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Usage
After successfully installing the application and setting up the R5000-HD tuner in Media Center, connect and configure your R5000-HD device as outlined in the DVR manual. When you start the application you'll notice a few small additions/changes as compared with the standard version. First of all, once the mode is set to "server" (see setup: dvr), the DVR app will automatically start in streaming mode. Nothing is being recorded to the hard drive at this point. In addition, the icon no longer turns red to show that a recording is in progress, but instead reflects the state of the connection with the Media Center receiver service*.

The bottom of the main dialog has been extended to accommodate an additional buffer meter. This reflects the state of the buffer interface between the R5000-HD and Media Center. If for some reason the receiver thread blocks (due to resource hogging, etc) the R5000-HD driver can buffer a significant amount of data, greatly reducing the possibility of any data loss. Bear in mind that buffer overflows at the Media Center interface in no way affect transport stream files created by the DVR app. Normally, this level should stay very low, rarely exceeding the 1/4 point.

There is very little setup or interaction required with the DVR application. Once it is configured the way you desire, leave it streaming and minimize to your system tray. You now have full control over your set top box and recordings using Media Center.

MCE IR Blaster - Even though this device is required to be connected and was configured in the Media Center TV setup, it is not used for any set top box control. This is accomplished via software hooks and the R5000-HD USB connection. Make sure that the IR blaster diode is pointed away from or its beam is otherwise shielded from reaching the set top box.

Switching between HD and SD channels - Due to shortcomings in the design of Media Center with respect to handling different types of audio streams dynamically, the Media Center shell must be restarted when audio changes from AC-3 to MPEG or visa-versa. Most providers use the better quality AC-3 format for HD channels but use MPEG encoding for SD. The result is that the Media Center is usually restarted when switching between HD and SD channels. This is handled quickly and automatically by the R5000-HD software.

Client-Server mode: The R5000-HD device does not have to be connected to the Media Center PC. In this mode, the DVR app on the MCE PC is set to run in "client" mode (note that if no R5000-HD USB device is present, this is the only mode the software will start in). See dvr setup for details. 

*This service is the main thread used by Media Center to receive data from a tuner device, display it in Live TV and/or record it to disk.

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