Hauppauge Colossus HD-PVR

[metzz71]

at&t U-Verse

[metzz71]

I may be on to something here.... it appears I have fixed my sync issues..... stay tuned!

[sleonard]

Originally Posted by metzz71

I may be on to something here.... it appears I have fixed my sync issues..... stay tuned!

Tease!

[metzz71]

well, high hopes for nothing. I found that if I pulled all my other capture devices the audio sync issue was gone. However, it just takes longer to surface. Put the hvr1600 back in, almost instantly the sync is off, pull it out and it takes about an hour. Also hooked up my internal cable for HDMI audio out. Nice feature. So, my best guess is software, hw, or STB related. I know, lots of variables.

I need an alternate input to the STB's. Ideas?

HW - different audio card maybe?

SW - different bitrate settings - can we change the bitrate in Sage or Showbiz?


AAHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Vysrany]

It's the driver. I run 2 servers, the 2nd is just really a network tuner box that has all my tuners in it since it can hold that many pci-e cards. The box with the tuners requires the sage service to be restarted. I never restart the 1st box.. ever. In fact it's been running about a month now since I last restarted it. And that restart was just to load updates, not because of some Sage issue.

The more I channel change with the colossus tuners, the faster I run into stability issues. Thus the more I record, the more frequent restarts I need. I can easily reproduce this issue within a minute or so. No channel surfing for me.

[metzz71]

Originally Posted by Vysrany

It's the driver. I run 2 servers, the 2nd is just really a network tuner box that has all my tuners in it since it can hold that many pci-e cards. The box with the tuners requires the sage service to be restarted. I never restart the 1st box.. ever. In fact it's been running about a month now since I last restarted it. And that restart was just to load updates, not because of some Sage issue.

The more I channel change with the colossus tuners, the faster I run into stability issues. Thus the more I record, the more frequent restarts I need. I can easily reproduce this issue within a minute or so. No channel surfing for me.

I think we all understand its the driver. The path I am seeking is the cocktail of ingredients that will work. Some have it working some don't. I want to be in the "some do" bucket.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by metzz71

well, high hopes for nothing. I found that if I pulled all my other capture devices the audio sync issue was gone. However, it just takes longer to surface. Put the hvr1600 back in, almost instantly the sync is off, pull it out and it takes about an hour. Also hooked up my internal cable for HDMI audio out. Nice feature. So, my best guess is software, hw, or STB related. I know, lots of variables.

I need an alternate input to the STB's. Ideas?

HW - different audio card maybe?

SW - different bitrate settings - can we change the bitrate in Sage or Showbiz?


AAHHHHHHH!!!!!

So are say that both the HD200 and HD300 have no audio sync issue when you pull all the tuner from the server or is just the server thta all just be use to as a playback device as well?.

[metzz71]

SHS, I think this will answer your question.

If I pull the tuners, it takes around 60-90 minutes to become out of sync. With all the tuners in, it takes just a few minutes.

I plugged in my dvd player w/ component and optical. Captured Transformers start to finish and the audio was fine, never became out of sync.

So, this leads me to believe it has something to do with the output of my STB's. I tried to borrow an STB from my parents. They have Cisco and I have Motorola. However, their Cisco would not fire up behind my RG, so no dice there.

Some STB's are working and some are not, that is the difference. Good to know. I can relax now and wait for a driver update. I will run thru the config of the STB's but I think there is little in the config department.

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by metzz71

SHS, I think this will answer your question.

If I pull the tuners, it takes around 60-90 minutes to become out of sync. With all the tuners in, it takes just a few minutes.

I plugged in my dvd player w/ component and optical. Captured Transformers start to finish and the audio was fine, never became out of sync.

So, this leads me to believe it has something to do with the output of my STB's. I tried to borrow an STB from my parents. They have Cisco and I have Motorola. However, their Cisco would not fire up behind my RG, so no dice there.

Some STB's are working and some are not, that is the difference. Good to know. I can relax now and wait for a driver update. I will run thru the config of the STB's but I think there is little in the config department.

Have you tried recording from a premium channel like HBO? On those channels, I never lose audio sync. The problem appears to occur after commercial breaks.

[metzz71]

Originally Posted by mistergq

Have you tried recording from a premium channel like HBO? On those channels, I never lose audio sync. The problem appears to occur after commercial breaks.

no, but it happens during the show on mine anytime. you can tell cuz some of the audio hiccups. Not just during commercials, but the commercials do it BIG TIME>

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by metzz71

no, but it happens during the show on mine anytime. you can tell cuz some of the audio hiccups. Not just during commercials, but the commercials do it BIG TIME>

It could be the network. I've noticed that Fox in my area frequently flips between HD and SD broadcasts in the middle of prime-time shows like House. When the flip from HD to SD happens, I end up with black bars on all sides and the Fox-2 Logo is in the black area (so I know it is being broadcast that way and not some problem with my tuner or Sage). Also, when this happens, the audio flips from 5.1 to stereo. I suspect the broadcast engineers at the local Fox affiliate in Detroit don't know what they are doing.

I'm not saying that you are seeing the exact same thing, but based on my experience above, it is possible that for whatever reason the audio and/or video format being broadcast could change even in the middle of a show.

One other related thought, although I haven't spent a lot of time investigating this, I've read that some TV programs can be created in more than one format (some film at 24 fps and some video at 30 or 60 fps). OF course I'm not sure how the STB handles this (I don't know if most STB's can even output 24fps). So even if the network, local affiliate, and Cable/Satellite company do everything right, the format of the original source could change. I could see why the Colossus might have audio drift if the frame rate were to change and it didn't detect it properly. Of course this is all just speculation - I may be way off base here.

[jptheripper]

i am wondering as well about audio format, especially since dvd player capture is good.

I wonder if the audio is 29.97fps, but being reported as 24fps, or something, so that it "unsyncs" quickly. can you take a bad file and play it in mpc or vlc and see what the framerates are, specifically audio, and see if they are different that what sage reports?

[SWKerr]

Although I am using HDMI on a DirecTV H20 I do not have the audio sync issue. This may be because I have my DirecTV STB locked to 1080i. I don't suppose you guys having issues have that option on your cable boxes?

I have been doing this since my early HD-PVR days. Seem like it was a problem back then as well.

[pawn]

After following this thread and others for a bit, I have to say I find this very disappointing. I have two HDPVR's and while I haven't had the problems some people have had, they still lock up from time to time. Personally, this whole computer based PVR thing isn't really a hobby anymore. I have a job, I need this to work without me being the pvr handiman. I can't believe there hasn't been a better solution to the HDPVR after 2 years and when it looks like there's a possibility, it seems like the same garbage. I have no intention whatsoever of giving Hauppage another two or three hundred more dollars to be their beta tester. For the first time in 8 years I'm just about ready to move to a cable or sat based pvr system.

(sorry for the bitter tone)

[metzz71]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

i am wondering as well about audio format, especially since dvd player capture is good.

I wonder if the audio is 29.97fps, but being reported as 24fps, or something, so that it "unsyncs" quickly. can you take a bad file and play it in mpc or vlc and see what the framerates are, specifically audio, and see if they are different that what sage reports?

No idea how to look up the fps in VLC. I can open the file, and the sync is off, but how to tell what the fps is. How do you check fps in sage too?

Originally Posted by SWKerr

Although I am using HDMI on a DirecTV H20 I do not have the audio sync issue. This may be because I have my DirecTV STB locked to 1080i. I don't suppose you guys having issues have that option on your cable boxes?

U-Verse has a setting to "lock" the res at 1080. Does it stay there no matter what? not sure, but it does keep HD res on the tele. I set it to 1080 on my HDPVR's and had no issues.



Its a driver issue. Some STB's work, and some have an issue. Just have to wait.

I have been doing this since my early HD-PVR days. Seem like it was a problem back then as well.

[bits]

Originally Posted by pawn

After following this thread and others for a bit, I have to say I find this very disappointing. I have two HDPVR's and while I haven't had the problems some people have had, they still lock up from time to time. Personally, this whole computer based PVR thing isn't really a hobby anymore. I have a job, I need this to work without me being the pvr handiman. I can't believe there hasn't been a better solution to the HDPVR after 2 years and when it looks like there's a possibility, it seems like the same garbage. I have no intention whatsoever of giving Hauppage another two or three hundred more dollars to be their beta tester. For the first time in 8 years I'm just about ready to move to a cable or sat based pvr system.

(sorry for the bitter tone)

I hear what you are saying but for me and my family the main reason I got into BTV and then Win7 MC and then SageTV was to be able to cut commercials or skip them completely. Fast forwarding through commercials is IMHO not much different than watching it. A side note and that is that Hulu and the like have already increased the number of commercials and length of them to a point where it is losing its appeal and there is no way around them.

Other reasons include the ability to record many shows at one time, the ability to store a huge number of shows for how ever long it takes to watch them, to be able to stream a recorded show to any TV in the house or to any number of TVs simultaneously.

[spacecadet]

Originally Posted by pawn

For the first time in 8 years I'm just about ready to move to a cable or sat based pvr system.

Never! I'll hold out as long as possible before making the switch to a cable DVR. Sage is just too awesome.

I agree on your point regarding being the "beta tester" for Hauppauge. Except that if I were truly a beta tester, they might respond to my support emails when I write that things aren't working...

My system has 1 USB HD-PVR and 1 Colossus. I give HD-PVR the higher merit for recordings and I've found that if I leave my Colossus alone (that is: if I NEVER use it for surfing live TV and only leverage it for the few scheduled recordings it needs to make each week), then it performs okay. I have to reboot once a week. Haven't had any blue screens or missed recordings since upgrading to the latest Hauppauge drivers and Sage 7.1.7.

I also cannot use the Dolby 5.1 as I get no audio on 2.0 broadcasts. Can't speak to audio sync issues as I've never left the optical connection hooked up long enough to find out if recordings get out of sync. I am on Verizon Fios, connected to a QIP7100 series STB.

All in all, I am not unhappy with the Colossus, but wish it were more production ready. When I can leverage 5.1 audio and use it for channel surfing, I'll be a satisfied customer. Until then, my USB HD PVR/Colussus combo is working well enough to keep the family happy.

[korben_dallas]

Originally Posted by spacecadet

When I can leverage 5.1 audio and use it for channel surfing, I'll be a satisfied customer. Until then, my USB HD PVR/Colussus combo is working..

Agreed. What I ended up doing was pulling the premium channels out of the Colossus lineup. Too many sync problems, and no point in recording movies without 5.1 audio.

I sent some feedback to Hauppauge about a week ago detailing my experience. Hopefully they will get the driver sorted so that multiple recordings with optical audio can be done simultaneously.

[heffneil]

I don't see beta drivers for the Colossus. Also the list of the latest drivers show a lot of the issues referenced previously as fixed but obviously that isn't the case?

I am testing the colossus now and I noticed it did lock up on me and ultimately required a reboot. I am not sure how to proceed but with the lack of beta drivers what does that mean with a working set coming soon?

[makutaku]

The lack of beta drivers may not mean anything. Before the latest driver was released, there was not beta drivers posted either.