sublime 0 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) Hi everybody, I have been enjoying Mediabrowser through WMC for over 5 years now. So first wanted to say thank you to the team, it's been amazing! However, I am growing a little tired of using WMC as my platform (I'm using the MBC client). I have a ceton infinitv 4 tuner as my only source of live tv. It provides live tv to multiple different rooms in my house. Now that MB supports both live tv and playing network files I am starting to consider dropping WMC altogether and switching over to using one of the clients for MB. I am thinking that depending on the room I might not even need an HTPC anymore if all I am going to use that tv for is media browser. I am just getting tired and frustrated with WMC. I feel like I'm constantly rebooting in order for WMC to detect my tuner (WMC says no tuners available but in Windows I can clearly see it on the network) I'm thinking of perhaps using something like the samsung smart tv app in my bedroom, a roku in my weight room, and 2 HTPCs in my living room (gotta be able to watch 2 football games at once lol) and as it becomes supported later maybe using my XBOne or PS4 with DLNA down the road. So now my question, is MB ready? The MBT app is brand new. The Samsung Smart TV and Roku apps appear to be beta. I don't really want to put forth a whole lot of effort right now figuring out ServerWMC or nextpvr if I am just going to end up reverting back to WMC while waiting for these apps to become more polished. I am also going to probably add another tuner (probably an infinitv 6 eth) if I go this route, and if MB isn't ready yet it's just not worth it for me to make this move across my entire house just yet So how has life been for you people who have completely dropped WMC and are using MB to access 100% of your live tv as well as your downloaded content? Is the navigation thru the channel guide smooth? Does the app find the tuners quickly? How about crashes and those types of issues? Thanks for the info, truly appreciated Edited September 25, 2014 by sublime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantaxp7 190 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I'm not sure you will get the same live tv experience just yet. This is a big reason for me to stick with MBC (though MBC is fantastic and WMC is what to separate from). I think android tv may be what gets me to drop WMC. We'll see what that is like when it is released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceboy 2500 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 It's not ready yet imo, I could handle the relative lack of functionality in comparison to wmc for now, but I get a lot of dropped streams in MBT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gthrift 57 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I haven't tried TV in MB3 yet so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but since the OP is using a cablecard he likely has encrypted channels. isn't his only option to watch those encrypted channels WMC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
above1 41 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 (edited) Almost all cable carriers encrypt their all there channels now, so the days of just plugging in the coax to the TV and getting a picture from the cable co is pretty much gone. There are a few out there but the numbers are dwindling.. He has a ceton device that uses a cable card that decrypts the channels and allows them to be watched. Ceton only works with WMC "supported" and XBMC with a hack. I know of no such hack for MB3. What sublime needs to find out is if his cable co marks all channels "COPY-FREELY" and just the pay channels i.e. HBO, SHOWTime, MAX.... as copy once. Comcast does this, but some others not so much. they horde everything and mark it copy-once as far as I know. If it's copy freely then he can watch those programs from any device. Copy-once will be encrypted when copied by WMC and only viewable by WMC or WMC extenders. If the channels are copy freely then he could just drop down to 1 WMC and use that as the MB3 slave with ServerWMC and stream TV to external devices. MBT, Roku, and so on. Edited September 26, 2014 by above1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sublime 0 Posted September 26, 2014 Author Share Posted September 26, 2014 I thought ServerWMC was basically a work around that tricked the cable card into thinking it was feeding the streams into WMC (probably the most layman explanation ever lol) But it does seem the consensus is that this is not ready quite yet. I will be watching and waiting I did get my Ceton to work with XBMC with that hack but the channels were way too choppy while playback in WMC is perfect. Very dissapointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tman 47 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Once MBT is mature enough and has LiveTV support baked in (and doesn't rely on ServerWMC), then that will be the time to look closely at MBT replacing WMC. It's the live TV/recording/Guide integration that's key, but as MB are using NextPVR for that anyway, it may mean it's closer than what we think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deihmos 147 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 (edited) Out of all the other TV solutions I tried nothing works nearly as good as WMC which is why I continue to use it. I don't have a ceton device though and use an hdhomerun instead. Never had any issues. I don't even think Ceton supports those devices anymore. Edited September 26, 2014 by Deihmos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gthrift 57 Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Almost all cable carriers encrypt their all there channels now, so the days of just plugging in the coax to the TV and getting a picture from the cable co is pretty much gone. There are a few out there but the numbers are dwindling.. He has a ceton device that uses a cable card that decrypts the channels and allows them to be watched. Ceton only works with WMC "supported" and XBMC with a hack. I know of no such hack for MB3. What sublime needs to find out is if his cable co marks all channels "COPY-FREELY" and just the pay channels i.e. HBO, SHOWTime, MAX.... as copy once. Comcast does this, but some others not so much. they horde everything and mark it copy-once as far as I know. If it's copy freely then he can watch those programs from any device. Copy-once will be encrypted when copied by WMC and only viewable by WMC or WMC extenders. If the channels are copy freely then he could just drop down to 1 WMC and use that as the MB3 slave with ServerWMC and stream TV to external devices. MBT, Roku, and so on. Ok, I was thinking even if it was marked copy freely it would require PlayReady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceboy 2500 Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 I don't mind managing the recordings from the web browser, except you can't search yet, I actually think I'll use this even when MBT is fully featured Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee 204 Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Not ready yet, i'm astonished quite frankly that Microsoft have created such an amazing piece of software as WMC then drop it like a hot coal when everyone else has started picking that kind of software up!! ...oh wait no i'm not that's Microsoft to a T!!!! The Windows 8 "metro" UI was the perfect platform for MS to get on TV's so they "delisted" support for ehome remotes.. #epicfail WMC and MBC really does take some beating.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christoph86 12 Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 (edited) Ceton still supports their tuners, the Echo on the other hand is a mostly functional yet dead in the water item. (i.e. they put a terrible processor in it and can't do anything about it). I have to say, Android TV has the most potential to give us an alternative. It will rely heavily on developers to add the tools needed (i.e. tuner compatibility and dvr capabilities). They are including Playready DMR which is essential. This will likely take time, but I have a lot hope for Android TV for a WMC replacement that would allow for a much more user friendly (i.e. WAF) experience. Only time will tell. By the way Lee, you nailed it. Microsoft left their product at the exact wrong time. All they had to do was fix the 29/59 bug and make it compatible on a small, micro-console type box that could have attached storage (or NAS). Microsoft needs to be careful, the desktop will become a niche product for high end gamers and video developers if they don't watch out. Android may be able to replace all the rest at 5-20 watt TDP in a few years. Edited September 27, 2014 by christoph86 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balkerman 7 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 (edited) Not ready yet, i'm astonished quite frankly that Microsoft have created such an amazing piece of software as WMC then drop it like a hot coal when everyone else has started picking that kind of software up!! ...oh wait no i'm not that's Microsoft to a T!!!! The Windows 8 "metro" UI was the perfect platform for MS to get on TV's so they "delisted" support for ehome remotes.. #epicfail WMC and MBC really does take some beating.... They want users to buy an xbox one for tv.... Edited September 28, 2014 by balkerman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee 204 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 They want users to buy an xbox one for tv....Xbox one doesn't do DVR/pvr does it?I know what you mean tho... £100ish android tv or £400+ xbox one mmmmm let me think.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scowie 0 Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 (edited) This might solve your tuner detection problems... Go to "View network status and tasks page" in Control Panel and set the network to "Private/Home" rather than the "Public" it probably has currently (click "customize" on the right). Windows will block discovery of network devices when the network is marked as public which can preventing WMC from accessing tuners. Edited September 29, 2014 by scowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenH 16 Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 From my experience, MB3 with Roku, Android and Windows works flawlessy. In the UK I retain WMC for TV as if you have a decent tuner card, WMC works without issue; I also prefer WMC for photo's and its radio tuner. I can't comment on network tuners as I don't use them. I read a while back the user base for WMC was something like a minor percentage of 1% of the installed Windows custromer base so one can clearly understand why MS have dropped support WMC. What I have come to realise also, is that if something works then there's really no need to update it to something newer; so whilst I use Win8 on some of my newer machines, my core lounge WMC machine remains on Win7 as there's simply no need for it to be anything other. Don't be enticed to update just because you can - if it ain't broke don't fix it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronG85 48 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Once it is baked into MBT I will definitely be getting rid of WMC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iam4uk 26 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Once it is baked into MBT I will definitely be getting rid of WMCIs MBT going to have the TV features of WMC (CableCARD, EPG, DVR, etc.)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronG85 48 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I'm only speculating but I would assume this is the way the developers are heading, but I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceboy 2500 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Isn't a cablecard licence quite expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee 204 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 From my experience, MB3 with Roku, Android and Windows works flawlessy. In the UK I retain WMC for TV as if you have a decent tuner card, WMC works without issue; I also prefer WMC for photo's and its radio tuner. I can't comment on network tuners as I don't use them. I read a while back the user base for WMC was something like a minor percentage of 1% of the installed Windows custromer base so one can clearly understand why MS have dropped support WMC. What I have come to realise also, is that if something works then there's really no need to update it to something newer; so whilst I use Win8 on some of my newer machines, my core lounge WMC machine remains on Win7 as there's simply no need for it to be anything other. Don't be enticed to update just because you can - if it ain't broke don't fix it! hi mate.. just to say w8 works fine with wmc (i'm in the uk) so if you did want to upgrade you should have no issues.. some of the w8 metro apps are nice to have... (vevo demand 5 4od etc...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee 204 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Isn't a cablecard licence quite expensive? I think it's the playready licences that are pricey... apparently the android tv boxes are going to have them. that will pretty much be the death of wmc Imho .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 34 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 (edited) I've gone to a Roku on two of my most heavily-used TVs. My living room still has an HTPC, but I rarely even watch in there. Yes, the Roku interface leaves a bit to be desired, but I honestly don't care. My focus is finding what I want to watch and then watching my shows and the Roku delivers that. Live TV works well on it, although it really needs a grid-view guide. Saving channels as a favorite is an option, but still not a logical solution for "seeing what's on" in an quick-and-easy manner. I use a HDHomerun prime 3-tuner with CableCard. I get nearly 300 channels. The only ones I can't tune in are HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, etc. I don't subscribe to those anyway. I am excited about Android TV also. It's got a way to go, I guess, but I imagine the Android 10' interface will be a while coming anyway. I don't miss my HTPCs at all. Edited October 7, 2014 by Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenH 16 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 hi mate.. just to say w8 works fine with wmc (i'm in the uk) so if you did want to upgrade you should have no issues.. some of the w8 metro apps are nice to have... (vevo demand 5 4od etc...) Hi Lee, Yes I've got Win8 on my main system and yes it's a good o/s, nice and fast, trouble free, supports WMC< MB just fine. My lounge WMC is Win7 and works 100% - has been for 4 years now and as such there's not much point in upgrading it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addyp95 4 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I feel like I must be the only person left who still likes WMC, when set up properly it can do lots, currently plays my blu-rays, handles 3D, live tv works a dream, and mb classic works swimmingly, from using MBT the live tv isnt quite ready, it's nowhere near as nice an experience as using WMC, so it may be nice for just you to use, but if this is for your family (remember the WAF here) I would stick with WMC for a bit longer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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