Recorded TV HD Addin for Windows Media Center updated to v1.5.2
One of my current favorite add-in for Media Center has just been update with really nice new features. For those that haven’t used the Recorded TV HD add-in, what it does is gives you a new view of your recorded TV content. Similar to what My Movies does for your movie collection, Recorded TV HD takes your series recordings and allows you to view them in different ways, everything from sorting by genre, and even group your shows by season. There is a 30 day free trial for those who want to check it out, and if you like it the add-in is $20, well worth if from my experience.
The Recorded TV HD for Windows Media Center has updated with a nice new poster view as well as new colour schemes and additions and fixes. The addin really enhances the functionality of Media Center’s TV features and well worth giving the 60 day free trial a go. If you like it the full version costs $20.00
More details at www.recordedtvhd.com
For clarification, it’s a
For clarification, it’s a 30-day trial as Josh said, not a 60-day trial as Ian said.
No what Ian said is if you
No what Ian said is if you did the 30 day trial, and let it expire for 60 days, you can re-install the new version and try it again for 30 days before you purchase it.
-Josh
This is correct. It is a 30
This is correct. It is a 30 day trial, but if your trial has expired 60+ days ago you will automatically get a new 30 day trial to try it again. Looks like the text on Ian’s post is a little off. I’ll let him know. Thanks… Mark Terborg
will this allow you to sort
will this allow you to sort ripped tv programs from dvd or will it recognize wtv only?
If Media Center will play it
If Media Center will play it (except native dvd structure) you can include it in Recorded TV HD if:
Just thinking… If the episodes are separated into individual VOB files (and if they play properly like that in Media Center) you could use those as long as you rename them…. guess it depends on how you are ripping them…. If you are using something like MakeMKV and ripping the individual episodes you should be good to go.
This looked interesting so I
This looked interesting so I decided to give it a try. My first impression is that it’s a great interface for displaying recorded TV shows. It automatically groups multiple episodes of any shows and indicates how many are contained in the directory. The posters are great and it allows you to play your programs the same was as if you are in the Recorded TV directory in WMC. I like the fact that it also flags the commercial breaks, which I assume means it is somehow tied in with the ShowAnalyzer app I’m using.
Now for the downside. After using it for only a few short hours, fast forward and rewind became choppy and advanced in chunks rather than smooth fast forward. When I switched back to the Recorded TV folder in WMC it still behaved the same way. After a while longer, the PC simply stopped responding to any remote commands. I tried rebooting to see if it was just clogging the memory and needed a refresh, but no joy.
The end result is that I uninstalled it and now everything is workling fine once again. The last thing I need is another app hosing up my HTPC. Too bad, because I was really getting to like it.
That’s a shame, I had this
That’s a shame, I had this one down on my “To try list”. Like you stability is crucial on the HTPC.
Try leaving some feedback I
Try leaving some feedback I am sure it can be identified and fixed.
I’m sorry you had issues.
I’m sorry you had issues. Some computers seem to act a little differently when it comes to the “Commercial Break Viewer” … for most people it works perfectly fine. Others seem to have some issues. In the “Recorded TV HD Settings” program (outside of Media Center) on the “Appearance” tab, uncheck the “Show commercial breaks (if available)” … That should fix your issue with fast forwarding and rewinding.
If you are still having issues please post in the forum here. Or send an e-mail to support@recordedtvhd.com.
Thanks for giving it a try and I hope we can work through your issues!
Thanks for the tip. I’ll
Thanks for the tip. I’ll give it another try this evening when I get home and let you know how it goes. Showing the commercial breaks is a nice touch, but it’s certainly not crucial to the operation of WMC. If I can get it to work without the FF & REW glitches it would definitely be worth the price of admission.
Yes… disabling the
Yes… disabling the commercial break viewer will definitely speed up your FF/RW. I’ve learned to live with it because I like to see the commercial breaks, but I will look again to see if there is anything I can do to speed that up.
Stability has been mentioned
Stability has been mentioned in these comments. That is important to me as I read of add-ins like Media Center Studio stopped working because of changes in MC from MS. I guess we always run theat risk?
Essentially, the wife is sort of unforgiving when the TV doesn’t work.
Not sure if you use the
Not sure if you use the built-in Media Center Netflix app, but over the course of developing Recorded TV HD, we’ve had more problems with the Netflix app than Recorded TV HD.
Netflix problems my family has had: 1. Many, many errors that there is a problem with the internet connection. 2. Missing play button. 3. And most recently (and still have), if I let the movie/tv show run all the way to the end it completely freezes Media Center and you have to kill ehshell.exe in the task manager.
That’s not to say that you won’t have any problems with Recorded TV HD, I’m just saying that a built in app like Netflix has its issues as well. My family is constantly using a pre-release of Recorded TV HD, and I ALWAYS do my best to make it as stable as I can possibly make it.
I am very familiar with the
I am very familiar with the Netflix issues. I agree totally. I would love to try Recorded TV HD. Can you tell me if there is a clean way to back out and go back to the default MC look in case I have problems?
This add-in doesn’t over
This add-in doesn’t over write anything, it is just another integration point in Media Center.
The only thing I would note
The only thing I would note is that if you check the box to “Hide default Recorded TV menu strip in Media Center” you will need to uncheck it and save it before uninstalling…. but even if you forget and your trial runs out you can still reinstall and change the setting to show the default strip again…. Nothing to worry about
.
Hello eMpTy3000
Thank you for
Hello eMpTy3000
Thank you for the responses. The product looks great. I will give it a try.
Loaded and ran by the wife
Loaded and ran by the wife for feedback. Visually beautiful. I could not find the original air date. Even if I sorted by original air date. Could have missed it. Also, the fan art for her soap “The Young and the Restless” was either incorrect or out of date. Sorry about that. Women have different priorities.
For the original air date…
For the original air date… Are you saying that when hovering over a series it should show you the original air date instead of the date recorded? I agree… I just wanted to make sure that is what you were suggesting. It does show the original air dates when you are on the episode list screen (for a selected series) and sort by original air date.
About the artwork… The program downloads the most current artwork from thetvdb.com. It can be overriden in the settings program and you can even upload your own artwork and contribute to thetvdb.com.
No matter what view I look at
No matter what view I look at I see no original air date listed. Trust me, I could be missing it. It does, however, show the season number.
Thanks for info on the FanArt. I will look in to it.
I have Recorded TV HD
I have Recorded TV HD installed and I like the look and the way it can integrate new recordings and my archived TV. I’m still trying to sell the family on it, though :-).
If you hide the default TV strip, how do you add new recordings from Recorded TV HD? I can’t seem to find a link for that. I usually use the search feature to find shows to record. Using the guide can be cumbersome, especially if its a future show and you’re not sure of the date and time.
My next release will include
My next release will include an option to add a “search” button to the menu strip. It is basically an automated work around since Microsoft provides no way for developers to send a user to the search screen. It basically launches the guide, presses the left arrow a couple of times, and then selects the “Search” option there…. It is pretty quick and is the best I can do.
It does seem that immediately after Media Center launches the “Search” option is not available for a few seconds… Media Center must have to load something up first…. but it will work after that.
Here is the latest beta that includes the search button option… Download beta.
You just have to adjust the menu strip in the settings program.
Still testing. Looked
Still testing. Looked further. See no view that displays the original air date. There is a sort by original air date, but cannot see the original air date of a show.
Something I would offer as a suggestion- Count the button clicks until the video is playing. As compared to the normal MC interface there appear to be 1 or more additional button pushes/screens before the video is playing.
As I recall the screens on this version go-
Recorded TV HD Addin:
All Recorded Shows>Selected Show>Episodes by season>Select episode to play
My Win7 MC is set to sort by title and the screens are:
All Recorded Shows>Selected Show>Select episode to play
The software works great and looks great. Don’t mean to be critical.
The original air date shows
The original air date shows on the episode list screen (after a certain series has been selected) when you are sorted by original air date. It is on below the episode title on the right side of the list. At this point the original air date never displays on the bottom episode details section or on the episode details page. In the next release I am going to include it in the episode details section at the bottom when someone sorts by original air date.
There is only one extra click if you have episodes in multiple seasons. You can also disable the season selection screen in the settings program if you wish…. Little hint… You can also press the play button on the remote once you are “hovering” over the episode you want to play and you can skip the final episode screen.
Thanks for your feedback.
I reinstalled RecordedTV HD
I reinstalled RecordedTV HD on my HTPC yesterday and unchecked the box for showing the commercial breaks. So far it appears to be behaving itself and allows me to use FF and REW with no glitches or freezeups. I’d like to continue using it for a few more days before making a final decison, but so far it’s looking good.
One thing that puzzles me is that there are several shows that do not have any artwork, photos, or posters associated with it. I can understand that perhaps not every show will have such material, but not NCIS. The show’s been on for what, about 10 years or so? I find it hard to believe there’s no images to support it. There are also a couple of other shows that have the cover art but no backdrop posters. I’m sure it’s beyond the realm of the app’s author, but it just seems strange that some shows aren’t supported.
Take a look at the Recorded
Take a look at the Recorded TV HD settings program. In the series override tab you can diagnose/fix problems with artwork and other information.
Thanks. I’ll take a look at
Thanks. I’ll take a look at it this evening. Otherwise, it seems to be working fine.
captain_video wrote:
I can
[quote=captain_video] I can understand that perhaps not every show will have such material, but not NCIS. The show’s been on for what, about 10 years or so? [/quote]
I would say there is something wrong with your installation. I recorded NCIS last night and there was a very nice backdrop (Fan Art) associated with the recording.
I went into the series
I went into the series override tab and was able to download the missing artwork from the website. Strangely enough, the artwork for NCIS mysteriously appeared when I selected it for editing without performing a search. I guess it was just slow in getting picked up and displayed in my listing.
I had also been missing artwork for Parenthood. Performing a search revealed that it was using the ID number from an older series that had no art available. When I entered the correct series ID it found the art with no problem.
I had one other program that had no artwork (The League on Fx). When I ran a search it couldn’t find any artwork to use so I went to the website and downloaded some of the fan art images that had been posted there. Unfortunately, the images were of such low resolution that they really look crappy on my big screen. Hopefully they’ll eventually get some decent artwork that looks good on a 60″ HDTV. I did notice that it had the same series ID as the Italian version so chances are it’s listed incorrectly in the database.
In any case, it’s nice to know that there are options to handle these situations. This looks like it’s going to be a keeper.
I’m glad you are enjoying
I’m glad you are enjoying it…. I did a quick search for “The League” and found this. It looks like there should be artwork… is the TVDBID wrong?
http://www.thetvdb.com/index.php?string=The+League&searchseriesid=&tab=listseries&function=Search
The TVDBID uses the same ID for different languages so you should be fine.
That’s the same link and ID
That’s the same link and ID I’m getting. The artwork isn’t being downloaded automatically and what’s on the site are all low-res images. I do a right-click on the image and save it to my PC and then override the images in the settings menu to use the downloaded images. The displayed images are grainy and extremely blocky, unlike the rest of the images for all other shows.
I did a search online and found another site with photos. I downloaded a couple and substituted them for the grainy photos. The photo in the main array is missing the show’s logo, but at least it’s a better image and I can tell which show it is so it’s not that big of a deal.
Still working with this. The
Still working with this. The Recorded TV HD settings program is great. Really well thought out and functional. This is probably one of the best add-ins I have seen for MC. Truly nice work.
Saw your post for original air dates. I look forward to being able to see this in any sort or view.
One thing happened to me this morning. Not sure how I did it. I was working with the Recorded TV HD settings program settings. Now when I go to Recorded TV HD within MC the backdrop does not cover the entire screen as I thought it was before. I now have a blue MC border around the edges of the back drop. Can’t see how I caused this.
Any ideas?
You probably checked the box
You probably checked the box “Shrink to fit TV when using extenders” under the Appearance tab… That is only to be checked if the edges are cut off when using an extender… usually if someone has a rear projection TV.
Glad you like it!
eMpTy3000 wrote:
You
[quote=eMpTy3000]
You probably checked the box “Shrink to fit TV when using extenders” under the Appearance tab… That is only to be checked if the edges are cut off when using an extender… usually if someone has a rear projection TV.
Glad you like it!
[/quote]
I looked at that specifically, but do not remember checking it. Could be wrong though. I will check. I do use a rear projection TV, but had no problems with overscan. I will have a look.
SJMaye wrote:
eMpTy3000
[quote=SJMaye]
[quote=eMpTy3000]
You probably checked the box “Shrink to fit TV when using extenders” under the Appearance tab… That is only to be checked if the edges are cut off when using an extender… usually if someone has a rear projection TV.
Glad you like it!
[/quote]
I looked at that specifically, but do not remember checking it. Could be wrong though. I will check. I do use a rear projection TV, but had no problems with overscan. I will have a look.
[/quote]
No luck. It was not checked> I checked it and went back to MC. No change. Closed MC reopened Recorded TV HD and unchecked it. Back to MC and still no change. Blue border all the way around. No way to reset to default settings?
Please send an e-mail to
Please send an e-mail to support@recordedtvhd.com and we can figure it out from there instead of posting all of this here.
Thanks
An issue I have been having
An issue I have been having is slow response when using the back button from series to return to the main list. It can take more than a minute on my system and I usually get impatient thinking the button press on the remote didn’t register and hit it again so I end up back a the main Media Center menu. That lag doesn’t seem to be an issue coming in to the program for the first time, so I’m a bit baffled by it.
I have ~100 series in the list and the majority of the shows are stored on my Windows Home Server. The lag in this app is much worse than others like Jack Luminous’ TV Library and MyMovies TV Series lists.
Are you using poster view or
Are you using poster view or list view? Poster view is a quite a bit slower and may become slower depending on the speed of your hard drive (the one where the user data is installed as the posters are stored under “C:UsersPublicRecordedTVHD”)
It should also be much faster returning to a favorites list or a category with a fewer number of items in it. Please let me know specifics so I can diagnose further.
Thanks
I am using list view
I am using list view currently. I’ll have to set up a favorites list and see if that helps.
BTW, the lag happens after playing a video and then going back, just navigating the lists isn’t as bad.
jrandeck wrote:
That lag
[quote=jrandeck]That lag doesn’t seem to be an issue coming in to the program for the first time, so I’m a bit baffled by it.[/quote]
This does seem odd…. I haven’t heard of this or experienced the delays as you speak of, but I will look and see if there is anything that might be slowing it down.