[mythtv-users] uPNP hardware recommendation..

[stuart]

This is a thread about UPNP and how it's working on a ZyXEL, Galaxy 3500 
and a PopCorn Hour which we suspect are all based on the Syabas software 
/ SigmaDesign hardware design... (there's some UPNP netgear mp101 tossed 
in as well)

Misty P wrote:
> stuart wrote:
>> Misty P wrote:
...<cut>...
> Well, if it makes you feel any better, I copied a few test mp3s to my mythtv 
> box, and it doesn't appear as though the ZyXEL is able to "see" any of them. 
> But I haven't done a lot of experimenting to find out why not, just a 
> quickie test.

I have noticed that if you do not enter the UPNP session through the 
music icon on the PopCorn Hour (notes in image link below) you will not 
see the music files.  I'm not a fan of this.  It might appear to work 
for those who place all there media files in one directory.  But who 
does that.

http://www.popcornhour.com/userhome/onlinestore/ph_a-100.jpg

...maybe the ZyXEL works the same way.

>>> I guess not having used WizD I don't know what I'm missing.  About
>>> the only thing I really find missing from UPnP in my experience is
>>> the ability to view LiveTV.  I have already far too many ways to
>>> 'slice up' the list of recordings that are presented via UPnP.
>> Now you got me thinking, I'm going to have to download and install
>> WizD or SwissCenter (tried but failed on Fedora, now I'm going for
>> the Debian install).  I expect things to work much better.  But
>> testing is believing....
> 
> Haha, yeah...  theory is nice, but theory doesn't mean much if it doesn't 
> actually work when you need it to!

I've given the Galaxy 3500 another go with mythtv's UPNP and noticed 
that I can get further these days through the menus (defference, I might 
have upgraded the Galaxy 3500's firmware, I have upgraded to mythtv 21). 
  But I can still get both units (Galaxy and PopCorn Hour) to eventually 
not display a menu over the UPNP link.  Usually I can back my way out of 
it.  But, for example, looking for a recording by date several months 
ago will probably not work for me.  FYI, everything is wired 10/100-Base-T.

I installed WizD and pointed the PopCorn Hour at it and I have to say 
I'm a bit disappointed.  But I think most of that comes from the 
confusion of the back ground graphics.  Apparently it's set up for an 
NTSC / PAL sized screen.  Seeing it on a wide screen monitor makes for a 
mosaic of background images.  Overall I had enough problems with WizD to 
say the mythtv UPNP server is easier to work with.  I haven't tried the 
Galaxy 3500 with WizD yet.

Next step is to look at the mythtv's back end logs w/UPNP debugging 
turned on to see if there are any problems seen at the server end.