[mythtv-users] MediaMVP Questions
David Frascone
dave at frascone.com
Thu Apr 26 17:03:18 UTC 2007
Tom Metro wrote:
> David Frascone wrote:
>
>> I understand that there are a few downsides to mediamvp...
>>
>
> It has far fewer features compared to Myth-frontend (no scheduling,
> editing, and as you noted, commercial skip, but I think the latter is in
> beta testing), but I find the simpler UI easier to use for the basic
> operation of watching TV.
>
> The client software is also less solid than Myth-frontend. It's quite
> usable, but it isn't unusual for it to hang and require a warm reboot
> (which can be done via the remote).
>
>
>
>> ...but is there any better solution for a simple SD viewer?
>>
>
> I'd be surprised if there was a smaller/cheaper/lower power alternative
> that worked as well.
>
>
>
>> Questions: Can it view a HD stream? I mean, if I have a recording in
>> HD, how can I watch it in SD on a media MVP? Is it possible?
>>
>
> This may be possible via VLC, which provides real time transcoding. I
> haven't set up VLC yet, but my understanding is that it is the mechanism
> used to deal with video formats that the MediaMVP can't handle natively
> with its hardware. Usually that involves transcoding from MPEG4 to
> MPEG2. Perhaps a shift in resolution is possible as well. I think there
> is actually a thread on this topic happening on the mvpmc-users list
> right now.
>
> The down-side to the VLC approach, as I understand it, is that it isn't
> integrated into mvpmc's MythTV client. So you use one UI for playing
> back MythTV shows that are SD MPEG2, and then you have to switch to a
> different UI (browsing a file system via NFS) to access the other content.
>
> As someone mentioned on this list recently, an ideal solution would be
> having MythTV clients indicate their capabilities to the back-end, and
> have the back-end incorporate real-time transcoding to supply an
> appropriate stream to the client.
>
>
>
>> Can it fast-forward?
>>
>
> Yes, though only for about 5 to 10 seconds before the buffers empty.
>
>
>
>> I know I can't commercial skip -- but if the fast
>> forward is good enough . . .
>>
>
> Actually skip forward is the answer to the commercial skip problem. It
> works fine.
>
>
>
>> Can it change channels? On all tuners?
>>
>
> I believe it does support switching between multiple tuners, however
> some users find the live TV functionality to be rather buggy, resulting
> in mvpmc crashes or back-end crashes. That was my experience on many of
> the few times I tried it, but I haven't had much need/interest in that
> capability.
>
Thanks! I'm up to speed now!
-Dave
--
David Frascone
Postmen never die, they just loose their zip...
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