WHS and Media Center Integrated v2
Version 2 of the DVBLink software is now out of beta and has been officially released.
By installing your TV tuner card/s into your Windows Home Server the software allows your tuner cards to become network aware, enabling you to watch TV in the lounge on Windows Media center, which is accessing those tuner cards on WHS.
This new version has a huge list of improvements and new features compared to the previous version. Almost every aspect of the program is improved – new easy-to-use user interface, improved reliability, compliance to UAC rules, increased number of supported tuner cards, network streaming to other MediaCenter computers to name just a few.
Supported hardware:
- FireDTV, FloppyDTV (including CI support)
- Hauppauge WinTV Nova (S and HD S2), WinTV HVR (all models)
- Pinnacle PCTV
- Prof Red and Prof Revolution
- Technotrend Budget (including CI support)
- Technisat SkyStar2, SkyStar HD, HD2, SkyStar USB2 (including CI support)
- Terratec Cinergy (including CI support)
- Twinhan (including CI support)
- Azurewave (including CI support)
- TeVii
- Genpix
- All other cards, having BDA drivers, are supported as well. However diseqc and CI control availability may differ. Please use DVBLink TVSource Preview to check whether your tuner card works with DVBLink TVSource. No installation is required.
Whilst the software is mainly of use to European users, DVBLink v2 supports DVB-S in the US and can now assign channel numbers by PID.
The price for DVBLink TVSource plus the DVBLink Server Network Pack are €25 each or as a bundle (as you need both) for only €40 whilst the client software is free.
The prices include all future product updates and the DVBLink Server Network Pack includes an unlimited number of clients.
More details are available from here.
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I’ve been following dvblink for a little while, and it appears to be game changing software. I have a question about its integration with WHS. Is the primary advantage of having the tuner card in you whs machine that it is (mostly) always on? I have an hp mediasmart 490, which doesn’t allow for a new internal card, and I’m not thrilled with stick tuner options. If I have the tuner in a networked desktop, can I still leverage the advantages of whs and dvblink when using it with wmc and an htpc?
Thanks, matt
Typically, the VDR behaves like a normal digital receiver; the picture is sent to a television, and is controlled using a remote control by choosing items from a simple but functional On Screen Display (OSD). While switching channels, an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) provides information such as the title of the current and next show. The EPG can be configured to display the shows of only one station, or of all current broadcasts in “What’s on now?/next?”. Many other options are also available such as: sortable channel listings, a program schedule, timer programming, and a list of pre-recorded shows. Commercials can be removed from pre-recorded shows using the cutting functions.
My personal tip is the new Mystique SaTiX-S2 Sky , a PCI card, DVB-S2 (HDTV, MPEG4), which seamless integrates into SuSe (my version 11.1) and VDR system (with VDPAU). Also tested in Windows Media Center, W7, 64Bit … direct integration. Thumbs up