Bladerunner Pro/TVxb setup for
Vista

 

The following instructions for setting up BladeRunner on Vista are based on the work done by "petethegeek" and "Magz" of the Australian MCE Forum.

This procedure has worked well on the Vista systems I have setup so far.

NOTE:

If you are running "TV Pack 2008" there is presently no method available to load a guide.

If your are running Windows 7" then use TVxb V2.0006 or higher, and refer to the TVxb Quick Guide for Windows 7. The method described below is for Windows Vista Media Center only.

Download Software

  • Download the following software:

Don't use BladeRunnerPro V3.5 - it will not run on Vista.

  • TVxb Grabber  (or whatever grabber you are using) : from the www.tvxb.com site.
     
  • KB935685 patch : not required if running SP1 or SP2 for Vista.
    You can request it as a hotfix from Microsoft Online Service by clicking on this link:     http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451 and filling in the form. Microsoft will email back a link to the patch within several hours.
    If     you have difficulty getting a copy, it's hosted on the tvxb.com site here.

Install Bladerunner Pro V3

  • Install BladeRunner Pro V3 - Accept the install defaults.

Configure BladeRunner Pro

  • Configure BladeRunner using the BladeRunnerPro Configurator .
    Start button, All programs, BladeRunner Pro.

    You will need to right-click and "Run as Administrator" as it will expect write access to the BladeRunner folder which is under the ehome system folder.    )
     
  • Run the configurator and then immediately File, Save, then Exit. You can setup BladeRunner to automatically run the TVxb grabber later.

Install the TVxb listings grabber (or other grabber)

  • Install the TVxb grabber (or whatever grabber you are using). Accept the installation defaults. Refer to the TVxb Installation Guide (PDF) for more information on selecting a TVxb.ini file for your country/TV provider.

Setup TVxb grabber (or other grabber)

  • Configure the grabber to write out the xmltv file and ChannelInfo.xml file into the BladeRunner directory tree:

e.g. For TVxb, edit the TVxb.ini configuration file, and change the xmltvoutput and mcechanneloutput items to look like the following. Make sure there is no "!" comment marker in front of these lines.

xmltvoutput="C:\WINDOWS\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\GuideData\listing2.xml"
mcechanneloutput="C:\WINDOWS\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\QuickGuide\ChannelInfo.XML"

  • Assign channel numbers by editing TVxb.ini and specify using a second "name=" item. e.g.

    [tv1.nz]
    name=TV1
    name=1
    url=...
    ...

    [tv2.nz]
    name=TV2
    name=2
    ...

    Channel numbers must be unique (not repeated) and increasing. e.g. 1, 2, 4, 0, 8, 10, 0, 11 ,12,...  (A channel number of zero tells BladeRunner to ignore that channel.)
     

  • Grant permission to write into the BladeRunner GuideData, Native, and QuickGuide folders.

    There are three possible methods from easiest to most secure:

a) The easiest method is to grant the username running TVxb full control of the BladeRunner folder and subfolders.

b) A more secure method is to only grant write access to the BladeRunner folders Guidedata, Native, and QuickGuide , and list folder content and read to the other BladeRunner folders.

c) The most secure method is to edit TVxb.ini and setup TVxb to write the xmltv.xml and channelinfo.xml files into the ProgramData\TVxb\xml\ folder. Then edit BladeRunner's QuickGuide.exe.config file and setup BladeRunner to read these files from the ProgramData\TVxb\xml\ folder.
The user account running BladeRunner will still need write access into the GuideData and Native folders however.
The advantage of method c) is no write access is needed to the QuickGuide folder where .exe files are located.

  • Run the TVxb grabber (or other grabber) and create the listing2 (xmltv) and ChannelInfo files.

    If TVxb has problems creating these files, then it's likely TVxb does not have permission to write into the BladeRunnerPro GuideData and QuickGuide folders.

    More information on any errors will be available in the TVxb log file at C:\ProgramData\TVxb\log .

    If you are using a grabber other than TVxb to create the xmltv file, then you might need to manually create your own ChannelInfo file using the template provided in the C:\WINDOWS\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\QuickGuide\ folder.

Install IIS

  • Control panel
  • Programs
  • Turn Windows Features On and Off
  • Select “Internet Information Services”

    • The default options should be okay. Change them at your own risk.

Run the IIS Administrator

  • Control Panel
  • System and Maintenance
  • Administrative tools
  • Double-click “IIS Manager”

Point your default IIS web site to BladeRunnerPro

  • In IIS Manager, browse to “Default Web Site” in the left panel
  • Right Click -> Advanced Settings:
  • Change Physical Path = C:\Windows\ehome\BladeRunnerPro

Run BladeRunner to create guide.bin

  • Run BladerunnerPro – it should find the XMLTVfile and ChannelInfo files, create a C:\Windows\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\GuideData\guide.bin file and complete without errors.

    I recommend you run BladeRunner from a Command prompt window the first time (Right-Click, Run as Administrator).

If BladeRunner does not successfully create guide.bin then the error message in the command prompt window will provide more information. The error message might look complicated, however, the first 1-2 lines will actually describe the problem very clearly in most cases.

The most likely problems include:

  • Cannot find the XMLTVfile (listings2.xml or xmltv.xml) or ChannelInfo files. The files specified in tvxb.ini (or other grabber configuration files) and QuickGuide.exe.config have to match exactly.
  • TVxb (or other grabber) and BladeRunner must have permission to write into the relevant BladeRunner folders.
  • Channel numbers in ChannelInfo are invalid (reused, or not increasing)
Background Information on the QuickGuide.exe.config file
  • QuickGuide.exe.config : BladeRunner uses QuickGuide.exe.config to find the XMLTVFile and ChannelInfo files.

  • XMLTVFile : points to a file containing the program schedule created by your grabber (e.g. listings2.xml or xmltv.xml)
     

  • ChannelInfo : points to a file containing a list of channel names, numbers and IDs. The content of this file needs to be exactly right or BladeRunner will fail to process the TV schedule.

For example, if QuickGuide.exe.config contains the following keys:

<add key="XMLTVFile" value="GuideData\listing2.xml" />
<add key="ChannelInfo" value="QuickGuide\ChannelInfo.xml" />

then BladeRunner will expect to find the XMLTVFile file created by your grabber (TVxb for example) at :

C:\Windows\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\GuideData\listing2.xml

and the ChannelInfo.xml file at :

C:\Windows\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\QuickGuide\ChannelInfo.xml

The default values are usually okay. i.e. No edit/change is needed. However you can change the names of these two files to something else if you want.

Customize BladeRunner to make the guide available from the local machine via IIS

  • Modify the following html files in C:\Windows\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\Native to look like the following

    (The blue-colored text shows what needs to be changed in your file. "localhost" could be replaced by the name of the computer if you wish, however localhost works okay.)

    Encryption key values: I suggest keeping the original encryption keys values in your own GetEPGDataMetaInfo.html file. If you experience problems, only then, use the values shown below.
-- GetEPGDataMetaInfo.html ----
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<EPGMetaInfo xmlns="http://data.tvdownload.microsoft.com/TVServices.Platform.XDS/1.0">
<URL>http://localhost/GuideData/guide.bin</URL>
 <EncryptionKey xmlns="">RL9+i8Ed4qw=</EncryptionKey>
<Hash xmlns="">XqjVbQczSieC8ckcSfheaA==</Hash>
</EPGMetaInfo>
 

-- GetTVServicesMetaInfo.html --
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ServiceMetaInfo xmlns="http://data.tvdownload.microsoft.com/TVServices.Platform.XDS/1.0">
<SessionToken>00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000</SessionToken>
<Service name="EPGService" defaultScheme="http" serverName="localhost" hostName="localhost" hostPort="localhost" path="Native">
<Interface name="GetHeadendList" scheme="http" subPath="GetHeadendList.html" />
<Interface name="GetEPGDataMetaInfo" scheme="http" subPath="GetEPGDataMetaInfo.html" />
</Service>
</ServiceMetaInfo>

Keep the Custom Guide Download URL

You need to modify the behavior of MCE discovery services to prevent it resetting the custom guide download URL.

If you are not running Vista SP1 or SP2 then you must install the KB935685 Microsoft patch. This patch is not needed if running SP1 or higher.

Then for all Vista systems, pre-SP1/SP1/SP2 systems, set the disableUpdateDiscSvc registry entry to 1. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Media Center\Service\EPG\
3. In the details pane, right-click disableUpdateDiscSvc, and then click Modify.
4. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
5. Exit Registry Editor.

Optional procedure to remove keepkey

If you previously used the KeepKey method to preserve the custom guide download location, then you can uninstall this by following this procedure.

If this is your first time to setup BladeRunner and you have never installed KeepKey, then you can skip the following instructions.

1. Work out where you stored KeepKey. If you previously followed this bladerunner setup guide it might be in C:\Windows\ehome\BladeRunnerPro
2. Start Button / All Programs / Accessories
Right click on Command Prompt / Run as Administrator (command prompt starts)
3. Type the following commands in the command prompt

cd /d %windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727
net stop "keepkey"
installutil /u C:\Windows\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\keepKey.exe
(where this path is dependent on the where you unzipped KeepKey to)

Then optionally delete the KeepKey files.

Start configuring the TV Guide in Media Center

  • Start Media center -> Setup -> TV, TV Guide Setup
  • Select your region, click next etc.
  • Stop when you get to the screen asking for your postcode or area
  • Minimize media center

Setup MCE to download the Guide from BladeRunnerPro

  • Run regedit and change the
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\EPG\discSvc registry key data to:

http://localhost/Native/GetTVServicesMetaInfo.html

Check the URLs

·         Verify that you can browse these two URLs. If this doesn’t work, then there is probably something wrong with your IIS setup or you have no permission to access these folders.

http://localhost/Native/GetTVServicesMetaInfo.html

http://localhost/GuideData/guide.bin

Complete the Media Center TV Guide setup

  • Return to media center and continue with selecting the postcode or area and Next your way through the process.
     
  • The guide should now be successfully downloaded

If you ever have to run through the Media Center TV Guide setup again for any reason, then it should work okay all the way through.

Setup BladeRunner as a scheduled task

  • Configure BladeRunner to automatically invoke the TVxb grabber. i.e. Run the BladeRunnerPro Configurator and "Add" a new "Grabber":
    • name = TVxb
    • file = C:\Program Files\TVxb\bin\TVxb.exe
    • arguments = -NoConsole

    The File, Save the configuration.
     

  • Setup BladeRunner to run every 1-2 days as a Scheduled Task. (The BladeRunner install will have already created a task called "BRP").

On-going use

If you have any other advice on using TVxb / Bladerunner Pro on MCE, then please forward through the Feedback page so I can share with other MCE users.

 

Updated: February 27, 2009