# MediaMVP Media Center Project - sub $100 true thin client?



## jastori

Updated 10-28-06:


The new URL for the mvpmc project (thanks to atlr):

http://www.mvpmc.org/ 


---------------------------

Original post:


I just noticed that there is a sourceforge project (new software for the Hauppauge MediaMVP) that looks like it might be able to serve directly as a ReplayTV thin client (no PC server necessary).

http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/idx.php?pg=main 


It looks like it is in the early stages of development, but seems to be able to play files off of a ReplayTV server. That would be very cool, since the MediaMVP is sub $100.


I am not at all involved in the project, just happened to stumble across it.


Sorry if this is old news, but it appears to be fairly recent work.....


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## sfhub

It plays files off of DVArchive, not directly from Replay units.


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## Snarler

I have a MediaMVP and it plays the MPEG's downloaded by DVA 3.1 just fine. I've heard that there should be a discrepency with audio but I haven't seen it yet. Does anyone know what conditions make the offset audio occur?


--

Daniel


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## jastori

According to this post, it appears that mvpmc is pretty close to being able to stream directly from a ReplayTV box.....


-------------------------------------

http://www.shspvr.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5551 


Posted: Wed, 1 Sep 2004 20:38:01 +0000 Post subject:


I have added minimal support to mvpmc for connecting to a ReplayTV. I have tested it against DVArchive 3.1, and it works there. I've been told it does not work with series 5000 ReplayTVs, but I think it should work with the 4000 series.


If anyone is interested in extending this to make it work better, please let me know. I don't have a ReplayTV, so I won't be able to do much more than I have without help.


Jon


------------------------------------------------


Is there anyone here who could help out from the Replay side?

http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/idx.php?pg=main


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## waynethedvrguy

Hmmm..... Isn't this were JeffD should jump in?


Regards,


Wayne


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## MIS-Man

I would stick with the XBox. The extra features like DVD player, and playing games would seem to be a huge benefit for not much extra money at all considering these things go for $100+


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## Jeff D




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by waynethedvrguy_
> *Hmmm..... Isn't this were JeffD should jump in?
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> 
> Wayne*



I got the replayTV, but I don't have the MediaMVP... damn.


Or should I loan this guy one of my boxes? I've currently got one offline and two in the boxes still.


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## waynethedvrguy

jastori:


Right now, going the XBox route is THE way to go ($ for $ vs. benefits).


Regards,


Wayne


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## plyons10

Wayne and MIS man... I think you guys really MIS the point that the MVP media player is good to go out of the box and is alot cheaper than a mod'd X box for most people.


Frankly, I spend so much time watching TV on my Replays that I don't have time to play video games and I already have all the DVD players I need.


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## j.m.

While I concur that the Xbox is the better all-around choice if you don't mind spending a little more time/money doing the mod or having it done for you, I understand the attractiveness of a more ready-to-go solution such as the MediaMVP. I would suggest to whomever is working on the RTV MediaMVP stuff to take a look at the ReplayTV module used in XBMC (libRTV.lib). It includes all the basics required for streaming from ReplayTVs and C++ source is right there on the XBMC SourceForge CVS...


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## honeycut

Hello,

MediaMVP ReplayTV support is for real. I should know since I'm the developer ;-)

Been working on it for about 3 months now.

I've been holding off on announcing it since it's not quite ready for primetime.

What it does so far is:

-Runs SSDP discovery and discovers all replaytv's & dvarchives on the lan.

-If dvarchive is present it does enough handshaking to kick dvrachive into 5K mode.

-Once devices are discovered it presents a menu of devices to select.

-When a device is selected it pulls down the guide snapshot, parses it,

and displays a list of shows/episodes.

When a show is highlited all the movie/episode details are shown.

Selecting a show starts it playing.

You can presently pause, ffwd, and bring up an onscreen display while playing.


I only own RTV5K's so to work on 4K stuff I kicked dvarchive into 4k mode.

It seems to correctly parse a 4K guide from dvarchive but hasn't been tested with a real 4k

unit. (Anyone want to do some 4K testing?)


Major things missing:

-Parsing the .ndx file, and seeking. I hope to implement 28sec-fwd, 7sec-back, and

jump seek functionality by the end of this month.

-rtvlib functionality and menus to allow deleting a show & resuming play from the

last point viewed.


One last note is that mediamvp requires a dhcp server & tftpserver to boot the load.

Our development/build environment is linux based. I use my linux box to boot the mvp.

I understand there are some free windows based dhcp & tftp servers though for

those without a linux box.


Once I complete "Major things missing" I plan on creating mvpmc replaytv webpage

with configuration details, screen shots, etc... This will probably happen around early

Febuary.


Hopefully some of you will find it useful.

Regards,

John...


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## epete




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *
> 
> 
> I only own RTV5K's so to work on 4K stuff I kicked dvarchive into 4k mode.
> 
> It seems to correctly parse a 4K guide from dvarchive but hasn't been tested with a real 4k
> 
> unit. (Anyone want to do some 4K testing?)
> *



John Thank you for all of this work. I have two 4000 series, two 4500 series and DVA 3.1 running. I also own the Media MVP and have no use for it. I would like to be able to actually use my MediaMVP and would love to try your beta release and feedback my findings.


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## jweinel

John, your MediaMVP application sounds great! Keep us posted on your progress. Your effort is appreciated.


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## plyons10

I agree. Congrats, John, on the work you've done so far. I may have to grab one of this units from ebay just to check it out.


Great contributions like this make all our Replays worth more!


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## MIS-Man

Make sure to put a donation link - I know the folks here *cough cough* are not afraid to donate a few bucks for a product / work that is valued. I do see the value in one of these.


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## honeycut

Thanks for the support guys.

John...


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## Jeff D

John for your skipping (I don't know how the replay .ndx file works), but if you need help with indexing the file yourself let me know. I might be able to help out. (not that you couldn't but maybe you've got more important fish to fry).


Anyway, I just thought i'd offer up any help if you wanted any.



EDIT: After thinking about this I don't know if there's a way to do it without the .ndx file... I have to look into what the mediamvp project is doing.


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## Wrecks

This sounds too good to be true!


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## aeblank

Bump.


Looks like version 0.1.2 has been released.


Anybody with a MVP playing with it?

I'd _love_ to have a thin client or two for


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## waynethedvrguy




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by plyons10_
> *Wayne and MIS man... I think you guys really MIS the point that the MVP media player is good to go out of the box and is alot cheaper than a mod'd X box for most people.
> 
> 
> Frankly, I spend so much time watching TV on my Replays that I don't have time to play video games and I already have all the DVD players I need.*



Peter:


With a 14yr old and an 8yr old, a modded XBox w/XBMC is a neccesity. Once you've got one, it's a no brainer to use it as a thin client. The downside is that you actually have to get the kids to agree not to play games while you use it as a DVA client.


Having said that, I am looking forward to trying out John's RTV/MediaMVP. This seems to be a good/cheap solution.


Don't forget to check out the LinkPlayer2 as another good-looking possibility.


Regards,


Wayne


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## MikeSM

I agree that the hacked Xbox is far more powerful, but for many folks the MVP would be a better solution as it requires no xbox hacking. I have a ton of friends who bought replaytvs after seeing mine, but I don't want to be in the business of hacking xboxes for all of them!


Having a product that requires no hack and and can play streams from replays would be great, esp. if it has commercial skip that XBMC doesn't.


Plus, you would have to add a hack to enable it to be turned on remotely like you do with the Xbox.


Note I have 3 hacked Xbox's in my house, but I support them all... 


Thanks,

Mike


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## quartrj

After reading this thread I looked around for a MediaMVP and found that RadioShack has them on clearance for $79.99 the store I was in only had one so that's all i got so far.


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## Snarler

Amazon has them for 90 with free shipping.


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## sfhub




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by quartrj_
> *After reading this thread I looked around for a MediaMVP and found that RadioShack has them on clearance for $79.99 the store I was in only had one so that's all i got so far.*



Just a point of reference, I bought a MediaMVP 12months ago for $99

with $50 rebate from Circuit City.


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## btrcp2000

newegg occasionally has refurbs for around $70 with their usual free/cheap shipping


i bought two, and love them. i will love them even more if they can talk directly to my replays


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## RobPlay

This would be a KILLER APP for the average RTV owner if it was ported to Windows and was idiot friendly!!!


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## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by RobPlay_
> *This would be a KILLER APP for the average RTV owner if it was ported to Windows and was idiot friendly!!!*













We already have something better than this: DVArchive + RTV-optimized VLC.


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## RobPlay













> Quote:
> We already have something better than this: DVArchive + RTV-optimized VLC.



This will stream to a MediaMVP?


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## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by RobPlay_
> *
> 
> This will stream to a MediaMVP?*













I'm not sure you understand what this thread is about.


1) The MediaMVP ships with server software that runs on the PC and allows the MVP to play media files stored there.


2) Someone wrote an addon that allowed MediaMVP to stream directly from DVArchive.


3) Someone later wrote an addon that allowed MediaMVP to stream directly from ReplayTVs.


4) If you want to stream from a ReplayTV and/or DVA to a PC, then you can use DVArchive + VLC (or another MPEG-2 streaming capable player).


5) If you want to stream from the PC to RTV, use DVArchive.


Given the above, what exactly do you think would be "killer" if ported to Windows?


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## jdn

j.m.

"--killer if ported to Windows"

I'm a real novice at this but it appears you have to compile the mvpmc software on a linux machine. I think RobPlay (and myself) are asking if anyone has compiled a windows exe file?


Thanks for the win32 DVarchive launcher, I like it!


jdn


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## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by j.m._
> *We already have something better than this: DVArchive + RTV-optimized VLC.*



I don't see how streaming from RTV to your PC is better than streaming from RTV directly to a MVP. The mvpmc makes the MediaMVP a true thin client (with strings attached that are explained later in this post).



> Quote:
> _Originally posted by j.m._
> *1) The MediaMVP ships with server software that runs on the PC and allows the MVP to play media files stored there.
> 
> 
> 2) Someone wrote an addon that allowed MediaMVP to stream directly from DVArchive.
> 
> 
> 3) Someone later wrote an addon that allowed MediaMVP to stream directly from ReplayTVs.
> 
> 
> 4) If you want to stream from a ReplayTV and/or DVA to a PC, then you can use DVArchive + VLC (or another MPEG-2 streaming capable player).
> 
> 
> 5) If you want to stream from the PC to RTV, use DVArchive.
> 
> 
> Given the above, what exactly do you think would be "killer" if ported to Windows?*



I think your point 2 is wrong. The MediaMVP can already stream from DVArchive out of the box.


What you left out is:


6) If you want to stream from the RTV to a MediaMVP thin client use mvpmc, which requires having a Linux system on your network, and you being a knowledgeable Linux user, capable of doing builds.



I could be wrong, but it seems that you don't understand how the MediaMVP works and what mvpmc does. The MediaMVP can stream directly from DVArchive out of the box. The MediaMVP does not have a hard drive and gets is OS kernel loaded over the network whenever you boot it. When you turn it on, it initiates a particular network protocol to find the boot server and load the OS. The software that comes with MediaMVP and runs on your Windows server responds to the network boot protocol to serves up the OS. In addition, this software searches you harddrive for any media files (including DVArchive mpg's) and serves them up to the MediaMVP whenever the MediaMVP requests them.


What the mvpmc does is replace the vendor supplied OS kernel that gets loaded to the MediaMVP with a stripped down Linux kernel, including software to stream directly from ReplayTV. So the host computer is only used to load the software to the MediaMVP. Once the software is loaded, the MediaMVP streams directly from Replays without any PC intervention.


The problem for people that aren't Linux gurus is that the host PC has to be Linux, and with the current state of the project, the OS that is loaded to the MediaMVP has to be built. The configuration involved is very complex for non-Linux gurus. This is why RobPlay would like to see the app ported to Windows. Then the average Windows would have to capability to have a cheap unmodded thin client to stream directly from ReplayTV, without any PC or DVArchive intermediary (with the exception of having you PC available to serve up to OS to the MediaMVP upon reboot).


I hope this clarifies.


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## collin

if the mvpmc could be ported to run on a hacked linksys nslu2 (which after hacking is a lightweight linux server) that would be even better, since you wouldn't have to worry about keeping a PC on.


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## oldyellow




> Quote:
> if the mvpmc could be ported to run on a hacked linksys nslu2 (which after hacking is a lightweight linux server) that would be even better, since you wouldn't have to worry about keeping a PC on.



Does the nslu2 have A/V out connections? If it does, then it would be better. Keep in mind, though, that the PC does not have to be kept on. It only needs to be there when then MediaMVP is booted. With the original software, I've never had to reboot it in a year (but I have accidently kicked the plug, which forces a reboot). However, I don't know how stable the mvpmc system is.


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## quartrj

Would it be possible to distribute the dongle.bin file that someone with linux compiled and let a windows user put in place of the dongle.bim that comes with the mediamvp. Seems to me that if this modified bin file doesn't need the linux OS then the mediamvp shouln't care where the dongle.bin file comes from.


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## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Would it be possible to distribute the dongle.bin file that someone with linux compiled and let a windows user put in place of the dongle.bim



I think that the answer to this should be yes. My previous post was slightly incorrect in stating that Linux was necessary to load dongle.bin to the MVP. It is only necessay to build the dongle.bin. It seems like all that's necessary is to substitute a modified dongle.bin in the appropriate Windows directory.


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## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *I don't see how streaming from RTV to your PC is better than streaming from RTV directly to a MVP.
> *




I didn't say it was. You took my quote out of context. What I said was that DVA + VLC was better than what RobPlay suggested, namely (as best I could tell) that someone port the MVP software that allows streaming playback directly from RTVs to Windows.




> Quote:
> *
> 
> I think your point 2 is wrong. The MediaMVP can already stream from DVArchive out of the box.
> *



Are you sure? I realize that it can serve up the MPEG-2 files in the DVA storage paths, but this is different from streaming directly from DVArchive over the network. I would be surprised if the MediaMVP ships with native capability to request the XML listing from DVA and use it to stream from it. In fact, AFAICT the original version of mvpmc added that capability.



> Quote:
> *
> 
> I could be wrong, but it seems that you don't understand how the MediaMVP works and what mvpmc does. The MediaMVP can stream directly from DVArchive out of the box. The MediaMVP does not have a hard drive and gets is OS kernel loaded over the network whenever you boot it.*



You're right that I did not realize it has no storage and boots over the network. Nevertheless, I'm still not sure what RobPlay wants ported to Windows because (like quartrj) I would think one can use the standard Windows MediaMVP server app to serve up even the modified mvpmc boot image. I still think RobPlay wanted software that could stream from RTVs and ran on Windows (rather than on MediaMVP harware), and that already exists in the form of DVA + VLC.


The only real issue here AFAICS is why doesn't the mvpmc project distribute pre-compiled binaries? That would make it easy for even Windows users. I assume it is because it uses parts of the original MediaMVP dongle.bin without permission, and the author doesn't want any trouble. Just a guess though.


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## j.m.

BTW, while the MediaMVP is not bad if you are just interested in a thin client for RTV use, an Xbox + XBMC is heads and shoulders above it in general. It's not even close, really--supports DD/DTS via optical out, HDTV via component out, many more A/V file formats (including DiVX), a more sophisticated interface, DVD, streaming from RTVs, streaming over the network using samba, shoutcast, etc. I could go on and on. I'm not aware of any other media client that can touch it.


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## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by jdn_
> *j.m.
> 
> "--killer if ported to Windows"
> 
> I'm a real novice at this but it appears you have to compile the mvpmc software on a linux machine. I think RobPlay (and myself) are asking if anyone has compiled a windows exe file?
> 
> 
> Thanks for the win32 DVarchive launcher, I like it!
> 
> 
> jdn*



I think I see what you and he are saying now; however, it is not a matter of porting mvpmc to Windows. That won't work. Mvpmc runs on the MediaMVP hardware itself, which is designed to be Linux PPC-based. Really, all that has to be done is for someone to distribute a pre-compiled mvpmc binary for people to serve to the MVP via the Windows server software that comes with it. I assume that the project's author has reasons for not doing so; however (see above)...


(You're welcome, BTW.







)


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## honeycut

Figure I'll try to address a few questions & give a status update.

Info on on the mvp boot sequences can be found by following the protocol.txt link from the

"Dom's media server" link from the mvpmc home page.

(Sorry avsforum won't let me post links since I don't have a history here)


To boot mvpmc for replaytv use requires several steps:

1. bootp for the ip address (requires a bootp/dhcp server)

2. tftp the mvp binary (requires a tftp server)

3. tftp the config script

After booting, the mvpmc software runs the config script.

The config script needs to do several things: Set the timezone, run rdate to

set the clock, & start the mvpmc application.


So the box booting the mvp needs to support 3 things:

-bootp/dhcp server

-tftp server

-rdate server (or an internet rdate server can be used)


All of this is possible from a windows box, I just need to spend some time setting it

up and documenting it.

It may be possible using the hauppauge server application.

The way the hauppauge server coexist with other dhcp servers is that

it uses non-standard bootp/tftp ports so there may be issues with

tftp'ing the config file after tftp'ing the load.


There hasn't been much demand for Windows booting as the majority of mvpmc users are using it as

a mythtv thin client which is linux based so they all have linux boxes that can be used

as the boot server.


Where's the binaries?

When Jon Gettler and others did the original MVP hacking they didn't

have the source for the IBM drivers that access the mvp audio/video

hardware so they reverse engineered the system calls and we currently

strip the ibm driver binary from the origianl dongle.bin and link it

into our load. j.m. is correct that there was concern about

distributing a load with the ibm driver in it.

The good news is that the ibm driver appears to be open sourced so this

should no longer be an issue.

Nightly mvpmc builds are currently being done.

To find out where see the mvpmc-devl mailing list archive and read the thread

titled "Binaries". Hopefully we will start homing binaries off the mvpmc page in the near future.


Where are things at:

5K seeking and jumping are now working.

( To get this working for the 4K I need 30 minute 4k mpg & ndx files )

Ability to delete shows now works.

The major missing feature is evt file processing for commercial skip.


Also, I added CIFS support a few weeks back that allows mounting and

streaming from W2K & WXP shares.


What's next:

Hopefully get a mvpmc replay webpage done with screenshots & faq.

Come up with an easy recipe for booting from windows boxes. Document it.

Back to development, commercial skip, 4k stuff, resume from last play

pos, etc..


John...


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## RobPlay

Wow... I didn't expect so much activity around my comment... thanks to everyone who responded. I think what I was wishing by asking for a Windows based install of MVPMC is just an easy way to set it up. I have 2 RTVs and a couple of DVAs running at any given time. I think it would be great if I could stream shows to the guestroom TV via MVP. I could muck around with tftp and try to get it to work but I really don't have the time. I have GB-PVR (Windows install) working with the MediaMVP - that was pretty easy. Me like easy. But I never ereally use the MVP - RTV steaming would make it well worth the $80 I spent on it.


John please keep us updated and when you do have it ready for us lazies to crank it up I'll be first in line to beta test 4 ya.


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## RobPlay




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *
> 
> 
> The problem for people that aren't Linux gurus is that the host PC has to be Linux, and with the current state of the project, the OS that is loaded to the MediaMVP has to be built. The configuration involved is very complex for non-Linux gurus. This is why RobPlay would like to see the app ported to Windows. Then the average Windows would have to capability to have a cheap unmodded thin client to stream directly from ReplayTV, without any PC or DVArchive intermediary (with the exception of having you PC available to serve up to OS to the MediaMVP upon reboot).
> 
> 
> I hope this clarifies.*




Exactly. (Read: It would be killer!) Thanks oy


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## collin




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *Does the nslu2 have A/V out connections? If it does, then it would be better. Keep in mind, though, that the PC does not have to be kept on. It only needs to be there when then MediaMVP is booted. With the original software, I've never had to reboot it in a year (but I have accidently kicked the plug, which forces a reboot). However, I don't know how stable the mvpmc system is.*



no, it doesn't have av out connections, because that is not its intent. the unit as it comes from linksys is basically a Network attached storage adapter. It has two USB 2.0 ports and an ethernet port. You hook up USB 2.0 external hard drives and it serves them up over the network as NAS drives. However, since the unit runs Linux, it has been hacked with new firmware that lets you use it as a Linux server for whatever code you build or has been built for it. There are media servers for it as well as web, ftp servers and more.


This mediamvp boot function seems like it would be easily achievable with the hacked nslu2 because it is already running linux and is designed to always be on.


More info: http://www.google.com/search?q=nslu2...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8


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## quartrj




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by quartrj_
> *Would it be possible to distribute the dongle.bin file that someone with linux compiled and let a windows user put in place of the dongle.bin that comes with the mediamvp. Seems to me that if this modified bin file doesn't need the linux OS then the mediamvp shouln't care where the dongle.bin file comes from.*





> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *I think that the answer to this should be yes. My previous post was slightly incorrect in stating that Linux was necessary to load dongle.bin to the MVP. It is only necessay to build the dongle.bin. It seems like all that's necessary is to substitute a modified dongle.bin in the appropriate Windows directory.*



Back to my original question. If someone made available to me a working dongle.bin I will try to use the tools distributed with windows to load it into my MediaMVP. If this works it will answer all the questions regarding a windows distribution.


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## RobPlay




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by quartrj_
> *Back to my original question. If someone made available to me a working dongle.bin I will try to use the tools distributed with windows to load it into my MediaMVP. If this works it will answer all the questions regarding a windows distribution.*



I have sometime to try this also. I would even try hacking something out in VB...


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## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by j.m._
> *Are you sure? I realize that it can serve up the MPEG-2 files in the DVA storage paths, but this is different from streaming directly from DVArchive over the network. I would be surprised if the MediaMVP ships with native capability to request the XML listing from DVA and use it to stream from it. In fact, AFAICT the original version of mvpmc added that capability.*



I agree. I didn't realize that you meant capturing a stream being served up by DVArchive specifically. However, if the goal is to stream files downloaded to my PC via DVArchive to the TV in my bedroom, it doesn't matter whether I am streaming via DVArchive or via Hauppauge's server software. I used the MediaMVP in this way for a long time and it worked well. The MediaMVP even has a quick skip button to aid in skipping commercials.


As far as guide data is concerned, you are also correct. The MediaMVP cannot read guide data out of the box. However, I have "hacked" it so that it can read guide data. The UI for the MediaMVP is based on HTML, and many people have used this fact to reskin it with custom UI's. I have customized my interface in the following way.


1) I wrote a small program to read the DVA XML guide data, reformat it and save the reformatted XML in a directory accessable to the MediaMVP. This runs in a batch file that is executed everytime DVA downloads a show.


2) I wrote my own UI based on dynamic HTML to simulate ReplayTV's replay guide. It loads the XML file I made accessable to the MediaMVP and displays all of the guide info on the MediaMVP.


My custom guide lets me use my MediaMVP with an interface exactly like the Replay's replay guide (essential for the wife acceptance factor). It displays categories, program descriptions, recording info, etc. While not a true thin client it works great for files on my server.


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## aeblank

Oooh! If only your dynamic html display (that looks just like the Replay's) could be integrated into the server. Then, if you didn't see the box (or the remote--and that could probably be hacked too) you'd never know the difference.


Maybe it is only me, but this is getting VERY cool.


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## RobPlay




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *
> 
> 1) I wrote a small program to read the DVA XML guide data, reformat it and save the reformatted XML in a directory accessable to the MediaMVP. This runs in a batch file that is executed everytime DVA downloads a show.
> 
> 
> 2) I wrote my own UI based on dynamic HTML to simulate ReplayTV's replay guide. It loads the XML file I made accessable to the MediaMVP and displays all of the guide info on the MediaMVP.
> 
> 
> My custom guide lets me use my MediaMVP with an interface exactly like the Replay's replay guide (essential for the wife acceptance factor). It displays categories, program descriptions, recording info, etc. While not a true thin client it works great for files on my server.*



This sounds very cool. Any chance you might want to share some of what you did with us MVPers?


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## TripleD




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *Figure I'll try to address a few questions & give a status update.
> 
> Info on on the mvp boot sequences can be found by following the protocol.txt link from the
> 
> "Dom's media server" link from the mvpmc home page.
> 
> (Sorry avsforum won't let me post links since I don't have a history here)
> 
> *



Has there been anyone trying to get this running on Mac OS X?


Seems like it would be very easy to start all the services the MediaMVP needs to grab the dongle.bin from a Mac and play content right from the Mac.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Any chance you might want to share some of what you did with us MVPers?



That was my original intent. I worked on it for a little bit several months ago, but had to put it aside because of other things eating into my time. Also, I found out about the mpvmc project and knew that anything I was doing would become obsolete. I did not feel that what I had was ready to release to the public. It is what I would call early alpha. It works fine for me, but I need to type installation and configuration instructions and don't have much time to provide much support.


I will try to get things together enough to post what I have.


----------



## RobPlay




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *
> 
> To find out where see the mvpmc-devl mailing list archive and read the thread
> 
> titled "Binaries". Hopefully we will start homing binaries off the mvpmc page in the near future.
> *


 http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/m...sg_id=10321959 


Duh.... Now if someone would explain FTPing to me.... So OK, as soon as I get home tonite I'll try replacing the dongle.bin that came with the Hauppage distrib and let everyone know if it works.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> This mediamvp boot function seems like it would be easily achievable with the hacked nslu2 because it is already running linux and is designed to always be on.



I misunderstood. I though you were asking about the nslu2 as a possible replacement for the MediaMVP itself, rather than as a easy and cheap boot server. I guess it is possible to use the nslu2 in this way. However, the problem with this is it is an additional expense. The reason for using the MediaMVP/mvpmc solution over a modded XBox is the cheaper price. If all you want is a pure Replay thin client, and don't mind not having other features (better A/V connections, gaming, DVD's, etc) that are not useful to playing Replay files, you can have one for half the price of a modded XBox. If you have to buy an additional device to boot your mpvmc, then you might as well get the Xbox.


Also, given the additional information in this thread after my original comment, the boot server does not have to be linux-based, so any Windows box should be able to perform this function, as long as it has 1) bootp/dhcp server, 2) tftp server, and 3) rdate server.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _From the mvpmc-devl email archive_
> 
> Dirk Lison has graciously provided precompiled binaries for lamers like
> 
> myself that can"t seem to get it compiled locally.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have mirrored
> 
> his tree (with his permission, of course) to ftp://buoy.com/pub/mvpmc



Yahoo!! I will also be trying to get it working.


----------



## RobPlay

Replacing the dongle.bin didn't work on the first try. I tried it with both the Hauppauge software and GBPVR. The MVP cycles between Finding DHCP server and Loading Application.


----------



## RobPlay

Replacing the dongle.bin didn't work on the first try. I tried it with both the Hauppauge software and GBPVR. The MVP cycles between Finding DHCP server and Loading Application.


----------



## RobPlay

Has anyone else tried to make the dongle.bin work with windows?


----------



## sfhub

It seems according to the post above, you need to play with setting up

bootp/tftp servers. You can probably figure out what to do by going

through the protocols.txt file.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...23#post5141823


----------



## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by sfhub_
> *It seems according to the post above, you need to play with setting up
> 
> bootp/tftp servers. You can probably figure out what to do by going
> 
> through the protocols.txt file.
> 
> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...23#post5141823 *



Does not the Windows software suppled with the MediaMVP already take care of this? Otherwise, how would it work? If the software isn't working with the modified .bin file, I'd guess it has some checks in place to prevent using unofficial .bin files. I'm sure one could get around these checks but as I don't have a MediaMVP I can't be sure... Does the software produce some kind of error message when trying to use it with modified (as opposed to official) .bin files?


----------



## sfhub

The way I read it, the media mvp manufacturer's software does provide

the services, but on non-standard ports, but after some tinkering, the

new firmware looks for the config file at standard ports, which are

available on the linux boxes. I may have read the post incorrectly.


Specifically I was referring to this snippet:


> The way the hauppauge server coexist with other dhcp servers is

> that it uses non-standard bootp/tftp ports so there may be issues

> with tftp'ing the config file after tftp'ing the load.


----------



## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by sfhub_
> *The way I read it, the media mvp manufacturer's software does provide
> 
> the services, but on non-standard ports, but after some tinkering, the
> 
> new firmware looks for the config file at standard ports, which are
> 
> available on the linux boxes. I may have read the post incorrectly.
> 
> 
> Specifically I was referring to this snippet:
> 
> 
> > The way the hauppauge server coexist with other dhcp servers is
> 
> > that it uses non-standard bootp/tftp ports so there may be issues
> 
> > with tftp'ing the config file after tftp'ing the load.*



Ah, I see. It should be possible to either modify the Windows software to use standard ports or the modify the custom firmware to use the non-standard ports. The latter would be easier since source is available, but the former should also be possible.


----------



## RobPlay

Call me crazy but I'm trying to build a windows based launcher for MVPMC. Does anyone know a good resource on how to write a dhcp server in VB6? (I know VB6 is lame but it is all I know.)


I think I've got the tftp and rdate figured out.


Thanks in advance.


----------



## j.m.

It would be easier to figure out why the Hauppage Windows software doesn't work with the modified firmware and fix that IMO.


----------



## quartrj




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by RobPlay_
> *Replacing the dongle.bin didn't work on the first try. I tried it with both the Hauppauge software and GBPVR. The MVP cycles between Finding DHCP server and Loading Application.*



RobPlay does your setup work with the original dongle.bin. I saw this post and another one where you ask about coding DHCP services in a windows environment.


It looks like you need to setup dhcp services first then try to get the modified dongle.bin to load. There are many freewae dhcp services you can google to and download.


I'm getting my DHCP services from my Linksys router.


I'm sorry I asked for the dongle.bin and have not tried it yet I will try it today.


----------



## RobPlay

It works with original Happauge dongle.bin. Let us know how you make out. Good luck!


----------



## dstidolph

I live in Austin Texas and my mom in Marshall Texas. I have a cable modem (maximum upload speed of 350 kbps) and my mom has DSL.


I was wondering if I could set up a VPN connection to put her my subnet with my Replay and she could play shows off of it with a Media MVP?


Worst case I could probably put a FTP server on her computer and upload shows automatically, but this would let her pull shows direct from my replay and not wait for me to download from RTV and upload to her.


Anybody know what the bandwidth requirements for playing medium shows would be? My download speed with DVArchive seems to be in the 80-130 kbps range.


Thanks,


David Stidolph

Austin, TX


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Yahoo!! I will also be trying to get it working.



Here is an update from my efforts this weekend. Remember that as previously stated in this thread, what is necessary is to have a bootp and tftp server to serve up donble.bin.mvpmc and it's associated configuration file. It is also necessary to have a server that can accept an rdate request to set the date/time for the MediaMVP.



Executive summary:


I got the mvpmc to boot from my windows machine using 3rd party utilities and a java rdate server that I wrote, but I think something in my date conversion is incorrect, which is preventing me from accessing my Replays due to dates being out of sync.


Long Version:


Since I have WinXP Home, I did not have any of the above mentioned capabilities. I was able to find both a third party bootp server and a third party tftp server that I can run from my windows desktop. I was not, however, able to find anything to handle the rdate request.


Being slightly motivated to get this working, I looked up the protocol used by rdate and found it in RFC 868. It is a very simple protocol, which can be summarized in the following excerpt.



> Quote:
> When used via TCP the time service works as follows:
> 
> 
> S: Listen on port 37 (45 octal).
> 
> 
> U: Connect to port 37.
> 
> 
> S: Send the time as a 32 bit binary number.
> 
> 
> U: Receive the time.
> 
> 
> U: Close the connection.
> 
> 
> S: Close the connection.
> 
> 
> The server listens for a connection on port 37. When the connection
> 
> is established, the server returns a 32-bit time value and closes the
> 
> connection. If the server is unable to determine the time at its
> 
> site, it should either refuse the connection or close it without
> 
> sending anything.



I then wrote a quick and dirty Java program to serve up the rdate request. This program simply listens on port 37, and when a connection is made it gets the current date/time, which in Java represents the number of milliseconds since 1/1/1970 GMT. I then divide by 1000 (to get seconds) and add 2,208,988,800, to get the number of seconds since 1/1/1900 GMT, as defined later in the RFC. I then converts this to a four byte array, with each byte representing an octal, and write the four bytes to the socket and close the connection.


I fired everything up and it did not work. After inspecting the log files on my bootp server, I determined that the DHCP on my router was interfering. I then disconnected that and fired it up again. I could see the activity on the bootp server and that the tftp server was serving up the files. I then could see my programs log indicating that a connection was made and the four byte integer was written. When I went to look at the screen of the mvpmc, it was displaying the menu, so it booted. I could navigate the menus, but when I tried to access the other Replays, I got an error message saying that the time was not in sync.


I feel like I am very close. If any body has any idea or sees a flaw in my logic, please chime in. Help would be appreciated.


----------



## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by dstidolph_
> *I live in Austin Texas and my mom in Marshall Texas. I have a cable modem (maximum upload speed of 350 kbps) and my mom has DSL.
> 
> 
> I was wondering if I could set up a VPN connection to put her my subnet with my Replay and she could play shows off of it with a Media MVP?
> 
> 
> Worst case I could probably put a FTP server on her computer and upload shows automatically, but this would let her pull shows direct from my replay and not wait for me to download from RTV and upload to her.
> 
> 
> Anybody know what the bandwidth requirements for playing medium shows would be? My download speed with DVArchive seems to be in the 80-130 kbps range.
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> 
> David Stidolph
> 
> Austin, TX*



I think you are getting your bits and bytes mixed up. Your upload is 350kbps, which is only ~44 KB/sec. If your download speed with DVA is really only 80-130 kbps, that is really slow (10 to 16 KB/sec). Even if you mean 80-130 KB/sec, that is still really slow assuming you are talking about a LAN-based download from your RTV to PC.


In any case, your upload, like that of 99% of people's, will not be sufficient to stream RTV video at any quality. Even standard quality requires around 150-200 KB/sec (1200-1600 kbps), which is 4-5x your upload speed. Bottom line is that you are not goin to be able to stream to your mother. What you can try is to set up a VPN and set up DVA on her PC. When properly configured (which may take some work), she should be able to use DVA to open your RTV(s) and download shows of her choice to her PC.


----------



## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *
> 
> I feel like I am very close. If any body has any idea or sees a flaw in my logic, please chime in. Help would be appreciated.*



FWIW I found a few free Win32 RFC868 TIME servers (maybe the term rdate was throwing you off?).

http://www.adjusttime.com/atcs.php (free, can run as a service)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/nettime (open source but abandoned)


It looks like the first one should work very well.


----------



## RobPlay

Great work OY! Thanks for the effort so far. I'm sure your close. A qestion that comes to mind is why does the Happauge software bootp not get screwed up by your router's DHCP server (I assume it has something to do with port 67 v. 16867 as described in http://www.rst38.org.uk/mediamvp/protocol.txt ).




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *I was able to find both a third party bootp server and a third party tftp server that I can run from my windows desktop.*



I found a few freeware tftp servers but no bootp. Can you hook me up? I'm actually trying to write a VB app that does bootp/tftp/rdate all rolled into a systray icon like GVPVR so the rdate info is very handy.


----------



## oldyellow

New update. I now have it working with DVArchive, but not with my Replays (which is really the point).


I was previously hardcoding the ip addresses of my two Replays in the configuration file (dongle.bin.mvpmc.config). I switch it to use the discover option. Since DVArchive was running, it discovered that, along with my two replays. When I tried to access the DVArchive files, it worked - letting me stream shows. However, when I tried to access my Replays, I got the same error message as in my prevous post, indicating that the time was probably off.


Is it possible that the time is in sync with my DVArchive server (since that is where I am running my home-written RFC868 time server), but not with my Replays? I check the DVArchive messages and the most recent timestamp offset message shows 0 seconds for both of my Replays. Does this mean that my Replays time is within 1 second of my PC's time?



> Quote:
> _Originally posted by j.m._
> *FWIW I found a few free Win32 RFC868 TIME servers (maybe the term rdate was throwing you off?).*



Thanks. I'll try one of those. I was googling for rdate & windows rather than RFC868. Maybe this will make a difference.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by RobPlay_
> *A qestion that comes to mind is why does the Happauge software bootp not get screwed up by your router's DHCP server (I assume it has something to do with port 67 v. 16867 as described in http://www.rst38.org.uk/mediamvp/protocol.txt ).*



I am guessing that it attempts to use port 16867 BEFORE it tries to use port 67. That way, if it finds a server on port 16867, it does all of its business over that port (and the associated private tftp port), without disturbing any bootp/tftp servers you might already have on your network



> Quote:
> _Originally posted by RobPlay_
> *I found a few freeware tftp servers but no bootp*



Here is a link to BOOTP Turbo from Wierd Solutions.

Wierd Solutions Download Page


----------



## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *
> 
> Is it possible that the time is in sync with my DVArchive server (since that is where I am running my home-written RFC868 time server), but not with my Replays? I check the DVArchive messages and the most recent timestamp offset message shows 0 seconds for both of my Replays. Does this mean that my Replays time is within 1 second of my PC's time?*



My guess is that DVA doesn't enforce the +/-40 second restriction that real ReplayTVs do when streaming...


----------



## oldyellow

Hallelujah!! it works.


The problem must have been with my hacked time conversion. When I used the a time server I downloaded from the internet, it works. j.m. was probably right in that DVArchive does not enforce +/-40 second restriction. I changed my home-written program to spit out a bogus time to see if this would break the DVArchive access and it did not.


To summarize, I am using the following utilities to get the MediaMVP mvpmc to work on my network sans linux.


1) Bootp Desktop from Wierd Solutions

2) Solarwinds.net TFTP server

3) Net Time Server & Client v 2.1 from Han-soft software (this is a 30 day trial).


Everything seems to be working. I now have a true cheap thin client. I will be following the development of this project to keep up with the updates.


----------



## sfhub




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *However, when I tried to access my Replays, I got the same error message as in my prevous post, indicating that the time was probably off.*



Have you tried NTP syncing your time to ntp-production.replaytv.net?


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by sfhub_
> *Have you tried NTP syncing your time to ntp-production.replaytv.net*



No I haven't and that's a good idea I will do in the future. My problems were time related, but I think it was more programmer error that the actual clocks being too far out of sync. Now that I am using a 3rd party time server, it works.


----------



## aeblank

Is there any possibility of having all these servers combined into a DVA plugin?


I'd venture a guess that most of us have DVA running 24-7 and you need a PC running to boot the MVP anyway.


It seems logical to a non-programmer, anyway. =)


----------



## j.m.




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by aeblank_
> *Is there any possibility of having all these servers combined into a DVA plugin?
> 
> 
> I'd venture a guess that most of us have DVA running 24-7 and you need a PC running to boot the MVP anyway.
> 
> 
> It seems logical to a non-programmer, anyway. =)*



DVA doesn't currently support plugins, and this isn't really related to DVA anyway; so that's not going to happen. I do think it would be good for MediaMVP users if someone wrote an all-in-one TFTP/bootp/TIME server for Windows (or better yet, cross-platform) for use with the MediaMVP. There is source code available that could be drawn upon to make that happen pretty easily I'd think. I had considered undertaking that project, but that would necessitate me purchasing a MediaMVP for testing. After looking into the MediaMVP more, I've concluded it is just too limited in functionality to justify spending $80-100 on one. My Xbox and XBMC does so much more; so I'm just going to spend a little more and get another for the living room.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by j.m._
> *I do think it would be good for MediaMVP users if someone wrote an all-in-one TFTP/bootp/TIME server for Windows (or better yet, cross-platform) for use with the MediaMVP.*



I think this is an excellent idea, and would be willing to work on it. I have looked up all of the involved protocols, and it seams like it should be easy enough to do. I already have the time portion working in Java.


----------



## RobPlay

Thanks OY . I've got some sample VB code for tftp if it's any help.


----------



## honeycut

Hey all,

I'm sorry I didn't see all the activity in this thread this week. I'm subscribed to the thread but never got an email notification of any posts.

If I had known, I would have offered help.

I see OY got it working which is great.

The last couple days I've also rounded up a set of free windows tool's to play

dhcp, tftp, & time. Verified everything last night.

I'm currently in the process of making a web page to document how to boot

& debug mvpmc from a windows box.

Hopefully I'll have it finished sometime tomorrow.

John...


----------



## honeycut

I've completed the mvpmc-windows-HOWTO.

It's available from the "Project Links" section off the mvpmc web page.


Hope it helps. Let me know if you find any issues with it.


----------



## HarryTheHat

j.m.


What mod did you use for xbox? I have a new xbox and I'm trying to figure out whether to use a software mod or a hardware mod.


----------



## honeycut

FYI...


I've created a mvpmc ReplayTV webpage:
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html 


Also, the mvpmc Windows-HOWTO is at:
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows...oze_howto.html


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by j.m._
> *I do think it would be good for MediaMVP users if someone wrote an all-in-one TFTP/bootp/TIME server for Windows (or better yet, cross-platform) for use with the MediaMVP.*





> Quote:
> _Originally posted by me oldyellow (me)_
> *I think this is an excellent idea, and would be willing to work on it.*





> Quote:
> _Originally posted by me John Honeycutt_
> *I've completed the mvpmc-windows-HOWTO. It's available from the "Project Links" section off the mvpmc web page.*



While having a single launcher seems like a good idea, the real desire is to have the ability to boot mvpmc without the aid of applications that run on your desktop. With the exception of the time server/client, the tools I have been using all run from the desktop. It is not realistic to have them constantly running. You don't want to have to manually start a bunch of applications on your desktop every time you want to boot your mvpmc. If the tools listed on the mvpmc-windows-HOWTO page all run as services, or as icons in the system tray, I believe that there little need for a single launcher. That being said, I spend a little time working on such a thing this weekend and here are my findings (for any geeks like me who are interested).


The tftp and RFC768 time server protocols are very simple and easily implemented. However, the problem (for me at least) was figuring out how to implement the bootp server. The protocol is not complicated at all, but as far as I can tell, it can't be done with the normal socket interface. The problem lies in sending a datagram to a hardware address that isn't mapped to an ip address. I used Ethereal to capture the network traffic and here is what I found out:


In a bootp reply (or dhcp offer) the destination address in the ip header is the address being assigned by the server and the destination hardware address is the mac address of the client (the MediaMVP). Attempting to send a datagram to the ip address being assigned causes an ARP (address resolution protocol) message to be sent from the server asking for the hardware address of the yet to be assigned ip address. But, since the client hasn't received the reply yet, it does not know it's ip address, so it cannot respond to the ARP request. Since the server can't resolve the ip address to a hardware address, the datagram never gets sent.


There are only two ways around this problem that I can see. One is to gain access to the header information one level lower than the ip header to manually set the destination hardware address. The other is to add an entry to the host's ARP table, which will pre-empt ARP request. Microsoft has an API for gaining access to the ARP table, but it looks like it is only available for it's server line of products (I have XP Home), and if you are running on of those OS's you should already have the necessary services available to you.


While I will probably not spend any more time on this project, I would be interested in finding out the simple solution to the issue I have described. If anyone has any ideas, I would be interested. It's been a while since I've been a programmer, and I'm sure somebody out there knows how to get around this issue. If there is a straight forward solution, I might finish it just for the fun of it.


----------



## dewolfxy

Hmmm... reading through this thread I'm wondering about getting a MediaMVP, since I already have a NSLU2. I could probably run that as the server to respond to what the MediaMVP needs.


And I see someone already compiled the console version of mediamvp to Unslung for the NSLU2 -
http://www.rst38.org.uk/mediamvp/ 


I can install that, so it seems it wouldn't be that much work to get the MediaMVP running on my network. Also I just got a good price on a wireless G bridge (actually a d-link wireless "gaming adapter"), so that would help with this setup.


Very tempting. Anyone think this sounds very hard, once I have mediamvp running on the NSLU2?


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by dewolfxy_
> *Anyone think this sounds very hard, once I have mediamvp running on the NSLU2?*



If I understand what you are going for, I think it's do-able. As I understand it, there are two separate MediaMVP related projects. They are:


1) _mpvmc (MVP Media Center)._ The purpose of this project is to create software that can be uploaded to the MediaMVP that allows it to act as a stand alone thin client. The only server software needed are standard dhcp/tftp/rfc868 time servers needed to boot the device (since it doesn't have a hard drive). Once the device is booted, it runs on it's own and doesn't need server software. Discovering and streaming direct from Replays on your network is one of the capabilities of this new sofware. It will only need to be rebooted if power is lost (or the system becomes unstable).


2) _MVP Media Server_. This is the project you refered to in your post and has not been talked about a lot in this thread (only to reference to protocol information involved in booting the device). The purpose of this project is to create server software that interacts with the "out of the box" MediaMVP client software. In addition to requiring a server for its boot process, the "out of the box" MediaMVP client software requires it's proprietary server softare to operate. This project aims to replace that software so that the MediaMVP can work with media types for which it was not originally intended. AFAIK, streaming direct from Replays is not in the list of capabilities for this project.


If you want to use the NSLU2 as a server to run the MediaMVP Media Server (project #2 listed above), that seems possible. However, that would not get you the ability to use the MediaMVP as a thin client and stream directly from your Replays.


If you want to use the MediaMVP as a thin client to stream directly from your Replays, you would want the mvpmc (project #1 listed above). The only server requirement is running "standard" services for dhcp-bootp/tftp/rfc868 time. If you already have these services available on your network, you do not need the NSLU2.


I'm guessing that you want to use the NSLU2 to run MediaMVP Media Server (project #2) as a thin server for the mvpmc (project #1). That would be a good thing to do if you don't already have dhcp-bootp/tftp/rfc868 time services available on your network. If you already have these services available, or have a box available to run those services on (windows/lunix/unix) it would be easier just to that. If you don't have (or want to) use existing services/hardware, I think it depends on how the MediaMVP Media Server is written. It it provides dhcp-bootp/tftp/rfc868 time services in a standard way, you are home free. All that's necessary is a little configuration. However, if it doesn't provide the standard services, but responds to the "private" requests by the stock client software, I think that I will not work. You will have to have "standard" services because that's what the mvpmc client is expecting. If the dhcp and tftp daemons are not alread included in the MediaMVP Media Server build, it seems like putting them there shouldn't be too difficult.


----------



## RobPlay

Circuit City has the MediaMVP for $80 after rebate:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Haupp...arriage=befree


----------



## dewolfxy

Thanks for the response. My goal is to get the NSLU2 to run the "server" (project 2) so that the mediamvp can run as a thin server (project 1) for the replay, as you guessed. I basically don't have any PCs in my house that are "always on", and I would want the NSLU2 to function in that role (it already does, providing samba and FTP services for my home network). I may, however, get a MacOSX box soon that will function as a DVArchive server and could run the tftp/dhcp services that the mediamvp needs. I think I'll wait until I get that before I pursue this further.


----------



## dewolfxy




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by RobPlay_
> *Circuit City has the MediaMVP for $80 after rebate:
> 
> http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Haupp...arriage=befree *



NewEgg has it for $83.50 + $1.99 shipping here , saving the rebate troubles. And you'll probably come out ahead after the tax at Circuit City, as long as you don't live where NewEgg is (CA I think).


----------



## quartrj

Ok first let me say that I appreciate all of the effort that people are putting into this project.


I'm tring to use the steps listed in this thread to get my MVP's to boot from Wwindows.


It looks like the two MVP's I have are on firmware REV 1.0 and they don't request an IP address via DHCP untill the Haugeppauge services are loaded.


Is there a newer / different REV version I should be using. If so where can I get it.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by quartrj_
> *It looks like the two MVP's I have are on firmware REV 1.0 and they don't request an IP address via DHCP untill the Haugeppauge services are loaded.
> 
> 
> Is there a newer / different REV version I should be using. If so where can I get it.*



Are you getting the firmware version from the splash screen that appears on your TV when you boot the device? If so, that mine also says REV 1.0. However, I did update to the beta test software about a year ago (the newest beta is different from what I am running). I guess, from the splash screen, that the Beta test sofware only updated my server software, and not the firmware on the device. The latest Beta sofware can be downloaded from Hauppage's site .


For the record I am using all of the software posted in the mvpmc Microsoft Windows HOWTO that was referenced earlier in this thread. Following the set-up instructions for that software worked like a charm for me.


I did have to make couple of changes from the dongle.bin.mvpmc.conf file shown in the howto. Here are the listings in my config file. I commented out the entries for set the timezone and mount the share.


rdate -s 192.168.0.103

mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover"


Of course the ip address in your config file should be the address of the server running the time software. Also it might be a good idea to disable your original MediaMVP server software.


[edit]

The Hauppage beta software I am running is a beta of 2.2, which is the current release. If you attemp to switch out your Hauppage software, I would go with the current release instead of the current beta

[/edit]


----------



## honeycut

Both my boxes show Firmware REV 1.0 too.

Have you tried snooping your lan with a tool like ethereal?

What I see during my boot process:

When power cycling the box the first thing I will see is a text box at the

bottom of the screen "checking ethernet connectivity"

Next it goes to "Contacting DHCP Server"

If a DHCP server does not respond within about 8 seconds it goes to

"Contacting MediaMVP Boot Server".


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> 
> 
> I did have to make couple of changes from the dongle.bin.mvpmc.conf file shown in the howto. Here are the listings in my config file. I commented out the entries for set the timezone and mount the share.
> 
> 
> rdate -s 192.168.0.103
> 
> mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover"



I'm guessing you live in the CST timezone?

That's what we default the SW to since the person that started the project

lives in MN.

Anyone not in the CST timezone needs to set it or all the show times will

be off.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *I'm guessing you live in the CST timezone?
> 
> That's what we default the SW to since the person that started the project
> 
> lives in MN.
> 
> Anyone not in the CST timezone needs to set it or all the show times will
> 
> be off.*



That explains it. BTW, many thanks for the effort you have put forth!!


----------



## Art Doyle




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *Hello,
> 
> MediaMVP ReplayTV support is for real. I should know since I'm the developer ;-)
> 
> Been working on it for about 3 months now.
> 
> I've been holding off on announcing it since it's not quite ready for primetime.
> 
> What it does so far is:
> 
> -Runs SSDP discovery and discovers all replaytv's & dvarchives on the lan.
> 
> -If dvarchive is present it does enough handshaking to kick dvrachive into 5K mode.
> 
> -Once devices are discovered it presents a menu of devices to select.
> 
> -When a device is selected it pulls down the guide snapshot, parses it,
> 
> and displays a list of shows/episodes.
> 
> When a show is highlited all the movie/episode details are shown.
> 
> Selecting a show starts it playing.
> 
> You can presently pause, ffwd, and bring up an onscreen display while playing.
> 
> 
> I only own RTV5K's so to work on 4K stuff I kicked dvarchive into 4k mode.
> 
> It seems to correctly parse a 4K guide from dvarchive but hasn't been tested with a real 4k
> 
> unit. (Anyone want to do some 4K testing?)
> 
> 
> Major things missing:
> 
> -Parsing the .ndx file, and seeking. I hope to implement 28sec-fwd, 7sec-back, and
> 
> jump seek functionality by the end of this month.
> 
> -rtvlib functionality and menus to allow deleting a show & resuming play from the
> 
> last point viewed.
> 
> 
> One last note is that mediamvp requires a dhcp server & tftpserver to boot the load.
> 
> Our development/build environment is linux based. I use my linux box to boot the mvp.
> 
> I understand there are some free windows based dhcp & tftp servers though for
> 
> those without a linux box.
> 
> 
> Once I complete "Major things missing" I plan on creating mvpmc replaytv webpage
> 
> with configuration details, screen shots, etc... This will probably happen around early
> 
> Febuary.
> 
> 
> Hopefully some of you will find it useful.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> John...*




Thank you! Thank you!


These MVPs are great - they are the perfect match for our Replay "collectors".


----------



## Marcus

Add me to the list of users of the great MVPMC software using the Windows method.


I'm tempted to buy two more Media MVPs one for the kitchen and one for the tot's room.


Outstanding.


Even without the MVPMC software patch, heavy DV archive users can use the original Hauppage SW as supplied. They even have internet radio and DiVX transcoding for those who have faster server machines.


This Media MVP is easily my best A/V purchase since my networked replays. The MVPMC software is delicious icing on the cake.


----------



## Scyber

I am pretty psyched about this. I should be getting one next week. One of the best parts about this is that it is also a frontend for MythTV. If ReplayTV goes the way of the dodo I will probably be moving on to MythTV. So this is "future-proof" for me.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Scyber_
> *I am pretty psyched about this. I should be getting one next week. One of the best parts about this is that it is also a frontend for MythTV. If ReplayTV goes the way of the dodo I will probably be moving on to MythTV. So this is "future-proof" for me.*



I'm a second wave ReplayTV user; buying my 2020 when they were released. (Currently on loan to my mom for her soaps)

I've weathered one perhaps two heart stopping moments when I thought the service was going to be terminated. However, it's still running.

It was a tough decision to buy the refurb 5040's when they were the cheap DVR rage but I had faith. SO, I'll use my Replays till the guides stop or they die from a non-hard drive related problem. I even have hope that if the service is terminated that someone will find an alternate solution which allows us to continue using the DVRs.


That being said; I'm itching to buy a PVR-350 from Hauppage and run Myth TV in concert with my two 5040's. Should ReplayTV die, I'd be unhappy but I would have an alternate ready to take over with MVPMC loaded thin clients on every analog tv in the house.


After this???


Next step would be perhaps a Roku HD1000 for a thin client on the HD tube set and a QAM HD tuner for my PC.


----------



## rkramer

just go a mediamvp in tonight, had it up and running in about an hour or so. setup isn't too painful, other then the fact most hardware routers don't allow for a dhcp skip list, so I had to disable dhcp on my hardware router and instead run dhcp off my server, not something I wanted to do but I can live with it...


seems to work great so far!


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by rkramer_
> *just go a mediamvp in tonight, had it up and running in about an hour or so. setup isn't too painful,*


*

Yes, quite quick and easy.*


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> other then the fact most hardware routers don't allow for a dhcp skip list, so I had to disable dhcp on my hardware router and instead run dhcp off my server, not something I wanted to do but I can live with it...*


*

I only run the required servers when booting the MVPMC from a power off reset. The build is very stable; not needing a reload in over a week. As soon as the MVPMC load is complete I shut down the services of DHCP/TFTP/Time Server etc. Simply, I do not run any services for MVPMC other than available Replays and the occasional run of DVArchive.

My setup:

I run most of my media devices on a dedicated switch (a spare router/switch) which is then connected to the active router/firewall with a crossover cable. I used the caveman method to disable router's DHCP by simply unplugging the crossover cable for the duration of the software load.

An interesting note: I reloaded the original Media MVP software to play with the new version and later switched back to the MVPMC without disabling DHCP on the router or unplugging. I assume that the NT services I run for MVPMC responded to the request before the hardware router was even aware that the MVP was online. Perhaps disabling the DHCP server on the hardware router is only necessary should the tftp boot instruction not be received by the MVP.

Please do not try any of my ill conceived methods as they are not based on any technical merit or experience other than "dumb luck."


*


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> seems to work great so far!*


*
* Excellent!


Marc


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by dewolfxy_
> *NewEgg has it for $83.50 + $1.99 shipping here , saving the rebate troubles. And you'll probably come out ahead after the tax at Circuit City, as long as you don't live where NewEgg is (CA I think).*



My local Radio Shack (Norwalk, CT) had a couple of these units for $79.


I wonder if I should head back there this weekend. I would have grabbed them for $50 -- just to have if I ever felt like hacking around with.


----------



## rkramer




> Quote:
> An interesting note: I reloaded the original Media MVP software to play with the new version and later switched back to the MVPMC without disabling DHCP on the router or unplugging. I assume that the NT services I run for MVPMC responded to the request before the hardware router was even aware that the MVP was online. Perhaps disabling the DHCP server on the hardware router is only necessary should the tftp boot instruction not be received by the MVP.




without getting too in depth, the mediamvp sends out a dhcp on a high port number first, IIRC 16,000 something, and then falls back to standard dhcp if it doesn't get anything... the mediamvp software responds to this high port, so normally the rest of your network is never affected. This would be possible with the aftermarket firmware also if someone developed a dhcp server that would listen on a non-standard port. (dhcpd on linux probably is capable of this, i'm just talking windows here...)


I did find a good solution though, my main router (linky wrt54g) is based on linux, and you can customize your iptables rules. I just set that to block dhcp access to the mediamvp's mac address, and then set up turbo dhcp to only hand out to the media's mac. the network is perfectly happy with two dhcp's in this config, with all machines going to the linux and the mvp going to the turbodhcp server.


----------



## Scyber

Just picked up my MediaMVP from Radio Shack (on clearance for $79.99). Can't wait to get home and try this out.


----------



## Scyber

So I finally got it up and running last night (been busy and it took me awhile to switch me network to static IPs). Was working pretty well. My wife was already asleep so I didn't get to test the audio, but the video looked good!


One thing was that I couldn't get the automatic replay detection option to work. I kept gettting a "network is unreachable" error. I had to specify each Replay's IP address. Not a huge issue, but it is a little annoying.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by plyons10_
> *My local Radio Shack (Norwalk, CT) had a couple of these units for $79.
> 
> 
> I wonder if I should head back there this weekend. I would have grabbed them for $50 -- just to have if I ever felt like hacking around with.*



You might have to call around, but I had little trouble locating as many units as I needed all at Radioshack for the clearance price of $79 bucks.


They don't show up on the RS internet catalog. I assume this is because they are on clearance and once they are gone, there might not be any restocking orders.



Marc


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Scyber_
> *So I finally got it up and running last night (been busy and it took me awhile to switch me network to static IPs). Was working pretty well. My wife was already asleep so I didn't get to test the audio, but the video looked good!
> *



All of my recordings are in medium and standard. I have yet to attempt a HIGH stream fearing bandwidth issues. (I normally don't record in HIGH anyway)


I've only used the "gadget" on 27" and smaller televisions. I can't comment on quality for larger screens. PQ is equal to watching from a Replay IMHO.


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> One thing was that I couldn't get the automatic replay detection option to work. I kept getting a "network is unreachable" error. I had to specify each Replay's IP address. Not a huge issue, but it is a little annoying.*


*
*Odd indeed. However, I've had the opposite. On two occasions my two replay's would loose connection to each other but the MVPMC could still see both and play back with no problems.


Lucky so far!


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by rkramer_
> *without getting too in depth, the mediamvp sends out a dhcp on a high port number first, IIRC 16,000 something, and then falls back to standard dhcp if it doesn't get anything... the mediamvp software responds to this high port, so normally the rest of your network is never affected. This would be possible with the aftermarket firmware also if someone developed a dhcp server that would listen on a non-standard port. (dhcpd on linux probably is capable of this, i'm just talking windows here...)
> *



Ahh... good to know why. Thanks for the details.


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> 
> I did find a good solution though, my main router (linky wrt54g) is based on linux, and you can customize your iptables rules. I just set that to block dhcp access to the mediamvp's mac address, and then set up turbo dhcp to only hand out to the media's mac. the network is perfectly happy with two dhcp's in this config, with all machines going to the linux and the mvp going to the turbodhcp server.*


*
* Very interesting. I understand there are some people that have hacked the WGT634u from Netgear but I've not read up much on it and don't know if the same things can be done as you describe but with google at my fingertips, I'll try to find out. Thanks for the idea!


Marc


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Scyber_
> 
> 
> One thing was that I couldn't get the automatic replay detection option to work. I kept gettting a "network is unreachable" error. I had to specify each Replay's IP address. Not a huge issue, but it is a little annoying. [/b]



Did you setup the gateways parameter for dhcpturbo?

standard option #3 "gateways"


I know it shouldn't be needed but the one of the system calls the ReplayTV discover code makes will fail with a "network unreachable" error if the gateway isn't configured.

Also, you can use ethereal to snoop the dhcp responce and verify that it is what you expect.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Marcus_
> *All of my recordings are in medium and standard. I have yet to attempt a HIGH stream fearing bandwidth issues. (I normally don't record in HIGH anyway)*



I haven't had any problems with keeping the buffers full for high res shows.

I also record most of my shows in medium/standard quality.

I do have 5 recordings I use for testing high res though.

They seem to play fine except for one part in one show that hangs .

I'm guessing this is due to the non-standard mpeg stream.

Seems alot of video editing SW also has problems with RTV highres mpegs but do fine with medium/standard.

FYI: You can monitor how full the demuxer is using the OSD.

While playing a show press
. Select "On Screen Display" then select "Demux Info"

The blank button between mute & full brings up the OSD.


----------



## madpoet

Anyone have the RS catalog number for the MVP? My local RS was fairly clueless.


Thanks,

MP


----------



## Scyber

25-3215 According to radioshack.com.


----------



## plyons10

Madpoet... where in CT are you located?


The RS on Route 1 in Norwalk had a couple of these when I was there last week.


----------



## jimmyswimmy




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *the real desire is to have the ability to boot mvpmc without the aid of applications that run on your desktop.*



I have been following this discussion and I agree with this statement. In fact, I would like to not even need to turn my computer ON in the first place! But that's just crazy, right?


If I understand it properly, I need...


1. A DHCP server

2. A TFTP server with the capacity to hold a ~2 MB dongle.bin

3. An NTP server


Am I just dreaming, or does this exist already in Linksys form? Like a WRT54GS, a wireless router, with the OpenWRT software, we already have the first two. Anyone out there already work with that stuff? I'll be glad to help out...


Jim


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by jimmyswimmy_
> 
> If I understand it properly, I need...
> 
> 
> 1. A DHCP server
> 
> 2. A TFTP server with the capacity to hold a ~2 MB dongle.bin
> 
> 3. An NTP server
> 
> 
> Am I just dreaming, or does this exist already in Linksys form? Like a WRT54GS, a wireless router, with the OpenWRT software, we already have the first two. Anyone out there already work with that stuff? I'll be glad to help out...



You should be able to use any NTP server on the internet (RFC 868 protocol support is needed). Since this discussion I now use the Replay's Time Server (ntp-production.replaytv.net) to sync the time on my DVArchive server with Replay. I don't know if this supports RFC 868 or not, but it should be easy enough to find out.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by jimmyswimmy_
> 
> Like a WRT54GS, a wireless router, with the OpenWRT software, we already have the first two





> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> 
> You should be able to use any NTP server on the internet (RFC 868 protocol support is needed)



I tried using Replay's server (ntp-production.replaytv.net / 192.43.244.18) and it did not work. However, I did successfully synced my mvpmc time to time.nist.gov (192.43.244.18). So, if you can get dhcp/tftp from an always on router, and have internet access, you should be good to go. But, after looking at the OpenWRT site, I am wondering if OpenWRT already has a tftp server, or is this a package that has to be added? I did not see any specific information on this. The following is taken from the OpenWRT site.


> Quote:
> Specifically, the core provides:
> 
> 
> * network initalization (ethernet and wireless)
> 
> * firewalling
> 
> * dhcp client / server
> 
> * caching dns server (with hooks to dhcp to lookup dhcp client hostnames)
> 
> * telnet server and busybox environment
> 
> 
> That's it. Everything else (ssh, http administration, etc) can be done in the form of a package on the jffs2 filesystem; openwrt's goal is to provide a minimal base which can be expanded through the use of software packages.


----------



## choli0090

Hello all,


I was thinking about trying this out, but I did have a couple of questions.


1) Can you stream video files that are on other computers in the house, or does it need to come from the computer that is acting like the "server" Another words if computer 2 is the server, can I stream from computer 1


2) Can you have the listing of shows limited to a particular drive &/or folder on the computer


3) Is there a way to make it so that certain options are not available (like delete) If I can make this work, this more then likely I would give this to my nephew & even though he hasn't done it yet, I could see him accidently deleting a show


Thanks


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *I haven't had any problems with keeping the buffers full for high res shows.
> 
> I also record most of my shows in medium/standard quality.
> 
> I do have 5 recordings I use for testing high res though.
> 
> They seem to play fine except for one part in one show that hangs .
> 
> I'm guessing this is due to the non-standard mpeg stream.
> 
> Seems alot of video editing SW also has problems with RTV highres mpegs but do fine with medium/standard.
> 
> FYI: You can monitor how full the demuxer is using the OSD.
> 
> While playing a show press*
> *. Select "On Screen Display" then select "Demux Info"
> 
> The blank button between mute & full brings up the OSD.*



Yeppers, I found the directions for those discussed in the mail list. I played around with them and removed them from the OSD leaving the progress bar, title, description, and running time when the OSD is called. BTW: Jumping to a specified minute sure makes up for not having the last saved view point when resuming video.


One thing I need to do is learn how to set up an NFS server under windows or figure out another way to connect to my shared folders with the config file. I've been reading and researching for the file sharing solution but my tiny mind does not seem to grasp the concept of mounting windows directories and file shares hosted on NT2K machines using the mini linux running on the MVP.


I've seen an example of how to mount a windows XP media share but I've not spied any NT2k examples.


Anyhow, just being able to use my replay 5040s and dvarchive is fantastic enough for the time being.


Heck, I think I'm going to make another round at a couple of Radio Shack stores to find one more unit.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originaly posted by choli0090_
> 
> I was thinking about trying this out, but I did have a couple of questions.



From your questions, I am not sure if you are asking about the "stock" MediaMVP or the mvpmc enhancement (which this thread is mostly about). I will attempt to answer both.



> Quote:
> 1) Can you stream video files that are on other computers in the house, or does it need to come from the computer that is acting like the "server" Another words if computer 2 is the server, can I stream from computer 1



The "stock" MediaMVP can only stream files that are on the server. But, with the mvpmc, there is no "server". It can stream files directly from a ReplayTV or MythTV box (although, I guess that would make them the server), once it is booted up. This only needs to be done if power is lost, or the system hangs. It can see and stream from multiple boxes. All references to a "server" in this thread refer to the services necessary to boot the device.



> Quote:
> 2) Can you have the listing of shows limited to a particular drive &/or folder on the computer



The "stock" MediaMVP shows a listing media files on the server. It can see multiple folders for any supported media type. As stated above, it cannot see other computers (unless the other computer has a drive mounted on the server as a shared drive). The mvpmc can shows a listing of all shows on any Replay or Myth box on your network.



> Quote:
> 3) Is there a way to make it so that certain options are not available (like delete) If I can make this work, this more then likely I would give this to my nephew & even though he hasn't done it yet, I could see him accidently deleting a show



The "stock" MediaMVP cannot delete files. However there is a way to make it so that it can. I don't know if it is easy remove options (like delete) from the mvmpc. It definitely can delete Replay files.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Marcus_
> *BTW: Jumping to a specified minute sure makes up for not having the last saved view point when resuming video.*



Saving the last view point is on my list of things to do after comercial skip.

Hopefully in about 6 weeks.



> Quote:
> *
> 
> One thing I need to do is learn how to set up an NFS server under windows or figure out another way to connect to my shared folders with the config file. I've been reading and researching for the file sharing solution but my tiny mind does not seem to grasp the concept of mounting windows directories and file shares hosted on NT2K machines using the mini linux running on the MVP.
> 
> I've seen an example of how to mount a windows XP media share but I've not spied any NT2k examples.
> *



I checked in some updates this past weekend that get the CIFS streaming

performance up to par for Windows servers. (Verified w/ WXP-Pro)

You will need to get a mvpmc binary from the DailyBuilds download page.

Also, updated the Windows-HOWTO with a "Configuring a CIFS server"

section.

CIFS shares are supported by NT2K but I don't have a 2K box so haven't been able to test it.

I think the issue for 2K is how to setup windows & mvp to make the share authentication happy.

Found this link on enabling the W2K guest account:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;q258938 


If you can't mount the share with the guest account then maybe create

a special windows userid.

Pass the info with mount.cifs as follows:

-o user=,password=,domain=,rsize=34000


Let me know your results. If you find a recipe that works I'll update the howto.

If not, I'll try to get a userid verified share mounted from WXP. (should be the same for W2K).


----------



## jimmyswimmy

They use something called ipkg, I think, to package little things. One is called tftp-hpa, at http://nthill.free.fr/openwrt/tracke...ow.php?id=1315 and I _think_ that might do it. Suffice it to say that I haven't tried at all.


Actually at first I was thinking of the native TFTP server in the router... duh, the one which accepts the binary firmware upload... not a brilliant idea!


Well, this may have seemed like a better idea in the beginning. I'll probably try it out anyway (and turn my router into a brick) after I run wire to my basement.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by jimmyswimmy_
> 
> One is called tftp-hpa, at http://nthill.free.fr/openwrt/track...how.php?id=1315 and I think that might do it



I didn't see that tftp package when I browsed the site of available packages. I don't see why I wouldn't work. As long as the router has the capacity to hold dongle.bin.mvpmc and dongle.bin.mvpmc.config, it should work.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *Saving the last view point is on my list of things to do after comercial skip.
> 
> Hopefully in about 6 weeks.*



That's great. The commercial skip will be fantastic.


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> I checked in some updates this past weekend that get the CIFS streaming
> 
> performance up to par for Windows servers. (Verified w/ WXP-Pro)*


*
*I tried with 0.1.4, and all but DVD VOB's played just fine.


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> You will need to get a mvpmc binary from the DailyBuilds download page.
> 
> Also, updated the Windows-HOWTO with a "Configuring a CIFS server"
> 
> section.*


*
* I tried to use a daily build but the MVPMC just was caught in a "Looking for DHCP Server loop. Perhaps I did not read enough to ensure that further processing (compiling or decompressing) of the build was required. I'll study it again this weekend.


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> CIFS shares are supported by NT2K but I don't have a 2K box so haven't been able to test it.*


*
* It works just fine.


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> I think the issue for 2K is how to setup windows & mvp to make the share authentication happy.
> 
> Found this link on enabling the W2K guest account:
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;q258938
> 
> If you can't mount the share with the guest account then maybe create
> 
> a special windows userid.
> 
> Pass the info with mount.cifs as follows:
> 
> -o user=,password=,domain=,rsize=34000*


*
* What I did under Win2K:

Created an account called MVPMC1 with password. MVPMC2 for my other unit.

Shared a specific folder and added the accounts that could access it manualy and removed the "everyone" setting. Limiting folder access enables a crude form of censoring.

Used MKDIR to create my "NTBOX" directory on the MVPMC.

Mounted the cifs share in this format.


mkdir.cifs //NTMACHINE/MEDIA /NTBOX/ -o user=MVPMC1,password=MVPMC1,rsize=34000,ip=192.168.0.3


in this example, NTMACHINE is the name of my networked win2k computer, MEDIA is the folder I created and shared in windows, NTBOX is the name I gave the directory on the MVPMC to which the mounted nt folders are connected, and "ip" is the address of the windows machine sharing the files. I did not pass the workgroup name. It was not necessary in my case. I typed these commands via telnet into the MVP box root to make sure it worked. I suppose I'll write them into the config file this weekend.


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> Let me know your results. If you find a recipe that works I'll update the howto.
> 
> If not, I'll try to get a userid verified share mounted from WXP. (should be the same for W2K).*


*
*Yes, it did work! I listened to some MP3s and watched some mpegs. After listening to music, I lost audio on the mpegs but the replay mpegs played fine.

Autodetecting the replays seemed to take longer after I mounted the cifs shares.


I tried making M3U playlist files for streaming shoutcast but when selected, they did not start to stream. I guess I was trying for too much without a good understanding of how things work.


Another note: I could not open sub folders on a shared DVD rom in the drive. I was hoping to pop a DVD in the PC and play back on the MVPMC but no luck. While sharing the DVD drive worked, for some reason, attempting to open the sub folder "TS-VIDEO" on RONIN to reach the VOB files failed.


I was only using 0.1.4 and the MVPMC buffer emptied faster than it could be filled with the file fetch. If I understand you correctly, the newer builds address this. I'll try again to see what I did wrong trying to load and run the latest daily build.


Thanks to this little project, I'm learning more about Unix; well at least the part about mounting drives and connecting to network shares.


Marc


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Marcus_
> _*I tried to use a daily build but the MVPMC just was caught in a "Looking for DHCP Server loop. Perhaps I did not read enough to ensure that further processing (compiling or decompressing) of the build was required. I'll study it again this weekend.*_



I just verified last nights build is OK.

The file is bzip (.bz2) compressed so needs to be uncompressed before

placing in your tftp dir.



> Quote:
> *What I did under Win2K:
> 
> Created an account called MVPMC1 with password. MVPMC2 for my other unit.
> 
> Shared a specific folder and added the accounts that could access it manualy and removed the "everyone" setting. Limiting folder access enables a crude form of censoring.
> 
> Used MKDIR to create my "NTBOX" directory on the MVPMC.
> 
> Mounted the cifs share in this format.
> 
> mkdir.cifs //NTMACHINE/MEDIA /NTBOX/ -o user=MVPMC1,password=MVPMC1,rsize=34000,ip=192.168.0.3
> *



Thanks, I'll add this info to the howto next time I update it.




> Quote:
> *
> 
> I was only using 0.1.4 and the MVPMC buffer emptied faster than it could be filled with the file fetch. If I understand you correctly, the newer builds address this. I'll try again to see what I did wrong trying to load and run the latest daily build.*



Yep, along with the windows registry change you should be able to stream

atleast 7Mbps.


You may want to search the mvpmc mailing list or post to the list for

the M3U & and audio sync issues.

I've seen post about similar issues but haven't really followed things.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Marcus_
> *I tried to use a daily build but the MVPMC just was caught in a "Looking for DHCP Server loop. Perhaps I did not read enough to ensure that further processing (compiling or decompressing) of the build was required. I'll study it again this weekend.*



And _indeed_, the file was compressed with bz2. I'll decompress the file and try again. Trying to execute the compressed file sort of reminds me of when President Ford tried to eat a tamale with the corn shuck still on it!


Marc


----------



## replayrob

What a excellent project. Thanks to all involved!

If I understand correctly, to run mvpmc you need the dongle.bin.mvpmc file and the dongle.bin.mvpmc.config file. Once the MediaMVP is booted and functioning, the PC is no longer needed- except if the MediaMVP becomes unstable or loses power or if you desire file access to AV content on the PC itself.

I d like to try booting mvpmc from my WinXP-Pro environment but am only interested in streaming files from my two ReplayTV 5040's. I am not interested in streaming from DVArchive or any video files anyplace else other then files on the 5040's hard drives.

With this in mind, do I still need to set up/mount the WinXP filesharing, video folders, and so on? Or, can I comment out this portion of the cfg script.

Thanks in advance.. ReplayRob


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by replayrob_
> 
> I am not interested in streaming from DVArchive or any video files anyplace else other then files on the 5040's hard drives.
> 
> With this in mind, do I still need to set up/mount the WinXP filesharing, video folders, and so on? Or, can I comment out this portion of the cfg script.
> 
> Thanks in advance.. ReplayRob



Correct. You do not need to set up/mount the WinXP filesharing, video folders, and so on. You can comment out that portion of the cfg script. Realize that even with the filesharing comment out, you still get streaming from DVArchive (if DVArchive is running on your network). Even though you aren't planning on using the filesharing capabilities, isn't it nice to know that you can?


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *Correct. You do not need to set up/mount the WinXP filesharing, video folders, and so on. You can comment out that portion of the cfg script.*



Thanks oldyellow....



> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *Realize that even with the filesharing comment out, you still get streaming from DVArchive (if DVArchive is running on your network). Even though you aren't planning on using the filesharing capabilities, isn't it nice to know that you can?*



Yes, I may that particular feature from time to time.

It's an exciting project overall. I'm trying to set the MediaMVP up in the kitchen where we have a 15" LCD TV. There's no room there for an additional ReplayTV but my wife has on several occasions expressed a desire to be able to watch (and control) content from her ReplayTV in that room. If the mvpmc works out.... it would really be great!!


----------



## replayrob

Update...

Got my setup running thanks to the "Windows How To" by John Honeycut.

Thanks John....

Went through all the steps, all the tests- everything worked as described-except for the problem described below.

Used "Putty" to telnet the "rdate" and "mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover" " commands. The MediaMVP discovered both my Replay 5040's and showed all their content. I could play all the recoreded shows, navigate and so on... perfect.


One problem though....

I see both my dongle.bin.mvpmc file and my dongle.bin.mvpmc.config file being uploaded to the MediaMPV but, it seems to be ignoring my config script file. Like it doesn't exist. My timezone is not being set to ET, doesn't see my time server at 192.168.0.103 and the mvpmc command line is not being executed. When I manually telnet the commands to the MediaMVP... it works perfectly. Other thing I noticed- when I copy the suggested test simple config script from the "how to" guide to the C:\\Program Files\\TFTP Turbo\ ftp_root folder- the TZ is still set to CT. So it's ignoring the sample script too.

I'm using (both in the tftp_root folder):

dongle.bin.mvpmc

dongle.bin.mvpmc.config

They both successfully upload.


Here's my config script:

TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ

rdate -s 192.168.0.103

mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover"




Here's what I get with the # env command in Putty:


Welcome to MediaMVP!

mvp1 login: root

BusyBox v1.00 (2005.03.05-20:52+0000) Built-in shell (ash)

Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

# date

Wed Dec 31 18:01:04 CST 1969

# env

USER=root

HOME=/

LOGNAME=root

TERM=vt102

PATH=/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin

SHELL=/bin/sh

PWD=/

TZ=CST+6CDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2



Any ideas as to why the config script(s) are being ignored?

I'm using a nightly build File: dongle.bin.mvpmc-20050324-1333-UTC

Thanks........


----------



## replayrob

Update....

Through trial-N-error, I found that if I change my config script


from:

TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ

rdate -s 192.168.0.103

mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover"


to:

rdate -s 192.168.0.103

mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover"


Now everything works perfectly. Seems the dongle bin didn't like the TZ line in the config file. Now mvpmc autostarts... and I can completely shut down my Windoze box. It streams hi-bitrate recordings from either of my two 5040's without any computer server!

Kickass project guys!!! Thanks......


----------



## Scyber

The TZ line should work fine. One thing you do have to look out for if you are working on a windows box. You should make sure that you save the file in Unix text format and not the windows text format. Unix and Windows have different characters for line breaks.


----------



## aeblank

How often does it crash (or whatever) and need a reboot?


I explained the thing to my parents and they might get one (me setting it up, of course--I'll have to re-read this entire thread).


Too bad I don't have a use for one. =)


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by aeblank_
> 
> How often does it crash (or whatever) and need a reboot?
> 
> 
> I explained the thing to my parents and they might get one (me setting it up, of course--I'll have to re-read this entire thread).



In the month or so, I've been using it, the only time I have "had" to reboot it when I was trying to get the CIFS fileshare to work. I successfully mounted the windows share, but whenever I tried to navigate through directories containing image files, the system would hang and force me to pull the plug, forcing a it boot when plugged in again. I was using an older daily build (2/13 I think) and the newer build may have fixed that problem. I have seen the system hit a glitch when quick skipping and restart the mvpmc application (the same as if you turned if off and on again). Of course this is not a reboot, so no server interaction was necessary.


No need to re-read the entire thread. The Windows-Howto on the mvpmc site tells you everything you need to know.


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Scyber_
> *The TZ line should work fine. One thing you do have to look out for if you are working on a windows box. You should make sure that you save the file in Unix text format and not the windows text format. Unix and Windows have different characters for line breaks.*



Yeah, I tried all four different formats that notepad has- ANSI, Unicode, Unicode Big Endian and UTF-8 and all the formats Wordpad had too. Other then RTF, which I didn't even try... all the formats worked without the TZ line. Any format with the TZ line failed to boot the mvpmc program.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Scyber_
> *The TZ line should work fine. One thing you do have to look out for if you are working on a windows box. You should make sure that you save the file in Unix text format and not the windows text format. Unix and Windows have different characters for line breaks.*



Yep...

Also, the line: TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ

only sets the TZ variable for the shell process that is running the config

script.

i.e. If you telnet to the mvp (starts a new shell) and do an 'env'

you will see the default CST TZ value.

To have the TZ variable automatically set for telnet shells you need add a line like the

following to you config script:


echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config


John...


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by replayrob_
> *Yeah, I tried all four different formats that notepad has- ANSI, Unicode, Unicode Big Endian and UTF-8 and all the formats Wordpad had too. Other then RTF, which I didn't even try... all the formats worked without the TZ line. Any format with the TZ line failed to boot the mvpmc program.*



OK. This is strange.

I'll experiment with it this weekend and see if I can reproduce it.

Did you try completely erasing the TZ line in you editor and manually typing

it back in?

Since the other lines work the only idea I currently have is that there is some form of control characters in the line that is messing it up.

Also please try adding a

echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config

line. Then telnet to the mvp & do an 'env' to see if it shows up.

John...


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *I have seen the system hit a glitch when quick skipping and restart the mvpmc application (the same as if you turned if off and on again). Of course this is not a reboot, so no server interaction was necessary.
> *



oldyellow,

Can you provide some more info on the quick skip problem?

If the mvp application restarted without the entire box rebooting it means

my code trapped.

Were you just quickskipping forward? Hitting the buttons 2 or more times

in quick succession? Near the beginning or end of the mpg?

Thanks...


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *OK. This is strange.
> 
> I'll experiment with it this weekend and see if I can reproduce it.
> 
> Did you try completely erasing the TZ line in you editor and manually typing
> 
> it back in?
> 
> Since the other lines work the only idea I currently have is that there is some form of control characters in the line that is messing it up.
> *



I have tried hand typing the whole config file by hand, no copy-N-paste. Funny thing is that any time I have a TZ reference line anywhere in the config file, the whole file fails to execute. Even if I put a # in front of the TZ line(s) the file still fails to run. Since the config file doesn't run the dongle.mvpmc load fails to boot up. If I telnet in the ENV command, it returns the CST zone cause it didn't load the config file.


I've also noticed that when I include my Replay's static IP addresses into the config file, rather than use the -R "ip=discover" command- the discover process fails to find either of the Replay's. The -R "ip=discover" command works fine though. Just mentioning the IP thing to be complete.

I really do appreciate your help John, and everyone else!!


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> 
> oldyellow,
> 
> Can you provide some more info on the quick skip problem?
> 
> If the mvp application restarted without the entire box rebooting it means
> 
> my code trapped.
> 
> Were you just quickskipping forward? Hitting the buttons 2 or more times
> 
> in quick succession? Near the beginning or end of the mpg?
> 
> Thanks...



It has happened two or three times, and on every occasion, I was hitting the quick skip button in quick succession. It happened toward the beginning and end. I believe that on most occasions I was viewing a 2-hour (or so) medium quality mpeg.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by replayrob_
> *I have tried hand typing the whole config file by hand, no copy-N-paste. Funny thing is that any time I have a TZ reference line anywhere in the config file, the whole file fails to execute. Even if I put a # in front of the TZ line(s) the file still fails to run. Since the config file doesn't run the dongle.mvpmc load fails to boot up. If I telnet in the ENV command, it returns the CST zone cause it didn't load the config file.*



Rob,

The TZ problem is due to the DOS instead of just a at the end of the lines.

This can be worked around by putting a *semi-colon* at the end of each line.

Here's and example config script I created with wordpad that I've verified

on the mvp:


TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2;export TZ;

rdate -s $SERVER;

echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config;

mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover" &


NOTE: The mvpmc line should be ended with an & (ampersand) instead of semi-colon.

The & causes mvpmc to run in the background.



> Quote:
> _Originally posted by replayrob_ *I've also noticed that when I include my Replay's static IP addresses into the config file, rather than use the -R "ip=discover" command- the discover process fails to find either of the Replay's. The -R "ip=discover" command works fine though. Just mentioning the IP thing to be complete.
> *



I verified that the following static IP line works for my replays.


mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=172.31.1.10/172.31.1.11" &


The command would fail due to the if the & wasn't included though.

I'm guessing the problem you had must have something to do with the line's

formatting as static IP's just bypass doing the discovery so if static IP's didn't

work I wouldn't expect discovery to work either.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *It has happened two or three times, and on every occasion, I was hitting the quick skip button in quick succession. It happened toward the beginning and end. I believe that on most occasions I was viewing a 2-hour (or so) medium quality mpeg.*



I couldn't reproduce it due to a change in the latest mvpmc code that causes

the mpg timestamp to go to 00:00:00 for a couple seconds after doing a skip.

So if you hit successive skips within a second of each other it jumps to

the start of the mpg.

I need to fix this and at the same time make quick multiple skip presses

get queued and behave better.

I'll make sure to hammer on it when I do the changes.


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *Rob,
> 
> The TZ problem is due to the DOS instead of just a at the end of the lines.
> 
> This can be worked around by putting a semi-colon at the end of each line.
> 
> NOTE: The mvpmc line should be ended with an & (ampersand) instead of semi-colon. The & causes mvpmc to run in the background.
> 
> 
> I verified that the following static IP line works for my replays.
> 
> mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=172.31.1.10/172.31.1.11" &
> 
> The command would fail due to the if the & wasn't included though.
> *



Thanks John..

I've verified your findings, you are correct.

Now my TZ setting works when I telnet to the MediaMPV, it shows ET!!

I can also manually list my Replay ip's and they show up instantly on the mvpmc ReplayTV menu. Definitely faster than the discover method.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Outstanding work. I can now watch content from my Replay's on our kitchen TV with full control. It's like getting an additional ReplayTV (with lifetime activation) for $79!! We just watched last nights recording of Battlestar Galactica and Supernanny both played perfectly over the network (both were HQ bitrate recordings). Skipped through the commercials without a hitch.

I'm really happy with the setup. Thanks again John..


PS if you accept donations towards your project to help offset equipment/software costs, etc.. I'd be more than happy to kick in a few $$ if you'd take it.


----------



## f2000Keith

John (or anyone else): Can the DHCP server or the Time Server that are suggested to be used for the MediaMVP be replaced by the native ones to Windows 2000 Server instead? I'd like to use what is already running on my server but I'm not sure if the DHCP server or time server in win 2k server is able to do what is required for the MediaMVP. I just picked up a MediaMVP, but I haven't set it up yet. I've also got another problem of not knowing how to exclude the MediaMVP from my current DHCP server (Windows2000 server) based on MAC address. Any help would GREATLY be appreciated. I can't wait to set this up!


----------



## Marcus

Howdy gang.


I have the windows shares working perfectly now.


Watching a DVD file saved on the HD works with plenty of buffer now but as stated by John, audio sync is not in hand yet. Nevertheless, nice.


But on to the problem at hand:


I'm not sure if this is a Replay problem or a MVPMC problem.


My Replays are called R P 1 and R P 2, respectively.

Accessing R P 1 with MVPMC works flawlessly. Occasionally while deleting a program from MVPMC, the Hauppage box will reload MVPMC. Not a severe situation. BUT! From time to time, accessing the file list on R P 2 will cause the MVPMC program to restart. It will not start working until I power reset the replay unit.


The replay units can talk to each other fine, it's just that MVPMC will shutdown and restart every time I attempt to access my second replay.


Auto-detecting replays works fine.

The exact point at which the MVPMC software restarts is after R P 2 is selected an the screen with the sideways word "REPLAYTV" appears on the left just as I'm expecting the file list to populate with the show listings.


This is not a complete reboot of the MVP box. It's just the MVPMC program restarting.


As I said, rebooting the replay helps for a while but the problem does come back eventually.


I never had these problems before I started experimenting with mount.cifs and the daily builds. Returning to the old configuration and the 0.1.4 software does not help.


Any suggestions?


----------



## f2000Keith

For those using Windows2000 (It supposedly works on all 2k or newer OSes), I have found out that there is a TFTP server which is part of the RIS (remote installation service) package so you may not need to use additional programs. The individual at this site has extracted only the TFTP service from the RIS package (link below). I haven't tried it out yet as I'm still trying to figure out how to 'skip' the MediaMVP DHCP request since I'm using Windows2000 server as my DHCP server. Anyone??



http://www.simonsen.bz/w2k_standalone_tftp_dameon.htm


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Marcus_
> *
> 
> My Replays are called R P 1 and R P 2, respectively.
> 
> Accessing R P 1 with MVPMC works flawlessly. Occasionally while deleting a program from MVPMC, the Hauppage box will reload MVPMC. Not a severe situation. BUT! From time to time, accessing the file list on R P 2 will cause the MVPMC program to restart. It will not start working until I power reset the replay unit.
> 
> 
> The replay units can talk to each other fine, it's just that MVPMC will shutdown and restart every time I attempt to access my second replayAuto-detecting replays works fine.
> 
> The exact point at which the MVPMC software restarts is after R P 2 is selected an the screen with the sideways word "REPLAYTV" appears on the left just as I'm expecting the file list to populate with the show listings.
> 
> 
> This is not a complete reboot of the MVP box. It's just the MVPMC program restarting.
> 
> As I said, rebooting the replay helps for a while but the problem does come back eventually.
> 
> I never had these problems before I started experimenting with mount.cifs and the daily builds. Returning to the old configuration and the 0.1.4 software does not help.
> 
> Any suggestions?*



Marcus,

The mvpmc application rebooting is most likely an indication that the code is trapping.

It would be great if you could capture the core dump for me.

Instructions are on my mvpmc replayTV web page:
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html under "Debugging Problems".

Please email me the core file along with which version of mvpmc you are running and what action you were doing at the time the problem occured.

Also, note any messages that get printed to the telnet window you start mvpmc in.

My email address is at the top of the replaytv web page.

Thanks,

John...


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by f2000Keith_
> *I haven't tried it out yet as I'm still trying to figure out how to 'skip' the MediaMVP DHCP request since I'm using Windows2000 server as my DHCP server. Anyone??*



Is there any particular reason why you won't allow your router to perform the DHCP tasks? It's very easy to turn it off at that point.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by f2000Keith_
> *For those using Windows2000 (It supposedly works on all 2k or newer OSes), I have found out that there is a TFTP server which is part of the RIS (remote installation service) package so you may not need to use additional programs. The individual at this site has extracted only the TFTP service from the RIS package (link below). I haven't tried it out yet as I'm still trying to figure out how to 'skip' the MediaMVP DHCP request since I'm using Windows2000 server as my DHCP server. Anyone??
> http://www.simonsen.bz/w2k_standalone_tftp_dameon.htm *



google seems to indicate that the w2k dhcp server is pretty limited

in what it can do. I didn't see where you could set the dhcp options required

to properly boot the mvp. Also didn't see where you can exclude a device's

mac address.

I'm pretty sure DHCP Turbo can be started as a service.

One solution is to disable the w2k DHCP server run DHCP Turbo for everything.


----------



## f2000Keith

I can set up an exclusion so that a device with a specific MAC address will always get a specified IP address from the Windows DHCP server. Is this is what is required for the MVPMC John? I didn't think it was, but maybe I misread the How-To. I'm going to try and mess with it to see if I can get it to work. If I get fed up, I'll go with the freeware DHCP server.


----------



## f2000Keith

I'm getting closer!!! So far I have been able to use the Microsoft TFTP server (from my previous post) and the DHCP server that is part of Windows 2000 Server. I'm using the free time server listed in the HOW TO. I get the MediaMVP to boot, get the reserved IP address, and download the software. The only problem I currently have is when I got to the 'ReplayTV' option from the menu, it acts like it's searching and then I get the following error in a grey box outlined in red:


Warning!


Press any key to continue



In the backround of the error window, I can see that it has detected my ReplayTV, it's IP address, and the model type of my Replay. I also have DVArchive running, but it doesn't see that. When I press any key, the window goes away and the MediaMVP and I can back out to display my ReplayTV, but it doesn't show any shows. Any help MediaMVP gurus? Below is what the telnet shows as I'm doing the above. The last line shows that there is a time discrepancy of more than 40 secons, but I've got the time server installed. How can I synch it with my Replay?



Welcome to MediaMVP!


mediamvp login: root



BusyBox v1.00 (2005.03.05-20:52+0000) Built-in shell (ash)

Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.


# mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover"

child pid 39

fnt_createfont: /etc/helvB18.pcf,0 not found

def char 0 (0)

size 8960 byte1 0,34 byte2 0,255

glyph_count = 756 (2f4)

pcf_createfont: using font /etc/helvB18.pcf

fnt_createfont: /etc/helvB18.pcf,0 not found

def char 0 (0)

size 8960 byte1 0,34 byte2 0,255

glyph_count = 756 (2f4)

pcf_createfont: using font /etc/helvB18.pcf

rtv: ipaddress: 192.168.0.20 hostname: mediamvp

replaytv init string: ip=discover

------------> KEY=ip VAL=discover

NTSC mode, 720x480

createfont: (height == 0) found builtin font System (0)

createfont: (height == 0) found builtin font System (0)

screen is 720 x 480

audio write thread started (pid 41)

mpeg read thread started (pid 42)

video write thread started (pid 43)

screensaver enable

Created hole in heap of size 1048576 bytes

screensaver enable

rtv:ERROR: hc_read_pieces: HTTP status error code: HTTP/1.1 404 Object Not Foundrtv:ERROR: rtv_get_device_info: hc_read_pieces call failed: rc=-74

rtv:ERROR: hc_read_pieces: HTTP status error code: HTTP/1.1 404 Object Not Foundrtv:ERROR: rtv_get_device_info: hc_read_pieces call failed: rc=-74

ReplayTV device list: num_devices=1

idx= 0 ip=192.168.0.5 model=5040 name=Replay Tv

rtv:ERROR: hfs_do_simple: end of httpfs status line not found

rtv:ERROR: rtv_get_volinfo: hfs_do_simple returned -71

ERROR: ReplayTV /Video dir access failed. MVP & ReplayTV clocks must not differ by more than 40 seconds.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by f2000Keith_
> 
> The only problem I currently have is when I got to the 'ReplayTV' option from the menu, it acts like it's searching and then I get the following error in a grey box outlined in red:
> 
> 
> Warning!
> 
> 
> Press any key to continue



Your time set on the MediaMVP is out of sync with the times on your Replay(s). To check to see if this is really the problem do the following.


1) Telnet into the MediaMVP

2) Type "date" check see what the date is currently set to.

3) Set the date to you time server by typing the followng command (be sure to substitue the ip address of your time server)


rdate -s 192.168.0.103


4) Check the date again by typing "date" to make sure it was set.

5) If the date is now correct, try accessing the Replay(s) through the MediaMVP to see if the problem is fixed.


If this fixed the problem, then your startup script is not executing the rdate command properly (assuming you have the command in your script). A possible cause of this could be the CR-LF at the end of text files created in windows (where linux/unix expects just a LF). See previous posts in this thread to address this problem.


A good thing to do is to make sure that the Windows machines that you use to run DVA and boot the mvpmc are time-synchronized with the Replay servers (ntp-production.replaytv.net).


Theoritically, you need to make sure your timezone is set appropriately, but I see that you live in Illinois, and the default is Central, so that is probably not causing you any problems.


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by oldyellow_
> *Theoritically, you need to make sure your timezone is set appropriately, but I see that you live in Illinois, and the default is Central, so that is probably not causing you any problems.*




I found that you don't really need the Time Zone line in your config script as ling as your server time and your replay's time sync.

I think that setting the Time Zone only tells the mvpmc to adjust the daylight/standard times without user intervention.

If the Replay's time is 14:50 hrs, and your MediaMVP's time is 14:50 hrs you're good to go (until the spring/fall time change). Doesn't matter if the server is EST, CST, etcand the MediaMVP is a different Time Zone just as long as the two are in sync. My setup ran fine with the MediaMVP on CST and my server on EST- cause the two times synced correctly. Without the Time Zone line in the config script, the MediaMVP would be out of timesync with the Replay when the Replay adjusts it's clock in the spring/fall.

So, you only need the TZ line twice a year...


















BTW: My setup (Windows based mvpmc) has been running 100% stable since 3/26/05. Love it!!!


----------



## f2000Keith

I double checked what you listed OldYellow except for synching my server with ntp-production.replay.net and everything else looks fine. I'm using the config file from the How To that has already been updated to include the semi-colons to prevent the format issue. I also started up the MediaMVP without the config file doing anything so that I could enter everything in by hand while in the telnet session. The date comes back as the same date and time as the server I'm using and I'm still getting the warning error. What command can you use to check and or synch with a remote time server?


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by replayrob_
> *I found that you don't really need the Time Zone line in your config script as ling as your server time and your replay's time sync.
> 
> If the Replay's time is 14:50 hrs, and your MediaMVP's time is 14:50 hrs you're good to go (until the spring/fall time change). Doesn't matter if the server is EST, CST, etcand the MediaMVP is a different Time Zone just as long as the two are in sync. My setup ran fine with the MediaMVP on CST and my server on EST- cause the two times synced correctly. Without the Time Zone line in the config script, the MediaMVP would be out of timesync with the Replay when the Replay adjusts it's clock in the spring/fall.
> 
> So, you only need the TZ line twice a year...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *



Hummm...

The replays time stamps are in GMT.

I live in EST.

If I remove the set TZ stuff from my config then the MVP's timezone will default to CST.

When I look at replay show descriptions all the show times are off by minus

1 hour. i.e a show I record at 10:00PM shows 9:00PM.

Another experiment is to not start mvpmc from the config file.

telnet to the mvp.

>unset TZ

This completely blows away the TZ variable.

Now start mvpmc.

All the replay show times will be off by +5 hours.

i.e. a show recorded at 10:00PM shows 3:00AM the next day.

This is because 10:00PM EST is 3:00AM GMT the next day.


So...

I'm totally confused as to how you can see the correct show times.

The replay guide show times have no relation to the current time set on the

mvp. What happens is I pull the GMT timestamp for a show from the guide.

Then I run the timestamp through a formatting function that uses the

TZ variable to determine how many hours to shift the timestamp for your

timezone.

The only thing I can think of is that your replay's think they are in CST.

I'm guessing the replay figures out it's timezone from the zipcode entered at setup.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by f2000Keith_
> *I double checked what you listed OldYellow except for synching my server with ntp-production.replay.net and everything else looks fine. I'm using the config file from the How To that has already been updated to include the semi-colons to prevent the format issue. I also started up the MediaMVP without the config file doing anything so that I could enter everything in by hand while in the telnet session. The date comes back as the same date and time as the server I'm using and I'm still getting the warning error. What command can you use to check and or synch with a remote time server?*



My 1st guess is that the box you are running your time server on is

off by more than 40 seconds.

A simple program to manually sync your box to a time server is sp timesync.
http://www.spdialer.com/download.html 

Please try this to sync your server. Then telnet to the mvp and use rdate

to sync the mvp to your server.


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *Hummm...
> 
> I'm totally confused as to how you can see the correct show times.
> *



I guess my post was a bit unclear. I didn't mean to imply that the show times were correct. I just wanted to point out that even if the Time Zones were mismatched (between the replay and the MediaMVP) the MPV still connected and streamed with the Replay's as long as both were synced to the same time.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by replayrob_
> *I guess my post was a bit unclear. I didn't mean to imply that the show times were correct. I just wanted to point out that even if the Time Zones were mismatched (between the replay and the MediaMVP) the MPV still connected and streamed with the Replay's as long as both were synced to the same time.*



Oh... Yes. That makes sense.


----------



## f2000Keith




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *My 1st guess is that the box you are running your time server on is
> 
> off by more than 40 seconds.
> 
> A simple program to manually sync your box to a time server is sp timesync.
> http://www.spdialer.com/download.html
> 
> Please try this to sync your server. Then telnet to the mvp and use rdate
> 
> to sync the mvp to your server.*



That was it. I dug some more and messed with the NET TIME command and was able to synch my server with the ReplayTV NTP server. I am now able to see everything on my ReplayTV, but for some reason it's still not picking up my DVArchive box.


----------



## f2000Keith

Here's the error I get from DVArchive when I try to connect from the MediaMVP:


03/29 23:08:13 Notice: DVArchive V3.1 starting

03/29 23:08:15 Notice: UPNP:: Received UPnP packet from previously unknown DVR @ 192.168.0.5 -- looking up DVR info

03/29 23:08:16 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive has recognized new DVR ReplayTV named Replay Tv at 192.168.0.5:80

03/29 23:08:16 Notice: Scheduler Now Running

03/29 23:08:16 DVR Replay Tv Photo space usage update: Total Capacity 953.62MB, Remaining 952.94MB

03/29 23:08:23 Notice: Timestamp offset for Replay Tv set to 4 seconds.

03/29 23:08:24 DVR Replay Tv space usage update: Total Capacity 147.63GB, Remaining 117.06GB

03/29 23:12:02 Notice: UPNP:: Received UPnP packet from previously unknown DVR @ 192.168.0.20 -- looking up DVR info

03/29 23:12:02 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection reset

03/29 23:12:13 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:12:24 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:12:35 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:12:46 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:12:57 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:13:07 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive received new DVR broadcast for 192.168.0.20 but wasn't able to initialize/configure it - ignored

03/29 23:18:32 Notice: UPNP:: Received UPnP packet from previously unknown DVR @ 192.168.0.20 -- looking up DVR info

03/29 23:18:32 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection reset

03/29 23:18:43 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:18:54 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:19:05 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:19:16 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:19:26 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:19:36 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive received new DVR broadcast for 192.168.0.20 but wasn't able to initialize/configure it - ignored

03/29 23:19:58 Notice: UPNP:: Received UPnP packet from previously unknown DVR @ 192.168.0.20 -- looking up DVR info

03/29 23:19:58 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection reset

03/29 23:20:09 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:20:20 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:20:31 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:20:42 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:20:53 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.0.20:80 -- Connection refused: connect

03/29 23:21:03 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive received new DVR broadcast for 192.168.0.20 but wasn't able to initialize/configure it - ignored



I've tried multiple PCs with DVArchive and they're all not being picked up by the mediamvp. I also changed the config file to the actual ip of the ReplayTV and the DVArchive server. When I boot up the MVP, under the device listing it shows the ReplayTV which it can connect to and now it shows my DVA server (named: server) like this Server: (unavailable).


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by f2000Keith_
> *I've tried multiple PCs with DVArchive and they're all not being picked up by the mediamvp. I also changed the config file to the actual ip of the ReplayTV and the DVArchive server. When I boot up the MVP, under the device listing it shows the ReplayTV which it can connect to and now it shows my DVA server (named: server) like this Server: (unavailable).*



Per the Windows-HOWTO DVArchive's IP address can't be statically configured . Thus the 'unavailable'.


I assume your replays have no problem discovering dvarchive?


Does mvpmc correctly discover your replays (No static IP) ?


Are you using Turbo DHCP as your DHCP server?


If not then try using it as that is what I have verified with.

Make sure all the DHCP options specified in the Windows HOWTO are properly configured.

Use ethereal to verify the DHCP Discover & DHCP Offer look correct and include the required options.

Heres a dump for my setup:

MVP Name: mediam_mvp1

MVP IP: 172.31.1.12

Next server(TFTP server) 172.31.1.5

Subnet 255.255.255.0

Router: 172.31.1.1

Broadcast addr: 172.31.1.255

-------------

Frame 2 (342 bytes on wire, 342 bytes captured)

Ethernet II, Src: 00:04:61:44:34:5c, Dst: 00:0d:fe:00:92:00

Internet Protocol, Src Addr: 172.31.1.5 (172.31.1.5), Dst Addr: 172.31.1.12 (172.31.1.12)

User Datagram Protocol, Src Port: bootps (67), Dst Port: bootpc (68)

Bootstrap Protocol

Message type: Boot Reply (2)

Hardware type: Ethernet

Hardware address length: 6

Hops: 0

Transaction ID: 0xe2f4e458

Seconds elapsed: 0

Bootp flags: 0x0000 (Unicast)

Client IP address: 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0)

Your (client) IP address: 172.31.1.12 (172.31.1.12)

Next server IP address: 172.31.1.5 (172.31.1.5)

Relay agent IP address: 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0)

Client MAC address: 00:0d:fe:00:92:00 (172.31.1.12)

Server host name: epox-8k9a

Boot file name: dongle.bin.mvpmc

Magic cookie: (OK)

Option 53: DHCP Message Type = DHCP Offer

Option 1: Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0

Option 51: IP Address Lease Time = infinity

Option 59: Rebinding Time Value = infinity

Option 58: Renewal Time Value = infinity

Option 12: Host Name = "media_mvp1"

Option 3: Router = 172.31.1.1

Option 28: Broadcast Address = 172.31.1.255

Option 54: Server Identifier = 172.31.1.5

End Option

Padding

-------------


I suspect your subnet or broadcast address are incorrect.


----------



## krkaufman

wow.


I'm just giddy about this ReplayTV/mvpmc thing. Thanks very much to John Honeycutt, Jon Gettler and others for their development efforts; to numerous souls in the community for their assistance in working through the initial hurdles (e.g. oldyellow, aeblank); and to those who will march it forward. My user community (siblings, parents, friends) thank you, as well. (Well, they will once I'm ready to roll it out to their households.)


The Windows HOW-TO worked nearly flawlessly in getting me going; I was up and running mvpmc and streaming off my ReplayTVs within an hour. Thanks for putting it together.


Notes....
As has been discussed previously, the config file needs to be in UNIX text format; otherwise, the config script will fail miserably.
Mounting a CIFS filesystem from XP Home SP1 worked AOK.
I've been unable to view JPEGs, as yet. (But am not too concerned since my primary goal is to just have a stable ReplayTV thin client.)
The config script generates "Illegal Execution" warnings if you try piping ("|") shell commands. (Because of no terminal?) Further, it'll generate core files if you've enabled coredumps (via ulimit, as described). Fortunately, it still processes the commands.
The video display (TV) is spastic between the MMVP firmware bootup and the mvpmc startup screen.
Using the skip ahead/replay/jump buttons when streaming ReplayTV video causes momentary loss of video.
I've had some mvpmc restarts and lockups when streaming RTV video. (Crossing off one feature needed to give mvpmc a true ReplayTV feel.)








Additions...
I was able to prevent my router DHCP service -- on a Linksys running the Sveasoft Alchemy firmware -- from responding to the MediaMVP DHCP request by running the following iptables configuration command from the Sveasoft command-line (after telnetting in).
Code:


Code:


# iptables -I INPUT 1 -m mac --mac-source 00:0D:FE:12:34:56 -p udp --dport 67 -j DROP

... where the MAC address in the command is that of the MediaMVP (obviously). Of course, you need to do a "Save Firewall" after adding this new rule, else it'll be snuffed after the next router reboot. Thanks Sveasoft forums!

I found adding the following line at the start of the configuration file handy for capturing the screen output (STDOUT/STDERR) of its processing.
Code:


Code:


exec 1> mvpmc_config.log 2>&1

(Or was this unnecessary due to the output already being directed elsewhere? Or is this dangerous, in that it may fill-up the filesystem?)

Should the paranoiac among us desire to do so, they can password-protect the mvpmc login by overwriting the existing password file, by adding the following line to their config file....
Code:


Code:


echo "root:crypted_password:0:0:root:/:/bin/sh" > /etc/passwd;

.... where 'crypted_password' can be generated using the 'crypt' command -- or via websites like the following:


Crypt Password Generator
http://jpirr.nic.ad.jp/crypt_gen_web.html 

If looking to save files to a network share from the MVP, you can mount a filesystem as hidden (from the mvpmc "Filesystem" browser) by prefixing a dot, ".", to the final directory name. For example...
Code:


Code:


mkdir -p /Mounts/.Debug
mount.cifs //192.168.1.1/DEBUG /Mounts/.Debug/ -o rw,password=guest

(Well, actually, just prefix whatever directories you want hidden w/ a dot, knowing that all lower directories will then also be hidden from the mvpmc "Filesystem" browser.

Got carried away seeing what I could get away with in the config file, in an attempt to move towards a modular approach to configuring mvpmc instances. See the attached zip file for the resulting overkill config.


Well, that's enough for the first pass. Thanks again...


Regs,

Karl K.

 

dongle_mvpmc.bin.zip 1.9951171875k . file


----------



## honeycut

Thanks for the post Karl.

I inserted a few comments.



> Quote:
> _Originally posted by krkaufman_
> *[*]As has been discussed previously, the config file needs to be in UNIX text format; otherwise, the config script will fail miserably.
> *



You should be able to put a semi-colon at the end of each line

to get around the windows incompatability.

I unsuccessfully searched for a free & easy to configure windows editor that

will save text files in unix format. If anybody knows of one please send me

the link and I will add it to the windows FAQ.


> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> [*]The config script generates "Illegal Execution" warnings if you try piping ("|") shell commands. (Because of no terminal?) Further, it'll generate core files if you've enabled coredumps (via ulimit, as described). Fortunately, it still processes the commands.[*]The video display (TV) is spastic between the MMVP firmware bootup and the mvpmc startup screen.[*]Using the skip ahead/replay/jump buttons when streaming ReplayTV video causes momentary loss of video.*


*
*The shell piping functionality is a busybox thing.

The spastic display is a video no-sync condition that occurs between when linux resets the mvp video hardware and when mvpmc starts up.

Probably not a difficult thing to fix. Just not high on the priority list for Jon

or myself.

As for the replaytv skip/jump loss of video.

This bugs me too. Actually the video artifacts that occur during the delay

bug me more than the delay.

The majority of the delay is the networking time to suck down 96K of

data for the new video segment to feed to the hardware.

I tried doing this with 32K chunks a few months back but it sometimes caused

hangs for highres shows when the hardware would process all the data before the next 32K chunk was ready.

Not sure how to fix this.



> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> [*]I've had some mvpmc restarts and lockups when streaming RTV video.*


*
*The restarts are most likely due to mvpmc coring.

Jon's putting out a new release in the next few days that contains

a number of replaytv bug fixes. Hopefully this will resolve your issues.

If it doesn't then email me with a description of the problem.

If I can't reproduce it then I'll send instructions on how to collect

data to help debug the problem.



> *Quote:*
> *
> 
> 
> [*]I found adding the following line at the start of the configuration file handy for capturing the screen output (STDOUT/STDERR) of its processing.*
> *Code:*
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> [B]exec 1> mvpmc_config.log 2>&1[/B]
> 
> *(Or was this unnecessary due to the output already being directed elsewhere? Or is this dangerous, in that it may fill-up the filesystem?)*


*
*If you start mvpmc from the config script the output is basically

/dev/nulled.

Guess you could redirect stdout/stderr to a cifs/nfs mounted file.

This would create a potential for filling up the filesystem though.


For a long term fix I'd like to start sending mvpmc output to syslog

if it is started from the config script. (Need to talk to Jon about this)

You can start syslog from your config file as follows:

>klogd

>syslogd :514


The dhcp/tftp turbo web site has a free windows syslog server available

for download.

With the current state of the code, only the mvp kernel logs go to syslog.


----------



## Scyber




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> 
> I unsuccessfully searched for a free & easy to configure windows editor that
> 
> will save text files in unix format. If anybody knows of one please send me
> 
> the link and I will add it to the windows FAQ.


 http://www.textpad.com/ 


Its technically not free, but it has an "unlimited" trial/evaluation period.


----------



## l8er




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by John Honeycutt_
> *I unsuccessfully searched for a free & easy to configure windows editor that will save text files in unix format.*



There are a number of free text editors here that say they read/write in Unix format.


----------



## MrFussy

I've also used Zeus ( www.zeusedit.com ). Supports unix formats. Shareware version available.


----------



## honeycut

I've updated the mvpmc windows-howto with links to windows editors

that support saving files in unix mode.

Scyber, I8er, MrFussy, thanks for the links.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Scyber_
> * http://www.textpad.com/ *



I just tried out Textpad, and it works great. Thanks.


Textpad allows you to select the text file format (PC, UNIX or MAC) when you save the file via the "Save As..." method; otherwise, it just saves the file in its original format.



It's moot now, but one could also run a DOS (CR/LF) file through the DOS2UNIX command to strip-out the carriage returns. Here's some references for those interested...


MS KB article...
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;268901 


GPL'd offering for Win...
http://www.bastet.com/software/software.html 


Another dos2unix binary for Win...
http://www.icdatamaster.com/convert....0HTML%20/%20PS 


Discussion...
http://kb.indiana.edu/data/acux.html


----------



## krkaufman

Re: Java Server for MediaMVP


Hey, has anyone worked with the 'jmvpserver' code project mentioned over on SHSPVR forums? I'm thinking it may provide a jumpstart to anyone looking to roll their own server code for mvpmc.
 SHSPVR thread discussing the 'jmvpserver' project 
 SourceForge CVS Repository for the 'jmvpserver' project

Sadly, there doesn't appear to have been any activity on the project since November 2004.



Other MediaMVP projects of interest listed over on SourceForge....
 MediaMVP media server ; See also http://www.rst38.org.uk/mediamvp/ 
 MediaMVP Libraries and Applications 
 MVP Windows Media Center (you guys!)

 MediaMVP BTV3 Interface 
 MVP Windows Media Center


----------



## safisam




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by replayrob_
> *One problem though....
> 
> I see both my dongle.bin.mvpmc file and my dongle.bin.mvpmc.config file being uploaded to the MediaMPV but, it seems to be ignoring my config script file. Like it doesn't exist. My timezone is not being set to ET, doesn't see my time server at 192.168.0.103 and the mvpmc command line is not being executed. When I manually telnet the commands to the MediaMVP... it works perfectly. Other thing I noticed- when I copy the suggested test simple config script from the "how to" guide to the C:\\Program Files\\TFTP Turbo\ ftp_root folder- the TZ is still set to CT. So it's ignoring the sample script too.
> 
> I'm using (both in the tftp_root folder):
> 
> dongle.bin.mvpmc
> 
> dongle.bin.mvpmc.config
> 
> They both successfully upload.
> 
> 
> Here's my config script:
> 
> TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ
> 
> rdate -s 192.168.0.103
> 
> mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover"
> *



Hi all, I'm having same issue as Rob does. I've downloaded TextPad and I even re-wrote the scipt from scratch and saved it as UNIX/ANSI.

still tftp does not read the config file. I've tried everything in the last 4 hours.

I can copy and paste the command from the script to the telent window and MediaMVP will work like a champ.

Please help.

Sam


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by safisam_
> *I've downloaded TextPad and I even re-wrote the scipt from scratch and saved it as UNIX/ANSI. still tftp does not read the config file. ...
> 
> 
> I can copy and paste the command from the script to the telent window and MediaMVP will work like a champ.*



Are you seeing any activity in the TFTP Turbo "Activity" pane during the startup process? You *should* see both files being uploaded. (As pictured in the image over at the mvpmc Windows HOW-TO instructions .)











It would be strange for the dongle file to be loaded, but not the config.


You can verify the location of your TFTP Turbo 'tftp_root' directory via the dialog in step 7.3 of the HOW-TO.


Also, you may want to attach your config file for review.


> I'm having same issue as Rob does.


Rob's not having any problems anymore. He suffered from the DOS/UNIX text file difference, but was up and running later that day. (If saving the file as UNIX ANSI doesn't help you, make sure that each command line in the config script ends with a semi-colon.)


Please report back when you can, Sam. Thanks!


----------



## R.Beckman




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by honeycut_
> *I've updated the mvpmc windows-howto with links to windows editors
> 
> that support saving files in unix mode.
> 
> Scyber, I8er, MrFussy, thanks for the links.*




Just want to thank you for all your efforts.


----------



## safisam




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by krkaufman_
> *Are you seeing any activity in the TFTP Turbo "Activity" pane during the startup process? You *should* see both files being uploaded.
> *



Hi Karl,

Yes there's activities in the TFTP Turbo screen but only the dongle.bin.mpvmc is being uploaded as I mentioned earlier.



> Quote:
> *Also, you may want to attach your config file for review.*



I'm using the file you sent me as is with the exception of the ip address. Mine is 192.168.0.103. but I'll send it once I get home.



> Quote:
> *(If saving the file as UNIX ANSI doesn't help you, make sure that each command line in the config script ends with a semi-colon.)*



I tried that already, no success. again, I'll put my config file on this forum later today.


----------



## safisam

General Questions:

Once I get my mvpmc to work properly, I would like to know:
* Can mvpmc paly more than one mp3 audio? like the MediaMVP you can shuffle, play all....?

* In regard to pictures, can you slide picuters?

* How can I change back & forth between mvpmc and MediaMVP installation for example to listen to radio?[/list=1]


Thanks.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by safisam_
> *Yes there's activities in the TFTP Turbo screen but only the dongle.bin.mpvmc is being uploaded as I mentioned earlier.*



Yes, I know that you mentioned only the one is being uploaded, but you're not giving any explicit details as to what you're observing. There's no way of knowing whether your "only the one is being uploaded" statement is based on what you see after telnetting into the MediaMVP or what you're seeing in the TFTP Turbo activity pane. It's very difficult to assist without knowing exactly what you're looking at.


For example, "there's activities in the TFTP Turbo screen": Ok, *what* activity? Are you seeing both files in the activity screen or just the dongle? (I ask this, because it's possible that some other problem may be causing the config TFTP to fail; however unlikely.)


If you *are* seeing the dongle.bin show up in the TFTP Turbo screen but *not* the config, then I can only think of 3 possibilities to check...


- Is the config file correctly named to match the dongle?


Double-check that the config filename is IDENTICAL to the dongle filename, but with the ".config" extension. For example:


"dongle.bin.config" goes with "dongle.bin"

"dongle_mvpmc.config" goes with "dongle_mvpmc"


- Are you sure that your dongle file is an mvpmc dongle file?


Just to be sure, re-download the 0.1.4 mvpmc dongle (or another version)


- Was your dongle corrupted at some point?


Ditto on the re-download.


(Though if you can telnet in, which I believe you said you can, your dongle appears to both be fine and an mvpmc dongle; leaving just the file naming possibility, to my pea brain.)


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by safisam_
> *Hi Karl,
> 
> Yes there's activities in the TFTP Turbo screen but only the dongle.bin.mpvmc is being uploaded as I mentioned earlier.
> *



Here's another possibility.

The MVP boot rom does a dchp discover then tftp's the dongle.bin.

Then linux starts to boot.

As linux boots it does a 2nd dhcp discover. (This is because the bootrom

doesn't pass the networking info to linux.)

After linux boots it executes the following command from /etc/rcS to get the config file:


tftp -g -l /etc/dongle.config -r ${DONGLE}.config ${SERVER}


Decoded this is tftp:

-g : get file

-r: remote file name ${DONGLE}.config (dongle.bin.mvpmc.config)

-l: local file name: name for the tftp'd file on the mvp filesystem(dongle.config)

${SERVER} ip address to tftp the file from.


It's possible that your DHCP Turbo configuration is partially messed up.

In this case I would assume $SERVER is wrong since if $DONGLE was wrong

I don't think the boot rom would have been able to tftp the dongle.

Note: SERVER correlates to the DHCP Turbo "next server" option.

Here's how to check things:

-telnet to the mvp

list the /etc dir: #ls

You should see a udhcpc.config file. This is the dhcp info.

cat the file: #cat /etc/udhcpc.config


Verify that your DONGLE and SERVER are set correctly.

Example from my box:

# cat /etc/udhcpc.config

DONGLE=dongle.bin.mvpmc

SERVER=172.31.1.1


You can also try to manually tftp the config file and see what happens.

eg: #tftp -g -l /etc/test.config -r dongle.bin.mvpmc.config


----------



## safisam

I re-downloaded dongle.bin.mvpmc-0.1.4 and install it in C:\\Program Files\\TFTP Turbo\\tftp_root and renamed it to dongle.bin.mvpmc


I'm attaching my config file and couple of images.

members.sparedollar.com/safisam/tftp-image1.jpg 
members.sparedollar.com/safisam/tftp-image2.jpg 


Sorry could not post images because I'm new. but here the link to the images.

Sam

 

dongle.bin.mvpmc.zip 0.3662109375k . file


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by safisam_
> *
> 
> I'm attaching my config file and couple of images.
> members.sparedollar.com/safisam/tftp-image1.jpg
> members.sparedollar.com/safisam/tftp-image2.jpg
> *



Sam, look at the SERVER variable in tftp-image2.jpg

It is set to 19.168.0.103.

Looks like it needs to be 192.168.0.103

You need to fix your DHCP Turbo "next server" option.

John...


----------



## safisam

John, Karl, I want to thank you so much for your help. I feel bad that I didn't discover this small error myself. The error was the IP address missing a number. Well it's working like a champ.

again, thanks for the help.

Sam


----------



## safisam




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by safisam_
> *General Questions:
> 
> Now that my mvpmc is working properly, I would like to know:
> * Can mvpmc paly more than one mp3 audio? like the MediaMVP you can shuffle, play all....?
> 
> * How can I change back & forth between mvpmc and MediaMVP installation for example to listen to radio?[/list=1]
> 
> 
> Thanks.
> *







Can someone give an answer to the above? Thanks


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by honeycut_
> *Sam, look at the SERVER variable in tftp-image2.jpg
> 
> It is set to 19.168.0.103.
> 
> Looks like it needs to be 192.168.0.103
> 
> You need to fix your DHCP Turbo "next server" option.*



Good EYE, John..!!


----------



## krkaufman

Just notified via email....


mvpmc 0.1.5 has been released on the project web site.

http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by safisam_
> ** Can mvpmc play more than one mp3 audio? like the MediaMVP you can shuffle, play all....?
> 
> * In regard to pictures, can you slide pictures?*



To the best of my knowledge, not yet.




> Quote:
> ** How can I change back & forth between mvpmc and MediaMVP installation for example to listen to radio?*



Very carefully.







(lame, I know)


Actually, switching back-and-forth appears to be as simple as removing/adding the "boot file" definition for the MediaMVP in the DHCP server (and then saving the change, and rebooting the MediaMVP).


Assuming you're running under Windows and have *mvpmc* up and running according to JohnH's excellent Windows HOW-TO... and you also have the Hauppauge software installed and running on your PC....

*mvpmc to Hauppauge*
Delete the 'boot file' (-1) option from the MediaMVP's "Named Policy" in DHCP Turbo
Save DHCP Turbo configuration change
Reboot MediaMVP
*Hauppauge back to mvpmc*
Add 'boot file' (-1) option back into the DHCP Turbo Named Policy for the MediaMVP, specifying the mvpmc dongle binary.
Save DHCP Turbo configuration change
Reboot MediaMVP


----------



## safisam

hmm, that's actually not bad, as a tryout I stoped the DHCP, TFTP and time server and then reboot. Then to switch back, I restarted the server back up and reboot.


Well I see there's continuous improvment to the software, so I'm sure sooner or later will have the other options.


I'm having a new issue (and that due to lack of knowledge in Linux) I have C and D drive (2 seperate file systems) I was able to mount a dir in C using the mount.cifs. for D I didn't know how to do it, so I created a short cut of d:\\dir on C and tried to mount that. I'm getting empty dir, although one dir worked but the other 3 didn't. (I'm sure this time it's not a typo, as I read it many times. but here it's anyway:


mkdir /Media;

mkdir /Media/MyPictures;

mount.cifs //192.168.0.103/Kodak_Images /Media/MyPictures/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


mkdir /MyMusic;

mkdir /MyMusic/Music;

mount.cifs //192.168.0.103/Music /MyMusic/Music/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


mkdir /Media/Movies;

mount.cifs //192.168.0.103/Movies /Media/Movies/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


mkdir /Media/Movies2;

mount.cifs //192.168.0.103/Movies2 /Media/Movies2/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


mkdir /MyMusic/Music_Video;

mount.cifs //192.168.0.103/Music_Video /MyMusic/Music_Video/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


mkdir /Media/Ovideo;

mount.cifs //192.168.0.103/Ovideo /Media/Ovideo/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


mkdir /MyMusic/My_Music;

mount.cifs //192.168.0.103/My_Music /MyMusic/My_Music/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


mkdir /Media/Comedy;

mount.cifs //192.168.0.103/Comedy /Media/Comedy/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


comedy, Music, MyPictures and Movies works fine, but not the others. For example Comedy is a shortcut of D:\\Sharing\\Comedy

while Movies2 is a shortcut in C for "D:\\kazza downloads\\Movies"

I can provide more detail if needed.

Sam

 

dongle.bin.mvpmc.zip 0.3662109375k . file


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by safisam_
> *hmm, that's actually not bad, as a tryout I stoped the DHCP, TFTP and time server and then reboot. Then to switch back, I restarted the server back up and reboot.*



That'll work, too. (I went the "boot file" route, thinking it would work in environments with multiple MediaMVPs -- where shutting down the DHCP/TFTP/Time services would be global; and I wasn't sure how the MediaMVP would get its IP address with my router blocking its DHCP requests and DHCP Turbo shutdown.)


FYI... To make your switchover easier, you could write a couple batch scripts to shutdown/startup all 3 services. For example....
*StopEm.bat:*

net stop "Absolute Time Server"

net stop "DHCP Turbo"

net stop "TFTP Turbo"

*StartEm.bat:*

net start "Absolute Time Server"

net start "DHCP Turbo"

net start "TFTP Turbo"



> Quote:
> _Originally posted by safisam_
> *comedy, Music, MyPictures and Movies works fine, but not the others. For example Comedy is a shortcut of D:\\Sharing\\Comedy
> 
> while Movies2 is a shortcut in C for "D:\\kazza downloads\\Movies"*



I'm not sure what you mean by "shortcuts" in this situation; the source of the CIFS mounts should be formatted as follows:
//IP_Address/Share_Name

That is, they need to be network-shared folders.


To determine your available share names, run "NET SHARE" in a command window on your XP system and verify the names against your config file. Also, even if the share names are listed, it's possible that they're restricted from "guest" users.


----------



## safisam

Karl, thanks so much for the help. Everything is working fine now (sharing and the bat script)

I appreciate your help and John and all those who provided some advise.

Sam


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by krkaufman_
> *Just notified via email....
> 
> 
> mvpmc 0.1.5 has been released on the project web site.
> 
> http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net *



Any major reason to upgrade from mvpmc 0.1.4?

My 0.1.4 has been 100% stable since bootup (about a month ago).

Thanks...Replayrob


----------



## honeycut

For replaytv, Not much reason. There are several bug fixes related

to problems people reported with accessing the guide. Was causing

mvpmc restarts and problems deleting shows. So if your seeing

these problems you probably want to upgrade.

CIFS share performance is greatly improved if you mount windows shares.

Hopefully, manual comercial skip, and couple other bells will be available in the next release.

John...


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by honeycut_
> *For replaytv, Not much reason. There are several bug fixes related
> 
> to problems people reported with accessing the guide. Was causing
> 
> mvpmc restarts and problems deleting shows. So if your seeing
> 
> these problems you probably want to upgrade.
> 
> CIFS share performance is greatly improved if you mount windows shares.
> 
> Hopefully, manual commercial skip, and couple other bells will be available in the next release.
> 
> John...*



Ok, thanks John... I'll stick with 0.1.4 since it's been perfect for me.

CA would be an awesome feature.

Right now I just hit the quick skip a few times. It's a little inconvenient when you're eating finger food (BBQ ribs, corn, crabs, etc..) and have to pick up the remote to QS through he commercials. CA ould be the "cherry on top" of MediaMVP!!


----------



## aeblank

Wait, you mean that you can use this thing for non-ReplayTV stuff?


----------



## honeycut

-----------------------------

mvpmc 1.6 released

-----------------------------

Jon just released it last night.

Here's the announced list of updates:

- turn off video output when power button on the remote is used

- lots of myth live tv improvments

- added colortest program to the settings menu

- ability to change themes through a new themes menu

- made replaytv widgets themeable

- added replaytv evt processing and manual commercial skip

- enhanced replaytv jump/seek OSD


Things of interest for ReplayTV

- Manual commercial skip

- +28 sec skip pauses on commercial breaks.

- Enhanced OnScreenDisplay (OSD)

- A number of ndx file processing robustness changes.

- Several DVArchive guide processing bug fixes & workarounds.


Let me know if you have any issues.


BTW: The commercial skip code is based off the VLC project replaytv code and

the RTV5K tools evtdump.c code.


The mvpmc replaytv webpage has been updated with info on commercial skip

and the new OSD.
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html 


Themes

------

Also, please checkout the theme stuff.

Right now it allows selecting several different color/font schemes specified by xml files.

You can also specify your own theme file from the mvpmc command line with the

'-t' option.


mvpmc -t where the is a local dir or nfs/cifs mounted dir.

See the windows HowTo for info on mounting a CIF share.

If you don't want to mount a cifs/nfs dir you can place a theme file in your

tftp directory then update your mvpmc .config file to tftp it to a mvp local dir.


Example for rtv.xml tftp'd to mvp local /tmp/themes dir.

> tftp -g -l /tmp/themes/rtv.xml -r rtv.xml ${SERVER}

> mvpmc -R disc -t /tmp/themes/rtv.xml


Following is a link to the current default.xml which is a good place to start.
http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.p...=1.9&view=auto 


Just search for 'rtv_' for the replaytv related entries.


Colortest

---------

The theme stuff is pretty worthless without a tool to compare foreground/background colors.

Following is a link detailing how to use the new colortest utility.
http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/f...forum_id=39055 


If someone wants to do a ReplayTV like theme I'll be happy to add it to the mvpmc distribution.


John...


----------



## replayrob

Hi John....

When upgrading from 1.4 to 1.6, do I need to modify my existing config script??

Thanks.... ReplayRob


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *replayrob* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hi John....
> 
> When upgrading from 1.4 to 1.6, do I need to modify my existing config script??
> 
> Thanks.... ReplayRob



You need to change the name of your .config file to match the name of the new dongle. dongle.bin.mvpmc-0.1.5.config to dongle.bin.mvpmc-0.1.6.config or whatever you name the new dongle file.

You no longer need to use the mvpmc "-f /etc/helvB18.pcf" option as the

18pt font is taken care of by the theme files.

Thats about it.

John...


----------



## replayrob

Thanks John, maybe I'll upgrade this weekend.


----------



## krkaufman

Quote:

Originally Posted by *honeycut*
If someone wants to do a ReplayTV like theme I'll be happy to add it to the mvpmc distribution.
John, see attached for my first swag at making the mvpmc ReplayTV interface look a bit more RTV-ish. I'll send along add'l feedback once I've taken 0.1.6 around the block a few more times.


Thanks hugely for your effort, John.

 

rtv_tweaks.zip 1.26171875k . file


----------



## krkaufman

John, here's another pass at a ReplayTV theme for mvpmc. I've stepped outside the ReplayTV section with this one (default_rtv.xml), intending it for Replay-only mvpmc's, and am also attaching a set of files I'm using to override the default mvpmc image files. See the zip for a rough install/config Readme.


I've done about all I can see w/ the mvpmc themes to simulate ReplayTV look-and-feel without modifying the code.


Thanks again...


Regards,

Karl K.

 

default_rtv.zip 1.28125k . file

 

custom_mvpmc_tftproot.zip 200.365234375k . file


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> John, here's another pass at a ReplayTV theme for mvpmc. I've stepped outside the ReplayTV section with this one (default_rtv.xml), intending it for Replay-only mvpmc's, and am also attaching a set of files I'm using to override the default mvpmc image files. See the zip for a rough install/config Readme.



Hey Karl,

Cool stuff!, Thanks.

I really like your circle-r image. Plan to replace the current image with yours if that's

OK. Also, asked Jon to take a look at the cleanup you did to the main menu images.

We're all for adding a replaytv specific theme to the mvpmc filesystem. I'll start with yours and probably do some minor tweaking.

We're still not sure what we want to do about additional images.

Maybe do something like make alternate images themeable from the xml file.

Small ones may be OK to put in the filesystem. Due to a limited ramdisk we may

want to add a xml tftp option so larger images can automagically be tftp'd on boot.

John...


----------



## Scyber

Anyone got some screenshots of the theme? My mediamvp is packed up right now for a move, but I am curious want it looks like.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Scyber* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Anyone got some screenshots of the theme?



See http://home.comcast.net/~krkweb/mvpmc/rtv_theme.htm 


And good luck w/ the move.


----------



## dkd

I was too excited about this mvpmc project that I decided to buy a MediaMVP 2 days ago for $59 at Circuitcity.com and forgo the 10% additional discount that is supposed to start today. Anyways, the box works right out of the box. I have 2 questions that I' ve sent to Hauppauge's Tech Support but still haven't gotten any answer. I am hoping that this forum can help me with these:


1) The color of the MPG played back on my TV is a little too orangy. When displaying the jpg, this gets worse. I use RCA cable for Video Out/In. I'm going to try an S cable tonight to see if that makes a difference. Or, is this a defect unit?

I also used the show_ui.bat file to get the UI displayed on my desktop to play back to mpg and jpgs, and the colors are just normal and fine.


2) The WMA files (without the Microsoft license keys) are played back (on TV) okay. So are MP3. However, when playing back WMA files that require MS license keys I get a popup saying :

"Failed to load Windows Media file. Perhaps, you need to install MW Player 9"


These particular WMA files play fine with Windows Media player 10 on my Windows XP SP2 desktop, where the MediaMVP server is also running.


Thanks in advance.


----------



## Marcus

Try shoutcast with the newer version of the Hauppage SW! It's a hoot.


I've noticed that my colors out of the MVP seem a tad "darker" rather than orangy or red. Some others have noted that some versions of the MVP have had problems. You can read about it at http://www.shspvr.com/smf/ 


There you can search and find some info regarding color issues.


In my case, the darker color can be mediated with increasing a brightness setting in the MVPMC software. For that, you will need to load the MVPMC files into your MVP and forgo some of the features of the native software. The included sw might have this ability, but I don't know as I hardly ever use it.


In case you are wondering, I have two MVP's that fall in the model range with the supposed color problem but am quite fortunate to not have the symptoms.


BTW: Love that price you got at Circuit!


Enjoy!


----------



## dcolemanca

Just got one from Circuit City for $50 after rebates.


I am a bit miffed that I can't flash the MVP with mvpmc software cos I don't leave a PC running all the time, is that going to be a problem?


I plan to load the PC up with DHCP, TFTP, the time server and whatever Haupage software I need. Then boot the mediaMVP and get the latest mvpmc into it, then leave the mediaMVP running 24/7 on small UPC and hope for no long power outs (naive as live in California). I will not leave the PC running since the reason I want this setup is for bedroom replayTV client mostly, and of course my replays are always on.


Does the mediaMVP need the PC after booting its software?


If I use the power button on remote to turn off the mediaMVP does it retain the software load, or does it reload software from server when you power up again?


I thought about going the hacked Xbox route but those are too noisy for a bedroom.


I'd appreciate some advice as I don't really want to get it out of the box if my config is a non-starter.


TIA


----------



## kurhurdler

I bought a mediaMVP about a month ago... I found it to be pretty buggy even with all the software I could find to download and tweaking everything. It was usable, as long as you knew not to FF or pause or whatever else at the wrong time. I was constantly fighting sync issues if I did anything besides watch a video from start to finish.


Last night I got a good deal on a used XBOX and softmodded it myself (free if you use the hotswap technique) After using Xbox media center for one night, I'm wishing I had done it a LONG time ago. Everything is stable, and the video quality far surpasses the mediaMVP.


I'll be selling my MediaMVP.


P.S.

I still don't own an Xbox controller (just have the remote control). I'm not sure if I'll even get one.


----------



## dcolemanca

yes XBMC is superb software for sure, I use it for MP3, pictures, video, DVD playback, replayTV client, internet radio, internet video, internet TV, weather, game console emulation, oh and it plays really cool games too - off the hard drive.


One advantage of using the Xbox xcontroller instead of DVD remote is the trigger buttons let you do really fast scroll up and down which is great for fast navigation of media lists. wireless Xbox controllers can be had on ebay for $10-15.


I still want to use mediaMVP as replayTV client in bedroom, but if it's going to be pain and buggy, I may just return it.


Opinions?


----------



## icecow

I'll cast my vote.


Think of returning it as a $55 off coupon off an xbox!


Don't lowball the worth of your time and toil. The price difference is negligible. XBox is robustly developed. You obviously want to see shows in your bedroom. suck it up; offset the expense by eating rice for a few days.


----------



## dcolemanca

not a question of cash, it's all about fan noise.


If you can make an Xbox silent and even better go into low power standby when dormant I am in for one in every room


----------



## blnt




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dkd* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I was too excited about this mvpmc project that I decided to buy a MediaMVP 2 days ago for $59 at Circuitcity.com and forgo the 10% additional discount that is supposed to start today.



I just looked around CC web site and could not see anything about 10% off on the MediaMVP. The weekly ad has a 10% off on TVs and home audio if you buy more than $200-$300.


Can someone confirm?


Thanks,


BLNT


----------



## kurhurdler




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dcolemanca* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> not a question of cash, it's all about fan noise.
> 
> 
> If you can make an Xbox silent and even better go into low power standby when dormant I am in for one in every room



I'm no expert, I've had mine going less than a day. But my new dashboard has a "shutdown" option. Once it shuts down - it's silent. The fan would only be on when your TV shows are on... so you already have noise from your speakers. Unless, of course, you use captions.


I haven't figured out if there is a way to turn the xbox ON with the remote yet though. It boots alot faster than I expected though.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Does the mediaMVP need the PC after booting its software?



Not if you only want to use the ReplayTV streaming capability. (i.e. Don't plan on playing music or video off of a shared folder.)



> Quote:
> If I use the power button on remote to turn off the mediaMVP does it retain the software load, or does it reload software from server when you power up again?



Yes, the MediaMVP will retain the mvpmc code in that scenario. The mvpmc code is only downloaded after un/replugging the power cable (total power loss) or through the 'Reboot' option on the mvpmc main menu.


----------



## dkd

blnt,

I found the 10% coupon link under "Great Found Deals" forum. The forum is now (as of 7/1) a paid service. I wish I could remeber the code for you.

I just returned to box back to CC.


----------



## dkd

Actually I found the link at http://laffan.lunarpages.com/~w888002/cc10coupon.pdf


----------



## blnt

dkd


Your link did not work but I founs the coupon elsewhere: DJA3QLGADC till 07/04/2005


Thanks anyway


blnt


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dcolemanca* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I don't leave a PC running all the time, is that going to be a problem?



Nope! Once the dongle.bin has been uploaded to the MediaMPV, you don't need any PC to support it. I've had my MediaMPV running off it's initial boot up for a few months now... and I even changed my router, never had to reboot the MediaMPV- not even once!







> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dcolemanca* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Does the mediaMVP need the PC after booting its software?



No.








> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dcolemanca* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If I use the power button on remote to turn off the mediaMVP does it retain the software load



The power button on the remote only turns off the A/V output on the MediaMPV. The only time you need to reload the dongle.bin is if the unit has glitched (very, very rare) or the AC power has been removed.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *replayrob* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> ... I even changed my router, never had to reboot the MediaMPV- not even once!



Out of curiosity, if changing the router had changed your local network setup (e.g. changed network addressing from 192.168.1.* to 10.0.0.*), then a full reload of the MediaMVP *would* have been necessary?



> Quote:
> The power button on the remote only turns off the A/V output on the MediaMPV. The only time you need to reload the dongle.bin is if the unit has glitched (very, very rare) or the AC power has been removed.



And not all lockups require a full reboot. Often a simple restart of 'mvpmc' -- via power off/on thru the remote control -- is sufficient to start streaming again.


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Out of curiosity, if changing the router had changed your local network setup (e.g. changed network addressing from 192.168.1.* to 10.0.0.*), then a full reload of the MediaMVP *would* have been necessary?



I pre-configured my router with only my local PC connected it. Once I had it set to my network specs, I rebooted it then plugged it into my switch. My MedisMPV is connected to my 8 port switch.... it never even noticed me changing out the router


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *kurhurdler* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I bought a mediaMVP about a month ago... I found it to be pretty buggy even with all the software I could find to download and tweaking everything. It was usable, as long as you knew not to FF or pause or whatever else at the wrong time. I was constantly fighting sync issues if I did anything besides watch a video from start to finish.



I assume you are refering to mvpmc functionality other than replaytv.

I have not encountered any of the above issues for rtv streaming and haven't received any reports of rtv streaming issues.

I have seen posts on the mvpmc mailing list about some of the issues you menition when playing non-replaytv mpgs from nfs mounts.


As for mvpmc vs xbox xbmc.

I agree xbmc is a more flexable, more powerful, and more robust all around media client.

mvpmc appears to be a stronger replaytv thin client than xbmc.

I don't own an xbox but have looked at the xbmc replaytv code.

There doesn't appear to be any idx file or evt file processing so no

reliable jumping to times or commercial skip.

mvpmc has replaytv equivalent functionality for jumping to a time, +28 / -7 second seek along with manual commercial skip.

mvpmc also has the ability to delete a replaytv show where xbmc does not.

These are all very important features to me.

I haven't seen any mvpmc video quality issues for rtv mpegs although I guess that could be considered subjective and dependent on the tv used for viewing.


If you want a single box to act as a media client with a minimum of headaches

then I agree mvpmc currently isn't the best choice.

I think mvpmc is the most full featured replaytv thin client out there.

Of course I am quite biased ;-)

VLC is the only other app that has a feature mvpmc doesn't. (auto commercial skip).


----------



## kurhurdler

I hadn't even gotten around to playing with the mediamvp as a thin client for my replaytvs. It was far too buggy getting it play back my videos that were stored on my PC, which was my primary reason to buy it. So, I can't comment on using it as a thin client.


However, I can comment on using the xbox media center as a replaytv thin client. It has a +1 minute and -1 minute, as well as a 7 sec back button. The minute forward is a little hard to get used to when you're used to +28 seconds of a replaytv. But the video output quality is certainly better than the mediamvp was.


----------



## replayrob

Well I guess I jinxed myself by posting about never having to reboot my MediaMVP.

Seems sometime last night our power went out for a few minutes (the microwave and oven clocks were flashing 12:00 this A.M.) which caused the MediaMVP to reboot. Of course this is no fault of the excellent software blame it on our power company. I've been up since 3/26/05 without a reboot, pretty impressive.

Guess I now have a reason to try ver. 0.1.6


----------



## Marcus

I'm very low-tech with my knowledge of programming, linux and hardware.


Modifying the MVP to load MVPMC and use it for a Replay Client was very easy and using the system has been completely trouble free. In fact, it was far easier than modding my XBOX. Please, no arguments. It was easier for ME.


As I may have stated before, I have 2 Replay's and 2 MVP's running the MVPMC system.


Breakdown:

It's point and click.

I can skip commercials with one button. (CA Advance requires one button push)

I can easily jump to any point in the program by entering the minutes and pushing one button.

It starts playback where I left off on the Replay.

I can remotely delete shows after viewing.

Use a small remote. Not a corded controller, a $$ wireless controller or even a 30 dollar optional remote.

It's noise free (HW uses no fan or other moving parts).

Has great picture quality.

Plays files from my PC, folder or DVArchive.

Automatically detects my ReplayTV's and DV Archive.

It does its exact job cheaply and efficiently.

It's small and fits anywhere.

My wife can understand and use it.

For its cost I can have two to three thin clients compared to one XBox.


True it can't play DVD's locally or other nice tricks that a modded Xbox is capeable of but the needs I have are specific.


I need to play videos from my replay's at remote locations serviced by the lan. I need it to be silent. I need the client to be very small, unobtrusive, unnoticed. I need it to be cheap.

One option was a distributed video system.

Cheapest was using a Frequency agile modulator. I happen to have two Channel Plus AV3's. Cost=Free

Negatives: Loose the ability to watch different things simultaneously. Need for a IR repater to control remote equipment. On hand equipment was IR repeater box. Size of the box was nearly the same as the MVP.

2nd Option using Xbox. Cheap, because I already have an Xbox. Cost=Free for first unit and $$ for remote control options.

Negatives: It's large; especially for the kitchen table top tv or the 27" perched atop a drawer cabinet in the bedroom. Fan & HD noise during operation. Control options are either corded at no cost or remote or wireless at extra cost. Costly if I wanted more than one.


Or use an MVP running MVPMC. For all the reasons listed above. Cost=$75 bucks per client. (Now, even cheaper)

Negatives: Can not play internet radio, Divix or photos of any size without reloading native software running on an active server.

Bonus: When traveling, MP3's & divix movies on laptop (if wifi available Shoutcast) + MVP + crossover network cable = Entertainment system w/ IR remote control that can hook up to any television w/ avinputs. All this and it fits within the laptop carry bag.


Now to the conclusion of the obvious ramblings I have posted. MVPMC works for me. I can't speak for others. I however can heartily recommend MVPMC to people who wish for a small compact and cheap set it and forget it solution for remotely viewing recorded content recorded on replaytv boxes.


So, please dont hash whether a modded xbox is superior or inferior. We would then have to include the HTPC arguments and the whole point of using an ultra thin client are lost.


Essentially, the true test of value for MVPMC lies with the user.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *kurhurdler* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I hadn't even gotten around to playing with the mediamvp as a thin client for my replaytvs. It was far too buggy getting it play back my videos that were stored on my PC, which was my primary reason to buy it. So, I can't comment on using it as a thin client. .



I however wish you did try MVPMC it because it truly is trouble free.


As to your problems, the native SW for the MVP worked equally well on my old P3 800 and our newer laptop. Since this unit is a native MPEG2 player, your problems may have been with transcoding AVI files and DIVIX to an MPEG2 stream. Here the fault lies not in the MVP but the ability of your system to transcode on the fly.


I was easily able to listen to shoutcast, view AVIs, MP3's, Divx encoded files (my laptop is fast enough to transcode and serve Divx), or any dvarchive mpeg2.


Marc


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I assume you are refering to mvpmc functionality other than replaytv.
> 
> I have not encountered any of the above issues for rtv streaming and haven't received any reports of rtv streaming issues.



Nor have I had any problems.


> Quote:
> mvpmc also has the ability to delete a replaytv show where xbmc does not.



I did not know that. Seems like the xbox media center could do that.


> Quote:
> I think mvpmc is the most full featured replaytv thin client out there.
> 
> Of course I am quite biased ;-)



Don't forget the Roku unit. It can stream Replay and HD MPEG2 files. Although I'm less biased and have to agree with John with the following cavaet: MVPMC is the most full featured ROBUST thin client which uses very INEXPENSIVE hardware.

Marc


----------



## kurhurdler




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Marcus* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> As to your problems, the native SW for the MVP worked equally well on my old P3 800 and our newer laptop. Since this unit is a native MPEG2 player, your problems may have been with transcoding AVI files and DIVIX to an MPEG2 stream. Here the fault lies not in the MVP but the ability of your system to transcode on the fly.
> 
> 
> I was easily able to listen to shoutcast, view AVIs, MP3's, Divx encoded files (my laptop is fast enough to transcode and serve Divx), or any dvarchive mpeg2.



So, your setup with the MVP allows you to FF, rewind and pause divx/xvid files without any issues? I'm certain that I could have tried a few more things with my codecs and settings. But my 2Ghz AthlonXP should have been powerful enough.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *kurhurdler* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> So, your setup with the MVP allows you to FF, rewind and pause divx/xvid files without any issues? I'm certain that I could have tried a few more things with my codecs and settings. But my 2Ghz AthlonXP should have been powerful enough.



Yes, your 2 gig rig should be more than capable. But rather than play with all those things, load and try the MVPMC client software and try using them with your replays. Give it a shot before chucking the MVP.


Native MVP Software:

Considering the fact that the files are being transcoded on the fly, I'd say it worked well. I was able to jump forward and back and have some ff and rw. Certainly, no odd crashes which trashed the MVP. Since there is no local buffer to speak of, rewinding and other effects are limited. Playback features (such as FF, RW, FRW, slowmo) of certain codecs on a PC also have limitations without a MVP in the equation.


MVPMC software (and keep in mind this is my "setup" since the whole point of my excersice was to have a ReplayTV thin client):

I essentially only use MPEG2s recorded with Replaytv wether stored on the replay itself or . I can FF, skip forward 28 seconds and skip back a few seconds just like a replay. I can also jump to specified minute at will.


For normal client use, whether it be via a ReplayTV or MVPMC, I skip forward or back and use ff on a limited basis. Yep, I'd have to say that I mostly skip back rather than rw. I'm used to the ReplayTV way of doing things.


Don't forget that using a ReplayTV as a client for another ReplayTV has it's quirks as well.


Overall and within the context of this discussion (MVP for a ReplayTV thin client) I must say that I have very little to complain about.


If you still are not convinced enough to try the MVPMC SW, please sell it to someone here who would like to try it out if you can't return it.


Just give it a try, that's all I ask since you already own it.


Marc


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Marcus* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I essentially only use MPEG2s recorded with Replaytv wether stored on the replay itself or . I can FF, skip forward 28 seconds and skip back a few seconds just like a replay. I can also jump to specified minute at will.



A couple notes about the mvp & mvpmc.

-For replaytv the REW button just does a 1 sec back skip.

rewinding is not a trivial exercise for a mpg stream.

Not sure what Jon does with REW for fileshares, etc...

-FF does 2X FF (MVP HW has a native 2X FF mode). When the button is pressed

again to exit FF mode we currently flush the stream so there is about a

1/2 second video gap between when FF ends and normal play resumes.

i.e you lose about 1/2 second of video.

This gap is the stream data that is buffered up but not yet read by the HW.

The hickup is due to that fact that we haven't yet figured out how to query

the HW and determine exactly where in the video/audio stream the HW is at

for any instant in time.

This is also the main reason the audio/video can get out of sync for some nfs/cifs

fileshare streams.

Hopefully this issue is fixable. We need to poke around the HW and find registers

that report the current stream position of the audio/video decoders.


John...


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> _Originally posted by Marcus_
> 
> I however can heartily recommend MVPMC to people who wish for a small compact and cheap set it and forget it solution for remotely viewing recorded content recorded on replaytv boxes.



I've been away from this forum a while (I've been enjoying my mvpmc







). I would have to strongly argree with Marcus' posts about the value of the mvpmc. I went several months without having to reboot my mvpmc, and used it almost daily in my bedroom. The only reason I had to reboot at at that time was due to a power outage during a storm. I'd say it if very suited to the task of being a robust, quiet, thin client for viewing ReplayTV content.


----------



## Bobcrane

I dunno if any Rat Shack employees look at this thread.


Seems it's been 79 bucks for some time now. How long does Radio Shack wait before dropping the price on a clearance item even further? Is there a point where it just quits dropping?


I'd like to pick up one for the guest bedroom (if I don't go out and get XBox for that) and one for each of my relatives that has a single 5040.


But I'm too cheap to shell out 79 bucks.


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Bobcrane* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Seems it's been 79 bucks for some time now. How long does Radio Shack wait before dropping the price on a clearance item even further? Is there a point where it just quits dropping?



I've been waiting for them to drop it too.... I worked for the Shack in the late 80's/early 90's and every summer they used to have the "Tent Sale" with a table outside the store with drastically discounted merch priced to move. In years past, I've scored some major bargains at the Tent Sales. I've had my eye on a MediaMVP at my local shack and asked the manager when the Tent Sale will be this year. She told me they stopped doing the Tent Sale a few years ago.... I guess the only way to get a super duper discount at the Shack now is to wait till the item drops of the inventory deck and the manager can sell it for $1 if they please.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *replayrob* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I guess the only way to get a super duper discount at the Shack now is to wait till the item drops of the inventory deck and the manager can sell it for $1 if they please.



I would love to snap up a couple more for next to nothing! I guess I'll keep haunting the local rat shacks with MVPs still on the shelves.


Marc


----------



## dewolfxy

I just checked into this thread after not following it for a while - has anyone tried using a NSLU2 to run the necessary services for the MediaMVP? I don't have a linux server at my home, and I prefer using the NSLU2 for power consumption & space reasons. It seems like if I configure it correctly, I could use the NSLU2 as the server for the mediamvp. I also have a WRT54g Linksys router running Sveasoft, which could help with some of the necessary services, I suppose.


----------



## f2000Keith

I'm digging the new Replay theme...




























Would be cool to see the main menu icons prettied up too. Excellent job guys!


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *f2000Keith* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm digging the new Replay theme...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Would be cool to see the main menu icons prettied up too. Excellent job guys!



I'd like to be able to do more w/ the theme's, but you're pretty much limited to color tweaking.


Would like to...

- Sync "info" display style/location w/ Replay (i.e. show name/text info display always displayed at the top of the screen)

- Remove the 'replaytv' side graphic, and use the extra space for add'l info display (like breaking the show/episode info into separate blocks, as with the Replay Guide)

- Start mvpmc in the ReplayTV module.


This'll definitely do for now. Gotta thank John, Jon and whoever else is involved. (Now we just need a better way of getting the custom dongle loaded.)


p.s. The other icons *were* cleaned-up a bit, in that the 255/255/255 RGB pixels were all tweaked to 254/254/254 -- to work around the oddity that pure white is displayed as transparent/black by mvpmc.


----------



## Marcus

Until I drop the temp Tripod and properly mount my dbs reciever's dish, I can not view all the sats (and therefore, channels) to which I subscribe.

Most importantly: SciFi and USA (the 4400).


As an experiment, I obtained a recordings, via internet, of the Stargates, Galactica and last sunday's 4400 episode. They came as Xvid AVIs. I then converted them to MPEGs and placed them on a shared drive. I watched them later using MVPMC.


Sweet. It actually took less time than requesting via Poopli larger files recorded on a replay. This includes the time for conversion! The picture quality with these 380 to 530 MB files (before conversion) was on par with medium recordings when viewed via the MVPMC. Further conversion and clean up might make them work on replays with dvarchive.


More experimental fun later!


----------



## dotheDVDeed




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Marcus* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> ...They came as Xvid AVIs. I then converted them to MPEGs and placed them on a shared drive. I watched them later using MVPMC!




What software did you use to to convert the Xvid AVIs?


TIM


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dotheDVDeed* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> What software did you use to to convert the Xvid AVIs?
> 
> 
> TIM



I used a GUI for several CLI programs. It's called DIKO. I'm sure I could streamline the process to reduce the time even further but I just use the defaults.


It's very simple, I just tell it the name of the AVI file and click on the "NEXT" button a couple of times. Default output is a progressive 720X480 30 FPS MPEG2. It works on the MVP just fine.


The download from http://www.vmesquita.com/en/diko.htm includes all the programs you need and sets them up with the install.


I did not use the "Gold" pay version.


Marc


----------



## sneals2000

Came to this thread late - I have an MVP and a modded XBox. Haven't had time to read the whole thread - but has anyone touched on the most important advantage that the MVP seems, to me, to have over the XBox?


Namely the MVP replays MPEG2 interlaced 480/60i and 576/50i video in proper interlaced form - with fluid motion in 60i or 50i.


The XBMC solution doesn't - or mine doesn't and I have been tweaking it for well over a year. XBMC seems to de-interlace 60i or 50i video to 30p or 25p internally (NOT 50p or 60p) and then re-interlace to 60i or 50i for display. You won't see much of an issue with film material - but stuff originated on video cameras is noticably less fluid on XBMC as a result - and has a "de-interlaced to frame rate" look.


For me XBMC is a great project - with fantastic support for many video codecs, excellent 50Hz, 60Hz and 24p compatibility (it will optionally replay 24p at 25p with speed up for us 50Hz viewers, instead of 3:2 pulldown to 60Hz, but will also intelligently flip between 576/50i and 480/60i replay on other material.) - but the lack of decent handling of 50i and 60i (compared to the XBox native handling of DVD replay for example) is a disappointment. Apparently this is a result of the use of mplayer. (Even if you ignore calibration - proper interlaced replay hasn't really worked since the occasional success in early builds of XBMP apparently)


For off-air MPEG2 video replay (in my case from a DVB-T capture card) - the MVP has a major quality edge.


Neither are yet quite perfect though - a cheap PC with an XCard beats both of them as a total solution. (But costs more than either, is bulkier and probably noiser)


----------



## billbremer

My new MVP (Rev D1) has low brightness on both the S-Video and composite outputs.


I'm measuring the voltage levels of the video output signal using a professional video waveform monitor/oscilloscope. The level should be 140 IRE units peak to peak (including sync). What I'm seeing is around 90 IRE instead. (Roughly 36% too low)


I can't be sure but I believe this is a hardware problem because the level is low from the moment the box is powered on (even before it has downloaded software from the server).


I'm starting to think this may be a common problem with some revisions of mvp's (mine is D1) and that most people simply adjust their monitors to compensate. Of course it's also possible that my particular box is defective.


Is this a known issue with the MVP? Would another hardware revision be better? Can these levels be adjusted via software?


Anyone else with access to an oscilloscope who could check the level on their mvp?


Any advice greatly appreciated.


Thanks


----------



## MethodMachine

I am thinking of picking up a MediaMVP and running MediaMVP Media Center to stream OGG files from my linux server to my stereo. Does anyone care to comment on how well this feature works?


----------



## dcolemanca

I have setup my mediamvp and using mvpmc 0.1.7 but am having probem accessing both 5040 replaytv units on the same LAN, because mvpmc reports the time difference between the mediamvp and the replaytv units is more than 40 seconds. If I run DVArchive on the same PC that is DHCP server time server etc for the mediamvp, then mvpmc can see the DVArchive files and play them happily from the PC. DVArchive also reports setting a large time offset to the 2 replayTV's - see the log extract below. I have forced a network connect (5040's connected via ethernet, I have DSL service) on both 5040's but didn't make a difference to the time offset issue.


09/06 21:16:11 Notice: Timestamp offset for Living Room set to -227 seconds.

09/06 21:16:11 DVR Living Room space usage update: Total Capacity 184.89GB, Remaining 46.39GB

09/06 21:16:20 Notice: Timestamp offset for Family Room set to -225 seconds.

09/06 21:16:21 DVR Family Room space usage update: Total Capacity 36.87GB, Remaining 1.36GB


Is there a way out of this problem? It took me ages to run the network cable to the bedroom where the mediaMVP is situated. I'd be really pissed if it was a waste of time. I tested the setup some weeks ago and had no issue using the 5040's from mvpmc. I can't have it working intermittently when replay time and mediaMVP drift apart, although seems more fundamental issue since they are far apart right after a time sync.


Maybe there's something up with replayTV mothership?


Any chance the coders for mvpmc are working on adding some time offset code aka DVArchive, that approach has neveer failed for me (DVArchive I mean)?


----------



## dcolemanca

please ignore my post and don't flame










duh, just had a brainwave and set the PC clock using a network time service (I had Absolute time server running and thought that it was network time client aslo, but of course its just a server)


Now everything is happy, shoud be a while before the mediamvp drifts by 40 seconds.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally posted by *dcolemanca*
> _Now everything is happy, shoud be a while before the mediamvp drifts by 40 seconds._



You can set your PC to automatically update it's time on a certain interval. That way it will never drift.


The following excerpt from freepctech.com shows how to change that interval.


> Quote:
> To change the interval that Windows updates the time using the internet time servers via regedit, navigate to:
> 
> 1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services \\W32Time\\TimeProviders\\NtpClient
> 
> 2. Select "SpecialPollInterval"
> 
> 3. Change decimal value from 604800 to a different value in seconds. i.e.: 172800 (2 Days) or 86400 (1 Day) and so on.
> 
> 
> We don't recommend changing this unless you are on a broadband connection.


----------



## sickboy007

It looks like Radio Shack just dropped their prices again. The rumor (FW) is the price has been dropped to $39.99. I will be attempting to pick on up in the morning, as there appear to be plenty left in my area.

Radio Shack Stock Checker 


I will post back in the morning to verify.


----------



## icecow

How many of these things can you put on one network?


----------



## sickboy007

Got one $39.99 !


According to the box you can put 6 on a network.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *sickboy007* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> According to the box you can put 6 on a network.



Hmmm.... Does the "6" limit apply to only the vendor-supplied firmware & application?


If going w/ the custom mvpmc firmware, to get ReplayTV integration, I don't know why you wouldn't be able to put many more on your network. Will have to go research over in the mvpmc development forum to learn more.


(I'd think 6 should be enough, though!)


----------



## icecow

I bought one of these today..


I paid up front, but it's being delivered from another RadioShack 30 miles away so I got to pick it up wednesday.


While I was there, i asked if that same store could deliver to an east cost store (I'm west coast).

*He said RadioShack has a Flat Shipping Rate with their delievery service, so coastal deliveries are no different than local deliveries (edit: deliverys have to be from store to store, not store to home)*


So if anyone has some in stock in their city, they can just announce it and someone else can go to their local radioshack and have them make a call..



Forgive me if they tell you any different.


Just giving early info.. I don't think there are many left in stock.


----------



## icecow

I confess. I bought the MediaMVP so I could play MP3s, internet radio, and potentially to view archived little 320x240 PPC shows (it will scale 320x240 divx up to 640x400). It will be located in the same room as a ReplayTV. Being able to use it as a ReplayTV and Myth thin-client is floor drenching gravy on top.


I don't get the thing till wed (knock on wood), but have already spent a few hours reading up on the thing.


I got some so called 'dumb' questions for anyone whose man enough to answer them. hehe


DQ1:

The latest haupauge software will stream internet radio, and transcode divx (divx-->high quality mpeg1-->TV). If I run honeycut's software do I forfit those features?


DQ2:

Does MediaMVP handle big folders of mp3s? What's the limit? If not known what's the biggest you've seen?


DQ3:

I've noticed the newest MediaMVP's come with a new, much more elaborate remote control then older stock. My working assumption is mine will come with the older, simpler remote. What's the first thing I should know here?


DQ4:

Any issues streaming from laptop to a sveasoft alchemy(first free release) flashed linksys router?


----------



## Clay Schneider

Help! Can someone please tell me what hardwired router with stock firmware, or what hardwired router with 3rd-party firmware [and what version of that firmware] -- or what other hardware dhcp server -- will support dhcp blocking of specific nics? The 'version 1' of smc's 7004vbr apparently supported it [as well as a lot of other customizations], but they have dropped all of that from their current version 3 [why, I have no idea].


[And John Honeycut, thanks so much for not only the software, but also for your fantastic instructions to get going!!!!]


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I got some so called 'dumb' questions for anyone whose man enough to answer them. hehe



No, I'm afraid I have the "dumb" questions title wrapped up for myself. Your questions will unfortunately fall under the "interesting" or "routine".


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> DQ1:
> 
> The latest haupauge software will stream internet radio, and transcode divx (divx-->high quality mpeg1-->TV). If I run honeycut's software do I forfit those features?



That is a correct assumption. Individuals are toying with ideas to stream internet radio but it is not on the immediate horizon. Perhaps they can find some way to use the MVPMC software to play a spooling MP3 file stored on a HD that is writing an internet radio station's stream (Ala BoomBox internet radio player / recorder.)


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> DQ2:
> 
> Does MediaMVP handle big folders of mp3s? What's the limit? If not known what's the biggest you've seen?



It's not the best tool out there for MP3 playback. You might want to sort your music by folders if you wish to use MVPMC. I never use the native software, so I can't attest to it's ability to handle large MP3 libraries such as the adept roku audio players or others on the market dedicated to MP3's. I will have to defalut to another user's experience for this one.


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> DQ3:
> 
> I've noticed the newest MediaMVP's come with a new, much more elaborate remote control then older stock. My working assumption is mine will come with the older, simpler remote. What's the first thing I should know here?



If you ordered from Radio Shack, most likely it will be the old remote. I have two MVP's and both came with the simple remote.


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> DQ4:
> 
> Any issues streaming from laptop to a sveasoft alchemy(first free release) flashed linksys router?



Heavens, I have no earthly idea. Heck, that sounds like an advanced question! You lied to me!










Marc


----------



## icecow

New version of MediaMVP!


MediaMVP 0.1.8 came out yesterday (sept 13)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mvpmc 



I haven't even tried it yet.


Here's the changes

Changes: changes from 0.1.7 to 0.1.8: - support for myth protocol 18 - libcmyth memory leak fixes - libwidget memory leak fixes - minor mythtv livetv fixes - upgrade to microwindows 0.91 - upgrade to zlib 1.2.3


............................................................ ......


I just got hauppauge's software up and running (ver 1.5beta). I like it.


I had trouble at first. Even though I turned off my firewall and reset my router (so it had no security), I couldn't get the mediamvp to boot from a wireless laptop. That is until I disabled wireless, and connected a network cable directly to the router. MediaMVP loaded up the software and functioned just fine. Then I switched back to wireless and the MediaMVP continued to work. So as far as I can tell I have to run a network cable to load the software and then I'm set.


If anyone knows why I couldn't load the software wirelessly, lemme know.


............................................................ ...............................

So.. who all bought these things over the last few weeks?


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *sickboy007* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> It looks like Radio Shack just dropped their prices again. The rumor (FW) is the price has been dropped to $39.99. I will be attempting to pick on up in the morning, as there appear to be plenty left in my area.
> 
> Radio Shack Stock Checker
> 
> 
> I will post back in the morning to verify.



Does that stock checker work??


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Does that stock checker work??



From what I can tell, they have removed the catalog number from their list of valid numbers.


----------



## f2000Keith

Do any of those updated features do anything for Replays? Looks like it is all MythTV features. Does anyone know what MicroWindows enables you to do in our Replay configuration? Looks like a neat function.


----------



## bromfrog

I have a MediaMVP and love it, nice work guys.










One question that I haven't been able to find a thread on is how to sort or display shows by Replay category. Is this possible?


When I get my list of shows from the Replay, it's just one long list.


Does the MediaMVP Media Center project support this?


Thanks.


-rob


----------



## icecow

I recommend the MediaMVP even to people who don't need a ReplayTV thin client.


It works great for its original intented purpose: to watch video files on your computer, listen to MP3s, and Internet radio!


I'm playing salesman because I think everyone should quickly review if this is something they need/want and snap 1+ up from RatShack for $40 awhile they still can. (All good deals go quick).



It's also great for people who want a computer based PVR but without getting DEEP, Deeply involved.


Here's an article on how to build a computer based PVR for ~$200 (assuming you already have a computer). More like $140 if you snag one from RatShack. It's based on a MediaMVP and a tuner card:

Building a PVR in 3 Or So Steps for About $200
http://www.byopvr.com/Sections+index...10-page-1.html 



bonus tidbit:

Here's a beta version of haugpauge's own mediamvp software that is more recent then the beta version they have on there support page:
http://www.shspvr.com/smf/index.php?topic=8721.0 


changes:

MediaMVPSetup Installer Version 2.5.23242 (08/30/05)

*****************************************

* Fixed: calculation of MPEG movie duration

* Added: protected folders support



I've just installed it. Don't immediately see how the protected folder thing works. I don't think there's any documentation.


----------



## chain777

How does this compare to XBMC? Can it stream MPEG-4 (Divx,Xvid).


----------



## virent

I used MediaMVP but the picture quality is too dark. I played around with my TV picture settings but still have not got a decent picture. Is there a difference in PQ when using Media MVP software versus MVPMC, GB-PVR or TVersity?


----------



## icecow

I'm sure it can't compare with the xbox media center.


Don't stop at my advice. I do not own a xbox media center, and have owned the MediaMVPs for only 1.5 days.


MediaMVP will play divx, but relies on your cpu.. it converts divx to mpeg1 ---->tv on the fly so your cpu determines the quality.


It's a fricken great $40 solution to watching pc video files, mp3s, and internet radio.


few things that I don't like:

>cant fast forward or rewind, or skip when listening to mp3s

>no mp3 search ability.. just directory based


things I like:

>looks darn good (on my set)


there is a bootup time but it's like a 3-5 seconds

>it seems to work in conjuction with haupaugh tuner cards... making for a simple setup pvr..

in the last post I said $120.. probably more like $40+$70+$10tax=$120

>There is a 30 sec quick skip when using video, and 8? sec backskip

>There is also a cheesy (x2) ff and rewind when using video

>Skip to 10% by pushing 1, 60% by pushing 6, etc when using video

*I'm talking about haupaugh's stock software, other projects have more video control and less audio control*


In my case, I'm getting mp3, internet radio, pc video files in 3 (replay equipt) rooms.



I plan to get an xbox some time. I don't think there's a comparision. The 'no noise' factor and cheapness made mediamvp a no brainer for me.


I can only tell you what I know. Others can answer these questions better.


I have used it with 320x240 divx and it worked great..

It even works with replaytv mpgs out of the box, but I _think_ there is a 1 sec out of sync.. not sure. This thing is new to me


----------



## MethodMachine

I got one to use as a thin-client to my Replay/DVA network. I intend to put it in my daughter's room so she can watch Sesame Street, Dora et al. in there. I figure the unit is sturdy (and cheap) enough to warrant use by a 3-year old. Now, I just have to teach her to navigate the menu structures...


I am also pleased that I can surf to a play .ogg music files from my Linux server (using the mvpmc software and NFS file sharing). No ID3 tag navigation or playlists at the moment, but this is still cool. Video and sound are very good. I even played some non-Replay .mpg files through the device--they looked great!


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Marcus* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If you ordered from Radio Shack, most likely it will be the old remote. I have two MVP's and both came with the simple remote.



You could always try calling Hauppauge directly regarding the old remote in the newly purchased MediaMVP. Maybe they'll send you one, free-of-charge.


It's not impossible.


----------



## stahlgrau

Anyone have any luck finding these at RS? Are you just calling up asking for p/n 25-3215?


----------



## icecow

Call your local radioshack and ask not only if they have 25-3215 in stock.. ask if any store in their district has them. If there is any in the district ask for the phone number of the store that has them. Call it and make sure they really have it on stock.


If so, go to any local RadioShack and Pay for it. If you pay in advance they will ship it from the RadioShack that has it.


There is a chance the staff at your radioshack will not know that they can get things shipped (not very likely, but happens). If so, you can either try to educate them or just go to a different store.


You can also ask what areas are in your district and call an area outside.. to find other districts (the districts aren't that big) Each district only has inventory of their own district.


It's not as hard as this makes it sound. It's a matter of asking or not asking questions.


radioshack.com has a zipcode box that will tell you phone #s of stores near you (no matter what the district)


Some say you can ship between districts some say you can't (I'll eventually figure that out, I'm not in a hurry)



Bonus: You can go to a Brick and Mortar Staples and find clearance inventories of other areas too, but it makes them pull out a binder to look up store names. (based on my 2 experiences)


----------



## replayrob




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *stahlgrau* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Anyone have any luck finding these at RS? Are you just calling up asking for p/n 25-3215?



Picked up an additional unit this morning for $39.99, new and still sealed up in the factory box. Thanks for the heads up guys!

It does take a little work like Cow said. You have to ask them to physically locate the unit before you run down there and find out it's in the computer inventory, but not in the store inventory.


BTW. I got mine at store #01-2524, Lakegrove NY (631) 724-5232. The manager said after mine, he had one more left in stock.


----------



## plyons10

This will be my third or fourth time trying to get one of these units on the cheap. Calling tomorrow AM. Daddy needs a new toy!


----------



## miscrms

Well, I've now been cranking on the mvp for about 8 solid hours







Couldn't resist the RS $40 deal










Unfortunatey I think I am in somewhat uncharted waters on two fronts:

1. I am booting booting the mvp from a Mac

2. I am connecting to a ReplayTV 4040


I am sooooo close to having this working its killing me. OSX has pretty much everything needed to talk to this thing built in (except I ditched bootpd and compiled dhcpd), but its not quite so straightforward to configure. I have got it to the point where the mvp will boot, sync time, and launch mvpmc.


But, I am stuck at two problems:


1. mvp autodiscovery can see, but not access DVArchive.

2. autodiscovery forces a reboot of the mvp when the RTV 4040 is on the network.


DVA reports the following:

09/18 04:31:51 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive has recognized new DVR ReplayTV named mvp at 192.168.2.102:80 (Serial RTV5040J3TR0209999)

09/18 04:31:55 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.2.102:80 -- Connection refused


The mvp shows up in DVA, and says clocks are in sync. On the mvp, the DVA client shows up, but as size "unknown" and selecting it there are no shows listed.


mvp log shows:

ReplayTV device list: num_devices=1

idx= 0 ip=192.168.2.101 model=4999 name=eMac


[End of Show:Episode Listing.]


When the RTV 4040 is on the network, it and DVA can see each other with no problem. The network is made up of two belkin 7230-4s and one belkin 7130, all at 4.05.03. The RTV is on the 7130, and the mvp is on one of the 7230-4, both are bridged to the second 7230-4 which is connected to the server. The server is setup as fixed IP w/dhcp with the 7230-4 serving dhcp info. The MAC address of the mvp is blocked on the 7230-4.


I'll keep plugging at it tomorrow night, but if anyone has any ideas I would be very greatful!


Rob


Here is my dhcp.config:


ddns-update-style interim;

option domain-name "local";

option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;

option broadcast-address 192.168.2.255;

#option domain-name-servers 63.240.76.4, 204.127.198.4;


allow bootp;

allow booting;


#option ip-forwarding false; # No IP forwarding

#option mask-supplier false; # Don't respond to ICMP Mask req


subnet 192.168.2.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {

option routers 192.168.2.1;

option broadcast-address 192.168.2.255;

range 192.168.2.102 192.168.2.106;

}


group {

next-server 192.168.2.101; # IP address of your TFTP server


host mvp { # NOTE: Change the hardware ethernet to the MAC address of your actual MVP

hardware ethernet 00:0d:fe:00:35:4a;

fixed-address 192.168.2.102;

filename "dongle.bin.mvpmc";

option host-name "mvp";

option broadcast-address 192.168.2.255;

option root-path "/home/mvp,rsize=4096,wsize=4096,nolock";

}


}


The mvp config file:

TZ=PST+8PDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ;

rdate -s 192.168.2.101;

echo "TZ=PST+8PDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config;

#mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=discover" &



And the log from the dhcpd:


Sep 18 04:23:21 Emac dhcpd: DHCPDISCOVER from 00:0d:fe:00:35:4a via en0

Sep 18 04:23:21 Emac dhcpd: DHCPOFFER on 192.168.2.102 to 00:0d:fe:00:35:4a via en0

Sep 18 04:23:21 Emac xinetd[332]: START: tftp pid=3605 from=192.168.2.102

Sep 18 04:23:42 Emac dhcpd: BOOTREQUEST from 00:0d:fe:00:35:4a via en0

Sep 18 04:23:42 Emac dhcpd: BOOTREPLY for 192.168.2.102 to mvp (00:0d:fe:00:35:4a) via en0

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac dhcpd: DHCPDISCOVER from 00:0d:fe:00:35:4a via en0

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac dhcpd: DHCPOFFER on 192.168.2.102 to 00:0d:fe:00:35:4a via en0

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac dhcpd: Dynamic and static leases present for 192.168.2.102.

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac dhcpd: Remove host declaration mvp or remove 192.168.2.102

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac dhcpd: from the dynamic address pool for 192.168.2/24

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac dhcpd: DHCPREQUEST for 192.168.2.102 (192.168.2.101) from 00:0d:fe:00:35:4a via en0

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac dhcpd: DHCPACK on 192.168.2.102 to 00:0d:fe:00:35:4a via en0

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac xinetd[332]: START: tftp pid=3607 from=192.168.2.102

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac xinetd[332]: START: tftp pid=3609 from=192.168.2.102

Sep 18 04:23:44 Emac xinetd[332]: START: time-stream pid=0 from=192.168.2.102


----------



## MethodMachine

Here is my dongle.bin.mvpmc.config file:

Code:


Code:


rdate -s 192.43.244.18
mkdir /_MyMusic/
mount -t nfs -o nolock,rsize=4096,wsize=4096,nfsvers=3 172.16.1.36:/mnt/fat32_data/MyMusic/ /_MyMusic/
mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R discover -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv.xml

I am syncing time to time.nist.gov (192.32.244.18)


I am mounting a folder containing my .ogg music collection using NFS


I am using the autodiscovery mode for Replays/DVAs (mvpmc ... -R discover ... )


Hope this helps. I have two 5ks and 1 DVA server running on my linux box. My network is all wired.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hmmm.... Does the "6" limit apply to only the vendor-supplied firmware & application?



No limit on number of MVPs when running mvpmc.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> DQ1:
> 
> The latest haupauge software will stream internet radio, and transcode divx (divx-->high quality mpeg1-->TV). If I run honeycut's software do I forfit those features?



mvpmc doesn't support divix transcoding.

Probably never will by itself. Due to the horsepower required the transcoding needs to be done by a server.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> DQ3:
> 
> I've noticed the newest MediaMVP's come with a new, much more elaborate remote control then older stock. My working assumption is mine will come with the older, simpler remote. What's the first thing I should know here?



Both my MVP's have the old (small remote).


I've layed the replaytv buttons out for the old remote.

The new new remote should work fine but the show list 'page jump' buttons

'red' & 'yellow' aren't in the best place. Also the commercial skip buttons 'yellow' & 'blue' aren't in the best place.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> New version of MediaMVP!
> 
> 
> MediaMVP 0.1.8 came out yesterday (sept 13)
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/mvpmc
> 
> 
> I haven't even tried it yet.
> 
> 
> Here's the changes
> 
> Changes: changes from 0.1.7 to 0.1.8: - support for myth protocol 18 - libcmyth memory leak fixes - libwidget memory leak fixes - minor mythtv livetv fixes - upgrade to microwindows 0.91 - upgrade to zlib 1.2.3





> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *f2000Keith* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Do any of those updated features do anything for Replays? Looks like it is all MythTV features. Does anyone know what MicroWindows enables you to do in our Replay configuration? Looks like a neat function.



There hasn't been any new replaytv functionality added to mvpmc release 0.1.8.

Also, the bug fixes only apply to mythtv & playing from nfs/shares.

Microwindows is the windowing / graphics tool kit that mvpmc is built upon.


I've been busy with summertime activities & work lately so haven't done any

mvp development for the last couple months.

Hopefully will start mucking with it again in the next month or so.

John...


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *bromfrog* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I have a MediaMVP and love it, nice work guys.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One question that I haven't been able to find a thread on is how to sort or display shows by Replay category. Is this possible?
> 
> 
> When I get my list of shows from the Replay, it's just one long list.
> 
> Does the MediaMVP Media Center project support this?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> 
> -rob



Currently the list is sorted alphabetically by 'show/channel name' then

eposodes for a specific show/channel are sorted by record date.


mvpmc doesn't currently parse categories along with some other channel info.

It's in my 'list-o-things-to-do' though.
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html#s6 


After that is implemented it would be possible to sort by category.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *miscrms* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Well, I've now been cranking on the mvp for about 8 solid hours
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Couldn't resist the RS $40 deal
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Unfortunatey I think I am in somewhat uncharted waters on two fronts:
> 
> 1. I am booting booting the mvp from a Mac
> 
> 2. I am connecting to a ReplayTV 4040
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But, I am stuck at two problems:
> 
> 
> 1. mvp autodiscovery can see, but not access DVArchive.
> 
> 2. autodiscovery forces a reboot of the mvp when the RTV 4040 is on the network.
> 
> 
> DVA reports the following:
> 
> 09/18 04:31:51 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive has recognized new DVR ReplayTV named mvp at 192.168.2.102:80 (Serial RTV5040J3TR0209999)
> 
> 09/18 04:31:55 ERROR: Unable to fetch details for DVR 192.168.2.102:80 -- Connection refused
> 
> 
> The mvp shows up in DVA, and says clocks are in sync. On the mvp, the DVA client shows up, but as size "unknown" and selecting it there are no shows listed.
> 
> 
> mvp log shows:
> 
> ReplayTV device list: num_devices=1
> 
> idx= 0 ip=192.168.2.101 model=4999 name=eMac



Rob,

A couple things:

4K series replaytv's are not currently supported by mvpmc.

I do have some code inplace to parse a 4K guide. A 4K on the network.

definently should not cause mvpmc to restart.

I'll look into it this week.

I don't have a 4K replay so I'll try to reproduce the problem by kicking

DVA into 4K mode. If I'm not successful at reproducing your problem

I may need you to collect some debugging info if that is OK.


You mentioned you have a couple 5K replays.

Can mvpmc communicate correctly with them?


As for DVA.

mvpmc runs a server while doing discovery. The server tricks DVA into

thinking the MVP is a 5K series replay.

The discovery server currently runs for 4 seconds. From your error

log it looks like DVA is not getting around to trying to communicate with the MVP

until discovery is finished.

I'll look into adding a command line parm allow a longer discovery timeout.

Hopefully that will fix you problem.


Oh yea, DVA will always show "size unknown". This is beacuse DVA does not

report disk space usage. I'm guessing it's a DVA java thing.


John...


----------



## miscrms

John,


Thanks so much for your hard work on this! I just have the one 4k series replay, but if I can get this to work with DVA that would be wonderful! I am more than happy to due any data capture or debugging you can think up. Just send instructions. If you want to take it off list my email is asmith29ATcoxDOTnet.


I did find it interesting that the mvp is showing the DVA client as model = 4999. Is that expected, or is it not getting it into 5k mode perhaps?


In the mean time I'll try and get nfs exports up, and play with the rtv extentions and see if I can dump any packets or logs. After I streamline the procedure I'd be happy to write up a HOWTO for macosx.


Thanks,


Rob


----------



## stahlgrau

Thanks for the advice. I found two at $40. Now I just need to throw mvpmc on them and I'll be set.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Call your local radioshack and ask not only if they have 25-3215 in stock.. ask if any store in their district has them. If there is any in the district ask for the phone number of the store that has them. Call it and make sure they really have it on stock.
> 
> 
> If so, go to any local RadioShack and Pay for it. If you pay in advance they will ship it from the RadioShack that has it.
> 
> 
> There is a chance the staff at your radioshack will not know that they can get things shipped (not very likely, but happens). If so, you can either try to educate them or just go to a different store.
> 
> 
> You can also ask what areas are in your district and call an area outside.. to find other districts (the districts aren't that big) Each district only has inventory of their own district.
> 
> 
> It's not as hard as this makes it sound. It's a matter of asking or not asking questions.
> 
> 
> radioshack.com has a zipcode box that will tell you phone #s of stores near you (no matter what the district)
> 
> 
> Some say you can ship between districts some say you can't (I'll eventually figure that out, I'm not in a hurry)
> 
> 
> 
> Bonus: You can go to a Brick and Mortar Staples and find clearance inventories of other areas too, but it makes them pull out a binder to look up store names. (based on my 2 experiences)


----------



## MethodMachine

John,


Thanks for all your hard work on mvpmc. It truly rocks! Besides turning the MediaMVP into an excellent, and affordable, thin-client for ReplayTV, I am also very happy to see that MediaMVP + mvpmc supports playback of ogg-vorbis audio files. Do you have any information regarding on-going audio-playback work? Any support for playlists coming soon?


Also, can you enlighten us grateful mvpmc users of the best way to support the project monetarily? Is there a P.O. box or Paypal system setup?


Cheers!


----------



## elorimer




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 4K series replaytv's are not currently supported by mvpmc.
> 
> I do have some code inplace to parse a 4K guide. A 4K on the network.
> 
> definently should not cause mvpmc to restart.
> 
> I'll look into it this week.
> 
> I don't have a 4K replay so I'll try to reproduce the problem by kicking
> 
> DVA into 4K mode. If I'm not successful at reproducing your problem
> 
> I may need you to collect some debugging info if that is OK.
> 
> 
> You mentioned you have a couple 5K replays.
> 
> Can mvpmc communicate correctly with them?



I have a similar issue with 2 4500 Replays and 1 5040 & 2 DVarchive boxes. If the 4500 machines are on the network, mvpmc restarts and doesn't discover any replays or the DVArchives. If the 4500 machines are unplugged from the network, no issue with mvpmc starting and discovering the 5040 &DVArchive machines.


I'm mulling assigning static IP addresses and putting a subnet mask on the mvpmc so it doesn't see the 4500 boxes, only the others. But otherwise at the moment mvpmc is a nonstarter for me.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *miscrms* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> John,
> 
> 
> Thanks so much for your hard work on this! I just have the one 4k series replay, but if I can get this to work with DVA that would be wonderful! I am more than happy to due any data capture or debugging you can think up. Just send instructions. If you want to take it off list my email is asmith29ATcoxDOTnet.
> 
> 
> I did find it interesting that the mvp is showing the DVA client as model = 4999. Is that expected, or is it not getting it into 5k mode perhaps?
> 
> 
> In the mean time I'll try and get nfs exports up, and play with the rtv extentions and see if I can dump any packets or logs. After I streamline the procedure I'd be happy to write up a HOWTO for macosx.
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Rob



Rob,

Sorry but it's not going to work for you.

RTV 4K support is not complete.

What's happening with DVA is you have downloaded shows from your RTV4K and

mvpmc makes DVA think it is talking to a RTV5K.

So when mvpmc asks dva for the guide, DVA determines that it does not

have any RTV5K shows and returns a blank list.

I originally intended to do 4K support too but over the last 8 months you are

the first person to ask for it.

Also, I'm not sure mvpmc will even play 4K megs. (The mvpmc mpeg demuxer

code or the hauppauge hardware).

The first thing that would be good to do is to try and play a RTV4K mpeg from

a nfs or windows share. Hopefully it will work.

I do have code that should correctly parse a 4K guide. (At least one generated

by DVA).

I can probably get basic 4K functionality going without too much difficulty.

The real work lies in doing 4K ndx file processing for timestamp jumping and

commercial skip.

Not sure when I'd be able to get to that.

It's mostly a matter of time and several other things higher on the priority list.


You can email me at the address on the mvpmc replaytv web page if you want to discuss it further.

Sorry again about lacking 4K support.

John...


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *elorimer* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I have a similar issue with 2 4500 Replays and 1 5040 & 2 DVarchive boxes. If the 4500 machines are on the network, mvpmc restarts and doesn't discover any replays or the DVArchives. If the 4500 machines are unplugged from the network, no issue with mvpmc starting and discovering the 5040 &DVArchive machines.
> 
> I'm mulling assigning static IP addresses and putting a subnet mask on the mvpmc so it doesn't see the 4500 boxes, only the others. But otherwise at the moment mvpmc is a nonstarter for me.



Yea this needs fixing.

I'll try to get to it this week if you or Rob can capture some info for me as follows:


1. Change your mvpmc config file to not start mvpmc automatically.

2. Power cycle the mvp.


3. Turn logging on for your telnet client.

Here's instructions if your using putty as your telnet client:

a. start putty

b. under left side category: 'session' select 'logging'

c. select 'log printable output only'

d. Change the log file name & path to whatever you like.

e. under left side category: select 'Session'

f. Enter your mvp's IP address

g. Select Protocol 'telnet'

h. For 'Saved Sessions' enter a name like 'mvp_logged'

i. Click 'save'


You should now have a 'mvp_logged' profile in your list of saved sessions.


4. Double click 'mvp_logged' to start putty & connect to the mvp.

5. Enter 'root' to login


6. Start mvpmc as follows:

>mvpmc -R "ip=discover debug=7F"


When you select replaytv from the gui a bunch of debugging info

should be logged to the telnet window.


Please send it to me at the email address on the top of the mvpmc

replaytv webpage.
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html 


Thanks...


----------



## miscrms

>RTV 4K support is not complete.


Ok, thanks for the info. Glad to know I'm not just nuts. It makes sense now that I think about it, since the DVA files are still 4k formatted. I'll let you know how the 4k mpg files play on the mvp via nfs share. If that works, just solving the discover issue and having basic guide support would be great to start.


Has anyone ever looked into AAC support, or a DAAP client to stream from iTunes?










Rob


----------



## miscrms

>6. Start mvpmc as follows:

>mvpmc -R "ip=discover debug=7F"


I can run this tonight, as long as there is no problem doing it from a more linux'y client. I'm already launching mvpmc manually anyway. I assume I could run something to the effect of:


>mvpmc -R "ip=discover debug=7F" > /nfsshare/file.log


Rob


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> John,
> 
> Thanks for all your hard work on mvpmc. It truly rocks!



Thanks.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Besides turning the MediaMVP into an excellent, and affordable, thin-client for ReplayTV, I am also very happy to see that MediaMVP + mvpmc supports playback of ogg-vorbis audio files. Do you have any information regarding on-going audio-playback work? Any support for playlists coming soon?



I haven't really been keeping up with the audio playback stuff.

I know that folks have been actively working on it.

Jon's been getting alot of patches from a number of folks for audio stuff,

transport stream playback, vnc support, etc...


The top of my priority list (behind fixing the RTV4K crash problem)

is to figure out how to get the hardware to report where it is in

video/audio streams. This should help with playlists and some audio/video

sync issues. Right now we know when we have finished feeding the

hardware but we don't know when it is finished with the data.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Also, can you enlighten us grateful mvpmc users of the best way to support the project monetarily? Is there a P.O. box or Paypal system setup?
> 
> Cheers!



I appreciate it but cash is not needed.

I do it because it's interesting. Jon Gettler feels the same way.

The MVP is a really cool little box!

Jon & others did a great job of reverse engineering things and getting

the base environment in place.


If anyone has linux development experience and is interested in contributing that

would be great. I'm kinda jealous that Jon has a number of folks contributing to myth etc and no one has been interested in doing replay stuff.


The only other thing I can ask for is if anyone is interested in having a better button layout for replaytv with the newer big remote then they can order one

from Hauppauge and send it to me.

It's kinda difficult to know how to do it right without actually having one.


Also, I assume folks are happy with commercial skip, etc...

I haven't heard any complaints.

Other than the RTV4K crashing brought up today I haven't heard

of any replaytv stability/restart/crash issues.


Let me know if anything is screwed up or a replaytv feature you want that

is not in the mvpmc replaytv to-do list.

I'll try to fix crashes quickly.

Features may take a bit longer but I can atleast add them to the web page's

to-do list ;-)


John...


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If anyone knows why I couldn't load the software wirelessly, lemme know.



The mediamvp is sending out a broadcast request for boot assistance, but I'd think that a wireless router would limit broadcast traffic from being sent to wireless devices, by default. Check your wireless router/access point's setting for allowing broadcast traffic.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The mediamvp is sending out a broadcast request for boot assistance, but I'd think that a wireless router would limit broadcast traffic from being sent to wireless devices, by default. Check your wireless router/access point's setting for allowing broadcast traffic.




I'm not sure if this changes things, but I want to make clear to you that I reset my router so there was no security.. , I also turned off my firewall.


I've found I can just disable wireless, and run a cat5 cable from router to my laptop and load the software, then switch back to wireless. The software doesn't poof unless the mediamvp is unplugged (doesn't poof turning it on/off).


With that said, I'll snoop around the router for 'allowing broadcast traffic' options.


thx for responding


----------



## dcolemanca

Since you were looking for some feedback on mvpmc (which would be gravy as it is already wonderful piece of software up there with DVArchive IMHO) features for ReplayTV, these are the ones I miss from the ReplayTV unit itself:


- automatic commercial skip, jumps over commercials by itself, no button pushes needed


- turn on/off commercial skip (if last feature implemented). Sometimes needed if commercial skip gets it wrong and jumps over part of the show.


- relative jump forwards and backwards. The current jump feature is absolute so if I enter 5 then jump it moves to 5 minutes from the beginning of the program. I prefer jumping relative to current play position and also to be able to go backwards and forwards relatively.


- sort programs according to the categories on the replayTV


- make show delete faster. I have 200G drive in one replay TV so lots of shows, delete speed seems to be proportional to that and takes niticeably longer than if I delete on the actual replay itself.


- skip and jump forwards on the same button, replay and jump backwards on the same button, aka the replayTV remote. Currently separate buttons.


- support for smaller fonts, so I can see more show info etc on the screen


Thanks again for this project, bought 2 mediaMVP's because of it.


----------



## Bobcrane

I'm assuming the first two on your list (commercial advance) are because you're on a 55xx? Cuz 50xx has automatic CA that you can shut off.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dcolemanca* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> - relative jump forwards and backwards. The current jump feature is absolute so if I enter 5 then jump it moves to 5 minutes from the beginning of the program. I prefer jumping relative to current play position and also to be able to go backwards and forwards relatively.



"Absolute" location jumping is exactly how the ReplayTV 'Jump' button is supposed to work, so John's nailed the basics for that one. What's missing is the ability to plug-in a number and then hit the 'QuickSkip' or 'Instant Replay' equivalent buttons to do a relative jump from the current location.




> Quote:
> - make show delete faster. I have 200G drive in one replay TV so lots of shows, delete speed seems to be proportional to that and takes niticeably longer than if I delete on the actual replay itself.



I see a similar delay when remotely deleting between 2 5500 series Replays, so I don't think John has much control over this issue.




> Quote:
> - support for smaller fonts, so I can see more show info etc on the screen



You may already be able to accomplish this, on your own, by creating a custom theme.


----------



## honeycut

dcolemanca, thanks for the list I'll add them to the to-do list next time I update the webpage.

Also, as krkaufman posted you should be able to go to a smaller font by setting up a theme.

I should probably test to make sure it works though ;-)


----------



## dcolemanca




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Bobcrane* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm assuming the first two on your list (commercial advance) are because you're on a 55xx? Cuz 50xx has automatic CA that you can shut off.



I have 2 5040's but when watching on mvpmc it doesn't auto skip over commercials.


----------



## dcolemanca




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> "Absolute" location jumping is exactly how the ReplayTV 'Jump' button is supposed to work, so John's nailed the basics for that one. What's missing is the ability to plug-in a number and then hit the 'QuickSkip' or 'Instant Replay' equivalent buttons to do a relative jump from the current location.
> 
> 
> 
> I see a similar delay when remotely deleting between 2 5500 series Replays, so I don't think John has much control over this issue.
> 
> 
> 
> You may already be able to accomplish this, on your own, by creating a custom theme.



I stopped using the replaytv remote as I have programmed a URC-8811 so I didn't remember a jump button, I actually programmed it to the "last" button on the new remote. The feature I use is and would like on mvpmc is as you describe "What's missing is the ability to plug-in a number and then hit the 'QuickSkip' or 'Instant Replay' equivalent buttons to do a relative jump from the current location.


Thanks for the clarification.


I'll look into changing the font using the theme approach, thanks for suggestion.


Maybe the reason the delete seems slow is because all shows are displayed in a single list (instead of by category). I am guessing mvpmc downloads the show list again after the delete. I guess a "real" replay only gets the shows for a given category?


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dcolemanca* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I stopped using the replaytv remote as I have programmed a URC-8811 so I didn't remember a jump button, I actually programmed it to the "last" button on the new remote. The feature I use is and would like on mvpmc is as you describe "What's missing is the ability to plug-in a number and then hit the 'QuickSkip' or 'Instant Replay' equivalent buttons to do a relative jump from the current location.



Definently a good suggestion & shouldn't be difficult to implement.

Hopefully will have it in the next release.


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dcolemanca* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Maybe the reason the delete seems slow is because all shows are displayed in a single list (instead of by category). I am guessing mvpmc downloads the show list again after the delete. I guess a "real" replay only gets the shows for a given category?



Actually it's that the replay is really slow to delete the show.

It seems to take longer the larger the mpg and the more shows that are

on the harddrive.

I send the delete command and then repeatedly get the replay guide until I see

the show is gone.

I could play games and give the gui back before the show is actually deleted

but this could allow users to get multiple shows queued up for delete on the RTV.

This is a scary thing as I don't know how it will behave. Would suck if it sometimes corrupted the guide or something.


----------



## vickhirani

just bought the MVP . Any *.exe files for a novice like me to set up the software on a win XP PC so that I can stream from my replay 5504.


My replay is connected to my router and so is my MVP (via powerline networking)


Thanks


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *vickhirani* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> just bought the MVP . Any *.exe files for a novice like me to set up the software on a win XP PC so that I can stream from my replay 5504.
> 
> 
> My replay is connected to my router and so is my MVP (via powerline networking)
> 
> 
> Thanks



There's no single 'doit' file that I'm aware of. You have to read a bit, get the software pieces you need, and do what needs to be done. This explains it all, and had me up and running in less than 30 minutes:

http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows...oze_howto.html


----------



## vickhirani

how about mapping a drive on a PC to your Replay ? any links for this?


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *vickhirani* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> how about mapping a drive on a PC to your Replay ? any links for this?


 www.dvarchive.org


----------



## stahlgrau

I've finally had time to try this out. Has anyone seen this error when trying to view their ReplayTV? I tried using discover and hardcoding the IP.

Getting replaytv (192.168.1.181) device info...

rtv:ERROR: NC error







pen_nc connect:113:No route to host

rtv:ERROR: hc_start_request: nc_open failed.

rtv:ERROR: rtv_get_device_info: hc_start_request(): 113=>No route to host

Failed to get RTV Device Info. Retrying...

rtv:ERROR: NC error







pen_nc connect:113:No route to host

rtv:ERROR: hc_start_request: nc_open failed.

rtv:ERROR: rtv_get_device_info: hc_start_request(): 113=>No route to host

**ERROR: Unable to get RTV Device Info for: 192.168.1.181. Giving up

ReplayTV device list: num_devices=0


Both the mediamvp and the replay are on the same subnet (the mvp is 192.168.1.50), plugged into the same router, so I'm not sure why it would say no route to host. I'll keep plugging away.


Thanks


----------



## stahlgrau

Nevermind, I'm an idiot. The cable for the replay was unplugged for some reason. This thing is pretty damn sweet! Thanks to everyone who's been working on it!


This has already been mentioned before, but it would be cool to be able to customize how shows are sorted. On my replay, it's by channel then date descending. This is pretty useful since I can tell what the newest show for a series is.


Thanks again


----------



## plyons10

Grabbed on this Friday from Rat Shack for $40.


It took all of 10 mins to get the stock software up and running.... and that's good enough for playing back DVARchive mpgs in specific directories, but I want to try to get MVPMC up and running.


I am stuck on the DHCP server. My main router (Linksys BEFSR81) doesn't allow hardware reservations, but I have narrowly limited the available DHCP addresses to only 2 (a laptop and a wireless bridge (which are both always on)), so the net effect is that my router-side DHCP is not available.


I've got DHCP Turbo up and running and the Media MVP sees it during boot, but it just continuously requests and receives an IP address (the same one over and over because I have the hardware reservation setup on the DHCP Turbo). Log shows 5 - 10 requests per second. The text on the TV screen where the Media MVP says it's searching for the DHCP server continuously flashes as well (for each request, I suppose).


I am running XP SP2, with the SP2 firewall, and all anti-virus programs disables. I do not believe the router is blocking any of the relavant ports either.


Any ideas?


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I've got DHCP Turbo up and running and the Media MVP sees it during boot, but it just continuously requests and receives an IP address (the same one over and over because I have the hardware reservation setup on the DHCP Turbo). Log shows 5 - 10 requests per second. The text on the TV screen where the Media MVP says it's searching for the DHCP server continuously flashes as well (for each request, I suppose).
> 
> 
> I am running XP SP2, with the SP2 firewall, and all anti-virus programs disables. I do not believe the router is blocking any of the relavant ports either.
> 
> Any ideas?



Strange.

It sounds like the MVP boot firmware is very unhappy with what DHCPTurbo is sending it. If the TV screen is flashing it may imply the MVP firmware is trapping

and rebooting over and over.


A couple suggestions.

1. Carefully go through your DCHPTurbo config again and verify it with the

MVP Windows HOWTO.

2. Install, ethereal on the PC you have DHCP turbo running on and snoop

the DHCP request /responses.

A link to ethereal is in the HowTo.

John...


----------



## elorimer




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> I am stuck on the DHCP server. My main router (Linksys BEFSR81) doesn't allow hardware reservations, but I have narrowly limited the available DHCP addresses to only 2 (a laptop and a wireless bridge (which are both always on)), so the net effect is that my router-side DHCP is not available.
> 
> 
> I've got DHCP Turbo up and running and the Media MVP sees it during boot, but it just continuously requests and receives an IP address (the same one over and over because I have the hardware reservation setup on the DHCP Turbo). Log shows 5 - 10 requests per second. The text on the TV screen where the Media MVP says it's searching for the DHCP server continuously flashes as well (for each request, I suppose).



Could it be that the Linksys DHCP is competing with DHCP Turbo? If the Linksys DHCP is enabled but doesn't have any address available, does it send out something that says in effect, "wait and try again later?"


When I did this, because I didn't want two DHCP servers active, I went into the router admin screen, disabled DHCP, started DHCP Turbo, booted the Media MVP, which fed mvpmc to the Media MVP, then exited DHCP Turbo, went back into the router admin screens and re-enabled DHCP for the rest of the system. That worked for me.


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *elorimer* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Could it be that the Linksys DHCP is competing with DHCP Turbo? If the Linksys DHCP is enabled but doesn't have any address available, does it send out something that says in effect, "wait and try again later?"



The thought had occured. It's certainly worth trying this before I learn about Ethereal!


----------



## plyons10

Totally disabling the DHCP server on my Linksys router didn't have any effect. However, just for kicks, I unplugged the network cable while this DHCP loop was going on, and at that point the Media MVP changed to "Loading Application". I then plugged the network cable back in. Now, I don't have TFTP working yet, so nothing happened from there... and after trying unsuccessfully for a bit to load the app., it reverted to the DHCP loop.


Hmmm...


----------



## elorimer




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When you select replaytv from the gui a bunch of debugging info
> 
> should be logged to the telnet window.
> 
> 
> Please send it to me at the email address on the top of the mvpmc
> 
> replaytv webpage.
> http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html
> 
> 
> Thanks...



OK, I've sent along to you a log file with the debugging capture when 2 4500s and DVArchive are on the network, but no 5000. It looks like it finds one of the 4500s and fails out.


----------



## Bobcrane

There are still two more for 40 bucks at Rat Shack in my area. Thought about picking these up and giving one to my mom and one to my in-laws, after configuring them for Replay thin clients.


Is this a good idea or will they require "attention" once in a while?


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Bobcrane* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> There are still two more for 40 bucks at Rat Shack in my area. Thought about picking these up and giving one to my mom and one to my in-laws, after configuring them for Replay thin clients.
> 
> 
> Is this a good idea or will they require "attention" once in a while?



mvpmc (for ReplayTV thin-client streaming) requires an always-on* PC is available -- in order to provide the software to the MediaMVP should it lose power. (Well, the PC doesn't have to be always-on. It would just need to be powered-on to get the MediaMVP reloaded w/ mvpmc, and then could be turned back off.) No real maintenance is required once the server PC has been configured to support the MediaMVP.


Do you have mvpmc working for yourself at home? If not, I'd say pick one up and work through whether it works for your scenarios -- and just put her up on eBay if you find it too tough to support.


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *elorimer* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> When I did this, because I didn't want two DHCP servers active, I went into the router admin screen, disabled DHCP, started DHCP Turbo, booted the Media MVP, which fed mvpmc to the Media MVP, then exited DHCP Turbo, went back into the router admin screens and re-enabled DHCP for the rest of the system. That worked for me.



Did you have to do any port forwarding on your router?


My PC and the MVP are connected via my router, not an ordinary switch.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am stuck on the DHCP server. My main router (Linksys BEFSR81) doesn't allow hardware reservations, but I have narrowly limited the available DHCP addresses to only 2 (a laptop and a wireless bridge (which are both always on)), so the net effect is that my router-side DHCP is not available.
> 
> Any ideas?



I don't think this will be sufficient. You will still likely have two servers trying to respond to the request. I had to disable the router server while the mvp booted, and turn it back on afterward -- till I came up with the following: the linksys wrt45g [version 2-3 -- not the 'latest' version with the front panel 'push-to-setup-link' button (that's version 4)] will take the free version of Alchemy 1.0 firmware to provide both static ip's for specific mac addresses [handy for replay dhcp requests] while blocking dhcp from specific mac addresses [for the mvp's]. So I just leave dhcpturbo, tftpturbo and the time server running on the same pc where I have dvarchive running [24/7], while the router is doing dhcp for everything else.


----------



## elorimer




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Did you have to do any port forwarding on your router?
> 
> 
> My PC and the MVP are connected via my router, not an ordinary switch.



No port forwarding involved. But when you say connected via your router, not an ordinary switch, are they both not on the LAN side of the router?


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *elorimer* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> No port forwarding involved. But when you say connected via your router, not an ordinary switch, are they both not on the LAN side of the router?



Good thought, but that's not the problem. To eliminate silly errors like the above, I'm using the same cables (wall jacks -- nice wired setup here), that I use for my Replay TV that works just fine.


I am thinking that I should move a simple switch I have upstairs down here for testing purposes. That should help. I will report back after I try that (thus removing any router from the equation).


----------



## elorimer

Have you also set up TFTP Turbo? One of your messages suggested not. The reason I ask, is that DHCP Turbo references the boot file that is served up by it, so maybe DHCP Turbo is trying to feed the file, but can't, so you get a restart. Maybe if you set up everything first, and then tried it out?


----------



## stahlgrau

I second elorimer's suggestion. I had my dhcp/tftp/time box plugged into the mvpmc with a crossover cable, and I still had to start and stop things a couple of times before the mvpmc loaded everything correctly.


Don't be afraid of ethereal, it's really simple to use. It can be intimidating at first because it has so many options, but for simple packet monitoring it can provide a lot of insight into problems like these.


----------



## plyons10

I went back and reviewed John Honeycutt's how to and it definitely has the DHCP server and TFTP server as discreet (in fact, it lists "Testing the DHCP Server" before it installs the TFTP server).


Nonetheless, I will try to skip ahead if I have time tonight and setup the TFTP server too.


----------



## Wrecks




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I send the delete command and then repeatedly get the replay guide until I see
> 
> the show is gone.



I've been thinking about this ever since I read it.


What if somebody is watching the show you want to delete on another unit? Sometimes the unit will not delete a show when it knows somebody else is watching it.


Wouldn't that cause the mvpmc to "loop indefinitely" waiting for a show to disappear when it never does?


----------



## krkaufman

John,


Would it make sense for the ReplayTV segment of the mvpmc user community to use mvpmc's "Tracker" subpage on Sourceforge for documenting feature requests, confirmed issues, etc?


Assuming so, I added a feature request entry for the "relative jump" feature associated with the 'libreplaytv' Category....









More to come, once I hear back.










.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Wrecks* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I've been thinking about this ever since I read it.
> 
> 
> What if somebody is watching the show you want to delete on another unit? Sometimes the unit will not delete a show when it knows somebody else is watching it.
> 
> 
> Wouldn't that cause the mvpmc to "loop indefinitely" waiting for a show to disappear when it never does?



Good question.

There is a "is show in use" command that is sent as a check before attempting the

delete.

Not sure what will happen if someone starts playing the show the instant between the "is show in use" command and delete command.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> John,
> 
> 
> Would it make sense for the ReplayTV segment of the mvpmc user community to use mvpmc's "Tracker" subpage on Sourceforge for documenting feature requests, confirmed issues, etc?
> 
> 
> Assuming so, I added a feature request entry for the "relative jump" feature associated with the 'libreplaytv' Category....
> 
> .



Thats fine with me.

I try to pay attention to comments in this thread but submitting a request

on sourceforge will insure it doesn't get lost/forgotten.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I've got DHCP Turbo up and running and the Media MVP sees it during boot, but it just continuously requests and receives an IP address (the same one over and over because I have the hardware reservation setup on the DHCP Turbo). Log shows 5 - 10 requests per second. The text on the TV screen where the Media MVP says it's searching for the DHCP server continuously flashes as well (for each request, I suppose).



Did you ever get this working?

The quick reboots (5-10 DHCP logs a second) really indicates that the mvp firmware

is very unhappy with the DHCP responses.

If you can capture a ethereal dump it shouldn't be hard to figure the problem out.

John...


----------



## Wrecks

Does everybody have to cycle the power on their MediaMVP 7 or 8 times before it will successfully download the software and start? Or am I the only one?


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Wrecks* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Does everybody have to cycle the power on their MediaMVP 7 or 8 times before it will successfully download the software and start? Or am I the only one?



No problems here.


I *did* have problems, in the past, when doing a lot of custom theme work. TFTPs would fail intermittently, so I had to put some special logic into my config script to do TFTP retries for failed transfers.


What's your specific problem? What do your DHCP and TFTP logs show you?


----------



## MethodMachine

I am totally psyched guys. I have been following some of the development talk over on the mvpmc mailing lists and caught wind of some on-going work with a module called "mclient". mclient acts as a streaming music client for SlimDevices' free, open-source music serving software "SlimServer". I was so excited by the prospect of using the little MVP as a real music client, I could not wait for the official release. I went ahead and downloaded the current source from CVS and compiled my own dongle.bin. While the software may not be quite ready for prime-time (the unit reboots if you are using mclient then try to access the ReplayTV client), but I am listening to an entire album right now (in .ogg format, no less) through the MediaMVP.


John, you and your fellow collaborators on mvpmc totally rock!


Oh yeah, slimserver supports internet radio, too.


----------



## Wrecks




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> What's your specific problem? What do your DHCP and TFTP logs show you?



DHCP logs show that the MediaMVP unit is getting an IP address, but nothing is being downloaded from TFTP.


I've double and triple chedked all the settings and not found anything wrong.


What's curious is that sometimes it works.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Wrecks* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> DHCP logs show that the MediaMVP unit is getting an IP address, but nothing is being downloaded from TFTP.
> 
> 
> I've double and triple chedked all the settings and not found anything wrong.
> 
> 
> What's curious is that sometimes it works.



Believe it or not, I had a typo [one character] of a nic address in dhcp turbo, and it actually worked sometimes but not most of the times. I don't remember if it was in the database or hardware registrations, but one of the two was right and the other was not.


[I also got flakey results with two dhcp servers running, till I started using a firmware hack that allowed me to lock out specifi nics from the hardware dhcp.]


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Did you ever get this working?
> 
> The quick reboots (5-10 DHCP logs a second) really indicates that the mvp firmware
> 
> is very unhappy with the DHCP responses.
> 
> If you can capture a ethereal dump it shouldn't be hard to figure the problem out.
> 
> John...



Thanks for circling back on this, John.


No, my 5 week old has prevented me from spending any time in my basement laboratory (prnounced lah-BOOR-a-tor-y, of course).


Can you confirm for me, however, before I try a couple of things, that I should be able to get the Turbo DHCP up and running and the MVP not quickly rebooting, even without Turbo TFTP running? This is what the instructions indicated to me.


If so, then I still have a couple of things to try. If not, then I have to get TFTP up before I go further.


----------



## Wrecks




> Quote:
> I've double and triple chedked all the settings and not found anything wrong.
> 
> 
> What's curious is that sometimes it works.



It turns out that my configuration files *weren't* wrong. For some reason DHCP had to be disabled in two different places on the router setup. Why would they do that?


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Can you confirm for me, however, before I try a couple of things, that I should be able to get the Turbo DHCP up and running and the MVP not quickly rebooting, even without Turbo TFTP running? This is what the instructions indicated to me.



If DHCP is behaving properly and the tftp server is not running then the

MVP screen will cycle through something like:

-Checking ethernet connectivity

-Contacting DHCP server

-Loading Application


The screen will then hang on "Loading Application" forever since there

is no tftp server to load the application from.

Your situation sounds like a DHCP issue or possibly bad hardware/connectivity.

John...


----------



## miscrms

Hey John,


Is it looking like there is any hope on the RTV 4k front? I'm pretty much chained to my cube 24/7 these days, but let me know if there is anything more I can do to help.


Even just something that let us access the 4k files direct from DVA and the RTV would be fantastic for now. Might it be possible to get that far w/o having to figure out the 4k NDX file?


I'm still planning to do a MacOSX HOWTO for booting the mvp, but am hoping I can figure out how to get things working with the internal bootpd instead of having to build isc dhcpd first.


Thanks,

Rob


----------



## honeycut

I've added a development release to the mvp webpage at:
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/idx.php?pg=downloads 


The file is:

* Name: dongle.bin.mvpmc-20051004

* Bytes: 2078240

* Date: October 04 2005 19:39:09 PDT


-Adds RTV 4K support including ndx file processing and manual commercial skip.

-Adds support for relative jumps from the current play position.


The mvpmc replaytv webpage has been updated with the details.
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html 


John...


----------



## MethodMachine

John,


Does this development build include the mclient module? If so, I would highly suggests folks here check it out.


In addition to all the great work John has put in to making the MediaMVP an affordable and powerful thin-client for our ReplayTVs, the addition of the mclient module now turns the device into a full-featured audio streaming client. Coupled with the SlimServer software, you can browse/listen to your digital music collection (mp3, ogg, flac, wav, etc) and tune internet radio stations.


----------



## icecow

Over the last few days I've scoured the MediaMVP site, and read every post in this thread.


I'm trying to figure out how to load MVPmc using XP, specifically the mclient compiled version MethodMachine gave me.


I give up. Too much minutiae going too many directions. It's like shoveling frogs in to a wheel barrel.


If someone could just put together a step-by-step I'd appreciate it. Considering the timing, I'm sure will also help at least a dozen other serious XP users over time.


If someone does, all I ask is the directions to be procedural (I'll figure out what's going on later). No jargon pls, I've already failed to solve the matrix. Example: Step 5--click on the box marked iphateyou and enter 666 then press OK. Step 6....


I have XP and a Sveasoft flashed linksys (could go to OpenWRT) The linksys has 8 megs of ram I think so it could hold the bin


----------



## miscrms

John, you are my hero 


Seriously, you rock. I haven't put it through all its paces yet, but it looks like the 4k support works great both from DVA in 4k mode and from the RTV4040!


Now if I could have just remembered to point my symbolic link to the new dongle file I would have had it working 30 min ago, instead of banging my head repeatedly on the screen every time I couldn't make it work.










Thanks again, for all your great work on this project.


Rob


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Over the last few days I've scoured the MediaMVP site, and read every post in this thread.
> 
> 
> If someone could just put together a step-by-step I'd appreciate it. Considering the timing, I'm sure will also help at least a dozen other serious XP users over time.



I'm not sure it can be written in less words than this:

http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows...oze_howto.html 


[Thanks John!] -- This had me up and running in less than an hour. Would have been less than a half hour except for a typo I made in a nic address. Having the flashed router is ideal -- it allows you to tell the router not to offer dhcp services to the mvp and just let dhcpturbo on your xp machine provide the address and the boot file [in the Administration screen on the router, go to 'Static Allocations', and put the first three fields of your network -- usually 192.168.1 and give it a final address of '0' -- i.e., 192.168.1.0 -- followed by the nic address of your mvp. That will tell the linksys to not offer dhcp to the mvp, while still providing dhcp for eveything else.]


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Does this development build include the mclient module? If so, I would highly suggests folks here check it out.



Yea it does. It's built from Monday nights CVS snapshot.

However, last I heard there were still some issues like playing music then

going to replaytv crashing mvpmc.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm not sure it can be written in less words than this:
> 
> http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows...oze_howto.html



I know about that page.


You dispirited me even more.


By answering like that you discounted me.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I know about that page.
> 
> 
> You dispirited me even more.
> 
> 
> By answering like that you discounted me from other's help.



sorry -- not being a mind reader, my intention was to give you precisely what you asked for -- step by step detailed instructions -- including the one piece not included, how to disable dhcp for specific nic addresses using Sveasoft Alchemy.


I'll try to remember not to respond to folks' requests in the future.


----------



## icecow

I'm not going to argue and I doubt I'll be helped.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm not sure it can be written in less words than this:
> 
> http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows...oze_howto.html
> 
> 
> [Thanks John!] -- This had me up and running in less than an hour. Would have been less than a half hour except for a typo I made in a nic address. Having...




I see part of the misunderstanding. I thought you turned and were talking directly to John after '[Thanks John!]'


Getting pretty jaded here.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I know about that page.
> 
> 
> You dispirited me even more.
> 
> 
> By answering like that you discounted me.



I am curious. What about that page do you find lacking? Does it contain too much jargon?


I personally think that this page gives the process in a clear, step by step manner. However, I frequently find that explanations that click with me, don't click with other people, and vice versa.



> Quote:
> Example: Step 5--click on the box marked iphateyou and enter 666 then press OK. Step 6....



Forgive me for being a little dense today, but I wasn't sure if you meant this as an example of a good instruction, or an example of a bad instruction.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am curious. What about that page do you find lacking? Does it contain too much jargon?
> 
> 
> I personally think that this page gives the process in a clear, step by step manner. However, I frequently find that explanations that click with me, don't click with other people, and vice versa.




I like to read the directions 2-4 times and fully understand what is involved before starting things.


Reading ~5 linux-based pages before I got to the Windows Setup one didn't help either. Reaching it I immediately felt innundated further.



As I read through these directions my brain annotated with counter questions.. Are these directions meant for dumb routers? Which and how many of these programs do I leave running on my system after mvpmedia loads it's dongle.bin? Where do I get the config file? do I just modify the example config file? Do I download it? Does something generate it?


An endless number of questions pop up every time I read through it.


.......

Example1:

"Following are links to free utilities required for booting and debugging mvpmc issues: ..."


After my initial reading: Do need to debug? If not, are all or just some of these utilities required for booting?



.........

Example 2:

"Install and start the "Absolute Time Server".

NOTE: The server starts an RFC-868 (TIME) server and a RFC-2030 (SNTP) server. WXP-Pro also starts it's own SNTP server. So, if you get a winsock error when starting the server just disable the Absolute's SNTP server."



Is he really just saying don't install it if I am running XP?

................


The next step for me is to bumble blindly through the directions and hope for the best, if I bother.


There are some ironies here.

If the purpose of this software is to for people to use it I don't think the XP install directions cut it, especially now with mclient adding squeezebox-like funtionality.

Most people who want to use the software are going to look at that page and leave never returning even if they hear good things later. Got to grow the userbase from the getgo. Timing is everything followed by the time it takes for things to grow.


The irony? It's not like Honeycut hasn't contributed enough already and only deserves more.


My tentitive plan is to give the directions a try (skin crawling), and if I fail: read up on it again in a few months. If that doesn't get me where I want I'll just stick a spork in the whole thing. I'm not going to spend 20 hours nursing another computer setup.


The directions are largely straight forward, yet at the same time riddled with statements like:

CIF's has been verified with WXP-Pro SP2 and samba 3.0.10.


Statements like that alienate anyone that doesn't know what samba is, which I guess would be 85% of the readers. This is a windows install. Is samba running on the mediamvp or something?? Samba is interfacing what to what??



Then there are the things I look back and am supposed to feel embarrassed about. When I read "If you don't have a favorite telnet client a good free one is "putty"" I thought he meant 'putty' as in 'easy to acquire'. I was so innudated that when I looked at the sample script I didn't recognize the '#' at he beginning of almost every line to be REM statements. I thought they were some alien linux thing.



The more I look at the at the instructions the more the shellshock is wearing off. Of course those are famous last words. I still have no idea about the most fundamental questions like "how many programs will I leave running in the end?"





> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Forgive me for being a little dense today, but I wasn't sure if you meant this as an example of a good instruction, or an example of a bad instruction.



No you're not dense. I see what you mean. I meant it to be a 'good' example. the 'iphateyou' stuff was meant to represent how people see dialog boxes when they are following directions without knowing what they are doing.


I do think it would be best if there was a version of the instructions that contained no asides, and was written a min number of word and no jargon other then refering to the names of tabs and dialog boxes.


----------



## elorimer

I had no familiarity with any of this stuff in the Windows-Howto. But I worked through the steps one by one and it was pretty straightforward in the end. I found everything I needed in the Howto.


There were four steps that I stumbled over that might be helpful.


1. I ignored entirely the business with shares.

2. I had to disable ZoneAlarm to get the Weird Solutions programs to run. So when you want to load the media mvp, the sequence is to (1) exit Zonealarm; (2) go into your DHCP router admin pages and disable DHCP; (3) start DHCP Turbo; (4) start TFTP Turbo; (5) be sure the timeserver is running; (6) power cycle the Media mvp; (7) watch the activity screen until the .config file loads; (8) go back into the DHCP router admin pages and reenable DHCP; (9) exit TFTP Turbo and DHCP Turbo; (10) reenable Zonealarm. Then just leave the media mvp powered. If it loses power you have to do it again. All told that takes about 2 minutes.

3. The posted versions of mvpmc do not run on a network that has a 4xxx series going. There is a development version that works fine, and now one that supports 4xxx streaming, I guess, although I haven't tried it. (PS: I read this to mean a media mvp with mvpmc has solved the 4xxx- 5xxx streaming problem.)

4. I don't yet have my jp1 remote completely set up but there is a file out there that works for the basics.


----------



## melduforx

Cow,


It's really not as complicated as it seems, but the instructions do require a bit of computer knowhow, which I think you have.


The overarching concept of the MVP is this:


1. You NEED a DHCP server running on your Windows box.

1a. The DHCP server listens for the specific MAC of the MediaMVP

1b. The DHCP server tells the MediaMVP to request certain boot files from the TFTP server (see below).


2. You NEED to have a TFTP server running on your Windows box.

2a. The TFTP server sends the requested files to your MediaMVP AFTER it has a successful DHCP request.


3. You NEED to have an RTP Server running on your Windows box.

3a. AFTER your MediaMVP boots you MUST sync the time using RTP so that it can play files from your Replays.


These are the three necessary components and they should be installed and tested in this order. Once your MVP is booted you don't have to have any of these servers running anymore, as long as your MVP doesn't reboot.


The config file is basically like an "auotexec.bat" file for the MVP. It is sent every time the MVP boots up. You can make a very simple one that just syncs the time and starts the mvmpc program. (That's what mine does.) If you want you can also do things like mount shares and other stuff.


In addition you can install a telnet client on your Windows box to telnet to the MVP to issue commands directly to it.


I do have to say that the instructions definitely helped me and had nice step-by-step references. No complaints here. To be honest, I'm not sure how they could make the instructions any easier. It's got pictures for goodness sakes!


----------



## plyons10

I'll hand it to Cow that there is some constructive criticism to be made here (and he's actually not the kind of guy to just harp on things unneccesarily).


I agree with him about the time server part being ambiguous.


As far as the basic concept (have the DHCP & TFTP servers up for the boot sequence only -- not needed thereafter), however, I think that was fairly clear (if you read all the posts as well, which he and I both did).


I have a little bit of computer know-how and still find this a bit daunting. I still haven't dignosed my DHCP problem. No worries there, because I also have scant idea how exactly I get this program load (which is which file exactly?) over to the MVP with TFTP!


Just curious, for those who have also modd'ed an X box... is this easier or harder?


----------



## MethodMachine

I haven't attempted to get mvpmc to boot off a Windows box, but I have to say that the Linux How-To got me up and running in about 20 minutes. Most of that time was spent "apt-getting" packages I needed to make mvpmc work (dhcpd, tftpd, ntp).


Anyway, I don't want to ignite a Windows v. Linux flamewar, but perhaps this might be a good opportunity for the technically curious to explore setting up a Linux box on your network. I bought one of those cheapo Linspire boxes from Fry's about a year ago for 150 bucks. That $150 has given me much joy over the past year. I installed SuSE linux (an excellent desktop linux OS) and have the box configured for:


1) Mail Server

2) Web Server

3) FTP Server

4) DVArchive


and now


5) mvpmc

6) SlimServer


ALL WITH FREE SOFTWARE.


----------



## honeycut

Wow. Interesting discussion.

I agree that there are aspects of the Windows-HOWTO that could be clearer & better

organized.

Trivia: I started working on the mvp about a year ago. It started as a myth-TV thin client.

MythTV is a linux based PVR so you need a certain level of linux experience to ever

hope to get it working. So, most folks interested in mediamvp were familiar with the concept of booting network applicances, etc...

Very little documentation existed.

Around the beginning of this year I noticed folks here had discovered my replayTV stuff.

There were a number of posts of people attempting to figure out how to boot the box from windows.

Since I do really want folks to benefit from my efforts I spent a weekend tracking down free

tools, coming up with a windows boot recipe and wrote the windows-howto. All in all

it was a painful weekend ;-)


It's not rocket science but it's also not a trivial process to set up the servers.

What level of detail should be given? It's tough. Give too little and any mistake

or unexpected behavior leads to frustration.

Give to much and it can be hard to see the forest from the trees.


All this provides insight into why company IT personel can be so grumpy 


I saw some good suggestions for improving the howto.

I'd really appreciate it if someone would take on integrating feedback and updating it

for me. Otherwise I can try to incorporate the suggestions but I'm probably not the best

to do it since I have very intimate knowledge of everything and don't think about things

like somebody new to this.


Even better would be for someone to write a windows app. (Maybe java) that

would act as the dhcp, tftp, and, time server. Probably wouldn't be that difficult

for someone with windows programming experience.

This would make things much easier on new users.


Also, if anyone has suggestions for the mvp-replaytv webpage please let me know or better

yet send me the changes. (Actually I made some changes to it last night)

John...


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> There were a number of posts of people attempting to figure out how to boot the box from windows.
> 
> Since I do really want folks to benefit from my efforts I spent a weekend tracking down free
> 
> tools, coming up with a windows boot recipe and wrote the windows-howto. All in all
> 
> it was a painful weekend ;-)



And I fully thank you for those efforts. I've been lucky that it went fairly smoothly for me with only a couple of confusing moments with the DHCPTurbo. It was oddly similar to fooling with the admin tools in NT 4 Server.


Addmitidly, I use NT2k and fortunately I did not have to turn off my DHCP server in my Wireless router.


Later, I had problems with the MVPMC software locking up. Jon was right there asking me for DEBUG logs and he bent over backwards to solve my problem. We tracked it down to a situation which arises when a bad mpg is recorded on the replay.


All I can say is thank you Jon. If not for his efforts, I would not be enjoying the flexible system I have with my two MVPMC units running without the MVPMC programmers.

My wife learned quickly how to use it and now the 2 and 1/2 year old is watching her Dora and Sponge Bob's with out an expensive replay within her grasp.


I feel sorry that I don't have the skill to help ICE with his problem. I do remember having to learn about three new programs and had a few stumbling blocks. I bought my first MVP on blind faith that I could get it to work. Heck, I would install linux and learn to use it if I had to.


Please don't give up on the project ICE. I'm sure this group will help you figure it out.


HECK! I'm about to get Replay Client and Shoutcast (via SLIMP) running soon so I'm triple excited and ready to buy a third MVP for 40 bucks at Rat Shack.


----------



## Marcus

Hmm... should we not change the thread to read

"MediaMVP Media Center Project - sub $40 true thin client?"


I think so!!!


----------



## Wrecks

Everything is indeed in the Windows "how to" page that you need to know, but it's a bit technical. My advice is just to follow every line of the instructions without questioning why.


I didn't care too much for installing three more programs on my computer to accomplish the task, but now that I have I'm glad that I did. I can see sometime in the near future, somebody comes up with a "all in one" program that does the job of the three servers necessary right now.


Remember also that you can just install the Hauppauge MediaMVP software that came with the unit and watch ReplayTV shows that you've downloaded to your computer right out of the box. That should hold you over until you get all the configurations necessary to run mvpmc.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *melduforx* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Cow,
> 
> 
> It's really not as complicated as it seems, but the instructions do require a bit of computer knowhow, which I think you have.
> 
> 
> The overarching concept of the MVP is this:
> 
> 
> 1. You NEED a DHCP server running on your Windows box.
> 
> 1a. The DHCP ....
> 
> ... To be honest, I'm not sure how they could make the instructions any easier. It's got pictures for goodness sakes!




aw, I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.



Your description word for word would fit nicely on HoneyCut's *mvpmc Microsoft Windows HowTo* page between *4. Obtaining the mvpmc software load* and *5. Setting up the DHCP Server*


The uncertainty of how all the programs worked together was driving me nuts.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Marcus* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Please don't give up on the project ICE. I'm sure this group will help you figure it out.
> 
> 
> HECK! I'm about to get Replay Client and Shoutcast (via SLIMP) running soon so I'm triple excited and ready to buy a third MVP for 40 bucks at Rat Shack.



What? and give up show business??


I just finished a mid-term paper today and suddenly my disposition went from coerced to free. yaay me.


I think the voltage peeked this morning when I was trying to think about installing mvpmc, studying up mvpmc, the possibility of getting mvpmc slashdotted and boingboinged (you heard me right, read next post), and the term paper all on the same two cups of coffee.


----------



## icecow

'Open Letter' to Honeycut


It's clear to me that mvpmc is comming of age. And I believe it could easily be boingboinged and slashdotted, especially since the wireless version of MediaMVP is expected to hit stores in Mid-October (weeks from now). It would be great timing to submit to boingboing and slashdot at that time.


Noone has to get all excited about this, it simply 'should' be done.


Cory Doctorow is one of the bloggers on boingboing.net. He is also a key member of EFF and extremely vocal digital rights activist. He loves all things MythTV and has recently posted two entries about MediaMVP that can be found here:
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...boingboing.net 

boingboing is highest traffic blog on the internet, btw.


I propose we tidy up some things on your web page and submit a write up to boingboing (and slashdot).


Most mediamvp purchasers will be running windows, and most will have limited installing skills. Catering to the average (windows) user could double the presence of your extremely nifty software.


I've been toying with the idea of writing a newbie-friendly version of the windows install directions, and even a screencapture moovie. However, I'm afraid to even mention it, because I'm setting myself up for naysayers to knock the wind out of me.


I figure if we put in place a revised version of both windows and linux install directions, a logical assortment of availible dongle.bin files, perhaps a homebrew article, perhaps a screencapture movie of installation then simply submit you will get a flood of new users and many will stick around.


Benifits:

It looks to me it would work, we might learn something about being flexible, and it might turn out to be fun.


It doesn't need to be the most popular article on slashdot or boingboing. pls dont think like that. There is also no need for maximization.




The more I look at the windows installation page the easier it looks. On one hoof I feel an increasingly bit embarrased I griped, and on the other hoof I quickly remind myself that most people who visit _Will Not_ understand or take the time to complete the instructions.


----------



## tselling

First I would just like to thank the author of the software. It quite nice with my ReplayTVs. However... I do have a problem with the loading requirements:


Why is it a requirement to have a DHCP server and TFTP on my PC when Hauppauge can load the software without them? And that I have to somehow disable DHCP for the mediamvp on my router... Hauppauge doesn't require this.


Hauppauge allows my router to give the MediaMVP an address thru dhcp... and allows the mediamvp to load the software from my PC.


I copied the latest dongle.bin.mvpmc-0.1.8 file into the hauppage hardware directory and renamed to dongle.bin. And I started the service with the batch file. Then plugged in the MediaMVP and it got the software download. It did not get the config file ... but it should be able to since the original software download was tftp'd. I was able to telnet into the mediamvp and start the software by hand and yes it saw my replaytvs and was able to stream from them!


I would look into fixing this myself but I currently don't have a Linux box and my 6mo old baby takes alot of time right now. I think it might just be a matter of changing the /usr/share/udhcpc/default.script file. I think could default the DONGLE to dongle.bin.config if not in $DONGLE. And would it work to reverse the SERVER=$(siaddr:-$serverid} ?


Not sure about the time server... might still have to run that on my PC but if SERVER was set correctly to the PC that loaded the software then that would work without having to replace my router (I like my DLink with dnsloopback) and i really don't want to turn off dhcp in the router.


I tried changing this via telnet and rerunning rcS but get that the filesystem is readonly.


Any chance we might get this feature into a version soon?

Thanks.





> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hello,
> 
> MediaMVP ReplayTV support is for real. I should know since I'm the developer ;-)
> 
> Been working on it for about 3 months now.
> 
> ...
> 
> One last note is that mediamvp requires a dhcp server & tftpserver to boot the load.
> 
> Our development/build environment is linux based. I use my linux box to boot the mvp.
> 
> I understand there are some free windows based dhcp & tftp servers though for
> 
> those without a linux box.
> 
> 
> ...
> 
> Hopefully some of you will find it useful.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> John...


----------



## miscrms

ICE, I would hope no one would shoot you down for your last post. In fact, I think you have finaly caught the ol' opensource spirit. This stuff only happens when people get involved and contribute. Unfortunately not all of us can write code, but there are lots of other things that need to be done. I think your idea of putting together a mvpmc for dummies is a great idea. John has done so much already on this, it would be great to see some of the rest of us pitch in and do what we can.


Tselling, you could be right. As John mentioned, this whole project is based on the myth TV crowd who are all linux folks. So they could pretty much care less about the Hauppauge software. John was good enough to work up a recipe that works for windows to help the folks here out, but that doesn't mean there might not be a better way. It will only happen though if someone goes and figures it out.


Rob


----------



## miscrms

In the interest of putting one's money where one's mouth is, here is some info for any folks out there running Mac OS X who want to get in on the MediaMVP/mvpmc party.

http://members.cox.net/asmith29/MVP_Mac_Howto.html 


This is still in very rough form, but hopefully has some useful info. Once my job quiets back down to relatively sane hours, I will try to clean it up and make it easier to follow. Not to mention going back and testing the steps to make sure I haven't left anything out or messed anything up. The 12 hours or so it took me to get it up and running are still kind of blur  At that point maybe I'll see about getting it linked up on the mvpmc page.


Rob


----------



## MethodMachine




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tselling* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Why is it a requirement to have a DHCP server and TFTP on my PC when Hauppauge can load the software without them? And that I have to somehow disable DHCP for the mediamvp on my router... Hauppauge doesn't require this.
> 
> 
> Hauppauge allows my router to give the MediaMVP an address thru dhcp... and allows the mediamvp to load the software from my PC.



YMMV, but I did not find it necessary to disable DHCP on my router to get mvpmc to boot. Of course, I am using linux to boot the MVP, but I did not have DHCP configured to run from the Linux box prior to setting up the MVP.


----------



## honeycut

Icecow wrote:

>It's clear to me that mvpmc is comming of age. And I believe it could easily be

>boingboinged and slashdotted, especially since the wireless version of MediaMVP is

>expected to hit stores in Mid-October (weeks from now). It would be great timing to

>submit to boingboing and slashdot at that time.

Ice,

Thanks for the letter.

It would be great if actual users would help with getting the docs updated.

Also, we need to remember that mvpmc is Jon Gettler's project. I'm just the developer that

did the replaytv & some other stuff.

I'll forward your post to him.

Jon emailed me about the wireless mvp coming out. We're interested in finding out what's

inside the box. Most likely there will be some mvpmc development required to get it to

run on the new box.


tselling wrote:

>Why is it a requirement to have a DHCP server and TFTP on my PC when Hauppauge can

>load the software without them? And that I have to somehow disable DHCP for the

>mediamvp on my router... Hauppauge doesn't require this.

The hauppauge server software contains custom dhcp & tftp servers.

What your asking is feasable. We just need someone to write a windows/java app

to run on a PC to respond to the MVP's dhcp/tftp requests.

The time server is a replaytv requirement. replaytv require clocks to be synced before they

will talk to other networked boxes.

There is no reason the windows/java app can't also provide the time server functionality.


miscrms wrote:

>In the interest of putting one's money where one's mouth is, here is some info for any

> folks out there running Mac OS X who want to get in on the MediaMVP/mvpmc party.

Cool!

Let me know when your ready & I'll add it to th emvp web page.


----------



## oldyellow

I thought about cow's post last night, and decided to make an attempt at a relatively concise how-to document. The purpose of the document is to give a brief overview and then specific setup instructions. While it is still a work in progress, I thought I would solicit feedback from this illustrious panel.


While I am authoring the document in Word, the final form should be HTML or PDF. The content in the setup section is not complete. It mainly comes from the Windows how-to on the site, and screen shots have not been inserted (yet).


Some thoughts I came across while writing.
The intimidation factor can be decreased by not mentioning Network Protocol Analyzers, Telnet clients, or others tools used to debug. In fact everything about debugging, alternate configurations, and the like can probably be put in an "appendix" for advanced users.
The more you try to account for varying network setup possibilities, the more complicated the instructions will seem. This things like disabling or reconfiguring Firewalls and DHCP enabled routers.
A little bit of explaining how the thing works is probably necessary, but too much can be overwhelming.
Screen shots are very helpful. However, inserting screen shots in the document makes the document much longer, which increases the intimidation factor. What is the proper balance?
Do the setup instructions need to explain alphabet soup jargon like DHCP, TFTP, etc? Should those terms like this be avoided altogether, only being referenced as labels to specific dialog/menu items that the user must configure during the setup?


Read and fire away. I'm wearing my flame-proof vest.

 

mvpmc how to - brief.doc 32.5k . file


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> What your asking is feasable. We just need someone to write a windows/java app
> 
> to run on a PC to respond to the MVP's dhcp/tftp requests.
> 
> The time server is a replaytv requirement. replaytv require clocks to be synced before they
> 
> will talk to other networked boxes.
> 
> There is no reason the windows/java app can't also provide the time server functionality.



This is definitely possible, and wouldn't be complicated at all. However I was foiled in my attempt to do exactly that (using C++ rather that Java). The problem I ran across is that I couldn't find a freely available library to interact with the layer necessary for doing DHCP. You cannot communicate DHCP protocols with a the normal datagram sockets for reasons listed in the following quote. The problem can probably be pre-empted by entering the MediaMVP's mac address in the ARP (Address resolution protocol) tables, but only Windows' server line of products provides an api for interacting with those tables. I imagine that more users will actually be running 2000 workstation or XP home than anything else. If some one can help point me to a freely available library to handle the network communcation, I would be willing to attempt this.


The following quote was from a post I made earlier in this thread:



> Quote:
> In a bootp reply (or dhcp offer) the destination address in the ip header is the address being assigned by the server and the destination hardware address is the mac address of the client (the MediaMVP). Attempting to send a datagram to the ip address being assigned causes an ARP (address resolution protocol) message to be sent from the server asking for the hardware address of the yet to be assigned ip address. But, since the client hasn't received the reply yet, it does not know it's ip address, so it cannot respond to the ARP request. Since the server can't resolve the ip address to a hardware address, the datagram never gets sent.
> 
> 
> There are only two ways around this problem that I can see. One is to gain access to the header information one level lower than the ip header to manually set the destination hardware address. The other is to add an entry to the host's ARP table, which will pre-empt ARP request. Microsoft has an API for gaining access to the ARP table, but it looks like it is only available for it's server line of products (I have XP Home), and if you are running on of those OS's you should already have the necessary services available to you.


----------



## miscrms

Can anyone give us an overview of what the mclient can do? It sounds like this could be very cools, especially if the mclient/replay conflict issues are resolved.


I haven't looked into music on the mvp much yet, as most of my music is in AAC, in itunes, and on a mac. As far as I could tell, this is three strikes and I'm out. It sounds like Slimp3 Server runs on mac, and can stream AAC? Does it convert the file on the server, or is the mclient adding the ability to decode AAC locally?


I bought the mvp just as a replay client, if I can get it to play my music (w/o messing up my itunes/ipod environment) that would be a major bonus! Might have to go back out and scour the rat shacks for another 1-2 units










Thanks,

Rob


----------



## icecow

I can't find much on mclient and I think promoting it will be the easist way to bring Windows users on board to the mvpmc world.


mclient doesn't seem to have a web site (or exist on the internet).


MethodMachine said he found it awhile combing the mvpmc mailing list. So I found the mvpmc mailing list page and typed 'mclient' in the search box and got this:
http://sourceforge.net/search/?type_...imageField.y=5 


btw, if you didn't already know, mclient works with slimserver. You read up on slimserver features here:
http://www.slimdevices.com/


----------



## Wrecks

I would also recommend putting a DOS batch file in the documentation that loads all the servers, pauses while the MediaMVP unit downloads, and then turns the servers off again. Here is mine:

Code:


Code:


Title Starting ReplayTV servers for MediaMVP...

if exist "C:\\Program Files\\DHCP Turbo\\dhcpt.log" del "C:\\Program Files\\DHCP Turbo\\dhcpt.log"

Net Start "DHCP Turbo"

Title MediaMVP DCHP server started...

if exist "C:\\Program Files\\TFTP Turbo\        ftpt.log" del "C:\\Program Files\\TFTP Turbo\   ftpt.log"

Net Start "TFTP Turbo"

Title MediaMVP TFTP server started...

net stop "Windows time"

Net Start ATS

Title MediaMVP ATS server started...

Title ReplayTV servers for MediaMVP started.

TITLE Press N to turn servers off again.

Choice /N Press N to turn servers off again. }

Net Stop ATS

net start "Windows time"

Net Stop "TFTP Turbo"

Net Stop "DHCP Turbo"


----------



## MethodMachine




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *miscrms* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Can anyone give us an overview of what the mclient can do? It sounds like this could be very cools, especially if the mclient/replay conflict issues are resolved.



It looks to me as if the Replay conflict issue has already been resolved. I've been doing my own nightly builds from CVS, and it seems that mclient is getting more stable. In fact, at this point I am using the MediaMVP more for music streaming than as a Replay video client.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *miscrms* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I haven't looked into music on the mvp much yet, as most of my music is in AAC, in itunes, and on a mac. As far as I could tell, this is three strikes and I'm out. It sounds like Slimp3 Server runs on mac, and can stream AAC? Does it convert the file on the server, or is the mclient adding the ability to decode AAC locally?



From the slimdevices website:


> Quote:
> iTunes (Mac or Windows)Use iTunes to add and manage music files and your library automatically available to SlimServerno more rescan! SlimServer also streams iTunes' powerful Smart Playlists



As for how it works, I believe the SlimServer software converts all formats to .mp3 on the fly before streaming to the client (mvpmc, in this case). You can even specify the quality that the transcoding happens at with SlimServer's settings menu.



> Quote:
> I bought the mvp just as a replay client, if I can get it to play my music (w/o messing up my itunes/ipod environment) that would be a major bonus! Might have to go back out and scour the rat shacks for another 1-2 units



I'm on the lookout for a few more, myself!


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> This is definitely possible, and wouldn't be complicated at all. However I was foiled in my attempt to do exactly that (using C++ rather that Java). The problem I ran across is that I couldn't find a freely available library to interact with the layer necessary for doing DHCP. You cannot communicate DHCP protocols with a the normal datagram sockets for reasons listed in the following quote. The problem can probably be pre-empted by entering the MediaMVP's mac address in the ARP (Address resolution protocol) tables, but only Windows' server line of products provides an api for interacting with those tables. I imagine that more users will actually be running 2000 workstation or XP home than anything else. If some one can help point me to a freely available library to handle the network communcation, I would be willing to attempt this.



Yellow,

You may want to try doing a project search for "dhcp" on sourceforge.net.

I see atleast 3 opensource projects that claim to run on win32 with dhcp server functionality.

(one java & two in C). Maybe you can find a trick to get around the ARP problem.

Also saw some opensource tftp servers.


OhYea. Nice start at a howto. I'll be happy to add whatever you all come up with

to the web page.


----------



## icecow

windows install directions say:


If you have a hardware router/firewall that acts as a DHCP server for serving IP addresses to your lan you need to add the MediaMVP's MAC address to the routers "exclude" list.

i.e.: You don't want your router/firewall responding to the MediaMVP's DHCP request. If your router's DHCP server does not support excluding specific MAC addresses then the router's DHCP will need to be disabled.



What list would that be in a linksys/sveasoft router?


----------



## icecow

I set up DHCP turbo. Turned off my routers DHCP server. Tested for connection. Was supposed to get to the loading program screen, but stuck at the contacting dhcp server/contacting MediaMVP BootServer screen


the log file reads:

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Debug log file is './dhcpt.log'.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Recorded address 127.0.0.1 on interface 1.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Recorded address 192.168.1.142 on interface 2.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Recorded address 192.168.1.103 on interface 131075.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 The server is bound to local address 127.0.0.1.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 The server is bound to local address 192.168.1.103.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 The server is bound to local address 192.168.1.142.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Performing database calculations...

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Inactive bindings are reclaimed at 150% of the original lease length or 1 day(s), whichever is longer.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 There are no scopes defined.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Database contains 1 total bindings.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 The event publisher is bound to port 2212.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 The remote console is listening on 0.0.0.0:2213.

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Host name is MyComputerName

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 Platform is Windows NT 5.1

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 DHCP Turbo version 3.0, build 1345

Fri Oct 07 02:05:08 2005 DHCP Turbo has started.


listening to 0.0.0.0:2213? That's suspicous


wish I knew what the hell I was doing


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> windows install directions say:
> 
> 
> If you have a hardware router/firewall that acts as a DHCP server for serving IP addresses to your lan you need to add the MediaMVP's MAC address to the routers "exclude" list.
> 
> i.e.: You don't want your router/firewall responding to the MediaMVP's DHCP request. If your router's DHCP server does not support excluding specific MAC addresses then the router's DHCP will need to be disabled.
> 
> 
> 
> What list would that be in a linksys/sveasoft router?



The 'Static Allocations' list that I explained in my original response to you which you seemed to take offense at. As I noted, it's the one thing not explained in the windows startup doc.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I set up DHCP turbo. Turned off my routers DHCP server. Tested for connection. Was supposed to get to the loading program screen, but stuck at the contacting dhcp server/contacting MediaMVP BootServer screen



If you are running sveasoft, you have to disable dhcpd on the admin page. As I recall, doing it only on the setup page won't stop it completely. Stop it on both pages to be sure. Or, assign the mvp nic address to a static address of xxx.yyy.zzz.0 as in my earlier response, and then you can leave all servers running -- including the one on your xp machine.


----------



## icecow

The format for static allocations is:



so I put 192.168.1.0 media_mvp1


I used media_mvp1 because that is what I set the host name in DHCP Turbo.


Still doesn't work


(sveasoft requires all three parts)


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The format for static allocations is:
> 
> 
> 
> so I put 192.168.1.0 media_mvp1
> 
> 
> I used media_mvp1 because that is what I set the host name in DHCP Turbo.
> 
> 
> Still doesn't work
> 
> 
> (sveasoft requires all three parts)



While the documentation for Sveasoft Alchemy says it needs all three, adding a name when the device really doesn't have a name [internal to itself] made it not work for me. It only worked when I didn't use a name for the mvp. I also used Alchemy to assign fixed addresses to my replays, and there, the name is OK since the replay really has a name.


In the meantime, I would try disabling dhcp completely on both the startup and admin pages till you get mvpmc working.


----------



## Wrecks

Sometimes you have to pull the power on the MediaMVP and restart it several times before everything "takes". I don't know why.


----------



## miscrms

Method, thanks for the itunes/slimserver related info! Sounds very promising! I admit I was too lazy (ok overworked, overtired & stressed) to go start reading up on a new project without having some good idea it would work. Sounds like I'll have to start reading afterall. Very glad to hear the conflict issues seem to be resolved, that was my other big hesitation. I (ok john) just finally got my replay working with the mvp and I didn't want to break it again










Rob


----------



## MethodMachine

miscrms,


I suggest since you have mvpmc working already with your Replays (and have thus mastered all things DHCP and TFTP







), that you download the most recent nightly build of mvpmc (that includes the mclient module) and try it out. One of the big advantages of the MediaMVPs architecture is that since it relies on doing a network boot, you can easily switch back to a more stable dongle.bin file in the event you find one of the development builds is just too screwy to tolerate for long. I don't know if you are using Linux or Windows, but if you are using Linux a nice trick for keeping several versions of the dongle.bin file on hand is to set up a symbolic link that points the dongle.bin.du.jour to dongle.bin.mvpmc.


From the "How To" on sourceforge:



> Quote:
> If you wish to maintain multiple versions of the dongle.bin file, it's easy to use a symlink. For example:
> 
> 
> # cd $TFTPBOOT
> 
> # ln -sf dongle.bin.mvpmc-0.1.6 dongle.bin.mvpmc
> 
> 
> This will allow you to have multiple versions of the code available, and you may switch between them by updating the symlink.



Its worth a try to see if the music client will fulfill your needs--even in its current state. I know I have been using it alot recently.


Also, as an interesting aside, if you are registered with audioscrobbler/last.fm, there is a plugin available for SlimServer (called SlimScrobbler) that will upload your listening statistics to last.fm.


----------



## plyons10

Quote:

Originally Posted by *plyons10*
I've got DHCP Turbo up and running and the Media MVP sees it during boot, but it just continuously requests and receives an IP address (the same one over and over because I have the hardware reservation setup on the DHCP Turbo). Log shows 5 - 10 requests per second. The text on the TV screen where the Media MVP says it's searching for the DHCP server continuously flashes as well (for each request, I suppose).


I am running XP SP2, with the SP2 firewall, and all anti-virus programs disables. I do not believe the router is blocking any of the relavant ports either.


Any ideas?
OK... now I'm CERTAIN that the WINXP how-to needs a bit of re-writing for the novice!


I'm still stuck with the same problem as above, but I'm pretty sure it's because I don't have the dongle.bin.mvpmc in the right place (based on what I captured with Ethereal). If someone can view the attached capture from Ethereal and verify this for me, that would be great. But it appears to me that after the DHCP request is negotiated, the MVPMC tries to TFTP the dongle.bin.mvpmc, but can't (file not found error), which throws the whole thing back to requesting a DHCP address again (thus the loop I've been experiencing).


So here's the thing... where do I stick the file the MVPMC is looking for and where do I get it?


Well, the HOW-TO is not completely silent on this topic. I have downloaded what I believe to be a current software load from this page: http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/idx.php?pg=downloads 


But where do I save this file (and what do I name it) and how do I tell the MVPMC and TFTP TUrbo and DHCP Turbo where I put the file. Right now I just have it on my desktop as "dongle.bin.mvpmc" along with my config script dongle.bin.mvpmc.config. But that doesn't seem to be working.


Looking ahead in the How to to the TFTP server section, there are more Windows cryptic references like the following:




> By default the TFTP-turbo virtual root directory is /tftp_root
> 
> i.e.: The directory where files to be tftp'd are stored.
> 
> 
> * Copy your mvp load in the tftp_root dir.
> 
> Next, add the following simple config script to the tftp_root dir.
> 
> 
> # Set TZ variable in this shell
> 
> #
> 
> TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ;
> 
> 
> # Echo the command to set the TZ variable to the shell.config file
> 
> # for telnet shells.
> 
> #
> 
> echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config;
> 
> 
> [\\quote]
> 
> 
> References to tftp_root dir don't make much sense to an experienced Windows guy like myself. I mean, I've got some idea where this is going, but it's far from clear.
> 
> 
> What big conceptual part of the puzzle am I missing?
> 
> 
> 
> EthCapture.zip 5.44921875k . file


----------



## Clay Schneider

When you install tftp turbo it >creates

As to what to name the dongle file, name it anything you want, so long as that's the name you use in the policy you create in DHCP Turbo for your mvp. The config file gets that same name, but with a .config at the end of it.


So, for my setup, the DHCP Turbo policy statement for my mvp contains the line:


-1 Boot File dongle.bin.mvpmc


and the directory "C:\\Program Files\\TFTP Turbo\ ftp_root" contains the files:


dongle.bin.mvpmc

dongle.bin.mvpmc.config


The contents of dongle.bin.mvpmc.config is as follows:


#########

TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ;


rdate -s 192.168.2.201;


mkdir /MyVid;

mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyVid /MyVid/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;

mkdir /MyPix;

mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyPix /MyPix/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;

mkdir /MyMp3;

mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyMp3 /MyMp3/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config;


mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=192.168.2.125/192.168.2.130" &

#########


Note that the above is very specific to my environment. I live in the east coast. My time server is running on a fixed lan ip of 192.168.2.201. I have exported three directories on that same machine with videos, jpegs and mp3's that I want to play on the mvps, I have also added the block size registry key as documented in CIFS section of the setup documentation, hence, the 'rsize' as part of the cifs mount command, and finally, I have my router dhcp assigning pre-allocated ip addresses to my two replays at 125 and 130 so I don't have to do a 'discover' of them [it's faster not to discover]. Note also that when I edit the above, despite the ;'s, just to make sure it is a proper unix file, I use the freeware editor 'metapad' in 'unix' mode to make sure that the lines end in only LF and not the dos standard CR-LF. Then if I miss a ';', it won't hang while processing.


----------



## MethodMachine

Ok,


Here is a dumb question which perhaps John Honeycut can answer:


Why is it necessary to install a time server on the boot host at all? I sync the time of the MediaMVP using the following line in my config file:

Code:


Code:


rdate -s 192.43.244.18

192.43.244.18 is the IP address of time.nist.gov.


This seems to allow the MediaMVP to talk to the replays just fine.


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> When you install tftp turbo it >creates
> 
> As to what to name the dongle file, name it anything you want, so long as that's the name you use in the policy you create in DHCP Turbo for your mvp. The config file gets that same name, but with a .config at the end of it.
> 
> 
> So, for my setup, the DHCP Turbo policy statement for my mvp contains the line:
> 
> 
> -1 Boot File dongle.bin.mvpmc
> 
> 
> and the directory "C:\\Program Files\\TFTP Turbo\ ftp_root" contains the files:
> 
> 
> dongle.bin.mvpmc
> 
> dongle.bin.mvpmc.config





Aha!! OK.. that makes some sense now... and it seems to have gotten me past the DHCP testing. (I haven't finished tweaking my config file, so I 'm getting the following error in the DHCP log: " The server can't read from a daemon socket. The system error is 'Unknown error'" -- but I assume I'll be able to clean this up.) However, the WINXP How to leads one to believe that you can test the DHCP setup without having completed the TFTP setup. This is obviously not the case.


It's odd to me that the DHCP server knows to look in the TFTP root dir for the boot load. I don't specify that dir anywhere in the DHCP setup, so it's not obvious to me. How does it know?




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The contents of dongle.bin.mvpmc.config is as follows:
> 
> 
> #########
> 
> TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ;
> 
> 
> rdate -s 192.168.2.201;



OK.. the sample config uses the $SERVER string or variable (I'm grasping here), which is presumable setup in the DHCP setup to point to the PC I'm running the TIme Server on, correct? So I could hard code the IP address, as you did, or pass the variable in the DHCP setup?



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> mkdir /MyVid;
> 
> mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyVid /MyVid/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;
> 
> mkdir /MyPix;
> 
> mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyPix /MyPix/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;
> 
> mkdir /MyMp3;
> 
> mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyMp3 /MyMp3/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;
> 
> 
> echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config;
> 
> 
> mvpmc -f /etc/helvB18.pcf -R "ip=192.168.2.125/192.168.2.130" &
> 
> #########
> 
> 
> Note that the above is very specific to my environment. I live in the east coast. My time server is running on a fixed lan ip of 192.168.2.201. I have exported three directories on that same machine with videos, jpegs and mp3's that I want to play on the mvps, and finally, I have my router dhcp assigning pre-allocated ip addresses to my two replays at 125 and 130 so I don't have to do a 'discover' of them [it's faster not to discover]. Note also that when I edit the above, despite the ;'s, just to make sure it is a proper unix file, I use the freeware editor 'metapad' in 'unix' mode to make sure that the lines end in only LF and not the dos standard CR-LF. Then if I miss a ';', it won't hang while processing.



I will add semi-colons to my config, just in case (I'm already using unix text editor).


What does the "-o" switch do? I've kept that. I don't have my shares password protected. Do I still need the "guest" stuff? What about the "rsize" switch you use that's not in the sample? And also, it seems odd that you have that space between MyVid, MyMP3 and the next back slash....


My Replay's and PC are all static as well, so thanks for the tip about hard coding the IP.


Thanks for all the help. I'm working on the next steps right now.


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> What does the "-o" switch do? I've kept that. I don't have my shares password protected. Do I still need the "guest" stuff? What about the "rsize" switch you use that's not in the sample? And also, it seems odd that you have that space between MyVid, MyMP3 and the next back slash....
> 
> 
> Thanks for all the help. I'm working on the next steps right now.



OK.. I read forward to the part about configuring a CIFS share and that explains it pretty much.


It would seem like I'd still need the CIFS server running even after boot however. Do I not?


----------



## Clay Schneider

The dhcp server doesn't know about the tftp_root directory, nor does it need to know -- it only knows what machine is providing tftp services ["itself" if you put dhcp and tftp on the same machine] and tells the mvp that server location. The mvp contacts the tftp service on that machine and it is the tftp service that knows where its' own tftp_root directory is.


As to using $SERVER, it should work as well, but I prefer to see numbers [and I had been toying with pointing directly at a public server]...


The -o switch says that the following are 'options'. http://samba.org/samba/docs/man/mount.cifs.8.html for the nitty-gritty minded.


You will still need the 'guest' stuff even with password off.


The 'space' is because two things are actually being specified:


mount.cifs {the name of the export on my xp machine} {space} {the name of the directory on which to mount it on the mvp} -o {options}


The mount directory [mount point] had just been created by the mkdir command on the mvp. The two names need not be be the same, but I find it easier to remember what's what if I just use the same name.


Rsize goes along with the registry hack mentioned in the CIFS section of the setup doc -- it allows larger chunks of data to be sent. If you don't do the regsitry hack and use the rsize switch, you will likely have breakup if trying to view high data rate mpeg videos.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> OK.. I read forward to the part about configuring a CIFS share and that explains it pretty much.
> 
> 
> It would seem like I'd still need the CIFS server running even after boot however. Do I not?



All you need on the XP machine is to export the directory -- sharing/security, share the specific folder, and the name you pick to share it by [make it known by on your network] is the name you use with the cifs command.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Ok,
> 
> Why is it necessary to install a time server on the boot host at all? I sync the time of the MediaMVP using the following line in my config file:
> Code:
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> rdate -s 192.43.244.18
> 
> 192.43.244.18 is the IP address of time.nist.gov.
> 
> This seems to allow the MediaMVP to talk to the replays just fine.



If your getting the time from an internet server then you don't need to run

a local time server.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Aha!! OK.. that makes some sense now... and it seems to have gotten me past the DHCP testing. (I haven't finished tweaking my config file, so I 'm getting the following error in the DHCP log: " The server can't read from a daemon socket. The system error is 'Unknown error'" -- but I assume I'll be able to clean this up.) However, the WINXP How to leads one to believe that you can test the DHCP setup without having completed the TFTP setup. This is obviously not the case.



I haven't seen the 'daemon socket' error.

I would guess that TurboDHCP needs to be run from an account with

administrator privleges though.

You should be able to test the DCHP server without the tftp server installed.

Your problem was that the DHCP request/response passed and the tftp request

to get the file failed.

There was something on your windows box responding to the tftp request

from the MVP. Either TurboTFTP or some other application running on the box.


----------



## plyons10

Clay got me up and running. The real and only problem was not having the TFTP setup and my config file finalized before I started testing the DHCP part (these are not to be implemented and tested discretely, unfortunately).


So I am up and viewing my Replay TVs with my sub $40 thin client!


But I still have a couple of questions / observations.


I haven't yet setup the CIFS server. Presumably I would do so if I wanted to view AVIs, listen to MP3s, etc. that are stored on my PC (the typical MediaMVP functionality). But how would I access them from the Replay TV menu on the MediaMVP????


Also.. I definitely notice a big old red shift in my colors... I'm guessing there is nothing to do about that....


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If your getting the time from an internet server then you don't need to run
> 
> a local time server.



This didn't work for me. I wonder if that's true in every case, or if running DVA on the PC could make some sort of difference. I don't remember how DVA handles clock drift again.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Clay got me up and running. The real and only problem was not having the TFTP setup and my config file finalized before I started testing the DHCP part (these are not to be implemented and tested discretely, unfortunately).



You are saying you have to install TFTP and do the config file before the tv screen will read 'Program Loading' when doing the DCHP test in steps earlier, correct?


----------



## elorimer

So, to my very great surprise, as advertised the 20051004 development build will not only coexist on a network with both a 4500 and 5000 replay, but will play from either Replay!


I'm going to check the date on today's newspaper--it must be 1Q '03 already. Awesome job!


----------



## MethodMachine

Just noticed a new forum has been created on sourceforge for users of mvpmc:

http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=103474


----------



## Wrecks




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I haven't yet setup the CIFS server. Presumably I would do so if I wanted to view AVIs, listen to MP3s, etc. that are stored on my PC (the typical MediaMVP functionality). But how would I access them from the Replay TV menu on the MediaMVP????
> 
> 
> Also.. I definitely notice a big old red shift in my colors... I'm guessing there is nothing to do about that....



If you are running any recent version of Windows (Windows 2000 and on) your computer already has a file server installed and running as long as you have set a directory folder to be shared somewhere. You don't need to install one. You do however have to configure a file CLIENT on your MediaMVP player if you want to view the files you've shared on your Windows computer.


It isn't so much a red shift as it is an intensity shift. Turn the color output of that TV down.


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Wrecks* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If you are running any recent version of Windows (Windows 2000 and on) your computer already has a file server installed and running as long as you have set a directory folder to be shared somewhere. You don't need to install one. You do however have to configure a file CLIENT on your MediaMVP player if you want to view the files you've shared on your Windows computer.
> 
> 
> It isn't so much a red shift as it is an intensity shift. Turn the color output of that TV down.



Thanks, Rex (I can call you Rex, can't I ?).


I realized later than in fact, I already had a file server installed (another point of interest for anyone re-writing the XP How To).


I will lower the intensity and see if that helps.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Just noticed a new forum has been created on sourceforge for users of mvpmc:
> 
> http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=103474



Thanks for the heads-up. There was already some mvpmc mailing lists, but I suppose it might be a good thing to have a place to specifically discuss the ReplayTV module.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *elorimer* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> So, to my very great surprise, as advertised the 20051004 development build will not only coexist on a network with both a 4500 and 5000 replay, but will play from either Replay!



New relative jump is great to have. Thanks, John!

*One note:* The 20051004 build lost support for the new remote control. (Went back to 0.1.8 to test, and both remotes work aok.)


.


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> You are saying you have to install TFTP and do the config file before the tv screen will read 'Program Loading' when doing the DCHP test in steps earlier, correct?



Exactly, Cow.


I hope I can contribute more to the re-writing of the XP How To, since I feel I have some good contributions to make at this point.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> New relative jump is great to have. Thanks, John!
> 
> *One note:* The 20051004 build lost support for the new remote control. (Went back to 0.1.8 to test, and both remotes work aok.)
> 
> .



Dohhhh.

It has to do with how I built the development load.

I'll fix it and release release a new load tomorrow.

John...


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I haven't yet setup the CIFS server. Presumably I would do so if I wanted to view AVIs, listen to MP3s, etc. that are stored on my PC (the typical MediaMVP functionality). But how would I access them from the Replay TV menu on the MediaMVP????



You wouldn't use the "ReplayTV" submenu. You'd head over to the "Filesystem" submenu -- off the Main Menu, and browse to whatever you wanted to play.


Here's some screenshots to help get you acquainted w/ the interface...

me: http://home.comcast.net/~krkweb/mvpmc/rtv_theme.htm 

jh: http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html#s2 
Given this example from earlier....

Code:


Code:


mkdir /MyVid;
mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyVid /MyVid/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;
mkdir /MyPix;
mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyPix /MyPix/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;
mkdir /MyMp3;
mount.cifs //192.168.2.201/MyMp3 /MyMp3/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;

The Filesystem screen would initially list...

../

MyMp3/

MyPix/

MyVid/

bin/

dev/

etc/

lib/
... through which you would graze for something to play.


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> You wouldn't use the "ReplayTV" submenu. You'd head over to the "Filesystem" submenu -- off the Main Menu, and browse to whatever you wanted to play.



That's obvious now to me (once I got the interface up and running).


But I still clearly have something setup wrong.


Here is my config for mounting the share:

Code:


Code:


mkdir /wxp_video;
mount.cifs //192.168.1.102/DellDocs /wxp_Video/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;

.... and I've attached a screen capture of the simple config of my share.


I use the same computer and share name ("DellDocs") for my Audiotron to access my music (embedded WinCE OS), so I know I've got something done right.


I have the Windows firewall disabled (it must be disabled for the DHCP and TFTP -- I haven't really worried about setting up some exceptions yet), so that's not the problem.


In an unrelated development, my MediaMVP hasn't recognized my DVArchive ever since that first time I got it up and running. I've rebooted my entire PC since then and restarted the MediaMVP and it still sees the DVARchive, but says it's "unavailable". When it says that, it also means I won't be able to see the MediaMVP from my DVA, which I could when it worked. This may be a flaky DVA thing.


----------



## Clay Schneider

Peter -- I note that while your mkdir command creates 'wxp_video', your mount.cifs command attempts to mount the share on 'wxp_Video'. This won't work because linux is case sensitive.


I also note you are using the rsize parameter -- I assume you added the registry key for this to work properly?


As to DVA, I'm not sure mvp can find a dva unless you do a 'discover'. I actually use the ip method instead of 'discover' just so my dva does not get accessed by mvpmc [I don't like the errors it creates for dva when dva tries to access data that doesn't exist on the mvp]. So the two ip addresses in my sample file are just for my two replays -- not for my pc running dva. [You may be able to specify a dva by ip -- I just haven't tried it.]


----------



## plyons10

Thanks Clay.


I think I was using the "discover" mode at first (to ease debugging) and that's why it used to work. I've gone back to "discover" and now I can see DVA normally again!


Sloppy work on my part RE: the caps. I changed it however, and am still unsuccessful in mounting a share.


Here's what it looks like now:

Code:


Code:


mkdir /wxp_video;
mount.cifs //192.168.1.102/DellDocs /wxp_video/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;

Yes... I've made the registry changes indicated (34000 is a decimal value, right??).


----------



## Clay Schneider

Peter - I think the registry value was supposed to be 33000 decimal, not 34000, though I don't know if it matters. As to the mount, sure looks like it should work. The only thing I can't tell for sure -- looking at your screen capture, I can't tell if the actual export name is 'DelDocs' or 'DellDocs' -- sure looks like 'DelDocs', in which case, the mount command wouldn't work as shown. Another minor point, I have the exports to mvp not marked as 'allow network users to change my files', though again, I don't think it should matter.


Have you tried logging into the mvp and executing the mkdir and mount commands manually? That might make it easier to debug.


----------



## plyons10

I will have to try manually mounting the shares.


I agree that the WINXP How To said 33000, but I changed it to 34000 to be consistent with the r variable, but it didn't make a difference, and shouldn't from what I can tell.


The export name is DellDocs; I noticed the JPG was unclear, but couldn't post anything of higher resolution.


I''m worried that my problem is that I'm using WIN XP Home Edition, not Pro. I know that under Home Edition the file sharing is somewhat more limited.


Anyone else here mount a CIFS share from a WinXP Home box??????


----------



## Clay Schneider

Peter -- actually, I am using xp home, and it works fine from there.


----------



## miscrms

Thanks, Ice, Method and the mclient crew!


I still have lots of reading/experimenting to do, but I have mclient and slimserver up and running on Mac OS X.


One catch I ran into was the need for Lame. Generally I think this is not needed, as slimserver now has a built in AAC/m4a decoder, but I think this does not stream in mp3? The built in worked fine for me streaming to the squeezebox java client, but produced errors streaming to the mvp. The logs were showing "lame not found, darn it!" errors. Downloading, building and installing lame immediately cleared up the problem. This may also be an issue for Windows iTunes users streaming to MVP.


Here is my basic install for Mac OS X:


1. Download, install latest Slim Server (SlimServer_v6.1.1.dmg)
http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/SlimServer_v6.1.1/ 


2. Download latest mvpmc build (I was already using for RTV4k support):
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/develop...mvpmc-20051004 


3. Add "-c 192.168.x.x" (slimserver ip address) to .config file mvpmc command.


4. Start Slim Server from System Preferences->other->Slim Server and open web interface.


5. Give Slim Server a few minutes to find and catalog your iTunes library. Once the library comes up in the left pane, you should be able to launch the squeezebox soft client in the right pane and send songs to it which should play on the computer.


6. Boot mvp with the -c option, select the Music Client option from the menu.


7. Send files to mvp in slim server in right pane. MP3 files should play, AAC/m4a files should fail, (play stops in slim server, error message on mvp).


8. Download, compile, and install lame (partially borrowed from http://www.mythtv.info/moin.cgi/MythOnMacOsx )

8a. In terminal, cd into the directory you want to download to and download with command "curl http://unc.dl.sourceforge.net/source...-3.96.1.tar.gz | tar -xz"

8b. change into lame directory "cd lame-3.96.1"

8c. type "./configure"

8d. type "make"

8e. type "sudo make install"


9. Slim Server seemed to automatically "see" lame and start using it. You might have to activate "AAC MP3 LAME" under file types, and/or stop and start the Slim Server but I think mine just started working.


10. You should now be able to stream AAC/m4a files to the mediaMVP via Slim Server!


Sorry for any inaccuracies, this is all just off the top of my head. I'll add this info to my bare bones Mac OS X mvpmc How To.


Now to see if I can use Apple's free Quicktime Broadcaster to created my own "live radio" stream from my Sony CD Jukeboxes










Rob


----------



## honeycut

New development release.

1. Hopefully this will fix the problem of new style remotes not working.

2. Runs the mvpmc replaytv discovery server in the background.

i.e.: no more DVArchive error logs.

3. New discovery options documented on the mvpmc replaytv webpage.


The build is at:
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/idx.php?pg=downloads 


# Name: dongle.bin.mvpmc-20051009

# Bytes: 2098720

# Date: October 09 2005 14:51:04 PDT


----------



## miscrms

updated
http://members.cox.net/asmith29/MVP_Mac_Howto.html 


with mclient info


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Peter -- actually, I am using xp home, and it works fine from there.



I was afraid you were going to say that!


I tried manually mounting the share via Telnet.


The commands (mk dir.. etc) executed normally with no error message, but the share did not appear after I started the app.


Am I supposed to run ethereal again now, or is there an error log I can view?


----------



## Clay Schneider

Peter, after running 'mkdir' and 'mount.cfs', could you do an 'ls' on the mvp of the directory and see the files on your xp machine?


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Peter, after running 'mkdir' and 'mount.cfs', could you do an 'ls' on the mvp of the directory and see the files on your xp machine?



Well, I just ^C'd out of the MVPMC program on the telnet window and YES! I could type LS and see the directory I created. And I managed to put my ancient (20 yr. old) dos skills to work to get a listing of the files in the share -- it's definitely mounted correctly as far as what I see via Telnet. If I try, however, to navigate to a subdirectory (cd /WinShare/My Music) then the telnet app just crashes.


What now????


(PS: Does this mean I can tell my friends at work that I've "hacked around" with Linux?)


----------



## Clay Schneider

Peter -


But could you see the contents of that directory -- in your setup, that should be 'ls wxp_video'. [The directory will exist because you just created it -- but to see if the mount command worked, you have to be able to see the contents.]


Navigation is by 'cd' as in 'cd directory_name' [just like dos] and to go back up, 'cd ..'


If you can see it AND its' contents when logged in to the mvp, then mvpmc should be able to see it too.


If you can see it when logged into the mvp, the directory surely should be listed under the 'Filesystem' menu choice when running mvpmc. If not, I'm sorry, but there's not anything more I can offer.


Just to make sure to eliminate the obivous, when running mvpmc on your TV, you are looking for the directory name -- again, in your setup, wxp_video -- under the 'Filesystem' menu selection in mvpmc -- the next menu choice under 'ReplayTV' -- and you're not looking for it listed like it was another replay tv, yes?


----------



## melduforx




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If I try, however, to navigate to a subdirectory (cd /WinShare/My Music) then the telnet app just crashes.
> 
> 
> What now????



The BusyBox linux distro (which is what's running on these MVPs) seems to dump you out of the environment when you type an invalid command (i.e. you screw up and it screws you over). This probably means that you're not actually switching directories correctly.


Try switching directories one level at a time, and don't put a slash "/" in front ("cd /blah/blahblah/" isn't right except in a few circumstances). When you put a slash in front, it means that you want to start from the root directory.


That was just a longwinded way of saying, do an "ls", then change dirs one at a time, "cd blah".


This will keep you from getting dumped out of the session.


Good luck.


--Joe


----------



## miscrms

plyons,


Yup, you're a Linux guy now.










If you haven't already, I would explicitly carry out the following steps.


1. comment out the mkdir, mount and mvpmc commands in your dongle config file (add a # at the start of the lines)


2. reboot your mvp, after "loading application" screen should go black


3. telnet into the mvp, login as root


4. make your share mount point directory "mkdir /wxp_video"


5. mount your windows export "mount.cifs //192.168.1.102/DellDocs /wxp_video/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000"


Unfortunately if this fails it often won't say anything.


6. change into share directory "cd /wxp_video"


7. list all with details "ls -al"


If you see nothing here except maybe "." (current directory) and ".." (one directory up) then the mount did not work.


If it does list your shared files/folders, what are the permissions? The permissions labels read drwxrwxrwx. The d indicates directory, r read, w write, and x execute. The first rwx set is for the owner, the second for the group, and the third for everybody including guests.


It sounds to me like you may have a permissions problem. You might try opening up the permissions on your share to let anyone have access and do away with the password option. Or, conversely try letting the mvp log in explicitly as a real username and password w/ access to the shared directory instead of guest. Somewhere there should be logs that will note if someone tried to log in unsuccessfully. I'm not sure where these are in Windows though.


Some quick *nix stuff (you probably already figured out):


"ls" list all files and directories in the current directory.


"ls -al" detailed list view of all files and directories in current directory, shows permissions, owner, dates etc. Add a file name to show info just on that file.


"pwd" list name of current directory (pwease list diwectowy)


"cd blah" (to quote joe) change to directory blah within current directory


"cd /blah" change to directory blah within the root "/" directory


"mkdir blah" makes a new directory called blah in the current directory


Good Luck,

Rob


----------



## icecow

'Last Chance' warning


I want to stress that your local ratshack likely has 0-3 mediamvps in stock _per a district_.


If getting one is in the back of your mind, you should buckle down and make a choice and make a few phone calls.


No _huge_ deal, but timing _is_ everything.



Here's a cut and paste I just wrote in a different thread, but thought it better served here.


Here's some ratshack ninja secrets that will help you find one:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...50#post6205250 


Don't underestimate the power of finding other districts. ratshack has been proving itself to have a lot of bomb clearence stuff. Don't balk at having things shipped between stores. They'll ship between any two stores in a district if you pay for it in advance. I'm told approval is needed to ship between districts (it's a slightly political issue because (i guess) one of the two stores doesn't make its profit). I haven't bothered trying that. If you find one in a different district you can always arrange for it to be sent to the store nearest you (in that district).



Act fast! Christmas is comming around and the rest of us will be all cozy-ed up with our replayTVs and MediaMVPs, drinking hot chocolate, decaf with shots of whisky, streaming shows from our 5k's/4k's, and using the powerful slimserver software http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/SlimServer_v6.1.1/ 

to search our mp3 collections.


----------



## plyons10

THanks for all of your help, everyone...



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Peter -
> 
> 
> But could you see the contents of that directory -- in your setup, that should be 'ls wxp_video'. [The directory will exist because you just created it -- but to see if the mount command worked, you have to be able to see the contents.]
> 
> 
> If you can see it AND its' contents when logged in to the mvp, then mvpmc should be able to see it too.
> 
> 
> If you can see it when logged into the mvp, the directory surely should be listed under the 'Filesystem' menu choice when running mvpmc. If not, I'm sorry, but there's not anything more I can offer.
> 
> 
> Just to make sure to eliminate the obivous, when running mvpmc on your TV, you are looking for the directory name -- again, in your setup, wxp_video -- under the 'Filesystem' menu selection in mvpmc -- the next menu choice under 'ReplayTV' -- and you're not looking for it listed like it was another replay tv, yes?



No suggestion is too dumb for me, but, no... I am looking in the right place by all accounts. It seems really odd, but it just doesn't show up under the "Filesystem" menu.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *miscrms* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> ...
> 
> 
> 7. list all with details "ls -al"
> 
> 
> If you see nothing here except maybe "." (current directory) and ".." (one directory up) then the mount did not work.
> 
> 
> If it does list your shared files/folders, what are the permissions? The permissions labels read drwxrwxrwx. The d indicates directory, r read, w write, and x execute. The first rwx set is for the owner, the second for the group, and the third for everybody including guests.
> 
> 
> It sounds to me like you may have a permissions problem. You might try opening up the permissions on your share to let anyone have access and do away with the password option. Or, conversely try letting the mvp log in explicitly as a real username and password w/ access to the shared directory instead of guest. Somewhere there should be logs that will note if someone tried to log in unsuccessfully. I'm not sure where these are in Windows though.



Here's a partial list of what I see when I ls -al from my mounted share:

Code:


Code:


drwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            0 Sep  8 10:08 My Music
drwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            0 Mar 25  2005 My Videos
-rwxrwSrwt    1 root     root         7292 Oct 25  2004 My MusicBackup.m3u

So I can see a distinct set of permissions for the sub folders vs. some random playlist file I have stored in the root of my mounted share directory.


With XPHome I have no idea where this stuff might be logged unfortunately. And the directory I'm mounting is setup for full access to all users. I'm even able to successfully create a new subdirectory within my share ('mkdir test'), that I can immediately see on my Windows machine. And I've had some luck now by simply mounting a new CIFS share and browsed it from the MediaMVP. I've even played and mp3 or two!!! Yeah!


It really sounds like I have some sort of syntax problem in what I was doing the first time. I can't understand how I'm able to see everything in the "test" directory I've created, but not the "winshare" directory I was creating before...


Hmm...


----------



## plyons10

Holy sh1t. I just realized why I couldn't see my Winshare directory all along... (but could see the "test" directory I set up).


Anyone want to guess what the problem was? Here's a hint, "T" comes before "W" in the alphabet. That's right... I didn't think to page down in the directory listing.


Wow... I feel really bad for wasting people's time on this last piece of my puzzle. I have learned some stuff, however, so it's not all bad. (Clay... and to think you felt sheepish about asking me if I was looking in the right place!).


This really just prooves what I've always said... There are no stupid questions (from you guys), only stupid people (ME!!!).


Thanks again for everyone's patience. I will begin replenishing my karma bank with good deeds to others first thing tomorrow!


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> New development release.
> 
> 1. Hopefully this will fix the problem of new style remotes not working.
> 
> 2. Runs the mvpmc replaytv discovery server in the background.
> 
> i.e.: no more DVArchive error logs.
> 
> 3. New discovery options documented on the mvpmc replaytv webpage.



Can vouch for #s 1 & 2. New remote works again, and no "ERROR" messages are showing up in DVA anymore.


Note that there *are* messages, but not errors; for example...

Code:


Code:


10/10 00:42:43 Notice: UPNP:: Received UPnP packet from previously unknown DVR @ 192.168.0.228 -- looking up DVR info
10/10 00:42:43 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive has recognized new DVR ReplayTV named mediamvp1 at 192.168.0.228:80 (Serial RTV5040J3TR0209999)
10/10 00:45:04 Notice: UPNP:: DVR at 192.168.0.228 has announced it's going offline - removing it from DVArchive

edit: GREAT work, John; thanks!


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 'Last Chance' warning
> 
> 
> I want to stress that your local ratshack likely has 0-3 mediamvps in stock _per a district_.
> 
> .



Ice, I followed your advice Saturday. Picked up yet another for $40.00.


"mclient" is wonderful and I'll soon break out the soldering iron and add a serial port for the Text Display on my oldest MPV and employ it's use for mostly music with a set of powered speakers.


I'm now finding that my two 5040's are trembling a bit as I consider buying some video tuners for my media server. These MVP's have me spoiled. Who knows what I'll end up doing but I may consider "experimenting" soon.

MVPMC and live television via myth... Hmm.. interesting.


Marc


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> New development release.



Thanks much John! While I can't speak for the new remote, the improvement in dvarchive handling is much appreciated! [as well as the relative skip!]


----------



## miscrms

congrats peter, glad you got it working!


Believe me, we've all been there










Rob


----------



## miscrms

Its definately getting pretty late to find one of these but there are some still out there. I don't know what the policies are here about linking FW, but if you go to ************** and type mediamvp in the top right search the first result should be a very long thread related to mediamvp's at Radio Shack.


Included there is the following link for searching inventory:
http://education.radioshack.com/RSCo...SkuId=250-3215 

Just enter your zip code. It seemed to me that the search radius is very small, so you might try a bunch of zip codes if you are not having any luck. Seemed like I had to change zip codes to hit stores that were only 3-5 miles away.


It looks like the next RS clearance price reduction happened 10/6, anyone know if the MediaMVPs are still $39.99.....


Good Luck!


Rob


----------



## tselling

I have 4 networked replaytvs (3 5508 and one 5040). The mediamvp connects and streams from 3 of them. But when I connect to the one in the living room, it just reboots. This is one of the 5508's that it happens to. There is nothing special about that replaytv and the replaytv's and dvarchive can stream from it just fine. Has anyone seen this before? All are currently wired (one will be wireless but have it wired for troubleshooting).


Also, I was wondering if there is a universal remote that works with the mediamvp?


----------



## elorimer




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tselling* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> Also, I was wondering if there is a universal remote that works with the mediamvp?



I've used this file for my JP1 remotes: RM file 


I haven't revised it to conform to mvpmc, which I think uses some of the buttons differently.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *miscrms* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Its definately getting pretty late to find one of these but there are some still out there. I don't know what the policies are here about linking FW, but if you go to ************** and type mediamvp in the top right search the first result should be a very long thread related to mediamvp's at Radio Shack.
> 
> 
> Included there is the following link for searching inventory:
> http://education.radioshack.com/RSCo...SkuId=250-3215
> 
> Just enter your zip code. It seemed to me that the search radius is very small, so you might try a bunch of zip codes if you are not having any luck. Seemed like I had to change zip codes to hit stores that were only 3-5 miles away.
> 
> 
> It looks like the next RS clearance price reduction happened 10/6, anyone know if the MediaMVPs are still $39.99.....
> 
> 
> Good Luck!
> 
> 
> Rob




You don't want to use that thing! Calling them and asking them to check their computers to see if they have any in the district is so much better. That thing has too small of a radius.


And again and again.. you want to find all the districts around you. There's a second district within 4 miles of me. 'My' district knows nothing about their inventory.



On a different note, I got that thing to work. After I searched for what I already knew was there and entering the exact zipcode I already knew it showed up. I still don't trust it though. Regardless it's no substitute for calling.



In fact, the limited use of that thing is probably a causation of why there are still a few floating around.


----------



## MethodMachine




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Marcus* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> "mclient" is wonderful and I'll soon break out the soldering iron and add a serial port for the Text Display on my oldest MPV and employ it's use for mostly music with a set of powered speakers



Whoa there, parder! How did I miss this tidbit?! Please share any and all knowledge you have regarding this serial port mod.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Please share any and all knowledge you have regarding this serial port mod.



From the "Hardware How-To" on the main mvpmc Sourceforge page ...
4. Is there really a serial port on this box? 

5. Adding a serial port


----------



## MethodMachine

Oh man, now I have another project on my hands.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tselling* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I have 4 networked replaytvs (3 5508 and one 5040). The mediamvp connects and streams from 3 of them. But when I connect to the one in the living room, it just reboots. This is one of the 5508's that it happens to. There is nothing special about that replaytv and the replaytv's and dvarchive can stream from it just fine. Has anyone seen this before? All are currently wired (one will be wireless but have it wired for troubleshooting).
> 
> Also, I was wondering if there is a universal remote that works with the mediamvp?



There is a good chance you have one of those 'less than a minute' messed up recordings on you living room replay.

I've had a complaint about this but haven't been able to figure it out.

The user deleted the show before I asked him to collect data.


Can you please collect some traces for me as follows:

1. Change you config script to not start the mvpmc app.

2. telnet to the mvp and start it from the telnet session with the following options:

mvpmc -R "ip=discover debug=04"

3. From the mvpmc GUI navigate to the ReplayTV and cause the restart condition.


Please capture the trace messages from the telnet session and send them to me

at me email address listed on the mvpmc ReplayTV webpage.

Also, if you see a messed up show can you not delete it until I have a chance

to look at the traces a make sure I have enough data to figure it out?

Thanks,

John...


----------



## tselling

Oops, sorry I fixed before I had a chance to check the forum. Turns out there was more than one replay channel with the same name "The West Wing" was there twice (one was set to record a specific night... the other for any nite at a certain time). When I deleted one of the channels, I was able to access that replaytv.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> There is a good chance you have one of those 'less than a minute' messed up recordings on you living room replay.
> 
> I've had a complaint about this but haven't been able to figure it out.
> 
> The user deleted the show before I asked him to collect data.
> 
> 
> Can you please collect some traces for me as follows:
> 
> 1. Change you config script to not start the mvpmc app.
> 
> 2. telnet to the mvp and start it from the telnet session with the following options:
> 
> mvpmc -R "ip=discover debug=04"
> 
> 3. From the mvpmc GUI navigate to the ReplayTV and cause the restart condition.
> 
> 
> Please capture the trace messages from the telnet session and send them to me
> 
> at me email address listed on the mvpmc ReplayTV webpage.
> 
> Also, if you see a messed up show can you not delete it until I have a chance
> 
> to look at the traces a make sure I have enough data to figure it out?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> John...


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tselling* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Oops, sorry I fixed before I had a chance to check the forum. Turns out there was more than one replay channel with the same name "The West Wing" was there twice (one was set to record a specific night... the other for any nite at a certain time). When I deleted one of the channels, I was able to access that replaytv.



This issue only arises for me when there is an interrupted replay recording usually, like Honeycut says, less than one minute on one of the recordings. Deleting the offending recording or replay channel fixes this up. It's rare and has only happened three times during the months upon months of use.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Whoa there, parder! How did I miss this tidbit?! Please share any and all knowledge you have regarding this serial port mod.


 http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/mvpmc_h..._howto.html#s5 


There's the link to the photo which details where and what to solder.


Reading up more on it, I think it would be better for me NOT to attempt this addition.


I don't think I can solder that small!!!!


----------



## st5000




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Whoa there, parder! How did I miss this tidbit?! Please share any and all knowledge you have regarding this serial port mod.



Hi guys...


Sorry for jumping in, but I can 't resist egging on anyone interested in adding hardware to a mediamvp.


This part of the mvpmc project is "rough" and would benefit from a larger user base.


First off, the serial port mod involves a surface mounted IC & capacitors. I used a $200+ soldering iron and a heads up viewer to do mine. In the end the HW guy couldn't take it anymore and pushed me out of the way .


Seriously, just take your time doing this stuff. The parts are small, but, if you are good, you should be able to do this with even inexpensive equipment.


BTB, as he is known in this forum, figured out the how to add the serial port.


What you get: The serial port is used by the OS as the console. You get to see all kinds of stuff during boot up. Once the mvpmc application is running, the port is used to push out what mvpmc is doing.


The code is setup to render "something intelligent" for either an 16x1 or 40x2 IEE ( http://www.ieeinc.com/ ) display. Why? Because this place ( http://www.bgmicro.com ) sells this 16x1 VFD ( http://www.bgmicro.com/prodinfo.asp?...ri=vfd&stype=3 ) for cheap. And it comes with a mounted (home made) Atmel processor board to convert the serial port data to parallel for the VFD.


Now for the rough part. What gets displayed is still in flux. Things show up and big things scroll by - but remember, the rest of the mvpmc developers are working with the entire On Screen Display. So what gets displayed is still being tweaked. Then there is the practical side. 1) The VFDs are larger then the mediamvp case. -and- 2) The VFDs, bright as they are, take much more power then the mediamvp.


For #1, you need a new case. If you guys find one, let me know - I'm still looking.


For #2, you need a new power supply and some sort of power management. Maybe a microATX power supply? And for power management, I am thinking of re-programming the Atmel to power down the VFD. If the mediamvp could run off of the microATX uninterrupted power supply, the Atmel could power up and down the microATX with a control pin. This in turn could power the VFD. The Atmel would be told to control the microATX power supply using reserved character sequences - much like those used to clear the VFD's display. Besides, the Atmel needs reprogramming as it over writes the VFD (writes too fast) and drops characters (not to worry, the mvpmc application has build in delays to work around this).


...later


----------



## MethodMachine




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *st5000* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Sorry for jumping in, but I can 't resist egging on anyone interested in adding hardware to a mediamvp. This part of the mvpmc project is "rough" and would benefit from a larger user base.



Man, you mvp media center guys are just plain evil (but in a good way). Is there no end to the tweaking and fiddling and soldering and code mods and such?!


Don't I get enough of this stuff at work?


What the hell is wrong with me (and you guys), anyway?










In other news, I recently helped a friend mod his XBox so that he could run XBox Media Center. His near vision is failing and since he is a straight-up software guy, he didn't feel confident in soldering in the mod chip he purchased (SmartXX).


He just got the XBMC package installed on it last night and has been playing around with it. He saw my setup with mvpmc and says that in his opinion, the mvpmc is a much more affordable way to go if you are looking for a Replay thin client and music client.


XBMC does have some nice eye candy, though.


----------



## st5000




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Man, you mvp media center guys are just plain evil (but in a good way). Is there no end to the tweaking and fiddling and soldering and code mods and such?!.



We are probably at the hardware limit. Word is that the obvious PCMCIA target on the MediaMVP PC does not work well - so no point in getting it working. And I haven't heard much regarding memory expansion. No need for it so far.


Didn't mean to scare you away. Let me know if you do add a local display. Most displays have unique codes for clearing and other things. If you post the specifications we might be able to incorporate them into the display driver.


----------



## miscrms

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen this thread drop off the front page










Are we out ideas? How about MAME on MVP, or VNC










One of the serious limitations is of course lack of inputs. It would be pretty tough to play Super Mario Brothers with the IR remote










Seriously though, a hardware mod that solved this issue could really open up the possibilities. Maybe the pcmcia port isn't good enough for wireless video streaming, but what about a usb to pcmcia adapter? Then add keyboard, mouse or game controller driver? Otherwise, maybe something through the serial port or hard wired to the IR detector to at least improve connection reliability?


Rob


----------



## icecow

This reminds me of the 2001 playstation 3 sneak preview!
http://www.misinformer.com/archive/2001/01/15/ 



Well even before the serial mod was mentioned I stared at the mod on adding a toslink (bragging rights-shwing!). It's a simple mod. Three things that stump me:

1>I'm not sure if I can do the straighforward but tiny soldier job on the white wire, the one that goes directly to the center of the board.

2>I don't know where to get a toslink connector and might be too cheap to buy one if I find out

3>


Also, I've been wondering thsi for years and still haven't stumpled upon the answer (kinda dumb):


can a SPDIF connection be hooked up to the coax digital in on my receiver? I was going to mod my archos (fm model has spdif if you hack up a homebrew cable to utilize it) a few years ago, but never quite got a handle on it.


P.S. I don't think sliding off the front page is much threat to this thread. Traffic will go up and down long time


----------



## Marcus

After watching "My Name is Earl" streamed from one of my ReplayTV's to the MVPMC STB, I started playing with the "mclient" to get used to it's way of working and discovered that the slimp server under "PLUGINS" featured a POD cast browser. With over 50 to choose from!


WELL WELL! what fun!!


MVPMC has turned my 2 5040's, DVArchive, and 3 MVP units into a fantastic multi-media system that gives me wide grins for hours on end. I've stopped playing video games because of the fun I'm having with these gadgets. TV has never been this good.


Marc


----------



## Jamy




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> This reminds me of the 2001 playstation 3 sneak preview!
> http://www.misinformer.com/archive/2001/01/15/
> 
> 
> 
> Well even before the serial mod was mentioned I stared at the mod on adding a toslink (bragging rights-shwing!). It's a simple mod. Three things that stump me:
> 
> 1>I'm not sure if I can do the straighforward but tiny soldier job on the white wire, the one that goes directly to the center of the board.
> 
> 2>I don't know where to get a toslink connector and might be too cheap to buy one if I find out
> 
> 3>
> 
> 
> Also, I've been wondering thsi for years and still haven't stumpled upon the answer (kinda dumb):
> 
> 
> can a SPDIF connection be hooked up to the coax digital in on my receiver? I was going to mod my archos (fm model has spdif if you hack up a homebrew cable to utilize it) a few years ago, but never quite got a handle on it.
> 
> 
> P.S. I don't think sliding off the front page is much threat to this thread. Traffic will go up and down long time




You nee a TOSLink to Coax adapter. partsexpress.com sells them for $20 or so.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=180-961 


Part number 180-961 if the link doesn't work.


----------



## dkd

Hi John,

Is there any chance that mvpmc be integrated with gbpvr as a plugin? It would be nice to be able to switch over to watch replaytv shows while using gbpvr. Since gbpvr is windows based I guess your answer might be No up front! But I just love the idea of driving all the wonderful tools gbpvr+DVarchive and would also be nice with the 5xxxx from a single MediaMVP unit. it's just good feeling now to be a couch potato in any room in the house without fighting over control of the tv with my kids. !!


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dkd* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Is there any chance that mvpmc be integrated with gbpvr as a plugin?



Since I don't use gbpvr it's not much use to me.

However, the mvpmc replaytv library is decoupled from the mvpmc

application (and it's opensource) so it shouldn't be too difficult for someone familiar with gbpvr to get it working.

Maybe try posting to the gbpvr forums and see if someone is willing to give it a shot.

John...


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Maybe try posting to the gbpvr forums and see if someone is willing to give it a shot.



Especially this forum... MVP (GB-PVR on the MediaMVP) 


.


----------



## dkd

Hi John,

I need your help...

Something strange has caused my mvpmc to reboot (or reload) each time it tries to to display the listing of the replaytv shows on my 5508. It discovers the 5508 okay, and shows that this "Living Room" unit has 298.5GB and 43% used... But when I select the device to proceed to see the listing, then mvpmc reloads itself.

It been acting up like this since Friday.

I was running v0.1.8 since the begining of Oct. Switched back to v0.1.7 today, but seeing same problem.

- I manually started mvmpmc with debug=58 and set ulite to -c 2000 to capture the cores. I sent the debug logs and core files to your sourceforge.net id seperately.


It has no problem listing and playing mpg files from a CIFS directory. And no problems with DVarchive.

I have a lot of shows stored on 5508, but not long enough to cause the crash I hope. I was looking for rtv_shell binaries to debug. Which "build server" should I be downloading from?

THanks.


----------



## icecow

dkd,

I'm curious to what quality your shows were recorded at (standard, medium, high)


(not mvpmc pro, just asking)


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dkd* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Something strange has caused my mvpmc to reboot (or reload) each time it tries to to display the listing of the replaytv shows on my 5508.



dkd, check this post. the symptoms sound similar to yours.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post6334368 


(and it was posted by John, so it's still him helping you!)


----------



## dkd

DVarchive shows that 5508 has 229 shows total. Only 3 are listed in medium quality. The rest is in low quality.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tselling* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> ... when I connect to the one in the living room, it just reboots.





> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> There is a good chance you have one of those 'less than a minute' messed up recordings on your living room replay. I've had a complaint about this but haven't been able to figure it out. The user deleted the show before I asked him to collect data.
> 
> 
> Can you please collect some traces for me as follows:
> 
> 1. Change your config script to not start the mvpmc app.
> 
> 2. telnet to the mvp and start it from the telnet session with the following options:
> 
> mvpmc -R "ip=discover debug=04"
> 
> 3. From the mvpmc GUI navigate to the ReplayTV and cause the restart condition.
> 
> 
> Please capture the trace messages from the telnet session and send them to me
> 
> at my email address listed on the mvpmc ReplayTV webpage.
> 
> 
> Also, if you see a messed up show can you not delete it until I have a chance
> 
> to look at the traces and make sure I have enough data to figure it out?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> John...



Anybody know how to cause the creation of one of these 'less than 1-minute' recordings, so we can provide John w/ the data he needs to identify and resolve the issue?


.


----------



## dkd

Holy smoke! You are correct, krkaufman. I have two "0" minute shows listed by DVarchive. I'm going to wait for John's response before deleting these 2.

Thanks for the quick response.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dkd* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Holy smoke! You are correct, krkaufman. I have two "0" minute shows listed by DVarchive. I'm going to wait for John's response before deleting these 2.



If possible, dkd, can you get the trace statistics John is looking for -- based on his instructions, above? Post back if you have questions.


Separately, I'd be interested to see what happens in DVArchive if you try downloading those 2 shows to DVA.


----------



## krkaufman

Curious... Has anyone integrated the mvpmc support tasks (bootp, dongle tftp) into a Sveasoft Talisman router?


----------



## madSkeelz




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Curious... Has anyone integrated the mvpmc support tasks (bootp, dongle tftp) into a Sveasoft Talisman router?



Now *there's* an idea! I just started playing with Sveasoft last night, and haven't gotten to MVPMC, but that's a darn elegant solution.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dkd* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Something strange has caused my mvpmc to reboot (or reload) each time it tries to to display the listing of the replaytv shows on my 5508.



Give the following development build a shot.

I managed to reproduce the zero length show problem and put in a fix.

If this doesn't resolve you issue it would be great to take a look at the traces & core.

John...
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/idx.php?pg=downloads 

* Name: dongle.bin.mvpmc-20051016

* Bytes: 2102816

* Date: October 16 2005 07:51:14 PDT


----------



## dkd

I did collect the trace and core files in my orignal post. But my email to you bounced last night. I sent them to the ID you posted at the 2nd line of this webpage:
http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/replaytv/replaytv.html . So, I'm uploading them here.


I'll check out the new build today.. Thanks.

 

mvpmc.zip 337.2373046875k . file


----------



## j.m.




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *madSkeelz* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Now *there's* an idea! I just started playing with Sveasoft last night, and haven't gotten to MVPMC, but that's a darn elegant solution.



There are a few problems with it.


1) Sveasoft. Don't use it. Try dd-wrt ( www.dd-wrt.com ). Better firmware, better support, free, GPL compliant.


2) The MVPMC dongle.bin file would have to be stored on the WRT54G/GS itself. There is not a lot of free space there, especially on WRT54G's (as opposed to GS's). I can't even recall which versions of the Sveasoft firmware (if any) support a permanently writeable JFFS partition on which you could store the thing. dd-wrt does. Still, I can't recall how much free space is available there, but I think it might be too large for G's.


Other than that, I think there is already a tftpd in dd-wrt. I'm not sure whether DNSMasq supports bootp also; but if so, you should be in business. dd-wrt also allows you to use a Samba mount (on your PC) for storage...


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dkd* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I did collect the trace and core files in my orignal post. But my email to you bounced last night. I sent them to the ID you posted at the 2nd line of this webpage:



Sorry about that. The sourceforge address is just a relay to my home account.

They have a very small attachment limit.

If anyone emails me there I will respond from my home account where attachments

can be sent to.

John...


----------



## Clay Schneider




j.m. said:


> There are a few problems with it.
> 
> 
> 1) Sveasoft. Don't use it. Try dd-wrt ( www.dd-wrt.com ). Better firmware, better support, free, GPL compliant.
> 
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> 
> It wasn't clear to me that dd-wrt supported blocking dhcp requests based on nic addresses [allowing me to block requests from my mvp's while the router does all the rest of the dhcp for my lan] -- does it allow that? Blocking dhcp requests from my mvp's was pretty much the only reason I went with sveasoft in the first place.
> 
> 
> [I haven't seem to have had any problems with 'Alchemy' so far... What problems should I be on the lookout for?]


----------



## rkramer

QUOTE]


It wasn't clear to me that dd-wrt supported blocking dhcp requests based on nic addresses [allowing me to block requests from my mvp's while the router does all the rest of the dhcp for my lan] -- does it allow that? Blocking dhcp requests from my mvp's was pretty much the only reason I went with sveasoft in the first place.

[/quote]


easy to do with dd-wrt, just set your rc_firewall setting to this (with your appropriate mac for your MVC) This will make the wrt ignore all dhcp requests from your mvc, so you can have whatever other dhcp server handle that. (you also need blocks in your other dhcp server for everything BUT this mac)


rc_firewall=/usr/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -m mac --mac-source 00:0d:fe:00:82:d1 --protocol udp --dport 67 -j REJECT;/usr/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -m mac --mac-source 00:0d:fe:00:82:d1 --protocol tcp --dport 67 -j REJECT


----------



## dkd

Hi John,

The new build (10/16) works great. It excludes the two 2 0-min files from the list. I can watch my shows now. THanks a lot for your quick response.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rkramer* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> easy to do with dd-wrt, just set your rc_firewall setting to this (with your appropriate mac for your MVC) This will make the wrt ignore all dhcp requests from your mvc, so you can have whatever other dhcp server handle that. (you also need blocks in your other dhcp server for everything BUT this mac)
> 
> 
> rc_firewall=/usr/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -m mac --mac-source 00:0d:fe:00:82:d1 --protocol udp --dport 67 -j REJECT;/usr/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -m mac --mac-source 00:0d:fe:00:82:d1 --protocol tcp --dport 67 -j REJECT



Thanks! could you point me at the doc for this? All I could find was the 'wiki' page, and it didn't seem to address the issue.


----------



## rkramer




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Thanks! could you point me at the doc for this? All I could find was the 'wiki' page, and it didn't seem to address the issue.




no doc for it, that is all my own creation. look up the rc_firewall stuff for wrt, the best place would be on the dd-wrt board ( http://forum.bsr-clan.de/forum15.html )


basically rc_firewall just allows you to put any regular iptables command(s) in and have them present all the time, even without a usable jffs partition. (it is stored in the nvram with all other settings)


----------



## Cybersprings

Hello,

I have been working on installing media cenrter on my mvp for about 8 hours now and cannot get past this problem. When I start up the mvp, and look in the tftp log it shows:


debug: Thu Oct 20 23:19:30 2005 Client on 192.168.0.132:3909 starting binary download of file '.\ ftp_root\\dongle.bin.mvpmc'. Total number of active transfers is 2.

error: Thu Oct 20 23:19:30 2005 Failed to send to client on 192.168.0.132:3909

error: Thu Oct 20 23:19:30 2005 Failed to send to client on 192.168.0.132:3909

error: Thu Oct 20 23:19:33 2005 Failed to send to client on 192.168.0.132:3909

error: Thu Oct 20 23:19:36 2005 Failed to send to client on 192.168.0.132:3909

debug: Thu Oct 20 23:19:36 2005 The udp publisher failed to transmit a datagram to 192.168.0.101:1253


.132 is the mvp and .101 is the pc


And there is no download. Firewall is disabled.

DOes anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Paul


----------



## Cybersprings




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Cybersprings* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I have been working on installing media cenrter on my mvp for about 8 hours now and cannot get past this problem. When I start up the mvp, and look in the tftp log it shows:
> 
> 
> debug: Thu Oct 20 23:19:30 2005 Client on 192.168.0.132:3909 starting binary download of file '.\ ftp_root\\dongle.bin.mvpmc'. Total number of active transfers is 2.
> 
> error: Thu Oct 20 23:19:30 2005 Failed to send to client on 192.168.0.132:3909
> 
> error: Thu Oct 20 23:19:30 2005 Failed to send to client on 192.168.0.132:3909
> 
> error: Thu Oct 20 23:19:33 2005 Failed to send to client on 192.168.0.132:3909
> 
> error: Thu Oct 20 23:19:36 2005 Failed to send to client on 192.168.0.132:3909
> 
> debug: Thu Oct 20 23:19:36 2005 The udp publisher failed to transmit a datagram to 192.168.0.101:1253
> 
> 
> .132 is the mvp and .101 is the pc
> 
> 
> And there is no download. Firewall is disabled.
> 
> DOes anyone have any ideas?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Paul



I do not know what the problem was exactly, I have not been able to fix it. The tftp server would not respond to any requests on my xp machine but did on my 2k machine.


I installed everything on my Win2k machine and got everything up and running in less than 30 minutes.


Fantastic work all who built it.

One note on the HowTo. when entering the mac address on the dhcp server, you must enter it in the format xx-xx-xx-xx-xx.

xx:xx:xx:xx:xx is accepted but does not display correctly or work.


Thanks again,


Paul


----------



## melduforx




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Cybersprings* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I do not know what the problem was exactly, I have not been able to fix it. The tftp server would not respond to any requests on my xp machine but did on my 2k machine.



XP is notorious for its firewall, and it sounds like this is the case here.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Curious... Has anyone integrated the mvpmc support tasks (bootp, dongle tftp) into a Sveasoft Talisman router?





> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *j.m.* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Try dd-wrt ([link: www.dd-wrt.com| www.dd-wrt.com] ). ... The MVPMC dongle.bin file would have to be stored on the WRT54G/GS itself. ... Still, I can't recall how much free space is available there, but I think it might be too large for G's.



Hmmm... Is there such a thing as an on-demand read-only ftp/http-based filesystem that DD-WRT could leverage for "storage" of the dongle.bin and other files? If so, I could host my dongle and other supplemental files on a website of my choice (or point to JohnH's "most recent dongle" link), and mvpmc would boot based on files dynamically pulled off the Internet -- rather than requiring a powered-on PC.




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *j.m.* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Other than that, I think there is already a tftpd in dd-wrt. I'm not sure whether DNSMasq supports bootp also; but if so, you should be in business.



Thanks for the input Re: DD-WRT. I've been waiting for Sveasoft Alchemy and now Talisman to stabilize, but am growing impatient. Time to start looking into DD-WRT. Thanks again.




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> It wasn't clear to me that dd-wrt supported blocking dhcp requests based on nic addresses [allowing me to block requests from my mvp's while the router does all the rest of the dhcp for my lan] -- does it allow that?



Though the feature would be useful, it wouldn't NEED to block the requests in the configuration I desire; rather, the DD-WRT router would ideally be performing the DHCP/BOOTP/TFTP server tasks normally left to the PC-based tools in the MVPmc Windows How-To.


.


----------



## miscrms

I would think a good compromise would be to get the router running the dhcp/bootp component and run the tftp server from your computer. The router would just need to support the next_server option in dhcp. This tells the client what remote host to use as its tftp server to boot from. You would then just need a time server, or I believe some folks have successfully pointed to one out on the internet.


Rob


----------



## MethodMachine

My collection of MediaMVPs is growing. Just got another one for the main AV rack to feed music to the amplifier.


For those who didn't know, the latest development build includes:


*Support for multiple mclients on the network

*Volume control for mclient through the remote control (yellow and blue buttons on older remote)

*Volume control for mclient through SlimServer web interface


Also, SlimServer supports syncronizing multiple clients to play the same audio stream. This works with multiple MVPs running mclient.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *miscrms* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I would think a good compromise would be to get the router running the dhcp/bootp component and run the tftp server from your computer. The router would just need to support the next_server option in dhcp. This tells the client what remote host to use as its tftp server to boot from. You would then just need a time server, or I believe some folks have successfully pointed to one out on the internet.
> 
> 
> Rob



Thing is [and I don't mind it this way], if you need to be running tftp on a PC, there's little extra overhead to run dhcp there as well.


If everything could go on the router, that would be a different story.


----------



## diverjones

Okay, I am missing something here, I am sure of it. Why pay 100 dollars for a device that will let you stream from a replaytv to your television? 1) you already have the Replaytv hooked up to the TV, and two, if you have two replays BOTH are hooked up tho the TV and both are "streamable" between each other



So, what am I missing? Why should I get excited about something I have been doing for over a year already with three replaytvs?


----------



## arcadefreaque




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *diverjones* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Okay, I am missing something here, I am sure of it. Why pay 100 dollars for a device that will let you stream from a replaytv to your television? 1) you already have the Replaytv hooked up to the TV, and two, if you have two replays BOTH are hooked up tho the TV and both are "streamable" between each other
> 
> 
> 
> So, what am I missing? Why should I get excited about something I have been doing for over a year already with three replaytvs?



Some people have more TV's than they do ReplayTV's.


----------



## Wrecks

I've actually been using a MediaMVP more to watch digitized videos that I've downloaded to my computer (not recorded by ReplayTV). Videos that won't play on a ReplayTV will play fine on the MediaMVP.


----------



## MethodMachine




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *arcadefreaque* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Some people have more TV's than they do ReplayTV's.



And, the "mclient" module is a killer app in my opinion. Having recently purchased a portable MP3 player (R.I.P. Rio!), I started in on the project of ripping my entire CD collection down to my Linux server. Now I have two MediaMVPs whose primary use is for streaming music from my music collection. I supposed I will have to pick up a few more to actually fulfill the initial inteded purpose of hooking up other TVs to view ReplayTV/DVArchive content.


Also, the box has been on clearance at Radio Shack and Circuit City. You should be able to find one for


----------



## YBDBDOO




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Anybody know how to cause the creation of one of these 'less than 1-minute' recordings, so we can provide John w/ the data he needs to identify and resolve the issue?
> 
> 
> .



The less than one minute recording can be duplicated by removing your cable input when it is just starting to record. It will get no video signal, blue screen, then will terminate the recording. If you try to delete a less than one minute recording from a remote machine, you will get an "Unable to contact remote machine" error. If I recall, it actually completes the delete, but does not update the remote guide properly. Perhaps that is a clue to your problem?


I didn't read the rest of the thread, don't know if this germain. I have not been following this thread yet...


Hope that helps.


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *arcadefreaque* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Some people have more TV's than they do ReplayTV's.



BINGO.


And


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I picked up my two from Radio Shack for $40 each.



ZING


So in answer to your question....


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *diverjones* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Why pay 100 dollars for a device that will let you stream from a replaytv to your television?



I actually paid $210 (2x$80 + 1X$40) to stream ReplayTV & Music & archived media to three extra televisions. In my house I have 5 televisions and 2 replaytv's and 3 MVP. I can't buy 1 activated and networkable replaytv for that price.


The added features, especially Mclient, are delicious icing on the cake, my friend!


Marc


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *miscrms* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I would think a good compromise would be to get the router running the dhcp/bootp component and run the tftp server from your computer.



Just to be clear.... my goal is to support power-up initialization of mvpmc w/o having to have a PC powered-on.


I'm thinking this should be doable with a Linksys WRT54G/GS router loaded w/ one of the custom firmwares available. In the short-term, I'm going to look into running Talisman or DD-WRT as a host, i.e. sans routing, solely to support the DHCP,BOOTP,TFTP needs for a LAN environment.


As you indicate, though, I'll be doing it one app at-a-time. Just not sure where the roadblock will be encountered. Thanks for the feedback.


----------



## icecow

I'd think it would fit in a wrt54gs(8meg) but not a wrt54g(2meg), ya?


(I'm not telling, I'm asking)


----------



## j.m.

DD-WRT includes DNSMasq, which I believe supports bootp. It also includes tftpd. I believe it will work. My only question is as to whether the dongle will fit on the R/W JFFS-formatted extra flash space on a WRT54G (I believe a G has 4MB total flash, which leaves only 1-2MB free depending on whether you use dd-wrt std or mini). I know it will fit on a WRT54GS. Note: there are multiple versions of both the G and GS, and some are better than others in terms of available RAM and flash space. The v5 GS is not even Linux based. It runs vxWorks. It doesn't and may never work with third-party firmware.


----------



## icecow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *j.m.* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The v5 GS is not even Linux based. It runs vxWorks. It doesn't and may never work with third-party firmware.



I knew v5 was something other than linux for a bit. I can't believe it took this long to dawn on me: will this lead to a dicontinuation of OpenWRT/Sveasoft development?


again I'm asking. I haven't given it any thought


----------



## j.m.




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I knew v5 was something other than linux for a bit. I can't believe it took this long to dawn on me: will this lead to a dicontinuation of OpenWRT/Sveasoft development?
> 
> 
> again I'm asking. I haven't given it any thought



No. There are a lot of the older versions out there. Also, as last check, the OpenWRt/dd-wrt people had some hope that they would be able to get the linux-based firmware running on the v5. It just depends on how similar the hardware is and whether it is flashable.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *j.m.* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> DD-WRT includes DNSMasq, which I believe supports bootp. It also includes tftpd. I believe it will work. My only question is as to whether the dongle will fit on the R/W JFFS-formatted extra flash space on a WRT54G (I believe a G has 4MB total flash, which leaves only 1-2MB free depending on whether you use dd-wrt std or mini). I know it will fit on a WRT54GS. Note: there are multiple versions of both the G and GS, and some are better than others in terms of available RAM and flash space.



Given that mvpmc hovers around 2MB, the G isn't looking good as a self-contained mvpmc server. (Though it'll be able to handle everything but the dongle, and setting up a share is less problematic for most people than installing all the extra apps.)


As for the GS, what's the best place to get one cheap? Anybody know of current sales? (And what to do w/ all my Gs?







)


----------



## marors1

I have set up the MVPMC software pkg on my MediaMVP, and the ReplayTV streaming works well (in both the latest official build and the latest "fix" build). I can get audio to stream fine from my computer, but I cannot get images to display on the TV with any regularity. I have only been able to view one image once, otherwise, the screen goed blank and the unit seems to hang.


Any Ideas?


It isn't like this is the end all of making the unit work, it is just something I was messing with to see if it works, and it doesn't seem to.


Note that the share for my images is set up in the same manner as the share for my mp3 music which seems to work correctly.


Thanks for the input.


D


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *marors1* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I have set up the MVPMC software pkg on my MediaMVP, and the ReplayTV streaming works well (in both the latest official build and the latest "fix" build). I can get audio to stream fine from my computer, but I cannot get images to display on the TV with any regularity. I have only been able to view one image once, otherwise, the screen goed blank and the unit seems to hang.



You should post this to the mvpmc developers mailing list.
http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=103474 

I think it's a known issue but don't know the details.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *marors1* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Note that the share for my images is set up in the same manner as the share for my mp3 music which seems to work correctly.
> 
> 
> Thanks for the input.
> 
> 
> D



I have had quite a few lock-ups with jpegs -- the bigger the file, the more likely to have problems. I wound up taking a few dozen of my favorite shots and re-sampling them to 640x480 just to have a dedicated slide-show if I got in the mood. Those all seem to work fine.


----------



## Wrecks

Sometimes playing a few seconds of a ReplayTV show before doing anything else helps.


----------



## marors1

Thanks for the info. I am glad to see that I do not have some strange problem limited only to me


D


----------



## marors1

After perusing the developer mailing list it appears that this is a known problem (thanks honeycut) and it also appears that there is no real interest in fixing it. I can understand that too, considering that it really isn't a very important part.


Heck, I have had the same 10-15 picture slideshow on my replays since I got them almost 2 years ago.



Thanks all,


D


----------



## dkd

Is there a way to sort the listing to display the latest and most recent recorded shows first? Currently. it's displayed alphabetically.

And, how do I get a refresh list without backing all the way out to the device list?

Thanks,


----------



## MethodMachine

This version includes (among other things)


*RTV4K support

*mclient SlimServer Client


Get it here:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...ease_id=368091


----------



## elorimer




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *diverjones* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> and two, if you have two replays BOTH are hooked up tho the TV and both are "streamable" between each other
> 
> 
> 
> So, what am I missing? Why should I get excited about something I have been doing for over a year already with three replaytvs?



If one of the replays is a 4500 and the other a 5000, you can't stream between them. I have a 4500 at one TV, and a 4500 and a 5000 at the other. So I added an mvpmc to the first TV, so from either TV I can access shows on the other replays and from DV Archive, regardless of which replay originally recorded the show.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dkd* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Is there a way to sort the listing to display the latest and most recent recorded shows first? Currently. it's displayed alphabetically.
> 
> And, how do I get a refresh list without backing all the way out to the device list?



The default and only show listing is alphabetically by Show title

and then subsort by episode date.(Same as default RTV behavior).

There have been requests for adding other sorting options. Currently it's

not high on the priority list.

There is no way to refresh the guide without backing out.

There has been a request to add a feature to jump between rtv guides using the

seek buttons. I'll add a refresh button when I do that feature.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Version 2.0 released
> 
> This version includes (among other things)
> 
> 
> *RTV4K support
> 
> *mclient SlimServer Client
> 
> 
> Get it here:
> 
> http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...ease_id=368091



Other RTV things include:

*Relative jump from the current play position

*Run discovery server in background to eliminate DVA error messages

*Some bug fixes. Most frequent one is the 'less than 1 minute' guide entry

causing mvpmc to crash.

*Added new RTV cmdline options to allow tuning RTV discovery process.

(relative jump & discovery tuning details on the mvpmc replaytv web page)


I also updated the Windows How-To with feedback from this forum.

Hopefully, it less confusing now.


John...


----------



## aeblank




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *MethodMachine* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> *mclient SlimServer Client



While I've followed this thread (and have two MVPs ready for "when I have time"), I'd like some clarification on this.


If I understand correctly, this is a client that runs on the MVP. The MVP pretends to be a slimp3 or squeezebox player. I need to get Slimserver (from here http://www.slimdevices.com/su_downloads.html ) and run it on my server.


Correct?


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> While I've followed this thread (and have two MVPs ready for "when I have time"), I'd like some clarification on this.
> 
> 
> If I understand correctly, this is a client that runs on the MVP. The MVP pretends to be a slimp3 or squeezebox player. I need to get Slimserver (from here http://www.slimdevices.com/su_downloads.html ) and run it on my server.
> 
> 
> Correct?



Yes, but I have yet to find the idiots' guide to setting up slimserver [which I apparently need]. It's supposed to be able to keep track of what's in my itunes setup, but I just couldn't seem to get that going. Anyone know any good url's that cover slimserver for idiots?


----------



## famewolf

I am using "ICS" otherwise known as "Internet Connection Sharing" under XP Pro to share my dial up connection with the other pc's on my network...ICS uses it's own DHCP server..the windows machine always will be 192.168.0.1 with other pc's being assigned ip's dynamically. If I have read all this right I should be able to skip directly to installing the tftp server...put the config and dongle.bin files where they need to be and be good to go?


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *famewolf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am using "ICS" otherwise known as "Internet Connection Sharing" under XP Pro to share my dial up connection with the other pc's on my network...ICS uses it's own DHCP server..the windows machine always will be 192.168.0.1 with other pc's being assigned ip's dynamically. If I have read all this right I should be able to skip directly to installing the tftp server...put the config and dongle.bin files where they need to be and be good to go?



If you can configure the XP DHCP server to give your mvp a 'next server' address and the name of the boot file it has to get from that server, then maybe you won't have to set up DHCP-Turbo, but otherwise you will not only have to set up DHCP-Turbo as per the instructions at:

http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows..._howto.html#s5 


but you will also have to figure out how to prevent XP's DHCP server from responding to your mvp DHCP requests.


The sequence of things that have to happen during the mvp boot are explained here:

http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows...owto.html#toc2 


[all nicely updated, thank you John !!!]


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *famewolf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am using "ICS" otherwise known as "Internet Connection Sharing" under XP Pro to share my dial up connection with the other pc's on my network...ICS uses it's own DHCP server..the windows machine always will be 192.168.0.1 with other pc's being assigned ip's dynamically. If I have read all this right I should be able to skip directly to installing the tftp server...put the config and dongle.bin files where they need to be and be good to go?



Most likely it will not work.

The DHCP server needs to set several fields in it's response to the

MVP including next_server_IP_address & boot_file.

I doubt the WXP server will allow you to do this.


----------



## famewolf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Most likely it will not work.
> 
> The DHCP server needs to set several fields in it's response to the
> 
> MVP including next_server_IP_address & boot_file.
> 
> I doubt the WXP server will allow you to do this.




Hmm I'll have to work something out a little more complicated then....I run all linux except for my windows laptop so setting up the dhcp etc on them is no problem( although I'll have to figure out how to configure dnsmasq instead of dhcp)..but the cell phone that feeds my net connection (dial up) won't work under linux...so I suppose I'll have to put the net connection on one network (192.168.0.1) and have it feed to one of the linux box's on one network card..then have the linux box share the network connection to a SECOND subnet (say 192.168.2.x) and that's the one the replay and mvp will be on....will work on it this weekend.



According to dnsmasq doc's you can add a line along the lines of:


dhcp-boot=/image.nb,server,10.1.1.1


with image.nb being the dongle.bin file..and 10.1.1.1 being the tftp server.


----------



## famewolf

Anyone taken a look at this:

http://www.rst38.org.uk/vdr/mediamvp/mvpserver.html 


MVPServer

What is it?


MVPServer is the next generation open-source (GPL) server for the Mediamvp. It's an almost complete rewrite of the vdr-mediamvp project and should prove to be easily extensible and customisable.


The server core is written using the core library from vdr-mediamvp, but the user interface is written using an embeded python interpreter.


VDR integration is performed by a version of vdrpylib and streamdev to provide live streams.


MVPServer is currently under development, but it's still usable, advantages over vdr-mediamvp include:


* Much, much prettier!

* Easily extensible - no more having to stop VDR to do a tweak!

* No client disconnections whilst waiting to retrieve (slow) media lists.

* Much improved picture viewing.

* Separation of TV and radio channels.

* Support for recent Hauppauge dongles.

* An alpha-blended OSD is (just about) available.

* Support for the large Hauppauge remote.

* Per Mediamvp customisation possible.

* Modular media providers.

* Built in servers for booting MVPs.



This line caught my eye...


MVPserver should now be able to provide a dongle.bin to any MVPs about the place, you'll still need a bog-standard dhcp server to give it an IP address though, but the one on your broadband router should do the trick!


----------



## famewolf

I was able to get dnsmasq and tftp working fine under suse 10 to serve the dongle.bin file to my mediamvp. It's finding my replay and streaming fine. One note...the sample config file here is wrong: http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows...e_mvpmc.config 


The line: mvpmc -R "ip=discover" -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv &

should be: mvpmc -R "ip=discover" -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv.xml &


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *famewolf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> One note...the sample config file here is wrong: http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows...e_mvpmc.config
> 
> The line: mvpmc -R "ip=discover" -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv &
> 
> should be: mvpmc -R "ip=discover" -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv.xml &



Dohh..

Thanks, I'll fix it.

John "Supprised he hasn't got any feedback on the how-to after all the griping earlier"


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Dohh..
> 
> Thanks, I'll fix it.
> 
> John "Supprised he hasn't got any feedback on the how-to after all the griping earlier"



maybe everyone likes the default theme better ?


----------



## MethodMachine




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> maybe everyone likes the default theme better ?



The default for mvpmc ought to be the ReplayTV theme. Everything else looks like crap.


----------



## famewolf

Well I will say this..the font size and color choice of replay theme look better on my tv then the other choices....



Questions: Does the mediamvp remote use any sort of standard universal remote code so that I could replace it with a remote that can control the tv AND the mediamvp?


----------



## tselling

I bought a JP1 compatible remote URC-6131M with cable off of Ebay. With the JP1, I was able to download control file from my PC to the remote that allows me to control the media mvp. I found the control file on the web. I then just input the TV code for the remote and now the remote controls both.


----------



## famewolf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tselling* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I bought a JP1 compatible remote URC-6131M with cable off of Ebay. With the JP1, I was able to download control file from my PC to the remote that allows me to control the media mvp. I found the control file on the web. I then just input the TV code for the remote and now the remote controls both.




Hmm...that will involve a little work...I have a jp1 cable and can probably dig up a remote...problem is none of the jp1 software runs under linux and my windows laptop does not have a parallel port which the jp1 cable uses. Will have to think on it..thanks for the info.


----------



## oldyellow

I am developing a mvpmc launcher the eliminates the need to install the various software packages used to boot the mvpmc from windows. It basically provides the dhcp, tftp, and rdate services need for the mvpmc. It works fine on my machine, and I am looking for a couple of alpha testers to test on their machines. If anyone is interested, please send me a PM and I will email you the application.


Requirements: WinXP, Java 1.4


----------



## Wayno




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *famewolf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hmm...that will involve a little work...I have a jp1 cable and can probably dig up a remote...problem is none of the jp1 software runs under linux and my windows laptop does not have a parallel port which the jp1 cable uses. Will have to think on it..thanks for the info.



There's a USB version of the JP1 cable. I got that for my setup since both my main pc and laptop don't have that either.


----------



## melduforx

How about making a keymap file for JP1 to use a standard Replay 5k remote with the MVP. Now THAT would be cool.


It would almost be worth doubling the cost of the MVP to get a 5k remote.


----------



## famewolf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am developing a mvpmc launcher the eliminates the need to install the various software packages used to boot the mvpmc from windows. It basically provides the dhcp, tftp, and rdate services need for the mvpmc. It works fine on my machine, and I am looking for a couple of alpha testers to test on their machines. If anyone is interested, please send me a PM and I will email you the application.
> 
> 
> Requirements: WinXP, Java 1.4





If your application is java based...why would it be windows only or did I miss something?


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *famewolf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If your application is java based...why would it be windows only or did I miss something?



Most non-windows boxes already have the services necessary to boot a mvpmc device. The application was a response to the need to make these services available to Windows machines without having to download and configure three separate pieces of software. The main reason I used Java was because it was easier for me to develop in Java. Any cross-platform benefits are a bonus.


There are a couple of windows specific tasks that are done, which would have to work differently in a *nix environment. The two that immediatly come to mind are making entries in the address resolution protocol tables and the process of intalling, starting, and stopping a service, which is specific to windows. These tasks are accomplished by executing commands through Java's Runtime.exec method. To make this application work for a *nix box, the commands would have to be changed to OS specific commands.


The application separates the configuration GUI from the service that does the work of booting a mvpmc. If I were writing this application for linux, my approach would have been totally different. Instead of the GUI application configuring a self -written service, I would have made the GUI application configure and interact with the existing services. The way the application is written, it would not be hard to make these changes. If there is enough of a demand, maybe someone can do so.


----------



## aeblank




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Requirements: WinXP, Java 1.4



Any chance to make it work under 2K?

If so, I'd love to test it. (Two MVPs in boxes on the shelf waiting for an all-in-one solution).


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Any chance to make it work under 2K?
> 
> If so, I'd love to test it. (Two MVPs in boxes on the shelf waiting for an all-in-one solution).



It should work under 2K. I only said WinXP because I don't have it and haven't tested it. It should also work under Windows 98, but would have to be run as a console application, rather than as a service.


PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy.


----------



## famewolf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> It should work under 2K. I only said WinXP because I don't have it and haven't tested it. It should also work under Windows 98, but would have to be run as a console application, rather than as a service.
> 
> 
> PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy.




If the windows box is running internet connection sharing which has it's own built in dhcp server and will not allow that to be disabled...would your app still be able to function with the mediamvp's? I recall the mediamvp first sends a dhcp request on a port in the 16xxx range and then falls back to the normal port.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *famewolf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If the windows box is running internet connection sharing which has it's own built in dhcp server and will not allow that to be disabled...would your app still be able to function with the mediamvp's? I recall the mediamvp first sends a dhcp request on a port in the 16xxx range and then falls back to the normal port.



I think the MediaMVP work the opposite way. It first tries to use the normal dhcp port (67). If it doen't get a good response it then tries the private dhcp port.


With my app, you can disable either the dhcp, tftp, or rdate servers, and you can also specify the port for those services. So, theoritically you can set the app to listen for dhcp messages on port 16X67 (can't rememer the exact port).


----------



## aeblank




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> It should work under 2K. I only said WinXP because I don't have it and haven't tested it. It should also work under Windows 98, but would have to be run as a console application, rather than as a service.
> 
> 
> PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy.




Done, BTW.


Thanks. =)


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I think the MediaMVP work the opposite way. It first tries to use the normal dhcp port (67). If it doen't get a good response it then tries the private dhcp port.
> 
> 
> With my app, you can disable either the dhcp, tftp, or rdate servers, and you can also specify the port for those services. So, theoritically you can set the app to listen for dhcp messages on port 16X67 (can't rememer the exact port).



Yea, it should boot but then the mvpmc linux configuration won't complete correctly.

Here's the issue.

The mediamvp bootloader functions as follows:

-MVP PowerON. Bootloader starts

-Send DHCP request to standard port (67).

If no response is received or if the DCHP response does not have the boot_file

option set then send DHCP request to non-reserved port 16867.

Port 16867 is what the Hauppauge dhcp server listens to.

Note: The reason the Hauppauge server code lives so nicely with HW/router DCHP

servers & IP conn sharing is is because they send a DHCP response without

the boot_file option and the MediaMVP bootloader ignores it.


-If a VALID (boot_file option) DHCP response is received for the port 67 DCHP request then tftp the load from the standard TFTP port (69).

ELSE

If the vaild DHCP response was received from the Hauppauge DHCP port (16867)

then tftp the load from the Hauppauge tftp server port (16869).


ALL the above will work fine.

Here's where things will breakdown:

After the mvpmc linux kernel boots it will send another DHCP request

to get networking information not passed in from the bootloader. This

request will go to port 67.

If the yellow's windows loader is set up to DHCP on port 16867 then there

will not be anybody listening to port 67. (Well maybe a firewall router that

will give incorrect info to the MVP).

Assume we could get past this point then the next problem is that when

we attempt to tftp the config script it will use the standard tftp port (69) instead

of the hauppauge tftp port (16869).


So thats the bad news.

The good news is all the above is fixable.

I need to update the mvpmc load's DHCP client to play the same

port switching game the bootloader plays.

Also need to implement a mechanism for the DHCP client to notify the TFTP client

to use the hauppauge TFTP port instead of the standard port.

I'll try to get it done in the next couple weeks.

John...


----------



## aeblank




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If the yellow's windows loader is set up to DHCP on port 16867 then there
> 
> will not be anybody listening to port 67. (Well maybe a firewall router that
> 
> will give incorrect info to the MVP).



Why is the info from a different DHCP server invalid?


Granted, my setup is probably odd, but I could key-in my dhcp server to serve the same address as the windows loader (it needs a name!). Even without that, I don't understand why the second DHCP request returns incorrect info.


Once you're done though, the mvp won't use any standard ports (except the one time where it doesn't get the tftp server), thus making it play well with any old dhcp setup (even a server using standard ports on the same machine). Right?


I'll post back with anything I learn once I get the stuff and play with it some.


Thanks,

Andy


----------



## Wrecks

Program name:


TWPTAYTBACMediamvpOS


The Windows Program That Allows You To Boot A Custom Mediamvp Operating System.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Why is the info from a different DHCP server invalid?
> 
> Granted, my setup is probably odd, but I could key-in my dhcp server to serve the same address as the windows loader (it needs a name!). Even without that, I don't understand why the second DHCP request returns incorrect info.



Sorry I should have said "potentially" invalid.

IMHO, the whole reason to use custom DHCP/TFTP ports is to avoid conflicts with

whatever lan setup a user has so having to redundently configure a another

DHCP server kinda defeats the purpose.


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Once you're done though, the mvp won't use any standard ports (except the one time where it doesn't get the tftp server), thus making it play well with any old dhcp setup (even a server using standard ports on the same machine). Right?



YES! With Yellow's server and some changes to the mvpmc load we should

be able to eliminate most of the networking setup headaches.


----------



## aeblank

How long does it take for the dongle file to load (the "contacting MediaMVP BootServer..." part)?

I assume more than a minute or two is bad. =(


Ok, that time around (above) my mvpmc client list didn't seem to "stick".


Went back and added the client again, and saved.

It says to stop and restart the server, but when I click on stop server, it says it is unable to stop the server. I've rebooted, etc. to no end.


Also, on the very minor side; a change to the dhcp settings (gateway, lease time, etc) doen't make the "save configuration" button active. Should the lease time, rebinding time, and renewal time all be the same? They're in seconds, I assume.


I like the app though! Very simple and cleanly layed out. Only problem is that I broke it. =) Should we start a Winmvpmc thread?


Stupid dog kept me awake late, now she's sleeping and I'm not...


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> How long does it take for the dongle file to load (the "contacting MediaMVP BootServer..." part)?
> 
> I assume more than a minute or two is bad.



If your MVP say's contacting MediaMVP Bootserver.. , it has already failed to boot using port 67. That is why it is taking so long. Failure is most probably due to the server not running or your MVP's hardware address not being recognized. Either of these conditions are likely due to your following comments.


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Ok, that time around (above) my mvpmc client list didn't seem to "stick".
> 
> 
> Went back and added the client again, and saved.
> 
> It says to stop and restart the server, but when I click on stop server, it says it is unable to stop the server. I've rebooted, etc. to no end.



Are you running it as a service? If so, go to the services application through the control panel and check to status of the service. You can alway start and stop it from there. Most likely your configuration file is out of sync with the actual state of things. I need to tighten up the GUI with more validation to prevent this from happening. To reset things, do the following.


1. Delete the Winmvpmc.xml file

2. Bring up a dos window and go the the installation directory

3. Type wrapper-r wrapper.conf at the command line. This will both stop and uninstall the service.


unfortunely doing this will remove any configuration you have saved.


If you are running it as a console app, via the batch file (which I don't recommend for now), you cannot control the start/stop via the GUI. You must cntrl-C the console window in which the server is running.


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Also, on the very minor side; a change to the dhcp settings (gateway, lease time, etc) doen't make the "save configuration" button active. Should the lease time, rebinding time, and renewal time all be the same? They're in seconds, I assume.



This is a bug I found last night, will be fixed shortly. Just leave the lease, rebinding, and renewal time to 0, which is infinity. To be honest, I am not sure what the units are, but my guess is in days. I decided to include them for people who may have more complicated network setups.


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I like the app though! Very simple and cleanly layed out. Only problem is that I broke it. =) Should we start a Winmvpmc thread?



We probably should start a Winmvpmc thread, because this one is getting a little long.


All of the bugs you found will be address shortly


----------



## famewolf

oldyellow,


Are you still distributing your software? I sent a pm requesting it and have not received a reply or the software?


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *famewolf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> oldyellow,
> 
> 
> Are you still distributing your software? I sent a pm requesting it and have not received a reply or the software?



I thought that I put you on my mvpmc distribution list. A couple of the emails bounced, but I don't remember yours being one of them. I'll check when I get home and get a chance to check my email. They have our network on lock-down and I can no longer access my yahoo email from work.


----------



## famewolf

I got an email about the software but didn't see any links TO the software.


----------



## aeblank

if it is ok with OY (I assume it would be, but I want to be sure), I can forward it on to you.


A couple of hints:

mac address with colons, small letters

don't forget a .config file in with the dongle.bin (yes, I was that much of a moron).

hit save before enabling it as a service or starting the server.

Enjoy.


beyond accepting the mac address in any format (on the label, it is just a list of numbers/letters - might confuse some people) and maybe a mention in the dhcp stuff that 0 is never timing out, the program is perfect. You will like it.


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> A couple of hints:
> 
> mac address with colons, small letters...



The version I sent out last night fixed (0.0.3) this. The mac address can be upper or lower case and have any punctuation between the six hex numbers.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> don't forget a .config file in with the dongle.bin (yes, I was that much of a moron).



In future version, I would like to eliminate the usage of a .config file. You would use the gui set you configuration settings (e.g. CIFS shares, theme), and the program would either generate the config file or respond to the tftp request from memory rather than a file.



> Quote:
> hit save before enabling it as a service or starting the server.



Enabling as a service now actually saves your configuration. If try to enable it as a service and you have unsaved changes, you will be warned that your unsaved changes will be saved, and given a chance to cancel the action.



> Quote:
> beyond accepting the mac address in any format (on the label, it is just a list of numbers/letters - might confuse some people)



When you say any format, are you talking about upper/lower case and delimiters (see changes mentioned above)? Or, do you mean other conceivable formats like:


0.13.254.0.11.47 = 00:0d:fe:00:0b:2f

000DFE000B2F = 00:0d:fe:00:0b:2f

00 0D FE 00 0B 2F = 00:0d:fe:00:0b:2f

00000000-00001101-11111110-00000000-00001011-00101111 = 00:0d:fe:00:0b:2f


(ok, maybe that last one was a little silly). I've always seen a mac address represented as a series of two position hex values (00 to FF) seperated by some punctuation (or maybe spaces). The purpose of this application is to make it easy for windows users, so I am open to suggestion as to what other windows users find easy (rather that what I find easy).



> Quote:
> and maybe a mention in the dhcp stuff that 0 is never timing out



How about putting a help button on each screen and popping up a brief explanation of each parameter? Can't promise it anytime soon, but does this sound like a good idea?


----------



## aeblank

I didn't get last night's email. =( (even went through my spam filter)

Though, the version I have works fine.


Eliminating a config file sounds interesting. Seems like it might be hard to include all the possibilities (to be silly, what if I wanted 100 network shares), but I'm certainly not opposed to it. For complete customization, could it use memory for built-in features and have a .config file for additional or abnormal things? Or maybe just a .confg file generator. Again, just thoughts.


mac address: Maybe "any" format was a bit of a reach. I (and probably anyone doing this type of thing) can handle 00:ff: etc. On the label, it is 00ff etc. (so, your second example) Very minor point.


A 'help' button would do the trick. For most of it, it seems like overkill IMHO, but it is your baby. Below the MAC address putting "Example: 00:0d:fe:00:0b:2f".

putting the units and a range after the DHCP timeout stuff.

Little stuff like that seems like it would be enough.

A very simple readme.txt would do it too, really.


Oh! One thing that would help is the auto-creation (if possible) of the shortcut to run the configger. I made a typo in mine (no \\ between program files and winmvpmc) that caused it to make a tftp folder in the wrong place.


Again, thanks. I like this program alot.

Pretty awesome set of tools for ReplayTV lately.

this/MVP/MVPMC, IVSm, DVA, WiRNS


Would be cool to have the MVP look _identical_ to the replay (and use the same remote), but that's just getting greedy.....


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Eliminating a config file sounds interesting. Seems like it might be hard to include all the possibilities (to be silly, what if I wanted 100 network shares), but I'm certainly not opposed to it. For complete customization, could it use memory for built-in features and have a .config file for additional or abnormal things? Or maybe just a .confg file generator. Again, just thoughts.



I would think most configurations could be handled with a few simple GUI components (dropdown's, textboxes, etc). The components to create/edit file shares would work in a similar fashion to the components to create/edit mvpmc clients. Text boxes for editing the indivual fields of an entry, a list box that contains the list of your entries, and add/remove/update buttons to add entries ot the list box. For "advanced configuration options" I would just provide a text area to type in any command line options the same as you would do in the config file. I think it could be done pretty easily, but I still don't know if I have to time to put into it.


----------



## cdurys

ok i,ve been trying for 2 days now to get something to work with winmvpmc


i have win 2000 if that's a problem ???


nothing that i run even gives me a screen with a gui i tried to follow the instructions but nothing?


am i missing something? or just not so bright?


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> ok i,ve been trying for 2 days now to get something to work with winmvpmc
> 
> 
> i have win 2000 if that's a problem ???
> 
> 
> nothing that i run even gives me a screen with a gui i tried to follow the instructions but nothing?
> 
> 
> am i missing something? or just not so bright?



To start the gui application, a parameter containing the directory of your installation is required. The way to run java programs is this:


java -jar jarfile [parameters]


Since this application accepts one parameter (the directory) a general form of the command would like like this


java -jar Winmvpmc.jar directory


where" directory" is the directory that contains the installation files. However you should expand all of the items to their fully qualified file and path names. For example:


java directory = j2sdk1.4.0_02

Winmvpmc directory = C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc


actual command


j2sdk1.4.0_02\\bin\\java -jar "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"


Quotes are necessary in this example because of the spaces in "Program Files". To make it easy, put your version of the above command in a windows shortcut. In addition make the startup directory the directory of your Winmvpmc installation also.


If this doen't help PM or email the exact method you are trying to use to run the application.


----------



## krkaufman

Winmvpmc is failing to start on either of my XP PCs: XP Professional or XP Home. It looks like it fails during startup of the DHCP server process.


See http://home.comcast.net/~krkweb/mvpm...rt_service.jpg 


Also, even though startup reportedly fails, the Windows Services dialog displays the service as running*, but Winmvpmc acts as though it wasn't started (i.e. the "Start Server" button is still enabled). *The process _is_ running, since I can't access the log file and 'wrapper.exe' is still showing under Processes in the Task Manager. Fortunately, the process does respond and stops when stopped via the Services control panel or removed as a service via Winmvpmc.


Any insight will be much appreciated.


Regs,

Karl


-----------


OS: Windows XP Professional, Version 2002, Service Pack 1,

Windows XP Home, Version 2002, Service Pack 1

Java: j2re1.4.2_04,

jre1.5.0_03



from wrapper.log:
wrapper | 2005/11/12 22:18:08 | Winmvpmc Service installed.

wrapper | 2005/11/12 22:18:13 | Starting the Winmvpmc Service service...

wrapper | 2005/11/12 22:18:13 | --> Wrapper Started as Service

wrapper | 2005/11/12 22:18:13 | Launching a JVM...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | Wrapper (Version 3.1.2) http : / / wrapper.tanukisoftware.org

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 |

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | arg = [C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc]

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | user.home = [C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc]

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | loading configuration from C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.xml

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | classpath[0]= Winmvpmc.jar

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | Loading logging properties from Winmvpmc.jar

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | ADDING FILE HANDLER

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (INFO) Initializing WinMvpmc...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (INFO) Log Level = FINEST

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (INFO) Home directory = C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (INFO) Starting Winmvpmc...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (CONFIG) using default date port

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (CONFIG) using default tftp root directory

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (CONFIG) root dir = C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\ ftp_root

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (CONFIG) using default tftp port

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (INFO) TIME: Starting time server...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (CONFIG) using default dhcp port

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (INFO) TFTP: Starting tftp server...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | Exception in thread "Thread-0" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 6

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | at mvpmc.WinmvpmcServer.startDhcp(WinmvpmcServer.java:227)

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | at mvpmc.WinmvpmcServer.startServices(WinmvpmcServer.java:277)

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | at mvpmc.WinmvpmcServer.run(WinmvpmcServer.java:294)

wrapper | 2005/11/12 22:18:16 | Winmvpmc Service started.

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:17 | 2005.11.12 22:18:17 (FINER) Timed out while waiting to receive

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:20 | 2005.11.12 22:18:20 (FINER) Timed out while waiting to receive

...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:32 | 2005.11.12 22:18:32 (FINER) Timed out while waiting to receive

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:35 | 2005.11.12 22:18:35 (FINER) Timed out while waiting to receive

wrapper | 2005/11/12 22:18:36 | Service is running. Stopping it...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:37 | SHUTDOWN HOOK INVOKED

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:37 | SERVER STOPPED

wrapper | 2005/11/12 22:18:37 |


----------



## krkaufman

FYI... I'm not sure if this is a Windows or Java issue (I'm guessing Windows), but including a trailing slash in the WINMVPMC_HOME argument of the Winmvpmc startup command causes problems -- due to the backslash being interpreted as the escape character, resulting in a literal double-quote being appended to the directory name.


Here's what you'll see if you DO add a trailing slash.....
*> "C:\\Program Files\\Java\\j2re1.4.2_04\\bin\\java" -jar "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\\"*


arg = [C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"]

user.home = [C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"]
loading configuration from Winmvpmc.jar archive

classpath[0]= C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.jar
loading mvpmc/WinmvpmcDefault.xml from C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.jar
java.io.FileNotFoundException: C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"\\Winmvpmc.xml (The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect)

at java.io.FileOutputStream.open(Native Method)

at java.io.FileOutputStream.(Unknown Source)

at java.io.FileOutputStream.(Unknown Source)

...

at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source)

at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(Unknown Source)

execucting: "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"\\wrapper" -i "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"\\wrapper.conf" "set.WINMVPMC_HOME=C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"" wrapper.ntservice.starttype=AUTO_START
IOException exception while installing serviceCreateProcess: "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"\\wrapper" -i "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"\\wrapper.conf" "set.WINMVPMC_HOME=C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"" wrapper.ntservice.starttype=AUTO_START error=5
So don't do it

Good: java -jar "C:\\DIR\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\DIR"

BAD: java -jar "C:\\DIR\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\DIR*\\*"
.


----------



## cdurys

arg = [C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"]

user.home = [C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"]

loading configuration from Winmvpmc.jar archive

classpath[0]= C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\\winmvpmc.jar
SEVERE ERROR: Could not find default configuration file

java.io.IOException: Could not find default configuration file in classpath

at mvpmc.WinmvpmcConfiguration.getDefaultConfigTemplateStream(W inmvpmcCo

nfiguration.java:429)

at mvpmc.WinmvpmcConfiguration.loadConfiguration(WinmvpmcConfig uration.j

ava:324)


----------



## cdurys

arg = [C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"]

user.home = [C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"]

loading configuration from Winmvpmc.jar archive

classpath[0]= C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\\winmvpmc.jar
SEVERE ERROR: Could not find default configuration file

java.io.IOException: Could not find default configuration file in classpath

at mvpmc.WinmvpmcConfiguration.getDefaultConfigTemplateStream(W inmvpmcCo

nfiguration.java:429)

at mvpmc.WinmvpmcConfiguration.loadConfiguration(WinmvpmcConfig uration.j

ava:324)


this is where i fail. for some reason i have no clue about this config file


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> arg = [C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"]
> 
> ...
> 
> this is where i fail.



That double-quote is your problem, I suspect.


Check your startup command/shortcut for Winmvpmc, and make sure that there is NOT a trailing slash in the last argument.

Good: java -jar "C:\\DIR\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\DIR"

BAD: java -jar "C:\\DIR\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\DIR*\\*"


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> classpath[0]= C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\\winmvpmc.jar
> SEVERE ERROR: Could not find default configuration file
> 
> java.io.IOException: Could not find default configuration file in classpath



You will likely find that fixing the double-quote issue doesn't solve all your problems. The above error message is different than what I was seeing with the double-quote problem, and so suggests an additional config error. Specifically, it looks like the Winmvpmc.jar file cannot locate itself.


What is the exact syntax you're using to start Winmvpmc? (please include your entire command-line [i.e. shortcut target] in reply)


Also, what's your OS version, and what version of Winmvpmc are you running?


.


----------



## cdurys

my command line is:


"C:\\Program Files\\Java\\j2re1.4.2_08\\bin\\java.exe" -jar "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\\winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"


win 2000 sp4


----------



## cdurys

my winmvpmc version 0.0.3


the only difference i can see is that mine says java.exe not java

can't get the .exe to go away


----------



## cdurys

was i supposed to make some sort of a config file?


----------



## iommi

Seems like all the radio shacks and CC in chicago are out. Anybody know where to get these cheap? the lowest I found is $88 from buy.com.


----------



## icecow

about a month ago, yucaipa, CA had one. I wouldn't be surprised it was still there (Ratshack).


you could try calling that store and ask the manager if he would be willing to ship it cross-district to your local store if you went to your local store and paid for it in advance. The yucaipa store will not get a commision, but maybe if you are simply friendly and simply ask him he'll say yes.


If you succeed let us all know


Remember to ask the yucaipa store to check their computer for all mediaMVPs in the district.


I recommend web surfing during the process and using a speakerphone.


Picture the most technologically/econonomically oppressed area you can think of and call a ratshack there. Tech clearence moves slowest in 'dumb' areas. The more rural the better.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> was i supposed to make some sort of a config file?



Interestingly, no, that's what Winmvpmc is supposed to create for you; however, if you'd *had* a config file in your install dir you wouldn't have experienced this last problem.




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> my command line is:
> 
> 
> "C:\\Program Files\\Java\\j2re1.4.2_08\\bin\\java.exe" -jar "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\\winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"



First, just curious... There isn't a backslash at the end of the final argument in your example. Was there ever (i.e. like * at *)? (i.e. let us know when a suggestion has helped, so we know not to keep researching -- and for the benefit of future readers. Thanks!)



On to the problem...


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> classpath[0]= C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\\winmvpmc.jar
> SEVERE ERROR: Could not find default configuration file
> 
> java.io.IOException: Could not find default configuration file in classpath



As for your errors, above, I finally figured it out. I suspected from the beginning that it might have to do with your command-line using lowercase throughout for 'winmvpmc', but couldn't replicate the problem on my system. And then it dawned on me that my install wasn't having the problem because I had already successfully run Winmvpmc and so *HAD* a Winmvpmc.xml config file sitting in my install dir. I removed my config file, and voila! presto!... problem replicato!


The problem only occurs if you don't get the case perfect for the jar filename in the command-line. Windows isn't case-sensitive, but Java appears to be. (???)


So... All you need to do to fix the problem is... change 'winmvpmc.jar' in your command-line to 'Winmvpmc.jar'. The other lowercase 'winmvpmc' occurrences are moot. (Just tested it.)

*Bad:*
"C:\\Program Files\\Java\\j2re1.4.2_08\\bin\\java.exe" -jar "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\\winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"

*OK:*
"C:\\Program Files\\Java\\j2re1.4.2_08\\bin\\java.exe" -jar "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"

*Better:*
"C:\\Program Files\\Java\\j2re1.4.2_08\\bin\\java.exe" -jar "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc"

_("Better" assumes your actual install dir is "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc")_


.


----------



## krkaufman

I figured out what was causing my "ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException" errors when starting the Winmvpmc server....
jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (INFO) Initializing WinMvpmc...

...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | 2005.11.12 22:18:14 (INFO) TFTP: Starting tftp server...

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | Exception in thread "Thread-0" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 6

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | at mvpmc.WinmvpmcServer.startDhcp(WinmvpmcServer.java:227)

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | at mvpmc.WinmvpmcServer.startServices(WinmvpmcServer.java:277)

jvm 1 | 2005/11/12 22:18:14 | at mvpmc.WinmvpmcServer.run(WinmvpmcServer.java:294)

wrapper | 2005/11/12 22:18:16 | Winmvpmc Service started.

...
When configuring Winmvpmc, I had pulled-up DHCP Turbo to get a listing of the MAC addresses that I wanted to configure....









... and entered them, as displayed above. Eventually it dawned on me that MAC addresses are only six hex-pairs long, and the addresses listed in DHCP Turbo were all 7 pairs... with a bonus "01" prepended. I removed the extra "01:" from my clients' MAC address field and all was better.


Interestingly, Winmvpmc currently allows entry of any length MAC address....









A few add'l issues related to entry of MACs...

* Winmvpmc complains when entering a MAC address sans delimiters. (It always complains when entering a MAC w/o delimiters; however, the behavior is different if Adding or Updating a client entry: Add fails, Update appears to succeed though the config file doesn't seem to get the update.) http://home.comcast.net/~krkweb/mvpm...nvalid_mac.jpg 


* Winmvpmc displays and stores MAC addresses exactly as entered, rather than translating them to the preferred entry/display format. (i.e. with either "-" or ":" as the hex-pair delimiter)
http://home.comcast.net/~krkweb/mvpm...ting-trunc.jpg 


* Also, as can be seen in the above image , Winmvpmc currently allows the entry of conflicting data across mvpmc client entries.


* Updating the MAC address of a client will appear to update the MAC in the display; however, a new entry will be created in the config file when Saved -- and both entries will appear the next time the Config app is run.


----------



## krkaufman

Just wanted to throw a reminder out.... that the mvpmc {DONGLE}.config file should be saved as a UNIX-mode text file, and NOT a PC (CR/LF) text file. I'd been having problems w/ starting mvpmc and had forgetten this critical bit of info.


See the mvpmc Windows How-To for several text editing apps for the PC that allow UNIX-mode saves.


----------



## krkaufman

Ok, finally... I'm now booting 2 mvpmc units from Winmvpmc.


When booting a single mvpmc instance, power-up to mvpmc menu takes about 25 seconds +/- 5 seconds; or in just over 2 minutes if running Winmvpmc server at Finer or Finest log level. Also, when booting both units simultaneously, at Fine or lower logging level, one still boots in the 25-second range; however, the other always takes an additional minute -- and appears to experience a number of tftp resends.


HOWEVER, when running Winmvpmc at Finer or Finest log level and simultaneously booting both MVPs.... NEITHER ever gets beyond "Loading Application." Tons of "resent data packet" errors occur, and then each load appears to timeout... and start all over. Interestingly, even after powering-off one of the desperately-seeking-dongle MVPs, the other still was never able to boot -- again, running the server at Finer or Finest. When this problem occurs, I have to power-off one of the MVPs and power-cycle the other to get the first booted, and *then* can boot the second.


----------



## oldyellow

Sorry. I've been very busy the last week and haven't had much time to read or respond to messages or monitor this thread. Here is my response to the bugs/issues reported.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *krkaufman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Eventually it dawned on me that MAC addresses are only six hex-pairs long, and the addresses listed in DHCP Turbo were all 7 pairs... with a bonus "01" prepended. I removed the extra "01:" from my clients' MAC address field and all was better.
> 
> ...Interestingly, Winmvpmc currently allows entry of any length MAC address....



For the next version, I added validation for the length of a MAC address. This validation would have caught this error.



> Quote:
> Winmvpmc complains when entering a MAC address sans delimiters. (It always complains when entering a MAC w/o delimiters; however, the behavior is different if Adding or Updating a client entry: Add fails, Update appears to succeed though the config file doesn't seem to get the update.)



The cause of the difference in behavior between add and update has been identified and will be fixed in the next version.



> Quote:
> Winmvpmc displays and stores MAC addresses exactly as entered, rather than translating them to the preferred entry/display format. (i.e. with either "-" or ":" as the hex-pair delimiter)



In the next version, MAC address will be "standardized" into the following format: "xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx", where "xx represents a valid 2 digit hex number. Lower case will be used. The application will still accept any punctuation, and upper/lower case for entry.



> Quote:
> Also, as can be seen in the above image, Winmvpmc currently allows the entry of conflicting data across mvpmc client entries.



Will add validation to make sure mac address, ip address, and host name are unique in next version.



> Quote:
> Updating the MAC address of a client will appear to update the MAC in the display; however, a new entry will be created in the config file when Saved -- and both entries will appear the next time the Config app is run.



Could not duplicate this behavior. Maybe it was a symptom of the bugs listed above.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> was i supposed to make some sort of a config file?



The gui application should generate the config file whenever you hit the save button. It will be stored in the directory given in the command line. The first time you use the application a default that is stored in the jar file will be used.


As far as the whole backslash in the parameter issue is concerned. I added code to trim any trailing quotes or backslashes from the parameter. This is definitely a windows thing.


It is also true that while windows file names are not case sensitive, Java is case sensitive. Using the proper case in your command line will save a lot of headaches.


----------



## aeblank

Just curious........


Any advance on having MVPMC use ALL non-standard ports (and therefore winmvpmc)?

I ask because I cannot run my DHCP server software AND boot an MVP.


I can't get my cifs shares to work either, but I'll post on that when I have the configs that I've tried.


----------



## cdurys

ok got the whole case sensitive problem handled


winmvpmc now starts and serves the mvp but now I've been tring to get it to discover replaytv's and i get nothing


----------



## oldyellow




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> ok got the whole case sensitive problem handled
> 
> 
> winmvpmc now starts and serves the mvp but now I've been tring to get it to discover replaytv's and i get nothing



If your mvp is started, than Winmvpmc has done it's job. Other than the time being off, I don't know what Winmvpmc can do to affect discovery of replays. And, I think the time only affects accessing the replay, not discovery. I don't have any good ideas about why your mvp cannot discover your replays, but try changing your dongle.bin.config file to specifiy the IP address of your replays, rather than discover. It that doesn't work, than the problem must be that the mvp cannot see the replays on your network. I would try to ping the mvp and the replays from your computer, and then try to ping the replays and your computer from the mvp. To do the latter you will need to telnet into it. See the mvmpc-windows-howto for help on this if you need it.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdurys* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> winmvpmc now starts and serves the mvp but now I've been tring to get it to discover replaytv's and i get nothing



What's your mvpmc command-line in your DONGLE.config file?


----------



## Wrecks

Running MVPMC from the Telnet console and watching the output might also give you some hints as to why discovery isn't working.


----------



## cdurys

ok figured it out there was a zero instead of a one for gateway #1 in winmpcmc


replays and dvarchive work now.


----------



## RobPlay

Someone should make this thread sticky maybe?


----------



## famewolf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Just curious........
> 
> 
> Any advance on having MVPMC use ALL non-standard ports (and therefore winmvpmc)?
> 
> I ask because I cannot run my DHCP server software AND boot an MVP.
> 
> 
> I can't get my cifs shares to work either, but I'll post on that when I have the configs that I've tried.




The author of MVPMC was looking into this but have not seen anything released..so for now we have to bide our time.


----------



## Wrecks




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> There is a "is show in use" command that is sent as a check before attempting the
> 
> delete.
> 
> Not sure what will happen if someone starts playing the show the instant between the "is show in use" command and delete command.



I found another problem. Yesterday I tried to delete a DVArchive served show after I finished watching it. The MPV appeared to be caught in an infinate wait loop (or the timeout was longer than I was willing to wait).


It turns out that the show was in a category that I had instructed DVArchive to thwart remote deletes on. I do this so that other people in the house can't delete my archived shows.


Did I get an infinate loop or was I just too impatient? Pressing the green "power" button to turn the MVP off and then pressing it again to turn it on got it going.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Wrecks* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I found another problem. Yesterday I tried to delete a DVArchive served show after I finished watching it. The MPV appeared to be caught in an infinate wait loop (or the timeout was longer than I was willing to wait).
> 
> 
> It turns out that the show was in a category that I had instructed DVArchive to thwart remote deletes on. I do this so that other people in the house can't delete my archived shows.
> 
> 
> Did I get an infinate loop or was I just too impatient? Pressing the green "power" button to turn the MVP off and then pressing it again to turn it on got it going.



Most likely didn't wait long enough.

The code will wait for up to 50 seconds for the show to be deleted.

Yea I know , kinda extreme huh.

I should test out what you did to see how it behaves.

Thanks.


----------



## aeblank

I'm trying to get the CIFS share working to no avail.


Sorry for the text wrapping (edit, no wrapping), but these are the two entries in the config I've tried.

Both of them can be entered manually with no errors.

I have a folder shared called "file_share"

file_share has a folder in it (to see if I could see it) and a bunch of .mov, .avi, etc. files.

I used win32pad to edit the sample config I got off the howto page.


mkdir /cifs_share;

mount.cifs //192.168.1.3/file_share /cifs_share/ -o user=MVP,password=MVP,rsize=3400;


mkdir muerte_files;

mount.cifs \\\\muerte/file_share /muerte_files -o user=MVP,password=MVP,domain=WONDERLAND,rsize=3400,ip=192.16 8.1.3;


Both yield this (ignore the leading #s, I put this in the config so I didn't lose it):


#Welcome to MediaMVP!

#

#MVP login: root

#

#

#BusyBox v1.00 (2005.10.25-02:11+0000) Built-in shell (ash)

#Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

#

## ls

#bin etc lost+found sbin var

#cifs_share lib mnt tmp

#dev linuxrc proc usr

## cd cifs_share

## ls

##


Any ideas?


Thanks!

Andy


----------



## Clay Schneider

if the share is from an xp-home machine, first, make sure you have shared the folder itself [file_share] by that name [file_share], then try:


mount.cifs //192.168.2.3/file_share /cifs_share/ -o password=guest,rsize=34000;


----------



## aeblank

I don't have XP, I have 2K.

the guest account doesn't exist.


other than the user=MVP (according to what I read, required for 2K), my line looks the same as yours.


I'll try it though.


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *aeblank* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> other than the user=MVP (according to what I read, required for 2K), my line looks the same as yours.



Another difference is the rsize value.


yours = 3400

suggested = 34000


----------



## aeblank

A typo for sure. I fixed it, still no dice.

My registry key had the correct value.


Is there some way I can verify my cifs share? A program on another machine or something? It sure is seeming like that is the only thing left as a possibility....


----------



## mvallevand

I've been coding the mvpmc for a couple of weeks now and the cifs share works fine for me on the released dongles. My mount line is a little different, try this


mount.cifs //192.168.2.3/file_share /cifs_share -o username=MVP,password=MVP;


If this doesn't work telnet to the MediaMVP and enter the mount command directly at the terminal prompt to see what error comes up.


----------



## aeblank

The above worked.


However, something was hosed up with my MVP user on the server. I eventually had to delete it and recreate it. Once I reset the permissions, I was all set. I suspect that even my mount commands would work now. It was too late to mess with that though.


I'm off to figure out what kinds of files mvpmc will play...


Thanks for the help.


----------



## madSkeelz

Just a quick question that I couldn't seem to find an answer for at the SourceForge forums. Is it possible to tweak the ethernet settings of the MediaMVP? My home LAN is all wireless, so I don't really get the bandwidth I need for mvpmc. I was wondering if I could hand-tune the ethernet settings somehow. [Though, this may be more of a function of the RTV than the MediaMVP, I guess.]


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *madSkeelz* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Just a quick question that I couldn't seem to find an answer for at the SourceForge forums. Is it possible to tweak the ethernet settings of the MediaMVP? My home LAN is all wireless, so I don't really get the bandwidth I need for mvpmc. I was wondering if I could hand-tune the ethernet settings somehow. [Though, this may be more of a function of the RTV than the MediaMVP, I guess.]



Right now I've hardcoded the tuning for replaytv.

Had to do this to get it to stream well for a wired network.

I could add an option to not do this.

Then it would be up to the user to muck with the tcp window size

in their dongle.bin.config.

Still no gurantee it will perform properly over wireless.

All try to add an option by the next release.


----------



## zimdba

My hardwired network looks like this:


MVP

|

Linksys WRT54G (DD-WRT)

|

Linksys Switch --------------------- Media Server

|

Actiontec

|

Internet



The Actiontec provides DHCP for the network. The media server (Win XP) would run all of the MVP software.


Is there a way to configure the Linksys to ensure that the MVP gets it's boot information from the Media Server? Static Routing perhaps?


I'm trying to avoid this scenario: Disable DHCP on Actiontec, boot MVP, enable DHCP on Actiontec.


Thanks - I'm a little late to the ballgame and trying to catch up.


----------



## Wrecks

When you run the MVP in ReplayTV mode, it discovers the ReplayTV compatible devices and gathers a list of available shows. When you exit the ReplayTV section of the program it broadcasts on the network that this ReplayTV compatable device is going offline. Works great.


But if the MVP is in ReplayTV mode and you turn it off with the green power button it immediately shuts down without announcing that it's going offline. If other computers in the network are running DVArchive, those instances of DVArchive keep trying to find the missing MVP device, resulting in lots of errors taking up memory in the log file.


----------



## Clay Schneider

Thanks -- I was wondering what the exact circumstances were that caused this error -- at least now, I can try to remember to exit replay mode before shutdown.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Wrecks* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> When you run the MVP in ReplayTV mode, it discovers the ReplayTV compatible devices and gathers a list of available shows. When you exit the ReplayTV section of the program it broadcasts on the network that this ReplayTV compatable device is going offline. Works great.
> 
> 
> But if the MVP is in ReplayTV mode and you turn it off with the green power button it immediately shuts down without announcing that it's going offline. If other computers in the network are running DVArchive, those instances of DVArchive keep trying to find the missing MVP device, resulting in lots of errors taking up memory in the log file.



Thanks. Hopefully this won't be difficult to fix.

John...


----------



## cmac12

Does anyone know why my show/nav command is not working? I've got a 5504 refurbished unit purchased directly. In my "messages" area, it says that show/nav has been downloaded. However when I'm watching a recorded show and I press the right and left arrows on my remote...nothing. Do I need to connect to the network and download new software or something? What should I do? Thanks for the help... Wanting to enjoy this feature...


----------



## madSkeelz

So, I just moved the dhcpd and tftpd duties off of my Windows box and onto my Mac. I'm using dnsmasq and it works great.


Then I noticed that open-wrt has optional packages for both dnsmasq and a tftp daemon. I'm thinking it really might be possible to turn a router into a MVPMC boot appliance. I guess the only catch is that you'd really need a router with 4MB of accessible memory.


Actually, I guess you'd need a router with 8MB of flash. OpenWRT has a handy list. Time to shop!
http://wiki.openwrt.org/TableOfHardware


----------



## firmtech

Wow this thing is Awesome! Thanks honeycut for all your efforts!









I do get some playback issues on 54g wireless network, but its worth doing a hard wire for this! Keep up the good work!


----------



## pyranha




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *oldyellow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am developing a mvpmc launcher the eliminates the need to install the various software packages used to boot the mvpmc from windows. It basically provides the dhcp, tftp, and rdate services need for the mvpmc. It works fine on my machine, and I am looking for a couple of alpha testers to test on their machines. If anyone is interested, please send me a PM and I will email you the application.
> 
> 
> Requirements: WinXP, Java 1.4



Is this software still available? I am very interested in moving this onto my Windows 2003 server.


----------



## icecow

Does anyone know how to use oldyellows software? It doesn't have the 'general usage' part filled out. I can run the program but don't know how to use it.


He hasn't attached the program to a post in this thread, but sent some people a copy. I have a copy. Am I to keep my copy to myself? I doubt it, but I don't know.


I mysteriously failed to get mvpmc installed several times in december. I don't know that I did anything wrong, it just didn't work.


I tried to laugh it off.


I let a week go by, then my Laptop got some nasty virus from hell that gave me another round of hell for about 10 days. I don't know that I've ever failed to get a virus off my computer before. If so this virus was the first. I had to reinstall everything on my laptop in the end.


There was no point to mentioning it here.


I tried to laugh it off.


Then within a few days, joy, the music server that I made from older computer parts fried for no apparent reason.


There was no point to mentioning it here.


I tried to laugh it off.


Then, joy, joy, I moved to a different city.


If anyone wondered why at the end of last year I got so quiet in this thread so quick after being so happy .. now you know.





Tonight I tried running oldyellows program. Not much to the directions. Followed them and got the thing running. But what now? I have no idea what to do. The README only got up to the point of how to run the program. The 'general usage' area and beyond is blank. I could once again drag my eyes through older mvpmc text that are scattered around the net--which never worked--looking for clues. If something did work, it would click with me! but nothing has ever worked, so I've failed to retain anything I've ever read.


It's fricken torture.


I want to get slimserver going.


Originally I planed to make a nice noob friendly screencapture tutorial after figuring things out. That's the furthest thing from my mind now. I just want to clamp down and get this thing working.


If anyone knows how to use oldyellows software could ya write it up?

If I could just get it to work I'll build another computer.



mad,

cow


----------



## stahlgrau

Finally moved into my new house and had a chance to fire up my mediamvp again. I kept booting the mvp with a crossover cable from my laptop but DHCP would not work. After about 1/2 hour I noticed I had WinXP's firewall on. Turned that off and everything started working again. The image looks great on my Vizio 50" (well, as good as an analog cable signal recorded in medium quality can look).


icecow - I would try the old method again. It does work, eventually.


----------



## cdurys

cow,


I finally got it to work when I changed the DHCP options to what my router had listed


Somehow I got it to work I was completely clueless


----------



## plyons10

I had fun playing with my MediaMVp for a month or so... but I never really enjoyed watching shows on it and it certainly wasn't acceptable for my wife.


So I just deceided to ebay the thing... I'm probably going to make $50 or more versus what I paid for it! At that price I'm one third of the way there to a new lifetime activated Replay!


----------



## zimdba




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I had fun playing with my MediaMVp for a month or so... but I never really enjoyed watching shows on it and it certainly wasn't acceptable for my wife.
> 
> 
> So I just deceided to ebay the thing... I'm probably going to make $50 or more versus what I paid for it! At that price I'm one third of the way there to a new lifetime activated Replay!



Exactly. Fun to play around with but ultimately, my XBMC and HTPC suit my needs better.


I plan on ebaying as well - except I paid full price for mine. Eh, you win some you lose some.


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *plyons10* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I had fun playing with my MediaMVp for a month or so... but I never really enjoyed watching shows on it and it certainly wasn't acceptable for my wife.
> 
> 
> So I just deceided to ebay the thing... I'm probably going to make $50 or more versus what I paid for it! At that price I'm one third of the way there to a new lifetime activated Replay!



??? I find it much easier as well as faster to move around in content streamed from dvarchive than using one of my replays to do the same [not to mention, a whole lot easier and cheaper than buying a replay for every TV]. I'm just curious what 'wasn't acceptable'?


----------



## f2000Keith

A few weeks ago my house got hit by lightning and it blew out the data port on my Replay and MediaMVP which was working . I got a replacement MediaMVP and it's the newer model that has a different remote. I set it up the same as the old one (changing the MAC address of course) and now when it boots, it's a different interface with progress blocks going across the bottom of the screen instead of the process information such as dhcp status, etc.. It will briefly blip to a black screen and then go to a Hauppage Setup screen and says that it can't find a streaming server. I get a reponse when I ping the reserved DHCP address I have for it, but when I try to telnet to it, I get an error stating that port 23 isn't open. Is the firmware on the newer models different in any way?


----------



## plyons10




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> ??? I find it much easier as well as faster to move around in content streamed from dvarchive than using one of my replays to do the same [not to mention, a whole lot easier and cheaper than buying a replay for every TV]. I'm just curious what 'wasn't acceptable'?



The whole thing ran slower than my Replays do, didn't skip commercials, required a different remote (or device codes on my universals), and needed server-side software to reboot.


These things made it another complex (to my wife) layer that I would rather not add.


Since I do have enough money, I consider the $300 I paid to activate my last replay more of a poor investment than an expense. I'll probably be able to get the money back (but not any more) when I decide to go hi-def.


----------



## skywaystudio




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *f2000Keith* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Is the firmware on the newer models different in any way?



I have both D3 and E1 firmware MediaMVP and don't have any problem loading the dongle.bin using the steps in this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=653250 .


Dan L.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *f2000Keith* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> A few weeks ago my house got hit by lightning and it blew out the data port on my Replay and MediaMVP which was working . I got a replacement MediaMVP and it's the newer model that has a different remote. I set it up the same as the old one (changing the MAC address of course) and now when it boots, it's a different interface with progress blocks going across the bottom of the screen instead of the process information such as dhcp status, etc.. It will briefly blip to a black screen and then go to a Hauppage Setup screen and says that it can't find a streaming server. I get a reponse when I ping the reserved DHCP address I have for it, but when I try to telnet to it, I get an error stating that port 23 isn't open. Is the firmware on the newer models different in any way?



Sounds like you have one of the new rev "H1" MVP's

See the following thread on the mvpmc users mailing list.
http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/f...forum_id=46647 


Folks are currently working out the kinks with booting mvpmc on these boxes.

John...


----------



## f2000Keith

Aha!! Thanks John! I have an H2 model. I was going crazy checking my dhcp config over and over again thinking I had misconfigured something. I'm a little confused by that post though as to what I needed to do with some posts regarding Windows and some Linux. I am running a dedicated Windows 2000 server which is on all the time. Could you elaborate more on what I need to do differently than the original setup? It appears that I would need to install the Hauppague software that came with the MediaMVP and rename the mvpmc dongle.bin to replace the default one. Can I get rid of the old DHCP/TFTP setup if I do this? Do I still need the time server? I'm not sure if these questions have been answered yet so I'll be patient. Any advice on what to do and I'd be grateful.


----------



## wildcardd

Soooo....looks like I am jumping on the Media MVP bandwagon a little late. Any good deals out there for the mmvp? I can only find it for around $99.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *f2000Keith* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Aha!! Thanks John! I have an H2 model. I was going crazy checking my dhcp config over and over again thinking I had misconfigured something. I'm a little confused by that post though as to what I needed to do with some posts regarding Windows and some Linux. I am running a dedicated Windows 2000 server which is on all the time. Could you elaborate more on what I need to do differently than the original setup?



I don't have a new mvp so can't help here. Sorry.

From the thread it looks like folks have booted mvpmc but have not yet figured out

a reliable recipe that works everytime.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *f2000Keith* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> It appears that I would need to install the Hauppague software that came with the MediaMVP and rename the mvpmc dongle.bin to replace the default one. Can I get rid of the old DHCP/TFTP setup if I do this? Do I still need the time server? I'm not sure if these questions have been answered yet so I'll be patient. Any advice on what to do and I'd be grateful.



It's not yet clear whether the final solution will involve using the Hauppauge

server to boot the mvp or whether a custom app will be needed.

In the end I think the old dhcp/tftp software will no longer be required.

Jon has added NTP support to mvpmc so you should be able to sync to an internet

server instead of using rdate.


----------



## Clay Schneider

I'd be amazed if you can't find an out-of-the-way radio shack store that doesn't still have one fallen down behind a shelf [at $29 or less if I remember the price of the last one I bought].


----------



## krkaufman




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *icecow* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Does anyone know how to use oldyellows software? It doesn't have the 'general usage' part filled out. I can run the program but don't know how to use it.



I'm still using it, but mostly because I haven't messed w/ my mvpmc's in a few months. (Bought an add'l Replay when they were free post-rebate.) At the time, I'd modularized a .config file to reference an .init file -- making configuration of multiple mvpmcs a bit easier, but with the hopes of integrating the .init creation w/ a config GUI.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *pyranha* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Is this software still available? I am very interested in moving this onto my Windows 2003 server.



As others have said, oldyellow's software was never "generally available" -- and its development seems to have dropped-off. Not sure if there are any plans for further dev or source code release.


----------



## North

I'm bumping this thread because I noticed that Hauppauge has finally released its wireless version of the mvp: http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/produ...ediamvp-w.html . I don't own one of the wired ones, but I've been following this product closely in the hope that it would be useful (via mvpmc) for RTVs.


I know there has been a lot of traffic lately regarding new system software in the MVP and the resulting difficulty (impossibility?) in booting mvpmc. Can anyone summarize the current state of affairs? Is there a reliable method for booting mvpmc (including the Replay client) on MVPs with the new software builds (H1? H2?). I imagine that the MVP-w will be using the latest software and it's obviously important to RTV users (or at least this one) to confirm that mvpmc works before taking the plunge.


----------



## atlr

Has anyone figured out this particular puzzle? I would be satisfied to just have a dd-wrt DHCP on a WRT54GS hand out the "next server" and "boot file" parameters to the mediamvp and run tftpd on a windows box.


I am not sure how to translate the parameters outlined in http://mvpmc.sourceforge.net/windows..._howto.html#s8 to the proper syntax for dhcpd or dnsmasq in dd-wrt.


I am also note sure if one places the parameters in DNS Masq "Additional DNS Options" or DHCP Server "Additional DHCPd Options"


Pointers or help appreciated.




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *j.m.* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> DD-WRT includes DNSMasq, which I believe supports bootp. It also includes tftpd. I believe it will work. My only question is as to whether the dongle will fit on the R/W JFFS-formatted extra flash space on a WRT54G (I believe a G has 4MB total flash, which leaves only 1-2MB free depending on whether you use dd-wrt std or mini). I know it will fit on a WRT54GS. .


----------



## JM2005

I finally gave up on my MVP and bought used Xbox and havent looked back yet! I know many have mentioned the Xbox in the past and i too thought no way would i buy that! But after looking at a friend of mine that has one setup working with his Replay Tv, i just had to give it a try and i am glad i did. I now have 3 of them located all over my house, running XBMC. This software is great! I now have it tied to my 2.5 TB Unraid Server and also pulling my TV shows from DVArchive & Replay TV as well.


----------



## atlr

I am not familiar with using an xbox with replaytv. Can you recommend URLs that could bring me up to speed?


----------



## atlr

Is it accurate to say that the MediaMVP cannot smoothly play "high" quality ReplayTV recordings?


Playback on my MediaMVP gets choppy above about 4 Mbps.


MediaMVP throughput tests run between 25-50 Mbps over a Buffalo WBR2-G54S Ver.2.30 running 11g.


----------



## atlr

I have successfully configured udhcpd on dd-wrt v23sp1 to pass the bootp server ip and bootfile to a MediaMVP.


I learned syntax by telneting in and realizing that the config file is udhcpd.conf and reading the udhcpd.conf man page
http://manpages.debian.net/cgi-bin/d...11&format=html 


DNS Masq disabled (not sure if this is necessary. it's just my current config)


DHCP Server Additional DHCPd Options:

boot_file dongle.bin.mvpmc-0.3.0

siaddr 192.168.1.101


192.168.1.101 is a XP box running TFTP Desktop from Weird Solutions.
http://www.weird-solutions.com/weird...p?id=276.24.45


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *atlr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am not familiar with using an xbox with replaytv. Can you recommend URLs that could bring me up to speed?



Using Xbox Media center:
http://www.xboxmediacenter.com 


I have used xbmc for replay recordings but the MVP with MVPMC wins out for me on the simple "quiet" factor and the simple ability for the remote to turn on the thin client.


I use both!


----------



## Marcus




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *atlr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Is it accurate to say that the MediaMVP cannot smoothly play "high" quality ReplayTV recordings?
> 
> 
> Playback on my MediaMVP gets choppy above about 4 Mbps.
> 
> 
> MediaMVP throughput tests run between 25-50 Mbps over a Buffalo WBR2-G54S Ver.2.30 running 11g.



The choppy video may be the fault of your serving replay. Is it turned on while you try this? I seem to remember having trouble streaming HQ from one replay to another while the serving replay is on. I don't think I ever tried HQ streaming from a replay to my mvp units.


I never had problems with med recordings or standard.


----------



## honeycut




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Marcus* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The choppy video may be the fault of your serving replay. Is it turned on while you try this? I seem to remember having trouble streaming HQ from one replay to another while the serving replay is on. I don't think I ever tried HQ streaming from a replay to my mvp units.
> 
> I never had problems with med recordings or standard.



I had several people mention trouble streaming high res.

Excluding networking problems it does seem to be related to the serving RTV.

I added a (undocumented) chunksz option that seems to help.


Checkout the following thread on sourceforge:
http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.p...orum_id=501876 


Try: mvpmc -R "ip=discover chunksz=4" to see if it helps.


----------



## icecow

Great, one more undocumented gem is about to sink to the bottom of this haystack of a thread.


----------



## ReplayMirsky

Wow, long, very informative thread... but barring reading every single post from the last 3 years+, I have what I think is an easy question for everyone...


OK, I just bought the Happauge MediaMVP, it's now in my hands, I've installed and configured the WINMVPMC application that one of the forum members was kind enough to send me, I've (for the sake of simplicity) turned off my routers DHCP client and configured my 3 PCs to static IPs... the ReplayTV was always a static IP... I've created the shortcut and edited the .config file file for WINMVPMC...


Since you cannot run this as a SERVICE in Windows 98, it needs to be run in CONSOLE MODE. Is anyone able to help me with that procedure / syntax. I believe it's the only piece left, I just don't know how to accomplish it. How do I run this WINMVPMC app in CONSOLE MODE? Thanks!


----------



## atlr

jastori ,


Would you mind updating your initial post on this excellent thread about mvpmc with the new URL for mvpmc. I am not affiliated with the project but I just pointed a friend to this thread to learn how to get started.

http://www.mvpmc.org/ 

your mvpmc thread


----------



## atlr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *honeycut* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Try: mvpmc -R "ip=discover chunksz=4" to see if it helps.




Somehow I missed this reply from a couple months ago. I am running 0.3.1 now. I just tried adding chunksz=4 and did not notice a difference.


----------



## jastori




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *atlr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Would you mind updating your initial post on this excellent thread about mvpmc with the new URL for mvpmc. I am not affiliated with the project but I just pointed a friend to this thread to learn how to get started.



Thanks for the link - I updated the initial post.


----------



## ReplayMirsky

OK, I am looking for some guidance. I am going to make this as explanatory as possible, for the sake of being thorough. I do apologize for it's length, but it's a great challenge for anyone who knows WINMVPMC, MediaMVP and Replay / DVArchive. Any questions, reply back and I'll answer as quickly as possible.


I bought a Happaugh MediaMVP to talk to my fully subscribed ReplayTV and a computer with DVArchive and a 300 GB hard drive acting as a movie repository. I am employing WINMVPMC as my DHCP, TFTP and TIME server - I am NOT using the software that came with the MediaMVP unit. I also don't wish right now to talk to Windows shares just Replay and DVArchive.


The short version of the actual problem first. After starting WINMVPMC and turning on logging, then powering up the MediaMVP, it scans the network, seems to find the DHCP server in WINMVPMC, asks for an IP, gets an offer, accepts and acknowledgement occurs. Once done, you can PING the IP issued and get a response, turn the unit off, ping again and lose the response so, it seems DHCP is working. But the last thing I've ever seen on the television screen, from the MediaMVP, is No streaming server found


Later, I'll post links to screenshots of each tab and all settings on WINMVPMC, my CONFIG file settings and I'll do my best at photos of the boot process on the MediaMVP. For now, let me describe the network itself to get that out of the way.

ReplayTV unit - 192.168.0.156

DVArchive software, already talking to ReplayTV perfectly. - 192.168.0.159

NOTE: This is a Windows '98 computer. Since WINMVPMC cannot run as a service under '98 and I couldn't get it to run in console mode, the WINMVPMC software and boot config files are installed and running on a Windows XP Home edition computer. The MediaMVP only needs to see it for booting anyway, and since I hardly ever lose power, it's a viable solution.

Windows XP machine / WINMVPMC software - 192.168.0.158

MediaMVP - issuing it an IP of 192.168.0.37 (have tried others)


All machines are (currently, until this all works) connected to a 16-port switch on a single network. That hub is connected to a 4-port (wireless / wired) Dlink router (DI-624). The 4-port router also connects to a Comcast cable modem. DHCP is OFF (for now) and the MAC address table wiped clean. In other words, the router has no record of ever assigning an IP address. All PCs, the ReplayTV, etc. have static addresses and all are working flawlessly, can ping each other and have internet connectivity. Also, all tests explained below have been done with identical results with the router and cable modem off the loop, so the MediaMVP, the ReplayTV and 2 PCs (XP and 98) all on the same 16-port switch, period. In other words, it is not believed that the router is, in any way, interfering here. Just in case, all needed ports have been opened from LAN to LAN for my full IP class range, both UDP and TCP so the router is not blocking anything and not issuing Ips whatsoever.


The Windows XP machine has WINMVPMC installed to it in the following location:

C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc

The config files are in:

C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc\ ftp_root

The two files in there are dongle.bin.mvpmc-0.3.0 and dongle.bin.mvpmc-0.3.0.config

Config file contents are as follows excluding all commented (#) out lines for simplicity.

TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ;

echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config;

rdate -s 192.168.0.158;

mvpmc -R "ip=discover" -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv.xml -c 192.168.0.158&


I have also tried this:

mvpmc -R "ip=192.168.0.158/192.168.0.159/192.168.0.156" -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv.xml &

and a few other variations of these.

And yes, I am opening and editing these in TextPad 4 and saving them as UNIX file types.


Next my icon for WINMVPMC is set as follows:

"C:\\Program Files\\Java\\j2re1.4.1_02\\bin\\java.exe" -jar "C:\\Program Files\\Winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.jar" "C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"


START IN is set to:

"C:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc"


When double-clicked, it launches CMD window and the WIN app... In CMD window appears:

arg = [c:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc]

user.home = [c:\\Program Files\\winmvpmc]

loading configuration from C:\\Program FIles\\winmvpmc\\Winmvpmc.xml

gui: creating new log thread

gui: starting log thread


When I turn on the MediaMVP device, I get the following:

configuring network device... checking network status... some fast screen about not finding previous settings... and finally,

No streaming server found


In the WINMVPMC window downstairs, I see the following INFO LEVEL LOG:

Received DHCP discovery

Sent DHCP offer

Received DHCP request

Sent DHCP ACK

I can then PING that IP (192.168.0.37)


What does the MediaMVP do next? What does WINMVPMC do next? Is this a DVArchive server setting issue? Is a port not opened properly? I assume if it's getting a good DHCP address then PORT 67 is fine and not blocked, and assuming that, is it a stretch to assume Port 69 is ok too? Is TFTP the issue? Anyone have any ideas?


I will screenshot all tabs in WINMVPMC shortly, but I did want to get this posted so some of you smart people could start reading it. Please help!


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> OK, I am looking for some guidance. I am going to make this as explanatory as possible, for the sake of being thorough. I do apologize for it's length, but it's a great challenge for anyone who knows WINMVPMC, MediaMVP and Replay / DVArchive. Any questions, reply back and I'll answer as quickly as possible.



I know a lot about mvpmc, (I'm one of the developer's on the project) but I know nothing about WINMVPMC, but if I had to guess I'd say WINMVPMC isn't compatible with the newer H1/2/3 models from Hauppauge because of the message No streaming server found.


Since you can't run a Hauppauge compatible server some of the functionality from the mvprelay program (source is available) described on the mvpmc wiki at http://mvpmc.wikispaces.com/hxhowto would need to be implemented on your machine.


Martin


----------



## skywaystudio

The whole process of configure the router, DHCP, TFTP and Time Server are complicated and not neccessary at all. All you really need is to serve the mvpmc dongle to the MVP and sync up the time with the replayTV.


For serving the mvpmc dongle as dongle.bin to MVP you can use the Hauppage MVP software or GBPVR to do this.


Next is to telnet to the MVP ip address (about screen), login as root and issue the command for timezone and sync time manually


TZ=EST+5EDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ;

date MMDDHHMMSSYYYY


As long as you can get the time within 40 seconds of ReplayTV, this should get the MVP to talk with the ReplayTV.


If you power cycle your MVP, then you need to repeat the whole process.


Dan L.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *skywaystudio* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The whole process of configure the router, DHCP, TFTP and Time Server are complicated and not neccessary at all. All you really need is to serve the mvpmc dongle to the MVP and sync up the time with the replayTV.
> 
> 
> For serving the mvpmc dongle as dongle.bin to MVP you can use the Hauppage MVP software or GBPVR to do this.



Marcus already suggested this. I think ReplayMirsky really wants to get WINMVPMC working, but I don't think it will work for him.


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky

Just to be clear, because I wasn't up until now, what I'd like to see happen is for my MediaMVP to see my movie collection which is stored and managed by DVArchive which happens to be on a Windows '98 machine. I couldn't care less if it is done via WINMVPMC or another piece of software. My goal was cheap. I have seen other DHCP, TFTP and TIME servers that are cheap for 15 days, then not as cheap... and I do realize the MediaMVP came with software but it's pretty clear about needing to remain running and it doesn't seem (out of the box) to "just work" with ReplayTVs / DVArchives. My impression all along was that WINMVPMC was a solution written to solve both of these problems, but it doesn't seem to work with the new units??


That said, what is the easiest way (any method whatsoever) that's also cheap as far as software goes, to make the MediaMVP (which now that I know there are different versions of, this one is a model 1000, bought NEW within the past 4 weeks) see DVArchive on a Win '98 pc. I can use an XP box for booting, but the XP box cannot remain on 24/7, so it'll be strictly for booting. Oh, for what it's worth, though I doubt this makes things any easier, I also couldn't care less if the MediaMVP can see the other ReplayTV. I dump all movies, specials, kids stuff to the Win '98 / DVArchive server nightly (unless it's something I plan on only watching while lying in bed anyway) so the MediaMVP only NEEDS to see the DVArchive / Win '98 box for stuff to play back.


----------



## skywaystudio

ReplayMirsky,


You can try install the hauppage MVP software on the XP machine, then drop the mvpmc dongle in the dongle directory of the hauppage software. Unplug MVP power to load the dongle.


Once the dongle is loaded onto the MVP, you then sync the time with the Win98 machine and hopefully the MVP will able to see the DVArchive on Win98.


You can shutdown the XP once the dongle loaded to MVP.


Dan L.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> That said, what is the easiest way (any method whatsoever) that's also cheap as far as software goes, to make the MediaMVP ....



Actually you may already very well have a zero cost solution, if you to use XP to load the dongle since you don't need any special service on the Win 98 box if (a) you can get the IP address from a dhcp source such as router and (b) set time from an internet based time server using either telnet or the integrated web server.


It might even be possible for WINMVPMC to act as a DHCP server and even deliver the dongle.config file if it runs the bootp and tftp according to spec, so long as you let Hauppauge (or GBPVR) deliver the dongle.


Martin


----------



## Clay Schneider

The instructions at http://www.mvpmc.org/windows/mvpmc_windoze_howto.html -- while not trivial -- are well written and involve only freeware -- not nagware or 15 day trialware.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clay Schneider* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The instructions at http://www.mvpmc.org/windows/mvpmc_windoze_howto.html -- while not trivial -- are well written and involve only freeware -- not nagware or 15 day trialware.



Unfortunately this will cause the same problem as with WINMVPMC since the dongle loading steps described on that page no longer work with the latest hardware revisions of the MediaMVP. Instead the methods on the wiki need to be followed.


Note you might be able to load the dongle.config via those methods, but the instructions are complicated enough which is why I suggest running the Hauppauge software simply replacing the dongle.bin with the mvpmc dongle and then setting the time manually after booting. Hauppauge can be turned off at that point.


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky

OK, due to the replies of a few, I am tossing the concept of using solely WINMVPMC to boot the MediaMVP. This afternoon, I installed the software that came with the unit. Once installed, I booted the MediaMVP device and set the firewall to ACCEPT for each of the warnings that popped up. (FWIW, it's Kerio Personal Firewall)


The great news is that, for the first time, my MediaMVP actually did something. I got to the GO menu with all 5 buttons (including 'settings') and I was able to naviagte to my music and photos with ease. So, we're off to a good start. And for the record, a consistent one. If I lock the firewall or reboot the PC, the MediaMVP goes into "Contacting Servers" mode but returns immediately when the PC is back 'online' and if I simulate a power loss, it springs right back once power is restored. But, since my goal was MOVIES from DVArchive on the other (Win'98) computer and not photos or music... well, still a ways to go yet.


Anyway, here are my next few questions:

1) Why is it working even though I cannot locate a new IP on my network?

I used the 'net stat' command plus 2 3rd party network monitor apps...

The only IP addresses showing on my network are the XP & '98 boxes.

Not even my ReplayTV shows as being on the network with an IP...

(UPDATE - That's not true - I do see the IP for the ReplavTV - only the MediaMVP is missing when I do a network view of live IPs)

2) That said, how do I telnet into it w/out an IP address?

3) Once I am in (jumping ahead a bit) what EXACTLY will I need to do.

I'm guessing it goes something like this.

TELNET

root


Then what? Maybe I simply type, char for char, each line of the original WINMVPMC ".config" file, starting with the time commands, ending with the "ReplayTV" entries?


Lastly, a couple people mentioned to install the Happaugh sw, then replace the dongle file and have it serve MINE from WINMVPMC. I tried and it never fully booted. Again, what EXACTLY should I be replacing? What I did was take the .CONFIG file (mine was 3kb) and rename it... but I never did find a .config file installed in the Happaugh directory. I did find a dongle.bin and a dongle.bin.ver... but not a .config to replace mine with.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> OK, due to the replies of a few, I am tossing the concept of using solely WINMVPMC to boot the MediaMVP. This afternoon, I installed the software that came with the unit. Once installed, I booted the MediaMVP device and set the firewall to ACCEPT for each of the warnings that popped up. (FWIW, it's Kerio Personal Firewall)



Now that you've got the Hauppauge dongle booting, follow steps 7-10 and 12-18 on http://mvpmc.wikispaces.com/hxhowto , (except I don't think you need to delete dongle.bin.ver)


After that mvpmc should start instead of the Hauppauge software but to use rtv you have to set the mvpmc's time. I think there is already a lot of discussion on that on this forum but, if you still have trouble let me know.


Note that for those that want to use TFTP Turbo to boot dongle.bin and load a dongle.config with the revision H's I've compiled a Win32 version of mvprelay (that is mentioned on the wiki) that I would be able to discuss if there is any interest.


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky

UPDATE - I do see the IP for the ReplavTV - only the MediaMVP is missing when I do a network view of live IPs - the ReplayTV, the XP machine and the DVArchive / Win '98 pcs are all there on the network with known IPs - I just don't know the IP of the MediaMVP.


Martin - I'll take a look at the Wiki tomorrow or Tuesday... today is getting away from me on other issues... mostly, my kid won't take a friggin' nap yet today. Aarrrrgggghhhhh!!!


----------



## skywaystudio

Once the mvpmc dongle loaded, you can see the MVP ip address from the "About" screen from the menu selection.


Dan L.


----------



## ReplayMirsky

Well, I couldn't find an ABOUT screen, but I did figure out which IP the device was on. I also realized that the old WINMVPMC software had a DHCP service still running (as AUTOMATIC ON WINDOWS STARTUP) so that's off and now my router is assigning a DHCP address to the MediaMVP. I can PING it once it's fully booted and it shows up in my network now.


What I cannot do is telnet into it. If I try simply telnet 192.168.0.141 it says it can't open telnet on port 23... if I specifiy the ports that I thought it used, it says simply "connection failed" - I also tried by specifying the user name in the command path... no dice.


NOTE: I have no yet tried again on getting the Hauppauge software to deliver the dongle using the newest method / reply... will do that tomorrow or Tuesday. Wanted to try the telnet method first, mainly to learn and see closer what's happening behind the scenes.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I have no yet tried again on getting the Hauppauge software to deliver the dongle using the newest method / reply... will do that tomorrow or Tuesday. Wanted to try the telnet method first, mainly to learn and see closer what's happening behind the scenes.



You cannot telnet to the Hauppauge dongle and even if you could you wouldn't be able to open any magic hidden replay tv support. You have to load mvpmc.


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky

GREAT NEWS!! IT WORKS!!


Martin - Thank you for your information. I'm sorry I didn't follow it to the letter a few days ago, but it did help, so thank you.


I am going to well document all my findings, as well as a simplified version of "HOW TO MAKE IT WORK IN AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE MINE" - I'll be sure to post that when it's done and triple-checked, just in case it could help anyone else... and I'm certainly going to stay subscribed to the forums so that I too can be of assistance with my new-found knowledge.


Anyway, here's what the last 24 hours taught me, should anyone care. First, if you had previously told WINMVPMC to AUTOSTART SERVICES, they are still running, even if you're not using WINMVPMC anymore. XP just keeps assuming you are. (DUH!) So, once I turned that off, and turned the router DHCP back on, I easily knew what IP address I was grabbing. Next was probably where most of my problems came from. I had assumed that the CONFIG file was the important one. I figured, since the DONGLE.BIN from WINMVPMC was just about the same file size as the one from Hauppauge, that it was basically the OS, and the .CONFIG file was the set of instructions... well, I didn't understand that they are VERY different. Once I replaced the dongle.bin (I don't even think I need the dongle.bin.config) it booted up and instead of seeing the shares on the XP box as it had earlier, it asked if I wanted to discover MythTV, Replay, etc. Once I chose ReplayTV it ran discovery and found both boxes. Granted, the actual RTV is off by more than 40 secs, but for now, my goal was seeing DVA and that works beautifully.


I still have to put all my cables back on the 100MB 4-port router, leaving a couple machines on the 10MB hub, reboot everything and make sure it all still works... but it will!!


THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED AND GAVE IDEAS!!


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> GREAT NEWS!! IT WORKS!!
> 
> 
> Martin - Thank you for your information. I'm sorry I didn't follow it to the letter a few days ago, but it did help, so thank you.
> 
> 
> I am going to well document all my findings, as well as a simplified version of "HOW TO MAKE IT WORK IN AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE MINE" - I'll be sure to post that when it's done and triple-checked, just in case it could help anyone else... and I'm certainly going to stay subscribed to the forums so that I too can be of assistance with my new-found knowledge.



RM, I'm glad it is working. Most of your problems are related to the length of the thread, and I confused things a bit thinking that Win 98 was a must. If you want to document the process I strongly suggest you create a ReplayTV user page on the mvpmc wiki. That way you only have to double check it and it can be enhanced over time.


Finally if thanks are due, they really should go to John Honeycutt http://www.mvpmc.org/~honeycut/ since he did the really hard work of coding this and making it work for you.


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mvallevand* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I confused things a bit thinking that Win 98 was a must. If you want to document the process I strongly suggest you create a ReplayTV user page on the mvpmc wiki. That way you only have to double check it and it can be enhanced over time.
> 
> Martin



Martin - I'm definitely emailing Honey... but good call there!

From the start, I made Windows '98 the focus, because with my limited understanding of how these steps all worked together. Windows '98 is WHERE my DVARCHIVE and MOVIES are. There are several reasons, but I doubt I'm alone. I learned of WINMVPMC by searching this forum for REPLAYTV options for cheap playback on multiple TVs, and then MediaMVP came into play. But all I knew was that. The rest was trial and error for a while and I had a GIANT amount of help from ANDY on the side. Way to go Andy!


The main thing we did not know is that the NEW MediaMVPs don't work like the old ones and WINMVPMC just isn't a viable option anymore. It seems you now HAVE TO use the Hauppauge software for delivery of dongle.bin (I thought it the important delivery was dongle.bin.CONFIG until last night) so we lost much time there. Also, I had changed many DHCP and firewall port settings for WINMVPMC which simply made things more confusing when you came along.


Anyway, here's the very short, undocumented, unexplained summary (for now) for anyone who has at least one ReplayTV but FREQUENTLY dumps it's content to a DVARCHIVE instance / server on a Windows '98 machine but wants to use the inexpensive Hauppauge MediaMVP devices to play back on stand-alone televisions. As long as the machines are on the same internal network, all you really need to do is install the Hauppauge software on a compatible machine (XP, 2000, NT?), stop the running service, move the dongle.bin and dongle.bin.ver to another folder on the PC, copy in the new dongle files to the same 'Hardware' directory, restart the service and power up the MediaMVP. Then, you're done!

The even better news is, if I wanted to spool my ITunes collection or my photo library, which are all on the XP box, all I need to do is move the two dongle files elsewhere, copy back the first ones and reboot... and of course leave the XP box on, which is different than how I handle '98.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The even better news is, if I wanted to spool my ITunes collection or my photo library, which are all on the XP box, all I need to do is move the two dongle files elsewhere, copy back the first ones and reboot... and of course leave the XP box on, which is different than how I handle '98.



You actually don't need to reboot you can do that right from the mvpmc dongle. It can read directly from a Windows or NFS share, streams direct internet radio, has an emulation mode that talks to the Hauppauge server (you'd want my alpha dongle for that) and can connect to slimserver.


Although you struggled a bit I think you will be quite happy with your purchase when you learn more about mvpmc.


Martin


----------



## atlr

If you have a MediaMVP s-video output displayed on 720p-native-resolution flat panel television, please comment about your satisfaction with this combination.


I have asked the question in a slightly different form in this
discussion about flat panels that do a good job displaying 480i/NTSC/SDTV


----------



## atlr

Version 0.3.3 of mvpmc has been released
http://www.mvpmc.org/


----------



## icecow

cool. I got to pull one (of my three, maha) out and hook it up again.


...if I only watched TV..


----------



## peterwu69

my friend told me this site :###.crown-sat.### .and i want to buy a mediamvp.anyone bought mediamvp here? are thire mediamvps good?


----------



## icecow

it has a foreign phone number (england or austrailia maybe). Perhaps they are local to you.


If not, just know that many credit cards are starting to charge 3% for the prevledge of making a purchase outside of the country, or from another country. Foreign shipping might kill it too.


I didn't see the price listed on that site.


I don't know anything abou that site.


----------



## ReplayMirsky

Peter - I bought one of the MediaMVPs from Hauppauge a while back. Using the software dongle created by somebody on this board, it's fantastic. What are your goals; maybe I, or others here, could help you out more. It would just help to know more about what you are trying to accomplish. Also, I'm assuming you already have a ReplayTV or more than one or you wouldn't be in this thread, but other hardware would help to know about as well.


----------



## ReplayMirsky

Brief questions (with follow-up immediately after)

How do you or can you set an RTV 5040 to a specific time manually? Or can you make it time-synch to a specific server/address/ip/etc.


The details. I have one RTV (5040), a Win XP server running DVArchive and 500GB of storage, and one MediaMVP by Hauppauge. The XP box downloads new stuff every night at 1M if I've flagged it to be archived to the server... otherwise it gets watched locally and deleted. Any shows flagged for download are then deleted from the RTV unit of course. The MediaMVP (which I LOVE and will be getting 2 more of for the other tvs) simply streams content from the server to the 2nd TV where this isn't a ReplayTV.


The MediaMVP synchs to the servers time, so it and DVArchive always agree. But RTV units are notoriously picky about time stamps. DVArchive "offsets" itself so it can talk freely with RTV, and I never have issues there, but I also want MediaMVPs to be able to stream from the RTV. It "sees" it, but cannot talk because they're off more than 40 seconds. How does one fix that?


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The MediaMVP synchs to the servers time, so it and DVArchive always agree. But RTV units are notoriously picky about time stamps. DVArchive "offsets" itself so it can talk freely with RTV, and I never have issues there, but I also want MediaMVPs to be able to stream from the RTV. It "sees" it, but cannot talk because they're off more than 40 seconds. How does one fix that?



This reminds me. Many North American users of mvpmc will have to modify their dongle.bin.mvpmc.config or dongle.bin.config files to use the new string for DST.


ie for CST it changes from


TZ=CST+6CDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ


to


TZ=CST+6CDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2; export TZ


The important things are after the M.



Martin


----------



## Clay Schneider




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mvallevand* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> This reminds me. Many North American users of mvpmc will have to modify their dongle.bin.mvpmc.config or dongle.bin.config files to use the new string for DST.
> 
> 
> ie for CST it changes from
> 
> 
> TZ=CST+6CDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ
> 
> 
> to
> 
> 
> TZ=CST+6CDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2; export TZ
> 
> 
> The important things are after the M.
> 
> 
> 
> Martin



Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Kevin1050

I use DVarchive on a 98SE machine and the clock would drift by so much that it wouldn't work. I installed the following program to sync the clock:
http://www.thinkman.com/dimension4/ 


This assumes that the clock that is off is your PC but I think it has on offset feature so you can try to match the MediaMVP offset from the real time.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Kevin1050* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I use DVarchive on a 98SE machine and the clock would drift by so much that it wouldn't work. I installed the following program to sync the clock:
> http://www.thinkman.com/dimension4/
> 
> 
> This assumes that the clock that is off is your PC but I think it has on offset feature so you can try to match the MediaMVP offset from the real time.



If your mvpmc time drifts you should enable ntpclient via the dongle.bin.config file which keeps time constantly up-to-date rather then just the rdate on bootup.


eg.


/bin/ntpclient -s -h time.nist.gov


Martin


----------



## icecow

I have my mediamvp/mvpmc hooked up again. I can watch DVArchive shows, but get a time error when I try to play shows on a replaytv.


any shot in heck someone will give me the needed dongle.bin.conf file I need and explain the syntax?


----------



## CR_TurboGuy

Any ideas here? I've got a newer MediaMVP, running the 0.3.3 release. When I connect to my Replay, it never displays any information. It's just blank, sitting there. I have to power the MediaMVP off/on to get out of the Replay. I know at one point I was able to see the programs on the Replay, but I think it was quite a while ago, with a pretty old nightly version. I can see stuff just fine from DVArchive, so I know that part works. Any suggestions/ideas?


Thanks in advance,


--JOsh


----------



## icecow

newbie to newbie..


It does take a noticable amount of time to load up the guide (at least if you have a stuffed 160gig HD), but it loads up. I've also seen it hang there once, but it reboots so quick, so that is nice.


Maybe it hung on you once and after that you backed out without waiting long enough.

Maybe it hangs when we push buttons when it's trying to load the guide.


Try loading the guide and just waiting a long time the first time.


I'll be fooling with it more myself.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *CR_TurboGuy* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Any ideas here? I've got a newer MediaMVP, running the 0.3.3 release. When I connect to my Replay, it never displays any information. It's just blank, sitting there. I have to power the MediaMVP off/on to get out of the Replay. I know at one point I was able to see the programs on the Replay, but I think it was quite a while ago, with a pretty old nightly version. I can see stuff just fine from DVArchive, so I know that part works. Any suggestions/ideas?



There have been some networking changes in the newer dongles because Hauppauge changed their hardware which needs a new linux kernel. I haven't seen any comments about replaytv on the mvpmc mailing lists so you might want to post there.


One thing I suggest trying if you can is to telnet to your mvpmc and then issuing the following commands


killall mvpmc

mvpmc -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv.xml -R discover --rt-win 4096


If that works let me know. Depending on your telnet client this is not a permanent solution and you'd need a dongle.bin.config to make it permanent.


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mvallevand* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> This reminds me. Many North American users of mvpmc will have to modify their dongle.bin.mvpmc.config or dongle.bin.config files to use the new string for DST.
> 
> 
> ie for CST it changes from
> 
> 
> TZ=CST+6CDT,M4.1.0/2,M10.5.0/2; export TZ
> 
> 
> to
> 
> 
> TZ=CST+6CDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2; export TZ
> 
> 
> The important things are after the M.
> 
> 
> 
> Martin




Martin (or anyone else who might be able to offer a suggestion or three)

I'll try to update on what I've done so far really fast, and I'm also going to post my live entries from my dongle.bin (config) file as well as my DVArchive log. The short version is this. I have DVArchive offset to -3 seconds every time it loads, and it talks to my Replay unit flawlessly. Also, the fact that it's ALWAYS the same offset, I see no drifting whatsoever. I also have the MediaMVP device which WAS synching to a wrong internal IP address (a different machine) so I changed that, a few times, to:

1) Same IP address as my DVArchive / XP machine

2) Same IP address as time.nist.gov in the original dongle.bin

3) IP address of my ReplayTV unit

In each case, I stopp the 2 Happauge services in XP, replace the line in the config file, save the file, restart both services and reboot the MVP. In all cases, I still get an error when it does "discovery" - it finds both my "SERVER" (DVArchive) and the ReplayTV in the bedroom, but when I merely select the RTV line item, it blows the error about time must be within 40 seconds. The wird thing is, you'll see in the 2nd log below, it is offsetting my MVP device (192.168.0.141) to o seconds, so why the problem? Anyway, here's what I have in the config file...


====================================

(this is ONLY what is not commented out to save space)

(also note: I've already followed Martin's advice for the DST fix)

====================================

TZ=EST+5EDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2; export TZ;

echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config;

rdate -s 192.168.0.156;

# I also tried: rdate -s 192.43.244.18

username=MVP,password=MVP;

user=MVP,password=MVP,rsize=34000;

user=MVP,password=MVP,rsize=34000;

mvpmc -R "ip=192.168.0.158/192.168.0.159/192.168.0.156" -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv.xml &


====================================

And here is what is in my DVArchive log an hour after starting DVA

====================================

03/07 15:12:41 Notice: DVArchive V3.1 starting

03/07 15:12:43 Notice: Scheduler Now Running

03/07 15:12:43 STORAGE:: Mounted storage path E:\\ReplayTV\\Import for Import

03/07 15:12:43 STORAGE:: Mounted storage path F:\\ReplayTV\\Import for Import

03/07 15:12:43 STORAGE:: Mounted storage path C:\\ReplayTV\\Import for Import

03/07 15:12:43 STORAGE:: Mounted storage path E:\\ReplayTV\\Local Guide for PATHS

03/07 15:12:43 STORAGE:: Mounted storage path F:\\ReplayTV\\Local Guide for PATHS

03/07 15:12:43 STORAGE:: Mounted storage path C:\\ReplayTV\\Local Guide for PATHS

03/07 15:12:44 Notice: DVArchive Server Started

03/07 15:12:44 UPNP:: DVArchive has started listening to the network associated with 192.168.0.142

03/07 15:12:44 Notice: UPNP:: Received UPnP packet from previously unknown DVR @ 192.168.0.156 -- looking up DVR info

03/07 15:12:46 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive has recognized new DVR ReplayTV named Bed Room at 192.168.0.156:80 (Serial RTV5040I2CA0101085)

03/07 15:12:46 DVR Bed Room Photo space usage update: Total Capacity 953.62MB, Remaining 919.81MB

03/07 15:12:53 Notice: Timestamp offset for Bed Room set to -3 seconds.

03/07 15:13:13 DVR Bed Room space usage update: Total Capacity 36.87GB, Remaining 14.96GB

03/07 15:15:00 Notice: UPNP:: Received UPnP packet from previously unknown DVR @ 192.168.0.141 -- looking up DVR info

03/07 15:15:00 REPLAY_DEVICE:: Fixed bad ReplayTV name [192.168.0.141], now using [192_168_0_141]

03/07 15:15:00 Warn: ReplayTV Device at 192.168.0.141 Reported name of 192.168.0.141 which is known bad. DVA Fixed this to 192_168_0_141

03/07 15:15:00 Notice: UPNP:: DVArchive has recognized new DVR ReplayTV named 192_168_0_141 at 192.168.0.141:80 (Serial RTV5040J3TR0209999)

03/07 15:15:00 DVR 192_168_0_141 Photo space usage update: Total Capacity 953.62MB, Remaining 953.06MB

03/07 15:15:04 Notice: Timestamp offset for 192_168_0_141 set to 0 seconds.

03/07 15:15:04 DVR 192_168_0_141 space usage update: Total Capacity 953.62MB, Remaining 953.06MB

03/07 15:21:20 ERROR: DVREXPLORER:: Unexpected event dispatching ReplayChannelSelected event -- null

03/07 16:12:44 Alert: DVArchive has not heard from 192_168_0_141 (192.168.0.141:80) in the last 30 minutes -- assuming it is gone/dead and removing it from internal DVR list


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Martin (or anyone else who might be able to offer a suggestion or three)
> 
> ====================================
> 
> (this is ONLY what is not commented out to save space)
> 
> (also note: I've already followed Martin's advice for the DST fix)
> 
> ====================================
> 
> TZ=EST+5EDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2; export TZ;
> 
> echo "TZ=EST+5EDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2; export TZ" > /etc/shell.config;
> 
> rdate -s 192.168.0.156;
> 
> # I also tried: rdate -s 192.43.244.18
> 
> username=MVP,password=MVP;
> 
> user=MVP,password=MVP,rsize=34000;
> 
> user=MVP,password=MVP,rsize=34000;
> 
> mvpmc -R "ip=192.168.0.158/192.168.0.159/192.168.0.156" -t /usr/share/mvpmc/replaytv.xml &
> 
> 
> ====================================



Sorry I can't really help on the ReplayTV/DVArchive issue. Maybe someone here can help, if not you will have to try mvpmc support via the mailing list or the next-to-useless forum. I'll try and give some help on your config file,


First of all, I don't see the purpose of those username, user=, those are part of the command used for mounting a share, and are incomplete as they are now.


General tips:


1. Have you confirmed that your mvp does indeed have the correct time. You can do this by entering the mvp's ip into your browser, the status windows should have the time.


2. Telnet to your mvp and issue the following (root is the username asked for)


ls -lt /etc/dongle.config


If it isn't there it didn't load.


3. If you use the browser config to set the date and time do not use 0.3.3 use the nightlies or eventually 0.3.4 or higher.


4. If you have access to the Internet, change your server name to an Internet ntp server like time.nist.gov.


5. Don't save your config file with wordpad or notepad, I've been told some users have problems with the extra line feed characters that windows puts into files. If you must then I would avoid the semi-colons. If this fixes things let me know and I can update mvpmc.


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mvallevand* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> First of all, I don't see the purpose of those username, user=, those are part of the command used for mounting a share, and are incomplete as they are now.
> 
> 
> General tips:
> 
> 
> 1. Have you confirmed that your mvp does indeed have the correct time. You can do this by entering the mvp's ip into your browser, the status windows should have the time.
> 
> 
> 2. Telnet to your mvp and issue the following (root is the username asked for)
> 
> 
> ls -lt /etc/dongle.config
> 
> 
> If it isn't there it didn't load.
> 
> 
> 3. If you use the browser config to set the date and time do not use 0.3.3 use the nightlies or eventually 0.3.4 or higher.
> 
> 
> 4. If you have access to the Internet, change your server name to an Internet ntp server like time.nist.gov.
> 
> 
> 5. Don't save your config file with wordpad or notepad, I've been told some users have problems with the extra line feed characters that windows puts into files. If you must then I would avoid the semi-colons. If this fixes things let me know and I can update mvpmc.
> 
> 
> Martin



Martin - Thanks for the tips. And you may be on to something.

After making absolutely sure I was looking at the correct IP address (it's 192.168.0.141 and I confirmed by looking at both my routers MAC addressing log and DVA's Messages log) I tried what you said. When I open a browser on any PC on my home network and try to surf to 192.168.0.141 or http://192.168.0.141 I get a Page Cannot Be Displayed or it tries for a while then times out. I also tried to telnet in (#2 on your list) and I do get:


Welcome to MediaMVP!

192.168.0.141 login:


I log in as root and it prompts:

BusyBox v1.1.3 (2006.10.22-15:48+0000) Built-in shell (ash)


Of course when I type ls -lt /etc/dongle.config , it returns:

ls: /etc/dongle.config: No such file or directory


So, your thoughts?

I can also tell you that overnight, the Messages log on DVA occasionally logs things like 'lost connection to 192.168.0.141 assuming it's gone dead' or 'found new device 192.168.0.141' and '... with known bad name of 192.168.0.141 changing it to 192_168_0_141' I can also tell you that whenever I try to stream something from the DVA / SERVER box to the MVP it works FLAWLESSLY, so I know DVA is keeping good tabs on MVP at least... but it does appear that the config file is not mine, but rather maybe a "default" ??? What should I try next my friend?


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Martin - Thanks for the tips.
> 
> I get a Page Cannot Be Displayed
> 
> ...
> 
> Of course when I type ls -lt /etc/dongle.config , it returns:
> 
> ls: /etc/dongle.config: No such file or directory
> 
> ...
> 
> What should I try next my friend?



Hi ReplayMirsky.


I forget to mention that mvpmc has to turn off its default configuration web server while you run ReplayTV since part of the RTV protocol has its own web service. To do this you will need to exit the ReplayTV option to the mvpmc main menu.


Once there you should be able to change mvpmc's time setting using your browser. The default is North American Central Time. You should get the nightly build too because of time setting problems in 0.3.3


Assuming this all works and your access to DVArchives improves I can help you out loadind the dongle.bin.config on the other thread on Loading mvpmc Part II.


Unfortuntely I can't help you with problems on ReplayTV or DVArchive disconnecting, I don't use them.


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mvallevand* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hi ReplayMirsky.
> 
> 
> I forget to mention that mvpmc has to turn off its default configuration web server while you run ReplayTV since part of the RTV protocol has its own web service. To do this you will need to exit the ReplayTV option to the mvpmc main menu.
> 
> 
> Once there you should be able to change mvpmc's time setting using your browser. The default is North American Central Time. You should get the nightly build too because of time setting problems in 0.3.3
> 
> 
> Assuming this all works and your access to DVArchives improves I can help you out loadind the dongle.bin.config on the other thread on Loading mvpmc Part II.
> 
> 
> Unfortuntely I can't help you with problems on ReplayTV or DVArchive disconnecting, I don't use them.
> 
> 
> Martin



*********************************

UPDATE BELOW - see asterisks like these

*********************************


OK, I did learn a few things tonight, and want to recap so we're on the same page all the way through. This may get a bit long, just trying to be thorough.


For starters, I still had Hauppauge's software and services running on my other XP box, so they are now 100% removed, services are gone, and that pc has been rebooted to make sure they're not running from there. I also set the DVArchive server to a static IP, as well as confirmed the static on my RTV unit, and I've updated the last line in my dongle.bin file to discover the correct IPs. So, a recap... my DVARCHIVE / REPLAYSERVER is 192.168.0.101, RTV 5040 is 192.168.0.121... here's where it gets a bit weird. I also tried to use the STATIC DHCP to map the MAC ADDRESS of the MediaMVP so it also gets the same IP, and turned OFF standard DHCP on my router... the MediaMVP never got past the initial blue hardware check screen. So, I have my router 192.168.0.1 set to issue DHCP with a range of 2 addresses (one for my wife's work laptop and one for the MediaMVP - now 192.168.0.141)

The CONFIG file is set to "discover" 0.121 (RTV) and 0.101 (DVA / SERVER)

I stopped the 2 MediaMVP services, rebooted the server, checked that both services were running, and plugged the MVP back in. It now grabs it's 0.141 IP address from the router, and *appears* to proceed as planned. It finds both BED ROOM (RTV 5040 with the correct IP) and REPLAYSERVER (also the right IP on the MVP menu screen when selected) but I GET THE SAME TIME CAN'T BE OFF MORE THAN 40 SECONDS message when I select BED ROOM.


****************

UPDATE

****************

WAIT A MINUTE: I just saw your newest post / email... didn't even notice that before. OK, now we're getting even farther along. Granted, I did have to kill off the old services on the other PC, but I just backed out of the Replay menu on MVP, then loaded the Media Center config IP into my browser:

System Time Wed Dec 31 18:09:32 1969


So, that'll do it... but how do I fix it on a more permanent basis, and WITHOUT having to log in every time I lose power, reboot, etc? Why isn't it reading my CONFIG file? What do you need to know, what should I try next, etc.?


----------



## ReplayMirsky




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mvallevand* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hi ReplayMirsky.
> 
> 
> I forget to mention that mvpmc has to turn off its default configuration web server while you run ReplayTV since part of the RTV protocol has its own web service. To do this you will need to exit the ReplayTV option to the mvpmc main menu.
> 
> 
> Once there you should be able to change mvpmc's time setting using your browser. The default is North American Central Time. You should get the nightly build too because of time setting problems in 0.3.3
> 
> 
> Assuming this all works and your access to DVArchives improves I can help you out loadind the dongle.bin.config on the other thread on Loading mvpmc Part II.
> 
> 
> Unfortuntely I can't help you with problems on ReplayTV or DVArchive disconnecting, I don't use them.
> 
> 
> Martin



I also have another question or two while I'm at it...


1) When I do go to the MVP config from a browser, it of course does not have the proper line in the TIME ZONE field... so I replaced it, also added the time server IP address for time.nist.gov and hit the SET TIME button. It removes the plus sign from EST+5EDT and of course my time is set to five hours ahead of now. If I put a MINUS sign, it does ADD time to the clock, so instead of setting it for MAR 9 (tomorrow) 3:07:41 2007, it sets it for 8:07:41 2007, assuming I enter

EST-5EDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2

into the top line. So, it won't actually let me set it for 10M because it won't take the +5, it keeps dropping the +


2) How do I prove it's not even trying to use my dongle.bin CONFIG file, and once I prove that, how do I make it use that.


3) What syntax goes into that line to set the "Startup Item" as ReplayTV - did not know that was even an option and would save a step whenever the thing reboots.


I think that's it for tonight.


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> WAIT A MINUTE: I just saw your newest post / email... didn't even notice that before. OK, now we're getting even farther along. Granted, I did have to kill off the old services on the other PC, but I just backed out of the Replay menu on MVP, then loaded the Media Center config IP into my browser:
> 
> System Time Wed Dec 31 18:09:32 1969
> 
> 
> So, that'll do it... but how do I fix it on a more permanent basis, and WITHOUT having to log in every time I lose power, reboot, etc? Why isn't it reading my CONFIG file? What do you need to know, what should I try next, etc.?



Sounds like you are close. Please review this thread for more information on the permanent solution and follow up with comments there, I'm trying to keep everything on loading the config file together.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=773490 


Martin


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ReplayMirsky* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 1) When I do go to the MVP config from a browser, it of course does not have the proper line in the TIME ZONE field... so I replaced it, also added the time server IP address for time.nist.gov and hit the SET TIME button. It removes the plus sign from EST+5EDT and of course my time is set to five hours ahead of now. If I put a MINUS sign, it does ADD time to the clock, so instead of setting it for MAR 9 (tomorrow) 3:07:41 2007, it sets it for 8:07:41 2007, assuming I enter
> 
> EST-5EDT,M3.2.0/2,M11.1.0/2
> 
> into the top line. So, it won't actually let me set it for 10M because it won't take the +5, it keeps dropping the +



The + being removed is the bug I mentioned and is the reason you should use the nightly build. The -5 is actually relative to GMT and doesn't help you much.


> Quote:
> 2) How do I prove it's not even trying to use my dongle.bin CONFIG file, and once I prove that, how do I make it use that.



The ls -lt /etc/dongle.config you did yesterday is the proof that your dongle.bin.config isn't loading.


> Quote:
> 3) What syntax goes into that line to set the "Startup Item" as ReplayTV - did not know that was even an option and would save a step whenever the thing reboots.



See
http://www.mvpmc.org/replaytv/replaytv.html 


Martin


----------



## ReplayMirsky

This post is just an FYI for anyone having time synch problems since around April 2007. I spent some time troubleshooting, trying to figure out why my MediaMVP stopped having the correct time on recent reboots. I originally thought it might be something to do with the fact that Daylight Savings Time was ORIGINALLY set to take place the first weekend in April... but that isn't the issue. And the issue also is not specific to the Hauppauge MediaMVP. As it turns out, I set my config file to set time (rdate) to time.nist.gov - which the present time is not present. It's either down, gone or something... but when I set to another nist server like

time-a.nist.gov or time-b.nist.gov

it works perfectly. So, for all you StrongBad fans out there:

The system is down yo! We have our top men working ON the clock.


----------



## atlr

 http://tf.nist.gov/service/time-servers.html


----------



## atlr

ReplayMirsky, I wasn't having this problem and now I am.


The mediamvp config has been set to time.nist.gov and it looks like its getting the correct time. By my stopwatch the mediamvp and the replaytv look like they have the same time. Yet, the mediamvp continues to display the off by more than 40 seconds message.


Trying alternate time servers.


----------



## ReplayMirsky

Yeah, my "time" wasn't necessarily off, but the YEAR was 1969, so check that. I did see a reply in another forum from somebody who explained it though. Basically, as time goes on, many of the NIST servers will not be accepting RDATE any longer, and apparently, the server we each pointed to started that effective last week or so. Use some of the others to test. You'll have to modify the config file, then stop and restart the Hauppauge services or reboot the XP machine it runs from, then reboot the MediaMVP itself to see if the new one worked. After rebooting the XP box and the MVP, the easiest way to check is to open a web browser and browse to the IP you give your MVP box. It'll show the time, date, etc.


----------



## dotheDVDeed

I record video from an HDTV set top box to my ReplayTV. The video looks fine on my 16x9 monitor but it appears too tall on my old 4x3 TVs.


Can mvpmc enable my MediaMVP to display the 16x9 enhanced video properly in a letterbox on my old 4x3 TV I'm not ready to throw out just yet?


Thanks

TIM


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dotheDVDeed* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I record video from an HDTV set top box to my ReplayTV. The video looks fine on my 16x9 monitor but it appears too tall on my old 4x3 TVs.
> 
> 
> Can mvpmc enable my MediaMVP to display the 16x9 enhanced video properly in a letterbox on my old 4x3 TV I'm not ready to throw out just yet?
> 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> TIM



Yes, assuming your mvp is setup to display a 4:3 aspect ratio. If you mean does it interpret anamorphic widescreen for the enhanced video as far as I know it does not have this functionality


For your widescreen mvpmc can also use wide screen signaling capabilities too, but I'm not sure if these are enabled in replay tv mode


Martin


----------



## st5000




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dotheDVDeed* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I record video from an HDTV set top box to my ReplayTV. The video looks fine on my 16x9 monitor but it appears too tall on my old 4x3 TVs.
> 
> 
> Can mvpmc enable my MediaMVP to display the 16x9 enhanced video properly in a letterbox on my old 4x3 TV I'm not ready to throw out just yet?
> 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> TIM



I am guessing...


Your HDTV monitor may be able to auto switch.


You have recorded your HDTV to an NTSC PVR w/o the black top and bottom bars.


So if you...


Send the ReplayTV a NTSC signal w/the black top and bottom bars, it will probably play back fine on your NTSC TV. And I would think the HDTV monitor would auto switch or at least have the ability to manually switch to an image w/o the back bars on top or bottom.


Of course...


You just reduced your vertical resolution on all displays.


----------



## dotheDVDeed




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *st5000* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am guessing...
> 
> 
> Your HDTV monitor may be able to auto switch.
> 
> 
> You have recorded your HDTV to an NTSC PVR w/o the black top and bottom bars.
> 
> 
> So if you...
> 
> 
> Send the ReplayTV a NTSC signal w/the black top and bottom bars, it will probably play back fine on your NTSC TV. And I would think the HDTV monitor would auto switch or at least have the ability to manually switch to an image w/o the back bars on top or bottom.
> 
> 
> Of course...
> 
> 
> You just reduced your vertical resolution on all displays.



Huh? The image has no top and bottom bars. It's an anamorphic NTSC mpeg just like what is on DVDs. I want to watch that mpeg on a 4x3 TV. I need the MediaMVP to toss lines of resolution and add top and bottom bars just like a DVD player does when you watch anamorphic (16x9 enhanced) DVDs on a 4x3 standard resolution TV.


TIM


----------



## st5000




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *dotheDVDeed* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Huh? The image has no top and bottom bars. It's an anamorphic NTSC mpeg just like what is on DVDs. I want to watch that mpeg on a 4x3 TV. I need the MediaMVP to toss lines of resolution and add top and bottom bars just like a DVD player does when you watch anamorphic (16x9 enhanced) DVDs on a 4x3 standard resolution TV.
> 
> 
> TIM



Yes, I see what you are saying.


I was suggesting you supply the ReplayTV with such a signal (NTSC w/the black bars at the top and bottom). Not the best solution, but I think it will get you what you want on your old set.


I don't know if the author of the ReplayTV client of mvpmc included provisions to do what you want. As it would be unusual for the ReplayTV to be recording anything other then 4x3 NTSC material (i.e. unusual to record your squished 16x9 in an NTSC format).


----------



## Scyber

So I recently setup my media mvp again and was going to put attach it to a small tv. I tried it on my large TV to set it up via Svideo and everything worked fine. Then I tried to attach it to my smaller TV using composite and I get no video output. Anyone have any ideas?


----------



## mvallevand




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Scyber* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> So I recently setup my media mvp again and was going to put attach it to a small tv. I tried it on my large TV to set it up via Svideo and everything worked fine. Then I tried to attach it to my smaller TV using composite and I get no video output. Anyone have any ideas?



You might have to connect to the Hauppauge software with their dongle and setup the video output that way. I have not actually experienced that problem though. mvpmc itself makes no permanent changes. If you are using a dongle.bin.config though you'd have to change the output type if you specify -o svideo.


Martin


----------



## Scyber




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mvallevand* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> You might have to connect to the Hauppauge software with their dongle and setup the video output that way. I have not actually experienced that problem though. mvpmc itself makes no permanent changes. If you are using a dongle.bin.config though you'd have to change the output type if you specify -o svideo.
> 
> 
> Martin




I tried this and still the same result. I have a feeling this is a hardware problem







I even telneted in and restarted mvpmc with the "-o composite" option earlier and still it didn't work.


----------



## st5000

Hi...


A new feature has been added to MClient (for now, get the latest nightly builds under download at www.mvpmc.org , not sourceforge - that should come later w/a release.). If you are running an MVPMC (MediaMVP / Happaugge) box and a Slimserver (from slimdevices.com) music server then you might be interested in this feature.

*You can now browse your music library by album cover art using the MVPMC / MClient software if your slimserver server is set up with cover art!*

When in MClient, press the menu button then select the browse text line in the widget that pops up. You can look a 6 album covers at a time. Use the arrow keys to move around and the OK key to play the tracks off a particular album.


Most people hang out on the developer and user sourceforge lists if you have any questions or comments. The MClient wiki page is being updated - but, admittedly is hard to find.


----------

