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MediaPortal Installation Tool
Introduction
The MediaPortal Installation Tool (also known as the Deploy Tool) allows you to download and install all necessary components for a complete MediaPortal install. It is included in every release of MediaPortal and handles among other things the choice of TV engine, installation of a database server if needed and network configuration.
Before you start
Please make sure your system meets the hardware and software requirements for MediaPortal.
It is recommended to read the instructions how to make a possible operating system and software setup with Windows XP .
If you have already installed MediaPortal and want to perform an update, please read Updating MediaPortal.
Usage
- The first question from the installer is what language you want to choose for the installation process.
Installation options
The second page ask you whether to install MediaPortal immediately or just download all components.
If the PC you are planing to use MediaPortal on does not have access to the internet, you can simply copy the installer to a PC with an internet connection, restart it and select the Only download required components option. The installer will download all necessary components to a folder which you can copy to your media PC after the downloads have finished. Starting the MediaPortal.DeployTool.exe from within this folder it is now possible to install MediaPortal without the need of an internet connection.
Download only
The following section only applies for you if you chose to Only download required components.
If you chose to Start with the installation now you can skip to the next section.
After selecting the language and architecture of the operating system of the PC you want to install MediaPortal on, a list including all necessary components will be presented to you.
The MediaPortal installer already includes the main MediaPortal application and the TV-Server, so these don't need to be downloaded.
Click the Download button to start downloading all components. All files will be downloaded to a folder named MediaPortal Installation that is created underneath your temporary files folder. If not already installed on your PC, Windows Media Player 11 has to be downloaded manually. For this the installer will present you an according download link.
After all donwloads have finished click the Exit button to close the installer.
The folder containing all downloaded files will now open. To install MediaPortal from the downloads copy the complete directory to your HTPC and then simply start MediaPortal.DeployTool.exe and select the Start with the installation now option.
TV Engine
The next question is if you want to watch TV with MediaPortal.
If you answered Yes to the previous question, you will be presented with a question if you want to watch HDTV as well.
If you answer Yes again, the new version of the TV-engine (called TV-Server) will be installed. If you answer No or I don't know, the following screen will give you the choice between the "classic" or the new TV-engine.
The classic TV-engine (also known as Version 0.2) is integrated in MediaPortal and optimized for recording analogue TV signals.
The newer TV-Server (version 0.3 and up) is a stand-alone tool that works independently from MediaPortal, plus a plugin that lets MediaPortal control the TV-Server. TV-Server is optimized for digital TV signals, but will also deliver quality recordings with analogue signals.
See the TV-Server overview page for a more detailed comparison between the classic TV-Engine and the new TV-Server.
Answering No or I don't know what HD content is to the previous question a more detailed choice between both TV engines is presented to you.
Installation mode
On the next screen choosing Perform a One Click installation will take you directly to the installation section. If you want to specify more installation parameters you can do this by selecting Perform an advanced installation.
Advanced installation
- If you choose to perform an advanced installation, the first question will be about the type of setup you want to create.
Singleseat Installation will install MediaPortal and the TV-Server on the computer. The computer has to contain a video capture card, and will be used for viewing your recordings. Note that you can still install a MediaPortal client on another computer also; a single seat installation can also function as a server for another computer.
Dedicated TV-Server (master) will install the TV-Server, not MediaPortal. The computer has to contain a video capture card, but will not be used for viewing. You will use another computer for the MediaPortal client (or any other TV-Server client) to watch the television stream.
MediaPortal client will install MediaPortal without the TV-Server. To view TV content the client can connect to another PC which has MediaPortal with Singleseat or Dedicated TV-Server option installed on it.
If you chose Singleseat Installation or Dedicated TV-Server in the previous question, then you will have to install a database. Out of the box, MediaPortal supports both Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition and MySQL Community Server. If you haven't installed a database server yet, you can now choose which one to install.
Next up is the question where to install the database server software, and what password to use for the sa (system administrator) account. The default password is MediaPortal.
- The installer will automatically set Windows fireswall exceptions for the database server in use.
Note: If you're using a 3rd party firwall you have to configure it manually.
The next question asks where to install the MediaPortal application.
- The last question is about the installation path of the TV-Server application.
Installation
The next screen gives you an overview of what kind of components will be installed. Click the Install button to start the installation. If there is a previous version of MediaPortal installed on your PC it will be automatically uninstalled.
Click the Exit button to finish the installation.
You are now ready to configure MediaPortal to your needs.
For more information you can have a look at the MediaPortal wiki.
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