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DVBLogic have just announced DVBLink 4.5 beta 1 and it looks like it’s a big update. The new version has a new licensing engine, UI improvements and a new dvblink recorder.  The recorder looks interesting as if I am reading it correctly means you don’t need Windows Media Center to record TV so you could record on a Windows 8 client without the need for the Pro/Windows Media Center pack. I think this opens up a whole range of possibilities, now all I need is a Raspberry Pi client…

Details from the DVBLogic forums:

DVBLink TVSource, DVBLink Connect! Server and DVBLink EPG Loader for Digiguide v4.5 are released for public beta!
v4.5 is a major milestone in DVBLink products development. It contains a lot of fixes and improvements, namely:
General

    – Added: New product licensing engine
    – Added: Default EPG source to each channel (e.g. with this feature TVSource channels will use EPG from stream automatically without manual mapping)
    – Added: New channel selection control for improved speed and convenience
    – Added: UI improvements for web configuration interface
    – Added: Automatic sequential channel numbering
    – Added: Automatic shifted channel numbering (after inserting a channel number all channel numbers above it shift up by one)
    – Fixed: A number of MediaCenter growing database fixes (also some new ones not present in the previously released patches)
    – Fixed: xmltv source causes stutter every hour (there are two fixes here actually: xmltv update period is 12 hours now and the priority of update thread was lowered)
    – Added: optional authorization when accessing DVBLink web configuration, web streaming interface and DVBLink Remote API

DVBLink Connect! Server

    – Added: built-in dvblink recorder (please read more about it in notes below)
    – Fixed: DLNA server hang-up on start
    – Fixed: DLNA server compatibility with XBMC Eden (and some other DLNA clients)
    – Fixed: Network MediaCenter client uses TCP streaming by default (instead of UDP)
    – Fixed: Improved sound quality for Android and IPhone streaming

DVBLink TVSource

    – Added: Prescanned channel files for Astra 19 and HotBird 13 with automatic channel selection for Austrian, German and Swiss channel presets
    – Fixed: Updated transponder files
    – (Re)Added: Channels tab to TVSource configuration
    – Added: Channel streaming statistics (bitrate, errors, packet discontinuity) to Channels tab of TVSource configuration
    – Added: “Wait for lock on tune” flag to TVSource tuner device properties (especially important for timer recordings on partially offline channels like BBC3 and BBC4)
    – Added: CI module support for TBS tuners
    – Added: Support for DigitalDevices CI4All module, which works with DigitalDevices as well as other brands of tuners
    – Fixed: Long load time for PCTV nanoStick T2 290e
    – Fixed: No signal on NBC-QPSK transponders for SkyStar HD2

Notes

    – Although the software was extensively tested internally, it may still contain bugs and undesired side effects (aka features:). Please be careful with installing this beta on “production systems”
    – This version is not binary compatible with version 2.x, 3.x and 4.0/4.1. You will have to uninstall them completely before installing this version. Do not forget to make a backup!
    – 1geek1tool products are not supported (yet) in this version
    – v4.5 products use new licensing engine. This means that at the moment only trial activation is possible (e.g. your licenses for already purchased DVBLink products cannot be used with this version while it is in beta phase).
    – The 4.5 update will be free of charge update for all v4 users. For v3 users the current paid upgrade rules apply.
    – Trial activation currently requires internet connection! Offline trial/product activation will be available in the next beta
    – Search feature for channel selection tab is not implemented (yet)
    – DVBLink Connect! Server has built-it recorder

      – Recording timers can be programmed and managed using DVBLink clients: web interface and mobile clients. Web interface provides more advanced timer management functionality than mobile clients – e.g. schedule overview, timer conflict overview, changing recording settings and defaults
      – Windows MediaCenter cannot be used to program timers in built-in DVBLin recorder. Timers programmed using MCE interface will be recorded locally on that MCE computer
      – Windows MediaCenter EPG (delivered by Microsoft) is not used by built-in recorder
      – Recorded content can be watched using special DVBLink Media Library MCE addin and using DLNA clients
      – No playback of recorded content is possible on mobile clients (yet)
      – Recordings are done in native transport stream format
      – Recorded content is physically located (by default) in c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\DVBLink
      – Resume functionality is not supported (yet) for recorded content
      – There are certain restrictions on using AC3 decoder for playing back content in MediaCenter (outside of LiveTV/native recorded TV scope). This means that recordings with AC3 can be played back without sound (it still needs confirmation from users and might be worked around)
      – Channel line-up, EPG information and timers, displayed in DVBLink clients, are taken from the built-in DVBLink recorder (not from MCE). This means that MediaCenter is not required anymore for clients operations.
      – Those who prefer using the old way – e.g. working with MediaCenter database instead of internal DVBLink recorder – can do this by a) stop dvblink windows service, b) open dvblink_configuration.xml in text editor, c) changing all occurencies of “dlrecorder” into “mc_recorder”, d) saving file and starting dvblink windows service

    – Remote API for accessing recorded content is not implemented (yet)
    – If you observe any artifacts in web configuration page, try to reload the page before writing about it on the forum

Installation instructions

    – Make a backup of your current DVBLink installation. Do not forget about the contents of your Plugin folder(s), additional playlists and other extra
    – Uninstall all your DVBLink products, reboot and delete dvblink folder of the previous installation
    – (Optional, but recommended) Delete MediaCenter database
    – Download DVBLink v4.5 products from using the links below
    – Install DVBLink Server first (dvblink_server.msi), followed by DVBLink TVSource (dvblink_tvsource.msi) and (optionally) DVBLink Connect! Server (dvblink_connect_server.msi) and DVBLink EPG Loader for Digiguide (dvblink_epg_loader_for_digiguide.msi)
    – Open http://localhost:39876 and activate trial for each product (click on the red line and then press Activate button). Activation may take some time if there are a lot of users willing to activate the software, so please be patient ;)
    – Once products are activated, you may continue with restoration of your backup or doing a new configuration

The beta 1 of DVBLink v4.5 products can be downloaded here:
DVBLink TVSource
http://www.dvblogic.com/download/Trunk/ … _45_b1.zip
DVBLink Connect! Server
http://www.dvblogic.com/download/Trunk/ … _45_b1.zip
DVBLink EPG Loader for Digiguide
http://www.dvblogic.com/download/Trunk/ … _45_b1.zip

2 thoughts on “DVBLogic release DVBLink v4.5 beta 1. Includes DVB recorder, no Media Center required”
  1. TO confirm Ian has read this right. No MediaCenter now required to record from web based clients. To avoid confusion there is a switch (see the DVBLogic support forum) that allows you to switch these clients back to the old way of working.

    Ian I can’t see any reason the web client wouldn’t work on the Raspberry – give it a try – and of course there is the XBMC plugin in development I mentioned on the show last week.

    1. Just to add here that recordings from the DVBLink server can be played back using XBMC as a DLNA client without the need for a special DVBLink XBMC client.

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