2xtuners-both recording the same chan :(

[hoody]

I just added a second tuner...Here is my setup

PVR250 with remote connected to IR port fed via coax from Dig Cable STB

PVR150 (this is the new card) fed via coax from cable BEFORE the STB

[The coax is split BEFORE it hits the STB...so one feed goes to the STB and one goes to the PVR150]


The PVR 250 controls the STB via serial cable...This setup has been working for me for 10 months now...

now wanting to record one show while watching another I purchased the PVR150 and installed it today. I can get each of the cards to work fine independently. However, when I try to watch one show while recording another, the PVR150 doesn't seem to change the channel...When I look in the directory where I store the recordings it seems both tuners are always recording the same show (the show the PVR250 is set to).

Is there a config settign I am missing?

[korben_dallas]

You do have the 2 tuners added as individual sources, correct?

And, I would imagine the EPG lineup should be different, since the tuner fed by the STB is getting channels above 99, correct?

You may also want to set tuner priority, depending on if you spend more time below 99 or more time above 99.

[hoody]

Originally Posted by korben_dallas

You do have the 2 tuners added as individual sources, correct?

correct

Originally Posted by korben_dallas

And, I would imagine the EPG lineup should be different, since the tuner fed by the STB is getting channels above 99, correct?

Hmmm. that makes sense.

Originally Posted by korben_dallas

You may also want to set tuner priority, depending on if you spend more time below 99 or more time above 99.

Hmmmm. How do you set tuner priority?
I envision MOST of my recording will be network stuff <99 so the PVR150 should hold that duty

[korben_dallas]

If you use SageTV in service mode, then look sage.properties. If you use it in exe mode, then look in sageclient.properties. Match up the encoder number with the encoder, and give a higher merit (>0) to the 150. Here's a section of mine, so you'll know what to seek.

mmc/encoders/667293874/encoder_merit=0
mmc/encoders/667293874/encoding_host=
mmc/encoders/667293874/last_cross_index=0
mmc/encoders/667293874/last_cross_type=1
mmc/encoders/667293874/live_audio_input=
mmc/encoders/667293874/never_stop_encoding=false
mmc/encoders/667293874/video_capture_device_name=Plextor ConvertX TV402U A/V Capture

(I only have 1 tuner at the moment, so merit doesn't affect my setup.)

This will have the added benefit of freeing up the 250 in case you want to watch LiveTV channels above 99. Of course, if you have 2 programs scheduled, then both tuners will be in use, and LiveTV won't be available unless you cancel a recording. Also, obviously if you schedule a recording on HBO or Cinemax etc on channel 550, then the 250 will be in use, and you would be limited to LiveTV channels below 99 available on the 150.

[hoody]

awesome, thanks! I will give that a whirl...

another thing I noticed...I have 2 of each channels in the EPG...one lists the correct show info..the other says 'no data'...

Is there a HowTo for running multiple tuners?

[korben_dallas]

You need to go through the setup wizard for each source. And make sure to click Complete Source Setup so your changes are saved both times.

When you pick the EPG for the 150, choose the non-digital lineup (if available) and try Basic Service w/ all channels enabled. When you pick the EPG for the 250, choose the digital lineup. (I'm assuming there are 2 EPG lineups provided by your cable company, since that's how Charter does it here.)

[hoody]

Originally Posted by korben_dallas

(I'm assuming there are 2 EPG lineups provided by your cable company, since that's how Charter does it here.)

yup

[hoody]

This is the most frustrating this EVER...and I'm sure the problem is me...I emailed Sage support and they recommended installing beta 2_2_4. so I did. Same result. The setup screen shows both tuners configured, yet when I record one show and go to change the channel it gives me that warning (where changing the channel will cancel the recording).

side note: In playing around with the many combinations in the setup, I can get the EPG to display two entries per channel (not all the time).

for example:
CH28 - MTV - Real World
CH28 - No data
CH29 - VH1 - hits
CH29 - No data

When this occurs I select the channel with the correct EPG data and the 250 changes the STB channel as it should...when I select the corresponding 'no data' channel, the 150 will take over and tune to the channel (not via the STB obviously, this is how I can tell the 150 is tuning)...but this still doesn't allow me to watch one show and record another...and besides, multiple sets of data for each channel is ghey.

I still can't believe there isn't a HOWTO for installing/configuring multiple tuners

[hoody]

ok...I think I got it...I rechecked the merit setting for both tuners in the sage.properties file and they were still both set to 0...I changed the PVR150 to equal 1 and I think it's working!

...Isn't this kinda rediculous to have to do this in the software. shouldn't the software know and auto-set as required? Did everyone else go through this?

[korben_dallas]

Originally Posted by hoody

...Isn't this kinda rediculous to have to do this in the software. shouldn't the software know and auto-set as required? Did everyone else go through this?

The EPG data doesn't look right. Looks like you picked the wrong (or no) lineup for the card that says "no data".

As far as software "knowing" what we want.. that should come about the same time we have true voice recognition (sometime around 2055 I'm guessing).

Hopefully someday we'll have SageTV Studio or SageTV for Linux, and we can all make every kind of customization we want, including a setup template for various kinds of installs.

[hoody]

Originally Posted by korben_dallas

As far as software "knowing" what we want.. that should come about the same time we have true voice recognition (sometime around 2055 I'm guessing).

Come on...you serious? How hard would it be to have a setting in the setup menu that allows you to change the priority...or auto-set it based on card-insertion order.

The fact that I have to dig into the config file and make this type of change is silly. now yes, you should still be able to customize these setting in this fashion for tweaking...but general multi-tuner configuration should be plug-n-play for Sage.

Question...Does MCE and Beyond auto-handle multiple tuners? or are they similar to Sage where they require user intervention to work properly (not being sarcastic...I honestly don't know).

btw...thanks for all your help!!!!

[korben_dallas]

MCE is fairly plug n play from what I hear, so long as you have compatible/qualified hardware. It is likely easier to use for the novice, but less configurable than SageTV. I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that it supports 2 tuners max, one of which can be an HDTV capture card.

I don't know anything about BTV.

I have heard it suggested before that when dealing w/ 2 tuners fed by analog cable and digitial cable, that in the source setup for the digital cable you should delete all channels below 99. This way, when watching LiveTV, you will have only one continuous channel listing, and SageTV will take care of which card to use. The problem with this setup is that you are denying the digital cable source the right to record channels 0-99 and might run into a conflict if you want to record channel 86 and watch channel 41.

[korben_dallas]

More info:

http://sage.tv/2_papers/SageTVV2_1Manual.pdf

Look at page 110. It speaks to multiple tuner setup and overlapping channels in the EPG.