Configuring MediaPortal

Next we'll need to load up MediaPortal Configuration from the desktop. MediaPortal has a few more configuration options than TV-Server, I won't take you through all of them but I'll show you the ones regarding TV/Freeview. MediaPortals website has more than enough information on configuration.

The MediaPortal setup program is similar to TV-Server's, you select on the left and configure on the right.

There are 3 main sections we need to look at, the first is Television:

Decoder Options:

Now select Television from the left hand menu:

Here we select the decoders we wish to use. As you can see my H.264 decoder is set to the Cyberlink decoder and the LATM AAC audio decoder is Monogram's. These are the main 2 decoders used for Freeview DTT. If you are using another H.264 decoder, select it from the drop down box. You will also need to select a deinterlace mode (I use Weave) for use with the interlaced channels (i.e TV3)

TV Client:

Next is TV Client

Here need to enter the Hostname of your TV-Server machine (If its the same system enter the hostname also)

Also under TV-Client is a tab for Audio Settings, here I've selected Prefer AC3. This means that MediaPortal will play the AC3 track over the AAC track if available (as is the case with TV One and TV2 at the moment). This is up to you, you can use AAC instead if you like.

Video Renderer Settings:

Lastely is the Video Renderer Settings, this is found under DirectShow Filter Control on the left.

Here you can choose the options for VMR9 (default renderer) or EVR. I currently use EVR as I'm running Vista and EVR is superior to VMR9. I have only tested this on Vista and not on XP. I've been told that if you run Vista then you must use EVR to take advantage of full hardware acceleration (graphics card H.264 decoding)

And now MediaPortal is configured to use TV-Server for TV.

If you load MediaPortal and select My TV, and turn TV on you should be able to view all your Freeview|HD channels!