Canfield Research Group

Quick notes to document my GB-PVR experience:

FM Radio volume controls do not work with PVR-350 remote:

This is the Hauppauger 45 button remote.

Altering config.xml

See also: http://forums.gbpvr.com/showthread.php?t=10147&highlight=volume+radio

If you have the lame.ax installed, and set the following in the config.xml, then I suspect the volume would work:

ForceFMBufferingMode = true

FAILS: Has no effect on my volumes

Disable volume settings

In C:\windows\Irremote.ini in the [GBPVR] section comment out the volume lines:

;VOLUP=+
;VOLDOWN=-

In general the state of PC based PVRs is a bit immature. These are general oberservation of the core software that PVR's are built upon, commercial or private. The lack of a CD Player option is very weird. When I or my Lady wishes to play a CD we bought the last thing I am going to do is try and explain to her how to rip it! A drop it in and it plays seems to be the "right way". The same applies to external media cards from cameras. Should the pictures be extracted and saved to a predetermine dlocation, possible by date? Almost anything is better than doing nothing! I get the feeling that PVRs are made for the uber geek (which some would accuse me of being). That's all fine and good but when the unit enters the living room it MUST be usable by all members and hopefully even guests. Oh well.

A few of my clients have requested a much more robost ssystem to handle their in-office and home media system. A system based on MythTV seems to be a good starting point.

I will use my existing home-office configuration as a base for this research:

• ReplayTV connected to my private network
• SlimDevices wired MP3 player
• DVArchive running as the central server
• SlimPlayer also running for streaming audio
• A normal DVD player
• 36" TV
• A sterio AM/FM amplifier
• A VCR

My goals mess nicly with my client's

• Easy to use! Ideally a single interface to access video, music, etc.

Initial results of my search for an image scanner today. The criteria:

• Able to handle large image sets (think Video Astronomy and way too many digital cameras)
• Must compare images using tsomething other than CRC
  • This means I cannot use a simple file comaprison tool since some images are in different formats or dimensions although they containt he "same" image.
• Able to control simularity thresholds
• Able to auto-select the images to delete
  • I am not sure what criteria is best here; dimensions, image size (larger == better?), quality (how?)
• Able to manualy choose from possible duplicates