HD PVR

[Nate]

I just got rid of Comcast and moved to DirecTV. I had been using two analog tuners to record SD. I want to move to recording HD since I have an HD TV. I bought two HD PVRs, one for each of my HD DirecTV H23 600 boxes. It isn't working out very well at all.

I can watch Sage through the HD PVR for 5 to 10 minutes then the HD PVR stops working. I get messages "halt detected" and then "failure to start recording". Power cycling the HD PVR and restarting Sage seems to fix it, until it stops working again. I am using the 1.5.6 beta drivers from Hauppauge's website. I tried using optical audio and also analog stereo. The STB is set to always output 1080i.

What do I do now? Are there older drivers to try? What is the version just before 1.5.6? I can return the HD PVRs (and pay a huge restocking fee), but then how do I record HD TV?

/cry

[gplasky]

Are the ones on the CD older? 1.5.3 was the version before 1.5.6.0. I also had a v1.0.5.301. Google and yo may find them. Are you trying to get two running? If so I would only install one until you get it working properly. Run hwclear and just work with the one. I'm running one on Comcast. The HD-PVR is about your only option to record any kind of HD. (Encrypted, clear or Premium content)

Gerry

[toricred]

You might also try locking the H23 to output at only one resolution. I have mine set to 720P for all 4 HD-PVR's I using and it really seemed to help.

By the way, Gplasky is right. Just get one working first then add the second one.

[Nate]

I'm just trying to get one working first. The other is disconnected.

Good idea, the CD has 1.0.5.301. I'll have to give this a try. I found hcwclear and I'm running that now, then installing 1.0.5.301.

The HD PVR is not an option if it locks up all the time. Even if it locks up every 5 hours instead of 5 minutes, that is still unacceptable. Most of my shows wouldn't get recorded! If the DirecTV PVR can record stuff, someone should be able to make a piece of hardware like the HD PVR that works properly.

Is there any other option besides CableCard to record component? If I can' get the HD PVR to work I'll have to go back to SD, and that would really suck. I want Sage because I like comskip, but then I'd be torn between Sage in SD with comskip or DirecTV's PVR in HD with no comskip.

[doc]

Have you tried covering the IR window with electric tape?

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...7&postcount=19

I don't have an HD-PVR but if I did I'd certainly give it a go.

[Nate]

Yes, I ran into that suggestion about halfway through. I still had lockups after the tape though.

After hcwclear, it locked up trying to install the driver. I power cycled the HD PVR and it came online with the 1.0.5.301 driver. It is playing live TV OK (on an HD200 extender) for 5 minutes so far. I'm going to let it play and see how it goes.

[pat_smith1969]

Hey Nate...
I have been using the HDPVR for over a year now with no trouble so it CAN be a very stable device. I have noticed the same issues you refer to when I upgraded to 6.6.2 (from something like 6.2).

Hang in there, once we (I mean the Sage Guru's) get this all figured out I am sure it will once again be a stable device.

[Chriscic]

Try using only 1 HD-PVR at a time. You might have one bad unit which you could RMA or presumably exchange where you bought it.

I had to RMA 3 units before I got one that doesn't lock up.

[Evil_Attorney]

I have two Directv receivers with HDPVRs also. I had no problems with the latest version until I tried switched over from analog/RCA to the SPDIF ports. Was getting the same error as you about once a day. Switched back to analog and the problems stopped. I do not have the resolution locked either.

[Fuzzy]

The HDPVR is very finicky about it's USB controller. Many onboard USB controllers are subpar at best, especially when concerned with time-sensitive streamed media. You might look at getting a USB expansion card (PCI or PCIe) that uses an NEC chip. They seem universally the most reliable. I've seen problems with crappy onboard USB controllers in the past on more than just the HD-PVR. I've got quite a bit of high end audio gear that simply will not function properly on built-in usb ports, but work fine on PCI NEC boards.

[wayner]

How can you tell which USB expansion cards use NEC chips?

[UgaData]

I've recently read suggestions that recommend installing the HD-PVR before installing SageTV. Yeah that means un-installing Sage if you've been using it before you get the HD-PVR.

The following steps can be found in other threads/posts on this forum. (Thanks to sic0048)

Uninstall SageTV - (it's not that bad. The unistall doesn't delete the Sage program directory. However, if your worried about losing any setups backup the the program directory or at least the wiz.bin and sage.proprties files)

Run HCWClear - Keep in mind this will remove any and all Hauppauge drivers. If your using other Hauppauge tuners you need to re-install the divers for those cards as well.

Reboot and install drivers - Re-install the Hauppauge drivers. If you have other Hauppage tuners other than the HD-PVR install those drivers first, I recommend installing the HD-PVR drivers last.
(there seems to be some issues using the Hauppauge IR Blaster when multiple Hauppauge tuners are in the same PC. Installing the HD-PVR last should allow you to use the IR Blaster with the HD-PVR. (your mileage may vary))

Install the Hauppauge extras - If your going to use the IR Blaster this isn't an option. Install the WinTV Scheduler, IR Blaster configuration, and IR Remote software/driver. All three of these can be downloaded from Hauppauge and probably should be just to verify that you have the latest version.

Once the 3 programs have been loaded it's a good idea to configure the blaster. (You might want to reboot before continuing) The configure program can be found in ALL Programs under the Hauppage WinTV folder. You should be able to change channels using the BlasterCfg program.

Install SageTV - install and configure Sage to your liking.

Good Luck and Happy Viewing.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by wayner

How can you tell which USB expansion cards use NEC chips?

Sadly, the best way is to look at it. Most don't advertise the chips they use, and some manufacturers of cards will actually shift between chips in the same apparent 'product line'. Some stores DO advertise which ones use the NEC chips, and actually do charge a bit of a premium for them.. still.. USB cards are NOT expensive... here's some from monoprice:

PCI: NEC 5 PORT USB 2.0 PCI CARD ADAPTER (4 external ports plus 1 shared internal port) - $6.38

PCIe: PCI-Express USB 2.0 Controller Card 5x ports, NEC Chipset - $22.10

[michelkenny]

Ever since I switched to an older driver (1.0.3 or 1.0.5) my HD-PVR has been rock solid. If I run anything newer, even the most recent 1.5.6, I get lockups very often. I've had my single HD-PVR working for months without a problem on the old driver, so I decided to set up my 2nd HD-PVR. It's been a week and so far no problems yet...

[Savage1701]

I'm with the above posters - my HD-PVR is on an x1 NEC based USB 2.0 card. Forget the MB controllers. Mine are junk and BSOD and lock up my HD-PVR all the time.

Put the HD-PVR on its own USB add-in card. Between that and a USB-UIRT (since I have several Hauppauge products), I have not had a lock up on my HD-PVR. Before that, and a better PS since I was running a lot of hard drives, my life was he*l with the HD-PVR.

[Installman]

Not trying to hijack the thread but having issues recording HD with the PVR. Will be fine for a few minutes then stutters, fine for a bit, then stutters. Have tried every recording quality with the same problem but am using onboard USB. Have an open PCI slot.

[jimwhite]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

The HDPVR is very finicky about it's USB controller. Many onboard USB controllers are subpar at best, especially when concerned with time-sensitive streamed media. You might look at getting a USB expansion card (PCI or PCIe) that uses an NEC chip. They seem universally the most reliable. I've seen problems with crappy onboard USB controllers in the past on more than just the HD-PVR. I've got quite a bit of high end audio gear that simply will not function properly on built-in usb ports, but work fine on PCI NEC boards.

With TWO hdpvr's, do I need TWO NEC cards?

[Fuzzy]

no, USB2 has plenty of bandwidth for a couple HDPVR's. You're talking about streams that are about 15Mbps each, over a 400Mbps bus. I bleieve the problems with some onboard controllers isn't a lack of bandwidth, it's a lack of proper timing control.

[Nate]

Originally Posted by pat_smith1969

Hey Nate...
Hang in there, once we (I mean the Sage Guru's) get this all figured out I am sure it will once again be a stable device.

Sorry, I gave up. I had been using Sage something like 6 years, starting with version 3 if I remember right. I returned both HDPVRs, uninstalled Sage, put my HD Theater and SD extender in the attic, and had DirecTV install a dish and 2 of their HDPVR boxes. DirecTV hardware is very nice, the guide and everything are at least as fast as the HD Theater. It doesn't crash, I don't have to dick with anything, it just works.

I love to tweak things, but I just can't put up with hardware that doesn't do its job. The Hauppauge HDPVR is junk. Some of you might be lucky and it works for you, but I wasn't doing anything wrong. The thing is just garbage.

DirecTV is like $40 cheaper per month than Comcast for a year, then changes to something like $20 less permanently. I get more channels and more HD. The only thing I miss from my Sage setup is comskip. DirecTV has actual fast forward that Sage never had, like a Tivo when you play from fast forwarding it backs up to what you saw when you pressed play. Not as good as comskip, but I don't have any other choice but to give up comskip and Sage in order to get reliable recordings in HD.

As a hardcore Sage user for many years, I'm sad to say that Sage just can't compete with the DirecTV box.

[Chriscic]

Hate to see that you gave up; can't blame you though. I wasted many, many hours over 9 months getting my system stable. Luckily, it's perfect today.

I think Sage is great but Hauppauge is not. I guess they're great for giving us the HD-PVR on one hand, but they have little or no interest helping their users diagnose problems. Certainly the HD-PVR is junk to anyone who had bad luck and can never get them working smoothly.