DVICO FusionHDTV5 Lite Still Work With SageTV?

[geogecko]

I don't seem to be getting anywhere on the other couple threads I've posted on, so I thought I'd summarize here what problems I've been having, and see if anyone has any ideas.

Just installed a FusionHDTV5 Lite in my HTPC, running SageTV. Here are the versions I've tried.

SageTV 4.1.5 & 4.1.6
FusionHDTV 3.11, 3.2, and 3.3

I think that I've disabled all FusionHDTV software, via the taskbar. I, however, did tune some digital HDTV channels inside of the FusionHDTV software, just to make sure it was working, which it did seem to work (1080i feed, one minute worth was 139MB, stored as a .tp file).

When I go to setup the tuner in SageTV, I am only given one option for a video capture device: "FusionHDTV, WDM Video Capture." Others have reported also having a "FusionHDTV, Transport Stream Video Capture" option, but I have *never* seen this before.

I tried just installing the driver itself, without the FusionHDTV software, and that didn't do the trick either.

I've reinstalled SageTV a couple times as well, after installing FusionHDTV drivers, and that doesn't seem to fix anything.

A few people have reported using "FusionHDTV, WDM Video Capture" and then selecting the Digital TV Tuner option, right after that selection. I've done this as well, and I even get a "Digital TV channel lineup" in my area, which does seem to be for HDTV, but none of the files will record or playback. I end up with a 0kb .mpg file. (Aren't HDTV files from the Fusion stored as .ts files?) Also, if I choose to "Watch" a DTV channel, I get some type of playback error, but I can't recall what it was.

I know some people must have this working. If you can describe your experience, what versions of software you are running, and how *exactly* you got things working, it might be able to help me in some way. I thought this card was widely used, as it seemed to be the most recommended card to me, when I asked (don't recall if I did it in the Sage forums or not, probably should have first)...

I've been for the last 3-4 days trying to get this working.

Should the "FusionHDTV, Transport Stream Video Capture" selection still be available with 4.1.6 and version 3.3 of FusionHDTV??? HELP!

[wazkaren]

Originally Posted by geogecko

I know some people must have this working. If you can describe your experience, what versions of software you are running, and how *exactly* you got things working, it might be able to help me in some way. I thought this card was widely used, as it seemed to be the most recommended card to me, when I asked (don't recall if I did it in the Sage forums or not, probably should have first)...

I don't have anything to help but I can tell you my experience. The Fusion is working perectly in my system. I'm using the latest Fusion drivers (3.3) and SageTV 4.1.3. I just plugged it in, started up Sage and selected the Transport Stream option that you seem to be missing. I did find that I had to disable ACPI on my computer to eliminate some glitches in the recordings but that's a different story. I don't know if this will work but I could post my sage.properties file and you could drop it on top of your existing properties file as an experiment. It might be worth a try?

Greg

[geogecko]

Originally Posted by wazkaren

I don't have anything to help but I can tell you my experience. The Fusion is working perectly in my system. I'm using the latest Fusion drivers (3.3) and SageTV 4.1.3. I just plugged it in, started up Sage and selected the Transport Stream option that you seem to be missing. I did find that I had to disable ACPI on my computer to eliminate some glitches in the recordings but that's a different story. I don't know if this will work but I could post my sage.properties file and you could drop it on top of your existing properties file as an experiment. It might be worth a try?

Greg

Interesting.

Yep, the properties file might help. I can use a diff tool to see what settings are different from yours and mine, maybe that will get me somewhere.

But the fact that I'm still not seeing this TS option in setup, seems odd. Do you have any other tuners in your setup? Any other PCI cards?

[wazkaren]

Yup, I have an Avermedia and the Fusion. They are the only 2 cards.

Here's my properties file.

Greg

[bcjenkins]

So... I am not sure there is a problem with this card and the fact that the TS adapter does not show up. It may be an "undocumented change" in the newer betas that the WDM is the only device in the list. It seems that HD recording si working. There is a size difference between SD and HD recordings. I think that Sage is putting its own mpg wrapper around the TS calling it a program stream. However, I don't know how that stuff works so it is all conjecture by me! :-)

I have Sage displaying TV by source, and HD is full 16x9 whereas SD is 4x3 on the HD channels.

I hope this helps, but if you want to know if you are recording HD can't you look at the files using graph edit or something?

B

[geogecko]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

So... I am not sure there is a problem with this card and the fact that the TS adapter does not show up. It may be an "undocumented change" in the newer betas that the WDM is the only device in the list. It seems that HD recording si working. There is a size difference between SD and HD recordings. I think that Sage is putting its own mpg wrapper around the TS calling it a program stream. However, I don't know how that stuff works so it is all conjecture by me! :-)

I have Sage displaying TV by source, and HD is full 16x9 whereas SD is 4x3 on the HD channels.

I hope this helps, but if you want to know if you are recording HD can't you look at the files using graph edit or something?

B

Well, that very well may be the case, but my problem is that even that doesn't work for me. I'm getting some kind of "Playback Error" message, and I also never see a tangable file that is generated (it's like recording has stopped).

Maybe I should submit a problem with Sage support, and see if they have any ideas...

Greg, thanks for the file. Hopefully, I'll have some time to take a look at it this week.

[Opus4]

Not sure if this could be an issue here, but do you have it listed on the mmc/ignore_encoders property line by some chance?

- Andy

[bcjenkins]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Not sure if this could be an issue here, but do you have it listed on the mmc/ignore_encoders property line by some chance?

- Andy

Here's mine. Same problem the TS encoder doesn't show up.

B

mmc/ignore_encoders=Realtek AC97 Audio|NVIDIA DualTV YUV Capture|NVIDIA DualTV YUV Capture 2|

[geogecko]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Not sure if this could be an issue here, but do you have it listed on the mmc/ignore_encoders property line by some chance?

- Andy

It as being, something referencing the FusionHDTV TS device?

I will check that tonight, I wouldn't have put it there, but maybe when Sage was first adding HD support, maybe it was put there by Sage in an earlier version of the software (as part of a beta testing, meaning it had to be removed, if you wanted to use it?). I've been using Sage since version 2...so there is the possibility.

Thanks for posting your properties line!

I submitted this problem to technical support as well, so hopefully they'll be able to tell me something too.

[geogecko]

Interesting lines from the above properties file, that are different from mine...

-----

Yours:
mmc/ignore_encoders=Realtek AC97 Audio|AVerTVHD A180 BDA ATSC Tuner|FusionHDTV, BDA Tuner|713x Audio Capture|C-Media Wave Device|NVIDIA DualTV YUV Capture|AVerTVHD A180 Audio Capture|BDA MPE Filter|BDA Slip De-Framer|NVIDIA DualTV YUV Capture 2|

Mine:
mmc/ignore_encoders=Realtek AC97 Audio|NVIDIA(R) nForce(TM) Audio|BDA Slip De-Framer|

-----

Yours:
seeker/last_channel/713x\ BDA\ Digital\ Capture=0
seeker/last_channel/AVerTVHD\ A180\ Video\ Capture=34707
seeker/last_channel/FusionHDTV,\ Transport\ Stream\ Capture=34611
seeker/last_channel/FusionHDTV,\ WDM\ Video\ Capture=34355

Mine:
seeker/last_channel/Hauppauge\ WinTV\ PVR\ PCI\ II\ Capture=10179
seeker/last_channel/Hauppauge\ WinTV\ PVR\ PCI\ II\ Capture\ \#2=10765

-----

The only other thing, is it looks like you're using the default decoders, where I'm using NVDVD decoders...

Based on your seeker lines, it still looks like there is a TS capture that should be available, somehow...

[wazkaren]

Just a thought, but have you tried deleting your sage.properties and wiz.bin files (make a copy of them first of course) and then starting SageTV? I think Sage will then create default files. It might be worth a try.

My default decorders are the nVidia decoders.

And BTW I installed the whole Fusion package, not just the drivers. Then I just turned off autostart on the Fusion apps.

Greg

[Humanzee]

I have a "Fusion5 USB Gold" the first time I set it up, I had an option for a TS encoder, on subsequent installs or upgrades the TS option is gone, I haven’t given it much thought though as the WDM seem to work for me with digital over the air broadcasts. I had some problems with mapping channels but I eventually got it working. Note: I too saw a playback error, but it was resolved when I made sure that the dVico software was not running. Like wazkaren I turned off the autostart options for thos aplications from the system tray.

My device shows up as a "bluebird" I think, I will have to check on that. Works pretty well, kind of slow to react through sage though. Sometimes it appears like im getting low frames per second or something. But I'm so impressed with my new TV in general that I haven’t become too fidgety with sorting out all the annoyances just yet. I am currently questioning my other hardware, as the video seems good when I am not watching and recording at the same time. CPU use is pretty high when watching recorded HD content on my machine.

Speaking of annoyances, is there a way to adjust over scan in the registry for these devises? In source mode, I see garbledygook along the top of the screen on some channels, and on others I see a green or purple bar along the right or left side. I trim it out with the aspect ratio settings in sage, but I’d prefer for them not to be in the recordings at all.

[geogecko]

Installed 4.1.7.77 today, and was able to capture some error messages.

Since it seems no one is seeing the "FusionHDTV, Transport Stream Tuner" anymore, I'm at least going to try getting the "FustionHDTV, WDM Tuner" setup properly, as someone mentioned to me, that at first, they did get both options, but on recent versions of Sage, they only had the WDM option.

When setting up the WDM tuner, right after I select Digital TV Tuner, I get the following two errors when SageTV is trying to display a preview:

(1)

There was a Playback Error in playback. Details:

sage.PlaybackException: ERROR (-4,0x8004022f): There was a problem rendering the video portion of the content for playback.

(2)

There was a Capture Error in playback. Details:

ERROR (-2,0x80004005): There was a problem using a SageTV component. Please re-install the SageTV application.

Here are some screen captures of my settings.

Anyone got any clues?

[bcjenkins]

Originally Posted by geogecko

Installed 4.1.7.77 today, and was able to capture some error messages.

Since it seems no one is seeing the "FusionHDTV, Transport Stream Tuner" anymore, I'm at least going to try getting the "FustionHDTV, WDM Tuner" setup properly, as someone mentioned to me, that at first, they did get both options, but on recent versions of Sage, they only had the WDM option.

When setting up the WDM tuner, right after I select Digital TV Tuner, I get the following two errors when SageTV is trying to display a preview:

(1)

There was a Playback Error in playback. Details:

sage.PlaybackException: ERROR (-4,0x8004022f): There was a problem rendering the video portion of the content for playback.

(2)

There was a Capture Error in playback. Details:

ERROR (-2,0x80004005): There was a problem using a SageTV component. Please re-install the SageTV application.

Here are some screen captures of my settings.

Anyone got any clues?

Okay, so when I hit the error 4, here's what I did.

1) Quit Sage, and stop and disable SageService if applicable.
2) Launch the Dvico installer, and run the driver uninstaller.
3) Reboot, go to WindowsUpdate and download the Dvico drivers from MS. (WHQL Signed)
4) Install remaining devices using 3.3 drivers extracted from the setup.
5) Start and enable SageService
6) Launch Sage front end and configure the WDM device.

The Dvico uninstaller is really good at stripping the drivers out, scanning all INF files, etc.

I am typing this as I am watching American Idol in HD on Fox. No issues at all.

EDIT: Just hit the timeshifting bug. I thought that was supposed to be fixed.. Also, I am running stock STV.

My decoders are listed in my sig. The only other thing is I have FSE on.

HIH

B

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by geogecko

Since it seems no one is seeing the "FusionHDTV, Transport Stream Tuner" anymore

Maybe you should follow up with tech support and send some logs from the server... I have a Fusion 5 Gold that I've done a little testing with and I do see the "FusionHDTV, Transport Stream Capture" as a capture device selection. I just built a new work system, so I know that I installed whatever were the latest drivers from DVIco as of a couple weeks ago.

I also can't remember whether you've tried backing up your properties files, then delete the originals & the autobackup copies in order to start with a completely fresh properties file for the server.

- Andy

[geogecko]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Maybe you should follow up with tech support and send some logs from the server... I have a Fusion 5 Gold that I've done a little testing with and I do see the "FusionHDTV, Transport Stream Capture" as a capture device selection. I just built a new work system, so I know that I installed whatever were the latest drivers from DVIco as of a couple weeks ago.

I also can't remember whether you've tried backing up your properties files, then delete the originals & the autobackup copies in order to start with a completely fresh properties file for the server.

- Andy

Tried letting Sage regenerate it's own server properties file, but still no luck getting the Transport Stream Capture. (Followed your instructions.)

May have to try bc's approach tomorrow.

I did hear from Sage, so they now have a couple log files in their inbox. Hopefully they will figure something out, before I keep .

[iwanthtpc]

Geogecko ---

Just to put my two cents in -- I recently tried the 4.1.6 Beta with my Fusion HDTV5Lite and got the same problem where the Fusion Transport Stream wasn't available in the list. I tried using the WDM version and I got the error mentioned previously:
There was a Playback Error in playback. Details:
sage.PlaybackException: ERROR (-4,0x8004022f): There was a problem rendering the video portion of the content for playback.

---> What I did to remedy this was to install 4.1.3, then the Transport Stream was available. Once I get everything setup, I reinstalled the 4.1.6 Beta and everything still worked fine (but If I go back to the Device Setup Transport Stream is not there again!) so maybe this is a problem that has cropped up since 4.1.3?

[geogecko]

Originally Posted by iwanthtpc

Geogecko ---

Just to put my two cents in -- I recently tried the 4.1.6 Beta with my Fusion HDTV5Lite and got the same problem where the Fusion Transport Stream wasn't available in the list. I tried using the WDM version and I got the error mentioned previously:
There was a Playback Error in playback. Details:
sage.PlaybackException: ERROR (-4,0x8004022f): There was a problem rendering the video portion of the content for playback.

---> What I did to remedy this was to install 4.1.3, then the Transport Stream was available. Once I get everything setup, I reinstalled the 4.1.6 Beta and everything still worked fine (but If I go back to the Device Setup Transport Stream is not there again!) so maybe this is a problem that has cropped up since 4.1.3?

Wow! Hard to believe that not many people have installed an HDTV card in their system since .3! I am glad that someone finally shared my pain. I guess I should see about downloading 4.1.3 (some URL magic, I assume?). *Edit: Yep, was able to download it no problem...*

Sage support is working on the problem with me, but I haven't heard back from them since I sent the error reports. Next time I communicate with them, I will tell them your story. Wonder how it got broke?

[Humanzee]

for what its worth, I never got the preview to work with OTA broadcasts, I just hit the next button and downloaded my channel line up, then in the channel set up I was able to "view" the different channels.

For me it tries to tune a channel from my cable line up for the preview. As there aren't the same channels OTA there was no source available until after I downloaded the line up.

Skipping the preview might be worth a try.

[geogecko]

Yeah, I gave up waiting on the preview, I just mentioned that it produced an error message at that point...

Originally Posted by iwanthtpc

Geogecko ---

Just to put my two cents in -- I recently tried the 4.1.6 Beta with my Fusion HDTV5Lite and got the same problem where the Fusion Transport Stream wasn't available in the list. I tried using the WDM version and I got the error mentioned previously:
There was a Playback Error in playback. Details:
sage.PlaybackException: ERROR (-4,0x8004022f): There was a problem rendering the video portion of the content for playback.

---> What I did to remedy this was to install 4.1.3, then the Transport Stream was available. Once I get everything setup, I reinstalled the 4.1.6 Beta and everything still worked fine (but If I go back to the Device Setup Transport Stream is not there again!) so maybe this is a problem that has cropped up since 4.1.3?

Went back to 4.1.3, and low and behold, there is the Transport Stream option. I also didn't get any errors right after selecting Digital TV either.

However, when I went to play Live TV, I got the following message:

There was a Capture Error in playback. Details: ERROR (-2,0x80004005): There was a problem using a SageTV component. Please re-install the SageTV application.