TV-Server FAQ

Configuration

What is my "Database user logon"?

The default password is : MediaPortal (note uppercase letters)

How can I change the database password ?

Uninstall MediaPortal, then reinstall by selecting "Perform an Advanced Installation" instead of "One click installation". After the SQL-Server selection screen, you can enter the password for "sa" user.

I have problems with my LAN/WLAN configuration. What can I do if I want to use single seat only?

If you have a single seat configuration (TV server and TV client on the same PC) then you can use the Microsoft Loopback Adapter to be independent from any LAN/WLAN availability:

1. Install MS Loopback Adapter: How to install Microsoft Loopback Device
2. TV Server: In the TV server configuration dialog select "TV servers" and then the line with the name of your PC (for details see Configuration TV). Press the "Select IP for streaming" button at the bottom of the window and enter the IP address that you have configured for the MS loopback adapter (e.g. 10.0.0.1 or 127.0.0.1). You will be prompted to restart the TV server. You can do this e.g. in the Windows services menu or by restarting your PC. When you reenter the TV server configuration dialog, you should see in "TV servers" the IP address instead of the name of the PC.
3. TV Client: in Configuration TV enter the same IP address that you have entered in the TV server configuration dialog and the MS loopback adapter.
   Now you should be able to watch TV without the need to have a valid LAN/WLAN connection. That means there is no need for any DHCP server to resolve the name of your PC into a valid IP address. Please note that receiving the TV server stream from on another PC is not possible any more with this configuration (no multiseat!).

Watch a current recording from the start

TV Server offers the ability to watch a recording that is still currently in progress. This feature also allows you to watch it from the beginning (very much like time shifting). To access this feature, from the full TV Guide, select the program which is desired to be watched. If it is still recording, a pop up question will ask if you would like to watch from the beginning of the recording or from the live point of the recording. If you select from the beginning, you will also have the ability to skip forward (eg. skip the commercials) using the right arrow or up arrow of the keyboard, even up to the live point of the recording if desired.

NOTE:- this feature will not be available from the miniEPG (miniEPG is when the TV picture is fullscreen and 'ENTER' key is pressed).

Error Message - DVBSub2.ax not registered

You need to install the Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86). To resolve this issue, please uninstall the software that raised the error and then go to Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86) and install. 

Once the C++ 2008 Redistributable Package installation is complete re-install the software which caused the error and everything should be fine.

Unable to Configure MySQL in Vista

If you are receiving an error message in the likes of "This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Set Associations control panel" when trying to run the MySQL wizard, then this post from Neowin.net forums may offer the solution.

Error Message When running TV Setup - "Failed to Create Database"

If when doing a re-installation of MSSQL or TV server you receive the error "Failed to Create Database", it may be because the MSSQL database files were not deleted from the hard drive. To resolve this issue please follow the steps below :

1. Ensure the database you specify in the DB configuration (default "MpTvDb") is deleted in the SQL management GUI
2. Locate the datafile directory for MS SQL (e.g. "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQLx.y\MSSQL\DATA", where"x.y" is version-specific) and ensure there are no files that start with MpTvDb (or alternative chosen DB name). If so, either rename or delete these files.
3. Now you should be able to run TVSetup.exe and it should create the new database.

What do the green/red icons mean in TV Server Configuration?

• The green V icon indicates a TV channel which is free-to-air. You can view this tv channel without a subscription.
• The red V icon indicates a TV channel which is encrypted. To view this tv channel you will need:
  1. A tv card with a CI interface
  2. A CAM
  3. A valid subscription + smartcard
• The green R icon indicates a Radio channel which is free-to-air. You can listen to this channel without a subscription.
• The red R icon indicates a Radio channel which is encrypted. To listen to this channel you will need:
  1. A tv card with a CI interface
  2. A CAM
  3. A valid subscription + smartcard

My TV card is not working or recognized

At the moment the TV Server supports the following types of cards: 

• Analog tv card.
• DVB / ATSC tv cards with BDA drivers
• SkyStar 2 tv card
• AirStar 2 tv card
• CableStar 2 tv card

'Old' analog cards which don't have an onboard mpeg-2 encoder (often called S/W cards) are supported at this moment. However we know that a few s/w card brands are not working yet

How do i get the EPG for analog TV channels?

In case of DVB cards, the EPG is automatically grabbed from the broadcaster. For analog TV no EPG is present. To get an EPG you can use the WebEPG from Mediaportal. This application allows you to generate a XMLTV file which can be imported by the TV Server using the XMLTV importer plugin.

My hybrid TV card does not work!

Today we see more and more hybrid tv cards on the market. A hybrid tv card is a card which has two tuners, mostly those are for analog TV and DVB-T. The sad thing is that although it has two tuners, you can only use one of them at the same time.

So if you watch analog TV, then you cannot use the DVB-T part. And if you watch DVB-T you cannot use the analog part. The TV Server doesn't know about it. It thinks that there are two cards installed and that both can be used simultaneously. To get it to work, you should tell the TV Server about these limitations.

See: Configure Hybrid Cards

How can I sort the EPG channels?

You can sort the channels in TV Server Configuration. Note that each TV group can have a different sorting.
The default group seen in MediaPortal is called 'All Channels':  In TVServer Configuration > TV Channels.
You have on the right, Channels, Analog Channel and All the Channels (analog channels or other, depends your tv card)
Choose "All Channels" and order it as you want.