STV Import: Display output resolution on Timebar

[TorontoSage]

Originally Posted by razrsharpe

mmm... that's weird. I haven't seen that. Couple questions. Which value stays constant? The top one (above the timebar) or the bottom on (below the timebar)? The bottom value is the current output resolution and should be whatever the HD200 is outputting. The top value is the current media file format and should change by what you are viewing. The top number should change too if you have the native resolution switching enabled in the HD200 setup

The bottom stays constant at 1920x1080 and the top occasionally changes, but very rarely, and stays the same even when I switch from HD to SD to lower res video clips. I didn't find the native resolution switching setting in the HD200 manual, but will look for it.

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by TorontoSage

The bottom stays constant at 1920x1080 and the top occasionally changes, but very rarely, and stays the same even when I switch from HD to SD to lower res video clips.

I think the issue has to do with the way that sage reports the resolution for some file types... as in it appears to not return anything useful with GetMediaFileDescription().... which is what i use to parse the resolution for TV (HDHR mpeg recordings)... where this import started. I assumed that I could use the same method for all files.... you know what they say about assumptions Since i don't clear the string i am displaying when the media changes i think that watching a filetype that it doesn't work on just displays the resolution of the last video displayed.

File types that work:

.mpeg,.mpg
.avi
.m2ts
.mkv

File types that currently DO NOT work:

VIDEO_TS DVD folder structure
.ts

This is obviously not an exhaustive list so if anyone has other file types that work or don't work please speak up and I will add them to the list. I will also work on a workaround and/or a different way of displaying the video file resolution. Thanks for pointing it out to me... not sure why i hadn't noticed this before

I didn't find the native resolution switching setting in the HD200 manual, but will look for it

Detailed setup -> Multimedia -> Native Output Resolution Switching -> Enabled.
It will then change the output for each file to match the resolution of the file. It's not perfect and only matches to resolution (not timing) but works better than nothing. If it can't match the resolution it will output at the default. When stopping playback it switches back to the default resolution.

[wacole]

Have just installed this custom interface and found that it works just fine when displaying on the server's monitor, but does not display on the TV which is connected to an Hauppauge MVP. [The info bar works just fine otherwise.] I'm running Sage 6.5.9.204, Java 1.6.0_14 and Sage MC 6.3.8; all this under XP Pro SP2. Clues would be greatly appreciated. BTW I did just upgrade the Java, just before I installed this custom interface.

I really appreciate having this functionality and will find it very useful in helping me to configure the extender.

Thanks for your good work on this.

Bill Cole

[razrsharpe]

unfortunately i don't know how much help i will be because i do not have an MVP and am not sure how they are configured/setup.... I believe it is setup like placeshifter correct? (don't have that either but am more familar with it)...

that being said... you said it works correctly on the server. Therefore, I would check to make sure that the stv on the mvp is the the same one that the server is using. Go to My Menu -> Settings. On the right (~7 lines down) should be Current STV File: SageMC_XXX-#.xml.

make sure the STV is the same for both...

As i do not have an mvp i can not be certain but i see no reason why it would not work on the mvp client.

[wacole]

Thanks very much for the information. The extender/placeshifter MVP firmware doesn't display information about SageTV, however the version of SageMC that I'm running is displayed on my monitor under Current STV File is SageMC_169.4.xml. The version that displays on the TV through the MVP is SageMC_169.1.xml.

This is a surprise. I'm not sure what is going on and whether the difference in versions is the cause of this display difference on the info bar. I do notice that I have five different SageMC files under the directory c:\Program Files\SageTV\SageTVs\SageTV3. They are: SageMC_169.xml, SageMC_169-1.xml through SageMC_169-4.xml. Maybe that has something to do with this problem.

Bill Cole

[razrsharpe]

yup... i believe that is your problem... everytime you load a new import Sage will save a new .xml file with a -# appended to the file name. So.... in your case the base filename is SageMC_169.xml. And everytime you loaded a new import into SageMC_169 it incremented the filename with a -#. Usually the highest -# is the most recent STV version...

So to fix the problem... on your MVP go to My Menu -> Settings -> Load STV -> Select SageMC_169-4.xml.

Generally (im not sure about the MVP but it sounds like it from your explanation) but each client can have a different STV version running... So if you configure everything on the server you need to go and select that STV .xml file at each extender.

[wacole]

Thanks. That did the trick. Can now see the resolution data on the info bar. Learn something every day!

Bill Cole

[razrsharpe]

your welcome, glad you got it working

[PLUCKYHD]

Nice razor!!

[razrsharpe]

Thanks ... once i get my new tv screen import finished my next project is to make this more robust (along with my video out popup import) to make the native output resolution alot smarter and configurable