OpenDCT issue with new v9 install

[crarbo1]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

I had (1) Infinitv4 originally installed in the computer. I then added/installed (1) Infinitv6. With the (2) pcie cards installed in the system, I started to realize that SageTV wasn't finding all the tuners. Upon further inspection by starting the Ceton diagnostics right after the machine booted, the Ceton software would recognize the 4 right away, but would take an additional few minutes to recognize the 6. I did try to put OpenDCT and SageTV on a delayed startup in Win 7, but I still found the Ceton software was having trouble with both pcie cards installed at the same time.

I pulled the 4 out of the machine and the 6 was recognized quickly on bootup, so I left the 4 out of the system entirely for now, and I use the 6 only.

Thanks for the clarification. Your issue is a little different than mine as I have no problem detecting both Infinitv 4 pcie cards after boot up in the Ceton software. SageTV sees all 8 tuners on both card but only the 4 tuners on the same card tune in SageTV every time. The second cards 4 tuners didn't work initially, then worked after a reboot a day later and then didn't work after another reboot the same day it worked.

It still may be possible that the issue is related, but since I have never had a problem tuning both cards 4 tuners in the Ceton software or in SageTV v7 with SageDCT, I do have hope that it is something that can be resolved in OpenDCT.

Thanks again for your feedback,
Chuck

[crarbo1]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

I am considering grabbing a couple HDHR Prime devices to use in place of the Ceton device(s) as they just seem to be more reliable, and the SiliconDust devices appear to be better supported than Ceton devices. We're not really sure if Ceton is still surviving right now after their Echo fiasco.

I too am somewhat concerned about any support for the Ceton cards, however, I hate to buy more hardware to make it better supported. Also, since I want at least 8 tuners, using 2 cable cards, I would have to get 3 Primes and rent another cable card to get 9 tuners or get 2 Primes and loose 2 tuners, which would be a problem when college football season start this fall. I guess I have been spoiled having 8 tuners and would really hate to give that up or don't give it up and have to pay more.
It would be nice if they could make a Prime that could use 1 cable card and have at least 4-6 tuners like the Ceton's do, if they had that, then I would probably buy new tuners like you are considering.
Thanks again for your input,
Chuck

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by crarbo1

It still may be possible that the issue is related, but since I have never had a problem tuning both cards 4 tuners in the Ceton software or in SageTV v7 with SageDCT, I do have hope that it is something that can be resolved in OpenDCT.

Thanks again for your feedback,
Chuck

This likely just has to do with the different ways these pieces of software work. My understanding of SageDCT is that it would detect the devices prior to actually using the them which means it has the IP addresses saved and doesn't actually do any kind of discovery while the service is running. That means that as long as SageTV's first request comes in after the device is fully initialized, you wouldn't see any issues.

OpenDCT detects the devices every time it starts up and doesn't retain any prior information about the device IP addresses or even previously available network interfaces. It also doesn't double-back and check for new interfaces for the most part after everything is running. Retaining this information could lead to unexpected problems when a user changes their server configuration.

Originally Posted by crarbo1

I too am somewhat concerned about any support for the Ceton cards, however, I hate to buy more hardware to make it better supported. Also, since I want at least 8 tuners, using 2 cable cards, I would have to get 3 Primes and rent another cable card to get 9 tuners or get 2 Primes and loose 2 tuners, which would be a problem when college football season start this fall. I guess I have been spoiled having 8 tuners and would really hate to give that up or don't give it up and have to pay more.
It would be nice if they could make a Prime that could use 1 cable card and have at least 4-6 tuners like the Ceton's do, if they had that, then I would probably buy new tuners like you are considering.
Thanks again for your input,
Chuck

The biggest reason why I don't use my InfiniTV 4 for much anymore is because it will obey CGMS (with or without a CableCARD installed). This is an analog copy protection that is not required by anything to be obeyed. The InfiniTV 6 got a special beta firmware that works around this problem, but the 4 will always have it and it can really wreck a recording when you least expect it.

[NetworkGuy]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

Ceton is still surviving right now after their Echo fiasco.

Sorry, but what is the Echo fiasco?

[KryptoNyte]

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy

Sorry, but what is the Echo fiasco?

Ceton manufactured and sold an extender for Windows Media Center called the Echo. The product itself was over-hyped and shipped prior to full function, and even after trying to get the device working satisfactorily with updates, became a disappointment. Couple that with Microsoft dropping Windows Media Center, the product was in a tight spot and is already discontinued.

[NetworkGuy]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

Ceton manufactured and sold an extender for Windows Media Center called the Echo. The product itself was over-hyped and shipped prior to full function, and even after trying to get the device working satisfactorily with updates, became a disappointment. Couple that with Microsoft dropping Windows Media Center, the product was in a tight spot and is already discontinued.

Ahhhh...thx.

[EnterNoEscape]

I hope 0.5.19-RC1 works a lot better for you:
https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...postcount=1501

[crarbo1]

Originally Posted by EnterNoEscape

I hope 0.5.19-RC1 works a lot better for you:
https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...postcount=1501

Thanks for the quick work.

What is the correct way to upgrade to this new version? (uninstall the old version, install over top of it, etc.)

Should I remove the tuners from SageTV v9 first?

Due to work schedule this week as well as scheduled recordings, I most likely won't get to this until Saturday but want to know the right method to upgrade to this new version just in case I do get time before then.

Thanks,
Chuck

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by crarbo1

Thanks for the quick work.

What is the correct way to upgrade to this new version? (uninstall the old version, install over top of it, etc.)

Should I remove the tuners from SageTV v9 first?

Due to work schedule this week as well as scheduled recordings, I most likely won't get to this until Saturday but want to know the right method to upgrade to this new version just in case I do get time before then.

Thanks,
Chuck

All you need to do is stop the OpenDCT service, then install the new version of OpenDCT. It will upgrade everything for you. Then start the OpenDCT service back up. It's a fairly quick process.

[crarbo1]

Originally Posted by EnterNoEscape

All you need to do is stop the OpenDCT service, then install the new version of OpenDCT. It will upgrade everything for you. Then start the OpenDCT service back up. It's a fairly quick process.

Ok, that does seem easy.

Do I not have to stop the SageTV service?
Do I not have to delete the opendct.properties file?

Thanks for the quick reply,
Chuck

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by crarbo1

Ok, that does seem easy.

Do I not have to stop the SageTV service?
Do I not have to delete the opendct.properties file?

Thanks for the quick reply,
Chuck

You don't need to stop the SageTV service unless you're concerned that it will try to start a recording while OpenDCT is not running. The deleting of opendct.properties is something some forum members do to ensure they are using the latest defaults, but is not required and I don't do that myself.

[crarbo1]

Originally Posted by EnterNoEscape

You don't need to stop the SageTV service unless you're concerned that it will try to start a recording while OpenDCT is not running. The deleting of opendct.properties is something some forum members do to ensure they are using the latest defaults, but is not required and I don't do that myself.

Thanks again. That does seem simple. I probably still won't be able to do this until the weekend though. Either way, I will let you know if that solved my issue.

Thanks,
Chuck

[crarbo1]

Originally Posted by EnterNoEscape

I hope 0.5.19-RC1 works a lot better for you:
https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...postcount=1501

EnterNoEscape,
I installed this yesterday, actually 0.5.20, and I think it fixed my issue and is reliable.
I rebooted 3 times yesterday and it worked every time and this evening I was able to reboot it 8 times and it worked every time. So, it appears that it is consistently picking up both cards now.

Thanks so much for your quick fix,
Chuck

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by crarbo1

EnterNoEscape,
I installed this yesterday, actually 0.5.20, and I think it fixed my issue and is reliable.
I rebooted 3 times yesterday and it worked every time and this evening I was able to reboot it 8 times and it worked every time. So, it appears that it is consistently picking up both cards now.

Thanks so much for your quick fix,
Chuck

Excellent. I'm glad we seem to have this figured out.

[boukmandutty]

Quick question. How much more reliable is the pcie version of the infinitv6 than the ethernet version? I am currently plagued by missed or partial recording with my ethernet version.

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by boukmandutty

Quick question. How much more reliable is the pcie version of the infinitv6 than the ethernet version? I am currently plagued by missed or partial recording with my ethernet version.

I hear that version will reset itself pretty much at random. I think I've have had the PCI-e version need to be reset maybe twice since I bought it five years ago. At least one of those times I'm fairly certain that I broke it by telling it to do something the programmers never intended to work. If it's happening a lot to you, I would check the most obvious suspects like the power brick.

[egeller]

Originally Posted by boukmandutty

Quick question. How much more reliable is the pcie version of the infinitv6 than the ethernet version? I am currently plagued by missed or partial recording with my ethernet version.

It also helps if you're on V9 of SageTV and have the last Ceton Firmware from the posting on thegreenbutton.

My experience is that I miss a couple of minutes here or there, daily, in one or two programs, when a tuner reboots. However, SageTV V9 usually recovers nicely. Right now, I have one tuner that rebooted two hours ago and the other rebooted 1 day, 23 hours ago. I've gotten used to it, so it's not much of an issue.

I missed the last third of a House, MD episode last week and that's the first time in months that I remember losing that much of a show.