Looking to test the Sage waters

[SomeWhatLost]

I can only really help with question 1, just do a search for encoder_merit...
for question 2 I gave up with sage's so called media/videos thing... I just have CQC send the required video to the proper HD200 and it just plays... I just like CQC's CAB thing better...

[Fuzzy]

For question 2, you should be able to add a folder under 'Videos' called 'Workout', and put your videos there. As long as you are viewing the video library by 'folder', it will be under the proper place.

Another option, though more advanced, is using the SageMC interface, and a 'PathFilterExprs' to create a new menu entry that would point you to JUST your workout videos. Personally, I don't like SageMC, but it DOES add some useful customization features such as this.

[gacevich]

Originally Posted by gacevich

thanks for everyone's feedback, especially bits. indeed, btv was still on my xp based htpc machine. uninstalled btv, rebooted and viola...many of my issues have vanished. i have made good progress in getting my system working and am now working out the kinks. if you can help me out with any of the below items i would be very appreciative. thanks in advance.

1) as noted in my auto sig, i have various tuners attached to my system. how do i know which tuner will be used to record a show if more than one tuner is capable of recording the show? i ask this because in may days using btv i found that my hdpvr was my least reliable tuner, but my ota fusionhdtv tuner was my most reliable. i'd like to direct recordings, when possible, to my most reliable tuner. unfortunately, i have not yet figured how to tell which tuner will be used nor how to direct the recording to a specific tuner.

2) i have some exercise videos that i have ripped to my hdd and like to watch while i workout. with btv it was easy...i could create a directory at a location of my chosing then add this directory folder to btv and presto...all the videos in that folder were easily accessible and viewable. i can locate these files via the media center option and scroll to the files but its not easy to get there. ideally, i'd like to have the videos located in Videos (from the main menu) in a new folder called "Workouts". is this possible? i skimmed thru the 400 page sage manual but did not see where this topic was addressed. might be easier if i was pointed to the applicable section.

3) i'm hoping this is a simple setup issue. i added my hdpvr as a source. sage learned the codes from the remote i use to control my external stb. i was able to preview every channel i wanted during setup. worked beautifully. finished the setup and went to the program guide and tried to select a digital hd channel just viewed via my hdpvr. no joy. go a "No Signal" error. also noticed that the usb-uirt was not flashing when the channel was selected (it flashed during my earlier setup). why might my usb-uirt now not be flashing? is non-flashing the only reason i can't see the channel via the hdpvr?

4) i cruised on over to the online videos. this was cool, when i could view the video. several times i got errors saying that the selected video did not have the correct file type (mpeg4, avi, etc) or "Unable to determine the videofile to download". the later came from just about every youtube video. are there settings that i have not properly set? again, this may be easier to answer if i am pointed to the best spot in the sage manual to read.

so it feels like i am making progress. learning about the encoder_merit solved #1. i imported the videos so #2 is not so bad anymore. #3 is taken care of because it just started working and hasn't stopped...whew. #4 still remains a mystery.

unfortunately, i've come across a new issue. let's call it #5.

5) my hdpvr, fusion dvico and hdhr all produce audio and video (the stuttering of the hdpvr is left to another day). i also have a third pci tuner card called: Hauppauge PVR PCI II (23xxx). it contains two analog tuners. it kinda looks like the pvr 500 on the hauppauge site. i have tried all the drivers on the hauppauge website to no avail. device manager says that device is intsalled and working properly (ha!). when i go to install these two tuners on the singel pci card they are both recognized and both display video just fine. now here's the rub...no audio...from either tuner. remember, all the other tuners emit audio just fine so i know that my i have my audio set up correctly to play thru my speakers. i've spent half a day double checking drivers, audio setup and looking for a sage "mute the analog tuners" button. no joy. any suggestions? anybody ever run in to this problem...btw, searched this forum and found nothing germane. this tuner card worked fine last week when i was till using btv. help

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by gacevich

5) my hdpvr, fusion dvico and hdhr all produce audio and video (the stuttering of the hdpvr is left to another day). i also have a third pci tuner card called: Hauppauge PVR PCI II (23xxx). it contains two analog tuners. it kinda looks like the pvr 500 on the hauppauge site. i have tried all the drivers on the hauppauge website to no avail. device manager says that device is intsalled and working properly (ha!). when i go to install these two tuners on the singel pci card they are both recognized and both display video just fine. now here's the rub...no audio...from either tuner. remember, all the other tuners emit audio just fine so i know that my i have my audio set up correctly to play thru my speakers. i've spent half a day double checking drivers, audio setup and looking for a sage "mute the analog tuners" button. no joy. any suggestions? anybody ever run in to this problem...btw, searched this forum and found nothing germane. this tuner card worked fine last week when i was till using btv. help

I believe this is an Hauppauge PVR 150 card. It had the capabilities of having two tuners.

If you do not have the right driver installed, I would say that is the reason for its not pulling the audio. I would recommend downloading titan tv (or what ever hauppauge calls it) and confirm that you hear sound with it. If you hear sound with that, than something is wrong with Sage. However, I have a feeling its a driver issue.

[gacevich]

Originally Posted by mistergq

If you do not have the right driver installed, I would say that is the reason for its not pulling the audio. I would recommend downloading titan tv (or what ever hauppauge calls it) and confirm that you hear sound with it. If you hear sound with that, than something is wrong with Sage. However, I have a feeling its a driver issue.

good idea that i had not tried yet. uninstalled both tuners, rebooted and let windows xp reinstall the drivers. downloaded and installed WinTV (the hauppauge tv viewing software). both video and audio worked with WinTV. uninstalled and reintalled the tuners in sage. no joy. video still comes in but audio does not. i've looked at the detailed setup menu for video/audio and nothing stands out as wrong. when using the install wizard i did encounter a problem when i tested for video playback. i could not get playback to work at any of the playback levels. the only thing left that i can think of to do is uninstall sage and try to reinstall it. any other ideas before i go nuclear on sage with an uninstall/reinstall? anything extra i should do when uninstalling to make sure i clean up any thing that may be causing my problem? thanks.

[toricred]

Actually the PVR150 is a single tuner card. The PVR500 is the dual tuner version. Is it possible that there is sound, but the level is so low you're not hearing it? There's a tool called something like the Hauppauge tweaker tool that lets you make adjustments to the tuners. The settings in the Detailed setup are just for playback not for the tuner itself.

[Fuzzy]

It could also be a problem playing back the audio from the PVR-500. Try loading up the recorded file in WMPlayer, or GraphEdit, and see how it looks. That would narrow it down to a recording or a playback problem.

[gacevich]

thanks to all who have assisted as i migrate to sage. sage passed its first test last night with the wife...movie started from urc-mx800 and played flawlessly all the way thru. the only issue i came across (but did not alert my wife to) was that the pause button did not work on the mx800. i'll go back and check my girder programming.

as for the sound (or lack thereof) problem...i'll chalk this one up to me being a dumba$$. i went to Setup>Detailed Setup>Audio/Video and saw that the selection was SageTV Mpeg Audio Decoder. shifted to Default and, viola, sound! maybe i changed this, maybe it is the default. nevertheless, it works now. i did notice that there is an option for Arcsoft Audio Decoder HD. this worries me a bit because i have not yet integrated blu-ray into my system...baby steps for me right now. i fret that in order to get blu-ray to work i will need to use the arcsoft decoder at the cost losing sound on my analog tuner. i'll worry about that when the time comes.

improvements to sage that i'm looking to add as i wade further into the sage waters:

blu-ray
netflix/hulu
commercial skipping/removing

lots of reading ahead in the forum as i knock down the tasks ahead. thanks again.

[Fuzzy]

Moving forward, if you are already using Girder, I'd recommend getting ArcSoft TMT3 for Blu-Ray playback, and Hulu-Desktop for Hulu integration. Both can be controlled quite well from Girder.

[gacevich]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Moving forward, if you are already using Girder, I'd recommend getting ArcSoft TMT3 for Blu-Ray playback, and Hulu-Desktop for Hulu integration. Both can be controlled quite well from Girder.

yep, using girder. anybody willing to share tmt3 or hulu-desktop gml's?

[Fuzzy]

I've got them set up in a single GML.. I need to do some cleaning up of it (been tweaked over about 4 years now), then I'll post up what I've got.

[gacevich]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I've got them set up in a single GML.. I need to do some cleaning up of it (been tweaked over about 4 years now), then I'll post up what I've got.

wow, that's great. thanks.

[Fuzzy]

Here's what I've got running right now (just did a LOT of housekeeping to it). Seems to work pretty good. HuluDesktop should work find out of the box when run from the Online Services menu. Arcsoft TMT takes a launch command to enable (and disable the SageTV group). Info in the 'Mode Switch' section.

NOTE: Remove .txt from the filename...

EDIT: You will, of course, have to check the remote mapping...

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by toricred

Actually the PVR150 is a single tuner card. The PVR500 is the dual tuner version. Is it possible that there is sound, but the level is so low you're not hearing it? There's a tool called something like the Hauppauge tweaker tool that lets you make adjustments to the tuners. The settings in the Detailed setup are just for playback not for the tuner itself.

there is an addon to make it a dual tuner.

http://registration.hauppauge.com/we...oduct=av_cable

I have my PVR150 in my system for Slimplayer plugin, and the 150 is listed as tuner #1 or something weird like that in Sage.

[toricred]

Even with that addon the PVR150 is only one tuner. You can just use different inputs. It won't allow you to record more than one thing at a time. Sort of like the 2250 that has 2 Analog and 2 ATSC tuners, but can only record a total of 2 things at one time.

[gacevich]

at some point during my setup i asked sage to suggest shows that i might like. i am using sagemc. someone please tell me how to turn off suggested recordings. i browsed the sagemc to find a way to turn off suggested shows to no avail. for testing purposes i stopped on qvc, now my hdd is filling up with shopping channel shows. help?

[Fuzzy]

It's under Detailed Setup. Look for 'intelligent recording'.

[gacevich]

Using this old thread as a convenient place to consolidate my questions.

After 6 years I had to rebuild by HTPC. Was not able to just copy over my old setup as well as I would have liked to so I started from scratch. Functionality is fine except for Blu-Ray issues:

Blu-Ray Playback within SageTV. Using AnyDVD and CloneBD to put BDMV and ISO files on my HDD. When I play back BDMV files via SageTV they seems to run at 2x or 4x speed, both audio and video. Experimented with various video and audio setting in detailed setup but can't seem to slow down the video. What might be causing the playback acceleration and how might I stop it? I get same experience when playing ISO file that pulls up TMT3.

Blu-Ray play back outside of SageTV: I downloaded version of TMT3 and it plays the discs fine outside of SageTV. Unfortunately, it is trial version and I can't find a way to to authorize it since Arcsoft no longer supports the software. Really like the way SageTV automatically pulls up TMT3 to play the ISO but at 2x speed it is useless. I tried using the version of TMT that comes with my HDPVR but it is v1.something and does not play as well as TMT3 and cannot find a way to update v1.something. Any suggestions on how to authorize TMT3 vs. having to move to a PowerDVD product?