Whole Home Media Center

[Venom51]

I still use the guide data that Rovi is providing. You have to add it as a source in DVBLink and them do the channel to data mapping in the DVBLink configuration. Then use the DVBLink client plugin to synchronize them. I am in the process of perhaps moving to EPG123 but have not done so to date. The Rovi guide data quality sucks so it may be time to move away from them.

[Crash2009]

I still use the guide data that Rovi is providing. You have to add it as a source in DVBLink and them do the channel to data mapping in the DVBLink configuration. Then use the DVBLink client plugin to synchronize them. I am in the process of perhaps moving to EPG123 but have not done so to date. The Rovi guide data quality sucks so it may be time to move away from them.

That doesn't sound too tough. I saw a DVBLink something up in the WMC Extra's, is that the client you are talking about?

[Venom51]

The DVBlink client would be needed on any PC that is not the DVBlink server. The addin should already be in the WMC on the machine running the DVBLink server. It should be under the Extras menu item.

[Crash2009]

That was easy. Any special trick to MCL or just install it through windows as normal.

[Venom51]

No tricks to installation. However the problem I reported earlier with Big Logos may still be present. It killed my MCE on the one workstation I tried that option on.

[Crash2009]

It took some time to get back to normal. Looks like the guide is in and I got a full 12 days.

[Crash2009]

Thanks for the help, MCL went in well.

I took 14 days to find a trick so WMC could bypass the DRM check for CableCard Tuners in 14393. I guess now that I got my feet wet with DVBLogic, might be a little closer to trying out a dish.

[Crash2009]

Got one more question for you....

If I were to install DVBLogic server on a Win10 version with working DRM such as Win10 10586, would DRM channels work on the client which is installed on 14393?

[Venom51]

I don't know the answer to that one. I think it would as the DVBLink server would be decrypting the stream and producing a separate unicast stream to your client. Since I use the HDPVR's I can't test it because everything is sent in the clear to my clients.

[Crash2009]

Tried it today. HDHR-3CC refuses to give the DRM channels to DVBLogic. DVBLogic needs DRM handshake, HDHR is unable to even offer one. DVB does discover 440 channels but when you apply the 440 it turns into 340. This was the expected result, but I had to try. At least now the idea is eliminated.

[Venom51]

Well...DirecTV is no longer part of my system. I got the urge to disconnect them after the AT&T buy out but continued on as I have been happy with them for the last 2 decades. However the bill going up again was the last straw. They have been replaced with an OTA and partial IPTV streaming solution.

The receivers have been replaced with HDHomerun devices and since I am in the business one of our customers is providing me some IP feeds delivered by out middle ware solution. I have now dropped my monthly expenses to $0 dollars.

The backend is still DVBLink but I at least got to move to release 6.0 of the product. The good news is I can now convert the backend to a 2016 server and turn off one of the last 2 Windows 7 machines left in the house. The other is on the CNC Mill and won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

[Crash2009]

I am using DVBLink V 6 also. The older version with the fake sat tuner wouldn't work for the test I was working on.

I have been looking in to the H.264 problem lately. Mine is playing pretty good now. The only problem now is..... when the credits start the movie starts stuttering then crashes WMC. Recorded and live display the same problem.

Originally I thought it was a CableCard problem, replaced it and gave WMC a factory reset. Problem continues. Occasionally instead of crashing and restarting WMC, sometimes I get the display driver has stopped working and then it recovers and then it ends with the video files are not installed or not working.

Been watching 411 info at the time of the problem, but only thing I noticed was frame rate dropped to 50 when it crashed. Not sure if Comcast drops the framerate towards the end of the movie or if something else happens and the frame rate drops because of something else. The stuttering credits problem is on every movie.

What could I use to watch a protected stream? Something like Wireshark but for coax

[Venom51]

Does that indicate that you have gotten encrypted content playing to some degree?

[Crash2009]

No not on 10 14393., the best I got on 10 was it plays for three four seconds then playready shuts it down and somebody throws display driver error.. TeamViewer will play protected no problem, I got some weak Hardware on that one it plays kind of lumpy.

I got this h.264 problem with HBO on my 7 Box. I just thought of something.... it might be in the CableCARD log. It seems that the movie plays pretty much fine all the way through and then when the credits come on right when the credits first start it starts stuttering and most of the time it blows up. I was thinking it might be trying to authorize the next movie that's about to start. Should be in the cable card log not sure where to find that.

[Crash2009]

I got this h.264 problem with HBO on my 7 Box.

Looks like someone found someone at Comcast that understands the problem. The credits appear normal tonight. Just one little stutter changing from one channel to the other and then it went away. Definitely a step in the right direction.

If that was you that had a talk with them ...thanks

[DavidinCT]

I never replied to this. I love to see setups like this. This is the great thing about WMC that people seem to miss, just thinking it's HTPC app. It's fully scalable to the level where it can be through out the whole home. This is how Microsoft designed it, as they designed it for end users and custom installers (I took and passed the installer certification for it). In my years when WMC was active, I was involved in some very large WMC install projects. I miss the days, I really do.

One PC with 1 hard drive, or 20 PCs with 100 hard drives....Something WMC can do that other HTPC software cant do.

[Venom51]

Crash, I think I have success on the DTBAddin for commercial skipping. I'll wait for a couple others to confirm but it looks to be working on both the machines I have configured.

1. Download the zip file containing the needed files and directory structure. It's hosted on my home internet connection so be gentle. http://diablo.homedns.org/TGB/W7DTBAddin_WIN10.zip
2. Extract the contents of the zip file.
3. In the W7DTBAddinSetupX64 directory copy babgVant.DvrmsToolbox.Shared.dll, MCEState.dll, MceStateConsumer.dll, MceStateInterfaces.dll, and MemMapFile.dll to the C:\Windows\ehome directory.
4. Copy the babgvant directory to c:\program files.
5. Open a command prompt as the administrator.
6. Run the following commands.

"C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\InstallUtil.exe" "C:\Program Files\babgvant\DTBAddin\MCEState.dll"

"C:\Windows\ehome\RegisterMceApp.exe" /allusers "C:\Program Files\babgvant\DTBAddin\Registration.xml"

Open media center and verify that you don't recieve any DTBAddin related error messages.

Mine is now working on both the machines in which I have done the above. Maybe we can limp this dying horse a little further down the road.

[Venom51]

The road has been long but work has begun on designing an adequate replacement. Currently DVBLink 6.0 is still doing it's job blending OTA tuners and IPTV seamlessly on the backend and I have managed to get a working media center under 1903 but it is becoming tiresome to keep fighting against Microsoft. Let's just say Linux VMs have been spooled up and vlans created to start testing. I've got 2 years to work on it. Media Center will not be deployed in the new dwelling.

[Venom51]

Well here we are 4 years later. The I.Q. Flu stopped the new house project from moving forward until the world regains its sanity to some degree. The little Acer Revo machines are starting to die one by one after 12 years of solid service. I am replacing them with Dell Optiplex 7050 micro machines. About the same form factor but much faster machines. Servers on the backend are still working as expected but have also be virtualized so they can be moved on to new hardware without much effort. I am still using the iSCSI drives but they have been moved off to a Truenas Core 12.8 machine that feeds them to the network over some 10 gig fiber sfp+ ports. The Windows updates have been halted for any of the machines running Win10 and will not be moving to Win11.

[Venom51]

A year later the system has survived longer than the house. I no longer own the residence in those photos. System has been migrated to some surplus Dell 730XDs and the networking updated with some 10 gig connections for the servers. The 7050s have proven to a solid upgrade to the Acer Revos. The rack has changed a little over time.



I am about to remove the last of the legacy Rackable machines and take it down to 3 boxes only. The bottom being the Truenas Core machine that hosts all the bulk storage for handing out block ISCSI storage to the other machines and the two Dell machines that are used for Hyper-V hosts only. The Rackable machine is a box I call EMS or Emergency Machine Services and is used primarily as a management machine for easy recovery of other machines. It is the back up destination for everything else and is kept stupid simple. It run Windows Deployment services and hosts the bulk storage for the machine OS backups. Everything else is virtualized.