[Debs626]

My first post

Have been scanning the forums for a few days but cant find an answer to one query

I have a Hauppauge WinTV DVB-T Hybrid Tuner - not sure of the exact model as its come out of an old Philips Freevents PC ... anyway my question is - is the pci card compatible with XBMC ? if so how do I get it to work (simple plain English instructions pls)

I'm going to install XBMC on a bargain PC that I'm about to have delivered.
Intel® Pentium® Processor E5300 2.6 GHz
2GB DDR3
320 HD
Intel GMA X4500HD graphics processor
Hauppauge DVB-T Tuner (if compatible)
MCE Remote control

This PC is going to be attached to my TV via VGA and will only be running XBMC (in win7 Premium 64-bit)ONLY - So I think the specs are very adequate for there needs ?

Do I need to install any security programs ? AV ect ? I'm thinking I do but you probably know better ?

I will be streaming over LAN from my Movie, Music, Pictures and TV folders on my main PC. Also installing iPlayer, TVCatchup and IceFilms plugins. What I would like to know is am I missing anything regarding online streaming plugins ? are there any others that I dont know about ? I'm in the UK btw

Has anyone any tips for making my XBMC the ultimate source of entertainment ?

Thanks in advance for any advice, it will be greatly appreciated

[rocketpants]

TV Card: Not currently supported in XBMC. You need to run some other software to use your TV card. Try looking up about XBMC as a front end for mythTV (although thats linux only AFAIK)

Specs: The PC should be OK for most stuff but I'm not familiar with the video card. It may struggle with HD. Can it do hardware acceleration?

AV: I dont run AV on my htpc as the only time it connects to the net is use XBMC to scrape data - there is no other activity. I guess with those specs you coud run something like MSE if you are concerend without impacting performance too much (making sure of course that it doesn't do a full system scan when you are watching a video)

Plugins: When you have xbmc installed you can browse the list of plugins in the repository to see if there are any you really want or have a look through the forums to see if there are any else that you may want that aren't in the repository. I'm in Australia so most of the video plugins just dont work here so haven't played with them much (although I wish there was one for ABC iView that did work, I'd get it in a flash)

[Debs626]

TV Card: Not currently supported in XBMC. You need to run some other software to use your TV card. Try looking up about XBMC as a front end for mythTV (although thats linux only AFAIK)

Specs: The PC should be OK for most stuff but I'm not familiar with the video card. It may struggle with HD. Can it do hardware acceleration?

AV: I dont run AV on my htpc as the only time it connects to the net is use XBMC to scrape data - there is no other activity. I guess with those specs you coud run something like MSE if you are concerend without impacting performance too much (making sure of course that it doesn't do a full system scan when you are watching a video)

Plugins: When you have xbmc installed you can browse the list of plugins in the repository to see if there are any you really want or have a look through the forums to see if there are any else that you may want that aren't in the repository. I'm in Australia so most of the video plugins just dont work here so haven't played with them much (although I wish there was one for ABC iView that did work, I'd get it in a flash)

Thanks for your reply RocketPants <-- The Video is onboard not a card and I was not sure about hardware acceleration untill I googled -

The Intel® G45 Express Chipset, with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD (Intel® GMA X4500HD), includes built-in support for full 1080p high-definition video playback, including Blu-ray* disc movies. This powerful video engine provides users with a rich, new media experience to deliver smooth HD playback without the need for add-in video cards or decoders. Intel® GMA X4500HD comes with Intel® Clear Video Technology, a combination of video processing hardware and software technologies designed to enhance the visual experience.

In addition to video, the Intel® G45 Express Chipset delivers optimized 3D graphics performance and support for Microsoft DirectX* 10, Shader Model* 4.0 and OpenGL* 2.0. These graphics enhancements deliver the performance and compatibility you need for entertaining, everyday gameplay for the most popular game titles. The Intel® G45 Express Chipset includes support for the latest PC operating systems, including Microsoft Windows Vista*.]

So I think that side of things will be ok

The TV card isn't important as I can watch live streaming and iplayer but it would be nice to be able to record some shows and not have to flick back to my Freeview recorder

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...I'm in Australia so most of the video plugins just dont work here so haven't played with them much (although I wish there was one for ABC iView that did work, I'd get it in a flash)

You've just answered my question - thanks. I was hoping for th the same

[clip]

I'm in Australia... (although I wish there was one for ABC iView that did work, I'd get it in a flash)

I just found the add on for this. Also includes catch up TV from Ten, Seven and SBS as well as iView. Works great too. I'm very happy. XBMC is fantastic, but you guys creating these addons are brilliant. Thanks heaps!

[outatouch0]

I have a Hauppauge WinTV DVB-T Hybrid Tuner - not sure of the exact model as its come out of an old Philips Freevents PC ... anyway my question is - is the pci card compatible with XBMC ? if so how do I get it to work (simple plain English instructions pls)

go to the Hauppauge website to get the current driver... d/l their TV Tuner/recording software. It works great by itself!!

This PC is going to be attached to my TV via VGA and will only be running XBMC (in win7 Premium 64-bit)ONLY - So I think the specs are very adequate for there needs ?

Can you get HD picture from VGA plugs??

Do I need to install any security programs ? AV ect ? I'm thinking I do but you probably know better ?

Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Firewall will be just fine for a dedicated XBMC. (Possibly fine for all PC's?)