Biker
Yes, I am!
I took on a new project yesterday and managed to figure out how to stream movies from DirecTV to the notebook, as well as streaming video from the notebook to DirecTV. What brought this about was the inability to copy a file from one computer to another to watch a movie on the big screen.
Apparently there's an issue with the copyright protection in iTunes movie files that prevent them from being played on another computer, even if it's registered as an authorized computer for the account. I even ran the movies through a little utility I have that removes the DRM from the file and converts it to MPEG. Nada. Still can't watch it from a different computer. Colors are all off. Drat!
Soooooo, what to do? After a bit of research, I discovered that you can stream video from a PC to the DirecTV DVR. Hmmmmmm. So the fun begins.
First problem. Activating File Sharing without opening a huge gaping hole and compromising the security of the notebook. Luckily, Windows 7 recognizes the need for two types of networks. Your internal network within the home and the rest of the Internet. So, activated the home network on the notebook, and then activated file sharing on JUST the home network. Eureka! I can now see the HD DVR and the movies stored on the hard drive of the DVR. Ran some security scans to ensure I'm not exposing myself to the Internet. All good so far.
Attempted to play one of the movies. Nada. Hmmmmm. Something's not right here. Do some more research and find this wonderful program called DIRECTV2PC. Download it and install. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! I now have full access to the DVR. Saved movies play just fine to the notebook. (Note, this allows you to play saved movies/programs to the DVR. To date, there is no tuner available for the PC that allows you to view DirecTV live on your computer.)
OK. Part one is finished. Now to find out how to play something on the notebook and view it on the big screen. Do some more research, and I'm definitely not impressed with what I'm seeing. After fiddling with settings and the registry for the better part of the afternoon, I'm nowhere closer to my goal than when I started. Ugh. My head is beginning to hurt now.
Back to the Internet for more research. Hmmmmmm. What's this? A program called TVersity. The program basically sets your computer up as a media share server. Niiiiiiiice! Download and install. It see's the DVR. Now.. How in tarnation do I get the signal from the notebook TO the DVR?
After about an hour of banging my head against the proverbial brick wall, I get a sudden inspiration. Grab the DirecTV remote and start looking at options. What's this?! There's an option built into the DVR to find networked devices. Eureka! I see the media share server (my notebook) and after selecting, I see my movies. YES!!!!!!!!
This setup doesn't allow you to watch DRM protected files through iTunes. You have to run the file through a DRM removal program first. But, if it all goes well, you end up with a file that is playable on your computer using something other than iTunes to view it with. Once you've done that, you can then setup your PC or notebook to interact with your DirecTV DVR and stream the video to your big screen TV.
Oh, one little bit of info. You have to have the Internet hooked up to your DVR in order for this to work. There's a couple of small converter boxes you order from DirecTV to set this up with. Once that's running, you can use the steps I took to get your system set up on the home network.
Apparently there's an issue with the copyright protection in iTunes movie files that prevent them from being played on another computer, even if it's registered as an authorized computer for the account. I even ran the movies through a little utility I have that removes the DRM from the file and converts it to MPEG. Nada. Still can't watch it from a different computer. Colors are all off. Drat!
Soooooo, what to do? After a bit of research, I discovered that you can stream video from a PC to the DirecTV DVR. Hmmmmmm. So the fun begins.
First problem. Activating File Sharing without opening a huge gaping hole and compromising the security of the notebook. Luckily, Windows 7 recognizes the need for two types of networks. Your internal network within the home and the rest of the Internet. So, activated the home network on the notebook, and then activated file sharing on JUST the home network. Eureka! I can now see the HD DVR and the movies stored on the hard drive of the DVR. Ran some security scans to ensure I'm not exposing myself to the Internet. All good so far.
Attempted to play one of the movies. Nada. Hmmmmm. Something's not right here. Do some more research and find this wonderful program called DIRECTV2PC. Download it and install. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! I now have full access to the DVR. Saved movies play just fine to the notebook. (Note, this allows you to play saved movies/programs to the DVR. To date, there is no tuner available for the PC that allows you to view DirecTV live on your computer.)
OK. Part one is finished. Now to find out how to play something on the notebook and view it on the big screen. Do some more research, and I'm definitely not impressed with what I'm seeing. After fiddling with settings and the registry for the better part of the afternoon, I'm nowhere closer to my goal than when I started. Ugh. My head is beginning to hurt now.
Back to the Internet for more research. Hmmmmmm. What's this? A program called TVersity. The program basically sets your computer up as a media share server. Niiiiiiiice! Download and install. It see's the DVR. Now.. How in tarnation do I get the signal from the notebook TO the DVR?
After about an hour of banging my head against the proverbial brick wall, I get a sudden inspiration. Grab the DirecTV remote and start looking at options. What's this?! There's an option built into the DVR to find networked devices. Eureka! I see the media share server (my notebook) and after selecting, I see my movies. YES!!!!!!!!
This setup doesn't allow you to watch DRM protected files through iTunes. You have to run the file through a DRM removal program first. But, if it all goes well, you end up with a file that is playable on your computer using something other than iTunes to view it with. Once you've done that, you can then setup your PC or notebook to interact with your DirecTV DVR and stream the video to your big screen TV.
Oh, one little bit of info. You have to have the Internet hooked up to your DVR in order for this to work. There's a couple of small converter boxes you order from DirecTV to set this up with. Once that's running, you can use the steps I took to get your system set up on the home network.
