 650 has a hardware bug I'd expect it to perform similar to the Wonder. Both of MY tuners work flawlessly... yours should too.

The only latitude I'll grant you is the ATi s/w development and releases are pure crap. I've been using their MMC for a long time and remain WAY back in age because most of their new stuff is.... ____ ____. I fell in love with WatchHDTV but have begun evaluating MP because of this post as I was curious how a more integrated TV-Guide, TV, Video, etc solution might work for me. Sure MP is poorly documented, give it a try and don't rush pressing buttons -- its interface can be slow.

[SciDoctor]

If you are going to use MP then it is best to start using the newer TVe3 (the tvservice with database) (development of the old TVe2 is almost at an end)

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/TV-Engine_0.3

Read through this and then follow the step by step guide.

Feedback problems in the MP forum for the TV server

http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/tv...e_0_3-f88.html

The most difficult aspect is probably getting the SQL database setup correct.

There is now an MpTestTool in the main MP folder that when run collects all the required debug logs for the devs and testers to see what may be the problem and give help.

[CurlySue]

insult and derision, thanks, Andrew

> CHILL dude!

Huh??? CHILL dude???

Gee, Andrew, it doesn't take much to get you going!!! I did criticize ATI technical support, a criticism well earned, and now you tell me to CHILL???

Regarding my criticism, as it has be EXCEEDINGLY well earned, it bears repeating, ". . . but since I was also a new TV Wonder 650 PCI owner, I expected ATI technical support to be something better than "...do you want fries with that?" service. Of course, I realize that's an insult to McDonald's fans and employees, since, in my experience with ATI, they are VASTLY SUPERIOR in both INTELLECT, EXPERTISE and ABILITY than the MORONS at ATI."

> MP is FREE and will most likely work on your system.

Yes, I have understood that from the beginning. Why the lecture???

> I say "most likely" as you've not clearly stated your OS.

It seems clear that you did not read my initial posting to SciDoctor thoroughly, because in the very beginning I said, ". . . Windows XP SP2 with all current updates, rollups, etc, all DirectX 9c updates, and all .NET Framework 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0 updates as well."

> WatchHDTV is not supported on newer OS but is for WinXP and a few more.

What else didn't you read in my initial posting?

> Also WatchHDTV does support the 650... did you said you're running WinXP-Home/sp2? For more on this look here: http://watchhdtv.net/program.aspx

As I said in my follow-up to your posted reply, ". . . I did download WatchHDTV and while it was nice software to watch HDTV, I was unable to record and when I tried, it would lock up or freeze. I suspect it could not communicate with the ATI WDM driver. . ."

Perhaps I should have said something more CHILLing like, I did download WatchHDTV and while it was nice software to watch HDTV, it would not RecordTV without locking up or freezing.

> As far as MP you really should be posting on THEIR site... there are a lot of talented folks on it.

At this point, I find your postings confusing, Andrew. First, you said ". . . went and found the 650 included twice. . ." to which I replied, "Perhaps, if you share the precise web page where you found such detailed info. . ." But you have not, so I cannot do the same. I wonder why? She said retorically.

> Please don't get all EXCITED about the documentation, it's behind at best... and it's FREE! Did I mention it's FREE? What's it gonna cost you to download a FREE copy of their latest RC, load it and configure?

Did I mention it's FREE? WHAT??? Now you're are intentionally insulting me with your derision, and like the MORONS at ATI technical support, I DO NOT APPRECIATE IT!!!

> I included the actual lines of code from their latest CaptureCardDefinitions.xlm file which IS the source, which you too can examine because it's in the download and is F___!

You said, ". . . went and found the 650 included twice. . ." and now you say that you "included the actual lines of code from their latest CaptureCardDefinitions.xlm file?" Gee, Andrew, its a good thing that I am an engineer and have a good handle on comprehension, because while I appreciated your initial reply, dude, I must say that I find your reading comprehension, writing precision and accuracy, along with your insulting tone and derision, a waste of my time.

> If you want to complain about their documentation, join in and submit updates for all to read! If you want a solution, download it and give it a try -- you'll be amazed!

No comment.

> As far as using WatchHDTV, did you understand how to configure it? Set it up?

No, I am an Andrew and I do not read well - I only read what I want to read. I am a MORON, like the staff at ATI technical support. Did you read my words, ". . .and while it was nice software to watch HDTV, I was unable to record . . ?" Doubt it.

> Did you use the included Utility to create your decoders.txt file?

Duh! Dude.

> How about establishing the folders for the recordings to go into BEFORE you open the app and try recording/time-shifting. It's a SWEET, basic and free app written as a non-resource hog...

I can't read and I am not interested in time-shifting, Andrew, as I said and repeated in my initial post and follow-up post, I am interested in MediaPortal's ability to record 720p without AV sync problems. Of course, I now know that you didn't read that, you chose to focus on your own issues and wanted to insult me repeatedly.

> You've gotta chill.

GFY, Andrew.

> Once more, my system spec shows how 'old' MY system is and I have NO ISSUE recording, timeshifting, or playing back either format.

I don't care about your system or your inability to respond to questions or comprehend the writings of others, Andrew.

> The RW has a couple o' .dll files you let the ATI RW icon load up to control WatchHDTV just fine!

Unbelievable. You just mutter on.

> Unless the 650 has a hardware bug I'd expect it to perform similar to the Wonder. Both of MY tuners work flawlessly... yours should too.

Of course, Andrew, your system, as does everything in your life, I suspect, works flawlessly! To bad that you can't say that about your reading comprehension.

> The only latitude I'll grant you is the ATi s/w development and releases are pure crap. I've been using their MMC for a long time and remain WAY back in age because most of their new stuff is.... ____ ____.

Really!?!? Color me surprised.

> I fell in love with WatchHDTV

Obviously.

> . . . but have begun evaluating MP because of this post as I was curious how a more integrated TV-Guide, TV, Video, etc solution might work for me.

Oh. Your initial words and excessive (code) text implied something more than curiosity to me. Course, my reading comprehension is clealy subordinate to ATI technical support.

> Sure MP is poorly documented, give it a try and don't rush pressing buttons -- its interface can be slow.

I don't recall ever criticising MP documentation. I only stated that after visiting the ". . . web page that I referred to in my posting . . . I see nothing for the TV Wonder 650."

As everyone now knows, I went on to say that I also checked every web page associated with the following link and info:

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/Sup...ard+ATSC%29%29

Supported TV Cards

Here you can find a list of natively supported TV tuner cards by MediaPortal:

* Analog Hardware Encoding
* Analog Software Encoding
* DVB-C (Cable) DVB-C Wikipedia
* DVB-S (Satellite) DVB-S Wikipedia
* DVB-T (Terrestrial) DVB-T Wikipedia
* ATSC(United States HDTV) ATSC Wikipedia
* Hybrid (combination of analoge and/or DVB on one card)

And then, kindly, said ". . . if you share the precise web page where you found such detailed info, I could find the same." But we both know that can't happen because you did NOT find this information on the web page, you found it in the MediaPortal code!!! WOW!!!

Then I stated that ". . . it is not 1080i performance that concerns me, its 720p performance and the INABILITY of the TV Wonder 650 (with or without CMC - my jury is out on this issue) to record free-to-air ATSC 720p channels without suffering AV sync problems." Following this statement, I said, kindly, "I am curious, since I am fairly naive regarding getting the most out of what I currently classify as P.O.S. tuner and software, the TV Wonder 650 PCI and CMC, how to set my driver(s) accordingly?" Of course, we all now know that you chose not to reply to this because you prefer abusing others directly or indirectly, with or without reading comprehension skills.

Following the above statements and or questions, I added that "I do understand how to watch my CPU% as I have done this before - if memory serves me, it ran somewhere between 11% to 17% (approx). My video card is an ATI 256MB 1300X PRO, and I am running the latest ATI Catalyst 7.8 Driver 8.401.0.0 version."

Then I stated that " . . . I wish I had purchase the Hauppauge HVR-1600 before dropping $130 plus $10 for the TV Wonder 650 P.O.S. and Remote Wonder Plus. Once again, however, I am PRIMARILY concerned with its ability to successfully record, without AV sync problems, free-to air ATSC 720p channels."

I also asked, kindly, " . . . back to the website, I found nothing on the Hauppauge HVR-1600. Do you have an similar link for it?" Of course, we all now know that you are not likely to have a reply to this because it may not be in the same "code" where you "went and found the 650 included twice, one ATSC and one NTSC just as you'd need for MP to identify the ATi 650."

I should take the time to review my grammar and choice of words, but your reply is not worthy.

Later, DUDE!!!

With due disdain for your insults and derision,

CS

[CurlySue]

for SciDoctor . . .

Hi, and thank you for your reply, SciDoctor.

> If you are going to use MP then it is best to start using the newer TVe3 (the tvservice with database) (development of the old TVe2 is almost at an end)

> http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/TV-Engine_0.3

Okay. I did download MediaPortal_0.2.2.zip and will look at this as well.

> Read through this and then follow the step by step guide.

Thank you. I shall.

> Feedback problems in the MP forum for the TV server

http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/tv...e_0_3-f88.html

Okay.

> The most difficult aspect is probably getting the SQL database setup correct.

SQL? I will investigate.

> There is now an MpTestTool in the main MP folder that when run collects all the required debug logs for the devs and testers to see what may be the problem and give help.

Nice!

> ...an ounce of perception , a pound of obscure....

Indeed.

Thanks again, SciDoctor!!

Regards,

Suzanne "CurlySue"

[x-tech]

CurlySue, do you drink huge amounts of coffee?

[Andrew 1961]

As the hardware accleration features are part of the DSHOW filters and codecs then MP shouldn't pose any problems as it builds the GRAHPS form the desired filters.

ATM there does seem to be the usual ATI/AMD driver problems with these new cards, some peple are resorting to editing the REG to get features that should work, working.

A couple of CAT releases should see the problems ironed out .

Maybe a bit off-topic; but WHAT is so UNIQUE about Catalyst 5.4 and its WDM_NSP drivers that this configuration warrants its own "ATI AIW 9x00 Cards" MP tuner definition? Maybe I just need to update my Catalyst driver... any suggestions?

[Spragleknas]

FYI:
Catalyst ver. post 7.2 screws up some skins, and make MP crash.

[Lkr721993]

does anyone have TV Wonder 600 working?

[Andrew 1961]

THANKS for posting this thread - it changed how I use my HTPC

It's been YEARS since I've been on this site. I wanted to recognize how good a product MediaPortal has been and has become in the YEARS since I first stumbled across this thread.

T - H - A - N - K - S ! ! !

[mortal]

I just put together my latest PC with a Diamond ATI TV Wonder HD 750. I'm running Win7 64 bit. My experience so far is that the software that comes with it, TotalMedia 3.5 gives a great picture and good quality recordings, but has some serious drawbacks. First, it doesn't find all my cable channels, second the recorded video is not recognized by Windows Media Center or my editing software (Vegas Movie Studio), third it won't complete the DVD burning process and just freezes up during that process and on some other occasions.

I have also tried it with Windows Media Center, but the video quality is not nearly as good as with TotalMedia.

Is Media Portal a good alternative with this setup? Or are there other known fixes to my problems?

I'll give media portal a try, but any good advice would be very welcome.

[Andrew 1961]

I just put together my latest PC with a Diamond ATI TV Wonder HD 750. I'm running Win7 64 bit. My experience so far is that the software that comes with it, TotalMedia 3.5 gives a great picture and good quality recordings, but has some serious drawbacks. First, it doesn't find all my cable channels, second the recorded video is not recognized by Windows Media Center or my editing software (Vegas Movie Studio), third it won't complete the DVD burning process and just freezes up during that process and on some other occasions.

I have also tried it with Windows Media Center, but the video quality is not nearly as good as with TotalMedia.

Is Media Portal a good alternative with this setup? Or are there other known fixes to my problems?

I'll give media portal a try, but any good advice would be very welcome.

I'm confused about what s/w "came with it"... are you saying ArcSoft TMT 3.5 was distributed by ATi? Do you follow the AVSforum - they have discussions about TMT you might want to follow. From what I read on ATi's site they're encouraging the use of WMC yet you say they sent you TotalMedia 3.5 ??? Hmmm.....

They also say the 750 does all formats including ClearQAM - if you're not seeing channels then you must be doing something wrong, or don't recognize what your cable provider is placing on the cable. While you say the image quality is superior on TM 3, you should configure WMC and see how many channels it's getting on your tuner... involving MediaPortal would only confuse you more since your question is about the capabilities of your tuner.

[mortal]

I'm confused about what s/w "came with it"... are you saying ArcSoft TMT 3.5 was distributed by ATi? Do you follow the AVSforum - they have discussions about TMT you might want to follow. From what I read on ATi's site they're encouraging the use of WMC yet you say they sent you TotalMedia 3.5 ??? Hmmm.....

They also say the 750 does all formats including ClearQAM - if you're not seeing channels then you must be doing something wrong, or don't recognize what your cable provider is placing on the cable. While you say the image quality is superior on TM 3, you should configure WMC and see how many channels it's getting on your tuner... involving MediaPortal would only confuse you more since your question is about the capabilities of your tuner.

Thanks for the response and the links. After doing some looking around, I'm guessing that TotalMedia 3.5 might be a stripped down OEM version of Total Media Theater. Anyway, I'll play with some configuration settings and do some reading on AVS Forum.

Thanks again.

[mortal]

Update: I found out how to manually add channels and found a setting that needed to be changed on Windows Media Center which has solved nearly all my problems. HD programming records flawlessly, I now have all my channels and the EPG works great. The one remaining issue is that standard definition viewing and recording are not very smooth especially with fast action whereas I don't have that problem with TotalMedia. I'll keep working on it as time allows and post any solutions I find.

[Andrew 1961]

Update: I found out how to manually add channels and found a setting that needed to be changed on Windows Media Center which has solved nearly all my problems. HD programming records flawlessly, I now have all my channels and the EPG works great. The one remaining issue is that standard definition viewing and recording are not very smooth especially with fast action whereas I don't have that problem with TotalMedia. I'll keep working on it as time allows and post any solutions I find.

First off, do you mean analog channels from your cable provider are what you're referring to as Standard Definition? If so this is NTSC analog and I couldn't tell from the ATi site whether the 750 has on-board encoding of analog it either tunes or captures. It's very possible this is taking place on the CPU via a software encoder, and even if it isn't there could be settings to adjust the quality of the images it's capturing. Start there, looking for settings about the quality (this is only available on analog) and then consider your system, it's CPU, CPU usage, RAM, etc. What is the difference in filesize between an analog recorded via TM3.5 and WMC -- this will be an indication of image quality unless one's using mpeg-2 and the other .264 although it's been my experience it'll be mpeg-2.