What's the secret to the HD PVR?

[pawn]

Here's my latest update:

I have 2 version E1 hd pvr's. One has worked dependably on a network encoder, the other gave me endless problems when directly connected to the sage server machine, and gave similar results when connected to a 3rd machine also as a network encoder. But then last night I swapped the hd pvr on my working network encoding machine with the troublesome hd pvr unit and I've had no problems since (not enough time yet to say for sure the device is OK, but I really worked it trying to get it to fail and it's still running strong after almost a full day).

I think there may be problems with the drivers, I don't know. But I can say both computers that gave me problems are older pentium 4 single core machines. The server machine didn't even have USB 2.0 ports and I had to buy a PCI card to add USB 2.0 ports. The other problematic computer does have USB 2.0, but 3 of the 4 ports are used and I've read some people suggesting the hd pvr may need to be on it's own USB hub or root tree or whatever. The computer where the devices work dependably is a newly built dual core pentium machine (not high end, but definitely the most modern equipment I have). All three computers run a freshly installation od XP SP1.

I don't know the answer to this. I still say the hd pvr's have either driver or hardware problems since, in my opinion, there's no reason they should not function properly on my older computers (one of them is actually a client machine fully capable of playing back HD h264 content, I'm not talking ancient equipment here). But I will say the hd pvr's seem to be very hardware dependent. Now it's just a matter of waiting for my USB-UIRT's to arrive so I can have both hd pvr's on the same working encoding machine.

The waiting is the hardest part.

[Xiphoid]

Originally Posted by JimmyBalboa

Agreed, I don't think it's hardware either at least not memory. I too have 4 Gigs of Memory. I think that there are still issues (bugs) in the the HDPVR driver.

What's the error message? You might try changing your Mpeg4 rendering options from SageTV to Direct Show or Visa-Versa in the Multimedia Settings.

"Error -4,0x8007001f Error in Playback" is the error message I get. I haven't tried changing rendering options....will have to look into that.

[Skirge01]

I also have 4GB of RAM in my WHS box, so I don't believe this is an issue with the server hardware. I'm also running a quad core Xeon processor @ 2.33GHz. I have numerous disks in the server which are either WD Green drives or Samsung F1 drives and I've have hiccups when WHS was using either models. I have almost no processes running besides SageTV, so I can't imagine the 4 cores of my CPU are getting pegged at any time. I have also had this happen both with and without a remote connection to the server.

Considering the fact that I can get reliable playback in TME, I can't help but think it's a SageTV issue.

Finally, I have determined that the scanlines issue I'm having is apparently due to the H20 being more sensitive than the HR21 to couplers. I have a single, brand new wall plate with a built in coupler. The HR21 has perfect picture quality, yet the H20 does not. If I remove the coupler, the H20 looks just as good as the HR21. At this point, I believe I'll need new (longer and additional) cables run from the satellite in order to get the PQ back up to where it should be.

[Xiphoid]

So how do I know whether I have a C1, E1, or whatever?

Also, what's the H21 and H20 you are talking about?

[pawn]

Originally Posted by Xiphoid

So how do I know whether I have a C1, E1, or whatever?

Turn it over and look.

Also, what's the H21 and H20 you are talking about?

No idea, but I think he's talking about his cable box.

[Skirge01]

pawn is correct. In my original post, I mentioned that I was having scanline issues and wanted to mention that I found the culprit.. The H20 is DirecTV's HD receiver and the HR21 is DirecTV's HD DVR receiver.

[Xiphoid]

Originally Posted by JimmyBalboa

Agreed, I don't think it's hardware either at least not memory. I too have 4 Gigs of Memory. I think that there are still issues (bugs) in the the HDPVR driver.

What's the error message? You might try changing your Mpeg4 rendering options from SageTV to Direct Show or Visa-Versa in the Multimedia Settings.

Okay, I'm watching TV right now and I'm getting the error again...it's previously recorded HD content and it happened EXACTLY when another show ended recording in the background and it changed the channel to another one to start recording. I get the "Error during playback", but what's interesting is that even though I got the error, it didn't actually stop working...the playback continued without any problems! Does the same thing happen to you?

[JimmyBalboa]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

Considering the fact that I can get reliable playback in TME, I can't help but think it's a SageTV issue.

I thought the same thing and I still tend to agree that SageTV does not handle the HDPVR as well as TME, but after doing more testing, I was able to get the C2 version to fail in TME as well.

But, you are right, SageTV does not handle the PVR as well as TME.

[JimmyBalboa]

Originally Posted by Xiphoid

Okay, I'm watching TV right now and I'm getting the error again...it's previously recorded HD content and it happened EXACTLY when another show ended recording in the background and it changed the channel to another one to start recording. I get the "Error during playback", but what's interesting is that even though I got the error, it didn't actually stop working...the playback continued without any problems! Does the same thing happen to you?

No, my E1 version does not seem to act like that, however earlier in the thread someone posted something about a setting (delay_to_wait_after_tuning) to make Sage wait a few seconds before starting the encoder again. That might help.

Another thing I read is that PVR does not handle resolution changes very well. It may be that your STB or Receiver changed resolution causing the lockup. Try locking it in a 1080 or 720 to help reduce the chances of a lockup.

My E1 version seems to work pretty well for the most part. I have not been able to determine the reason that it occasionally locks up. (Still think it's the driver)

[bm07]

I had a C2 and from September to mid December it was working fantastically. I had been using the beta drivers with SPDIF support, and then one day my machine started blue screening. Updating to the official drivers (not the beta) made the blue screen go away, but then my recordings would stop after a very short period of time and I would get the dreaded "capture error during playback" message (while recording, not playing back).

After reading this forum I decided to call Hauppauge and do the RMA. I just got my new unit, this one is a D2. Sadly, the recording failure and capture error during playback problem are still there.

Does anyone have a solution for this besides RMAing until you get a good unit? I'm puzzled as to how mine could have worked flawlessly for so long and then suddenly stop working.

[waynedunham]

Originally Posted by bm07

I had a C2 and from September to mid December it was working fantastically. I had been using the beta drivers with SPDIF support, and then one day my machine started blue screening. Updating to the official drivers (not the beta) made the blue screen go away, but then my recordings would stop after a very short period of time and I would get the dreaded "capture error during playback" message (while recording, not playing back).

After reading this forum I decided to call Hauppauge and do the RMA. I just got my new unit, this one is a D2. Sadly, the recording failure and capture error during playback problem are still there.

Does anyone have a solution for this besides RMAing until you get a good unit? I'm puzzled as to how mine could have worked flawlessly for so long and then suddenly stop working.

I feel your pain I also had a unit (very early C1 or C2?) that had worked great for a long while. Then I started having similar troubles that you described and they got progressively worse. At first a power cycle of the HD-PVR would get it working for another day or so, but by the end sometimes a power cycle wouldn't even get Windows to recognize it as a valid USB device.
So I RMA'ed it and got a D2. It has been working flawlessly for over a week now. (fingers crossed) Of course Murphy's Law dictates since making this proclamation it will fail within the next 5 minutes.

[JimmyBalboa]

Originally Posted by bm07

I had a C2 and from September to mid December it was working fantastically. I had been using the beta drivers with SPDIF support, and then one day my machine started blue screening. Updating to the official drivers (not the beta) made the blue screen go away, but then my recordings would stop after a very short period of time and I would get the dreaded "capture error during playback" message (while recording, not playing back).

After reading this forum I decided to call Hauppauge and do the RMA. I just got my new unit, this one is a D2. Sadly, the recording failure and capture error during playback problem are still there.

Does anyone have a solution for this besides RMAing until you get a good unit? I'm puzzled as to how mine could have worked flawlessly for so long and then suddenly stop working.

I had the same issue... you have to request an E1 version or later of the PVR when you RMA. I had to send mine back a second time to get E1s.

Although they are not flawless the E1s are 1000 times better than any of the previouse versions that I had tried.

[bm07]

I have some new info this morning. I decided to try taking a USB extension cable out of the picture. So far I have made one successful 2 hour recording and am trying a second. I'll try putting the extension cable back into the picture at some point, but so far this seems very likely related to my problem. Why it would work for a few months and then suddenly stop I have no idea, but...

[JimmyBalboa]

Originally Posted by bm07

I have some new info this morning. I decided to try taking a USB extension cable out of the picture. So far I have made one successful 2 hour recording and am trying a second. I'll try putting the extension cable back into the picture at some point, but so far this seems very likely related to my problem. Why it would work for a few months and then suddenly stop I have no idea, but...

I think the driver still has major bugs in it.

[sic0048]

I can get the 1.0.47 driver versions working with my HD-PVR and use the built in Hauppauge IR blaster. But I cannot get the blaster to work with the newer 1.053 driver. I even open up the BlastCfg program and the test button is greyed out. For the life of my I don't know what the problem is.

I can (and have) gone back to the older 1.0.47 driver and the blaster works. I've e-mailed both Hauppauge and SageTV support to see what they say.

[bm07]

Originally Posted by sic0048

I can get the 1.0.47 driver versions working with my HD-PVR and use the built in Hauppauge IR blaster. But I cannot get the blaster to work with the newer 1.053 driver. I even open up the BlastCfg program and the test button is greyed out. For the life of my I don't know what the problem is.

I can (and have) gone back to the older 1.0.47 driver and the blaster works. I've e-mailed both Hauppauge and SageTV support to see what they say.

I struggled for a long time with the blaster drivers that came on the HD-PVR cd. Then I downloaded the latest version from the Hauppauge web site; haven't had problems with these. It is on the Accessories tab of the HD PVR support page.

[eopian]

I was able to get the blaster working only with the drivers off the website. I taught myself a long time ago to junk any drivers that come boxed with products. Since the invention of the internet companies seem to ship items with junk drivers then update before the item even hits the store.

In this case I tried using the drivers off the disk first because there were so many, but in the end I ended up downloading everything anyways.

[psklenar]

Question: Is the power switch on the HD-PVR a physical switch? SHow it move? Should there be any sort of tactile feedback when dpressing it?

Reason I ask is that on mine (a Rev D1), the switch doesn't move at all. Zero detectable movement. In fact, I've discoverd that a light pressure on the case above or below the switch will turn the unit on/off. Hell, even a firm pressure down on the top left corner (above the power switch) will turn it on/off.

I really loved it the first week or so, but today ... I can't get it to either stay powered on, or if it does stay powered on, i can't get it to show up as a connected USB device. And yes, I've tried multiple USB ports (on different hubs on the mobo).

pat----

[gplasky]

There is very little travel but I can feel it move downward. So it doesn't have a mechanical feel to it. More of a "press the key on a keyboard" feel. I have a C1 so it may have changed in futute models. But if light pressure on top the case is turning it on/off sounds like there is an issue. I keep mine on it's side edge.

Gerry

[psklenar]

Well, my HD-PVR is on it's way back to Long Island. As of last night, I couldn't even get it to power on at all, let alone stay on and connected. The tech support person I spooke to said my non-moving power button is most definitely "not right".

pat----