Hauppauge HD-PVR v1.1 drivers released

[bastian74]

They're going through hardware revisions faster than microsoft security holes are found

[OldPCGUY]

Hello People

I have had a REV D1 HD-PVR
Using Rev 1.1

I have a HTPC Windows XP 32 SP3 (Sage 6.4.8)
HDMI Ouput to a VIZIO 42 Inch
Mother Board Audio RCA SPDIF to Yamaha Receiver RCA INPUT

Dish VIP612 to HD-PVR
USB UIRT for Blaster to Dish VIP612

I had a couple different issues

1. HD-PVR Blaster would just go out. I had to power cycle the HD-PVR and then Sage could change channels again. (About once a day)

2. HD-PVR would die sometimes (about once every 2 days) where Sage would just show 'No Video'. A power Cycle fixes it all the time.

3. SPDIF audio has sound jitter (reflections). I recorded a test file and played it back with Sage, Total Media Extreme, Simple Windows Media Player and Graph Edit. All showed the same bad sound. Stereo Sound for all sounds perfect. Trying to get Hauppauge to take my test file and play back but no response yet.

4. My Hauppauge remote never worked even when I de-installed my HVR1800 card and removed the drivers (ran HWCLEAR). I got a USB UIRT and gave up trying to get this to work.

5. VIDEO can get blocky when playing back real-time and I make this go away by 'rw' by 5 seconds. Always fixes this problem.

6. The DISH VIP612 has an auto program update which cannot be disabled and causes the VIP612 to put up a screen meassage that can only be removed by pressing the select key. Does any one know how to precode a channel change in Sage with a pre-button? I know this can be done but I have not found the right link yet.

I added the USB UIRT today and set it up for blasting so hopefully this will be more reliable.

Other than the above issues the HD-PVR Video Quality is excellent and I do not see the softness others have commented on. Comparing my HTPC HDMI out to the DISH VIP612 HDMI out they look identical. So iam very pleased with the Video playback quality and never any problems.

Kind Regards,

One bad cat

[jerryt]

Originally Posted by OldPCGUY

3. SPDIF audio has sound jitter (reflections).

Yes, this is the audio I have also with drivers 1.1 and 5.1 optic.

Totally unuseable. Relying on the R5000.

[fitzpatr]

Hello everyone. I just built a new HTPC with the express use of the HD-PVR in mind. (Maybe Premature)

I am encountering many LiveTV issues, but recording so far seems fine. With LiveTV, freezing is common. The sound also cuts out after a few minutes. Specs as follows.

HTPC:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
MB: Asus P5QL-E P43 Chipset.
RAM: GEIL 4GB DDR2-1066
GFX: Palit Radeon HD4850
HDD: 1TB Hitachi
BD: LG GBC-H20L
PSU: Corsair HX520W
Case: Silverstone LC16B-MR
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

The HD-PVR is using Driver Version 1.1
Revision C2
Using Component+SPDIF from Motorola DCT6200
time_to_playback_livetv is set at 4000 (4s).

Does anyone know if this is a SageTV issue as I suspect, or a Hardware issue.

Thanks in advance,
Rye

[vividweb]

After a week of using the HD-PVR's I have had to make some minor changes to increase the reliability of them. I have changed them to be Component only and Component+SPDIF.

When running as Component only I have not gotten any jitters or no audio when watching live TV. If I used SPDIF I had about a 50/50 chance of being able to watch something, seemed more of a problem with LiveTV than with recordings. I frequently would get no audio or a squelchy beep every 30 seconds. Recordings had a much higher success rate, but there will still a couple that had no audio.

I only seem to get the no signal problem when coming back from a reboot, which is very rare that I have to reboot my server.

My HD-PVRs are a C2 and D1 and all playback is on an HD-100.

[Chriscic]

Originally Posted by fitzpatr

I am encountering many LiveTV issues, but recording so far seems fine. With LiveTV, freezing is common. The sound also cuts out after a few minutes.
Does anyone know if this is a SageTV issue as I suspect, or a Hardware issue.

Thanks in advance,
Rye

I have similar issues... not freezing so much (occasional signal lost) but playback with super stuttery or no sound on channel change. All signs indicate software issue not hardware since schedules recordings play back fine. So probably Sage although I guess it could be a HD-PVR driver issue.

[Evil_Attorney]

I really want to get two of these, but with all of the problems everyone is reporting, even with the latest firmware, I'm having second thoughts.

Has ANYONE gotten this working flawlessly or near flawlessly yet? How about with two hd-pvrs...flawless? With the usb-uirt...flawless?

[Deacon Crusher]

I have an original unit and am running the last beta of the hauppauge drivers (didn't upgrade to the final version.)

I only playback on extenders.

I have my cable box set to 720p output and it is connected to the hdpvr via component and spdif.

I use a USB UIRT for channel changing.

Since we've left hot weather behind I have perfect functionality. No crashes and missed recordings and all recordings playback fine. (No juddering or delays or anything.)

I playback audio through TVs so I haven't confirmed that I'm getting 5.1 audio recordings.

I don't watch much/any live TV through Sage. Still have cable boxes at the TV. Once live TV is a little better will probably move one more cable box to Sage server and get one more HDPVR and then return other cable box and do all TV watching through Sage. However, channel surfing like during sports or presedential election (switching between different networks during commercial breaks of things you have to watch live) my continue to be a little tricky for quite some time to come.

[HelenWeathers]

Originally Posted by Evil_Attorney

Has ANYONE gotten this working flawlessly or near flawlessly yet? How about with two hd-pvrs...flawless? With the usb-uirt...flawless?

My system has not missed a beat for over two months (3 OTA ATSC, 2 HD PVRs). Everything has recorded and playback is great. I only watch on client PCs (or you can use the HD Extenders when they become available).

Can't comment re the USB-UIRT as I had too many devices on my USB ports and was bogging down the feed from the HD PVRs so went to serial channel change (firewire is sometimes also an option).

Live TV is tricky. I always use guide to pick what I watch live and stop what I am watching live and return to the guide to select the next thing I want to watch live. Channel surfing (going directly from one channel to another) with HiDef content is a problem that all TV software vendors seem to be having right now.

"Flawlessly" is a matter of perspective I guess. But the server/client solution as opposed to "one PC does it all" seems to be the best route with multiple HD PVRs.

[Evil_Attorney]

Good to hear. I think I will pull the trigger on a pair.

Deacon, do I read your server specs correctly? Are you using the HD-PVR with the PVR 500? I thought the HD-PVR didn't play nice with other Hauppauge devices.

[simonen]

Mine works flawlessly and my cable box seems to output based on the content 1080i and 720p. I use the IR emitter that came with it and works great too. Still using the beta drivers as well.

Playback is exclusively on the HD Extenders.

[Deacon Crusher]

yep, works fine with my PVR 500, you just have to watch out with regard to getting drivers installed properly and which device is using what method for channel changing, I only use my pvr 500 for watching analog cable so cable plugged directly into it and it does it's own channel changing.

Originally Posted by Evil_Attorney

Good to hear. I think I will pull the trigger on a pair.

Deacon, do I read your server specs correctly? Are you using the HD-PVR with the PVR 500? I thought the HD-PVR didn't play nice with other Hauppauge devices.

[Ender]

I thought I would share the experience of the first eight hours using my new HD-PVR rev D1.

THe first time I tried to install the 1.1 drivers, the installer would lock up horribly. Well I figured that slight power failure I had just prior to installing it may have corrupted my windows install, so I re-imaged my OS drive, and everything installed well.

After Installing the Arcsoft software, and getting rid of the annoying Arcsoft Connect, I proceeded to set Sage up for Firewire Channel Changing (Success).

Then I set up the HD-PVR source in Sage with the Component+SPDIF, unfortunately I could not get a video signal at all, not in Sage, nor TMT. Upon removing the Optical cable, and Using the RCA Audio, all is well, with AC3 2.0 encoding.

I maxed out the recording bitrate in TMT, if I am correct, that setting is global ,and is used in all applications.

Playback, In Sage was interesting at first, all audio output to my receiver was a digital mess at first. I went into Detailed setup, and switched the Audio renderer from Default to Realtek Digital out or some such, and made the Arcsoft Video decoders the Default, I am also using VMR9.

Playback is smooth as can be, cpu usage on my Q6600 hovers at about 23%, the audio is a bit low in volume, but I am investigating.

The only thing at this moment that bothers me is not being able to use the 5.1 SPDIF in for audio, but I will sort that at some point.

System Specs:
2x HVR-1600
ATI 3650 Video Card
HD-PVR rev D1
Q6600 Quad core processor
2 GB Ram DDR2 800
ASRock Penryn 1600SLI-110dB Motherboard (Nforce 650i SLI chipset)
WUSB600N Wireless N USB adaptor
160 GB Hdd for OS, programs, and music library
2x 750GB HDDs for recordings
2x 1TB HDDS connected to a Highpoint RocketRAID 2302 eSata Controller (for DVD library)
For opticals 1 DVD rom, DVDRW drive, and a LG HDDVD/Blue Ray combo drive.
All this connected to my trusty Tosiba 51HX83 HDTV via DVI

Now if I can sort out the SPDIF issue, and it is stable I will be one happy camper.

[thomaszoo]

Originally Posted by Ender

Then I set up the HD-PVR source in Sage with the Component+SPDIF, unfortunately I could not get a video signal at all, not in Sage, nor TMT. Upon removing the Optical cable, and Using the RCA Audio, all is well, with AC3 2.0 encoding.

I would recommend trying it again and making absolutely certain that the optical cable is plugged into the INPUT and not the OUTPUT; that is what I did and I almost gave up on it. For some dumb reason you don't even get video if the optical cable is plugged into the wrong place and you have told it to use SPDIF.

[gtdave]

Have you tried using TME to play a channel with 5.1 audio content? The best I could get with a 5.1 source out of my set-top box (DirecTV HD box, Component+SPDIF) was video only in TME...Sage would lock up. Now if I configure my set-top box to output stereo only everything works fine over optical.

Dave

Originally Posted by Ender

The only thing at this moment that bothers me is not being able to use the 5.1 SPDIF in for audio, but I will sort that at some point.
...
Now if I can sort out the SPDIF issue, and it is stable I will be one happy camper.

[Ender]

Originally Posted by thomaszoo

I would recommend trying it again and making absolutely certain that the optical cable is plugged into the INPUT and not the OUTPUT; that is what I did and I almost gave up on it. For some dumb reason you don't even get video if the optical cable is plugged into the wrong place and you have told it to use SPDIF.

Yes, that is what I did at first. When using the optical connection, I cannot use my 45 button remote. Well 2ch audio will suffice until I can sort it out.

[sic0048]

Probably old news for people, but Hauppauge did release HD-PVR 2.0 drivers. Of course they apparently sucked and lots of people had problems with them. See this thread for more information.

Hauppauge has actually taken the 2.0 drivers down at this point, so I guess that is how bad they were.

[Skiier__Dude]

I upgraded to the 1.1 drivers yesterday on the HDPVR. I playback using an HD-100. Source is an ExpressVu 6100 (same as Dishnet). Capture using the Component and SPDIF.

Prior to the upgrade, audio and video captured fine, however, I was getting the dropped-frame issue during playback and heard these new drivers fixed that problem (and that appears to be the case).

I've run into the same AC3 audio issues others have mentioned. On my receiver, I chose the Dolby/PCM setting. Signal passes as AC3 to my receiver. When playback begins there is a very loud pop, and then the rest of the audio sounds like it is under water. For the heck of it, while watching CSI Miami live (with the horrible audio) I changed the audio output setting on the sat receiver back to PCM Only and the audio issue cleared right up. Seems to signal to me that the AC3 driver still has some sort of quality issue. I will hold onto this recording if it's any use for diagnosis.

[OldPCGUY]

Originally Posted by Evil_Attorney

I really want to get two of these, but with all of the problems everyone is reporting, even with the latest firmware, I'm having second thoughts.

Has ANYONE gotten this working flawlessly or near flawlessly yet? How about with two hd-pvrs...flawless? With the usb-uirt...flawless?

I have a newer HTPC (see my specs below) with Windows XP driving a VIZIO 42 inch LCD and a Yamaha Amplifier.

Here are the issues and soltuions I have had.

1. HD-PVR stops responding after 3 days or 1 week or some random number of days. It always happens late at night and I fix it early in the morning by powercycling the HD-PVR. I cannot make this problem go away. But Putting Sage to sleep every night when I am done may do the trick. I need to test this more throroughly. My Wife does not even know this problem exists because it never happens when we are watching live or recorded shows. (I think this is caused by the DISH VIP611 when it does program updates; it disables the video output if it does not get a select button push within a TBD amount of time). STK Keepalive by ShadeBlue is running and I just need to adjust my timings.

2. The HD-PVR blaster works but it stops working almost every day. I had to get a USB UIRT (for other reasons) and the UIRT has not frozen in 1 month of testing. Problem solved.

3. Playback of Live TV very infrequently can be a little jerky with the HD-PVR or my ATSC 1800 Card. All I have to do is watch for 5 seconds and then rewind and the issue goes away. Problem Solved.

4. There is no question that Hauppauge still has a problem with 5.1 sound. I worked with Hauppauge and gave them some detailed system drawings and a debug report that proves they had an issue. Then they issued me an RMA and told me that for sure the New Unit would fix the 5.1 audio. They Told me REV C2, D2, or E1 would fix the 5.1 audio problem.
I am still waiting for the new UNIT. I picked up loaner from Fry's that I have been using in the meantime.

So using the HD-PVR(PCM stereo) for the last 2 months we have recorded over 50 shows and movies and maybe 3 were bad recordings due some dead time caused by a conflict between the recording time and the Dish VIP611 update time. If I make sure not to do recordings at 3AM then this is a non-issue.

The Video Quality of the HD-PVR has been excellent on every single recording. In fact neither my wife or I can see the diffence in quality between the HD-PVR or ATSC HD.

Some people have made comments about the Video being softer. But I have not seen this maybe due to the fact that I have only a 42 inch LCD.
Video palyback can be affected by alot of settings in Sage, HD-PVR, the source Video and the TV settings.

Here is an example: Alien Versus Predator Requiem was so dark and black we could barely see it. I had to adjust the TV lighting, contrast and color levels to see it. The Source Video was the problem. We have not seen this problem with any other recording.

So I am pretty sure I will have #1 solved and #4 solved which will give me a near flawless solution.

[OldPCGUY]

Originally Posted by Skiier__Dude

I upgraded to the 1.1 drivers yesterday on the HDPVR. I playback using an HD-100. Source is an ExpressVu 6100 (same as Dishnet). Capture using the Component and SPDIF.

Prior to the upgrade, audio and video captured fine, however, I was getting the dropped-frame issue during playback and heard these new drivers fixed that problem (and that appears to be the case).

I've run into the same AC3 audio issues others have mentioned. On my receiver, I chose the Dolby/PCM setting. Signal passes as AC3 to my receiver. When playback begins there is a very loud pop, and then the rest of the audio sounds like it is under water. For the heck of it, while watching CSI Miami live (with the horrible audio) I changed the audio output setting on the sat receiver back to PCM Only and the audio issue cleared right up. Seems to signal to me that the AC3 driver still has some sort of quality issue. I will hold onto this recording if it's any use for diagnosis.

I had the exact same problem with my HD-PVR Rev D1, a DISH VIP611 and my Yamaha Surround Receiver.

My Yamaha will tell me if the Audio coming in the SPDIF is PCM, Digital or DTS.

The HD-PVR has a problem with 5.1 Audio. But if I tell the DISH VIP611 to output PCM then the problem goes away. But I get psuedo 5.1. The Yamaha says its getting PCM and then uses its sound processor to create surround sound. This is never as good as 5.1 source.

Hauppauge told me Rev C2, D2, and E1 units had a hardware fix for this problem and they issued an RMA for my D1 unit. I had to send Hauppauge a sample Capture and drawings of my system setup to prove the issue was in their box.