Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1850

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vogelap
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Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1850

Post by vogelap » Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:32 pm

I've been using PVR software since October 2002, when I started using Beyond TV. Beyond TV is still the main PVR component of my HTPC, but Beyond TV is no longer developed, and I want to modernize the entire system.

I'm running Win 7 64-bit with a Hauppauge HVR-1850 card accessing DirecTV via set-top box (controlled by low-speed serial connection) and OTA HD. I am currently running NextPVR as the PVR backend in a test environment. I like NPVR, but I understand that the scheduling facility in Argus-TV is much stronger. My goal is to explore Argus-TV as the PVR back-end (Server/Client) with XBMC as the front-end.

I've taken several runs at getting Argus-TV to work in this configuration, but have backed away each time because it quickly becomes baffling. As I understand it, I have to do all the following steps in order to get Argus-TV working.
* .NET 4.0 installation
* DirectX installation
* Microsoft SQL Server Express install & configure
* MediaPortal TV Server installation
* MediaPortal TV Server configuration
* Set up File Sharing on Windows 7
* Make sure the Windows 7 user account has full rights to the shares
* Configure XMLTV
* Create MSN/Windows Live Messenger accounts
* Install Argus-TV
* Enable Argus TV Plugin in MediaPortal TV Server
* Configure Argus-TV

...it becomes confusing quickly!

It would be amazing if there was a step-by-step, current document that took users with such a configuration through all the steps required to get things working.

Or if anyone has any advice, I'm happy to hear it. I'd really like to get this working with my configuration!
-drew
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planetix
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Re: Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1

Post by planetix » Fri Feb 01, 2013 2:18 am

It's not as complicated as all that - most of the initial steps you list will be taken care of automatically when you run the MediaPortal installer (it'll even download SQL and configure it for you). I strongly - strongly - recommend you install the MediaPortal client along with it. Though I greatly prefer XBMC as a front end the MePo client will be good to have for testing/sanity checks as PVR services and the Argus client are fairly mature on that platform. You can always uninstall just that part later. You also missed a couple steps: You'll need IRSS (you can get it off MePo's forums, there's a thread for it) and you'll want something better for your guide data - if I were you, I'd pay SchedulesDirect their $25 annual fee and get the data from them, it's great data, always up to date, and dead simple to set up. You want to use XMLTV you'll have to search the forums for guides.

So, install MediaPortal.
Install Argus, including the client for MePo AND the TV Server plugin. Do no install Argus TV Server itself, you'll be using MePo TV for that.

Install IRSS - The IR Server Suite. It has a plugin for MePo's TV server and is pretty much what you are going to need to change channels.

Subscribe to SD - they have a free 7 day no commitment trial if you just want to check it out - and install the SD plugin for MePo TV Server.

Configure the TV Server - it'll pick up your card, that part isn't hard. The tricky part is adding the channels, since there's no way to "scan" for them - you'll need to add them yourself. Fortunately the SD plugin will do that for you. You'll need to add your channel lineup for DirectTV on SD's site, which is easy. Add all the ones you have (let the client do the filtering). Then in TV Server, open the SD plugin options, enter your SD login, and pull the channels. Then, also in TV Server, go to the Channels option and make sure they are all mapped to your capture card.

Still in TV Server config, go to plugins and configure the IRSS plugin. This part might be a little tricky for you since I don't use a serial blaster myself, I use IR, but it's a fairly straightforward process - tell the plugin what channel-changing device you have, then configure it to send the correct commands. It has a built-in library of common devices so you might be in luck there. You can test channel changes in the plugin config, you'll see the option.

Once that's done, still in TV Server options, configure the Argus plugin - it should automatically pull in/map channels from the previous step. Check your shares - you can (if I recall) create them and set permissions right from the plugin.

Now move on to Argus config - remember, not the Argus TV server itself, you don't need that. This is the part that trips people up. Where you *really* need to pull in regular Channel data is in Argus - doing it in MePo is just to make the process of adding channels easier for you, it won't update the actual guide in Argus. For that you'll need to run the Argus TV Guide importer, choose SD, put in your login (yes, again, in a different program), make sure you pick the same channel listing you did in MePo, and have it pull in the data. Once that is done, fire up Argus and configure/map your channels there - you should find all your channels under guide channels already, since you ran the TV Guide importer. Make sure you configure "TV Server" for your MediaPortal server, and map the channels. It'll make sense when you see it.

Once you get that set, fire up the MePo client config - you'll need to configure the Argus client to tell it where your server is (it defaults to localhost, so if you are doing this all on one box you may not even have to do that). Open MePo, go to live tv, make sure your channels show up and you can tune them.

Next just install XBMC Frodo, enable live tv, enable the Argus client, tell the client where your Argus server is, open Live TV, and you should be good to go. Assuming you did all that right, the actual XBMC setup is pretty simple.

Once you get everything working, add a Windows Scheduled task to pull the TV Guide Importer nightly and you're all set. I have a dual-capture setup with XBMC/MePo/etc and it pretty much runs itself.

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Re: Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1

Post by vogelap » Fri Feb 01, 2013 4:27 pm

Thank you, planetix, for writing all that information up!

I really appreciate your time and knowledge -- and because of your guidance, I am going to try to configure Argus-TV this weekend!

I'll post about how it goes.
-drew
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Re: Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1

Post by vogelap » Sat Feb 02, 2013 12:06 am

Thanks again for your tips. Based on your advice, I've purchased a 1-year subscription to Schedules Direct, since it appears that no matter what PVR back-end solution I use, that data will be useful.

Quick question... Should I begin my Argus-TV installation exploration with MediaPortal 1.2.3 or MediaPortal Beta 1.3.0? Does selecting one instead of the other have implications during installation or use?
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planetix
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Re: Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1

Post by planetix » Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:07 pm

I'd recommend 1.2.3, only because I know for certain that it is solid and stable. Most of the improvements in the 1.3 beta are client related, not for the TV Server itself.

PVR services with MediaPortal are more mature, as is the Argus client - for example, setting up recordings using the actual client (as opposed to the web interface) is much easier and full featured. The only time I record stuff using XBMC is for on-demend recordings, i.e. I'm watching something and I want to save it. For scheduling, I stick to the web interface, which is actually very nice - probably the best web front end out of all the PVR options I've tried. Works really well on tablets too.

I also think, depending on the skin, that the EPG in MediaPortal is also superior to XBMC. However in just about every other aspect I prefer XBMC, and it's PVR support has come a long, long way in just the past year.

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Re: Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1

Post by vogelap » Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:45 am

I'm working through the suggestions you gave me, and I've hit a snag.

I'm trying to do "Then in TV Server, open the SD plugin options, enter your SD login, and pull the channels. Then, also in TV Server, go to the Channels option and make sure they are all mapped to your capture card".

I cannot figure out how to "pull the channels" nor how to "make sure they are all mapped to the capture card"! Can you advise, please?

Thanks!
-drew
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Re: Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1

Post by vogelap » Fri Mar 01, 2013 11:33 pm

Can anyone offer assistance with the snag, above, please? Thanks in advance.
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Re: Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1

Post by Red_F » Sat Mar 02, 2013 12:08 am

I'm so sorry that I have zero experience with the combination of analog tuners/Media Portal TV Server/ARGUS TV. I really would like to help you but anything I write down would be guesswork :(
Growing old is inevitable. Growing up is optional!

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Re: Quest to get ArgusTV & XBMC working with Hauppauge HVR-1

Post by andrewNZ » Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:44 am

OK, I've had NO experience with this, but a look at the very minimal wiki page gives me some clues. It's also been a long time since I looked at MP TV Server so...

Assuming I'm looking at the correct plugin.
pull the channels: Open the plugin and go to the advanced tab, check the box in the middle that says "Force Guide update on next TvService startup" and restart the TV Service (rebooting the machine would probably be sufficient.
[quote="SD Wiki]Force Guide update on next TvService startup: Use this checkbox to test your setup. Check it, restart the TVService using the service control (My Computer (right mouse click) Manage->Services). Once the TVService is started, this checkbox is cleared.[/quote]
This will collect the EPG data so you have something to work with in the next step.

make sure they are all mapped to the capture card: This one I'm more vague on. But the idea is to make sure the guide channel data is matched to the analog channels.

Looking some more, it appears that the mapping is mostly automatic, what you need to do is make sure the MP channel names, match the names you have setup online... Does that make sense? I have no idea how to tell if they are actually mapped properly.
You can fix it, or you can fix it until it's broken. I usually choose the latter.

Server: WHS 2011. Hauppauge HVR 2200. Avermedia A835. ArgusTV Server. EPG Collector.
Clients: Win7 64bit. MediaPortal. ArgusTV Client. StreamedMP.

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