Firewire record

[PhillJones]

A couple of months ago I had a very similar issue.

I checked with vlc and discovered that the channels would still work but they were taking a lot longer to tune an start outputting a clean TS. Unfortunately, unlike vlc, sage can't cope if it tries to start recording before the channel has tuned properly and the resulting file is corrupt.

I had to extend my recording delay to 10 seconds but now it works.

[Nate]

weeber, I'm in the Seattle area -- Magnolia/Ballard actually.

Phill, I'm off to try that!!

[Humanzee]

Originally Posted by PhillJones

I had to extend my recording delay to 10 seconds but now it works.

And how do we do this? You aren't talking about padding are you? The 1394 thread is scary long. Is the info in there?

[Nate]

Open SGraphRecorder.ini and set TuningDelay to 10000 (for 10 seconds). Shutdown sage (and the sage service!), open sage.properties and set videoframe/network_encoding_to_playback_delay to something higher, like 11000. I'm still expirementing, but I haven't had any luck so far. I can watch 104 but not 105!

[colormatters]

How does one extend the recording delay.
Do you change this value in Sage pref. file?

seeker/recording_start_autopad=0

[Nate]

colormatters, read my post above yours.

I tried a SGraphRecorder delay of 10 seconds and a network encoding to playback delay of 11 seconds. I also tried 15/30. My settings that used to work were 3.6/4.3. It doesn't fix the problem. I can watch 104 for not 105, 111, 113. I didn't try others.

I used GraphEdit to play my graph that writes the transport stream to a file. I can play back this file if I run the graph on channel 104, but not on 105. This leads me to believe it isn't about the delay before recording after a channel change. The cable box must be outputting something different for 104 than for 105.

I tried running MediaInfo on the file produced by the graph for channel 105, as described in this thread...
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26989
MediaInfo could not report more than the filename and filesize, meaning it couldn't recognize it as a video file, I guess. What the hell is the data saved for channel 105!? Did Comcast really change how firewire is output? Did they maliciously output garbage? Why do some channels work?

Any other ideas? Do we need updated drivers for the STB firewire connection or something?

[Nate]

Here is a ~5 second corrupt video file from channel 105...
http://n4te.com/temp/dump.ts
Can anyone figure out what is wrong with the file? I have submitted it to the Sage bug guys.

[Humanzee]

Originally Posted by Nate

I can watch 104 but not 105!

I'm at least happy that we get any of the channels over firewire. They don't "have" to give us anything over Firewire.

104 (KOMO) has always worked for me, so does 107 (KIRO) I think maybe even 113, not sure. KING is Dead, I think you just have to open the stream in VLC and let it sit for a while to see if it is there. I opened the stream and then changed channels on the STB to see what came in and what did not. I think its always sending something via the firewire, just maybe not video content.

Did Comcast really change how firewire is output? Did they maliciously output garbage?

Yes. I'm not a fan of this company, but I don't have much of an alternative. I'm going to be canceling my phone service through them. Maybe look into an alternative for broadband. Kinda have to use them for cable. I think we're screwed. I'm just happy that I can still record DHD.

[evilpenguin]

This seems to be the larger thread so i'll repost here.

This may not be comcast being evil, it may just be an oversight on their part. Cable companies are always rewiring their headends and occasionally they have to powerdown and reset up a digital channel that's giving them problems. Its entirly possible that someone made a mistake and a polite call to them will get them to reverse it. We seem to have more than a few people with this problem so I recommend we all pool together our info (channels that work, when it stopped working, etc.) and then all call on the same day to complain.

[Nate]

evilpenguin has a good plan. Let's all post what channels work and what don't! For me 105, 111, 113 are dead. 104 works. I'll try more tonight!

Humanzee, what exactly do you mean by "open the stream" with VLC? VLC doesn't seem to be able to open a graph file. The only way I know to get content from firewire is to run a graph that writes the data to a file.

Originally Posted by Humanzee

I'm at least happy that we get any of the channels over firewire. They don't "have" to give us anything over Firewire.

I have read they are required by the FCC to provide a working firewire port. Does anyone know exactly what they are required to provide through the port? I kind of doubt they can just output garbage at their choosing.

[Humanzee]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

This may not be comcast being evil,

Maybe not but its more fun to think that way.

If you look at post 9 above, zetronboy called them and was told that it wasn't going to happen. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try again, but the opposite could occur, they may turn off more channels for all we know.

Originally Posted by Nate

what exactly do you mean by "open the stream"

Maybe its not "open stream" I think it might be "Open Capture Device" When you first open that dialog, you have to hit refresh before you will see the firewire option.

Originally Posted by Nate

I have read they are required by the FCC to provide a working firewire port.

I thought they were only required to put the network channels on Clear QAM. (I get NBC HD fine via my 1600) I wouldn't think there would be any law about what sort of connections a STB has. I.e. Its more likely that the firewire port would be outlawed as I don't think its HDCP compliant.

[evilpenguin]

Well, the firewire port isn't putting out junk, most likely its putting out 5C encrypted content which an official firewire device like a D-VHS player can handle but an unoffical device like our computers can't.

I'm not really sure how comcast Seattle is set up (i.e. if they have multiple headends for different areas or a single headend servicing all the areas) but I used to work in the cable industry and I know how to talk to these people. I'd be willing to drive down to their main office and try and get some face time with someone with real answers but I just need to get a feel for what exactly the problem is.

The fact that some channels work and some don't lean away from being a firmware issue and more a setup issue on their end. From what I can gather one or two local channels still work and DiscoveryHD also still works. That really lends to my theory that this is unintentional because if they meant to do it they would have gotten everything, or at the very least gotten their 2nd tier channels like DHD.

Edit: Also, I don't have a firewire box to test this myself, that's why I need info from people.

[Humanzee]

I was able to get all of the SD channels to work over firewre. Just a few of the HDTV channels stoped working. My friend is on comcast in Redmond too, howver, he couldn't get one of the boxes that includes a firewire port. He asked. Maybe you could call the south seattle or some other branch and ask what is up.

[fyodor]

I've started having issues too, lately and I'm inclined to think that it's not 5C. First, it's inconsistent-it works sometimes. Secondly, when it doesn't work, it's kind of a junky stream. The video and audio are messed up well beyond viewability, but there's clearly some video and audio data. My understanding wrt 5C is that you get nothing.

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

Well, the firewire port isn't putting out junk, most likely its putting out 5C encrypted content which an official firewire device like a D-VHS player can handle but an unoffical device like our computers can't.

I'm not really sure how comcast Seattle is set up (i.e. if they have multiple headends for different areas or a single headend servicing all the areas) but I used to work in the cable industry and I know how to talk to these people. I'd be willing to drive down to their main office and try and get some face time with someone with real answers but I just need to get a feel for what exactly the problem is.

The fact that some channels work and some don't lean away from being a firmware issue and more a setup issue on their end. From what I can gather one or two local channels still work and DiscoveryHD also still works. That really lends to my theory that this is unintentional because if they meant to do it they would have gotten everything, or at the very least gotten their 2nd tier channels like DHD.

Edit: Also, I don't have a firewire box to test this myself, that's why I need info from people.

[B-Figgy]

I first heard about my fellow Seattle HD Comcast folks plight from Nate's post so I thought I'd pitch in. I didn't notice any problems with my HD setup after the onscreen menu change at the beginning of August, however, I haven't watched any of the local HD channels in quite some time. I can confirm that the Discover, Mojo, TNT 660-664 channels are working fine though. The others I will check when I get home from work today.

I really hope this can be fixed and soon and I feel for you. Now that I've gone HD I can't go back. If they can just carry an HD Food Network broadcast I'd be set.

[Nate]

Sorry I haven't followed up, been really busy. I'll try to post what channels don't work soon. Everyone else with problems should do the same! Then we can approach Comcast with the issue.

[scoful]

I haven't run into these problems yet, but am certain we all will at some point in the near future. I think what we will all be looking for is an HDCP filter for DirectX that will plug into Sgraphrecorder to remove the content protection before the dump.

As far as the FCC/Firewire thing - I had a document at one point (don't know if it was real or not) from the FCC that indicated cable provider's must provide an active firewire port to any consumer that asks, but it's not unusual for the FCC to change it's tune under pressure from those with money.
The recent mandate requiring cable companies to start using cable card compatible equipment may remove the firewire requirement (if there every really was one).

Is there such a thing as a cable card adaptor for the PC???? Then we could do away with STB's, which would be fine with me.....

ATI's OCUR??? Is it real?

[Fluffdaddy]

Originally Posted by scoful

Is there such a thing as a cable card adaptor for the PC???? Then we could do away with STB's, which would be fine with me.....

http://www.okoromedia.com/newsdet.asp?articleno=21

[scoful]

Ouch - that's out of budget for me. I already have the HTPC, I just want a cable card compatible tuner.

[stewart710]

I have a motorola dct6200 and it has worked fine for a year, using firewire recording in SageTV.

I get:

802 PBS HD
805 ABC HD
807 NBC HD
825 FOX HD
828 MTV HD
837 A&E HD
838 WSBK HD
850 ESPN2 HD
851 NESN HD
856 WLVI HD

As of a few days ago 804 (CBS HD) will not come through the firewire connection. I can watch it using the cable box or through the the ATSC tuner, so it is NOT being encrypted via QAM, but since it isn't coming out over the firewire port, does that mean it is 5C encrypted?

You should have heard me asking this question to the Comcast technical support. She kept wants to send a technician to check the connection at my house. I asked if he knew anything about firewire and she replied that he would check my coaxial connections and verify that it is working on the TV. They were going to charge me for this. It reminded me of getting my temperature taken by the school nurse for a twisted ankle.