Originally posted by mkerdman
Wizziwig

When will we get to road test your mpeg2 Repair Utility?

Still planning an alpha release for this week. I'm designing the tool as a general mpeg2 repair utility. The 169time repair is working well, but I'm currently trying to solve some issues with corrupted cable recordings that some users have sent me. Hopefully the final results will be useful for everyone on the forum, not just the 169time folks.

-Mark

Has anyone tried the new JVC HM-DH5U/ DT100U D-VHS decks with a 169Time STB-AVX1?

Wizziwig your repair utility is just what the doctor ordered. Sounds interesting. Myself and many others will greatly benifit from this:)

Thank you.

Originally posted by Alan Gouger
Wizziwig your repair utility is just what the doctor ordered. Sounds interesting. Myself and many others will greatly benifit from this:)

Thank you.

Alan

Ahmen to that brother!

Just got back from Richards place. Sure heard about some exciting announcements that should be happening soon. This is what I have always loved about 169time. Always in front and pulling further ahead.


I am trying to get into HDV for my personal hobby. I am hoping to get the aspect HD plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 so I can do MPEG editing there. Now, what would be funny is if I end up having to buy a DVHS deck again to move the video back and forth to. And a lot of the other tools this group has developed I may be able to use. Small World.

Murray, I did get a concussion with my broke collar bone and rib when I crashed my bike in my last half ironman. I still can not brush my teeth my with right hand yet, and its been 4.5 weeks. No fun getting hurt.

Dave

Originally posted by h2ofun
Murray, I did get a concussion with my broke collar bone and rib when I crashed my bike in my last half ironman. I still can not brush my teeth my with right hand yet, and its been 4.5 weeks. No fun getting hurt.

Dave


Ouch!

At least with HD the farthest you're likely to fall is off your chair at the eye popping resolution.

So, I was perusing the 169Time web site and stumbled across this:

"AVX1 software update 08C6 is a pre-release that has the following improvements.

Improved playback with non-JVC30000 software and hardware.
Improved performance with newest HDTV signals.
Greatly reduced CD size allows a 10mb download & cdburn
Works with firewire cards with less than 3 ports in the AVX1
Loads and starts faster
Supports newer DirecTV receiver upgrades (email 169time for details)"

http://www.169time.com/index.html#AVX1-Update

YEA, they finally did it! Still waiting for someone to find out about the one more very cool product I heard about. ;)

Dave

Cool. Will try it out.

Originally posted by h2ofun
YEA, they finally did it! Still waiting for someone to find out about the one more very cool product I heard about. ;)

Dave

And what very cool product might that be?

Any discussion of VOOM?

If it is Voom, might have to subscribe to Voom in addition to D*. By the way. Maybe someone can answer this. I have been having trouble getting picture with my DTC100 mod. I have it hooked up to my JVC 30K and 30K hooked up to AVX-1. i get picture for about 5-10 sec's, then it freezes up. i just built this AVX-1 because my other one died. It is a P3 Slot 1 650 mhz with 64mb. Could it be too slow. I had also just got my DTC100 back from 169 witha firmware upgrade. Richard said it was working great. Thanks.

Originally posted by Compromise
Any discussion of VOOM?

I don't think it is technically possible for any of the HD Recording Modification products to currently offer a Voom upgrade because Voom uses a modulation/encryption scheme that by design changes every so often through the set-top-box software download update which would would render the signal inaccessible to the modification output board.

I tried the new software and it works great. No more glitches when playing back recordings on the samsung 165 via dvi.

bb

Cool. I hear a key bug was fixed so things should be a lot better.

Nope, not voom. Better. Another something no one else has or any plans to have. ;)

Dave

An avx-1 with a 650 Mhz computer is fine. Thats one of the great things about 169time. You can use a old, slow computer that is basically worth nothing to do the encoding.

Dave

Dave:

Can you say DIRECTVHDTIVO firewire out?

If so where do I sign up?

Lon

Nope

dave

how about a hint?

mayde 169time pvr?

Originally posted by h2ofun
Nope, not voom. Better. Another something no one else has or any plans to have.


Dave,
So the important question is: Does this "new product" provide access to additional HD content? E.g. CinemaxHD, InHD, StarzHD, etc... PVR functionality, additional DVI boxes are nice features, but they don't address the real problem of content. Supporting Voom would ;)

TW

I have a feeling, as I should have expected, that what I consider cool, others consider unless its the moon, it will not be good enough.
I hear lots of stuff, within the bounds of what 169time has been supporting for years. As I have always said, they need to get working as close to perfect as possible, what they already have.

More content would be neat, but again, one step at a time.
I thought Voom committed to a firewire port a LONG time ago. What happened to it? 921 committed to this port also. Oh well, something is sure better than nothing.

And again, and again. I do NOT work for 169time. I am NOT their spokesperson. Anything I saw is just my guess. If you want real stuff, you will have to call and talk to Richard directly.

Dave

Dave:

So what do you consider cool?

Cool is just getting working perfectly what is out there, all video connections and PVR stuff. But since I do not watch basically any TV, I just love the tools.

Dave

Has anyone tried out the pre-release software on the 169time web site? I am getting a new JVC D-VHS (the HDMI version) and am hoping this will help me use it.

bb1987 (look above) tried it and said it worked great for him. I've all but abandoned my 169time Dish 6000 as I've had a working solution for HD recording with MyHD and other PC based cards for the past month now.

My initial impression is that the new 08C6 avx-1 software is a major improvement over the 08A5 and 08B4 software with my 169time modded DTC-100. With the new software (and DVHSTool 2.2b1 for capturing), I achieved 15 minutes of glitch free playback of files from my PC hard disk using the MyHD card. I will need to spend a lot more time analyzing how the 08C6 software works over a long PC recording or with my JVC 30K, but my initial tests were promising.

I just downloaded 086C earlier today and did a 30 minute test recording of HDNet Movies using an RCA DTC-100. My Samsung SIR-T165 was able to decode it glitch free which has never happened with the few other recordings I have tried. I have been unable to get acceptable recordings of HDNet Movies in the past several weeks so this test is very promising, but not meaningful yet. I have several recordings scheduled in the next 24 hours and will have a better idea then.

Chris

I just downloaded and booted the new software. It displays fine through my JVC 30K although I haven't tried recording with it yet. One question,

My JVC on-screen display still reports the unit as the "AVX 08A5" instead of reflecting the new software version #. Does anyone else notice this, or did I do something wrong?

Thanks!

EJ

I would be careful about using any deck other than the JVC30K

Dave

Originally posted by EJ
I just downloaded and booted the new software. It displays fine through my JVC 30K although I haven't tried recording with it yet. One question,

My JVC OCD still reports the unit as the "AVX 08A5" instead of reflecting the new software version #. Does anyone else notice this, or did I do something wrong?

Thanks!

EJ

Mine shows 08C6.

Chris

Originally posted by h2ofun
I would be careful about using any deck other than the JVC30K

Dave

I am one of the lucky ones and I have two 30Ks working great. I have only used them for recording and decoding 169time tapes. Previously when I tried to use a Mitsubishi D-VHS connected to a Samsung SIR-T165 to decode 169time recordings, I got frequent glitches, much worse than either 30K. A brief test was done today as a result of your post indicating 08C6 would result in recordings that could be decoded by other decoders, and I tried again. The test recording was decoded virtually glitch free by the SIR-T165. I don't know yet if that means future recordings made using a DTC-100 and AVX-1 can be decoded properly with the SIR-T165 but I intend to find out because I would like to use that decoder for that purpose.

Chris

I can't get the new software to record to DVHSCap or DVHSTools. Anyone have any luck with either of these recording tools? It's recognizing the new device, but recording nothing.

Ron,

Did you install the new device as JVC tape deck?

Originally posted by Chris Gerhard
I just downloaded 086C earlier today and did a 30 minute test recording of HDNet Movies using an RCA DTC-100. My Samsung SIR-T165 was able to decode it glitch free which has never happened with the few other recordings I have tried. I have been unable to get acceptable recordings of HDNet Movies in the past several weeks so this test is very promising, but not meaningful yet. I have several recordings scheduled in the next 24 hours and will have a better idea then.

Chris

Originally posted by stjr
Ron,

Did you install the new device as JVC tape deck?

Steve:

Well actually it was difficult to install. I have XP Service Pack 2 (don't know if that matters) and the only thing it tried to install was the tuner it found, which of course, I cancelled. On the drop down on either of those programs, there was the AVX1, new version and the JVC30K.

So are you thinking maybe I should uninstall all of the JVC tape drivers and reinstall?

Ron,

I have posted how I install the AV/C drivers here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4148698#post4148698). If you have any doubt about how you installed the drivers, you can uninstall and try again. DVHSTool works fine for me with the 08C6 software.

FYI on info on s/w number

This is answered in the 3rd paragraph of the readme.txt that comes with the .iso image file.

It says to reset the ilink in the JVC so it redetects the names of the connected devices.


FYI

Dave

Man, I would stay away from SP2. I had loaded it and started having issues with my editing s/w, etc, so away it went!!!!!

Dave

Originally posted by stjr
Ron,

I have posted how I install the AV/C drivers here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4148698#post4148698). If you have any doubt about how you installed the drivers, you can uninstall and try again. DVHSTool works fine for me with the 08C6 software.

Steve:

Are you using SP2? I've uninstalled and reinstalled several times, including making sure the tuner is listed as a device with the exclamation point. The recording tools recognize 169time.com AVX1-rev08C6 as the active device, but I still come up with empty packets.

Perhaps the 169time is not compatible with SP2. Your thoughts?

I taped a few hours of the US Open on Bravo-HD last night, using the standard DTC-100 and JVC 30K VCR. I then took the tape downstairs and tried playing it on my TV with the SIR-T165 and a Mitsubishi 1100U VCR. I was thrilled to see that it worked perfectly.

I guess I can feel better about archiving HD in the future. It looks like it will be playable regardless of the VCR I use. I still want to do some tests transferring the same data to and from my PC.

It will be nice to know that I can archive on the 30K now, and be confident that I can transfer to some future format such as HD-DVD in the future.

I know some people as well as me have been wondering if the 5U will work with the 169time system. I have the 169time system and just placed an order for a 5U. I should get it by the end of next week so will be posting my results.

Unfortunately I am not able to play back files that I restore with DVHSTool.
I am getting the error "File format is not supported" from both MyHD and the Windows Media Player.

Originally posted by JHL
I taped a few hours of the US Open on Bravo-HD last night, using the standard DTC-100 and JVC 30K VCR. I then took the tape downstairs and tried playing it on my TV with the SIR-T165 and a Mitsubishi 1100U VCR. I was thrilled to see that it worked perfectly.

I guess I can feel better about archiving HD in the future. It looks like it will be playable regardless of the VCR I use. I still want to do some tests transferring the same data to and from my PC.

Same here, and 08C6 is the first software version that would do that so it sure looks like 169time has a winner with the new software, at least for my needs. I don't use a PC with 169time, only JVC 30K and Mitsubishi D-VHS VCRs so this is a big improvement. Recordings made using my Hughes HIRD-E86 with 08C6 still can't be decoded by my Samsung SIR-T165 so the DTC-100 is going to be used for the majority of my archiving.

Chris

Originally posted by Ron Tobin
Steve:

Are you using SP2? I've uninstalled and reinstalled several times, including making sure the tuner is listed as a device with the exclamation point. The recording tools recognize 169time.com AVX1-rev08C6 as the active device, but I still come up with empty packets.I am only using SP1 with my HTPC, but I have installed SP2 on other PC's and I do not think that SP2 is the problem, but of course I could be wrong. In my experience, in order to uninstall the driver for every AV/C device, you need to connect every AV/C device to your HTPC, including the 08A5 avx-1, let Windows detect the driver, and then uninstall it. It's a very tedious task.

When I first attached my 08C6 avx-1 PC to my HTPC, if I recall correctly, I was prompted to install an AV/C Tape Recorder/Player. I knew that was a cue to install the JVC tape deck. If you received that same prompt and did not install the JVC deck, you may be able to correct things by installing and/or uninstalling the 08A5 avx-1 and trying again. My 2 cents. YMMV.

Originally posted by stjr
I am only using SP1 with my HTPC, but I have installed SP2 on other PC's and I do not think that SP2 is the problem, but of course I could be wrong. In my experience, in order to uninstall the driver for every AV/C device, you need to connect every AV/C device to your HTPC, including the 08A5 avx-1, let Windows detect the driver, and then uninstall it. It's a very tedious task.

When I first attached my 08C6 avx-1 PC to my HTPC, if I recall correctly, I was prompted to install an AV/C Tape Recorder/Player. I knew that was a cue to install the JVC tape deck. If you received that same prompt and did not install the JVC deck, you may be able to correct things by installing and/or uninstalling the 08A5 avx-1 and trying again. My 2 cents. YMMV.

Steve:

I did get the prompt to install an AV/C Tape Recorder/Player. The part I didn't do was uninstall the 08A5 AVX-1. I will try that later and let you know if I make any headway.

Thanks,

Ron,

From my experience, you don't need to uninstall the the 08A5 AV/C device, as long as the 08C6 device is installed initially as a JVC deck. You will then have separate drivers (JVC decks) for both your 08A5 and 08C6 devices.

If you fail to do this, then Windows may use the 08A5 drivers to establish a connection to the 08C6 device. That's my theory for unistalling the 08A5 drivers (and maybe other AV/C drivers).

Originally posted by h2ofun
I would be careful about using any deck other than the JVC30K

Dave

Now you have me scared.

I have posted several times that I have had great success using a dedicated MITS 2000 to record from the DTC-100. I then playback from a second MITS via firewire to my MITS 73711 RP TV.

Of course I want an "upgrade" the same as everybody else, but I don't trust my 30K for the long run, and much prefer the MITS in any event.

I note Richard on his web site also refers only to using the 30K.

Should I stay away from the upgrade?

Is anyone else having problems using HDTVtoMPEG2 to convert (from ts to raw MPEG2) recordings made with the new software?

Originally posted by mikey mo
Now you have me scared.

I have posted several times that I have had great success using a dedicated MITS 2000 to record from the DTC-100. I then playback from a second MITS via firewire to my MITS 73711 RP TV.

Of course I want an "upgrade" the same as everybody else, but I don't trust my 30K for the long run, and much prefer the MITS in any event.

I note Richard on his web site also refers only to using the 30K.

Should I stay away from the upgrade?

Of course not, it is risk free. Download the upgrade and if it doesn't improve your recordings, just put 08A5 back into your AVX-1. So far version 08C6 is a big improvement for me. If somehow you are getting perfect recordings with 085A, then you won't see any improvement with your current decoder but you might find your current recordings don't work well with other decoders. With 08A5, only my JVC 30K could decode 169time tapes and even then I wasn't very happy. With 08C6, the recordings have fewer glitches and based on the first couple of hours, appear to work with other decoders much better. I still use a JVC 30K to make the tapes.

Chris

The real question is, would the new AVX-1 firmware solve issues with cording, for instance, the special event Olymipcs (not the Special Olympics lol), of which .08A5 was unable to cord ?

Mikey, my comment was only about the newer JVC decks.

Dave

Thanks Chris and Dave. I'll try it out; maybe even before Frances gets here. The hurricane track has been projected north of me; then right over me; and now to the south. Who knows.

Bump

(The real question is, would the new AVX-1 firmware solve issues with cording, for instance, the special event Olymipcs (not the Special Olympics lol), of which .08A5 was unable to cord ?)

Originally posted by Capybara 320
Bump

(The real question is, would the new AVX-1 firmware solve issues with cording, for instance, the special event Olymipcs (not the Special Olympics lol), of which .08A5 was unable to cord ?)

We should be able to find out in about 4 years. Unless somebody recorded it using 08C6, nobody can answer that now. With this stuff, we don't know much of anything for certain until we see it.

Chris

Hi,

I finally released my mpeg2 repair tool which can be used to improve decoder compatibility with 169time recordings. Sorry for the delays in releasing this program, but I've been awfully busy lately. I've also been working with 169time under NDA to help improve their AVX software. Based on the response to 08C6, it looks like most of you are pleased with the results.

For further discussion about my tool, please see:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=442446

-Mark

Mark, thank you very much for helping out the 169time team!!

Dave

Well I tried the 08C6 version of the 169time software last night. I recorded an HBO movie using my 169time modded Proscan sat box to a JVC 30K player. I just watched a few minutes and saw a scene with a huge video "stutter" with an audio dropout.

I later watched an hour of "Six Feet Under" and experienced just one audio dropout at the beginning of the show. Usually when I watch this show there are a few audio dropouts.

As far as I can tell the new software may offer a slight improvement for me. The problem could also be with the source (Directv).

I had experienced rare video / audio glitches in my previous recordings.

Is this new software intended to improve AVX-1 to JVC stability , or is the intention for computer drives?

Chris,

If the issues were addressed, then someone from 169Time can chime in and waiting 4 years wouldn't really tell you anything as the encoding may have changed again by then.

Originally posted by Chris Gerhard
We should be able to find out in about 4 years. Unless somebody recorded it using 08C6, nobody can answer that now. With this stuff, we don't know much of anything for certain until we see it.

Chris

Originally posted by jay koz
Is this new software intended to improve AVX-1 to JVC stability , or is the intention for computer drives?

I don't use a computer with 169time, and only use a JVC 30K to make recordings. Version 08C6 is a big improvement for me. I can't say that was the intention but I can confirm it is the result, at least for me. The firewire connection is not more stable, as 08A5 resulted in a very stable connection. The data being transmitted from the AVX-1 to the JVC apparently is much improved.

Chris

I would guess it is the avx-1 process is much better now. This would seem to imply any device using its bits stream should be better.

Dave

I downloaded the 08C6 pre-release and after unzipping it to a directory I used Nero Burning ROM and selected CD-ROM ISO for burning and simply burned the complete unzipped directory to the blank CD-R. I put it in my AVX-1 and rebooted it and have tried it several times with no luck. I don't have a screen attached so have no clue what the screen would say but what I know is I am unable to select I-2 on my 30K which is what I use for recording. I never had this problem with the software. Any idea of what I could have done wrong?

Have you reset the firewire connection on your VCR? If you have and can't get the AVX-1 to communicate with the VCR, try 08A5 again to make sure the two still communicate with that version. I used Cheetah to burn the iso file to CD, but I don't believe that should matter. You may have a bad file, somehow corrupted during the download or during unzipping so try that again if all else fails.

Chris

Originally posted by bwooster
Well I tried the 08C6 version of the 169time software last night. I recorded an HBO movie using my 169time modded Proscan sat box to a JVC 30K player. I just watched a few minutes and saw a scene with a huge video "stutter" with an audio dropout.



I continue to get good results with the new software. Just watched a recording of INTOLERABLE CRUELTY recorded from HBO on Saturday during the time that the first bands of hurricane Frances were hitting my area, and yet, despite wind and rain during the recording, there was not a single audio or video dropout, stutter, or any other glitch of any kind.

bb

I just taped Bikini Destinations (Mexican Riviera) with version 08C6.

Instead of the small macroblock glitches that I might get in the past I got two instances where the whole screen was black with no audio during these "blank" periods. I never had this problem in the past so this is something related to version 08C6.

I will make more recordings to confirm these results.

Ok, I downloaded the 08C6 and recorded Dead Like Me tonight to a tape using the JVC30k. I then wanted to see if I could play the tape from the JVC30k through firewire to the MYHD card in my computer. I watched about 20 minutes of it and it played perfect with no audio or video dropouts or pixellations. Using the A5 software and playing through the MYHD card recordings would always pixellate every few seconds or so. I am recording a movie tonight and I will watch all of it tomorrow and see how it goes but so far I am impressed.

Thanks,
Mike

Originally posted by bb1987
I continue to get good results with the new software. Just watched a recording of INTOLERABLE CRUELTY recorded from HBO on Saturday during the time that the first bands of hurricane Frances were hitting my area, and yet, despite wind and rain during the recording, there was not a single audio or video dropout, stutter, or any other glitch of any kind.

bb

I got exactly the same result, recording the movie with a DTC-100 and JVC 30K and playing it back using a Mitsubishi HS-HD1100U decoded by a Samsung SIR-T165. That same combination with 08A5 would have resulted in about a dozen glitches. Unfortunately, the movie was only so-so with very few laughs.

Chris

Yes I need to add that I also used a mits 165 to play back the movie via its DVI output, and with the old software I was only able to use the 30K's component outputs to get glitch free results. When using the DVI I would get micro-glitches, same as Chris. So I believe the problem has been resolved. I was using an S-VHS tape for this recording.

bb

I burned a copy of the 08C6 pre-release and am going to evaluate the improvement that it may make in the very few audio dropouts and pixilations that I have experienced with the old software (08B3).

0.8C6 software is much improved using the Mits Tape Deck.

EQUIPMENT: (1) G.I. HDD-201 HD modified HD decoder for use with the DSR-922 (4dtv Receiver), (2) Mits HS-HD2000U D-VHS Deck and (3) 169 Time built AVX-1 Computer.

CONNECTION: Using the OLD 0.8B3 AVX-1 to HDD-201 6 pin to 4 pin firewire cable; AVX-1 to HD2000U 6 pin to 4 pin firewire cable. With the NEW 0.8C6 software the above setup will NOT RECORD some of the time. Using the new 0.8C6 the connection was changed to: AVX-1 to HDD-201 6 pin to 4 pin firewire cable and HDD-201 to HD2000U 4 pin to 4 pin firewire cable

RESULTS: 0.8C6 is improved 55-65% over 0.8B3. The old software had BOTH pixilations and sound dropouts 8-12 times in 2 hrs. The new software has NO pixilations and 1 sec or less sound dropouts 3-5 times in 2 hrs.

MAKING 0.8C6 bootable CD from 08C6.ISO file. I COULD NOT BURN the CD using Windows Home XP with SP 2 as recommended by 169 Time. I went to the below link at newrecruit.org and downloaded the shareware "ISO Recorder for windows XP". Setup and CD burn went perfectly on the first try. http://www.newrecruit.org/archives/2003/june/isorecorderfor

THANKS 16:9 Time.

Cuba Jim

Recordings made with pre-release 08C6 using my Hughes HIRD-E8 and JVC 30K can be decoded using my Mitsubishi 1100U and Samsung SIR-T165. I reported earlier I wasn't having success with that combination but was wrong.

The 08C6 firewire connection between my AVX-1 and JVC VCR is less stable in my setup than with 08A5 as I have had to reset or go through various gyrations to sync the connection now on several occasions. With 08A5, the need to reset somehow was much less frequent. That is not much of a problem and the tapes are of much higher quality and much better compatibility so 08C6 stays in the AVX-1.

Thanks 169time and the individual(s) here that assisted with this enormous improvement. I was close to abandoning the system and try something else but not now.

Chris

Chris,

I am VERY happy that you are now satisfied with your purchase!!! You had me a little worried there:rolleyes:

Dave,

It was a good system until DirecTV changed the bitrate or altered something with HDNet Movies which made that channel not work with 169time running 08A5. That in addition to the fact that recordings with prior software releases could only be decoded acceptably with a JVC 30K, in my setup at least, made a 169time system marginal for me. Now both of those issues seem to be completely resolved. Every recording I have checked in the last week has been nearly perfect and the few glitches observed could easily be inherent with DirecTV HDTV or D-VHS recording in general and not caused by 169time. I was convinced the overwhelming majority of glitches and incompatibility with different decoders in prior releases were in fact caused by the 169time system shortcomings.

Chris

Where are the 169time attackers lately? These folks making positive posts must be being paid for 169time. It could never work. ;)

Looks like its finally working correctly, and more stuff to come.

Dave

And it only took them how many years to do this?

It's obvious that this latest update was made because of the R5000 product being released soon by Nextcom. I have the 169time Dish 6000 mod, and before that I had the DTC100 mod. Neither worked well for PC recording/playback. Does it work now? It sounds like it does. But for me it was too little too late. If Richard, or his main cheerleader, Dave/h20fun, had released this fix even two months earlier, it MIGHT have made a difference to me. Too late now, though, IMO.

I'm glad all the existing 169time users have a more stable software release now. It's been a LONG time coming. It'll help me get better resale value on my 6000 modded STB. But then again, it's only there because Richard is afraid of losing business to the competition around the corner.

And no matter what you say, Dave, you ARE the voice of 169time here.

I think that 169time and R5000 serve slightly different overlapping markets. 169time should appeal more to satellite subscribers who want to record to D-VHS tape. The R5000 should appeal more to subscribers interested in recording to their PC's.

I have no issues with 169time. I knew what the system had to offer when I purchased it, and for a while, it was the only game in town. I'm glad that there is some competition on the horizon, because it provides an incentive for all the sellers of satellite recording systems to improve their products.

Edit: That said, it would have been great if the 08C6 software had been available two years ago, but it's a moot point now.

Kevin,

I don't disagree with your position. It may be that 169time was working to fix the issues all along and finally got it done. It may be that it was obvious R5000-HD worked much better and that provided the motivation, I don't know. You mention it should have been done sooner and since I couldn't fix it, I can't judge how difficult it was and don't know how long the testing has been going on for this current software. I do know that competition is great for any market. The product was way over priced for the performance and with the half price sale now, 169time should make a bunch of sales over the next week. This thing works really well all of a sudden.

Chris

Just thought I'd check in and what a surprise, A new release that you all claim is 100% now. I'm happy it finally made the scene. Actually, I haven't tried to use my 169Time stuff since I tried and failed to record Lord of the Rings PPV last winter. I suppose I should give the new software a whirl.
But, I am now happily recording and archiving to hard drives on my HDTIVO and 921 with a combined recording capacity of hours of HD and 7 tuners. It is just way too easy. I never regret the experience with the 169Time system when that was all we had but in all honesty, it is just too much effort for me to record that way now. I just plan to keep my expensive 169Time stuff for those rare, now extremely rare, cases that need a DVHS tape. Still, I'm off to download the new software, just in case I get ambitious to record to tape again.

Originally posted by Don Landis
Just thought I'd check in and what a surprise, A new release that you all claim is 100% now.

Don, I don't think I would call it 100%. It is much improved and for the first time I watched a 2 hour movie recorded using a 169time system that was glitch free. Apparently the recordings still don't work well with the decoder used in the JVC HM-DH40000U which is also used in the subsequent JVC D-VHS VCRs.

With a properly working JVC HM-DH30000U, it is now a very good system in my opinion for someone that doesn't mind messing with videotape. Your points regarding recording with a PVR are certainly correct.

Chris

I saw this today at 169Time's web site:

"Recently two things we've been working on have tested out sufficiently well that we are able to offer them to new and prior customers on a pre-release basis. Pre-release in these case means that these are still a work in progress and that there will likely be an improved "actual release" at some time in the near future. The next time you look back here there might be a newer pre-release or an actual release.

AVX1 software version 08D6 pre-release

AVX1 software update 08D6 is a pre-release that has the following improvements.

Includes all the improvements listed below of 08C6.
Faster response time to startup under a variety of conditions.
Seldom if ever needs rebooting even after long run time.
Eliminates on-screen (Linux PC) error messages that scroll off the screen.
Replaces version 08C6 pre-release. 08C6 was taken off the download page.
AVX1 software update 08C6 is a pre-release that has the following improvements.

Improved playback with non-JVC30000 software and hardware.
Improved performance with newest HDTV signals.
Greatly reduced CD size allows a 10mb download & cdburn
Works with firewire cards with less than 3 ports in the AVX1
Loads and starts faster
Supports newer DirecTV receiver upgrades (email 169time for details)

NOTE: Even though version 08D6 is an improvement over version 08C6 that we put out for download last week, for most 169time users, the improvements that 08C6 already offered were the most significant,i.e. related to recording quality and interoperation with other decoders."


http://www.169time.com/index.html#AVX1-Update

Being a proud new 169time owner with jvc 30k and 40k, it works with both recorders, near as i can tell. However, agree with Chris it may not be perfect; am experiencing pixelating mostly on HdNET movies on both machines (other stations pretty rarely, but they do occur). And the pic froze once in the middle of a Hdnet movie after i went to bed, so it 'could' have been a line power spike or something, even tho i have the thing running off an UPS.

These few and far between glitches also appear while monitoring live avx1 output via jvc (not recording), and comparing side by side the identical avx1 output and sat receiver output, (they didn't appear in sat output, which was 480i output btw, maybe that makes a difference...).

Interestingly. similar glitches have appeared even on my HR10-250 Tivo recordings, but they're really rare (once a movie if that). It seems to be a matter of frequency--direct view from sat receiver the lowest or none, HR10-250 recording next higher, monitor live avx1 next higher, avx1/jvc tape recording next higher, HDnet Movies avx1 monitor or jvc tape recording the highest.

To be totally fair, frequencies of glitches are low enough to be considered 'in the noise', EXCEPT Hdnet movies. 169time is by-and-large wonderful for permanent archival/backup. But on HDNet Movies, glitches have occurred on recordings frequently enough to be...annoying. Havent had any trouble with audio, been perfect, even thru video glitches.

These few glitches could possibly be interference because my avx1 is right next to my sat receiver. To be honest, the units' distances from one another are not in compliance with Richard's recommendations. Will move them farther apart one of these days when wife slows down on her honeydoo list....

Since others are reporting no glitches in recording HDNet Movies, must have something to do with my equipment placement or setup, etc.

Ha, soon I will need to download 08D6. I did have to reboot more often with 08C6 but might wait until final release of 08D6. Maybe we will see further improvements more rapidly.

Chris

Originally posted by Kim Gilbert
Being a proud new 169time owner with jvc 30k and 40k, it works with both recorders, near as i can tell. However, agree with Chris it may not be perfect; am experiencing pixelating mostly on HdNET movies on both machines (other stations pretty rarely, but they do occur). And the pic froze once in the middle of a Hdnet movie after i went to bed, so it 'could' have been a line power spike or something, even tho i have the thing running off an UPS. They also appear while monitoring avx1 output via jvc (not recording), and comparing side by side avx1 output and sat receiver output, (they didn't appear in sat output). So pretty sure the avx1 is the source for whatever reason (interference, etc).

These glitches could possibly be because my avx1 is right next to my sat receiver; will move them apart one of these days when wife slows down on her honeydoo list...

Kim, I don't see those HDNet Movies glitches with 08C6. HDNet Movies had become impossible for 169time to deal with running 08A5 for me. The pic freeze has always been loss of firewire communication in my experience and seemed to be related to heat or interference of some kind. Rain fade also can cause that but recording should pick back up after satellite reception returns.

Chris

Originally posted by Chris Gerhard
Kim, I don't see those HDNet Movies glitches with 08C6. HDNet Movies had become impossible for 169time to deal with running 08A5 for me. The pic freeze has always been loss of firewire communication in my experience and seemed to be related to heat or interference of some kind. Rain fade also can cause that but recording should pick back up after satellite reception returns.

Chris

I once accidentally disconnected the sat connection to the 169time setup for approx. 1 minute while jvc was recording , then reconnected. The pic froze for the minute then RESUMED, believe it or not, and completed the recording.

Am running 08C6. There's a good chance these glitches are interference related in this case.

For what it is worth, as soon as Richard was able to fix a key bug, he did and now you see the results. Everyone would have loved to have figured out how to fix this issue 2 years ago, but, it was not. I can assure you Richard, and everyone else involved with 169time products would have been a lot happier if it could have been figured out sooner.

Dave

Dave, a question for you:

I would guess that the majority of sales for 169time comes from this great forum. Why doesn't Dave, or someone who is "officially" from the company, at least visit this forum to answer questions, and give the actual users of their product someone to talk to? All we hear is info from you, with a disclaimer of "I don't work for them".

Nextcom has yet to sell their product to the general product, yet you can get a response from them the same day the question is asked. Sure sure, I know that Richard is "always busy", but seeing as how AVS Forums probably generates the bulk of his sales, of which he pays AVS not one penny, it sure would be a prudent move on his part to have an official presence here. We do have you to direct 169time questions to, but then again, you're not an "official" employee of 169time, right?

I have always been able to easily reach Richard directly by both the phone number and email address listed on the 169Time web site.

The fact that Richard chooses to communicate with his customers directly one-on-one is more the norm than not.

Some small companies choose to have a presence on forums discussing the company products but many do not. I have never contacted Richard and have waited patiently for these improvements and hope further refinements are in the works. Dave (h2ofun) has offered some answers and communicated questions and ideas from this forum which may or may not have helped make the latest upgrades a reality. I suspect the discussions here and input from technical people has been beneficial with the most benefit coming from direct communication to Richard. Dave also has apparently had considerable involvement in the AVX-1 software so officially or unofficially he knows about the problems we have had with the product. The upgrades didn't come as quick as we would have liked, but as always it is better late than never.

Chris

I do agree with you there, Murray. The few times that I called 169time, I reached Richard and he did answer the questions I had at the time. He might have had the answer that I wanted ("when can I record directly to the PC?"), but he did have the time to talk with me directly.

However, many people, myself included, prefer email communications, and would also like to post questions on forums such as this one. My point was merely that AVS Forums must be responsible for most of their sales, and as such, someone from 169time ought to have a presence here and answer questions from users. All we have is h20fun/Dave, who gives us his rah-rah cheerleading on the product, attacks anyone who criticizes the company, and then ends with his "I'm not an employee of 169time" remarks.

Anyone using the new software tried playback using the MYHD card?

Thanks!

Originally posted by KevinYee
I do agree with you there, Murray. The few times that I called 169time, I reached Richard and he did answer the questions I had at the time. He might have had the answer that I wanted ("when can I record directly to the PC?"), but he did have the time to talk with me directly.

However, many people, myself included, prefer email communications, and would also like to post questions on forums such as this one. My point was merely that AVS Forums must be responsible for most of their sales, and as such, someone from 169time ought to have a presence here and answer questions from users. All we have is h20fun/Dave, who gives us his rah-rah cheerleading on the product, attacks anyone who criticizes the company, and then ends with his "I'm not an employee of 169time" remarks.

Kevin

I have always recieved a prompt response to my emails to Richard.

Emails are sometimes better than a live phone conversation, and, certainly better than the somewhat inefficent back and forth of a forum which is a form of public email on a particular subject, because you can cut and paste things and attach screen captures etc.

In any event, I believe that Richard feels he is better suited to a one-on-one form of communication, no matter what the medium may be, and, we have to respect that as it is his choice.

Some manufacturers who have shown a presence on the forum have gotten unfairly hammered by disgruntled customers who probably would have had a good/better resolution had they not found it necessary to show everyone here how clever they were by flaming company reps on the AVS Forum.

Unless I was a sales and marketing person at a company, I would not join in this form of discussion.

However then everyone jumps in and accuses the sales and marketing guy of unfair....well...seling and marketing.

The new software works much better with the DTC100. I can now playback using other decoders without glitches.

Thanks Richard! Good job.

BTW the random artifact on the lower right of the screen is also gone.

Originally posted by Alan Gouger
Anyone using the new software tried playback using the MYHD card?

Thanks!

Alan

I have, and, it's 95% glitch-free when playing either a DVHS tape or a PC file restored from the DVHS tape.

What you do get actually are not glitches so much as they are 1-2 seconds of black or frozen screen with a clean resumption of the stream.

I observed about 4 of them in a one and one-half hour movie.

I believe that MyHD has a known issue with playing other than ATSC-OTA derived captures, in particular D-VHS tapes.

Further, I think that this phenomenon with the new AVX1 software, whether the playback is on hard disk or tape, shifts the likelihood to it being a MyHD issue and not a 169Time one.

I get no anomalies on the same tape played on an LG 3410, but, I didn't get any with the prior software either, except, on HBOHD and on D* only.

” I believe that MyHD has a known issue with playing other than ATSC-OTA derived captures, in particular D-VHS tapes.”

I didn’t say that in my email response to you. Here is what I did say:

“There are some known issues when using MyHD to record to tape from a file on the hard drive. This issue has already been reported to MIT for resolution.”

” Further, I think that this phenomenon with the new AVX1 software, whether the playback is on hard disk or tape, shifts the likelihood to it being a MyHD issue and not a 169Time one.”

Really? How did you determine that? Maybe there are errors in the 169Time stream causing the problem.

Originally posted by Cliff Watson
” Further, I think that this phenomenon with the new AVX1 software, whether the playback is on hard disk or tape, shifts the likelihood to it being a MyHD issue and not a 169Time one.”

Really? How did you determine that? Maybe there are errors in the 169Time stream causing the problem.

Cliff,

Maybe they are.

What do you think is the best way to determine the cause and effect?

I have found that if a stream has at any point passed through a JVC 30K D-VHS deck that the anomalies I observed existed on MyHD playback.

This is from both the tape and/or a PC file that came about from a JVC 30K D-VHS restore to PC from that tape.

I will send you the tape and a DVD of the same material to see what you make of it.

I really want the MyHD to work well with all the HD D-VHS & PC recording solutions as I find the MyHD DVI output simply stellar through my DLP front projector.

Anyone using the new software tried playback using the MYHD card?

I've played back 2 1/2 hours so far using the MYHD card and all has played back perfect so far. I played back 1 1/2 hours using the JVC30k through the firewire to the MYHD card and I also used DVHSTools and restored the tape back to the hard drive and watched 1 hour from the hard drive using the MYHD card. So, its been perfect for me so far.

Mike

” What do you think is the best way to determine the cause and effect?”

We should let the experts determine what is causing your problem. The tape you’re sending can be analyzed for errors.

” I have found that if a stream has at any point passed through a JVC 30K D-VHS deck that the anomalies I observed existed on MyHD playback.”

The dropout you described sounds like a MyHD decoder reset caused by a bad sync byte.

Originally posted by Cliff Watson
” What do you think is the best way to determine the cause and effect?”

We should let the experts determine what is causing your problem. The tape you’re sending can be analyzed for errors.

” I have found that if a stream has at any point passed through a JVC 30K D-VHS deck that the anomalies I observed existed on MyHD playback.”

The dropout you described sounds like a MyHD decoder reset caused by a bad sync byte.


I agree we should let MIT tell us what, if anything, the tape/DVD reveals.

Thanks for forwarding it.

I received my 5U today and hooked it up to the 169time system (I used a 30K before). I was running the pre-release from last week but just upgraded to the newest version. The STB I have is a Toshiba for DirecTV. Well unfortunately the VCR is not finding either the STB Or the AVX1 (it won't assign any I#'s). I was hoping these two would work together? Any ideas on how I can get them to work?

Mark, I am assuming you are able to get your 30K to communicate using the new software, either 08C6 or D6. Try the 169time recommended connection procedure with the 5U, AVX-1 and Toshiba. It may take a couple of attempts to get communication.

Chris

I finally was able to get the O8C6 as well as O8D6 working and it works fine with the 30K but will try some more with the 5U.

I have an interesting hardware issue, when doing PC recording, which just started since using 08C6 or 08D6. I don't believe it has anything to do with the 169time HDVR or the AVX1, but I thought I would mention it in the hope that someone may have experienced the same thing, and may have a suggestion.

My usual setup is HDVR --> JVC30K -->AVX1 -->PC. The recording software can be either DVHSTools or DVHS Cap. The I-links that the JVC recognizes is I-1 for the HDVR, I-2 for the AVX1 and I-3 for the PC.

When watching the AVX1 monitor, the usual procedure has always been that when the JVC is at I-1 it would say "Looking for HDVR", then plugging in the AVX to the front of the JVC would result in the AVX1 monitor saying "Waiting for Request to Transmit". Finally, when the JVC is set to I-2, the AVX1 would run and the output of the JVC decoder would show the program. Then opening up DVHSTools and starting a restore which is pointed to the AVX1, usually I could begin a recording.

Now, for some unknown reason, following this procedure when recording, the DVHSTools says "Ready to Restore", Restore in Progess" and Restore Complete". All of that in 1 second. I found that the only way I can accomplish a restore is to set the JVC to something other than I-2, then the AVX1 would say "Waiting for Request to Transmit" and once DVHSTools is started, it would begin the normal recording process. The problem is, that without the JVC set to I-2, there is no way to monitor the recording.

This appears to be some sort of a hardware issue. Has anyone who uses the JVC in the chain experienced this?

169timers,

I've skimmed through this huge thread to try and get a feel for this product. My impressions are that it was pretty unstable a year ago and that it is much better now. I would like any feedback you can provide.

My intention is to use this with a Zenith SAT-520. Is anyone using this IRD? What is the best DVHS machine to use? 169time recommends the JVC 30000. Is this machine solid? I know it has had issues.

In short I want to record and archive HD. I have the HDTivo and like it. I'm willing to work out the technical hurdles to make this go as long as it isn't an ongoing maintainence hassle.

thanks..

Originally posted by kraigk
169timers,

I've skimmed through this huge thread to try and get a feel for this product. My impressions are that it was pretty unstable a year ago and that it is much better now. I would like any feedback you can provide.

My intention is to use this with a Zenith SAT-520. Is anyone using this IRD? What is the best DVHS machine to use? 169time recommends the JVC 30000. Is this machine solid? I know it has had issues.

In short I want to record and archive HD. I have the HDTivo and like it. I'm willing to work out the technical hurdles to make this go as long as it isn't an ongoing maintainence hassle.

thanks..

I don't have any experience with the SAT-520. Since the modification costs much more than the receiver, the three most important receiver issues are durability, OTA reception, and timer control of the VCR. You want a receiver that will last over the long haul. Functionality, features, picture quality and MPEG decoder all become very minor issues especially for you since you have an HD TiVo. Unless you use the RCA DTC-100, you can't even use the receiver MPEG decoder to decode the tapes. If you know the Zenith is good for the key areas you need, it should be a good choice. I use two different receivers, the RCA DTC-100 and Hughes HIRD-E8. The only downside with the Hughes is that the VCR timer control doesn't power on and power off the VCR which means I have to leave the JVC 30K on when timer recordings are scheduled. The 30K runs very warm and therefore I am sure uses a lot of electricity and heat is also harmful to components. The Hughes E8 also runs very warm and ultimately may not live a long useful live as a result. The RCA DTC-100 just has the feel a solid long lasting component. So far both have been fine for me. I don't use 169time for OTA recording so even that issue isn't important to me.

The JVC 30K is much maligned here and the 169time system seems tailor made for the VCR. Even with the newer software, the system reportedly doesn't work well with the newer JVC models. I have two 30Ks running and both are working great. I also have the Mitsubishi D-VHS VCR and my preference for 169time is far and away the JVC 30K. I can now use the Mitsubishi in conjunction with a Samsung SIR-T165 for playback of 169time tapes recorded by a 30K. The Mitsubishi still didn't work well as the recording VCR for me in my setup when I tried it with the RCA DTC-100.

The 169time system is kludgey and by comparison, the HD TiVo a polished work of art. If the system can be improved to work even better with more decoders, it will be a much better system. I like mine a lot as is now after the recent software upgrade. The one concern is DirecTV adding more HD channels and messing with compression schemes on those and existing channels. Will 169time work as well if the data changes? I don't know but do know that HDNet Movies worked pretty well with 08A5 until it quit working well and I think DirecTV changed the bitrate or switched to a different encoder or something. My HDTiVo had no problem with the data but I couldn't make another acceptable HDNet Movies recording until 08C6. With 08C6, I had to reboot a few times and just installed 08D6 yesterday and no further reboots have been required yet.

I can recommend it now but would not before 08C6.

Chris

Well I started having a little luck with my 169time system with the 5U. First, originally it woudl not recognize either the Toshiba STB I have for DirecTV or the AVX1. Now it does recognize the Toshiba as I-1. It also apperas to now recognize the AVX1 as I-2. Then again I"m not 100% sure becuase sometimes when the AVX1 isn't on it still shows I-2 and I know the 30K never would show I-2 unless the AVX1 was on.
Well thats' the positive part. The bad thing is when the STB is on but not the AVX1 the screen says "Video signal is not found for this program (303)" Then when I run the AVX1 (I turn that on after the STB) it says
"Can not decode video or audio. Use set top box or HDTV Tuner (300)". I hve been unable to get any video.
As for how I have it connected, I have a firewire cable going from the AVX1 to the front of the JVC and then a firewire cable going from the Toshiba STB to the back of the JVC. I used this setup with the 30K and never had problems.
As well, I used the original most recent release software with the AVX1 but have tried both of the betas (C and D) that were released in the last week with the same results for each. Any ideas of what I can do to get this to work?

Well the good news is I now have my 5U working with the 169time system. I"m using the newest pre-release, 08D6. The only thing I had to change is the wiring of how it was wired, one firewire connection going from the Toshiba DirecTV STB to the back of the VCR, the other wire going from the Toshiba STB to the AVX1. Originally I had it hooked up so one wire went from the STB to the back of the VCR, the other from the front of the VCR to the AVX1 which seemed to be stable with my 30K.

Well anyway, it did take some time to get a firewire connection. I had to hook everything up and then unplug and plug in the VCR, then unplug the STB (which I think is what did it) and then plug that in, same with the AVX1 and then it established connection. Well the system is working better than ever. It actually did seem harder to get a connection than with the 30K but once it has it's far better in that I'm not losing it. As well, for playback I far prefer the 5U over the 30K. I like the looks of it but as well I like the placement of controls on the unit and overall it just seems to operate far better. As well, I have hooked up the HDMI and it appears to work fine, maybe a slightly better picture than the 30K's component. As well, what I like is the components and HDMI output at the same time. The advantage of that is I have the HDMI going to my TV next to the VCR and the component going to a TV in another room and both have a good picture.

Now the downside, there seems to be some issues with quality when recording from 169time. I recorded Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle off of HBO-HD this afternoon and played the first hour tonight. Some times it went quite awhile without any glitches at all. Other times it would have a split second audio dropout, other times pixelization of the video at certain times but once again for a split second and only a small part of the screen. I had issues with both of these when I first hook up my 30K months ago and at that time the audio dropouts and video pixelation were more common and longer and as well would cover teh whole screen. I have recorded approximately 30 tapes with the 30K and only have had the time to watch 3 so far (and these were older tapes) and noticed no problems at all so my reaction is the 30K was recording flawlessly so these are specifically 5U issues. I don't want to give up on using the 5U since I like it so much but as well for now I will have two VCR's, the 5U for playback on both TV's and the 30K specifically on the main TV for recording from 169time. I hope 169time is working on this. I know there have been 40K issues for quite some time so I'm concerned it won't be fixed soon but I can only hope so I can go strictly with the 5U. I have contacted them about this.

Can't the AVX-1 record SD programming as well? I wanted to archive some non HDTV shows and this seemed like a convenient way to get the data into my PC, which is in a different room.

Unfortunately I recorded nothing but dead air, although the AVX-1 happily reported a data stream was detected.

Originally posted by JHL
Can't the AVX-1 record SD programming as well? I wanted to archive some non HDTV shows and this seemed like a convenient way to get the data into my PC, which is in a different room.

Unfortunately I recorded nothing but dead air, although the AVX-1 happily reported a data stream was detected.

No the 169time system won't record the SD channels, at least not with DirecTV which is all I have. DirecTV and Dish Network both had SD D-VHS systems that worked great, I have used the DirecTV version for five years. For what it is worth, you can record SD programming from the HD channels with 169time.

Chris

Thanks for the update Chris.

I am not surprised, but I was hoping there was an easy way for fix the problem. I guess I will have to record in analog mode and do the MPEG conversion in my PC. Hopefully that will still look reasonable.

John

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I'll sit the sideline with my HR10-250 for now. It causes too much marital strain when I start tweaking with the tele while everyone else wants to just watch.

thanks..

FYI

169time pre-release software version 08E6 is now on the public web site. It is a significant imrovement to support the 40k and new HM-DH5U decks.


fyi

Dave

Originally posted by mkerdman
I have, and, it's 95% glitch-free when playing either a DVHS tape or a PC file restored from the DVHS tape.

What you do get actually are not glitches so much as they are 1-2 seconds of black or frozen screen with a clean resumption of the stream.
Murray,

About half the tapes I recorded with 08C6 and 08D6 (about a dozen) have turned out this way. When played on a JVC 30K, 40K, or Mits deck I get the same result. Instead of a black screen the picture freezes for about a second or two and then resumes cleanly. I had as few as one on a tape and as many as six.

I will be trying 08E6 tonight.

--Jerome

Jerome, if the signal has glitches, this is what I would see.

Dave

Originally posted by jsaliga
Murray,

About half the tapes I recorded with 08C6 and 08D6 (about a dozen) have turned out this way. When played on a JVC 30K, 40K, or Mits deck I get the same result. Instead of a black screen the picture freezes for about a second or two and then resumes cleanly. I had as few as one on a tape and as many as six.

I will be trying 08E6 tonight.

--Jerome

Jerome,

Are these picture freezes occuring when you record with 08C6 and 08D6 and playback on A. the MyHD card, or, B. on a JVC 30K, 40K, or Mits deck?

Seperately, were you getting cleaner gltich-free recordings with A85, or with 08C6 and 08D6, when played back on on a JVC 30K, 40K, or Mits deck?

Murray,

I no longer have a MyHD card. I am strictly using D-VHS, and it makes no difference which deck I use for playback. The results are always the same: if I get a freeze playing on the 30K I get it in the exact same spot playing back with the 40K, or using the Mits connected to either the 30K or the 40K. In my experience so far which deck is used doesn't seem to make any difference.

With A85 I don't get the freeze ups, instead I get pixel flashes every once in a while.

--Jerome

I also get an occasional picture freeze up with 08D6, usually 2 or 3 per 2 hour movie. This is far better than with 08A5 which probably had twice as many glitches on average and could only be decoded acceptably by a 30K. My Samsung SIR-T165 decodes 08D6 tapes without problem. I also see an occasional glitch with my HD TiVo so I believe the current problems may be with DirecTV and not 169time but I haven't bothered to do a simultaneous recording yet to determine if 169time still results in more errors in the data. I just downloaded 08E6 and will be see if that offers further improvement.

Chris

Originally posted by jsaliga
Murray,

I no longer have a MyHD card. I am strictly using D-VHS, and it makes no difference which deck I use for playback. The results are always the same: if I get a freeze playing on the 30K I get it in the exact same spot playing back with the 40K, or using the Mits connected to either the 30K or the 40K. In my experience so far which deck is used doesn't seem to make any difference.

With A85 I don't get the freeze ups, instead I get pixel flashes every once in a while.

--Jerome

Jerome

I have seen the same "freeze ups" as you and may have wrongly attributed it to MyHD playback. Yet, at the time I tested closely, I could play the same portions without "freeze ups" on both my 30K and on my LG 3410 fed by the 30K.

Are you gettting more "freeze ups" with 08C6 and 08D6 that you did "pixel flashes" with A85?

EDIT: I am using a 169Time Dish 6000 on these tests/recordings.

I could REC/PLAY virtually glitch-free from 30K to LG 3410 with A85, so, it bears more testing in my circumsatnce where I was already happy with AVX1 A85>30K>LG 3410.

Originally posted by mkerdman
I have seen the same "freeze ups" as you and may have wrongly attributed it to MyHD playback. Yet, at the time I tested closely, I could play the same portions without "freeze ups" on both my 30K and on my LG 3410 fed by the 30K.
I'm not using a MyHD card...only D-VHS decks.

Are you getting more "freeze ups" with 08C6 and 08D6 that you did "pixel flashes" with A85?
That's very difficult to say and I really can't answer that. If I had to guess I would say it's about the same, but I haven't done enough comparisons to say with certainty.

--Jerome

Well, I have made two recordings with 08E6 and in my opinion it's a step backwards. The tape I recorded on the JVC 30K had about 20 audio dropouts when played on a 30K and freezes when played on my 40K. The tape recorded on the 40K had momentary freezes about every 20 minutes. I never bothered to try that tape on my 30K.

For now I am going to roll back to 08A5.

I hope those involved with the software don't get discouraged and keep at it. I applaud the effort that is being put into improving the AVX software, and I am confident it will get there.

--Jerome

Jsaliga, that is certainly the exact opposite of my results. I have only briefly checked recordings made with 08E6 but the random tests could find no errors at all. My worst recording with 08C6 and newer is probably better than all but my very best recordings using 08A5 and prior. The average is much better with the new software. I don't have a PC or 40K in the mix which might change that opinion but with my equipment, the improvement is very apparent and 08A5 has been filed away in a box, with no intention of ever being used again.

Chris

Chris,

I hear you, but that doesn't change my conclusions. I recorded two complete movies, one on each deck and watched one from start to finish on both decks and one from start to finish on the 40K only (after all the freezes I didn't see much of a point in playing that tape on my 30K). So that amounts to about 6 hours of continuous play testing of recordings made with 08E6. The audio drops came more frequently as the tape played. They did not begin until about 18 minutes into the film. At first it was one here and there, and as the movie progressed it became worse and more frequent. There was one point where three audio drops occurred in rapid succession. So if you are briefly checking your tapes then you are not performing the sort of comprehensive tests that I am. If you're comfortable with that then fine, but I have been recording HDTV for 30 months, and have learned some painful lessons in the past with DVHStool software when it had teething pains. So now my rule of thumb is test, test, and test, and when you think it is good then test some more.

I'd strongly suggest conducting a thorough and comprehensive set of tests yourself before committing important recordings to any new AVX1 software release.

--Jerome

Originally posted by jsaliga
So if you are briefly checking your tapes then you are not performing the sort of comprehensive tests that I am. If you're comfortable with that then fine, but I have been recording HDTV for 30 months, and have learned some painful lessons in the past with DVHStool software when it had teething pains. So now my rule of thumb is test, test, and test, and when you think it is good then test some more.

I'd strongly suggest conducting a thorough and comprehensive set of tests yourself before committing important recordings to any new AVX1 software release.

--Jerome

I have watched several complete movies using 08C6 and 08D6 but only brief tests so far with 08E6, although I have recorded 3 or 4 movies with 08E6. The results are definitely far superior, at least with the two I have checked extensively. Your problems might not be related to 169time issues, but once you have 08A5 up and running a while, you should know more.

Chris

Chris,

I have been using a 169time setup since February, so I do know my way around this stuff.

I have also thoroughly tested 08C6 and 08D6, and I am telling you that they produced better results for me than 08E6, hence my comment that the latest build is a step backward IMO. If it works great for you them I am happy for you. It isn't working well for me, and the problem isn't with my equipment either.

--Jerome

Jerome, have you talked to Richard about your data?

Dave

Hi Dave,

I'd call it more of an experience than empirical data. But no, I haven't. I just made these recordings last night after downloading 08E6 and burning a CD from the image. I spent most of the day watching them today. I was planning on emailing him, and if he wanted me to I'd be happy to send him a couple of tapes.

I'm in the middle of something right now but I will contact Richard via email in a few hours.

--Jerome

Richard has aways been great when I found funny stuff to try and find root
cause. Any inputs from folks on these s/w revisions would be great. He sure seems to be on a roll at the moment adding functional, and at a lower price.

Dave

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by jsaliga
So if you are briefly checking your tapes then you are not performing the sort of comprehensive tests that I am. If you're comfortable with that then fine, but I have been recording HDTV for 30 months, and have learned some painful lessons in the past with DVHStool software when it had teething pains. So now my rule of thumb is test, test, and test, and when you think it is good then test some more.

I'd strongly suggest conducting a thorough and comprehensive set of tests yourself before committing important recordings to any new AVX1 software release.

--Jerome
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I have watched several complete movies using 08C6 and 08D6 but only brief tests so far with 08E6, although I have recorded 3 or 4 movies with 08E6. The results are definitely far superior, at least with the two I have checked extensively. Your problems might not be related to 169time issues, but once you have 08A5 up and running a while, you should know more.

Chris
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chris

I know of few, if any, 169Time users who log more recording and viewing hours than Jerome.

Everyone's setup is somewhat different, but, it would be a mistake to dismiss his feedback on 08C6, 08D6 and 08E6, out of hand.

Originally posted by mkerdman

I know of few, if any, 169Time users who log more recording and viewing hours than Jerome.

Everyone's setup is somewhat different, but, it would be a mistake to dismiss his feedback on 08C6, 08D6 and 08E6, out of hand.

I agree and only suggested that his problems might not be related to 169time since so many things can go wrong. I did not mean to dismiss his feedback at all. Since I have two 169time systems and an HD TiVo and can pinpoint any issues I find with the software, it is not difficult to determine what works best with my system.

Chris

It would be very helpful if people would post specifics when making observations.

AVX1 software Version No.:

Satellite Service:

STB Model Number:

Recording Device Make & Model No.:

Satellite HD Channel Recorded:

Program Name:

Time & Date:

Observations:

Murray,

You're quite right. Here is a correction to my error of omission.

The receiver is a Dish model 6000.

The channel under test was HBO HD.

The two movies recorded for testing were:

Basic (Friday Night)
The Ring (Saturday Morning)

--Jerome

I recorded Basic Friday night as well using 08E6. I observed 3 micro second glitches after scene changes but otherwise the recording was excellent. The results for this one tape is on a par with tapes made using 08C6 and 08D6. The recording was made using a Hughes HIRD-E8 and JVC HM-DH30000U. Playback was Mitsubishi HS-HD1100U and Samsung SIR-T165. The glitches were the least obnoxious I have seen and less than a second each and always after a scene change usually from a dark scene to a bright scene and may very well have nothing to do with 169time.

I remember reading over the months about Dish Network 6000 users getting excellent results with 08A5 and wondering why I could not accomplish the same with either my RCA DTC-100 or Hughes E8. It may very well be the differences in the data make one service work better with different software, I don't know. One tape hasn't convinced me that 08E6 is preferred to 08C6 or 08D6. From what I have read the update with 08E6 was intended to improve performance with the newer JVC D-VHS VCRs which I don't have now but I do want tapes that have the greatest possibility of playback with more decoders. With the 2 decoders I have currently, 08C6 was the big improvement.

Soon I am going to make simultaneous 1 hour recordings using 08E6, 08A5 and the HD TiVo and report the results. The HD TiVo will be used to check at the time of each noticeable glitch with either 169time version and see what conclusion I can make for my equipment. I have enough 08A5 tapes to know those have never been decoded by my Samsung T165 adequately although most can be played with several minor glitches using a JVC 30K. The results were watchable with 08A5 but never anything I would use to show a friend.

Chris

Got a feeling there may be another, in my opinion, big new product announcement soon, very soon. :o)

It is so big, a new thread will have to be started.

Just keeps getting better.

Dave

Originally posted by h2ofun
Got a feeling there may be another, in my opinion, big new product announcement soon, very soon. :o)

It is so big, a new thread will have to be started.

Just keeps getting better.

Dave

You're such a tease!

Originally posted by h2ofun
Got a feeling there may be another, in my opinion, big new product announcement soon, very soon. :o)

It is so big, a new thread will have to be started.

Just keeps getting better.

Dave

It was a good move for Richard to improve performance of the existing product before the big new product. He should have more credibility although some won't be interested, many might be.

Chris

He always told me, and I wrote here that until he got the avx-1 under control, he would not move ahead with the new products. Looks like he kept to his word, even though a little longer than anyone wanted.

Dave

So when might we hear about these new products? Any hints on what they might be?

I know too much, other than to say hopefully soon!!


Dave

I am using O8E6 now with a 5U. With both 08C6 and 08D6 I was having a high number of dropouts of audio and video (using a Toshiba DirecTV receiver) but now after 2 movies recording with 08E6 and the 5U I've had no problems at all yet.

The HDNETM movie station glitches appear to have cleared up, at least in my setup (08C6, Sony SATHD300 mod, and Jvc 30k). Maybe DirecTV did something...?

Am happy to report glitches are few and far between now, suspect those that do occur are due to tape anomalies.

(Not even using the latest AVX1 software release to boot!)

Didn't bother to watch the HD Redskins recording, wouldn't have even minded TONS of glitches in that recording. It somehow got immediately intentionally erased...

Originally posted by Kim Gilbert
The HDNETM movie station glitches appear to have cleared up, at least in my setup (08C6, Sony SATHD300 mod, and Jvc 30k). Maybe DirecTV did something...?

The frequent HDNet Movie glitches stopped with 08C6 for me. Putting 08A5 back in still resulted in the problem. My recommendation upgrade to 08E6, I believe that will give you recordings with the greatest compatibility with decoders for future proofing your tapes. I have checked playback quality with 08E6 and believe it is at least as good as 08C6 with my decoders.

Chris

Originally posted by Chris Gerhard
The frequent HDNet Movie glitches stopped with 08C6 for me. Chris

I was using 08C6 and encountered pretty frequent glitches only on HDNETM movies. Since last Friday (still with 08C6 and everything else same) they just suddenly vanished. Not complaining... :D

Just for drill last night I recorded:

The Wire on HBOHD
Dead Like Me on SHOHD

JVC 30K
169Time Dish 6000
AVX1 Software v08D6
LG LST 3410a

I played back the tape from end to end on Panasonic HD1000 through an LG 3410 with no glitches whatsoever during the HBOHD hour and 1 glitch during the SHOHD hour.

I attribute the SHOHD glitch to E*- SHOHD.

Since a DVHS deck is only a bit bucket on playback, I conclude that it's all about the decoder you use and how good the error correction is that it has.

BB On-line has the LG 3410 for $599 which includes an ATSC tuner, DVHS dubbing and editing on it's 120GB hard drive.

In all fairness, I also had no glitches on the LG 3410 from 169Time DVHS tapes with AVX1 vA85 as well.

The LG 3410 decoder is that good.

Originally posted by mkerdman

BB On-line has the LG 3410 for $599 which includes an ATSC tuner, DVHS dubbing and editing on it's 120GB hard drive.

In all fairness, I also had no glitches on the LG 3410 from 169Time DVHS tapes with AVX1 vA85 as well.

The LG 3410 decoder is that good.

I'm thinking of getting another hardware mpeg2 decoder (in addition to my JVC 30K). It needs to be something with DVI output. Right now I'm considering the Samsung 165 (cheapest option), MyHD, or LG 3410. Can you or anyone else compare these devices? Specifically, what do they offer in terms of:

1) Playback control - random skip, fast-forward, etc.
2) Compatibility with 169time.
3) Picture quality.

Thanks.

P.S. Can the LG unit be used in pass-through mode? Where it simply displays a full screen image of whatever is coming in through the firewire input? Or does it need to record to hard drive first?

Originally posted by Wizziwig
I'm thinking of getting another hardware mpeg2 decoder (in addition to my JVC 30K). It needs to be something with DVI output. Right now I'm considering the Samsung 165 (cheapest option), MyHD, or LG 3410. Can you or anyone else compare these devices? Specifically, what do they offer in terms of:

1) Playback control - random skip, fast-forward, etc.
2) Compatibility with 169time.
3) Picture quality.

Thanks.

P.S. Can the LG unit be used in pass-through mode? Where it simply displays a full screen image of whatever is coming in through the firewire input? Or does it need to record to hard drive first?

1) Playback control - random skip, fast-forward, etc.

MyHD has somewhat better playback copntrol for episodic commercial TV as it can be preogrammmed fro 30 second skips while the LG 3410 has full trick play 5X, 10X, 20X 100X FFWD, RWND, Frame Advance and "Smart Skip", but no 30 second skip.

2) Compatibility with 169time.

LG 3410 is by far the best in my experiance.

3) Picture quality.

LG 3410 is the best in my experiance, however, the MyHD is very very good.

The LG unit cannot be used in pass-through mode to display a full screen image of whatever is coming in through the firewire input, but, I think the T165 can, and, if you press PLAY so can the MyHD.

Originally posted by mkerdman

The LG unit cannot be used in pass-through mode to display a full screen image of whatever is coming in through the firewire input, but, I think the T165 can, and, if you press PLAY so can the MyHD.

So on the LG, when you go into DVHS restore mode (to copy a DVHS recording to its internal hard drive). Doesn't it show you a preview of what's going to be recorded from the firewire port?

Originally posted by Wizziwig
So on the LG, when you go into DVHS restore mode (to copy a DVHS recording to its internal hard drive). Doesn't it show you a preview of what's going to be recorded from the firewire port?

Mark

Yes, you can view a recording in progress from DVHS to hte 3410 HDD over any of the 3410's outputs, which includes an excellent DVI-HDCP implementation.

Originally posted by mkerdman
Mark

Yes, you can view a recording in progress from DVHS to hte 3410 HDD over any of the 3410's outputs, which includes an excellent DVI-HDCP implementation.

So I guess you can use that as a "pass-through" mode for viewing something coming from another device (DVHS deck, PC, etc.). Do you actually have to start hard drive writing or will it display what's coming through regardless? (any annoying icons/display while this is going on?)

Hmm... I'm tempted to get one but with all the horror stories/failures in the other thread it seems a bit risky. It's also likely that LG is coming out with something better soon. (hence the price drop). I can't believe they actually released a DVR that can't record/play at the same time - that's one of the main advantages of using hard-drive vs. tape. :confused:

Originally posted by Wizziwig
So I guess you can use that as a "pass-through" mode for viewing something coming from another device (DVHS deck, PC, etc.). Do you actually have to start hard drive writing or will it display what's coming through regardless? (any annoying icons/display while this is going on?)

Hmm... I'm tempted to get one but with all the horror stories/failures in the other thread it seems a bit risky. It's also likely that LG is coming out with something better soon. (hence the price drop). I can't believe they actually released a DVR that can't record/play at the same time - that's one of the main advantages of using hard-drive vs. tape. :confused:

Mark

There is no pass through, but, you can view what's being recorded from D-VHS and then delete it upon completion, or, recorded it beforehand and then delete it after viewing.

There is a new model that adds debatable DVD recording capabilities and hence the price drop:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=430774

Actually, you can record/play OTA at the same time by entering Time Shift Mode and pressing Clip REC. Then you can use all trick play, Pause and Jump to Start features while a recording is in progress.

AFAIK all this was to avoid a Tivo patent.

BB has a 30-day Money Back Guarantee.

MyHD does do more HD things, but, that involves a PC.

With a 3410 unit whose serial number begins 451- and Firmware 1.15, there are no longer any problems.

I have added a 300GB Maxtor drive to expand the recording time to 32 hours.

Originally posted by mkerdman
Mark

There is no pass through, but, you can view what's being recorded from D-VHS and then delete it upon completion, or, recorded it beforehand and then delete it after viewing.

There is a new model that adds debatable DVD recording capabilities and hence the price drop:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=430774

Actually, you can record/play OTA at the same time by entering Time Shift Mode and pressing Clip REC. Then you can use all trick play, Pause and Jump to Start features while a recording is in progress.

AFAIK all this was to avoid a Tivo patent.

BB has a 30-day Money Back Guarantee.

MyHD does do more HD things, but, that involves a PC.

With a 3410 unit whose serial number begins 451- and Firmware 1.15, there are no longer any problems.

I have added a 300GB Maxtor drive to expand the recording time to 32 hours.

So have you tried hooking up an AVX directly to the LG unit with the latest software (08E6)? The AVX sort of behaves like a JVC DVHS (same drivers in Windows). Maybe one can dump directly to the LG and not bother with the JVC in the chain?

-Mark

I talked to Richard today and he told me about some new things he was working on for the AVX-1. I'm sure that it is the same thing that Dave (H2OFUN) has been alluding to recently. Richard told me this information freely and didn't ask me to keep quiet so I thought I would try posting.

According to my understanding (and I could of course be mistaken) within the next week or so 169time will release a freely download-able hard drive image that will enable recording to disk in the AVX-1. Initially the interface will be command line base but he seemed to imply that he might work up a GUI later. You will be able to add the hard drive; he recommended a 7200rpm drive of 120gB or larger, to the AVX-1 which will then boot from the drive and chose to run the command line program which will allow you to schedule recordings. There will also be a file format that you can use to put multiple start and stop times in and the program will read it and make multiple recordings without further intervention from you. The AVX-1 will also support Ethernet cards and come with an FTP server as well as a client so you can move the recorded files to and from a networked PC.

This will all be based on the 08E6 AVX-1 software release which changed the way a few things were done to, for one thing, enhance the support for the new DVHS decks. The more testing and bug reporting that all of us can do of the 08E6 release the better the compatibility will be when he does release this new software.

I for one am thrilled with this new development. It certainly reduces my incentive to hack my HDTiVo or look at other solutions for archiving. I hope I got all the details correct but don't hold Richard responsible for my inaccuracies, please!

Originally posted by xuniman
This will all be based on the 08E6 AVX-1 software release which changed the way a few things were done to, for one thing, enhance the support for the new DVHS decks. The more testing and bug reporting that all of us can do of the 08E6 release the better the compatibility will be when he does release this new software.

I for one am thrilled with this new development. It certainly reduces my incentive to hack my HDTiVo or look at other solutions for archiving. I hope I got all the details correct but don't hold Richard responsible for my inaccuracies, please!

Wow, I am not sure what it all means but I am thrilled as well. I already have the hard drives waiting to be added to my AVX-1s. This product has been rapidly improving lately and existing users haven't been left behind.

Chris

That good news for the Hard drive recorders. Now if he could only instal a firewire in the HD Tivo that would be amazing.

Man, Richard took my fun away!!! Yep, this is what I have wanted, and have worked on here and there with him for a long time. Going towards a full fledged PVR!!! As I said, the man never stands still!!!

Dave

We actually talked about the HDTiVo and he said that because it uses internal encryption modifying it to include a firewire port would probably violate the DCMA and was therefore not in 169time's future. I would guess that if it could be conclusively shown that modding it wouldn't violate the DCMA he would look into it but I think that would take someone winning a court case. I can certainly understand not wanting to work yourself into jail. With the already available software tricks that allow the HDTiVo to be networked allowing recordings to be moved on and off there is little need for this hardware mod. Of course discussing how this is done is not allowed here.

This is in reference to what jsaliga wrote: "Well, I have made two recordings with 08E6 and in my opinion it's a step backwards. The tape I recorded on the JVC 30K had about 20 audio dropouts when played on a 30K and freezes when played on my 40K. The tape recorded on the 40K had momentary freezes about every 20 minutes. I never bothered to try that tape on my 30K.

For now I am going to roll back to 08A5."
----------------

I have to say I have had exactly the same experience. I have been getting very good results with versions 08C6 and 08D6, averaging 2-3 microglitches per movie. The glitches are so brief that no essential audio and video info is lost. However with version 08E6 I had massive glitches (over 10 during the course of the movie) which were so severe that the audio cut out totally and permanently, i.e. even after the video started up again, there was no sound. The only way I could get sound back was to shut off the vcr and then turn it on again (Turning my audio amp on and off made no difference, simply hitting "stop" on the vcr then "play" made no difference). The glitches occured throughout the movie, with long periods of no problems in between. Needless to say, this made watching the movie a very frustrating experience. I'm going to stick with version 08D6 for now.

The particulars of the "test": AVX version 08E6, Dish Network, Dish 6000 receiver, JVC HM-DH30000u, movie "Goldeneye" on Showtime HD, recorded Sept. 18 at 7:15PM local time. Just hours before at 1PM I recorded "Muriel's Wedding" using AVX version 08D6 and had only 2 minor microglitches, with no other differences in the setup. Playback in both cases was through the JVC's component output direct to the TV (audio sent to Pioneer receiver via optical out).

(BTW this is only my second posting, so I apologize ahead of time if I screwed it up in some way)

I am not seeing any glitches with the 08E6 version (AVX-1, DTC100, JVC 30K).

Talking to Richard last night, the version E6 is not shipping with new product yet since it is pre-release. For some it works fine. For others, not.
Sounds like he has some ideas where he will be doing more tweaking of the code to try and close this corner case. He is putting a lot of energy in trying to finish up the hard disc product.

Dave

Any value for Richard to put together a product that has a DVD writer in it so one can burn their files directly from the LInux harddrive to DVD?

Dave

Originally posted by h2ofun
Any value for Richard to put together a product that has a DVD writer in it so one can burn their files directly from the LInux harddrive to DVD?

Dave

I think so. Any additional functionality that can be added without additional bugs will make the product attractive to more people. I wouldn't use it but I am sure others will.

Chris

Software: 08E6
Hardware: DTC100, JVC40k

I am having an odd problem with a recording I recently made from HDNet. When I hit play on the JVC 40k, nothing happens (except the screen goes blank). The tape doesn't turn (in fact, the mechanism doesn't even sound like it is trying to turn). When I FF, I can see stills of the recording I made (so I know it's on the tape).

I put in another recording made from the 169time unit w/ the old software, and it will playback. Also, D-Theater will playback. I'm not sure if there's something with the new software that is causing this malfunction, or whether the 40k is acting up. When I put the tape in, the light indicates it recognizes it as a D-VHS tape.

Any ideas?

Check beaconing of tape.
A few years ago tape would see through any part of clear tape and stop machine. OLD VHS

It thinks it is at the end.

My brother purchased some cheap VHS tapes years ago.
Recorded on one and when it reached 1/3 through it would stop.
He found the coating had / was gone and a section was clear causing the tape deck to stop.

Sorry should read
Check beginning of tape.

Originally posted by XFactor
Software: 08E6
Hardware: DTC100, JVC40k

I am having an odd problem with a recording I recently made from HDNet. When I hit play on the JVC 40k, nothing happens (except the screen goes blank). The tape doesn't turn (in fact, the mechanism doesn't even sound like it is trying to turn). When I FF, I can see stills of the recording I made (so I know it's on the tape).

If you are sure the tape isn't moving when in play mode, don't use that tape. Since the VCR plays other tapes, the cause is likely with the tape, the tension may be too great for the motor to pull the tape. The VCR motor might have a problem that could cause it not to be able to play one tape and play others while other VCRs can play the problem tape, but that is very rare. I have never owned a VCR that would refuse to play a tape (pull the tape across the heads) because it didn't recognize the signal on the tape. I do have several D-VHS tapes that can't be decoded by a given decoder in play mode but in fast scan mode, I see the still frames speeding by. In this case the data can't be decoded and the cause I believe is either software used to write the data or head alignment differences because I am using a different VCR for record and playback. All of those tapes will move through the tape path in play mode.

If you are mistaken, and the tape is actually moving but not being decoded and the recording is being played in the same VCR that made the tape, it is likely a software issue or dirty heads. I don't think any of my VCRs will engage fast scan if the tape isn't playing in the first place but if your tape stays still after play is activated and then starts moving after you hit the fast scan, you have a new problem I have never encountered.

Chris

I seem to remember that when all the JVC 30K units were being sent back for a firmware upgrade; this was one of the issues that was happening.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by XFactor
Software: 08E6
Hardware: DTC100, JVC40k

I am having an odd problem with a recording I recently made from HDNet. When I hit play on the JVC 40k, nothing happens (except the screen goes blank). The tape doesn't turn (in fact, the mechanism doesn't even sound like it is trying to turn). When I FF, I can see stills of the recording I made (so I know it's on the tape).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is a possible explanation: I had something similar happen when I first started using the newer AVX-1 software (08C6, D6, and E6). In my case the tape was definitely moving during play, but the screen was blank, and I could see the movie had been recorded when I used FF. It turned out that the recording had been made in STD (standard) speed mode, rather than HS (high standard) mode. I started paying attention to speed settings in later recording attempts and discovered that most of the time the new software downgrades the speed setting from HS to STD for some reason (even if you explicitly set it to HS, and have I-link set to "auto" before turning the AVX on). The older "A" version of AVX software always correctly set the speed to HS.

I've just added an additional step to my "how to record" procedure by always resetting the speed to HS manually after the AVX has set it to STD. Once the AVX is "warmed up" and you have reset the speed back to HS, timer recordings go off at the correct speed.

You can check to see if this is what happened to you by playing the tape in question and checking the indication of playback speed--if it says "STD" or "LS3" instead of "HS", then you experienced the same problem.

I'm glad that you posted this, Ktoto. I thought it was just my problem with the speed setting defaulting to STD. You're right, it automatically defaulted to the HS setting with the B3 version. I am now manually setting the JVC to HS every time I insert an new tape into the VCR. And the tape would be blank because it does not record the STD setting to the JVC via firewire.

The HS v STD problem is I believe a result of DirecTV cramming 3 channels on one transponder and lowering the bitrate. This was done right before the NFL season began so about 4 weeks ago I guess and will likely continue until after the NFL season is over. The additional bandwidth is required for the NFL Sunday Ticket. You can of course test this theory by putting 08A5 back in and see if it doesn't switch to STD after being off a few minutes. I have and it did.

Chris

JVC30K, 08E6 Software with DISH 6000

I have also noticed that the JVC defaults to STD speed rather than HS. Therefore, the problem seems to be with the new software, not the satellite provider.

Originally posted by sierrabob
JVC30K, 08E6 Software with DISH 6000

I have also noticed that the JVC defaults to STD speed rather than HS. Therefore, the problem seems to be with the new software, not the satellite provider.

Try 08A5 and see what it does. It defaults to STD on my JVC. Dish Network may be doing the same thing with 3 HD channels on 1 transponder.

Chris

Hi there every one I to have noticed that I recorded a Movie & there was
nothing but blank tape, because it was recorded in the non HS mode.
I had to also manually set the vcr to HS mode in order to record HD.

Maybe this should be passed along to Richard so he aware of this.

I temporarly suspended Diirectv programming to try out this Cablevision
I/O. They offer the Scientific Atlanta box 4200 Hd with the IEEE-1394
output. I can record to the JVC 30k with it.
I recorded a movie from it & when played back there was quite a few audio dropouts thru out the movie. It would vary about 2 seconds to the longest
5 seconds.
I have a 29 day free trial according to Cablevision for the tryout.
I will record another movie & give the results.
I have the 169 set up 30k avx & dtc-100.
Has anyone tried the Scientific atlanta cablevision I/0 yet just to see
what the results were?

Originally posted by yrral
Hi there every one I to have noticed that I recorded a Movie & there was
nothing but blank tape, because it was recorded in the non HS mode.
I had to also manually set the vcr to HS mode in order to record HD.

Maybe this should be passed along to Richard so he aware of this.

Since the VCRs auto detect based on bitrate and I don't see how the software has any affect on the bitrate, I don't think Richard can fix this one. It is causing problems with my DTC-100 timer recordings since the VCR often selects STD when powering on now. With my Hughes HIRD-E8, I have to leave the VCR on so I just select HS when I select D-VHS and it isn't a big issue. Still, just in case Richard doesn't know, I agree he should be notified. I have been leaving the VCRs in power save mode and I guess I will turn that off and see if the VCR remembers the speed I have selected. In power save mode, when it powers on it remembers the I.Link port but not the speed I set. I just did a quick check and the VCR did start-up in HS after turning power save off.

Chris

I am getting several freezes with the O8E6 software, mainly on HBO movies and wonder if it is the software and I should go back to an earlier version, or the HBO feed?
Has anyone noticed that the on-screen information posted by the JVC 30K calls this version 08D6, not E6...I thought it was my mistake, but I redownloaded the zip file and burned another CD, with the same results.

I believe that you need to manually reset the I-link number in the JVC 30k in order to have the new version of the avx-1 software be recognized.

Feedback from Richard

Hi Jay,

Feedback from customers is that version 08D6 is very stable for use with JVC 30k decks. Many claim perfect results with 08D6 and the 30k. We have put version 08D6 back on the web page for download, since customers have found issues with the 08E6 with 30k decks. Please also note the need to ensure that the deck is in HS mode prior to recording.

Thanks for the feedback
Richard

Unfortunately 08D6 also appears to be causing problems with the JVC 30k. See this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4531836#post4531836

Originally posted by dahester
Unfortunately 08D6 also appears to be causing problems with the JVC 30k. See this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4531836#post4531836

Are you sure the 169time software is causing the errors? I have an HD TiVo and see errors there also. I believe a significant percentage of current errors are in the data from DirecTV. Prior to 08C6, there was no doubt 169time was adding 3 or 4 times the errors I would see with the HD TiVo. I am running 08E6 and see more glitches when compared to the HD TiVo but not the multiple I used to see. My 30K decodes 169time recordings better than my 40K and Samsung SIR-T165. With 08E6 the 40K and T165 are usable since I don't require perfection but I still see an occasional glitch that the 30K would avoid.

Still, I agree 08D6 is not perfect since it results in some additional errors. If someone wants perfection, I don't think this product or perhaps D-VHS either will ever achieve that. If a particle of dust ends up on the tape or heads, that probably means a glitch also.

Chris

I'm still gathering more data on this; it appears to be isolated to one channel (so far I've only caught the problem on HBO recordings). We know Dish is doing something squirrely with the stream; they still have the grey blocks that show up in dark areas. Annoying. I never realized how good we had it with the Dish 5000 and modulator. With Dish adding the grey blocks, DirecTv downrezzing to 1280x1080, and my local cable company re-compressing channels, it makes me want to go C-band.

-Dylan

Originally posted by dahester
I'm still gathering more data on this; it appears to be isolated to one channel (so far I've only caught the problem on HBO recordings). We know Dish is doing something squirrely with the stream; they still have the grey blocks that show up in dark areas. Annoying. I never realized how good we had it with the Dish 5000 and modulator. With Dish adding the grey blocks, DirecTv downrezzing to 1280x1080, and my local cable company re-compressing channels, it makes me want to go C-band.

-Dylan

I'm not sure you want to hear this... but those gray blocks on Dish show up in regular (non dark) scenes too. They seem to be tied to large areas of a single color (not just black). I saw them all over the place when HBO was running an animated feature (Spirit).

I gave up on recording HBO from Dish but for anyone still using them, you may wan't to try pointing your dish to the 148 location. They are running a duplicate feed of HBO, SHO, DSC on that satellite which I don't think is being recompressed since there's only 2 channels per transponder.

Please let us know if anyone uses the 148 feed and knows for sure.

-Mark

I wonder if those gray blocks could be related to the HD-CGMS-A system that HBO announced recently. Apparently it can tag a recording as "not to be re-recorded" even when it is recaptured using analog equipment. That would suggest that they changed something in the picture to flag it.

Originally posted by HDHTPC
I wonder if those gray blocks could be related to the HD-CGMS-A system that HBO announced recently. Apparently it can tag a recording as "not to be re-recorded" even when it is recaptured using analog equipment. That would suggest that they changed something in the picture to flag it.

It's not related. The blocks were also visible when just watching live programming through a regular receiver (6000, 811, 921, etc.). It has nothing to do with recording. I analyzed the blocks and they appear to be intra-coded (DC coeff only) macroblocks always on P-Pictures. It's some kind of bug with the stat-muxers that Dish uses to get 3 HD channels per transponder. I've emailed them numerous times and finally gave up and switched my premium channels to cable. I still use them for HDNet and that has it's own set of problems... but luckily those can be worked around.

When I have more time, maybe I'll climb on the roof and point my old 61.5 Dish to 148 to see if things are better there.

-Mark

After last several posts, probably worth noting these HBOHD glitches appear confined to the DishNetwork system. DirecTv HBOHD not affected. I just recorded a 2+15 hr HBOHD movie 'Fugitive' from modded Sony HSHD300 sat recvr/AVX1 08D6 on a 10 year old Fuji Svideo tape on a Jvc30k. After watching from start to end, was delighted not a single glitch entire movie.

I just sent my unit back to Richard for the second time in two months. He told me that he would fix it and send it back. Two weeks later I had not received it and he said "It was out of warranty and I had to send him $199.00 for repair because of a power surge. He also suggested that I could charge the cost to my insurance carrier. I have only owned this unit for nine months and I have had to return it three times. Anybody that deals with him should understand that he does not stand behind his product. I have invested $1500.00 to buy a product that is not dependable and sold by an enterprise that does not stand behind it's products. Buyer beware

Originally posted by Wizziwig
When I have more time, maybe I'll climb on the roof and point my old 61.5 Dish to 148 to see if things are better there.

-Mark

Mark

I am making test recordings of HBOHD and SHOHD from both 110 and 148 and will report the TSReader results by tomorrow for these and all other HD transmissions by Dish Network.

Originally posted by Kim Gilbert
After last several posts, probably worth noting these HBOHD glitches appear confined to the DishNetwork system. DirecTv HBOHD not affected. I just recorded a 2+15 hr HBOHD movie 'Fugitive' from modded Sony HSHD300 sat recvr/AVX1 08D6 on a 10 year old Fuji Svideo tape on a Jvc30k. After watching from start to end, was delighted not a single glitch entire movie.

I have gotten a couple of glitch free recordings using 08E6 and a Hughes HIRD-E8 used with a JVC HM-DH30000U. The two were The Maldonaldo Miracle from HBO I think and Blowup from HDNet Movies, both were really good movies also. The norm is still to have a few glitches but rarely I get one with no noticeable glitch. 08E6 still seems to result in recordings that can be decoded better by more decoders for me. I have flipped back and forth between 08D6 and 08E6 lately but will keep 08E6 in unless I have problems with it.

Chris

Originally posted by flabingo
I just sent my unit back to Richard for the second time in two months. He told me that he would fix it and send it back. Two weeks later I had not received it and he said "It was out of warranty and I had to send him $199.00 for repair because of a power surge. He also suggested that I could charge the cost to my insurance carrier. I have only owned this unit for nine months and I have had to return it three times. Anybody that deals with him should understand that he does not stand behind his product. I have invested $1500.00 to buy a product that is not dependable and sold by an enterprise that does not stand behind it's products. Buyer beware

Is this in violation of the written terms of your purchase? If so, please cite the terms and exactly how he is in violation and I am sure to agree with you. If he is just adhering to the written terms but you would like him to make an exception for you, then I agree it is buyer beware of the written terms. If it is the power surge that is in dispute, you should know if it died after a thunderstorm and if it didn't then you should have had it connected to a high quality surge protector or UPS to protect from power spikes. Direct lightning hits are tough to defend against. If you know that no power surge or lightning strike damaged it, then of course you should say hogwash and dispute his claim. It is not clear by your complaint here whether or not it is out of warranty because of time passed since the upgrade or if you do realize it was hit by a power surge.

Mine are working fine but 169time is a high cost high risk way to record HDTV and it is not a very polished product for the price, that much is easy to see. The written terms of sale are also not what one might want at the price but to buy and then complain about that means you have nobody to blame but yourself.

Chris

Bottom line Richard refuses to send back my receiver in working order which is the way I sent it to him. I suggested that he reverse the repair and his answer is that the cost of reversing is more than the repair cost. HELP

Originally posted by flabingo
Bottom line Richard refuses to send back my receiver in working order which is the way I sent it to him.

You make no sense at all.

I could be wrong, but, it appears you are simply trying to get a free out of warranty repair by attempting to use the AVS forum members as leverage in an effort to get a small manufacturer to take responsibly for an act of G-d, such as a hurricane (judging from your forum name) power surge problem for a unit that itself is well past the in-warranty period anyway.

What do you think Sony would tell you?

Originally posted by mkerdman
Mark

I am making test recordings of HBOHD and SHOHD from both 110 and 148 and will report the TSReader results by tomorrow for these and all other HD transmissions by Dish Network.

HBO-HD and SHO-HD are re-encoded on both 148 and 110

The quality on 148 is ~slightly~ better than from 110

110 HBO-HD header=17mbit actual=~8mbit
148 HBO-HD header=18mbit actual=~9mbit
110 SHO-HD header=18mbit actual=~9mbit
148 SHO-HD header=18mbit actual=~12mbit

How can you tell if you're watching the 110 or 148 sat?

In my case I plug the different antenna wire into my receiver and do a new "check switch". 148 & 110 are not joined together on a multiswitch at my house.

Originally posted by mrwilson
How can you tell if you're watching the 110 or 148 sat?

110

SHOHD 9460
HBOHD 9456

148

SHOHD 9430
HBOHD 9440

Just took the plunge, paid for the upgrade and will be sending my HD300 in this week.

Quick question: Which recorder is best - 3K, 4K, 5U, .... etc? Any quick comments?

Originally posted by Compromise
Just took the plunge, paid for the upgrade and will be sending my HD300 in this week.

Quick question: Which recorder is best - 3K, 4K, 5U, .... etc? Any quick comments?

I have the 30K and 40K and think the 30K still works best with 169time but believe the 40K is the better VCR. The 30K decoder just seems to be better suited to decode the recordings although with 08D6 and later, the 40K does work acceptably. I am not sure you can find the 30K available any longer.

Chris

I have several Dish 6000 receivers, one of which is modified by 169Time. I also have a junker 6000 that is not in service.

I started having problems with the 169Time modified Dish 6000 whereby the “Acquiring Satellite Signal Error No. 015” randomly and frequently interrupted reception.

I reset the SW64 switch, powered down and unplugged both the switch and the receiver and ran all the diagnostics and Check Switch routines that Dish Advanced Tech Support instructed me to, all with no success.

The “Acquiring Satellite Signal Error No. 015” continued to frequently interrupt reception.

While Dish Network would replace a defective 6000, they would obviously not replace a modified receiver.

However, this was NOT a 169Time problem.

Nonetheless, I called Richard at the 169time direct support number and told him my problem and he spent well over an hour with on the phone guiding me through removing and replacing the entire power supply board in my 169Time modified Dish 6000 with the one in my junker 6000 that is not in service.

All my problems were solved with the replacement of the power supply board and I am back on-line recording with my 169Time modified Dish 6000.

Richard really showed me something about personal accessibility and customer service with this.

Originally posted by dahester
I tried this on a 3410 with firmware 1.12. I had to plug and unplug the AVX-1 connection a few times and hit the 'play' button a few times from the 3410's 1394 menu to make it work. I've only done it twice, so I don't have a ritual yet that works reliably. Make sure you have nothing else connected on the bus but the three components.

Since it seems more on-topic here, I moved the discussion of LG LST-3410A and direct AVX recording here.

I just picked up an LG LST-3410A (open-box special at BB for only $450). My main interest was in seeing how well it interacted with the 169time and the quality of the decoder compared to my old JVC 30K. Since BB has a 30-day return policy, I figured I have nothing to lose.

Quick observations so far by running some 169time recorded DVHS Tapes through it:

1) Decoder is more detailed/sharper than the JVC-30K. This can be a negative for some because it reveals MPEG compression artifacts present in the source which may have been blurred/filtered somewhat on the JVC.

2) Error recovery of the decoder seems very good. It's at least as good as the JVC. No problems so far playing captures from my 169time modded Dish 6000. I'll know more about error handling once I have time to run some of my mpeg2repair torture test files through it.

3) Nice to have the option of RGB and DVI output. Since my TV has 2 RGB ports, it allows me to free component jacks for other devices.

4) Since the LG also has an HDTV OTA tuner, I compared reception to the Dish 6000 8VSB module. It's hit and miss so far. Some stations get better signal, some are worse. I may need to move my antenna to see if the LG prefers a different location/orientation.


Now to the issue of direct AVX capture. Connection was very straight-forward. Dish 6000 plugs into one 1394 port on the back of the LG and the AVX goes into the other. Next I hit the 1394 button on the remote and selected the AVX from the menu (which also included the HDVR). After selecting AVX, it automatically proceeded to play data coming in from the AVX. Unfortunately, it only displayed a black screen. Looking at the AVX debug output, everything seemed ok - it was streaming data as usual just like recording to a JVC 30K. So I hit the 1394 button again to get out of the DVHS recording menu. I then hit 1394 again to get back in and somehow it magically started displaying the AVX picture! At this point you could record the video to the LG hard drive or just watch it like normal.

I'll play with the system some more this weekend and report the results. Hopefully I can find the magic formula to reliably get AVX picture to display. Once that works, I will try using my Pronto remote to schedule automatic recordings from AVX to LG hard-drive using some complicated macros. If that proves successful, I'll keep the LG and use it to time-shift shows that I don't plan to permanently archive on DVD-R. Its transport controls (ff, seek, etc.) are much more convenient than my current method (streaming to 30K from PC hard drive).

-Mark

Originally posted by Wizziwig
Since it seems more on-topic here, I moved the discussion of LG LST-3410A and direct AVX recording here.

I just picked up an LG LST-3410A (open-box special at BB for only $450). My main interest was in seeing how well it interacted with the 169time and the quality of the decoder compared to my old JVC 30K. Since BB has a 30-day return policy, I figured I have nothing to lose.

Quick observations so far by running some 169time recorded DVHS Tapes through it:

1) Decoder is more detailed/sharper than the JVC-30K. This can be a negative for some because it reveals MPEG compression artifacts present in the source which may have been blurred/filtered somewhat on the JVC.

2) Error recovery of the decoder seems very good. It's at least as good as the JVC. No problems so far playing captures from my 169time modded Dish 6000. I'll know more about error handling once I have time to run some of my mpeg2repair torture test files through it.

3) Nice to have the option of RGB and DVI output. Since my TV has 2 RGB ports, it allows me to free component jacks for other devices.

4) Since the LG also has an HDTV OTA tuner, I compared reception to the Dish 6000 8VSB module. It's hit and miss so far. Some stations get better signal, some are worse. I may need to move my antenna to see if the LG prefers a different location/orientation.


Now to the issue of direct AVX capture. Connection was very straight-forward. Dish 6000 plugs into one 1394 port on the back of the LG and the AVX goes into the other. Next I hit the 1394 button on the remote and selected the AVX from the menu (which also included the HDVR). After selecting AVX, it automatically proceeded to play data coming in from the AVX. Unfortunately, it only displayed a black screen. Looking at the AVX debug output, everything seemed ok - it was streaming data as usual just like recording to a JVC 30K. So I hit the 1394 button again to get out of the DVHS recording menu. I then hit 1394 again to get back in and somehow it magically started displaying the AVX picture! At this point you could record the video to the LG hard drive or just watch it like normal.

I'll play with the system some more this weekend and report the results. Hopefully I can find the magic formula to reliably get AVX picture to display. Once that works, I will try using my Pronto remote to schedule automatic recordings from AVX to LG hard-drive using some complicated macros. If that proves successful, I'll keep the LG and use it to time-shift shows that I don't plan to permanently archive on DVD-R. Its transport controls (ff, seek, etc.) are much more convenient than my current method (streaming to 30K from PC hard drive).

-Mark

Mark

When I tried that earlier this week, I got the standard LG 3410 no daisy chaining "Too many 1394 devices connected. Disconnect one or more 1394 devices" error and no D-VHS transport controls or AVX-1 picture.

Is your 169Time 6000 equipped with a 4-pin or 6-pin 1394 male connector?

Does your AVX-1 have 4-pin or 6-pin 1394 female output jacks?

Lastly, under the Menu>Troubleshooting, the LG 3410 tells you the Firmware version you have. Is yours 1.12 or 1.15?

Originally posted by Wizziwig
Now to the issue of direct AVX capture. Connection was very straight-forward. Dish 6000 plugs into one 1394 port on the back of the LG and the AVX goes into the other. Next I hit the 1394 button on the remote and selected the AVX from the menu (which also included the HDVR). After selecting AVX, it automatically proceeded to play data coming in from the AVX. Unfortunately, it only displayed a black screen. Looking at the AVX debug output, everything seemed ok - it was streaming data as usual just like recording to a JVC 30K. So I hit the 1394 button again to get out of the DVHS recording menu. I then hit 1394 again to get back in and somehow it magically started displaying the AVX picture! At this point you could record the video to the LG hard drive or just watch it like normal.

I'll play with the system some more this weekend and report the results. Hopefully I can find the magic formula to reliably get AVX picture to display. Once that works, I will try using my Pronto remote to schedule automatic recordings from AVX to LG hard-drive using some complicated macros. If that proves successful, I'll keep the LG and use it to time-shift shows that I don't plan to permanently archive on DVD-R. Its transport controls (ff, seek, etc.) are much more convenient than my current method (streaming to 30K from PC hard drive).

-Mark

Mark

I just tried again starting with one at a time and it works!

I chose between 1394 and D-VHS ansd had to hit PLAY...Stop...PLAY a few times, but it works?

I'm happy I bought the 16 Port Firewire Patch Panel http://www.signvideo.com/ieee-1394-firewire-patch-panel-patchbay-dv-video-bay.htm so I can patch all my 1394 ports at will.

The AVX-1 > LG 3410 works, I am very happy indeed.

Originally posted by Wizziwig
Now to the issue of direct AVX capture. Connection was very straight-forward. Dish 6000 plugs into one 1394 port on the back of the LG and the AVX goes into the other. Next I hit the 1394 button on the remote and selected the AVX from the menu (which also included the HDVR). After selecting AVX, it automatically proceeded to play data coming in from the AVX. Unfortunately, it only displayed a black screen. Looking at the AVX debug output, everything seemed ok - it was streaming data as usual just like recording to a JVC 30K. So I hit the 1394 button again to get out of the DVHS recording menu. I then hit 1394 again to get back in and somehow it magically started displaying the AVX picture! At this point you could record the video to the LG hard drive or just watch it like normal.

I'll play with the system some more this weekend and report the results. Hopefully I can find the magic formula to reliably get AVX picture to display. Once that works, I will try using my Pronto remote to schedule automatic recordings from AVX to LG hard-drive using some complicated macros. If that proves successful, I'll keep the LG and use it to time-shift shows that I don't plan to permanently archive on DVD-R. Its transport controls (ff, seek, etc.) are much more convenient than my current method (streaming to 30K from PC hard drive).

-Mark

Mark

I just tried again starting with one at a time and it works!

I chose between 1394 and D-VHS ansd had to hit PLAY...Stop...PLAY a few times, but it works?

I'm happy I bought the 16 Port Firewire Patch Panel http://www.signvideo.com/ieee-1394-firewire-patch-panel-patchbay-dv-video-bay.htm so I can patch all my 1394 ports at will.

The AVX-1 > LG 3410 works, I am very happy indeed.

Here is a portion of an E-mail to Richard, in hopes that the final revised software (08D6 and 08E6) will be "hassle free"
I think I found the answer to the ‘HS/STD/Aut’ problem on the JVC 30K. I had to swap my VCRs because I was getting some intermittent blank screen recordings, and I thought the recorder may have been defaulting to STD even after manually setting it to HS. The VCR that I swapped it with used to run on the B3 software, and it was already I-link set, so all I had to do was press record. The information on the display did not show a version of the AVX-1, and the AUT/HS function was working as it had with the B3 software. If you reload the B3 software into the 30K, then reset the I-links, then reload the 08D6 without resetting the I-link, you will get the same results.

Originally posted by jay koz
Here is a portion of an E-mail to Richard, in hopes that the final revised software (08D6 and 08E6) will be "hassle free"
I think I found the answer to the ‘HS/STD/Aut’ problem on the JVC 30K. I had to swap my VCRs because I was getting some intermittent blank screen recordings, and I thought the recorder may have been defaulting to STD even after manually setting it to HS. The VCR that I swapped it with used to run on the B3 software, and it was already I-link set, so all I had to do was press record. The information on the display did not show a version of the AVX-1, and the AUT/HS function was working as it had with the B3 software. If you reload the B3 software into the 30K, then reset the I-links, then reload the 08D6 without resetting the I-link, you will get the same results.

Jay

What is the "B3" software?

0.8B3, the software that preceeded the 08C6, D6, and E6, that we downloaded from his website. This usually came with the AVX-1 when purchased. If you have another version that is before the 08C6, and the HS/STD/AUT function on the JVC worked with it, then follow the procedure that I outlined, and you should get the same results.

Excellent discovery. I have wondered for the past two months why the auto function has not worked properly on the JVC30K.

After unplugging my I-link devices, I reinstalled the old 08A5 software for the AVX-1, reset the I-link numbers on the JVC30K, then reconnected devices. I can confirm that this does indeed allow the JVC to automatically set to HS mode. I then reinstalled the new 08E6 software. AUT/HS still flash happily on the JVC30K front display, but my video screen indicates that I have 08A5 software installed since I have not reset the I-link system.

However, when I did reset the I-link numbers with the new 08E6 software, AUT/HS continue to flash. I have yet to see the dreaded AUT/STD front display even though I've selected non HD signals and recycled power to the various components. This leads me to suspect that one of the other software upgrades, probably 08C6 or 08D6, introduced this problem, but evidently the 08E6 software does not have this bug.

Hope this works for others.

Bob
6000/AVX/30K

I have seen it elsewhere that you can use the AVX1 with a MAC but it actually works with mine except for jerky play back.

HD300->AVX1->MAC 933 MHz PPC G4.

Play back through VLC is jerky. Probably need a faster machine. COOL. Maybe it will work better on my PC.

Originally posted by Compromise
I have seen it elsewhere that you can use the AVX1 with a MAC but it actually works with mine except for jerky play back.

HD300->AVX1->MAC 933 MHz PPC G4.

Play back through VLC is jerky. Probably need a faster machine. COOL. Maybe it will work better on my PC.

Have you played with the latest VLC? 0.8.0 just came out, and each build does a little better. Another thing, is to adjust the size--usually doing half size will enable the 'capture' to run. I would gather you're using VirtualDVHS?

Yes I am using VLC 0.8.0 test1 and VirtualDVHS. Perhaps I should use test2.

Doing the half size thing does not take out the jerkyness. Any ideas here? Getting nervous about play back jerkyness. Haven't found anything in the mac VirtualDVHS site yet about computer clock speed and playback jerkyness regarding .m2t files. Still looking for a solution.

Has anyone been able to record the 169Time AVX-1 "D-VHS" FireWire stream with the FireBus DTVR v1.0?

What EXACTLY are the steps involved?

I am confused by the "Broadcast Record" and "Broadcast Play" features and what "channel" I am supposed to select in the FireBus DTVR v1.0 Content Manager to capture the AVX-1 "D-VHS" FireWire stream as if it were another D-VHS deck in playback mode.

...This leads me to suspect that one of the other software upgrades, probably 08C6 or 08D6, introduced this problem, but evidently the 08E6 software does not have this bug.
The key word here being bug. I think that the handshake between the 08D6 and the JVC (with the I-link reset) was causing a glitch in the transmission, since I was getting a picture freeze and white screen for some of my recordings, with the HS setting on. After going through the reset with the 08B3 software and then reloading the 08D6, I am again glitch free. I am wondering if this was a coincidence, or if anyone else was having the same problem?

Originally posted by jay koz
...This leads me to suspect that one of the other software upgrades, probably 08C6 or 08D6, introduced this problem, but evidently the 08E6 software does not have this bug.
The key word here being bug. I think that the handshake between the 08D6 and the JVC (with the I-link reset) was causing a glitch in the transmission, since I was getting a picture freeze and white screen for some of my recordings, with the HS setting on. After going through the reset with the 08B3 software and then reloading the 08D6, I am again glitch free. I am wondering if this was a coincidence, or if anyone else was having the same problem?

Jay

I have not had any STD-HS speed select problems, but, the 169Time web site gives instructions for 08x6 that say to be sure to reset the I-link to get the correct AVX-1 version number displayed on the JVC 30K OSD.

This method should avoid any STD vs. HS speed select problem too.

Murray, I think that in my case the reset caused some of the non-recordings. When I had the JVC recognize the old software, and regain the auto select function, it also eliminated a bug in the newer software that was causing the picture freeze and non recording.

Troubleshooting the Aut/HS vs Aut/STD problem with AVX-1 software and JVC30K indicates a bug in the 08C6 pre-release software. Unless cleared out by reinstalling 08A5 or older software and resetting I-link numbers, this glitch will prevent the JVC from functioning normally, even after upgrading to either 08D6 or 08E6.

After reinstalling 08C6 software and resetting I-links over a normally functioning 08A5 installation, I noticed the following: the JVC front panel display changed from an alternating AUT then HS to a steady HS indication. When power was recycled to the JVC after turning off the satellite source (DISH 6000), the display changed to flashing AUT/STD followed by a steady STD indication.

A steady glow of HS or STD on the front panel display is non-normal and indicates an interruption of the auto tape speed function needed for normal recording of HD source material. This is the glitch that the 08C6 software introduces to the JVC30K and newer software willl not remove it. Fortunately, one can restore the correct flashing display by reinstalling 08A5 software (or older) and resetting I-links.

Both 08D6 and 08E6 software do not appear to inhibit auto sensing, as AUT/HS will alternately display with either of these AVX software installs, allowing timed recordings to start without error.

BTW, an issue that has not been mentioned for a long while in this thread is 5C copy protection. I have yet to encounter this flag in any of my various AVX recordings, but it sure seems to annoy those with other recording systems.

Bob

Originally posted by sierrabob

BTW, an issue that has not been mentioned for a long while in this thread is 5C copy protection. I have yet to encounter this flag in any of my various AVX recordings, but it sure seems to annoy those with other recording systems.

Bob

Have you determined that DirecTV or Dish Network or C Band has ever used 5C copy protection? I was not aware any of the 169time compatible services had ever used 5C which of course could explain why non 5C compliant receivers or 169time recorders have never had any problem with it. I don't think it will affect 169time if it is ever used but since no firewire compatible receivers are supported by any of those services, I can't imagine any will start to use it.

Chris

Originally posted by Chris Gerhard
Have you determined that DirecTV or Dish Network or C Band has ever used 5C copy protection?

I have not investigated this fully, but obviously the DISH6000 is non 5C compliant since one can record to DVHS, then dub to DVHS or PC anything from OTA to HD-PPV using a 169time mod and appropriate accessories (e.g. 2 JVC30k decks, or 1 JVC30K and DVHSTool/XP-PC).

Those cable users may be having a good time with rigs such as the LG-LST-3410A, but their firewire ports are limited by 5C flagging.

Both 08D6 and 08E6 software do not appear to inhibit auto sensing, as AUT/HS will alternately display with either of these AVX software installs, allowing timed recordings to start without error.
They will inhibit the auto sensing, if the I-link is reset to them. What I have found is: everything works perfectly with the I -links reset to an eartlier version of the software (before 08C6), and the new software booted without a reset.

Originally posted by jay koz
[b]
They will inhibit the auto sensing, if the I-link is reset to them. What I have found is: everything works perfectly with the I -links reset to an eartlier version of the software (before 08C6), and the new software booted without a reset.

In my case, auto sensing works normally even with I-links reset to the newer software; this holds true for both 08D6 and 08E6 after resetting to version 08A5. Selecting the appropriate I-link channel does confirm the installed software.

Bob

So this thread has obviously been around for a bit... I was wondering what the consensus is now on building your own AVX-1. I have an old PC that would seem to fit the task perfectly (a Compaq Deskpro P3 500 with 128mb RAM and a CDRom drive), but if it's going to be a nightmare to configure my own I guess it would make sense to go with the one from 169time. Any advise?

Thanks,
MP

Pickup a firewire card with a good return policy and give it a shot. The BIOS reconfig is easy, and the software is free. Just follow the website instructions. When your computer loads the software and your monitor repeats the "Looking for HDVR" command line, you're in business. Otherwise you haven't setup BIOS correctly or the CDROM drive is not robust enough.

The firewire card was the issue for me when I built mine. I went through 3 different boards/chipsets before finding one that worked properly. Other than that the task was very simple.

I would recommending using a Adaptec Fireconnect 4300 for your AVX-1. It uses the Texas Instruments chipset and I have found them to be great for D-VHS recording with a PC and D-VHStool or in a home-built AVX-1.

Others will work, to be sure, but not as well IMO.

--Jerome

Thanks for the advice guys. One question about what Bob said... what did you mean by the CDRom is not robust enough?

On occasion certain CDROM drives have not loaded the software properly even though they appear to function. I had a low quality Goldstar drive that needed replacement. If the software takes more than a minute to load, the drive may be the problem. If it doesn't load at all, then you probably did not correctly image the software when creating the disk.

Bob

Ok, thanks for the heads up.

Could someone please give me some advise?

I do not have a JVC recorder and am recording to a MAC using VirtualDVHS. Playback using VLC is very jerky through the Mac's DVI. Yet playback of other m2t files provided for demos works fine. Any comments on this? Could it be 08D6?

Or, how can you use the decoder in my SatHD300 to see if the jerkyness goes away. Somewhere I read you have to somehow set it to an OTA channel which is active. I do not have any OTA channels in this area so will this not work. What channel do you set the SatHD300 to? etc.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Originally posted by Wizziwig
Since it seems more on-topic here, I moved the discussion of LG LST-3410A and direct AVX recording here.

I just picked up an LG LST-3410A (open-box special at BB for only $450). My main interest was in seeing how well it interacted with the 169time and the quality of the decoder compared to my old JVC 30K. Since BB has a 30-day return policy, I figured I have nothing to lose.

Quick observations so far by running some 169time recorded DVHS Tapes through it:

1) Decoder is more detailed/sharper than the JVC-30K. This can be a negative for some because it reveals MPEG compression artifacts present in the source which may have been blurred/filtered somewhat on the JVC.

2) Error recovery of the decoder seems very good. It's at least as good as the JVC. No problems so far playing captures from my 169time modded Dish 6000. I'll know more about error handling once I have time to run some of my mpeg2repair torture test files through it.-Mark

I would be interested to know how you are using it as a decoder. Are you feeding it external data from a PC, JVC deck, other or directly from the AVX1? Any results from a PC?

Originally posted by Compromise
I would be interested to know how you are using it as a decoder. Are you feeding it external data from a PC, JVC deck, other or directly from the AVX1? Any results from a PC?

You can connect a 169Time HDVR (the STB), and, the AVX-1 (Linux PC) to the LG 3410 and view or record the AVX-1 output stream on the 3410 as if it was a D-VHS deck iteslf.

You can feed the LG 3410 a file mounted in a PC using VividLogic's FireBus software also as if it were a D-VHS deck iteslf.

How is the playback quality, any jerkyness, skipping or dropouts from the FireBus software throught the LG3410 on HD data?

Do you have a DVI output on your PC? Have you tried VLC or equivalent for direct playback from your video board and if so how is the quality? What PC do you use? (Sorry for all the questions)

Originally posted by Compromise

"How is the playback quality, any jerkyness, skipping or dropouts from the FireBus software throught the LG3410 on HD data?"

Perfect.

"Do you have a DVI output on your PC?"

Yes, but, I never use it to watch HD. I use MyHD 120-DVI and LG 3410 only for DVI playback.

"Do you have a DVI output on your PC? Have you tried VLC or equivalent for direct playback from your video board and if so how is the quality? What PC do you use?"

With hardware based HD PCI cards like MYHD and AccessDTV, the PC can be pretty weak. By example, my MyHD is in an ECS 133 Mghtz Bus Speed Atholon XP 1400+ M system with 1GB of memory and onboard graphics- $300.

Here's a recent discovery for you 169timers: you can improve OTA recording quality by not selecting HD mode (component video) during setup.

The 169time mod bypasses some circuitry in the satellite receiver and provides firewire output regardless of whether component video or composite video output is selected on the receiver. Selecting SD (composite video) boosts signal strength through the firewire, apparently since the HD signal does not have to be split between firewire and component output.

I noticed this when recording Lord of the Rings tonight. Our WB affiliate signal strength drops down into the 60% range quite often. While this will cause pixellation when viewed using the HD component output, selecting SD will stabilize the firewire output, eliminating glitches and pixellation in this lower signal strength range.

Bob
DISH6000/08D6

Will this work on a DTC100?

.

Since I do not have this unit in service I really should not comment. I do recall that it has a similar switch for HD or SD.

Bob

Originally posted by HDHTPC
I wonder if those gray blocks could be related to the HD-CGMS-A system that HBO announced recently. Apparently it can tag a recording as "not to be re-recorded" even when it is recaptured using analog equipment. That would suggest that they changed something in the picture to flag it.

Yup, those gray (easily seen against black credits/openings and closings) blocks do in fact also appear on SHOHD & HBOHD from the 148 degree satellite position as well as the 110 degree position.

Originally posted by mkerdman
Yup, those gray (easily seen against black credits/openings and closings) blocks do in fact also appear on SHOHD & HBOHD from the 148 degree satellite position as well as the 110 degree position.

Sad to hear that. I know they were aware of the issue for the past 4 months so it seems like they couldn't find a solution. Looks like c-band and cable are your only choice for decent picture on these channels.

See this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=467834

I noticed the 169Time web site has been updated to reflect some of the various successful ways to accomplish HDVR > AVX-1 > Hard drive recording.

All of the following are mentioned under the heading:

"Hard drive recording"

HDTV Recording with the Vividlogic.com FireBus DTVR product

HDTV Recording with LG LST-3410A

HDTV Recording to a Windows XP PC hard drive

HDTV Recording to a Mac based computer HDTV recording

Recording HDTV using a hard drive directly in the AVX1

(This last one has not been released to the public yet. It is suggested there that you check back at the 169Time web site for the latest information.)

I'm Moving...Selling my 169 time system.

Please no sales adds on the open forum. The Classified section is provided for that purpose.
http://avsf.videogon.com/cgi-bin/buy.pl

Thank you.

Has anyone using a Dish 6000 noticed a new rash of problems with Showtime?

I get constant video pixel glitches now (not the grey blocks), about three or four per minute. I do not believe it to be the 169time HDVR, because I can see these problems at the component video output of the model 6000. The other HD channels are fine.

--Jerome

Originally posted by jsaliga
Has anyone using a Dish 6000 noticed a new rash of problems with Showtime?

I get constant video pixel glitches now (not the grey blocks), about three or four per minute. I do not believe it to be the 169time HDVR, because I can see these problems at the component video output of the model 6000. The other HD channels are fine.

--Jerome

Jerome

I have also seen this with the live SHOHD feeds from Dish using a 6000.

A visit to the 169Time.com web site shows that they have some new sales going on including one where you can get a DirecTV receiver for $1.00 when you buy an HDVR Upgrade and an AVX-1.

Originally posted by jsaliga
Has anyone using a Dish 6000 noticed a new rash of problems with Showtime?

I get constant video pixel glitches now (not the grey blocks), about three or four per minute. I do not believe it to be the 169time HDVR, because I can see these problems at the component video output of the model 6000. The other HD channels are fine.

--Jerome


Originally posted by mkerdman
Jerome

I have also seen this with the live SHOHD feeds from Dish using a 6000.

Have you noticed any change in the gray squares (less/more)? Maybe they are working on a fix for that issue and these glitches are a side effect?

The grey squares, so easily demonstrated on title sequences, have become a permanent feature of Dish HD.

Originally posted by Wizziwig
Have you noticed any change in the gray squares (less/more)? Maybe they are working on a fix for that issue and these glitches are a side effect?
I haven't really been paying attention to the gray squares. These glitches are a much bigger problem as far as I am concerned and really make viewing in real time or recordings unwatchable.

Now Showtime seems clean and HBO is a mess.

--Jerome

Originally posted by jsaliga
I haven't really been paying attention to the gray squares. These glitches are a much bigger problem as far as I am concerned and really make viewing in real time or recordings unwatchable.

Now Showtime seems clean and HBO is a mess.

--Jerome

Agreed. I just figured maybe someone at Dish was playing with the muxer settings in order to fix the older problem.

If anyone ever notices a fix to the gray-square issue, please leave a post on the forum. I have dropped Hbo/Sho on Dish several months ago but would love to switch back if they ever get it resolved. I'm using cable for those channels now but have no way to record them to a PC. Would be nice to use my 169time gear again.

Thanks.

Regarding glitches, I just made my first recording from the Discovery HD channel. Over a two hour recording there are probably 50 glitches. I am using an HD300->AVX1->5U for recording.

If anyone could make any recommendations how to get rid of all of these glitches, it would be most appreciated. I am not sure as to the utility of this setup under these circumstances. Hopefully I am doing something wrong.

I have also imported the file to the PC and will be running mpeg2repair to see if it cleans it up.

Originally posted by Compromise
Regarding glitches, I just made my first recording from the Discovery HD channel. Over a two hour recording there are probably 50 glitches. I am using an HD300->AVX1->5U for recording.

If anyone could make any recommendations how to get rid of all of these glitches, it would be most appreciated. I am not sure as to the utility of this setup under these circumstances. Hopefully I am doing something wrong.

I have also imported the file to the PC and will be running mpeg2repair to see if it cleans it up.

What software version and videotape are you using? Do recordings from HDNet or ESPN do the same? The few recordings I have made recently from DiscoveryHD have been ok with the usual glitch or two.

Chris

Compromise

My experience with mpeg2repair so far is it has allowed me to transfer my AVX recordings to hard drive & play them back using the MYHD card but
I still maintain all my glitches. I have not tried the latest version.