Dual HD-PVR anyone?

[grauchy]

I'm considering adding a second HD-PVR but I just wanted to find out if anyone has tried it and if they had problems getting it working. Worst case I could put it on another machine as a network encoder but I'd rather not have to go through that much trouble.

[MeInMaui]

I have two working on my WHS box. They glitch very occasionally so I scheduled the computer to reboot weekly and that seems to keep everything happy.

Aloha,
Mike

[Morgan111]

I have 3 on 3 DirecTVs. One HD-PVR did have some occasional lockup problem, but that has not been a problem after rearranging to prevent heat buildup. Other than that I have no recording problems.

[wayner]

I have had two HD-PVRs running since the start of the year without problems. I use firewire for channel changes.

[grauchy]

Originally Posted by wayner

I use firewire for channel changes.

I could't find the proper drivers for my STB so I never got that working. I'm currently using the blaster that came with the HD-PVR.

As long as I keep the second blaster away from the other one to avoid IR crosstalk I'm hoping that I won't have any driver conflicts and that SageTV will know to tell them apart.

[wayner]

I believe there are issues with using more than one Hauppauge IR blaster - but perhaps those have been fixed. You might need a USB-UIRT, which can blast to three zones, or need to try firewire once again.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by wayner

I believe there are issues with using more than one Hauppauge IR blaster - but perhaps those have been fixed. You might need a USB-UIRT, which can blast to three zones, or need to try firewire once again.

The single IR Blaster is still an issue and I don't think Hauppauge is in a hurry to fix that. USB UIRT is the best route if not able to use Serial or Firewire channel changes.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

The single IR Blaster is still an issue and I don't think Hauppauge is in a hurry to fix that.

Why would that be? There are also other issues that they don't seem to be in a hurry to fix - like some of their drivers not working if you have 4GB or more of memory installed. And the HD-PVR drivers aren't exactly a totally finished product either.

[Clift]

Originally Posted by grauchy

I could't find the proper drivers for my STB so I never got that working. I'm currently using the blaster that came with the HD-PVR.

As long as I keep the second blaster away from the other one to avoid IR crosstalk I'm hoping that I won't have any driver conflicts and that SageTV will know to tell them apart.

What STB do you use?

Try these:
http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/

[Taddeusz]

AFAIK, Hauppauge has never supported more than one IR blaster with their drivers. So there's nothing really to fix.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

AFAIK, Hauppauge has never supported more than one IR blaster with their drivers. So there's nothing really to fix.

So then Hauppauge technically only supports the use of one HD-PVR on a system? Wouldn't it make more sense to remove some obstacles that prevent people from using multiple HD-PVRs which means more sales of HD-PVRs?

[BrianDC]

Hauppage supports multiple HD-PVR's on a single system, however it appears that their driver for IR is not intelligent enough to cope with multiple HD-PVR's

I just spend all day saturday getting my SageTV working with two HD-PVR's + a USB-UIRT.

Half my problem was the STB's from the cable company not "activating" correctly. Other half was not having TV output or enough horsepower on my WHS system to watch TV on my server as I was getting it set up. After I got a TV hooked to the system, and figured out the wires, it's been running fairly well.

Hardest part is going to get the IR stuff working using Zones if you have more than one identical STB

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by wayner

So then Hauppauge technically only supports the use of one HD-PVR on a system? Wouldn't it make more sense to remove some obstacles that prevent people from using multiple HD-PVRs which means more sales of HD-PVRs?

No. There's no issue with multiple HD-PVRs. The issue is with the IR. It is having multiple IR with any multiple Hauppague devices. You would have an issue with the IR if you had one HD-PVR and one PVR150 with IR. It is having multiple IRs on multiple Hauppague devices that is the issue and not just a HD-PVR in particular.

Gerry

[grauchy]

Originally Posted by Clift

What STB do you use?

Try these:
http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/

I have the QIP 7216 which isn't listed there.

I tried all those drivers before but they didn't work for me unless someone knows any tweaks.

[TorontoSage]

Originally Posted by gplasky

No. There's no issue with multiple HD-PVRs. The issue is with the IR. It is having multiple IR with any multiple Hauppague devices. You would have an issue with the IR if you had one HD-PVR and one PVR150 with IR. It is having multiple IRs on multiple Hauppague devices that is the issue and not just a HD-PVR in particular.

Gerry

Hmmm, but then wouldn't Wayners logic still apply? If Hauppauge makes it work they will sell more product. Or, what am I missing?

[pawn]

I have 2 HD-PVR's, one with the Hauppage blaster, the other with a USBUIRT and everything works great. I'd say the HD-PVR's lock up about once a month requiring a power cycle and a reboot of the whole system.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by TorontoSage

Hmmm, but then wouldn't Wayners logic still apply? If Hauppauge makes it work they will sell more product. Or, what am I missing?

I think it has more to do with the fact that most people aren't going to need more than one IR transmitter and those people that do are going to use more specialized products such as the USB-UIRT. The market has determined that they really don't need to spend the money to change it. Or it could be a more technical problem that doesn't have a solution.

[TorontoSage]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

I think it has more to do with the fact that most people aren't going to need more than one IR transmitter and those people that do are going to use more specialized products such as the USB-UIRT. The market has determined that they really don't need to spend the money to change it. Or it could be a more technical problem that doesn't have a solution.

Wouldn't anyone that has more than one HD PVR need more than one IR transmitter (receiver & flasher I guess is what you mean) and therefore want to be able to use the the ones incorporated into the HD PVR's? Why should they have to pay money to buy an additional device just because Hauppauge provided drivers that don't work properly? It looks like that's what I am going to have to do but I really don't understand the logic of the argument that I should have to.

[gplasky]

Hauppauge has had problems with more than one of their IR in a system since the PVR250-150-500. (We're talking 6-7 years ago)They didn't solve it then and they haven't solved it now. People have received emails from Hauppauge support that states they don't support more than one IR. Maybe because of the HD-PVR they may change that but I wouldn't hold my breath. Many people have gone the USB-UIRT route which can support up to 3 STB with one USB-UIRT.

Gerry

[TorontoSage]

I see.

Well they should state in their literature that if you connect more than one to the same computer that only one IR will work because it is possible to and they certainly know that people are doing that all the time.