Hauppauge Colossus HD-PVR

[phareous]

I thought HDMI was working OK but then the sound starting going out again. I've switched to Component + SPDIF. I forgot to report it as a bug to Sage but I am sure it is a driver issue anyway, and Hauupauge hasn't been very responsive to me in that regard.

[spacecadet]

Originally Posted by Wakecrash

Thanks for the feed back all, I have still been having some lock up problems I need to sort out. I thought the new drivers fixed but they did not. I will do some memory testing and remove a stick to see if that helps will I need to reload drivers after removing a stick?

I run 32-bit Windows XP w/ 4 GB of RAM.

I took 1 stick of RAM out just for fun and I am still getting the same lock-ups and bad behavior from the Colossus.

So, I don't think < 3 GB of RAM is the magic bullet fix for this one...

[rjudge]

I've been using SageTV for a few weeks with 2x 2250s and a USB HD-PVR. 2250s hooked to Cable, HD-PVR hooked to DirecTV via component. It's been working pretty well. I wanted to add another HD input so I bought a Colossus and replaced one of the 2250s. I installed the card then installed the latest driver I got off the Hauppage site (ver 1.0.29073.0). When I try to add the video source and Sage tries to show the video feed I get "There was a playback error in playback. Details: Sage.PlaybackException: ERROR (-4,0x80040217): There was a problem rendering the video portion of the content for playback."

I made sure the Sat Box was outputing video.

Any ideas on what the problem could be?

TIA,

Rick

[The Truth]

Hey guys, I Just recently bought 2 HD-PVRs 2 weeks ago. Should i return these and go with 2 of the colossus? I have the 2 HD-PVRs working fine and was actually thinking about getting a 3rd. Is the Colossus stable enough for me to have 2 of them and 1 HD-PVR or 2 HD-PVR and 1 Colossus, with minor headaches? Not sure how many open PCI-x slots I have, but anyone have 3 colossus running fine with no issues?

My server is a AMD phenon II X4 3.3ghz, 4gig of ddr3 ram. on xp x86.
1 hvr-1600, 1 hvr-2250, 2 HD-PVR. using firewire to change channels on fios.

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by rjudge

I've been using SageTV for a few weeks with 2x 2250s and a USB HD-PVR. 2250s hooked to Cable, HD-PVR hooked to DirecTV via component. It's been working pretty well. I wanted to add another HD input so I bought a Colossus and replaced one of the 2250s. I installed the card then installed the latest driver I got off the Hauppage site (ver 1.0.29073.0). When I try to add the video source and Sage tries to show the video feed I get "There was a playback error in playback. Details: Sage.PlaybackException: ERROR (-4,0x80040217): There was a problem rendering the video portion of the content for playback."

I made sure the Sat Box was outputing video.

Any ideas on what the problem could be?

TIA,

Rick

Do you have details of your setup? To start with, what version of Sage do you have installed? You need to be running the latest beta to support the Colossus.

Also, what are you using for playback (extender, client, placeshifter, direct from Sage server PC, ???)?

[rjudge]

Originally Posted by Tiki

Do you have details of your setup? To start with, what version of Sage do you have installed? You need to be running the latest beta to support the Colossus.

Also, what are you using for playback (extender, client, placeshifter, direct from Sage server PC, ???)?

Ahh, Thanks! I knew it would probably be something simple I was forgetting! Let me update to the latest Beta and see if that helps. I'm pretty sure its not the beta I'm using.

I use HD300s almost exclusively to view programming. I never got to that point as the Video Source Setup failed right off the bat.

I'll post the outcome.

Thanks again.!

Rick

Hardware Setup:
Abit AB9 MB, Core 2 Quad Q6600, 6GB Mem, Win7 Pro X64, Haupauge 2250 (1x), USB HD-PVR (1x) & Colossus (1x). 4x HD300 extenders.

[twollman]

Originally Posted by The Truth

Hey guys, I Just recently bought 2 HD-PVRs 2 weeks ago. Should i return these and go with 2 of the colossus? I have the 2 HD-PVRs working fine and was actually thinking about getting a 3rd. Is the Colossus stable enough for me to have 2 of them and 1 HD-PVR or 2 HD-PVR and 1 Colossus, with minor headaches? Not sure how many open PCI-x slots I have, but anyone have 3 colossus running fine with no issues?

My server is a AMD phenon II X4 3.3ghz, 4gig of ddr3 ram. on xp x86.
1 hvr-1600, 1 hvr-2250, 2 HD-PVR. using firewire to change channels on fios.

I just went through a similar decision...buy another HD PVR or try the new colossus. I went ahead and bought the colossus and so far, no issues. Wish I could say the same for the HD PVR. I may dump it eventually and get another colossus.

I have both connected to Dish Network 211's using component cables. I haven't attempted to try HDMI yet.

I highly recommend the colossus over the HD PVR based on my experiences with both.

[impro]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Nonsense.. bigger numbers are ALWAYS better.. that's why I always convert my 5Mbps H.264 streams from Dish network to 20Mbps H.264 to improve the quality......

Nonesense. If the origial source is 5Mbps and you record it at higher bitrate you are just wasting time.

The only up conversion that kind of "improves" quality is when you convert 8 bit 4:2:0 color space to 10bit 4:2:2.

[cat6man]

Originally Posted by impro

Nonesense. If the origial source is 5Mbps and you record it at higher bitrate you are just wasting time.

The only up conversion that kind of "improves" quality is when you convert 8 bit 4:2:0 color space to 10bit 4:2:2.

i disagree, but this could be just semantics.

1) you cannot make the picture better than the original 5mbps.
2) however, you can make it worse by re-encoding it for a 2nd time at low bit rate........the best you can do with higher bit rate encoding is to not degrade the original resolution

so you are both right, depending on how you were defining your terms.

[GKusnick]

Look again, guys. It was a joke:

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Not seriously.

[rjudge]

Originally Posted by Tiki

Do you have details of your setup? To start with, what version of Sage do you have installed? You need to be running the latest beta to support the Colossus.

Also, what are you using for playback (extender, client, placeshifter, direct from Sage server PC, ???)?

Thanks Tiki! Going to the latest beta did the trick. It now seems to be working fine. The Colossus seems to tune to a new channel much quicker than the HD-PVR. I'm going to use this one and the HD-PVR for a while then probably ditch the other 2250, get another Colossus and go to DirecTV only and cancel my cable, the blood suckers.

A couple of other questions on the Colossus:

1. When setting up the Video Source for the Colossus, two of each type input appears, for example Component and Component_2. Is there really two inputs available like the 2250 has two?

2. Is there any reason I can't use the HDMI input off of the DirecTV box or is the signal protected some way.

Thanks again,

Rick

[The Truth]

Alright, I just ordered my 1st Colossus. Thanks for the help guys. I will return my HD-PVRs if I like the performance, I think I still have 2 weeks to return them.

I HOPE the Piceture is quality is better than my HD-PVRs! they are not bad, but I think it should be a little better.

[The Truth]

Originally Posted by rjudge

Thanks Tiki! Going to the latest beta did the trick. It now seems to be working fine. The Colossus seems to tune to a new channel much quicker than the HD-PVR. I'm going to use this one and the HD-PVR for a while then probably ditch the other 2250, get another Colossus and go to DirecTV only and cancel my cable, the blood suckers.

A couple of other questions on the Colossus:

1. When setting up the Video Source for the Colossus, two of each type input appears, for example Component and Component_2. Is there really two inputs available like the 2250 has two?

2. Is there any reason I can't use the HDMI input off of the DirecTV box or is the signal protected some way.

Thanks again,

Rick

1. There should only be 1 input for the colossus, either component or HDMI. the other is an output passthrough. It may list 2 but only 1 should work.

2. I think You can use the HDMI off older DiectTV boxes, they might not be encrypted. You will be able to use it for all unencrypted channels that dont have HDCP. If your Direct TV boxes dont use HDCP you should be fine, but that it pretty rare nowadays I believe. So at worst you should get local channels maybe? I may be wrong, but that is my understanding.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by The Truth

2. I think You can use the HDMI off older DiectTV boxes, they might not be encrypted. You will be able to use it for all unencrypted channels that dont have HDCP. If your Direct TV boxes dont use HDCP you should be fine, but that it pretty rare nowadays I believe. So at worst you should get local channels maybe? I may be wrong, but that is my understanding.

HDCP is a encryption mechanism per device. It is not a per channel encryption like 5c or flag based or QAM.

HDCP uses three systems:[5]
Authentication prevents non-licensed devices from receiving content.
Encryption of the data sent over DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, GVIF, or UDI interfaces prevents eavesdropping of information and man-in-the-middle attacks.
Key revocation prevents devices that have been compromised and cloned from receiving data.
Each HDCP-capable device has a unique set of 40 56-bit keys. Failure to keep them secret violates the license agreement. For each set of values, a special public key called a KSV (Key Selection Vector) is created. Each KSV consists of 40 bits (one bit for each HDCP key), with 20 bits set to 0 and 20 bits set to 1.
During authentication, the parties exchange their KSVs under a procedure called Blom's scheme. Each device adds (unsigned addition modulo 256) its own secret keys together according to a KSV received from another device. Depending on the order of the bits set to 1 in the KSV, a corresponding secret key is used or ignored in the addition. The generation of keys and KSVs gives both devices the same 56-bit number, which is later used to encrypt data.
Encryption is done by a stream cipher. Each decoded pixel is encrypted by applying an XOR operation with a 24-bit number produced by a generator. The HDCP specifications ensure constant updating of keys after each encoded frame.
If a particular set of keys is compromised, their corresponding KSV is added to a revocation list burned onto new discs in the DVD and Blu-ray formats. (The lists are signed with a DSA digital signature, which is meant to keep malicious users from revoking legitimate devices.) During authentication, the transmitting device looks for the receiver's KSV on the list, and if it is there, will not send protected content to the revoked device.

Gerry

[NoodleNT]

It looks like the Colossus has a built in IR Blaster. So can that be used to change channels on the cable box instead of the USB-UIRT?

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by NoodleNT

It looks like the Colossus has a built in IR Blaster. So can that be used to change channels on the cable box instead of the USB-UIRT?

Yes, but only if it's the only Hauppauge device in your system. The Hauppauge blaster driver doesn't work with multiple devices.

If your STB supports serial, FireWire, or ethernet tuning, you might want to look at those as more reliable alternatives.

[jptheripper]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

Yes, but only if it's the only Hauppauge device in your system. The Hauppauge blaster driver doesn't work with multiple devices.

If your STB supports serial, FireWire, or ethernet tuning, you might want to look at those as more reliable alternatives.

Thas not quite true. The hauppauge blaster will work with multiple tuners in your system, but only one blaster will work. Which blaster that is is a complex voodoo formula of magic and mystery. (I.e. not worth the frustration).

[GKusnick]

Correct. What I should have said is that you can't rely on getting the Colossus blaster to work if you have other Hauppauge devices.

[NoodleNT]

So if I have 3 Colossus cards in my PC and each connected to their own cable box with IR emiter from card to cable box. I can't have card 1 control cable box 1, card 2 control cable box 2 and card 3 control cable box 3?

[GKusnick]

Right. As JP said, only one blaster will work (and it's anybody's guess which one).

If you have more than one STB to control, you'll need a USB-UIRT, or look at some of the other tuning methods I suggested.