SageTV Media Extender Brightness Control

[jan smit]

Hi. Are you saying that both of your MVP units have the same dark problem? Just curious if your first MVP is ok and this last one is not, or if both of your MVP's are showing the dark image problem?

Yes, both have the same problem. There is a big difference in brightness compared with real live TV (and with my Sage Xcard picture).
Like the cards discussed in the thread you gave, my revision on both is RevD3A (model 86002).
Reading this last thread makes me unpack the box again and let me try it with a different Scart cable of high quality, which I normally use for my DVD player.
I'll let you know the results later this evening.

[heffe2001]

Doesn't the Hauppauge MVP software let you play with brightness, AR and all that? Could you up the brightness with the Hauppauge software, then it stickin the sage software?

[jan smit]

I'll let you know the results later this evening.

Bad luck, the problem is not caused by the cable, same problem.

Doesn't the Hauppauge MVP software let you play with brightness, AR and all that? Could you up the brightness with the Hauppauge software, then it stickin the sage software?

I asked that also earlier in this thread. I think none of us have tried the Hauppauge software sofar.

[joe123]

Originally Posted by heffe2001

Doesn't the Hauppauge MVP software let you play with brightness, AR and all that? Could you up the brightness with the Hauppauge software, then it stickin the sage software?

Are you talking about this link?
http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/suppo..._mediamvp.html

If so, I don't see it mention about being able to adjust the Brightness level on the MVP (correct me if I am wrong).

[joe123]

Originally Posted by jan smit

Bad luck, the problem is not caused by the cable, same problem.


I asked that also earlier in this thread. I think none of us have tried the Hauppauge software sofar.

After reading this post:
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?p=135959 Entry #2

It may not be a hardware problem after all. There is a fix via the free GBPVR software if the poster is telling the truth. Anyone else tried GBPVR to see if you can control the brightness / contrast settings on the Media Extender?

EDIT: Just found this: http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FAQ/MVP#toc4

It says and I quote:
" Is there a way to control the video output brightness of the MVP?

If the signal coming out of your mvp is too dark (or light), you can adjust it. Here’s how: In the gbpvr root directory (default C:\Program Files\devnz\gbpvr\) there is a file called direct.ini. Right click this file, select “open with” and point that to NOTEPAD. Change the Brightness from auto to 75 (or some other number) and click save. Then restart the gbpvr recording services. Experiment with the setting (up or down from 75) until it is set to how how you want it."

[Opus4]

I just thought I would mention that SageTV is aware of the brightness issue with some MVPs & is looking into it to see what might be able to be done.

- Andy

[fidget]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I just thought I would mention that SageTV is aware of the brightness issue with some MVPs & is looking into it to see what might be able to be done.

- Andy

The brightness varies by unit. I have two MVPs and the older one is quite a bit darker than the new one.

[malbec]

FWIW...got three of them ... all from Sage wen they came out with the MVP client.. all the same issue. I have adjsuted for it as previously mentioned..adjusting the controls by input on the TV and some adjustments on the capture card. It's....tolerable.

[joe123]

Originally Posted by malbec

FWIW...got three of them ... all from Sage wen they came out with the MVP client.. all the same issue. I have adjsuted for it as previously mentioned..adjusting the controls by input on the TV and some adjustments on the capture card. It's....tolerable.

Adjusting the capture card means over exposed movies for other TV's. No? It like fixing one hole while creating another.

By the way, I got my MVP client hardware directly from SageTV this week. New unit and very dark output

[joe123]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I just thought I would mention that SageTV is aware of the brightness issue with some MVPs & is looking into it to see what might be able to be done.

- Andy

Hi Andy.

Are you saying that the problem is NOT with the MVP unit, but with the SageTV software? I just want to make sure I understand you.

[Opus4]

I don't know what the issue is; I was just letting people know that SageTV is aware of it & looking into it, in case anyone was curious about that. I haven't noticed it, so I can't comment on it.

- Andy

[blackbeltdbz]

I too have this problem. I also have tivo. When comparing the two there is a night and day difference almost literally. I think there are two reasons not everyone has noticed. The first is that it's not very noticeable on shows that are set in a bright area or shows that are animated. The other reason is that some people are just oblivious to video quality. I know many people with big screen tv's who have no idea that watching a standard picture on a widesreen tv stretches the picture, distorting the aspect ratio.

I had this same problem when using gbpvr. However I was able to adjust the brightness and contrast on gbpvr by editing an ini file. This worked like a charm. Hopefully Sage will soon add ability to make these adjustments using software. Adjustments made on the tv itself or adjusting the video properites while recording is NOT a solution what-so-ever. I hope they would actually figure out the best settings and make them default like tivo. The contrast on tivo is so good that it seems you can see more detail than watching tv live.

[malbec]

Originally Posted by joe123

Sorry, I wont meet you in the dark side - I'll stay in the nice clear bright side for now

Don't disagree with you on the surprise side of things...was rather upset when I found this out as well...after buying 3 MVPs with the Sage MVP client.

That said, I am now watching shows on my TVs instead of on my computer....

[blackbeltdbz]

Originally Posted by joe123

After reading this post:
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?p=135959 Entry #2

It may not be a hardware problem after all. There is a fix via the free GBPVR software if the poster is telling the truth. Anyone else tried GBPVR to see if you can control the brightness / contrast settings on the Media Extender?

EDIT: Just found this: http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FAQ/MVP#toc4

It says and I quote:
" Is there a way to control the video output brightness of the MVP?

If the signal coming out of your mvp is too dark (or light), you can adjust it. Here’s how: In the gbpvr root directory (default C:\Program Files\devnz\gbpvr\) there is a file called direct.ini. Right click this file, select “open with” and point that to NOTEPAD. Change the Brightness from auto to 75 (or some other number) and click save. Then restart the gbpvr recording services. Experiment with the setting (up or down from 75) until it is set to how how you want it."

I don't know for sure if that adjustment in GBPVR actually changes the setting ON the MVP itself, it may just adjust the video during streaming to compensate. At any rate it does work, I have experimented with it a couple times. The first setting I used actually made the video TOO bright on the MVP and I had to back it down.

[joe123]

Originally Posted by blackbeltdbz

I don't know for sure if that adjustment in GBPVR actually changes the setting ON the MVP itself, it may just adjust the video during streaming to compensate. At any rate it does work, I have experimented with it a couple times. The first setting I used actually made the video TOO bright on the MVP and I had to back it down.

Yes, last night I tested GBPVR as well and it WORKS! I was able to make my MVP image a lot "BRIGHTER" on my TV.

I also agree with you that it is not clear to me if it makes adjustments to compensate for The Media Extender (MVP) darkness problem, or if it actually adjusts the MVP itself.

I should also add that, it is NOT the brightness setting but the CONTRAST setting which makes MVP show normal. After playing with the contrast, to me, it almost looked as good as regular TV, but the colors were weak - which lets me to believe like you, that it may not be adjusting the MVP itself. Again, I am not sure.

I can't believe that others have not COMPLAINED more about this. The MVP as-is is useless in my opinion. It is too dark to watch.

I also cannot believe that GBPVR which is free software have already dealt with this issue AND have provided a way to "fix" it. I am still on TRIAL basis with SageTV and GBPVR is looking a lot better simply because it makes the MVP USEABLE.

I think that SageTV is dragging their feet on this - Andy already stated that SageTV "knows" about this problem. I only have a few trial days left on my SageTV.

For those interested, here are some of the settings available for the MVP from the BGPVR software:
Brightness=AUTO
Contrast=AUTO
Hue=AUTO
Saturation=AUTO
Sharpness=AUTO
Gamma=AUTO
WhiteBalance=AUTO
Gain=AUTO

[gplasky]

You DO realize the Sage just came out with their own version of the MVP client so I wouldn't classify it as "dragging their feet". And if you're only going to use a MVP client with GBPVR that's fine. Just realize they do NOT have any type of PC client.

Everyone DOESN'T have this issue and I have all the cofidence in Sage that they will come up with a solution.

Gerry

[joe123]

Originally Posted by gplasky

You DO realize the Sage just came out with their own version of the MVP client so I wouldn't classify it as "dragging their feet". And if you're only going to use a MVP client with GBPVR that's fine. Just realize they do NOT have any type of PC client.

They came out with their OWN version of MVP software and they DID NOT ADDRESS this CRITICAL problem that they already know about?

Having a PC on every room in my house for all of our 4 TV's is not a very pratical solution. Most importantly is the NOISE and SIZE each PC would have. A PC next to each TV is not very attractive PLUS the NOISE and HEAT they produce are a HUGE draw back.

That is why MVP's as so popular *IF* you are not watching High Definition. For my HD TV in my living room, I plan on putting the main server there.

I should also add that if EVERYONE is not having this issue, then it *MAY* be defective MVP's. I just got mine from SageTV, so I will ask them for a replacement.

[jan smit]

Hey, come on!
How long do we know about this problem?
I think I was one of the first to mention it, and that was just a couple of days ago. (I bought my (first) MVP less than a week ago).
If the fault is an MVP problem, it means it is caused by Hauppauge and not by Sage. (I realise you bought it from Sage and not from Hauppauge) Give Sage a little time to find a good solution for it, like they did with all other problems over the past years.
I have full confidence that they will come up with a solution for either a fault in there software or to compensate for a fault in this hardware.
I can hardly believe that you want to buy SageTv just because you want to use MVP's; Sage offers a lot more if you didn't already know that.

[joe123]

Originally Posted by jan smit

I can hardly believe that you want to buy SageTv just because you want to use MVP's; Sage offers a lot more if you didn't already know that.

Ok, I will bite. Other than being able to WATCH TV recordings correctly (no pc in each room route), what else is SageTV good for?

I currently have 1 TIVO and putting a TIVO in each room was very expensive, thus why I started looking at things like SageTV. The Media Extenders sounded like the ideal setup by which I could put a nice fast & fat server with lots of disk space and have it stream recordings to each TV in my house via the MPVs.

Again, not everyone can afford to have a PC in each room where there is a TV with a nice expensive video card.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by joe123

I think that SageTV is dragging their feet on this - Andy already stated that SageTV "knows" about this problem. I only have a few trial days left on my SageTV.

Originally Posted by joe123

They came out with their OWN version of MVP software and they DID NOT ADDRESS this CRITICAL problem that they already know about?

Wait... I said:

Originally Posted by Opus4

I just thought I would mention that SageTV is aware of the brightness issue with some MVPs & is looking into it to see what might be able to be done.

I didn't say anything about how long it was known because I don't know the answer to that. I also said they are looking into it, not that they already have a solution and are waiting a while before implementing it. Knowing about an issue and having a software solution don't always coincide.

- Andy