Hauppauge Colossus HD-PVR

[korben_dallas]

4250HDC through Time Warner completely locked down. HDCP required for HDMI, on any channel.

[SWKerr]

I upgraded to the 29168 driver this weekend but went back to 29111 due to some instability issues.

I have been running for quite some time without issues on the 29111 driver.
Nightly therapeutic reboot
2x DirecTV H20 via HDMI (Locked at 1080i)
HDHR and AverMedia M780 for OTA

The install only updated the Colossus Encoder Device, I had to update the Colossus Capture Device manually . Rebooted the server and it worked for a few recording and and then crashed Sage. On reboot it would lock up. Had to physically unplug the server from the wall to get it to reboot to windows. Did a bunch of dual Colossus recordings and it crashed after about 6 hours of recording. I rolled back to the 29111 driver and all has been well.

The 29168 driver did finally allow for AC3 Dolby recording over HDMI but at the cost of stability.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

I upgraded to the 29168 driver this weekend but went back to 29111 due to some instability issues.

I have been running for quite some time without issues on the 29111 driver.
Nightly therapeutic reboot
2x DirecTV H20 via HDMI (Locked at 1080i)
HDHR and AverMedia M780 for OTA

The install only updated the Colossus Encoder Device, I had to update the Colossus Capture Device manually . Rebooted the server and it worked for a few recording and and then crashed Sage. On reboot it would lock up. Had to physically unplug the server from the wall to get it to reboot to windows. Did a bunch of dual Colossus recordings and it crashed after about 6 hours of recording. I rolled back to the 29111 driver and all has been well.

The 29168 driver did finally allow for AC3 Dolby recording over HDMI but at the cost of stability.

This is my big worry, aka without Sage to co-develop with Hauppauge, any advancements Hauppauge attempts to make will likely fail

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

The 29168 driver did finally allow for AC3 Dolby recording over HDMI but at the cost of stability.

I'm getting 5.1 over HDMI with the 29111 driver - isn't that what you are talking about or am I being dense again.

[w4rh4wk]

i had to switch back to 29111 also....
here's my setup
Nightly reboot
3 DirectTV H21-100\H21-200\H23-600 STBs via component (Locked at 720p)
(hdmi was unstable)
http tunning
windows 7 64 bit
HVR-1600 (OTA HD)
java heap is set to 400h

i noticed with the 29168 driver the moment i started using more than one colossus at a time then it would get unstable..choppy and then the server would eventually blue screen. switching from HDMI to component didnt fix anything.

[Even]

First time poster, new to Windows 7.
Warning: Much rambling ensues herein.

Colossus ALWAYS gets freezes & then displays "No Signal" right at 15 minutes when viewing (not even tried recording yet) This happens in WinTV and Windows Media Center as well as SageTV. Windows itself does not freeze and I can X out of the program. I have to reboot to get a picture back.


SageTV & my old XP computer have been working great for 2 years with the HD-PVR and the 200 extender.

Until I decided to upgrade to Windows 7 & Sage 7, and replace the computer.
In the process of doing that the PVR died. (Unknown USB device. Using a compatible different power supply & different CPU it was still unknown.)

So got a Colossus to put into my new cpu that has been working great for the past 2 months -Windows 7, 32 bit.

Installed the Card, then setup the Firewire & sageTV 7 (not as a service yet). Everything works great... for 15 minutes.

15 minutes in (exactly) the picture freezes & the audio stops.

Tried Colossus drivers :
CD Drivers - freezes and no signal after 15 minutes
29111 - freezes and no signal after 15 minutes
29168 - BSOD - Referenced the MEISTB.sys

Events log showed the Win 7 activation check occurred around the same time frame, so I activated, but that did not help.

Either restored a system image or ran the hcwclear when upgrading the colossus drivers & rebooted before trying again.

Installed just the WinTV & the exduce drivers for the STB. No sageTV, no firewire channel changing, just as bare bones as I could. Still lost the signal at 15 Minutes.

I built the system with all new components, and has been up and running for about 2 months with no problems, rendering existing videos with Vegas Video 8. Did a complete new install to use as my sageTV. Since then have deleted the partition & done clean installed several times. Device manager says no new updates available for the hardware. Moving the mouse or typing every few minutes (in case I missed a sleep mode) did not help.

Tried SageTV, removed it and installed WinTV: gave a No Signal Message. Removed it and tried the WinTV download for Windows Media Center. It says weak TV signal (I think this is because the Card quit sending the signal. The Cable signal has been working fine from this same jack with my now dead hd-pvr.

Task Manger shows cpu is 30%, mem 962 mb used, and these programs running: ehshell
CSRSS, TruImage Monitor, RtHVCpl, IR, ATIEClxx, ehtray, Schedhlp. Nothing else pops up when it freezes.

Java is up to date and no heap error messages.

Turned off/ set all power management to 5 hours.
No Screen saver.
Monitor sleep - never
Hard drives sleep - 5 hours
Windows update - never
network card sleep - never

Scientific Atlantic 4250HDC w/ Firewire channel changing
Gigabyte MA 785GM-US2h
32 bit, AMD Athlon II X2 245 processor, 290ghz
2 G memory, nothing overclocked

3 WD Green 1T drives formatted at 64K.
Window 7 premium clean install, Service pack 1
Installed driver from Gigabyte CD. but did not install the ati Catalyst command/
All windows updates done right after gigabyte drivers.
Unknown STB devices were disabled. Colossus shows up as Capture & Encoder

no antivirus yet, no firewall yet
Router, hub, Network workgroup connects to 1 other computer.
Component connection and the Red/White audio connection. No audio problems

Acrobat 9 - auto updates disabled
Acronis True image plus,
Imageburn
VLC media player
DVD Fab 8


I must have missed a settings issue somewhere, or else it is still a driver issue.

Any thoughts before I bundle it back to Amazon & get a PVR?

Thanks,
Even

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

This is my big worry, aka without Sage to co-develop with Hauppauge, any advancements Hauppauge attempts to make will likely fail

This is my fear as well. I sold my HD PVR to a friend when I got the colossus. I wish I did not do that now. I am debating about purchasing 2 HD PVRs again to go back to stablity.

[panteragstk]

I'm about to grab a colossus later this month. Hopefully everything will work ok. If not I'm not gonna be happy. I guess I could always return it for an HD-PVR, but I'd rather have hdmi input for better rats nest protection.

[KeithAbbott]

In my experience, the HDMI input seems more reliable than the component input. Although I was still having troubles with 5.1 audio, so I am waiting patiently for my component+stereo to HDMI converter box to arrive...

[jptheripper]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

I'm about to grab a colossus later this month. Hopefully everything will work ok. If not I'm not gonna be happy. I guess I could always return it for an HD-PVR, but I'd rather have hdmi input for better rats nest protection.

Don't be discouraged. Many of us (myself included) use component+spdif(dd5.1) daily with 0 issues

[w4rh4wk]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

Don't be discouraged. Many of us (myself included) use component+spdif(dd5.1) daily with 0 issues

please post your config! daily reboot? lastest java update? driver version, OS...etc etc

[jptheripper]

Originally Posted by w4rh4wk

please post your config! daily reboot? lastest java update? driver version, OS...etc etc

Vista 32bit Ultimate
4gb ram
(also have hauppauge 1850, 2250 and 1600 in server)
29111 driver
java 6 update 24
reboot every 7-10 days for various reasons
sage 7.1.19 final
2 recording drives in storage pool (2x250gb sata)
8tb movie pool (sagemymovies on with server on same box)
comskip

comcast digital cable
pace rng150 box tuned with usb-uirt (beta drivers)
output locked at 720p withg dolby digital over optical spdif

hope that helps.

[w4rh4wk]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

Vista 32bit Ultimate
4gb ram
(also have hauppauge 1850, 2250 and 1600 in server)
29111 driver
java 6 update 24
reboot every 7-10 days for various reasons
sage 7.1.19 final
2 recording drives in storage pool (2x250gb sata)
8tb movie pool (sagemymovies on with server on same box)
comskip

comcast digital cable
pace rng150 box tuned with usb-uirt (beta drivers)
output locked at 720p withg dolby digital over optical spdif

hope that helps.

wow your quick!
just as a comparision here's my set up
Win 7 64bit Enterprise
8gb ram
1 1600
29111 driver
java 6 update 25
reboot every day @ 4am
sage 7.1.19 final
1 recording drive 1.5tb
directv
http tuning
output locked at 720p with dolby digital OFF component

i'll give optical spdif a shot tomorrow...worst case ill just go back to regular component if it doesnt work

[korben_dallas]

Best test is simultaneous HD PVR and Colossus recordings, both on optical audio.

[uberpixel]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

comcast digital cable
pace rng150 box tuned with usb-uirt (beta drivers)
output locked at 720p withg dolby digital over optical spdif

Is that a Cisco RNG150? I can't find a Pace RNG150 on the Comcast site... [link]

I have the optical audio sync issue with Comcast Digital cable and a Motorola cable box. Also, I'm locked at 1080i and am running on WHSv1.

Maybe I'll try to swap out the cable box to see if that's the culprit.

-uberpixel

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

Don't be discouraged. Many of us (myself included) use component+spdif(dd5.1) daily with 0 issues

Thanks. I think I'll grab one next week. DirecTV has a VERY good deal going right now that I can't miss out on so hopefully everything works out.

All directv needs to do is get AMC HD and Diy HD and I'll be set.

[jptheripper]

Originally Posted by uberpixel

Is that a Cisco RNG150? I can't find a Pace RNG150 on the Comcast site... [link]

I have the optical audio sync issue with Comcast Digital cable and a Motorola cable box. Also, I'm locked at 1080i and am running on WHSv1.

Maybe I'll try to swap out the cable box to see if that's the culprit.

-uberpixel

Yes sorry its the cisco. I recorded 8 hours straight on the original drivers (nfl draft) and it didn't go out of sync

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

All directv needs to do is get AMC HD and Diy HD and I'll be set.

You and me both! Oh wait, I also need BBCA. According to DirecTV, though, we must be the only ones requesting these channels.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by Even

Tried Colossus drivers :
CD Drivers - freezes and no signal after 15 minutes
29111 - freezes and no signal after 15 minutes
29168 - BSOD - Referenced the MEISTB.sys

Have you try disable the Firewire port

[w4rh4wk]

Hey jptheripper,
component + spdif worked for me as well.... curse you HDMI lol. i guess that is close as im going to get for a stable system for now. and no sync issues either.