pc satellite apps dying out

[Dee_Ann]

Uh oh..


I have been dissatisfied with the satellite theater app since day one.

Last year (or maybe year before I can't recall) my ex installed an app called "my theater" on my pc as his last (bad) deed before leaving for good.

I don't much like it. It works for the most part but it's very, very limited.

So last night I went poking around trying to see if there was an update for it and I discover that the app writer has abandoned it and no longer supports it.

Great........ Just what I wanted to read..


So I went looking for another app I had looked at a few months ago called SageTV. Back when I looked at it it appeared to have some really cool features but it was too complicated for me to figure out how to install and setup. Well, I wanted to see if I could give it another try.

Nope. SageTV has been consumed by Google and is now dead and buried.

Google, in my opinion, just bought it and killed it to extinguish competition to their crummy little Google TV project which will never go anywhere.

Corporations despise competition and will do everything they can to eliminate it even if it hurts the little people.


So anyway. With those two apps in the dust bin of history, what are the options now?

I would like very much to have an app that will let me browse my saved recordings using the remote control and play things back without having to go to the keyboard/mouse/main display, will work with my OTA and satellite tuner cards, let me schedule recordings and channel changes and work with my weird and complicated eight way switch.

The other apps I have looked at only work with disque 1.0 four way switches which for me is not at all acceptable.

Google shows a few called Dreamdvb and another called Altdvb but they seem to be very old and abandoned too as the dates on them look like they are all from 2006..

Is there anything that works well now?

Thanks!

 

[rocket69]

DVB dream Rox best app out . Will take some fine tuning to see what sofware decoder will work with your dvb card.

Works great with multi sat setups and can stream video over network to watch on videolan app. also can add dvblink so it will work through windows media center so one could view programing, epg, and change chans via smart tv or ps3

 

[Larry1]

Well I hate to say it, but I think the pirate TV market really pushed the pc satellite programs in the last few years. Also, with more and more satellite boxes in the market, buying a box instead of a card and configuring software is just a lot easier for most people. As pointed out by a previous post, MyTheatre does have a new version out earlier this year, just very few people on their forums now.

 

[Magic Static]

I have to agree with Dee. DVB apps leave a lot to be desired. DVBDream didn't do USALS until the pay version. And still is not very friendly for setting up multiple switching setups. Seems to be buggy also. Lots of updates for DD. Mytheatre's developer SAAR has lost interest in this app. While he still keeps it, he doesn't do very much anymore with it. I wish he would do some hardware updates to it. It would be the perfect app for me. While Google has taken SAGE TV the current software is still very usable. Sadly this app is promoted for use in cardsharing and is not being developed as a true FTA app. Google may do something with it but probably won't have much to do with satellites. ProgDVB is another Russian app that has seen a lot of misuse by hackers. While it seems to be alive it hasn't been rated as a top app. I havn't tried many lately but I feel like Dee in that I wish I had a better DVB app. Some of the others get rave reviews by techie types, but I'm not interested in writing DVB software, just using it.

 

[Magic Static]

And then there's the BDA standard. OMG! Let's not get started on that.

 

[crackt]

sichbopvr is probly the best app going. it boasts blsa support, internet program guide and is pretty user friendly. you can also talk to sichbo or merkin and any issues are usually fixed pronto.

crackt out,.

 

[nzsjb]

Does MediaPortal not work in the US?

That has a huge following, lots of support and is actively developed. It will play almost any media you care to throw at it as well and has many useful plugins. And it's free and Open Source.

And what about VLC (although that's more of a media converter).

 

[crackt]

Does MediaPortal not work in the US?

That has a huge following, lots of support and is actively developed. It will play almost any media you care to throw at it as well and has many useful plugins. And it's free and Open Source.

And what about VLC (although that's more of a media converter).

if i remember correctly i had issues with mediaportal and my switches. isnt it limited to a diseqc 4x1 ?

crackt out,.

 

[Dee_Ann]

if i remember correctly i had issues with mediaportal and my switches. isnt it limited to a diseqc 4x1 ?

crackt out,.

ooopsy! That, is a huge bummer and a total deal breaker for me..

 

[nzsjb]

I'll check - I know the guy here in New Zealand who is a member of the dev/testing team and does a lot of the MediaPortal DVB/Diseqc testing.

 

[nzsjb]

Well I'm amazed but you are correct. MediaPortal doesn't currently support the larger switches.

My contact is working on the upgrade for this at the moment but don't hold your breath - releases are not very frequent.

 

[crackt]

Well I'm amazed but you are correct. MediaPortal doesn't currently support the larger switches.

My contact is working on the upgrade for this at the moment but don't hold your breath - releases are not very frequent.

yah it was a deal breaker for me. i couldnt find a way to add more than 4 sats although i havent tried mediaportal for months. i use an emp 17x4 and diseqc 1.1 cascaded switches so my software options are pretty slim.

crackt out,.

 

[thebaggins]

sichbopvr is probly the best app going. it boasts blsa support, internet program guide and is pretty user friendly. you can also talk to sichbo or merkin and any issues are usually fixed pronto.

crackt out,.

I like sichbopvr also but also use smartdvb

 

[Anony55]

I haven't seen anyone mention DVB Viewer. It works very well for everything I do. It sees my HVR2250 as 2 separate ATSC tuners, and my TT3200 as an S2 tuner. When I still had the crummy DVB World 2006PCIe installed, it even recognized it.

DVBV / TransEdit also fits the bill for DiSEqC 1.0 and 1.1, presuming your device's bda driver supports it.

I've had very good luck with it managing tuners for simultaneous use, as well as playing my recordings & media files. It even works well with my TT3200's remote.

Setup can be a little bit of a "to-do", and it doesn't support analog tuners or analog recording. But once you get the setup figured out and what codecs work best, it does the job pretty well. On top of that, it's pretty cheap (15 Euro, or about 20 bucks last I checked).

Anyway, I'm sure someone could jump in & point out more limitations that DVBV has. But for me, it does the trick.

Cheers

 

[wildbill47]

I tried different usb tuners into a notebook and found the best plan was a HD FTA receiver. You can build up or buy a desktop with PCI card added.
The forums that I knew about that had apps such as al7bar are gone. It appears that the focus now is FTA receivers and free viewing of pay services.

 

[nzsjb]

yah it was a deal breaker for me. i couldnt find a way to add more than 4 sats although i havent tried mediaportal for months. i use an emp 17x4 and diseqc 1.1 cascaded switches so my software options are pretty slim.

crackt out,.

You presumably need something that supports custom commands to control the cascaded switches.

 

[Magic Static]

That's what I like about MyTheatre, Easy control of cascaded switches and motors. DVBDream allows raw commands and with that you can cascade switches.

 

[crackt]

ive never been able to make dvbdream stable. mytheatre used to be my app of choice becuz it did what i needed it to at the time but the beta11 version would only support 22khz switching with any of my newer tuners so i ditched it. although i did stumble across a newer version the other night. the downfall of the pc tuner market is the bda spec for sure. if a developer doesnt want to add custom code to support a new device then forget about diseqc. for the most stb like experience from a pc based tuner believe me that sichbo hit the nail on the head. i have tried every dvb software that google could find and all have quirks. its which software can get what you need done.

crackt out,.

 

[Dee_Ann]

What is this sichbo thing? The name, sounds, a bit on the shady side.

Things like that put me off. But if it works............

 

[crackt]

What is this sichbo thing? The name, sounds, a bit on the shady side.

Things like that put me off. But if it works............

sichbo is an online handle for the main developer of sichbopvr. it is great. merkin is mixed in their somehow as well. essentially the software turns your pc into a stb. how does a program guide for your fta channels sound ? of course id love if it had skin support but the default interface is cool enuff. it has blsa support and may in the future support more blind scan capable tuners. the pid tools are pretty cool too. it does have a slight learning curve but mainly i think its the terminology used in the gui. click on everything and see what it does. it does alot for a small download. dvbn has good info.

crackt out,.