New Hauppauge HVR-1800 product number?

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by happyfirst

Thanks! Major progress. Followed your instructions and now I have two sources for the 1800, I've got ('most') my HD channels working with guide data and the analog.

1) Seems I need to delete that freq file and restart if I'm going to do a rescan of digital
2) SageTV is now very unstable. Locks up a lot. Server is running on a 2yr AMD 3800+ something.

Sorry that this isn't being a simple Plug 'n Play installation for you. Several other members have commented that they love their 1800's and they installed fine. Others, not so much. Sometimes it takes a little work to correct a system conflict.

1) Instead of deleting the '.frq' file, rename it as a backup and create a new blank. If your subsequent scan works you can always delete the backup.

2) How stable is your system when running the WinTV application, using both TS and Analog?
Sometimes I've had to run a server through Shutdown>PowerOff several times for the drivers to precache correctly. You can also try swapping the PCI board position.

Keeping the freq file, run hcwclear, restart>shutdown, reinstall the drivers, restart>shutdown, boot and test.

Also, if the WinTV testing ran fine, you can also contact SageTV in and submit a BUG REPORT, they'll write back and tell you how to enable and send a log file.

And now the new big issue:

3) I started watching an analog channel on the server. Then tried to watch an HD channel on a client and it told me it couldn't, that all encoders were in use? Shouldn't I be able to watch analog and digital at the same time from the two PCs through the 1800?

If both tuners are showing up in your Video Sources, then yes. You might want to try watching on the client first then watch on the server to see if it gives you the same message. It's possible the server might have busied out one of the tuners with LiveTV and not released it.

[happyfirst]

It just keeps getting worse. I had such high hopes for Sage.

I rebooted everything, started watching SD on the client. The server stayed basically at idle. Then tried to watch HD from the server and it gave me the same error about the encoders in use. So then I went back to the client and stopped watching SD.

My daughter wanted to listen to some music and she likes playing with the touchscreen (client pc). So I was like, why not, I haven't used that feature yet. So she finds her way to the music folders, finds her album and asks it to play now. No sound. Nothing. I pick other albums, ask to play now, no music. I see no way to adjust the volume either from the screen or fast fwd through the song. Audio did work when watching tv. Not to mention the music interface is just terrible.

So then I tried to go back to watching SD. I opened guide, picked an SD show and touched it. "Tuning into Fifth Element". And there is sat with the stupid spinning icon till I gave up and rebooted everything again. I had to reboot server too cause at this point anything I did on the server would just leave me with a spinning icon.

This is joke...... There is no way my family can use this.

I do appreciate your help soo much. What I want just doesn't exist yet I guess. I've only got till tomorrow left on my trial. The trial period is without a doubt to short if getting their stuff running requires this much time and effort.

[gblinckmann]

I've got a similar issue with QAM not working with the HVR-1800 model 78521 (rev C1E9). ATSC is fine, as it NTSC. I'm opening a ticket with Hauppauge since the scan doesn't pick up anything in WinTV, either. Does someone know if this is a driver issue, perhaps? I'm running on Vista Home Premium, with driver 1.19.25159.0.

[95TBird]

I had some similar problems with my 1800, especially with scanning for channels. But then it finally worked. However, a few weeks later it would start taking forever to tune a channel, or not tune at all.

So, on a hunch, I got a ELECTROLINE EDA-2200 Amp

http://www.electroline.com/en/produc...fications.html

And ... WOW!!

I re did my scan & it found the CBS HD channel I could never find & now it tunes really quickly.

I got the 2 port, So I could add another 1800 in case it worked, & I just ordered another 1800 from Newegg

So apparently the 1800 (& 1600 as well I assume) need a stronger signal for QAM

I had no other indications that my signal was weak,. My cable modem worked fine etc.

- Bruce

[gblinckmann]

I tried an amp, too, but with no luck. I'll try with a direct connection next time I get a chance. I'll connect only the 1800 and try a scan.

[gblinckmann]

Oh, is that need for a strong signal also for ATSC on the HVR-1800? I tried OTA, but I'm not getting enough of a signal to get a good picture. I'm either going to get QAM working, or give up and get a better (outdoor) antenna and get the OTA channels. QAM really won't get me more channels today, anyway, so ATSC isn't a bad way to go in Albany.

[gblinckmann]

Argh! None of that has helped. Amp, no amp, direct, through a splitter. Whatever I do, I just can't get this thing to find even one QAM channel, even though my TV finds them just fine.

[wirecreative]

Just going through this set-up myself, too.

First off, does QAM even work in XP, or only in Vista?

Second, when I added the 1800 two additional sources showed up in Sage (after my old WinTV 150):

• WinTV 885 Video Capture (6 input options, including TV Tuner and Digital TV Tuner)
• WinTV 885 TS Capture (1 input option, Digital TV Tuner)

If I use the first one to set-up analog tuning, which do I use if I'm trying to set-up QAM tuning from my cable and not ATSC? My guess is "TS" means Terrestrial Signal, and refers to the "Ant In" input, is that right?

[gblinckmann]

Originally Posted by wirecreative

Just going through this set-up myself, too.

First off, does QAM even work in XP, or only in Vista?

Second, when I added the 1800 two additional sources showed up in Sage (after my old WinTV 150):

• WinTV 885 Video Capture (6 input options, including TV Tuner and Digital TV Tuner)
• WinTV 885 TS Capture (1 input option, Digital TV Tuner)

If I use the first one to set-up analog tuning, which do I use if I'm trying to set-up QAM tuning from my cable and not ATSC? My guess is "TS" means Terrestrial Signal, and refers to the "Ant In" input, is that right?

I don't see why QAM wouldn't work in XP. There shouldn't be anything OS specific in it.

You'd use the WinTV 885 TS Capture to set up QAM. It's the same connector as for ATSC (Ant In). In Sage, you'd specify Cable and not Antenna when setting up the signal.

Good luck! (You'll likely need it!)

[wirecreative]

Originally Posted by gblinckmann

You'd use the WinTV 885 TS Capture to set up QAM. It's the same connector as for ATSC (Ant In). In Sage, you'd specify Cable and not Antenna when setting up the signal.

Good luck! (You'll likely need it!)

Really? "Ant In?" Wouldn't that be for getting over-the-airwaves HD signal using an antenna? I thought you could get QAM HD through the same input as the analog cable? Wouldn't that be the "TV In" input?

I may be wrong about this, but this is how it seems to be configured:

TV In --> WinTV 885 Video Capture
Ant In -- > WinTV 885 TS Capture

I may have to dig a little deeper as it appears that there is more to setting this up than meets the eye.

[gblinckmann]

Originally Posted by wirecreative

Really? "Ant In?" Wouldn't that be for getting over-the-airwaves HD signal using an antenna? I thought you could get QAM HD through the same input as the analog cable? Wouldn't that be the "TV In" input?

I may be wrong about this, but this is how it seems to be configured:

TV In --> WinTV 885 Video Capture
Ant In -- > WinTV 885 TS Capture

I may have to dig a little deeper as it appears that there is more to setting this up than meets the eye.

A much easier way to think of it is "Ant in" = digital, "TV in" = analog. ATSC or QAM (both digital) use the "Ant in" jack.

If you are doing QAM, you will likely have the cable lines going to both jacks, anyway, assuming that you also want to record off of cable.

[wirecreative]

Originally Posted by gblinckmann

A much easier way to think of it is "Ant in" = digital, "TV in" = analog. ATSC or QAM (both digital) use the "Ant in" jack.

If you are doing QAM, you will likely have the cable lines going to both jacks, anyway, assuming that you also want to record off of cable.

Ah. For some reason I just assumed it worked the other way. I'll do that. Thanks.

If this is the case, why is there a "Digital TV Tuner" option for the "TV In" input?

[gblinckmann]

Originally Posted by wirecreative

If this is the case, why is there a "Digital TV Tuner" option for the "TV In" input?

From the manual:
http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/manuals/qi-hvr-1800.pdf
I don't see that. The "TV in" for me is connected to the analog tuner. In Sage, this shows up as Hauppauge WinTV 885 Video Capture. I get options of Composite, Composite_2, S-Video, S-Video_2, and TV Tuner. Obviously, TV Tuner is what you would want if you're not using a cable box.

The "Ant In" connection is attached to the Hauppauge WinTV 885 TS Capture device. I only get the option of Digital TV Tuner for this input. You use an antenna for ATSC (over the air DTV), or cable for unencrypted QAM (if you are lucky enough to get this working).

[wirecreative]

Originally Posted by gblinckmann

From the manual:
http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/manuals/qi-hvr-1800.pdf
I don't see that. The "TV in" for me is connected to the analog tuner. In Sage, this shows up as Hauppauge WinTV 885 Video Capture. I get options of Composite, Composite_2, S-Video, S-Video_2, and TV Tuner. Obviously, TV Tuner is what you would want if you're not using a cable box.

The "Ant In" connection is attached to the Hauppauge WinTV 885 TS Capture device. I only get the option of Digital TV Tuner for this input. You use an antenna for ATSC (over the air DTV), or cable for unencrypted QAM (if you are lucky enough to get this working).

I get a "Digital Tuner" option on both the "Hauppauge WinTV 885 Video Capture" and "Hauppauge WinTV 885 TS Capture" inputs, but have only been able to tune the QAM channels through the Ant In/TS input.

They don't make this simple, do they?

[gblinckmann]

Originally Posted by wirecreative

I get a "Digital Tuner" option on both the "Hauppauge WinTV 885 Video Capture" and "Hauppauge WinTV 885 TS Capture" inputs, but have only been able to tune the QAM channels through the Ant In/TS input.

They don't make this simple, do they?

No, they (Hauppauge) certainly didn't make it simple!

If you're getting QAM channels, you're ahead of me. What driver version are you using? And is this on XP or Vista?

[wirecreative]

Originally Posted by gblinckmann

No, they (Hauppauge) certainly didn't make it simple!

If you're getting QAM channels, you're ahead of me. What driver version are you using? And is this on XP or Vista?

I'm on XP.

For me the key was, once I had the correct setup, remembering to delete the corresponding FRQ file before I re-scanned.

1. Remove sources
2. Cable TV into BOTH Ant In and TV In inputs
3. Delete FRQ files from previous bad scans
4. Add Sources
5. Re-scan "TS" tuner for QAM and Analog tuner for analog channels