Kintai

Kintai Scheduler and Kintai Library are applications for use with Hauppauge PVR cards such as the WinTV-PVR-150. They are more usable than the applications that come bundled with the WinTV-PVR cards. Kintai Scheduler lets the user manually schedule shows for recording (like a VCR). Kintai Library displays a list of all the previously-recorded shows and lets the user play or delete them. It can be used with the remote control.

To use these applications, download the Kintai installer (below), unzip it, and run Setup.exe. This will install Kintai Scheduler and Kintai Library and place shortcuts on the desktop.

Kintai is written in C#, so it requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. If you don't already have this framework then the Kintai installer will download and install it automatically.

The name Kintai is taken from Kintai Bridge in Japan. There's no connection between this software and the bridge; I just like the name.

Download Kintai (468 KB)

Kintai Scheduler

Kintai Scheduler is a replacement for the scheduling application that comes with the WinTV-PVR cards. It lets you schedule one-time shows or shows that repeat weekly. It's better than the bundled scheduling application in the following ways:

• It uses large fonts, which are easily visible on a TV. Hauppauge's scheduling program uses small fonts which are hard to read.
• It's designed to work well in a 640x480 screen resolution, which is commonly used with TV's.
• It has a great display of the scheduled shows, with continuously-updating counters that show when a scheduled recording will begin. This makes it easy to ensure that you've programmed the schedule correctly.
• It can automatically turn off the computer after it finishes recording a show. This is useful when recording late-night shows.
• You can define a Safety Margin for each show. The Safety Margin causes the recording to begin a few minutes before the show is supposed to begin, and end a few minutes after the show is supposed to end. This helps ensure that the entire show is recorded, even if the TV station's schedule is modified a bit.

You must keep Kintai Scheduler running in order for the scheduled programs to be recorded. To help avoid accidental closure, the application will warn you if you attempt to close it when there's a scheduled show within the next 24 hours.

If a scheduled show could not be recorded (e.g., because the computer was off at the time that it ran) then it will appear red in the Scheduled Shows list.

If a show has the flag Turn Off Computer When Done enabled then its End Time will appear magenta in the Scheduled Shows list.

Viewing the list of scheduled shows:

Adding or editing a scheduled show:

Kintai Library

Kintai Library shows a list of previously-recorded shows and lets the user play or delete them. Surprisingly, Hauppauge doesn't include such an application in their software bundle; in order to play a recorded show you have to use Windows Explorer.

Kintai Library displays all the video files in your Videos directory. The first time you use the application you need to navigate to the directory where all of your videos are stored; Kintai Library will remember it in the future.

Use the arrow keys to select the desired show. Press the Enter key to play the show, or Alt-D to delete it.

Selecting a show:

Using Kintai Library with the remote control

Kintai Library has a great feature that makes it particularly useful: it can be used with the remote control! This makes it possible to view shows while sitting on the couch. In order to use the application with the remote control you will have to modify your irremote.ini file. (In a future version of Kintai I will have the installer make these modifications automatically.) Note that I've assumed the use of the silver 45-button remote control that comes with the WinTV-PVR-150; if you have a different remote control then you might have to choose different buttons for the various commands.

To use Kintai Library with the remote control, make the following modifications to irremote.ini. If you don't want to bother with this then you can simply use Kintai Library with the mouse or keyboard.

1. Open irremote.ini with a text editor, such as Notepad. This file should be in the Windows directory, e.g. C:\WINDOWS.
2. In the following steps, add the lines highlighted in red to the file. The black lines are shown only for orientation.
3. Add a line at the end of the [Applications] section:
   [Applications] (...) Windows Media Player= ActiveMovie Window= WinTV Scheduler= Kintai Library=
4. Add a line at the end of the [Default] section:
   [Default] (...) SKIPFWD={app(0xb0000)} SKIPREV={app(0xc0000)} VIDEOS={run(C:\Progra~1\Kintai\KintaiLibrary.exe)}

   (Here you must enter the path where you installed Kintai. Note that you can't use spaces in the path, which is why you must use "Progra~1" instead of "Program Files".)
5. Add a new section called [Kintai Library] at the end of the file:
   
   [Kintai Library] OK={enter} BACK={esc} NAVUP={up} NAVDOWN={down} NAVLEFT={left} NAVRIGHT={right} STOP={alt}d 1=1 2=2 MUTE={ctrl}1 CHNLPREV={ctrl}2 VOLUP={ctrl}3 VOLDOWN={ctrl}4
6. Save the file and close the text editor.
7. To have these changes take effect you must restart the remote control application: run C:\Program Files\WinTV\IR32.EXE.

After you've made these changes, you can use Kintai Library from the remote control. As a reminder, each button in the Kintai Library UI has the corresponding remote-control button shown in blue below itself.

• To start Kintai Library: press Videos.
• To exit Kintai Library: press Back/Exit. The application will also close automatically if you start playing a show.
• To select a show: use the arrow buttons.
• To delete a show: press Stop. You will be shown a confirmation dialog; press 1 for Yes or 2 for No.
• As a bonus, Kintai Library also lets you change the system volume: Vol Up, Vol Down and Mute act as expected. You can also press Prev.Ch to set the volume to the middle level (50%).

Version History