Correct going to standby and back

[Paxero]

I want to use DVBViewer as HTPC engine and I am not able to find good answer about setup on going to sleep (standby mode).

 

I understood, that running DVBViewer forever (sleep with DVBViewer running) is not good idea. Correct?

 

OK, I can setup DVBViewer that PC will go to sleep when DVBViewer is closed, and remote control will send command to close DVBViewer, and PC will go to sleep.

 

However, how to program recording timers, when I want simple behaviour:

- keep PC running when I watch TV

- sleep PC when PC sleeps

 

I know that there is an option what to do after recording, but I do not know what I will do in one week!

And, of course, I want to avoid situation when I watch TV and PC suddenly goes to sleep due to action after recording...

... and want to avoid having PC on all the nights.

 

Any idea, own experience, please?

[Paxero]

Do I am really the only user with this issue?

 

Or I am the only stupid one?

 

Thanks for any response, at least on the questions above.

[Gioxy]

want to avoid having PC on all the nights

You can add a "dummy" weekly timer at a given hour to make your PC sleep at night; set it to tune only a channel for (say) 1 minute as action and to shutdown as "After recording"...

 

- keep PC running when I watch TV

The only way I see to do that (if you agree with the first trick I showed you) is to reply "No" when DVBViewer want to close (you have to uncheck "No confirmation on exit" in "Settings/Options/Shutdown")

 

- sleep PC when PC sleeps

This can be easily done with the Windows Event Scheduler, but AFAIK running this service can interfere with your timed recordings (although I hope that this is no longer true...)

 

[Paxero]

Thanks for response. As you are "Senior Member", this is probably the best solution, however not perfect, nor good enough.

 

Is really DVBViewer considered as engine of HTPC? I am forced to install MediaPortal instead of DVBViewer just because I want HTPC as "appliance", and still have troubles to configure DVBViewer as stupid appliance.

 

If DVBViewer has ambitions to be HTPC engine, there must be some trick how to configure it as appliance (run once, do not care about it on daily basis, it works).

[Gioxy]

Is really DVBViewer considered as engine of HTPC?

IMHO no, it's a real good DVB app (as it's born) with many HTPC functions added...

 

You can use it as a HTPC frontend tweaking the "setup.xml" file:

Value: HTPCMode
Section: General
Accepted:   0 (windowed mode), 1 (fullscreen mode), 2 (htpc mode), 3 (htpc only mode), 4 (safe htpc only mode)
Default 0
Description: Determinates which actions are allowed in the DVBViewer 0 - all rights, 4 - no windows are allowed.

but (I repeat myself) IMO it isn't his goal...

 

there must be some trick how to configure it as appliance (run once, do not care about it on daily basis, it works

...dunno if I get your point, but to build a weekly timer doesn't seem to me that hard at all: you have simply to check (in the unique session you set it!) six day more than a one day timer...

 

[robbo1]

However, how to program recording timers, when I want simple behaviour:

- keep PC running when I watch TV

- sleep PC when PC sleeps

 

I have been using DVBViewer as an HTPC for a while now and I am really happy with it. I use the EPGplus plugin which will wake up the PC to record TV programmes which you can set using the timeline function within DVBViewer. It is very simple to use.

 

When I set a recording the dialogue box comes up and under the "what do you want to do after the recording is finished" I select "Close DVBViewer", then my PC goes in the hibernate 5 minutes later.

 

To watch TV, I switch on the PC and have a button on my remote that runs DVBViewer and is set to start in fullscreen mode. I have another button which shuts DVBViewer down again (and as before, the PC then hibernates 5 minutes later). My PC is also a file server for my laptop so uses Wake On LAN for other applications and this integrates without any problem with the DVBViewer setup.

 

This is the best option that I have found and it is so simple that my wife can work it out!!!! (although she does forget to select the "Close DVBViewer" option sometimes when recording.

 

Is there a way to set "Close DVBViewer" as the default so it doesn't need selecting??

 

I hope this helps.

 

Robbo1

[Paxero]

Thanks for reply. How do you solve the situation, when you want to record something on Channel 1, and do not know whether you will watch something on Channel 2 at the same time? I really hate situation, when HTPC goes down while I watch TV...

[robbo1]

I am 99.9% sure that in this situation you get a screen prompt saying "DVBViewer is about to close, press a key to cancel" or something like that. You hit OK on the remote and it stops it closing and caries on showing your programme. Also, if you set it to close whilst another programme is recording on another channel, it automatically stops it closing!

 

I have never had the TV software close when I am in the middle of watching something in the year that I have used DVBViewer in this configuration.

 

Trust me, it will work fine!

 

The only thing I need DVBViewer to do that it doesn't is to combine channels from two tuners to appear in the channel list as a single channel, and to be able to cancel scheduled recording from the timeline (currently you have to get a mouse out to fiddle around and do it). If these two issues were sorted, I think DVBViewer would be the perfect software for an HTPC application.

 

Robbo1

[Gioxy]

@robbo1

Is there a way to set "Close DVBViewer" as the default so it doesn't need selecting??

Sure, go to "Settings / Options / Recordings / Action after recordings" and set the preferred default action...

 

[robbo1]

@robbo1

 

Sure, go to "Settings / Options / Recordings / Action after recordings" and set the preferred default action...

 

 

Why didn't I think to look there. Excellent.

 

Thanks Gioxy!

 

Paxero, Have you had a chance to try my suggested setup? Does it work?

 

Robbo1