54 replies to this topic

[grinderrr]

Figured I would have a crack at getting a Hauppauge Colossus card configured to work with Foxtel and Win7MC. Some may ask why? To those people, I ask, Why not?
More importantly, I got tired of not being able to stream Foxtel throughout the house in a manner that suited me. So figured I would try out the Colossus card.

Works really well.

A quick note: The clever guys at 1geek1tool have created a software bridge to enable the Colossus card as a valid capture device within MC. The only downside was that there is no channel configuration file so Foxtel remains an unknown configuration so far as the software is concerned. The previous workaround was to set your country of origin to something like Germany or France etc to have a reasonable channel overlap however this meant you lost channels like SBS.

Well I hate compromises so I built my own channel file (embedded in doc).

I'd be happy to share the document however it appears I can't upload ZIPs or doc files. Any suggestions?

Edited by grinderrr, 19 December 2011 - 12:54 AM.

[Ararat]

Have you tried a .rar file?

You can try it both here as an attachment, and in the download section, which you can link to in a post.

[grinderrr]

Setting up a Hauppauge Colossus for use with Foxtel

Steps and sequence

Requirements

Prepare your Colossus Card

Install (or update) DVBLink Server

Install DVBLink for Colossus

Copy mcepgchannelinfo.xml

Update dvblink_configuration file

Configure DVBLink for Colossus - Part 1

Configure the Colossus bridge software

Completing Foxtel XMLTV guide data configuration.

Configure DVBLink for Colossus - Part 2

How to configure DVBLink tuners in Windows MediaCenter

Requirements

Hardware:

1 x Hauppauge Colossus card (

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_colossus.html )

MS remote receiver and IR blaster cables (didn't even bother with anything else given the numerous reports of issues trying to get channel changes working. The MS one just works.)

Software:

DVBLink for Colossus



download:

DVBLink Server 4.0.1 (11.37MB) ***
added: 11/11/2011
description: DVBLink Core (free) This is the central piece that bridges any video source to Media Center.




download:

DVBLink for Colossus 4.0 Beta 2 (1.00MB)
added: 23/11/2011
description: Fully functional 30 days trial


Note: Installation requires both packags to be installed.

　

*** I actually used the TVSource 4.1 binaries since I'm already licensed for TVSource.

　

Prepare your Colossus CardInstall card

Install the latest Colossus drivers from Hauppauge support website .

Reboot if required.

Notes:

I didn't use the IR blaster bundled with the Colossus card given the numerous reports of issues with trying to get it to work reliably. Instead, I opted to utilise the original MS IR blaster cables with the MS remote receiver.

At this stage, ensure you have hooked up your IR blaster cable to your remote receiver and place the transmitter in direct line of site of the Foxtel STB.

　

Install (or update) DVBLink ServerInstallation (new install)

Simply double click on the downloaded DVBLink server installer and follow instructions.


Installation (upgrade)

Open a command prompt at the folder where the DVBLink server installer file is located. Execute the following command and follow instructions:

msiexec /i "DVBLinkServer.msi" REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=vamus




Install DVBLink for ColossusLaunch ColossusBridgeSetup4.0B2.exe and follow instructions.

　



Copy mcepgchannelinfo.xml

Note: I am providing the file below on an "as-is" basis. If you need to change it then be my guest.

Make sure you download the attached mcepgchannelinfo.zip file You will need to copy the following file to C:\Program Files (x86)\DVBLogic\DVBLink\common"

This file is required in order for the channel lineup to show up within the BridgeConfig app. Failure to copy this file will result in no lineup. Actually, the app errors out if no valid file exists so you can't proceed until you rectify.

　

Update dvblink_configuration file

You may get an error when you try top access the web configuration page. If you do then simply check/edit the config file as follows:

Edit "C:\Program Files (x86)\DVBLogic\DVBLink\dvblink_configuration.xml" and add this line -> <streaming_port>8100</streaming_port>

　

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<dvblink_configuration>

<streaming_port>8100</streaming_port>

<addons>

.....

　

Then go to services and restart dvblink service to make sure the changes get picked up.

　

　

Configure DVBLink for Colossus - Part 1

　

To configure, open up a browser window and go to the following address: http://localhost:39876

Initial credentials: (Be sure to change this after you access the configuration page)

Username: user

Password: admin

　

　

Create a source by selecting Colossus (Stream), on the left under the source templates list (you can pick any name for your source)

If you want guide data for Foxtel then create a XMLTV EPG source, on the left under the source templates list (any name will do - I used fox_xml)

　

Configure the Colossus bridge software

If you've copied the mcepgchannelinfo.xml file as instructed you should now see the channel lineup within the BridgeConfig app.

　

On the Colossus setup tab, you'll need to specify how you've connected Foxtel to the Colossus. In my case, I connected via compnent and SPDIF. Just choose the inputs as per the way you've connected the Foxtel STB to the card.

　

Configuring the IR blaster

On the blaster tab you'll notice that there are 5 options. I opted to keep my configuration as simple as possible and went with the MS MCE remote receiver with IR blaster route.

There are many reports that using the IR blaster bundled with the Colossus card resulted in nothing but frustration so I stuck with the MCE IR kit because it just works!

　

Select MCE Compatible IR blaster and then select "Configure IR Blaster"

　

This opens up the "Learn IR codes" window.

Just learn all the keys 0 - 9, Enter - I wasn't sure what to use for Prefix so I learnt the "Foxtel" button here.

　

Notes on IR code learning

Learning the Foxtel IR codes can be very frustrating. Make sure that your IR receiver is not experiencing ANY signal interference. Easiest way to tell is to look at the MCE IR receiver and see if you experience any random "signal detection" via the LEDs. I had heaps and couldn't learn codes util I moved the IR receiver. Turns out, plasma units emit tonnes of electrical noise which the IR receiver seems to have a hard time with. Go figure!

　

Completing Foxtel XMLTV guide data configuration.

Turns out, this step is really simple. Irrespective of how you generate your XML guide data

　

Reasons why you may want to ignore this step:

You already use another application eg: BSEPG to import the data for you.

　

Reasons why you should consider this step:

You don't already use a 3rd party app to import the Foxtel guide data

Using DVBLink to import the data, you simply auto match the data to the channel (based on channel #) and then hey presto!, all tha data automagically populates against the correct channel. Saves you manually matching the data to the correct channel in MC.

　

If you want to use DVBLink to import the guide data for you then all you need to do is simply copy your xml data file to "C:\ProgramData\DVBLogic\DVBLink\xmltv". DVBLink will then pull this data in for you.

　

　

Configure DVBLink for Colossus - Part 2 To configure, open up a browser window and go to the following address: http://localhost:39876

　

Username: <whatever you named your admin user account>

Password: <whatever password you set>

　

Important: You must ensure you've copied mcepgchannelinfo.xml to "

C:\Program Files (x86)\DVBLogic\DVBLink\common" directory or you will get a failure to detect any channels.

　

Setup channel lineup by selecting the "Channels" tab.

　

Select the channels and map them across using the right arrow button and then click save.

　

Jump over to the EPG Sources menu and you should now see all the guide data as per the below screenshot.

　

Under the "automatic EPG source assignment" section, choose "By channel number" and you will find that all guide data auto-matches for you (assumes you have already populated all the channel #'s in your guyide data).

　

Select save and then your done.

　

How to configure DVBLink tuners in Windows MediaCenter

Contents below is from here ->

http://www.dvblogic.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_to_configure_DVBLink_tuners_in_Windows_MediaCenter



　

Configuring DVBLink virtual tuners is part of Windows MediaCenter TV Setup.

TV Setup should be performed only once when DVBLink Server or DVBLink Network Client is installed for the first time.

To do TV Setup start Windows MediaCenter and go to Settings -> TV -> TV signal -> Setup TV Signal. This starts a TV Setup wizard. Follow the steps of the wizard to setup your TV Signal:

Select your actual Region

Enter your actual postcode

Agree to the terms of Guide services

At this point Media Center starts downloading of latest TV setup data for your region

MediaCenter may ask you whether to install PlayReady. Install it. (If you get an error just ignore it and select next)

Select one by one and configure all shown DVBLink Tuners:



　

Important!

You must configure all DVBLink Tuners (4 or 8 depending on the chosen DVBLink server installation) even if you have only one DVBLink source.

At this point MediaCenter will ask you whether you want to configure other available (non DVBLink) tuners. You may want to configure additional tuners if you have them (those which are not controlled by DVBLink Server!).

When you finish configuring all DVBLink tuners, MediaCenter will present you with configured tuners overview:





　

Press Next and Mediacenter will try to download PlayReady update. This will fail! Just select No and press Continue button:

　





　

As a next step Mediacenter will perform channel scan where it may or may not find DVBLink channels. Do not worry - you can always synchronize DVBLink channels from DVBLink MediaCenter addin menu (If you are using the mcepgchannlinfo.xml file supplied then you should see that all 106 channels are "detected" pretty quickly.)

Review the TV Signal Configuration summary and press Next

Press Finish to finish TV Signal setup

Go to the Extras section (on main menu) and select "synchronize DVBLink channels" and this will force a refresh of the guide data using the xmltv source you configured earlier.

At this point, all you need to do now is configure your channel lineups however you want them to appear.

BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!

　





Note: Updated mcepgchannelinfo to include the FTA channels (at least for the ones I can see )

Attached Files

•  mcepgchannelinfo.zip   1.8K   100 downloads

Edited by grinderrr, 20 December 2011 - 03:48 PM.

[grinderrr]

Have you tried a .rar file?

You can try it both here as an attachment, and in the download section, which you can link to in a post.

Yeah tried that. Think the problem was the attachment size. The original doc had screen captures to make the process easy to follow. The version I've uploaed here has the pictures removed. Should still hopefully make sense.

[Jezza_m]

Very helpful, since foxtel nuked 3rd party receivers I was looking for another method of integrating foxtel back into media centre, I plan to pickup a colossus after the new year.

[brucesm]

being able to stream Foxtel throughout the house in a manner that suited me. So figured I would try out the Colossus card.

Works really well.

Sounds like a great project.
With the streaming, is that to an Xbox360?
Or will it work with other (linksys) exnders, given their limited H.264 support?
ty

[grinderrr]

Sounds like a great project.
With the streaming, is that to an Xbox360?
Or will it work with other (linksys) exnders, given their limited H.264 support?
ty

The only extenders in my home are x360's. I would imagine that anything that can do h.264 properly will be fine though.

[grinderrr]

Just an update on progress:

Been working really well. The only glitch I came across (intermittently) was that channel changes were a bit hit and miss. This was easily sorted out by adjusting the IR repeat count to 9 (think default was 3). After this, no more issues.

Edited by grinderrr, 25 December 2011 - 03:38 PM.

[dgaust]

So does the Hauppuage software to integrate the colossus card into Media not work properly? Is that why you need to use DVBLink?

[Ararat]

So does the Hauppuage software to integrate the colossus card into Media not work properly? Is that why you need to use DVBLink?

Correct. I don't own a Colossus, but I own an HD-PVR (which is the external equivalent), and the Hauppauge software didn't work properly. I've forgotten what the problem was, as it's been well over a year since I tried it, but it didn't work for me.

[grinderrr]

Correct. I don't own a Colossus, but I own an HD-PVR (which is the external equivalent), and the Hauppauge software didn't work properly. I've forgotten what the problem was, as it's been well over a year since I tried it, but it didn't work for me.

To be totoally honest, I gave up trying to get it working as soon as I experienced a whole heap of grief trying to get the IR working properly with it (I should go back and test this since working out I had heaps of intereference issues from the plasma panel)


From my research, it appears as though the Hauppauge MCE software bridge has been updated (latest version I could find was v1.2.29271 - 28/9/11).



Assuming the software works as advertised - eg: expose the card to MCE so it appears as a cable card which can be selected, etc then I believe that the only difference between DVBLink versus Hauppauge software is that DVBLink will allow you to import XMLTV guide data. It will also allow you to stream content to non XBOX extenders if you choose to do so via the DVBLink Connect! Server and Client. My research also suggests that the stability issues appear to have been largely addressed however picture quality seemed better with older versions of the driver. YMMV.



Again, I haven't personally verified this driver as I got my configuration working with DVBLink and am very satisfied with the solution.

[Ararat]

Yeah, even if the driver works, it's worth the ~$20 for DVBLink for the ease it adds, especially as you can back up the configuration for when you want to format.

From memory, the Hauppauge driver seemed set up for Sky UK, presented itself as a cable tuner, and (I think this was the problem), required a pre-existing lineup. (As did DVBLink when I used it with HD-PVR).

Grinder, is there any chance you can upload your IR configuration to save others the hassle of learning the IR codes? It literally took me HOURS when I did it a few years ago. I found it's best to have the remote right up close to the receiver, pretty much touching it.

[grinderrr]

Good idea. Here you go.

Extract the attached zip file to C:\Program Files (x86)\DVBLogic\DVBLink\Data\fox (Note: replace the fox with the name you gave your source in the DVBLink configuration tool).

Attached Files

•  IR.zip   1.61K   40 downloads

[Jezza_m]

I have just finished setting it up, I have an SD Pace box DS420NF and I used the internal blaster and it is working fine so far. I selected Europe, Satellite, Pace, IR Code 663 in the blastercfg program.

I have a few questions to get it perfect,

Where is the best place to get an xmltv feed for the EPG?
The aspect ratio is wrong and I have to adjust the zoom in WMC to fix this, annoying as it then stuffs up FTA. Is there a way to fix this?
I haven't left it long enough yet to check but will the foxtel box get told to turn off after a certain amount of idle time?

Edited by Jezza_m, 14 January 2012 - 07:37 PM.

[grinderrr]

Answers inline.

I have just finished setting it up, I have an SD Pace box DS420NF and I used the internal blaster and it is working fine so far. I selected Europe, Satellite, Pace, IR Code 663 in the blastercfg program.

I have a few questions to get it perfect,

Where is the best place to get an xmltv feed for the EPG?

If you don't want to roll your own guide data, grab it from OzTivo and then use something like BSEPG to import


The aspect ratio is wrong and I have to adjust the zoom in WMC to fix this, annoying as it then stuffs up FTA. Is there a way to fix this?

As far as I'm aware, you simply change it to zoom 3 when watching Foxtel. No automatic way that I know of.


I haven't left it long enough yet to check but will the foxtel box get told to turn off after a certain amount of idle time?

Go into fox setup and then under one of the options you can set "P{ower Save" to off.