Hauppauge Colossus HD-PVR

[bits]

Originally Posted by makutaku

I installed last night and I also see stutter every few seconds.
However, that's only happening with the video - audio is fine with no stutter nor clearly noticeable sync issues.

I'm capturing Comcast cable via component only - NO SPDIF.

How are you playing back the Colosuss recorded video? Remember that the Colosuss records in H264 and not mpeg. It may be a codec/playback issue and not an issue with the actual recording.

Also, what recording quality setting are you using?

[makutaku]

Originally Posted by bits

How are you playing back the Colosuss recorded video? Remember that the Colosuss records in H264 and not mpeg. It may be a codec/playback issue and not an issue with the actual recording.

Also, what recording quality setting are you using?

I will post the details when I get home. The reason I think it's not playback is because the stuttering always happens in the same spots when I play again.

I will test more by playing the files from another computer / using other codecs. Which codec do you use for H264 ?

[jtt88]

I got hiccups in playback. I've only noticed it a couple times, but in my case it was a several split second audio hiccup/dropouts. It is definitely within the recording itself. I'm playing back on two differen. Most recordings did not have it happen either. Restarting Sage and Windows did not remove the stuttering from the recording.

[bits]

Originally Posted by makutaku

I will post the details when I get home. The reason I think it's not playback is because the stuttering always happens in the same spots when I play again.

I will test more by playing the files from another computer / using other codecs. Which codec do you use for H264 ?

I am sorry but I can not help you with codecs for H264 playback. My PC seems to have what it needs to play the files back, however I rarely play them using my server. As I mentioned earlier I pretty much only use the HD200/300 extenders for playback; which does so natively.

[bits]

Originally Posted by jtt88

I got hiccups in playback. I've only noticed it a couple times, but in my case it was a several split second audio hiccup/dropouts. It is definitely within the recording itself. I'm playing back on two differen. Most recordings did not have it happen either. Restarting Sage and Windows did not remove the stuttering from the recording.

Some small portion of all of my recordings has the occasional audio drop out but that is not unique to the Colossus. It has happened to all of my capture devices and has been happening for a few years now. I am not sure what causes it but it infrequent enough that it is tolerable.

[traker1001]

Ok this is interesting. I do believe the Colossus has driver issues. I ran Component for almost a week w/o issue one. Went to HDMI and thought everything was good, however, My server Bluescreens every 5 hours or so. Went back to Component and all seems to be running fine again. I never had any stuttering or audio issues though.

Call me crazy, But I also think the picture is a touch better over the component vid.

[tvmaster2]

I still can't record on the Colossus via SPDIF audio if my HD-PVR starts recording, otherwise I lose all audio to the Colossus.
According to Sage tech support, they believe this to also be a Hauppauge driver dilema.
It's the old "Microsoft software - manufacturers hardware" conundrum, and that one's still going on.

[jphipps]

I was having a similiar issue with the sound, but on my latest testing I am using my hd-pvr with RCA ( no dolby ) and my colussus using hdmi ( no dolby) the recordings seem to work fine and no sound issue. When using the hd-pvr with RCA connections and colussus with my DD turned on, it seemed any shows that actually had DD would record slowly and loose audio. I turned DD off in the middle of a recording, and the sound and picture returned as normal...

Almost seems to be some issue with the Hauppauge driver and Dolby Digital...

Thanks,
Jeff

[metzz71]

I agree with the optical and colossus issue. I called Hauppuage about the audio sync issues I am having and the first thing he asks, do you have the same problem with RCA? Tested it and informed him no, and he said they will look into it and get back to me. My assumption is they know there is an issue. Just some info for you folks.

[bits]

Originally Posted by metzz71

I agree with the optical and colossus issue. I called Hauppuage about the audio sync issues I am having and the first thing he asks, do you have the same problem with RCA? Tested it and informed him no, and he said they will look into it and get back to me. My assumption is they know there is an issue. Just some info for you folks.

Some additional food for thought: Why are some folks reporting audio sync using optical and others are not. I have been using optical for about 3 weeks now and watched about 50 of the 60 or so Colosuss recorded HD shows and I have not seen this issue. Could it be something like the recording quality setting? I am not saying there is not a problem but something seems amiss.

I am using the best recording quality setting that is selectable in Sage. I have not modified the properties file to get different bitrates. I record a wide variety of shows. I do not have HBO or ShowTime so I do not record them. All of my playback occurs via my HD200/300 extenders. We do not use Sage to watch live TV.

[tvmaster2]

if we are going to see these problems fixed, then we have to keep calling AND sending emails to BOTH companies. The squeaky wheel is obnoxious, but it DOES get oiled

[uberpixel]

Originally Posted by bits

Are you stopping and restarting Sage Service daily? If not, I suggest you give that a try. I know it is a work around and not a fix but until or if this issue is fixed it may help.

I was just thinking I'd try a daily service restart...

We'll see if that helps.

-uberpixel

[sleonard]

I have been using Component with RCA analog audio and while I don't have sync issues I am definately having issues with the Colossus driver causing choppy, stuttering recordings, recordings with really bad timestamps, and just plain locking up.

The problem with complaining to Hauppauge is that they will only listen if the included WinTV or ShowBiz is used for recording. Problems with Colossus recordings using Sage fall on deaf ears.

S

[NoodleNT]

It would be interesting to compare these between those with and those without issuse:

1. What quality is the recording set at?

1. What resolution is the cable box outputing? (720p, 1080i)

1. Are you running a Raid? (Mirror, Stripe, 10)

1. Is it happening when more than one recording is happening at the same time?

1. Do you transcode recordings? If so what time does that start?

[bits]

Originally Posted by NoodleNT

It would be interesting to compare these between those with and those without issuse:

1. What quality is the recording set at?

Best setting available without modifying the properties file

1. What resolution is the cable box outputing? (720p, 1080i)

1080i

1. Are you running a Raid? (Mirror, Stripe, 10)

No

1. Is it happening when more than one recording is happening at the same time?

No issue regardless of how many recordings are being made simultaneously

1. Do you transcode recordings? If so what time does that start?

No and never will. Transcoding just adds another layer for potential problems and is especially true for H264 recordings

I do run comskip on all of my recordings. For MPEG comskip starts when the recording is completed but for Colosuss H264 recordings comskip starts just after the recording starts.

[metzz71]

I am not seeing issues with colossus other than audio sync via optical, RCA's are fine and system is stable. I do not cycle sage daily. win7 x64. I can reproduce the audio sync problems in showbiz, so it does not seem to be a sage issue. My quality is set to the highest available in sage, i have not modified the rates in sage.properties. but then again, with sage shutdown, showbiz has sync issues. 2 colossus cards, no HD-PVR's

[SWKerr]

I have been using Sage 7.1.5 and the Colossus with a DirecTV H20 over HDMI for about about two weeks now. I also run a HDHR and a HD-PVR. Before the Colossus I ran another HD-PVR and the whole setup was very stable. This is a AMD Phenom II X3 Win7-64 box with a RAID5 4.5TB recording disk.

I had some issues when I first got the card but since 7.1.5 and the Colossus driver update all has be good. Not one bad recording or crash. I do as I always have a nightly therapeutic reboot.

To be fair the HDHR does most of the recordings this time of year. The Colossus gets a fair amount of activity but I do not have a lot of Colossus and HD-PVR recordings going on. I had problems with the Colossus and HD-PVR at the same time initially but since 7.1.5 this has not been an issue. I have tired to check all the Colossus and HD-PVR concurrent recording and they seem fine. I also have not noticed any of the Dolby 5.1 issues people have posted but that seems to only be about 20% of the overall Colossus recording.

Basic update. Colossus with HD-PVR and HDHomerun on Win7-64 has been stable with Sage 7.1.5 (HDMI with DirecTV H20 also working)

Like to post when the news is good on occasion so not everyone thinks its hopeless.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by sleonard

I have been using Component with RCA analog audio and while I don't have sync issues I am definately having issues with the Colossus driver causing choppy, stuttering recordings, recordings with really bad timestamps, and just plain locking up.

The problem with complaining to Hauppauge is that they will only listen if the included WinTV or ShowBiz is used for recording. Problems with Colossus recordings using Sage fall on deaf ears.

S

I wonder if all the Sage users decided to stop buying Hauppauge products....how would their profit margins be affected? They rely much more on Sage users then they'll ever admit.

[metzz71]

Trying new install of OS. Let you know how the test goes soon.


EDIT: same result, clean install of OS. Win7 x64

So, a question... is this OS dependent? Any folks out there NOT having audio sync issues with Win7 x64?

[jphipps]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

I have been using Sage 7.1.5 and the Colossus with a DirecTV H20 over HDMI for about about two weeks now. I also run a HDHR and a HD-PVR. Before the Colossus I ran another HD-PVR and the whole setup was very stable. This is a AMD Phenom II X3 Win7-64 box with a RAID5 4.5TB recording disk.

I had some issues when I first got the card but since 7.1.5 and the Colossus driver update all has be good. Not one bad recording or crash. I do as I always have a nightly therapeutic reboot.

To be fair the HDHR does most of the recordings this time of year. The Colossus gets a fair amount of activity but I do not have a lot of Colossus and HD-PVR recordings going on. I had problems with the Colossus and HD-PVR at the same time initially but since 7.1.5 this has not been an issue. I have tired to check all the Colossus and HD-PVR concurrent recording and they seem fine. I also have not noticed any of the Dolby 5.1 issues people have posted but that seems to only be about 20% of the overall Colossus recording.

Basic update. Colossus with HD-PVR and HDHomerun on Win7-64 has been stable with Sage 7.1.5 (HDMI with DirecTV H20 also working)

Like to post when the news is good on occasion so not everyone thinks its hopeless.

Do you have Dolby turned on in your H20 box? Mine has been running with no issues as long as that is turned off, but If I enable it, shows with DD cause choppy video and no audio...

Thanks,
Jeff