XBMC

My first MediaPortal was in 2005. My first post in the forum was about version 0.2.0.0, but I've used versions before that.
After eight years it's quite a step, but today I've installed XBMC on the HTPC. XBMC seems to be the bigger platform. A few people in my environment are using XBMC, none of them are using MediaPortal. A major disturbance with MediaPortal has been that I couldn't get remote control through my Android phone to work properly. Another reason is that I'd like to get to know XBMC is that I'm considering a build project for a car mediaplayer based on Raspberry Pi and RaspBMC.

Synology NAS

The mediacenter PC is performing nicely since my last upgrade. The only change made was a change in keyboard. In January 2011 I got the Logitech DiNovo Mini. I blogged about it in 2008: "The price is prohibitive and I don't particularly like the style, but it has a high gadget factor." The price came down somewhat and I guess I changed my mind about the style.
In April 2011 the Windows Home Server installation ran into some problems and I decided to replace it with a Synology NAS, the DS211j.

MediaPortal 1.1.0 final

Last week I upgraded the MediaPortal installation from 1.04 to 1.1.0 final. I decided to take the easy route and leave out the live tv functionality. At this moment my server is located out of reach of the analog tv cable, the whole tv-server setup has always been troublesome, and I've come to peace with the idea of not using the HTPC for live tv anymore. Most of what I watch is downloaded content anyway.

Using Windows Home Server I went back to a fresh Windows 7 install. This took some troubleshooting, because the restore CD required motherboard drivers. The version of the restore CD I used was based on Vista, while earlier versions were based on Windows Server 2003. After some search in help forums and a couple of tries I found the proper Vista drivers.

Installation of MP itself went smooth. I installed the following plugins:

- My TV Series

- Moving Pictures

- Last.fm scrobbler

- Last.fm player

- RadioTime

The last one is new for me, needed because webradio is not included if you install MP without tv. RadioTime lets you make a list of favourite radio stations online, from a very comprehensive directory of webradio streams. My TV Series and Moving Pictures are as awesome as in previous versions. The user interface for configuring My TV Series has improved big time as well.

One thing not working is the VFD. I can get the VFD to work, but it doesn't resume after the HTPC went into standby. This problem can't be fixed without a driver update, but it's unlikely that the case manufacturer or SoundGraph will still provide this support. I'm wondering if I can replace the VFD with something with something more robust.

Another problem is that MediaPortal resumes in a 800x600 screensize when the tv switches on. As a containment MediaPortal uses a delay at startup. This works if the HTPC resumes from standby at the same time as the tv is switched on. But it doesn't help when I switch from "Listen to music" mode (HTPC on, receiver on, tv off) back to "Watch TV" mode (HTPC on, receiver on, tv on). It seems the MP community is a bit stuck on getting the rootcause fixed.

Stuff that I still want to look into:

- Get BlueRay movies playing.

- Troubleshoot why some of the RadioTime stations are not working properly

- Try the X-factor skin again (new version released August 6th)