[Download] PC Prevue

[AriX]

Excited to share the long-awaited copy of PC Prevue. This is PC Prevue version 2.4, dated 2/27/1997.

I pulled the software from a 3.5" floppy disk labeled "PrimeStar PC5 2.4". Here are the contents: http://prevueguide.com/PCPrevue/PrimeStarPC5-2.4.zip

A few notes to get started:

• The disk includes an install.bat script that will install the software to c:\prevue. The script expects the disk to be in drive A:. You may need to modify the script to adjust the installation path.
• The software is designed to be run at 640x480. It appears to be fairly compatible with a wide range of versions of Windows but I believe it originally ran on Windows 95.
• When you first run the program, you may get an error about the BaseBand port. You'll likely need to modify C:\WINDOWS\PCEPGSYS.INI and adjust the BaseBand to reference a COM port that actually exists (I changed BaseBand's CommPort to 1, and Laser Disc's CommPort to 2.)
• PC Prevue uses the same 2400 baud data format as Amiga Prevue, so you should be able to use the same tools to send data to it. However, you'll need to send data through a COM port rather than through TCP.
• This version of PC Prevue does not support special characters. If you're using PrevueCLI, you can set "omitSpecialCharacters" to "true" in the ListingCommand in order to strip them.

Here are some shots of the software in action:

PrevueFolder.png (357.31 KiB) Viewed 23601 times

PrevueConsole.png (152.54 KiB) Viewed 23601 times

PCPrevue-NoData.png (32.24 KiB) Viewed 23601 times

PCPrevue-Working.png (174.1 KiB) Viewed 23601 times

Lastly, here are a few pieces of documentation for the software that I was able to find:

• pcepg.flat.pdf
• color.pdf
• Release2-5.pdf (unfortunately these release notes are for a newer version of the software than the one we have)
• Amiga-P2a.pdf
• promode.pdf

[PajamaDarkness]

Went ahead and installed this on my Compaq Presario 5000 and well? It works alright!

Also I find it easier to the Diagnostics program (or whatever the official name is called) on here than on the Amiga. It's more compact and actually provides logs for serial!

[datguy]

Here's something I found in PCEPG.ini:
; The valid types of promotions are: NONE, PLAYLIST, PIE, LASER, MPEG, EXTERNAL

This version of Prevue can support MPEG and/or Laserdiscs for promos.

Here's what I assume each are:
-NONE: No promos.
-PLAYLIST: A pre-determined list of sorts [?, who knows]
-PIE: I dunno what this does.
-LASER: Laserdisc-based promos.
-MPEG: Promos that are a specific MPEG file.
-EXTERNAL: Genlock thing??

This .ini file is more likely to be positioning and promo settings.

Much like Hollywood, there could have been MPEG files distributed and/or placed by this cableco.
However, this is my own speculation on what many of these are. I never tried them. Maybe if one can offer an explaination of each one and what they do [i.e. PIE and/or PLAYLIST], that would be helpful. :]

[woddfellow2]

Pages 4 and 5 of promode.pdf (linked in the OP) explain those settings.

[PajamaDarkness]

-PIE: I dunno what this does.

PIE enables a CTRL-like display at the top. From what I've gathered it grabs random listings and displays them, probably in a similar way as to how these old PC Prevue examples from Prevue Interactive's website appear as?

prevuechannel1.jpg (19.3 KiB) Viewed 23421 times

prevuechannel2.jpg (20.78 KiB) Viewed 23421 times

[PajamaDarkness]

By the way, if anybody is having trouble downloading and installing PC Prevue, I whipped up a tutorial for getting it working in DOSBox and listings data through PrevueCLI over here. (updated link as of May 16, 2024)

[CPLANAS1985]

By the way, if anybody is having trouble downloading and installing PC Prevue, I whipped up a tutorial for getting it working in DOSBox and listings data through PrevueCLI over here.

I had trouble just trying to setup the program... How about a step-by-step YouTube tutorial!?!? I'm having NO luck whatsoever...

[PajamaDarkness]

By the way, if anybody is having trouble downloading and installing PC Prevue, I whipped up a tutorial for getting it working in DOSBox and listings data through PrevueCLI over here.

I had trouble just trying to setup the program... How about a step-by-step YouTube tutorial!?!? I'm having NO luck whatsoever...

"NO luck whatsoever", huh.

Could you be a bit more specific and include details, such as:

• Which step are you stuck at?

• Do you get an error message upon trying said step?

• Are you sure you're entering whatever correctly?

[CPLANAS1985]

By the way, if anybody is having trouble downloading and installing PC Prevue, I whipped up a tutorial for getting it working in DOSBox and listings data through PrevueCLI over here.

I had trouble just trying to setup the program... How about a step-by-step YouTube tutorial!?!? I'm having NO luck whatsoever...

"NO luck whatsoever", huh.

Could you be a bit more specific and include details, such as:

• Which step are you stuck at?

• Do you get an error message upon trying said step?

• Are you sure you're entering whatever correctly?

Trying to create a virtual machine and installing the PrevueCLI software... I don't remember the rest of the details...

[PajamaDarkness]

Trying to create a virtual machine and installing the PrevueCLI software... I don't remember the rest of the details...

If creating a virtual machine is too hard for you, I can upload an image of mine to make things easier. (will provide eventually)

Better yet, if you're willing to, you can install a virtual serial port (such as VSPE or com0com) and SerialToIP to make things easier and just install PC Prevue (using an installer I created with Inno) on your machine (I tested PC Prevue on x64 and can confirm it does work)

I'm willing to make a step-by-step tutorial for this eventually, however I'm currently busy at the moment so it will have to wait for a bit.