STB Firewire (IEEE-1394) Support

[DMT]

Trying to get firewire channel changing going

Windows Home Server (test box - documenting this step-by-step)
SageTV 6.6.2
SA 4250HD
1x HD PVR

Following Andy and MeInMaui’s instruction got drivers installed, channel changing from the Command Prompt. HD PVR configured and Tuner Control: EXEMulitunerPlugin 8c2b94ea1c00 selected. Not changing channels.

I’m a novice at the registry

I created the following file in notepad and saved to the desktop under the name Exemultituner.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Frey Technologies\Common\EXEMultitunerPlugin]
“command”=”c:\\Program Files\Timmmoore\MCE 2005 STB Controller\\channelw.exe –f –a4 –n %DEVICE% %CHANNEL%

I click on the file and Windows reports it has added to the registry. I don’t think so

In the registry editor HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Frey Technologies\Common\EXEMultitunerPlugin should I not see the entry I created?

I am doing something wrong because even if my registry entry was wrong I should be able to FIND IT and regedit?

Thanks

Dave

[DMT]

My ignorance creating registry entries. Missed some \\ and " at the end.

This...

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Frey Technologies\Common\EXEMultitunerPlugin]
“command”=”c:\\Program Files\\Timmmoore\\MCE 2005 STB Controller\\channelw.exe –f –a4 –n %DEVICE% %CHANNEL%"

Created this...

c:\Program Files\Timmmoore\MCE 2005 STB Controller\channelw.exe –f –a4 –n %DEVICE% %CHANNEL%

And everything worked. Changes channels in 7 seconds vs. 13+ with the USB-UIRT. Many thanks to all the pioneers on the forum!

[Peter_h]

Originally Posted by Peter_h

I get an occasional "Hardware Device ID not found error". Channel changing works fine except about once a month or so it wont change channels on one of the boxes. If i power cycle the cable box it starts working again.

Has anyone seen this and have any suggestions on fixing it?

More info.

OS: WHS
Cable boxes: Scientific Atlanta HDC 4250 x 2

Anybody have any ideas on this?

[waynedunham]

I have been using a USBUIRT for channel changing my STB (Motorola 6200) connected to my HD-PVR for a long time since my old server didn't have any FW ports (yes it was THAT old!).

I finally built my new server with a modern processor (Quad Core), etc.

So since I was building from scratch I thought I'd go the FW channel changing route.

I have to say that it was daunting even for a non-novice at command line, editing the registry, etc. It wasn't so much the "doing it", it was the massive amount of different instructions that have evolved in the 90+ pages of this thread.

I would like to thank MeinMaui, Andy, and the myriad of others for all their hard work at getting it all figured out on their own machines and posting their findings.

It didn't take too long to get it working at the command line level although it did take some experimentation to get the unique id to work for me.

Integrating it into SageTV was a bit more muddled from all the directions I found.
Once you get it to the point of being able to use the command line I found this post from timg11 easy to follow after his edits to take into consideration some things Andy pointed out.

Now its working in SageTV using the unique id so any reboot or adding/deleting FW components shouldn't cause any troubles.

Thanks to all of you!

[DMT]

Yes ...daunting

I got it to change channels (SA 4250HD) fine on my WHS test box.

So I set it up exactly the same way on my SageTV WHS and it does not work. I can change channels from the command line but it won't work in SageTV. I even did a complete WHS reinstall. Now I am back to using my USB-UIRT.

Stumped for now. Only difference is I use a PCIe firewire card on my SageTV WHS and it is built in on my WHS test box.

[waynedunham]

Originally Posted by DMT

Yes ...daunting

I got it to change channels (SA 4250HD) fine on my WHS test box.

So I set it up exactly the same way on my SageTV WHS and it does not work. I can change channels from the command line but it won't work in SageTV. I even did a complete WHS reinstall. Now I am back to using my USB-UIRT.

Stumped for now. Only difference is I use a PCIe firewire card on my SageTV WHS and it is built in on my WHS test box.

When you say you set it up "exactly the same way" do you mean same method, or copied the files exactly from the other machine? The reason I say that is that the ID's would most likely be different on another machine.
Did you remember to stop Sage and Sage service and restart those so it can pick up the changes you made with the .ir files, etc? Stopping those before editing your sage.properties file is crucial. Otherwise Sage will just overwrite any changes you had made.

Also, the thing that was holding me back for a few minutes after I thought it was all set up, did you go into setup sources and change the channel changing from pointing to "stub device" to the correct .ir file for the HD-PVR?

Those would be my first 2 guesses if everything else is the same. That of course assuming you edited your .ir filename and the device # inside that file to take into account any differences from your other machine.

Also, as pointed out in one of Andy's messages the error in the foldername that was in one of the other documents regarding the subfolder where the .ir file would go.

Hopefully its as simple as one of those things and not some issue with your PCIe FW card. I doubt that its a card issue since its working via the command line.

[reggie14]

This is probably a stupid question, but I've been using firewire recording for a while. I get most, but not all, of my HD channels. To get the rest, and of sort of future-proof me against possible 5c encryption by Comcast, I bought a HD-PVR. I'd like to hook up another firewire HD box to that, and do firewire channel changing. I shouldn't have a problem with that, so long as I use the device IDs for channel changing, right?

Also, my Sage box started locking up every few weeks since I started going firewire recording. I picked up a different firewire card with a different chipset in hopes that that might fix it. My question is, can I easily swap out firewire cards without basically having to go through the whole setup and configuration again? (again, so long as I'm using device IDs?)

[Clift]

Originally Posted by reggie14

I'd like to hook up another firewire HD box to that, and do firewire channel changing. I shouldn't have a problem with that, so long as I use the device IDs for channel changing, right?

That is a correct assumption. You can even Daisy chain them together if you don't have enough Firewire ports.

Also, my Sage box started locking up every few weeks since I started going firewire recording. I picked up a different firewire card with a different chipset in hopes that that might fix it. My question is, can I easily swap out firewire cards without basically having to go through the whole setup and configuration again? (again, so long as I'm using device IDs?)

That is also correct. Although I'm not sure how much stability impact the new card may have. I hope it all works out though. Also, check to make sure the Device ID(s) have not changed, justt o be sure.

[sleonard]

I have had 3 SA3250HD boxes setup and working with FW for 6 months now. This morning one of them died and Cox replaced it with a 4240HDC.

I figured out that I needed the updated drivers and now the box is recognized as a 4250HD and I can manually change the channel using channelw.exe –f –a6 –n %DEVICE% %CHANNEL%" but those extra switches do not work with the existing 3250HD boxes. They still need just channelw.exe %DEVICE% %CHANNEL%"

Since the command is contained in a single registry key:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Frey Technologies\Common\EXEMultitunerPlugin]
“command”=”c:\\Program Files\\Timmmoore\\MCE 2005 STB Controller\\channelw.exe –f –a6 –n %DEVICE% %CHANNEL%"

it looks like I have to choose one or the other meaning that all the STB's have to be the same model.

Is there any way around this or do I have to get Cox to replace the remaining 3250HD's?

S

[sleonard]

I couldn't wait. I just took the remaining two 3250's back and upgraded those to 4240's as well so the question is moot.

S

[dcardellini]

Have been running for two years with (2) Firewire STB's (DCT-6412, and DCH-3200) for great recording of all cable content (no 5C!!!).

Just added another STB, and have a problem. Sage will only work two of the three STB's. The third one will start recording, but give a "no signal." The problem walks around to the different tuners depending on the order they are used by Sage. lst one wil give "no signal"

Does anybody on this forum have more than two STB's doing full Firewire recording (not just channel changing)?

Any idea for how to track this one down? (waiting for Sage support response). Log file just shows that it detects failed recording and keeps retrying to stream to file.

Edit-- problem solved...see thread

[dcardellini]

(edit: problem solved, see later post)

Not good development here.

Does not look like the limitation of max two STB's is in Sage. Looks like it is a limitation in Windows Directshow stuff.

The implementation of Firewire relies on the execution of a graph for each STB that connects the actual Firewire Tuner device driver and dumps to a phantom file (dump.ts).

With Sage NOT running, and the SGraphRecorder application NOT running, you can use Graphedit to "play" each graph, watching each dump file grow, and playing back with videolan player.

As you can run multiple instances of Graphedit, you can simultaneoulsy "play" these different graphs, and watch the directory of dump.ts files for each grow.

With three graphedit instances running, you can hit "play" on any two, and watch two files grow. When you hit "play" on the third one, the error message in Graphedit:

"This graph can't play

Insufficient system resources exist to complete requested service
(Return code: 0x800705aa)"

I have scoured the internet to see if there is any explicit reference to a limitation of two executed graphedits. No love.

I do not know enough about Directshow filters and what can be done to try to create/execute two, then a third graph that have nothing to do with firewire (to see if there is a limit on imaging firewire devices).

Any suggestions, hints, sites welcome. Hard to believe that nobody has ever tried three STB's over Firewire (but I say this all the time when I discover problems in the computer world).

[AJ Bertelson]

been running into a slight issue with fire wire and my HD pvr. Sage always send a signal to change a channel for recording. So if I last viewed channel at 750 it and I have a recording at 5:00 on channel 750, it will send the 750 channel. What I have noticed with this though is that when it resends the signal for me at least it somehow brings up the guide and looks at channel 900. I can't figure this one out either.

[kmp14]

I am gonna ask.....

Trying to get Firewire recording working in Windows 7. This is my first attempt at it. I followed Timm Moore's instructions to get the drivers installed, and que3jxp's instructions as well.

Installs and registrations of dlls and ax files seem to go fine.

When I plug in the DTB (Motorola DTC3412) the Tuner gets installed with a driver, but not the panel.

I can get the panel to install if I force it to use one of the drivers that are available under the Motorola category when I tell windows to let me pick a driver.

Regardless, when I try to get Graphedt to write a stream using que3jxp's instructions (Add the Motorola tuner, then the SBDARecorderDump->file filter) i get the

"insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service" error.

Of course, it wont play video in VLC either.

I can get channels to change from the command line.

Here is the channel.exe -v output

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Firewire STB channel changer V1.0.15, by timmmoore
1 "FireBus MPEG2TS Tuner Subunit Device"
'Digital AV/C Tuner Device'
"@devicenp:\\?\avc#motorola&dct-3412&typ_5&id_0#91841bfeff9a1500#{65e8773d-8f56-11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\global" 0
2 "AVC Panel Device"
'Motorola AV/C Panel Device'

UniqueID '91841bfeff9a1500'
VendorID '159a'
ModelID '34cb'
VendorText 'MOTOROLA'
ModelText 'DCT-3412'
"@devicenp:\\?\avc#motorola&dct-3412&typ_9&id_0#91841bfeff9a1500#{65e8773d-8f56-11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\global" 1
No device selected
Calling CoUninitialize
Called CoUninitialize

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The "No Device selected" line seems like it might indicate a problem???


Any help would be appreciated (I realize I might be on the bleeding edge here).

[dcardellini]

Do you have any other firewire devices plugged into other ports on that machine?

[kmp14]

Originally Posted by dcardellini

Do you have any other firewire devices plugged into other ports on that machine?

No, the only firewire device is the motorola.

[dcardellini]

Looks like you have an old or wrong driver.

What package did you use for the drivers?

I had to use an updated driver package to recognize my DCH-3200.

I found it here:

http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/

Don't do any automatic installs here. Unzip the zip file to a directory. In control panel, system, hardware, device manager.....go to "imaging devices" and you should see three devices...the AV/C Panel, Tuner, and unknown. In your case, if wrong driver, it just may say all unknown devices. In any case:

right click and uninstall all three of these.

Then, on one of them, right click and slelect "scan for hardware changes"

When the "New Hardware" wizard runs, you need to point to one of thesubdirectories of your unzipped driver file...(you my have to do this twice).

The third device will remain "unknown" Just disable it.

good luck

[dcardellini]

Concerning my problem with trying to run three STB's in SageTV (for Firewire Recording, NOT just tuning).

All Firewire controller cards (1-2-3-4 ports) use a single firewire controller chip. The total aggregate bandwidth across all ports is 400mbps maximum.

Firewire devices, like the cable STB box, grab a predetermined chunk of this bandwidth upfront when a recording begins. It looks like each STB grabs 25 MB/sec when recording starts (far more than it really needs). Therefore, two STB's take the entire 400 mbps bandwidth for the card. When one tries to start a third recording on connected firewire STB, the system responds with "insufficient resources."

Bought a second 1394 controller card (as my motherboard does not have 1394), and voila, three STB's join my four OTA-USB's for the seven tuners I was shooting for.

Again, this should only affect Firewire recordings. Channel changing should not force a big bandwidth grab by the STB, so I doubt this "two STB's per Firewire controller chip limitation" applies to those who just use Firewire for channel changing.

[kmp14]

Originally Posted by dcardellini

Looks like you have an old or wrong driver.

What package did you use for the drivers?

I had to use an updated driver package to recognize my DCH-3200.

I found it here:

http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/

FYI - I used the drivers in Timm Moore's install. I will give these a try tonight and post how it goes.

Thanks!

[renebour]

I was able to get my rig working with Sage and a Moto 6200. I have 4 other Hauppage tuners in the box and all is good. Channel changein between firewire and Haup devices works fine.
I have tested the channnels comming out of the moto and have only found one that is 5c, and I stay away from it.
My question is sometines when I change channels on the 6200 I get the spinning circle and then nothing. I stop the feed (with the stop button on the remote) I re-tune the channel and get it fine. Is this normal behavior or am I missing a timing setting somewhere? basically takes two tries to get the channel.

Thx
R