hauppauge hd pvr 1212 - did I miss a step???

[J3G]

I am a owner of the new hd pvr. SageTV has support for this so I am in the trial phase. Everything seems to be configured correctly. The IR blaster is changing the channels and the video is recording at 1080i.

BUT

I see no video. The way I know its recording is because I can play the files with an external player.

Did I miss a step to get full compatibility with SageTV (ie. need to install a h.264 decoder???) ...oh I just realized that I have CoreAVC installed...does that conflict with SageTV?

Another thought is that I was asked to update my Java to Update 6. Maybe a problem there too?

[Brent]

Did you install the software that came with the HD-PVR? You need to have the Total Media Extreme Software installed.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by Brent

Did you install the software that came with the HD-PVR? You need to have the Total Media Extreme Software installed.

Do you know why? It there something besides the H.264 decoder that he needs? It seems like CoreAVC should be able to decode the HD-PVR files. I don't have an HD-PVR, but I was able to play back test files well with the CoreAVC decoder.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by reggie14

Do you know why? It there something besides the H.264 decoder that he needs? It seems like CoreAVC should be able to decode the HD-PVR files. I don't have an HD-PVR, but I was able to play back test files well with the CoreAVC decoder.

The main reason is to get the ArcSoft decoder installed which I've found to work best with h.264 playback in SageTV. It also give you a way to test outside of SageTV to ensure the HD-PVR is working. So I guess I shouldn't have said "must install", but I would still recommend it.

[J3G]

yes, ALL software has been installed. As I mentioned, I can watch the SageTV recordings using Total Media Extreme software. I can also see the file created for the LiveTV viewing getting larger while i'm "watching" (can't see any video in SageTV).

I am going to check this (from troubleshooting):

Make sure you have a Video Decoder installed and selected in your Detailed Setup -> Video. Try a different Video Decoder. Also try uninstalling SageTV and deleting the Frey Technologies or SageTV folder. Reinstall SageTV. In V2 you can also try disabling Overlay Color Keying.

I also need to mention my first roadblock I had, and add to the collective hive. I was getting errors in SageTV and Total Media Extreame. I finally fixed the "problem" by switching the input singal. The HD PVR does not accept 1080p. I'm sure this is obvious to some (and now obvious to me). But make sure your source output is a maximum of 1080i (or 720p...).

Also, not trying to bash or anything; like I said, I am trialling this SageTV BUT I can't see a reason to pick this over MythTV. MythTV supports HD PVR in a beta release. I'm cheap, I know.

[Brent]

Try this. To ensure SageTV is using the Arcsoft decoder:

• Make sure TMC (from the HD-PVR install disk) is installed - you said you've already done this but I'm adding it in case another reader uses this "how-to"
• Close SageTV and SageTVServices for server PC or SageTV Client on Client PC
• Edit SageTV Properties and insert the following: If you want to use Arcsoft Decoder add the following:

• videoframe/h264_video_decoder_filter=ArcSoft Video Decoder

• Save SageTV Properties & Restart SageTV or SageTV Client

You have to do this on each non-extender machine for playback

[sleonard]

What version of SageTV are you using?

S

[J3G]

@ sleonard: This my first time with SageTV. I downloaded it a week ago from the "download now" link. Doing the 21 day trial. From what I understand its 6.4.x.x

@Brent: i'll try your suggestion when I get home. You said it plays nicer with SageTV. Have you ever heard of anyone using CoreAVC with SageTV. I purchased it and feel its superior.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by J3G

@ sleonard: This my first time with SageTV. I downloaded it a week ago from the "download now" link. Doing the 21 day trial. From what I understand its 6.4.x.x

@Brent: i'll try your suggestion when I get home. You said it plays nicer with SageTV. Have you ever heard of anyone using CoreAVC with SageTV. I purchased it and feel its superior.

I believe there are people using CoreAVC also. You can do the same thing (force it to use the proper codec) for CoreAVC by adding this line instead of the ArcSoft one:

videoframe/h264_video_decoder_filter=CoreAVC Video Decoder

[J3G]

bad news for me, it was already set to Archos Video Decoder. I tried to set it to CoreAVC Video Decoder without any luck. I noticed I have hardware acceleration off and I am suprised since I have an ATI graphics card.

I have running SageTV Media Center on a Dell Pentium 4 3ghz with 1GB ram and ATI X300 PCI Express graphics. While in full screen mode with ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater there was an occasional stutter. I am suprise at this since CoreAVC can decode 1080p h.264 video with less than P4 3ghz.

[reggie14]

What kind of CPU usage are you seeing (factoring in hyper-threading might be making it look low)? CoreAVC is pretty exceptional when it comes to its CPU usage without hardware acceleration.

Also, what happens when you try to use the ArcSoft and CoreAVC decoders? I assume you're getting an error message, and not just a blank screen. Can you try turning on logging and posting a log file (the FAQ covers how to do this, I believe)?

[J3G]

no errors, just blank screen (black). If I push a button I get the HUD over the blank screen. I should look at CPU usage to determine if its actually doing any decoding. I have tried both decoders. Actually, SageTV hung at one point when I was using CoreAVC. I should probably just reinstall? Or remove CoreAVC? I don't know how to turn on logging but im sure its in the troubleshooting section.

[HelenWeathers]

To enable logging, disable any custom STV's/plugins you are using, close SageTV and the service if running, then open up your Sage.properties (with notepad) file in your Frey Technologies or SageTV folder. Add this line to the properties file: "debug_logging=TRUE" Without the quotes and the word TRUE must be capitalized. A log file called sagetv_0.txt will be created in the sage folder. The sagetv_0.txt file is the most recent log, followed by sagetv_1.txt as the older and sagetv_2.txt as the oldest. (A new sagetv_0.txt file is created each time you run sage).

[J3G]

thank you for the logging tip. I will try it tonight or tomorrow. I really hope to see an error.