HD PVR or Colossus?

[twollman]

I am looking to expand my system by adding another Dish Network 211 STB and capture card.

My current system is:

WHS with SageTV version 7
Dish Network 211
HD PVR
USBUIRT
2 HD 300 extenders

I have been following the Colossus thread closely trying to decide if I want to take the plunge and buy one or just add another HD PVR. I don't mind tinkering but the wife gets a little annoyed if I have to shut the system down in the middle of one of her shows.

The HD PVR has its warts. I need to power cycle it every couple of days for some reason. But its not a big deal since its an external device. More of an annoyance.

Any thoughts/advice is appreciated.

Todd

[bits]

Since you already have an HDPVR and are closely following the Colosuss thread then you pretty much have all the information you need. If you go with the Colosuss it would have to be because you are optimistic that Hauppauge and Sage will come through and make it work.

At the moment the Colosuss pretty much can not be used for viewing live TV and is hit and miss for capturing. I am now on day 8 without issues but I do not use it for live viewing and I stop/start the Sage server at least once per day and I am using the simplest most straight forward connection; component+analog audio.

It is beta but so far not a peep from Hauppauge or Sage regarding all the issues. IMHO I think they will make it better but it is going to take a fair amount of time. Your wife may not have the patients for it.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by bits

At the moment the Colosuss pretty much can not be used for viewing live TV and is hit and miss for capturing. I am now on day 8 without issues but I do not use it for live viewing and I stop/start the Sage server at least once per day and I am using the simplest most straight forward connection; component+analog audio.

I have mine connected via component and stereo as well and have not had a single problem with it whatsoever. My sage server is a Windows Home Server, on 24/7 and can view any recorded content whether it is live tv or not. Most recently I had it recording a basketball game on ESPNHD while watching it about an hour behind real time. No problems at all...

My biggest problem is getting my MCE blaster to change channels on my Comcast HD cablebox -- but has nothing to do with Hauppauge or Colossus.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by bits

At the moment the Colosuss pretty much can not be used for viewing live TV and is hit and miss for capturing.

This has not been my experience. My Colossus has worked flawlessy making several recordings a day since the day I installed it (about ten days ago). I have not had to reboot or power cycle anything to keep it running. It just works.

I'm aware that other people are having issues. My impression is that most of those issues seem to arise from using a Colossus alongside an HD-PVR or on systems that had previously had an HD-PVR installed. (For what it's worth, I never had an HD-PVR on my system.) As usual, it's important to realize that most of the posts are coming from people with issues, but that doesn't necessarily mean that most Colossus users are having issues. It's just that the people without issues don't have any reason to keep posting "it still works".

[bits]

Originally Posted by Spartan

I have mine connected via component and stereo as well and have not had a single problem with it whatsoever. My sage server is a Windows Home Server, on 24/7 and can view any recorded content whether it is live tv or not. Most recently I had it recording a basketball game on ESPNHD while watching it about an hour behind real time. No problems at all...

My biggest problem is getting my MCE blaster to change channels on my Comcast HD cablebox -- but has nothing to do with Hauppauge or Colossus.

Based on the Colosuss thread and others in this forum you are the exception to the rule. There are quite a few of us who installed it and had great success at first but after a while we had problems. It worked great for me at first but then it started dropping audio and then it BSOD'd my system. This behavior has been widely reported by others as well. It has also been widely reported that sometimes one can view live TV for hours on end and then it goes to heck.

There are many folks having one major problem or another and that is fact. As I have said; I think Hauppauge and Sage will come through but based on the overwhelming number of problems reported in this forum alone it is safe to say that the Colosuss is beta and is performing as such.

[bits]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

This has not been my experience. My Colossus has worked flawlessy making several recordings a day since the day I installed it (about ten days ago). I have not had to reboot or power cycle anything to keep it running. It just works.

I'm aware that other people are having issues. My impression is that most of those issues seem to arise from using a Colossus alongside an HD-PVR or on systems that had previously had an HD-PVR installed. (For what it's worth, I never had an HD-PVR on my system.) As usual, it's important to realize that most of the posts are coming from people with issues, but that doesn't necessarily mean that most Colossus users are having issues. It's just that the people without issues don't have any reason to keep posting "it still works".

That is my impression as well but there are more than enough folks, like you and I, that have never had an HDPVR who are reporting many of the same issues.

I did not say that everybody was having issues just that there are more than enough who are and that the chances of a trouble free experience this early in the beta cycle is not likely. Yes if you are a lucky one and have the right mojo it can work pretty well. In a sense I could be saying that it works nearly flawlessly for me, at least for the last 8 days, but taking into account my early experience coupled with the reporting of so many others having a similar experiences; one can only conclude that it is a beta and is behaving as beta. I fully expect it to crash my system again but for now it is running flawlessly that is provided I do not watch too much live tv and I stop/restart the Sage server daily.

I have had a fair number of capture/tuner devices over the last 7yrs and not one of them crashed my system or did the things the Colosuss has but then again the Colosuss is the first beta capture card I have owned.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by bits

I did not say that everybody was having issues just that there are more than enough who are and that the chances of a trouble free experience this early in the beta cycle is not likely.

Fine; you're entitled to your opinion, just as we're entitled to ours. But you've now proven my point by posting three times about your bad experience, versus one post each for those of us with good experiences. The goal here, it seems to me, is not to argue back and forth about who's right and who's wrong, but simply to describe our own individual experiences, and let the OP decide for himself what it all adds up to.

[gdippel]

Originally Posted by twollman

I don't mind tinkering but the wife gets a little annoyed if I have to shut the system down in the middle of one of her shows.

If you're going to buy new technology you should expect to have to do "a little tinkering." I purchased a HDPVR two years after it was introduced as I had just upgraded to high definition and was luckily able to learn from everyone's experiences by browsing this forum. Right out of the box I was having problems, but by "tinkering" (covering IR receiver with electric tape, standing unit on it's side, etc.) it now is functioning well.

Someone told me years ago "never buy software with a version ending in .0." Since WAF is important, you may want to let Sage and Hauppauge issue drivers and hardware upgrades as they get feedback from the brave "early adopters" who are either single or have very understanding spouses!

[sleonard]

I stay up late and do my 'tinkering' after everyone else is asleep.

S

[PLUCKYHD]

Knock on wood but my collusus has been running solid about 4 or 5 days now without any restarts or issues and we watch allot of livetv. I did have issues but adjusted my tuning delays and such and now it seems to be running great if i didn't just jinx myself.

[jptheripper]

same here. colossus flawless.

[phareous]

Things were going well for me...then I added a 2nd Colossus and now I cry myself to sleep

[traker1001]

For what its worth, I'm running 2 Colossus cards about 8 days now and not a problem. I am running them with the component cables from Directv boxes. And I havent had a single problem. Boxes are being controlled over the network.

I really didn't have to do any tweaking to get it to work, And I didn't do a fresh install.

I'm not running any other tuners at the moment, And have yet to add my 2250 back into the mix.

[twollman]

I appreciate all the comments. Its sounds like its hit and miss, which isn't unusual for a new product with beta software.

I think I will go ahead and order one hoping they iron out the issues versus buying another HD PVR which probably won't ever be "fixed".

Thanks again!

[traker1001]

I believe you will be fine. To many folks have purchased these cards for them (Sage/Hauppage) to not get it going smoothly.

[gambitpvr]

I've had mixed luck with my Colossus. I took it out for now but plan to try again in a few weeks. Some new drivers are expected in a week or two.

As for your existing HD-PVR issues, have you tried taking the cover off of it ? My HD-PVR would overheat after a few days and would require me to power cycle it.

I took off the cover and set a small 6 inch desktop fan to blow on it. That resolved all my stability issues with it. It's run for months without any issues.. until I put in the Colossus but, that's another story.

[civerson4]

I've had my collossus up and running about 2 weeks now...only had a problem once (jerky recording) I locked the output on my cable box to 720p (vs 1080i) and it has been solid for over a week now.

I had semi-constant problems with my HD-PVR--so the collossus has been better for my system.

Good luck.

[impro]

I have always used 720p with the HDPVR and apart from the overheating of the first batch I have only had 2 or 3 lockups for both my hdpvr

[freewheeling]

Originally Posted by impro

I have always used 720p with the HDPVR and apart from the overheating of the first batch I have only had 2 or 3 lockups for both my hdpvr

How do you record in 720p? I just see 4 quality settings (Best, Great, Good, and Fair) but Best, Great and Good all record in 1080i. I don't know about Fair because I've never used it.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by freewheeling

How do you record in 720p?

You set your STB to output 720p. The quality settings control the bitrate at which the HD-PVR or Colossus will encode, but the resolution is determined by the STB.