STB Firewire (IEEE-1394) Support

[frontlinegeek]

I see that there are those that have asked this before but few have really fully described the process.

I have just ponied up for Sage and am going through the process of configuring the server to run two Motorola DCT6208 STBs. Everything is working great for the one but I need to be sure I get the second set up properly.

Know I know there are obvious things like making sure that when I set channelw.exe to change the channel that I am setting it to two different AVC devices in each config.

Am I assuming correctly that other than making a second graph file and having a second loopback port for TCP set that this is it?

And for all those that are also interested in this type of setup, the second I have it nailed, I will post the exact instructions.

Thanks in advance,
Jason.

[kricker]

I just tried setting this up for a buddy yesterday and I couldn't get the SGraphRecorder to show up in the 'add device' screen. I added all the lines into the sage.properties file that were listed in SpaceGhosts pdf file. Has something changed with the newer Sage betas?

[frontlinegeek]

I had no trouble with that at all. I am using 6.1.9 and not one of the betas.

I have now set up a single firewire STB on tow separate occations. One on my demo download and one on the permanent paid for setup.

You didn't do something silly like me and forget to start SGR before going into Sage?

[kricker]

Originally Posted by que3jxp

I had no trouble with that at all. I am using 6.1.9 and not one of the betas.

I have now set up a single firewire STB on tow separate occations. One on my demo download and one on the permanent paid for setup.

You didn't do something silly like me and forget to start SGR before going into Sage?

I wish. I made sure SGR was started waaay before Sage. Checked the windows firewall exceptions as well as turned it off. Can you post all the lines you added to your .properties file? The system is a Vista 32 (UAC off), with Sage 6.2.8 RC3

[frontlinegeek]

As soon as I get back home I will.

Have you ever set up two firewire STBs on one SageTV box? I REALLY need to do this, so maybe we get to help each other.

[kricker]

Originally Posted by que3jxp

As soon as I get back home I will.

Have you ever set up two firewire STBs on one SageTV box? I REALLY need to do this, so maybe we get to help each other.

HAHA...I can't even get this 1 working If i can get this going, I'll help where I can.

ahhhh got it. I had to use the lines in the .doc at post 831

I am not running Sage as a service, but I am getting the GetFileSize messages in the SGR debug. Is this a problem?

So darn close. Now I get 'no signal' when trying to watch something thru firewire.

[frontlinegeek]

That is the exact PDF that I am using.

As for that error, I have not run into it yet. I have also not run into the 'no signal' issue yet.

I will be going full force into the dual firewire setup tomorrow so that will be interesting. I will post my results.

[kricker]

The no signal issue seems to be codec related. If I use MCE decoders I can see the video but not hear the audio. If I use MCE for video, but Sage or ac3 for audio I get the 'no signal' error. Also the 'GetFileSize' message only seems to appear when I have the 'no signal' error.

[frontlinegeek]

Well, I had EXCELLENT success last night!

I read just about everything I could in regards to SGR and how tuners are added and I got it nailed. I can very reliably use two STBs over firewire to record and playback as well as stream to a client PC.

I am planning on putting everything that I have read together into a more concise "how-to" but I am still fine tuning my Sage setup so it will be a little bit before I write something up.

[dcardellini]

waiting to add my second 6412 STB on the server.....looking forward to your updated instructions!

[frontlinegeek]

Where it sounds like you are very keen to get that going, I will post the "shorthand".

You need two separate folders with two separate copies of SGraph recorder and its associated files in them.

You then edit the ini file in the second folder and change the port number from 6969 to something else. I chose 6970. (You can add more by making more SGR folders and continuing to increase the port number in each subsequent ini file)

You also point the second SGR ini at a second graph file.

The way to make the second graph file is to first take note of the MAC address of the currently connected STB and when creating a second graph file, be sure to check the MAC of the AV/C Tuner that you add to the graph so that it is not the same MAC as the original Graph file you made. You would do this for every additional STB you want to add.

The last step is to take the entries that are in the PDF/DOC that is in this thread and change the 12346 in every line to say 12347 (or 12348 if you are adding a third firewire STB). The point is to make all the entries unique. Be sure to change the description and port information at the end of all the lines so that the SGR setting of port 6970 is in there and that the description setting is something unique and identifiable. I set both my firewire STB settings so they read "Firewire Tuner 1" and "Firewire Tuner 2".

As shorthand as this is, you can see why I want to add to the community with a redone set of documents.

[kricker]

What decoders are you using that allow you to view the firewire streams in Sage without getting the 'no error' signal.

[frontlinegeek]

I have used PowerDVD 7.3 and PureVideo .223 and .196. I found .196 better of the two.

[kricker]

Originally Posted by que3jxp

I have used PowerDVD 7.3 and PureVideo .223 and .196. I found .196 better of the two.

Are you doing a .ts dump or are you going to .mpeg?

[frontlinegeek]

TS I believe but when I look in the Sage recordings folder, they have mpg for an extension.

[kricker]

same here.

[guho]

Originally Posted by jriskin

Please, I must have it now!

Will put it up when I have the time in the next week. Thanks,

Hugo

[stewart710]

I have a motorola dct6200 and it has worked fine for a year, using firewire recording in SageTV.

In the Boston, MA area, I get:

802 PBS HD
805 ABC HD
807 NBC HD
825 FOX HD
828 MTV HD
837 A&E HD
838 WSBK HD
850 ESPN2 HD
851 NESN HD
856 WLVI HD

As of a few days ago 804 (CBS HD) will not come through the firewire connection. I can watch it using the cable box or through the the ATSC tuner, so it is NOT being encrypted via QAM, but since it isn't coming out over the firewire port, does that mean it is 5C encrypted? Is anyone else having this problem?

You should have heard me asking this question to the Comcast technical support. She kept wants to send a technician to check the connection at my house. I asked if he knew anything about firewire and she replied that he would check my coaxial connections and verify that it is working on the TV. They were going to charge me for this. It reminded me of getting my temperature taken by the school nurse for a twisted ankle.

[kricker]

Originally Posted by stewart710

As of a few days ago 804 (CBS HD) will not come through the firewire connection. I can watch it using the cable box or through the the ATSC tuner, so it is NOT being encrypted via QAM, but since it isn't coming out over the firewire port, does that mean it is 5C encrypted? Is anyone else having this problem?

Try this.

[stewart710]

Thanks for the link. I tried it last night and for channel 804 I had to check d06. It said CCI=0x02 and RC=0x01, the rest were 0x00. for other channels they seemed to be 0x00 for everything. For premium channels it said CCI=0x02 and DRM=0x01. Is there anything I can do?