Trying to make my HD PVR stable

[J.K.B.]

I currently have a WinTV-HVR-2250 for 2 analog cable inputs and a HDHR for 2 OTA inputs all working properly.

I installed the HDPVR and got it all working and then after some amount of time it doesn't recognize the IR blaster. I can unplug it, plug it back in and restart sage and then it shows up again.

I know this post is old, but is this still the best course of action? (erase everything and install in this order):
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...hlight=blaster

I just hate having to uninstall and reinstall everything since I finally seem to have everything working properly (minus the PVR) if I don't have to...

I'm open to suggestions. I also know I'll have to get STBkeepalive installed once I get the PVR issues straightened out.

Thanks for the help,

John

[mguebert]

When I was using IR blasting I never tried the HDPVR blaster, it is known to have many issues. I am not sure anybody has gotten it totally stable. For IR blasting I would highly recommend

http://www.usbuirt.com/

or if you can use Serial or Firewire channel changing, all the better. That's what I now use on my DirecTV boxes and it has been flawless.

[J.K.B.]

Thanks. I don't think my old HDDVR STB worked with firewire, but I traded it in for a standard HD nonDVR STB and it does have a firewire port so I'll see if I can control it with that first. If not, then I'll get the usbuirt you suggested.

So you don't think its necessary to erase everything and start over?

[blade]

Originally Posted by mguebert

When I was using IR blasting I never tried the HDPVR blaster, it is known to have many issues. I am not sure anybody has gotten it totally stable. For IR blasting I would highly recommend

http://www.usbuirt.com/

or if you can use Serial or Firewire channel changing, all the better. That's what I now use on my DirecTV boxes and it has been flawless.

The HD-PVR blaster is working just fine for me. It hasn't missed a single channel change in the almost 2 months I've had it. I also have a USB-UIRT that I tried for a week or so and it also worked flawlessly. I just went back to the built in blaster because it was one less item hanging off my server.

[mguebert]

Originally Posted by J.K.B.

Thanks. I don't think my old HDDVR STB worked with firewire, but I traded it in for a standard HD nonDVR STB and it does have a firewire port so I'll see if I can control it with that first. If not, then I'll get the usbuirt you suggested.

So you don't think its necessary to erase everything and start over?

I wouldn't unless you are attempting to get the internal blaster working, and following that guide to do so.

[ccsmoke]

Noticed you said after some amount of time it doesn't recognize the ir blaster...was wondering if this was a power standby setting perhaps. One way to troubleshoot that is to make sure never to put computer to sleep in power settings and see if it exhibits the same behavior.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by ccsmoke

Noticed you said after some amount of time it doesn't recognize the ir blaster...was wondering if this was a power standby setting perhaps. One way to troubleshoot that is too make sure never to put computer to sleep in power settings and see if it exhibits the same behavior.

In addition make sure any of the USB ports are not configured to "allow the computer to turn this device off". This is usually found in Device Manager-Universal Serial Bus Controllers-Generic USB Hub-Power Management or Device Manager-Universal Serial Bus Controllers-USB Root Hub-Power Management.

Gerry

[davephan]

I found not using the HD-PVR IR blaster and using USB-UIRT increased the stability of the HD-PVR. I don't use any Hauppauge IR blasters. The USB-UIRT can control 3 devices, or more than 3 devices if the devices can be programmed with different IR codes.

Dave

[J.K.B.]

OK, got the pvr hooked back up with the new box and everything was working great for about 4 hrs. Then it says no signal found. The box was no longer changing channels and when I restarted sage the program guide for the premium channels was gone.

Nothing on the usb ports is scheduled to sleep and my computer is not scheduled to sleep either.

I'm not even sure if this is a blaster problem at this point as sage won't even recognize the pvr period right now. When I go into the add source option, its not even listed. If I unplug the pvr and plug it back in, it shows up...

I don't think I can use the firewire option since I am using vista 64bit.

I'll order a USB-uirt tomorrow if you think that is the problem, but it seems like there might be some more underlying issues as well.

[ccsmoke]

Not ruling out a HDPVR driver issue but it sounds like to me that you losing power to your usb ports. Curious if other usb devices work when this problem occurs. Would look in device manager and see if there is any issues there. MB drivers and bios up to date? Check power management in bios.

What is your system specs.

[J.K.B.]

Mouse and keyboard are usb devices and were working when the pvr quit.

Comp specs:
I7 processor
8gb memory
ASUS P7P55 WS SUPERCOMPUTER motherboard
vista 64
7400 rpm 750gb main hd
2 - 2tb media drives

I'm at the office right now, but will check the bios when I get back to the house.

[jerryt]

Something to try. Download USBview and verify that the HDPVR is on an enhanced USB controller without any other devices on that controller.

[ccsmoke]

Would also recommend not putting the HDPVR on top of the cable box or receiver/amp...just too much heat. What size/brand of power supply?

[J.K.B.]

Originally Posted by ccsmoke

Would also recommend not putting the HDPVR on top of the cable box or receiver/amp...just too much heat. What size/brand of power supply?

Power supply:
CORSAIR|CMPSU-650TX 650W RT

Its the same make/model I have on my quad core 8g memory office computer and haven't had any issues for about 2 yrs.

And the pvr and box were sitting side by side on a shelf in my air-conditioned computer closet b/c I have heard about boxes performing poorly from overhearing.

[J.K.B.]

Originally Posted by jerryt

Something to try. Download USBview and verify that the HDPVR is on an enhanced USB controller without any other devices on that controller.

I'll try that as well when I get to the house.

[J.K.B.]

Got home late last night and ran the bios this morning to see what it was set as.

USB functions - enabled
Legacy USB support - Auto
Bios EHCI hands off - Enabled

Didn't have time to run the USBview, but can hopefully try that tonight.

Bios look right or does something need to be changed?

And all the USB hubs were unchecked in the device manager so the computer isn't supposed to be able to turn it off.

[ccsmoke]

Curious to see what you find on JerryT's recommendation. Just wanted to touch base as going out of town for Thanksgiving and hope everyone has great holiday!

To verify, your HDPVR still has power when this happens correct. Meaning when you unplug the usb cable and plug it back in it works. No unplugging the power cord from the HDPVR for 30 secs.

Do you have the usb connection on the front of the case or in back of the MB and have you tried using another port.. would try MB port. If you have another USB cable laying around could test that also.

In bios should have USB 2.0 Controller as well as USB Controller Mode. The settings should be Full/HiSpeed/perhaps power saving.

USB Legacy is just enabling boot from FAT32 device. The Bios EHCI hands off I think is required for USB 2.0 hi-speed.

[J.K.B.]

Originally Posted by ccsmoke

Curious to see what you find on JerryT's recommendation. Just wanted to touch base as going out of town for Thanksgiving and hope everyone has great holiday!

To verify, your HDPVR still has power when this happens correct. Meaning when you unplug the usb cable and plug it back in it works. No unplugging the power cord from the HDPVR for 30 secs.

Do you have the usb connection on the front of the case or in back of the MB and have you tried using another port.. would try MB port. If you have another USB cable laying around could test that also.

In bios should have USB 2.0 Controller as well as USB Controller Mode. The settings should be Full/HiSpeed/perhaps power saving.

USB Legacy is just enabling boot from FAT32 device. The Bios EHCI hands off I think is required for USB 2.0 hi-speed.

Didn't get a chance to work on it at all yesterday. Taking care of a long hunny-do list instead since we're having everyone over for thanksgiving. I plan on spending as long as it takes fri/sat to get this working.

The usb was plugged into the back of the motherboard. I did try a different plug. Haven't tried a new cable yet.

I didn't see the bios options you were talking about when I checked the usb settings. I'll check again though.

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll report back when I get some more of this checked out.

[J.K.B.]

Here are 2 screen shots of the USBview.

It appears that the PVR is the only thing plugged into port hub 3.

It is plugged into the back of the motherboard as well.

It seems to be working right now, but I just unplugged the power from the PVR and plugged it back in to get it to reconnect. I doubt it will work for more than a couple of hours.

All the usb hubs are set to not turn off.

[ccsmoke]

Might have to RMA the HDPVR, not sure if it is doing some kind of safety shutdown, sadly might be the case here. Just seems that power is being lost between HDPVR and MB to me. I think they are pretty good about exchanges.

If you want to exhaust all options, I guess I would record using analog out instead of spdif. Unplug blaster and record 1 channel for like 6 hrs to see if it locks up. Alot of users use dedicated nec based usb cards. Look to see if there is an upgrade to bios.