Wish List recording in WinTV-7?

[pglenn]

does the wintv-7 application support "wish list" recording, or is there a plug-in to allow "wish list" recording? for example record NCIS anytime/anychannel in the future w/o using the tv-guide to schedule it, or to record any show/any channel where the description includes "tom hanks"?

Patrick

[PuzZLeR]

WinTV is rather rudimentary. Its function is to basically start your device on capturing.

If you want something more extensive, with TiVo-like features such as program guides, community recordings, suggestions, favorites, etc, look into Beyond TV, SageTV and GB-PVR.

Each has their own set of modes, but you can sample and test which best suits your needs. You can even have all three installed if you wish.

Only GB-PVR is free, but the other two aren't expensive and have a trial period to try it out first to see if it works for you.

Another, also free, is Windows Media Center (WMC) - this one is hit-and-miss IMO and may conflict with other programs.

Another free one is MythTV, but will only be beneficial if you're into Linux.

[pglenn]

yeah well I use XBMC and really just need a TV front-end for it. I currently have WINTV-7 as an external app called from within XBMC and only thing missing is the "wish list" part. any other simple (but not TOO simple) tv-apps that may work as a front-end for XBMC?

[PuzZLeR]

yeah well I use XBMC and really just need a TV front-end for it. I currently have WINTV-7 as an external app called from within XBMC and only thing missing is the "wish list" part. any other simple (but not TOO simple) tv-apps that may work as a front-end for XBMC?

I'm currently settled on SageTV as a stand-alone app for what I want right now, so don't have XBMC installed or have much knowledge with it or know if even one of the apps mentioned can function as a TV front end for it.

There are things like EPG you can download, etc, but this varies with area. Hopefully someone who does know more on this posts soon.

But I do hear good things about XBMC so I'm sure there's a solution for you.

[usually_quiet]

yeah well I use XBMC and really just need a TV front-end for it. I currently have WINTV-7 as an external app called from within XBMC and only thing missing is the "wish list" part. any other simple (but not TOO simple) tv-apps that may work as a front-end for XBMC?

Media Portal may be worth a look. I don't use XBMC, but Media Portal was mentioned at the website as a possible TV ap to use with XBMC. I'm trying Media Portal now just for fun, and it seems quite nice. Set up for Media Portal requires some effort, but it is highly configurable, open source, and still under development.

[Edit]I haven't set up the guide for Media Portal yet and can't say what recording features are available at this time. The only PC software I have heard of that probably has the features you want is LiquidTV. Nero has discontinued it but sometimes it has shown up on eBay. It comes with a free 1 year TiVo subscription. TiVo still supports it as far as I know, but of course one must pay for service after the free subscription expires. I don't know if it can be made to work with XBMC.

[usually_quiet]

Since my previous post, I have had more time to work on setting up Media Portal. It shows a lot of potential but still needs some work. NPVR or GB-PVR are more reliable as freeware TV aps, although they include fewer features than Media Portal.

Media Portal's interface makes use of a lot of scrolling text and buttons, which I find a little hard to get used to. The guide isn't working properly for me either. I set up Media Portal to use mc2xml for guide data (per instructions on the mc2xml website), and created a task(via Task Scheduler) to update guide data daily. The guide initially showed all the correct programs at a given time, but after the first update ocurred, from then on the programs were all about 5 hours behind. On the plus side, it does have an advanced recording feature to record every time on every channel, although I can't test it because the times for the guide are incorrect.

To top it all off, two days after I installed Media Portal, I received a program update for my firewall, and from then on Media Portal was seen as untrustworthy software that needs to run in a sandbox.

Another plus for me is Media Portal includes a couple of simple games, Tetris and Sudoku.