The

Hauppauge Hauppauge ( ) can refer to: *Hauppauge, New York, a hamlet on Long Island in the United States *Hauppauge Computer Works, a computer component company located in Hauppauge, New York **Hauppauge MediaMVP, a network media player by Hauppauge Computer ...

MediaMVP is a network media player. It consists of a hardware unit with remote control, along with software for a

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

PC. Out of the box, it is capable of playing video and audio, displaying pictures, and "tuning in" to

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

stations. Alternative software is also available to extend its capabilities. It can be used as a front-end for various PVR projects. The MediaMVP is popular with some PVR enthusiasts because it is inexpensive and relatively easy to modify.

Capabilities

The MediaMVP can stream audio and video content from a host PC running Windows. It can display photos stored on the host PC. It can stream Internet radio via the host PC as well. It can display live TV with full PVR features with

SageTV SageTV Media Center, now open source, was a proprietary, commercial DVR (Digital Video Recording) and HTPC (Home theater PC) software for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. It requires that the host computer have a hardware-based TV tuner card. The S ...

PVR software for Windows or Linux. The capabilities listed below refer to the official software and firmware supplied by Hauppauge.

Video

The MediaMVP supports the

MPEG The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is an alliance of working groups established jointly by International Organization for Standardization, ISO and International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC that sets standards for media coding, includ ...

(MPEG-1 and MPEG-2) video format (and ''only'' that format). However, depending on the MediaMVP host software running on the host computer, the host software may be able to seamlessly transcode other video file formats before sending them to the MediaMVP in the

format. The maximum un-transcoded playable video size is SDTV (480i). HDTV mpeg streams (e.g. 720p) need to be transcoded in real-time on the computer to SD format. Note: transcoding video can tax some slower computers. With a hardware MPEG decoder as part of its PowerPC processor, it renders moving video images more smoothly than many software PVR implementations.

Audio

Supported audio file formats include

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

and WMA. Playlist formats supported include

M3U M3U (''MP3 URL'' or Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3 Uniform Resource Locator in full) is a computer file format for a multimedia playlist. One common use of the M3U file format is creating a single-entry playlist file pointing to a st ...

, PLS,

ASX Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...

and B4S. See also Internet radio below.

Photos

Supported image file formats include

JPG JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image ...

and

GIF The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , see pronunciation) is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on 15 June 1987. ...

. Slideshows are supported. Listening to music (including streaming Internet radio) during slideshows is supported as well.

Internet radio

Supports streaming Internet radio stations via the host PC.

Other capabilities

Can schedule recording of television broadcasts when using a Hauppauge WinTV

TV tuner card A TV tuner card is a kind of television tuner that allows television signals to be received by a computer. Most TV tuners also function as video capture cards, allowing them to record television programs onto a hard disk much like the digital vi ...

with the Hauppauge WinTV recording software.

Hardware

The MediaMVP hardware consists of a small set-top box and an infrared

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

. It can be oriented either horizontally or vertically (using a supplied base). It's normally operated via the supplied remote control. Behind the unit's red translucent front panel is a single red

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

. The LED is used as a power indicator, and also flashes when the unit's remote control is used. Typical (wired) units consume less than 5W. The power supply for the original MediaMVP consists of 6VDC, 1.66A Coaxial DC Power Connector. The outer sleeve is the negative terminal and the inner tip is the positive terminal.

Connectivity

The rear of the MediaMVP unit has a plug for 6 VDC power, an

Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

port, and in the US edition,

S-Video S-Video (also known as separate video, Y/C, and erroneously Super-Video ) is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video, typically at 525 lines or 625 lines. It encodes video luma and chrominance on two separate channe ...

out,

composite video Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channels) a ...

out, and

stereo audio Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

out, while the European edition has instead a single "

SCART SCART (also known as or , especially in France, 21-pin EuroSCART in marketing by Sharp in Asia, Euroconector in Spain, EuroAV or EXT, or EIA Multiport in the United States, as an EIA interface) is a French-originated standard and associated 21- ...

out" connector, offering additional

RGB The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additiv ...

output possibilities, and bundles a SCART lead with 2 extra stereo audio cables with female

RCA connector The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals. The name ''RCA'' derives from the company Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s. The connectors male plug and ...

s coming out of one of the plugs. Model 1016, the "wMVP", has Wireless G connectivity. however, this connection method can be inadequate for viewing digital television recordings depending on signal strength and reliability. A modified version of the unit is rebranded as Helius Media Stream and is fitted with a standard channel 3/4 RF modulator. This box is a better choice for TVs that lack separate RCA audio/video inputs.

Processor, RAM and firmware

The MediaMVP uses the IBM STB02500, a PowerPC 405

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...

integrated with functionality especially suited for use in

set-top boxes A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...

, like MPEG2 decoder. The unit has 16 MB of

SDRAM Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM or SDRAM) is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal. DRAM integrated circuits (ICs) produced from the ...

. It runs on

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

-based firmware. Hauppauge has delivered enhancements and new functionality to the MediaMVP from time to time by releasing updated firmware. Firmware updates are delivered to the device when it is powered up.

Hacks

There are several hardware

hacks Hacks may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Hacks'' (1997 film), a 1997 American comedy film * ''Hacks'' (2002 film), a 2002 independent American film * '' Hacks: The Inside Story'', a book by Donna Brazile * ''Hacks'' (TV series), ...

of the MediaMVP box. Among others, there are hacks for adding

S/PDIF S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a type of digital audio interface used in consumer audio equipment to output audio over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable (using RCA or BNC connectors) ...

optical output, a

RS-232 In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such a ...

serial port In computing, a serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in parallel. ...

, and additional

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Ra ...

Serial port

The serial port hack allows a serial

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

to be attached to the MediaMVP. This is useful for debugging modifications to the Linux-based firmware. Using the serial port hack and modifications to the unit's Linux-based

firmware In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain basic functions of a device, and may provide h ...

, it is possible to add a small external display (e.g. a

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...

or a

VFD VFD may refer to: * Factory Workers' Union of Germany, (german: Verband der Fabrikarbeiter Deutschlands, link=no), a former trade union in Germany * Vacuum fluorescent display, a display device on consumer electronics equipment * Variable-freque ...

display) to show status information (song title, for example).

Alternative software and firmware

MediaMVP Media Center (mvpmc)
- includes clients for

MythTV MythTV is a free and open-source home entertainment application with a simplified " 10-foot user interface" design for the living room TV. It turns a computer with the necessary hardware into a network streaming digital video recorder, a digital ...

ReplayTV ReplayTV was a former DVR company that from 1999 until 2005, produced a brand of digital video recorders (DVR), a term synonymous with ''personal video recorder'' (PVR). It is a consumer video device which allows users to capture television progr ...

, Hauppauge, VLC,

SqueezeCenter Logitech Media Server (formerly SlimServer, SqueezeCenter and Squeezebox Server) is a streaming audio server supported by Logitech (formerly Slim Devices), developed in particular to support their Squeezebox (network music player), Squeezebox rang ...

(aka SlimServer),

VNC Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a graphical desktop-sharing system that uses the Remote Frame Buffer protocol (RFB) to remotely control another computer. It transmits the keyboard and mouse input from one computer to another, relaying the g ...

UPnP Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a set of networking protocols that permits networked devices, such as personal computers, printers, Internet gateways, Wi-Fi access points and mobile devices to seamlessly discover each other's presence on the n ...

, NFS and SMB. Open Source.
SageTV Media Center
- Connect other TVs to SageTV PVR, enables live TV viewing

- MediaMVP server software
SHSPVR MediaMVP & WinTV PVR forums
- Discussions about the MediaMVP and WinTV PVR products
GB-PVR
- PVR software that can use a MediaMVP as a front end
VDR on MVP (vomp)
- a front end to VDR for the MediaMVP
MediaMVP BTV Interface
- Full featured PVR/Media center using Beyond TV Software and MediaMVP
Screenshots

Notes

Internet radio

See

list of Internet radio stations This is a list of Internet radio stations, including traditional broadcast stations which stream programming over the Internet as well as Internet-only stations. General BBC Radio France Indian Internet Radios * Boxout.fm * R ...

. Can play

MMS MMS may refer to: Science and technology Network communication protocols * Multimedia Messaging Service for mobile phones * Microsoft Media Server, a content-streaming protocol (mms://) * Manufacturing Message Specification for real time proces ...

streams, e.g. mms://some.radio.station/path/to/stream/ Can play

HTTP The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, ...

streams, e.g. http://some.radio.station/path/to/stream/

External links

Hauppauge MediaMVP
{{Home theater PC (application software) Interactive television Digital television Digital video recorders Linux-based devices Digital media players