Firewire instead of IR blaster??

[viperdiablo]

I have 2 dct6200 hd boxes. Iam thinking about getting two hauppauge hd pvrs to use with my sagetv. I have heard problems with the ir blaster that comes with the hd pvr. I know that the dct6200 has a firewire port. Is the firewire channel changing method allot faster then the ir blaster method? and can I use two receivers via firewire on sagetv? Thanks.

[dvsing]

Originally Posted by viperdiablo

I have 2 dct6200 hd boxes. Iam thinking about getting two hauppauge hd pvrs to use with my sagetv. I have heard problems with the ir blaster that comes with the hd pvr. I know that the dct6200 has a firewire port. Is the firewire channel changing method allot faster then the ir blaster method? and can I use two receivers via firewire on sagetv? Thanks.

*yes* Firewire is hands down the best method to use. The IR blaster on the HD-PVR is only supported in a single instance (You can only have one Hauppauge IR blaster total in the entire system) so you can't use that... and the USB - UIRT is capable of controlling up to 3 "zones" if you have the right emitter cable, but you have to build "forts" around the IR receivers on the two 6200 boxes so they don't see each other's commands. I gave up on IR and read up on the FAQ information for firewire channel changing and set it up on my system and it works great, I'm never looking back. You can even do this with one firewire port on your computer and two cables--- hook box A up to the computer and hook box B up to box A with a short firewire cable (you can daisy chain firewire).. it's very elegant.

I recommand learning how to control the boxes based on device ID and not just on instance number and setting up ExeMultiTunerDll. There are a few steps involved but it's great once you get it set up.

-Dan

[viperdiablo]

Thanks so much for the reply. Firewire sounds like the way to go. Just wondering if you knew how many seconds it does take from pushing the channel number on the remote till the actually firewire changes the channel?

[dvsing]

Firewire is quick. It can enter all 3 digits into the STB and change the channel in about 1 second total.

-Dan

[viperdiablo]

dvsing thanks fore response. Are you using a dct6200 with your setup and hauppauge hd pvr? also where can i find more info about that plugin? i tried searching for it but no luck.

[stroths]

Originally Posted by viperdiablo

dvsing thanks fore response. Are you using a dct6200 with your setup and hauppauge hd pvr? also where can i find more info about that plugin? i tried searching for it but no luck.

I am using a single dct6200 with firewire and an hdpvr and it works great. I finally got it setup today. I don't have the exact link, but I just did a search for "firewire" and found some real good info including a guide explaining how to setup the channel changing using the exemultituner plugin.

EDIT: Here is one of the links
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/down...do=file&id=157

[viperdiablo]

Thanks for the reply. Does it matter what cable provider you use when trying to hook up the dct6200 via firewire? I have shaw cable in canada.

[stroths]

Originally Posted by viperdiablo

Thanks for the reply. Does it matter what cable provider you use when trying to hook up the dct6200 via firewire? I have shaw cable in canada.

I believe all that matters is that the firewire is unlocked. Mine was, so I didn't have any issues. Hopefully you will have the same experience.

[viperdiablo]

Any way to tell if the dct6200 firewire port is active or disabled without going through the whole process of hooking up to computer and downloading the plugin? Maybee through the menu?

[wado1971]

If I remember correctly the cable company is required to 'unlock' the firewire port on the STB. If it's not accessible, and you'll know as soon as you plug it in, then go to your cable company and exchange it for another STB with an active firewire.

I'm sure the previous link has a great write-up on how to get it going ........ but for further reading/info I'll add this link http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...light=firewire (thread #355 & #835) which was how I set it up some time ago. The writeups are for both capture & channel change via firewire so it's a bit more info than your looking for but is still relevant.

I'll second that firewire is definitely a good way to go - direct cable connections are rock solid.

wado

[viperdiablo]

Just found out from my local cable company (Shaw) that the Firewire port on the DCT6200 is not active. Does this mean that it is impossible to change channels via firewire or just that I cannot record HD content? If I cannot use the firewire channel changing method, how is the USB-UIRT vs the included Hauppuage HD PVR IR Blaster with regard to how fast the channel is changed?

[gplasky]

You should be able to request them to activate the firewire port.

Gerry

[Opus4]

I believe he is in Canada, so their firewire activation rules may be different. Maybe someone here is familiar with Canadian firewire rules... ?

- Andy

[HTPCguy]

Originally Posted by viperdiablo

Just found out from my local cable company (Shaw) that the Firewire port on the DCT6200 is not active.

If you asked someone at Shaw, its no surprise they told you it is inactive as this is something they don't want to provide support for. That doesn't mean that their statement is correct - I can't be certain, but I'd bet that it's enabled by default. I'm also in Canada and use Rogers Cable, and the firewire port on my SA8300HD works fine for changing channels, although that's the extent of it - I can't record video over firewire as they use the 5c flag (but thanks to the HDPVR, the 5c protection is now meaningless!).

I don't believe there are any CRTC rules (our equivalent of the FCC) requiring the port to be enabled, but I'm sure we're using the same STB's as those in the states, and I doubt that any Canadian service provider would go out of their way to disable something for no good reason (that would cost 'em money). Give it a try - it's not that difficult to install and test and if it works, it's soooo worth it!

[viperdiablo]

So even with the 5c enabled, channel changing still works via firewire?