GBPVR - the Freeware TiVo

Bypassing the software

Eeyore — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:28:00 GMT

Say, your're not happy with the way PCZapper performs. Maybe you want to change the startup program into something different, or you could be unhappy with the way the scripting and containering works. Or you could be fed up with the way the PCzapper community is non-existent, the forum filled with Britney Spears and Facials instead of cool scripts and containers... Or you like to use the hardware under Linux...
If you'd want to bypass the software from PCzapper (the orange icon in the taskbar), or reuse the hardware for whatever reason: it's possible!

First, there's WinLirc (or for Linux: lirc). The remote-reciever I'm using from PCzapper is connected to the serial port. Winlirc captures remote signals that go through there. There's even a mention of the palmbutler IR remote in the Lirc listings of supported remotes that works under both WinLirc and Lirc... Cool!
WinLirc captures the keypresses on the remote, but now we have to do something with those keypresses. You'd want to use IREx. IREx can do virtually anything with these keypresses! Generate keyboard-presses (like the scripts from PCzapper do), start software, reboot your computer etc.
So the process is simple:
1- Install WinLirc and setup your remote
2- Download and install IREx
3- Config your remote config (as exampled in the IREx help and config files) 4- Maybe make these programs autostart when windows starts.
Maybe in the near future a more extensive list with examples and all, but for now:
This would be great with GBPVR (also see my post on using GBPVR together with PCzapper), WinAmp... GBPVR even has a PCZapper alternative aboard, called UbuStream.
Not as neatly actualised as PCZapper is, you have to do it yourself there, but if you want streaming video, it's there!

GBPVR and PCZapper

Eeyore — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 18:47:00 GMT

The PC Zapper is a rather ill-documented piece of hardware (though you can email to content [at] pczapper [dot] nl to get a copy of the content-developping-manual), although it's built to be an open and user-input-friendly system. It uses .PBC (container files, sort of dynamic link files, somewhat similar to rcc) and .PSM script files in which you can define your own user actions with the PCZapper Remote. For instance, you can use MediaPortal, Meedio or in my case GB-PVR to actually record files using your TV Card and an XMLTV frontend as I described in my previous post.

To use GBPVR with PCZapper, I created this script, which I imported with the PC Zapper Media Manager (the little orange icon next to the windows clock.)

If you click it using your PCZapper remote, it will close the PCZapper interface and open GBPVR. That is, if you edited the file (with notepad) to your specific needs. Because of a bug in the initialisation of the TVCard from GBPVR (at least that's what I think it is) I need to switch the TVcard on and off with the Hauppauge WinTV2K first before I hear sound on the live TV and in the recordings. You can use the bat called tvsoundon.bat (download in links section) in yous startup folder or in your PCZapper Script. Option two is embedded in the script. If you dont want it, comment the line out by placing a ' in front of it. (The three lines under 'switch command line recorder on, then swith off, to make sure TVcard is initialised)

To experiment on your own, use the keyboard reference from GBPVR's WIKI and cross-reference with the recieving tags from PCZapper:

(I hope these are right, got them out of the machine code from PC Zapper)

<OnKeyRepeat0> will apparently trigger if you press and hold the 0 key, works for all keys.

Don’t know what these two do, but I found them in the machinecode: <OnKeyjpeg>
<OnKeyjpg>

Take the code I provided as an example and look in the community from PCZapper.nl for more examples.
If your code works, please drop a note and publish on the PCZapper forum.

Good luck!

Installing GBPVR and XMLTV

Eeyore — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 17:27:00 GMT

GBPVR is a freeware alternative for Windows MCE and it comes with a lot of enthousiasts who crowd the WIKI and are pretty supportive. It goes well with XMLTV.

XMLTV is a piece of software that extracts channel information from a server and puts it into a locally stored XML file. To display this file correctly, you'll need a front end. GB_PVR will do just fine.

First, setting up the XMLTV part. Download the XMLTV exe from the link I put up on the right. 0.5.41 is the latest release at this moment which is available as a windows exe download. unzip to for instance c:\xmltv CD to the directory in a dos-window.
In the directory, run from dos-prompt: xmltv tv_grab_nl --configure
Follow the questions it asks about adding channels to your listing. Only accept channels that are on your cable/antenna and don't accept double channels (in my case, UPC broadcasts nickelodeon and Talpa on one channel, so only accepting Talpa will do. You'll get errors in GBPVR if you accept the double channels all the way)
Then run the following command (still in the DOS-box: c:\xmltv\xmltv.exe tv_grab_nl --days 7 --output tvguide.xml
This tells xmltv to create a copy of your guide called tvguide.xml in your xmltv directory.

Now that's settled.

The fun part starts. Download GBPVR from the link on the right and install.

Configuring GBPVR can be a little hassle. Remember: in the config-utility there's no [apply] button, so you have to [OK] and restart after each setting. First: setting up your capture-sources (tv card). Mine's a Hauppauge PVR150 and GBPVR found it according to the list. Go to the appropriate tab and select your card. If it's not there already, click add and select the appropriate one. Then select the card and click edit. You have to put in some basics for it to know what and where. In my case, recording source is direct recording plugin. Click on settings next to it. Select country (Netherlands), and tuning as antenna.
What? Antenna? But I use cable! Yes, fair enough, but I found out that if you select antenna, you can just put the frequencies your cable provider gives you in the table we're about to examine. No need to hassle with the tuning assistant, the winTV2K program or the like.
[OK] this and select EPGsource -> XMLTV plugin. Under settings, point to the file you created with XMLTV. Now [OK] until the Config updates and restart. Go to the same tab and click update EPG. A list of channel names appears. Under source channel you can enter the frequencies from your cable provider. (for instance, click here for UPC Nijmegen.
You see a list with channels and frequencies. We're gonna use the latter. You see for instance Ned1 has frequency 184,00. So you enter 184000000 (six zero's) in the list after Ned1, under source channel. You enter that for all applicable channels. [OK] everything and restart the config.

Now you want the list to appear logically in your EPG. Go to the tab Channels and type in the desired channel numbers. This is just the display sequence, so don't worry about confusing your XMLTV. [OK] and restart. Now, in playback I use the following settings: Not sure if they're the best but they work for me.
Now edit the directories to your own taste and on the MISC tab select a BDA Multiplexer. I use the Microsoft one that comes with SP1. If you have trouble here, search in the WIKI on the http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/ pages.

I use a dual screen setup, (TV is second screen) so I select "start on second screen" in the Config.

If all went well, you got yourself a working media TV alternative. Click on the Red-and-blue TV icon to start GBPVR and check everything. Happy zapping!