Over at the DVBLogic forums they just announced the public beta of the DVBLink platform version 3.

I’ve put the full release note below but just wanted to highlight some key points.

Firstly this release supports internet streaming of live tv but it is limited and not for the faint hearted to set up. To quote from below — For use via internet you need to open 5 consequitive ports, starting with base port (default value 443), on your ADSL modem and set up port forwarding for these ports on your router. If you know how to do this (and it is router specific so I’m not going to issue instructions) then you will also need to know that it will only currently stream in Windows Media format – so no viewing from your iPhone (or even iPad) and it currently does not support the Windows Mobie browser. Having said this it is still a huge step forward in the flexibility this product allows and can only get better over time.

Another major improvement is around guide data if you are using a third party xmltv EPG source. DVBLink now supports background scanning of these sources meaning if your XMLTV file changes then your Media Center guide data will too.

Also DVBLogic have made great strides in simplifying the setup process within Media Center with a major redesign of the addin user interface and made the whole process a lot more integrated and easier to use.

The press release:

v3.0 of DVBLink products is available for public beta!

What is new and fixed:

All source products (DVBLink TVSource, for IPTV, for DreamBox):
– Added background EPG information update for xmltv EPG source
– Added support for additional xmltv details: full description, genre, credits, thumbnail, rating, series information etc.
– Changed DVBLink addin user interface in MediaCenter
– Removed channel synchronization wizard in MCE
– EPG source, name and number of DVBLink channels can be updated after channel synchronization in MediaCenter

TVSource:
– Added support for diseqc 1.1 (uncommited switches)
– Added support for diseqc 1.2 in the form of custom diseqc sequences
– Added BDA device match using system specific device path. This should prevent shifting device index when new devices are added or old ones are removed
– Added parental control in MediaCenter. Parental control is activated or deactivated via DVBLink Mediacenter addin
– Added retrieval of provider-assigned channel numbers during channel scan for cable and terrestrial tuners
– Added support for diseqc control of Omicom tuners
– Changed the algorithm of stopping stream when tuner is idle. This should fix failed channel changes and no/not all services found during scan

Network pack:
– Added transcoded streaming to internet browsers
– Fixed server deadlock on stream stop

Things to know about installation/update:
– The software is in public beta stage, meaning that it may have bugs!
– To preserve your current system settings, run installation using the bat files
– Unfortunately, you will have to delete and synchronize the DVBLink channels again in MediaCenter

Things to know about internet streaming:
– TV is streamed using Windows Media format- It works both for internet and intranet

– For use via internet you need to open 5 consequitive ports, starting with base port (default value 443), on your ADSL modem and set up port forwarding for these ports on your router
– Use https://<external ip>:<base port> to connect from ouside the house
– Use https://<internal ip>:<base port> to connect inside the house
– Default user
– We have tested internet streaming with IE, Chrome and Firefox. The latter two do not support video auto-sizing.
– You need to accept security certificate warning on connection
– Quality of the transcoded video is defined using transcoder profile. The profile settings are stored in <dvblink2>\Addons\network pack\data\profiles.xml. You may edit profile settings there to achieve best quality for your particular PC hardware. The final version will support several customizable profiles.
– It does not work yet with Windows Mobile browsers
– It does not work yet with Radio channels and special DVBLink streams
– It does not work yet with IPhones and IPads
– You need to install MediaPlayer plugin for FireFox

Known issues:
– It may take considerable time (up to 15 seconds) to switch channels on WinXP based server (WinXP and WHS)
– Graphical design of the webpage will be improved in the release version 🙂

See the post over at http://dvblogic.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=10285 for more details and download links

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