MediaMVP for you $200 PVR

[joepic]

Does anyone have experience with Hauppauge MediaMVP? It looks to be very functional and well priced.

I found an interesting article on using the MediaMVP along with the GB-PVR software:

Building a PVR in 3 Or So Steps for About $200
http://www.byopvr.com/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-10.html

GB-PVR - FREE
http://www.gbpvr.com/

What is GB-PVR?
GB-PVR is a fully featured Personal Video Recorder (PVR), allowing you to schedule TV recordings and view and pause live TV. In additional to this PVR functionality, it also acts as a media center allowing you to watch movies, listen to music and view pictures. GB-PVR also supports specialist hardware decoders including Sigma Designs XCard, Hauppauge PVR350 and Hauppauge MediaMVP, with support the full application including On Screen Display (OSD). GB-PVR also supports multiple tuners, allowing you to record more multiple channels at one time.

What do I need?
You need to be running on Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Your machine must also have the Microsoft .NET v1.1 runtime installed. For TV Tuner cards, currently supported are:

Hauppauge PVR250, PVR250MCE, "Roslyn/Blackbird", PVR350, PVR USB2 cards
Adaptec VideOh.
Provideo PV258, PV259, PV358T
Leadtek PVR2000
Avermedia M150
Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe USB
PixelView PlayTV@P7000
Generic Conexant "Blackbird" based card
Plextor PX-M402U
Lifeview TV Walker
Generic GO7007SB based capture device

MediaMVP - $99
http://www.hauppage.com/pages/products/data_mediamvp.html

MediaMVP: a digital media player for your home network:
Watch and listen to PC based music, videos and pictures on your TV set. Play slide shows with music, too!
Connects to Ethernet networks with standard RJ-45 connectors
Play MP3 music and music playlists (New! Now plays WMA audio)
Play MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 videos (New! Now plays DivX movies!)
Play JPEG and GIF digital pictures
Includes remote control for easy navigation from your TV set

New! Now with Internet radio!

MediaMVP Features:
Access digital music, videos or pictures (or Internet radio stations**) from your TV set, over your home network.

Uses 10Mbit or 100Mbit Ethernet, for the best network performance with any type of digital media. Plays DVD quality videos on your TV set over an Ethernet LAN!

Composite and S-Video outputs for the best video quality on TV sets, plus stereo audio output to TV sets or home theater systems.

Watch digital camera pictures (JPEG or GIF) on your TV set. Play slide shows with music, too!

Plays MP3 music, either individual titles, all the music titles in a directory or M3U, B4S, PLS and ASX playlists.

Plays MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and DivX recordings made with the Hauppauge WinTV with SoftPVR or WinTV-PVR's. Will also play most other MPEG-1/2 standard video files. Will also play most standard DivX movies*. With MediaMVP’s remote control, you can pause, rewin, fast forward or jump through your recorded videos.

Remote control for easy access to your PC media from your TV set. MediaMVPs remote control allows you to navigate through your PCs disk drives, and displays media names, directories and other information on the TV set. MediaMVPs remote also can control the audio volume and mute of videos and music being played.
*Note: you need a 1.8Ghz or faster PC to play DivX movies.
** Note: Internet radio stations must be directly accessable via a URL to be played through MediaMVP.

[rumplestiltskin]

Just ordered the MediaMVP unit from pcAlchemy (<$100, delivered). I already have a WinTV PVR250 (which works well using the included software). The MediaMVP is the missing link for which I was looking.

I have been burning the mpg's to DVD+RW and re-using the discs; this is a "VCR-replacement" so I'm not especially concerned about "digital perfection".

Once I have the unit installed and I have a chance to run some tests, I'll post a review.

[EwanG]

Once I have the unit installed and I have a chance to run some tests, I'll post a review.

So, how's it looking so far - assuming you've even gotten it yet?

[rumplestiltskin]

It's been a hectic month with visitors from back east and my kids. Finally starting to have time for other things. Should be this coming weekend when I'll finally connect the unit and be able to compose some commentary.

Thank you for the reminder (and your patience).

[EwanG]

FWIW, I ended up picking up a MediaMVP with my tax refund, and a Hauppauge PVR-350, and a complete Wireless G solution (DLink eXtreme G router, bridge (for the MVP), and several cards).

Initially I wasn't getting the greatest network performance, even though I did see some improvement after installing the latest drivers and firmware from the DLink website. Getting an external 6db omni-directional antenna seems to have helped with that.

I've installed the GB-PVR software rather than the MediaMVP software as the MediaMVP software doesn't support LiveTV viewing, and has a pretty ugly interface.

For music and photos this works great. For video I am still having problems with the link dropping after 5-7 minutes. Turning off the MVP only turns off the display, which means when the link drops you have to walk across the room, unplug the MVP, and then plug it in and walk back. Even having a software reboot that could be performed by remote would help.

As it is, I'm not sure if the drop problem is related to the GB-PVR software or to the network. I will be trying to determine that over the next few days.

FWIW,
Ewan