Windows 7 Media Center XMLTV EPG

Windows 7 gains better support for multiple tuners and DVB-T and many other refinements (includes digital over-the-air EIT data). However, in regions where EPG data is unsupported and we have to rely on TVxB to grab EPG data for analog or cable channels, a tool similar to wmcGuideServiceProxy by epgStream for Windows Vista is required for Windows 7.

Enter Big Screen EPG for Windows 7 (more screenshots). It allows you to import XMLTV EPG data into Windows 7 and provides further channel and provider mappings, channel logos and series identification support.

While I cannot get it to work with my cable STB setup when I tried with Windows 7, I have no doubts that the future with Windows 7 will lie with this EPG importer. For now, I will still stick to my well tested Windows Vista MCE with TVxB, wmcGuideServiceProxy and Webguide with LiveTV streaming.

Virtualbox turns off Vista Network Discovery

If you find having to turn on Network Discovery on every start of the Network explorer in Windows Vista after installing Virtualbox, this will solve the issue for you.


To solve this, you should remove the Virtualbox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter in Virtualbox. This can be done by starting Virtualbox, File > Preferences > Network and removing the adapter.

Singapore's fugitive hideout, Kampung Tawakal

Fugitive militant Mas Selamat Kastari found the perfect spot to hide - a secluded village in Johor unmarked on any map, not even Google Earth.

He found a traditional kampung house on stilts in Kampung Tawakal, a tiny village with a population of less than 100.

Located about 10km away from the North-South Expressway near the Kempas exit, it is almost impossible to locate for those not familiar with the area.

All around are oil palm trees and there are no signboards pointing to the village as one drives along the main road of Jalan Kampung Maju Jaya.

Source: TheStar report

Indeed, the place was of low resolution satellite images on Google Earth, and almost useless to identify the hideout. See this Google Earth KMZ pointer for a quick nav to the location.

IR Blaster on Windows Media Center with Starhub digital set-top box

Windows Media Center does not recognise the remote control operations used by the Starhub digital set-top boxes by default and requires you to point the remote at a IR receiver unit to learn it. However, it doesn't recognise the remote's buttons during the learning process even though one is following onscreen instructions.

The solution is to simply cover the remote's emitter in between presses when asked to learn from the remote, due to the usage of a dual frequency remote system, ie...

• 1st press -> freq 1 ....... Point at IR receiver and press the button
  
• 2nd press -> freq 2 ..... Cover the remote and press the button
  
• 3rd press -> freq 1 ...... Point at IR receiver and press the button

In addition, you should verify that channel numbers change correctly after learning, since at some frequencies sometimes the channels will change incorrectly, ie...

• 55 or 56 changes to 5 only
  
• 256 changes to 56

In these cases, you should relearn the numbers until you get a combination that is working, I have no other ways to "avoid" it.

Offline email with Gmail and Google Gears

There was a period of time where I was running Thunderbird on 2 computers and I was already feeling the headache managing two computer's login access and maintaining consistency across both. It was also troublesome managing 3 email accounts with Thunderbird and searching for a email was not easy.

It first changed when Gmail was launch and I simply redirect all mails to my Gmail, with labels applied to the mails coming from other mailboxes. Searching was well but there was always something lacking... offline access.

Google Gears (for both Firefox and Internet Explorer) is the solution for my problems. It allows me to manage my mails offline and it will automatically keep sync mails when it is connected to the internet. And the process is almost the same as using Gmail online! It also only takes up an limited amount of harddisk space, storing only a ranged of dates so that everything is snappy.

Sync contacts and task across hardware devices

Have you ever had troubles keeping your contacts and tasks consistent across all your hardware and software?
Have you ever felt tied to a certain platform that prevents you from migrating to some other hardware without substantial data loss or tedious work transferring your contacts?

Finally a solution comes in the form of SyncML, with clients available for most platforms and even natively supported by some hardware. It allows you to sync contacts, tasks, emails and more to a external server so that all your information can be easily kept synchronized and up-to-date.

And that is not all! Since Syncml allows syncing to any third-party servers, it will not lead to a lockin of such information service providers like myfunambol, scheduleworld, and more! You can switch to another service provider due to the non-lockin nature.

To get this service working, you must first...

1. Register an account on any of the provider (see the hosted services section).
2. Install an application or if provided natively, configure the syncml application to point to your hosted service's server.
3. Click sync and you are done!

As another side advantage, you can now manage your contacts and other information via the web-based services of these providers. Now you truely need not be stucked to the same hardware or software provider any longer!

Vista Media Center with EPG data from website

You ever wanted to schedule recordings using EPG data but the data is not available with Vista Media Center? Don't worry, you are not left without a solution.

Step 1 - Install TVxb and grab or create your own channel definitions

1. Get TVxb and install it.
2. Grab a definition file for your country and try grabbing the data. (For SG users try this instead! May 09)
   
3. If required, create your own by following the guide (but chances are you will find a suitable definition file already).
4. Set up a scheduled task to perodically update your guide.
   

Step 2 - Install wmcGuideServiceProxy

1. Get wmcGuideServiceProxy and install it.
2. Configure your settings such that it will output to the XML file TVxb outputs.
3. Configure your categories (if required).

Step 3 - Configure Vista Media Center

1. Start Vista Media Center and go to Tasks > Settings > TV > Guide.
2. Follow the instructions to setup the guide (it now points to the local wmcGuideServiceProxy instead of Microsoft's guide servers.
3. Configure your channel numbers and you now have a complete functional EPG recorder.
4. Optional: Set up IR blaster for use with your settop box. (SG users see this also)
   

Step 4 - Setup webguide (optional but highly recommended)

1. Install Webguide next. (Warning! Webguide doesn't work with Fiji update or the OEM TV-pack, and also does not work in Windows 7)
2. Install a encoder and decoder such as the Cyberlink decoder with Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 so that it supports live-streaming!!! Note that you can simply just install a trial of the software and be done. (The second best feature)
3. Install another decoder AC3Filter and set it up as shown on the right.
   
4. Set up user accounts and setup recordings using your webbrowser! (The best feature)
5. Set up live streaming. (Shown on the right)
   
6. Port-forward the relevant ports and setup a dynamic DNS to access your webguide PC away from home!