I've got a Motorola 6208 box with v7.15 firmware through insight communications and I'm having problems connecting. In AVCbrowser i get an "error connecting to output plug 0.0000 etc"

I noticed something was said earlier about the #out in AVCbrowser - mine reads 30, that doesn't seem right??

I recently purchased the Elegato eyeTV 500 and wasn't satisfied with having limited over the air channels, so I'm determined to get this firewire working, anybody know what my problem is?

Thanks!

Hi,

Has anyone managed to get Virtual DVHS working with a JVC HM-DH5U? Thanks!

Posted by JGracin:

When recording in Virtual DVHS, the transport stream library keeps filling up with empty files, with no bit rate transmission to signal that the recorder is looking in the right place. I've tried channels 0, 1 and 63 to no avail.


I am having the same exact problem. Motorola 6208, firmware v. 7.07, iMac G5, RCN cable in Boston. AV/C browser can connect to the box, which appears to indicate output on channel #0, but I am getting empty files like above. Is it possibly the firmware version?

At least I was able to record the last inning on the 6208... :D

I've seen the empty file issue from the 6208 before with RCN Manhattan. My experience shows that when used for HD records, FireWire acts very much like SCSI - devices are not hot plug-gable.

My order of operations: power off 6208; power off computer; power off FireWire HD; connect FireWire to HD and 6208; reset the 6208 (holding the power for 10-15 seconds and see the LEDs dance); power HD; power 6208; power computer.

Remember that the 6208 wants to be at the end of the FireWire chain and does not like FireWire hubs. Also try out check out iRecord (http://home.comcast.net/~macpvr/).

Thanks, ghostman - I will try the power-up sequence you described. I have also seen mention of FW output not being fully implemented in firmware versions below 7.10 - unfortunately I'd have to get RCN to flash the box, since there's apparently no easy way for a subscriber to do this.

I just purchased 169Time

Setup:
SonySatHD300(D*)->AVX1->MAC 933G4->VirtualDVHS->VLC 0.8.0->DVI->PIO503(1280x768)

Picture is jerky on HD playback. Any ideas how to fix this? It seems a little smoother on VLC 0.7.3.

Thanks for any input.

I'm having playback problems. I pretty sure it's because I'm not doing it right. It records just fine. I'm using 6208. And I use AVBrowser to connect and then use VirtualDVHS to record. I see the bitrate move up and I know it's recording. But when I try to playback the file via VLC, nothing shows up. Just the indicator bar within VLC moves a little bit and then that's it.

I'm using an iMacG5 for playback. Can someone give me some guidence?

Thanks in advance,
Alvin

Originally posted by ALpianoman
I'm having playback problems. I pretty sure it's because I'm not doing it right. It records just fine. I'm using 6208. And I use AVBrowser to connect and then use VirtualDVHS to record. I see the bitrate move up and I know it's recording. But when I try to playback the file via VLC, nothing shows up. Just the indicator bar within VLC moves a little bit and then that's it.

I'm using an iMacG5 for playback. Can someone give me some guidence?

Thanks in advance,
Alvin ]

Which network are you recording? Are you sure it is not encrypted?

I'm using Comcast in Ann Arbor. I know there's one person on the board that's in Ann Arbor and he's posted that it works just fine... hmmmmm

Originally posted by kaadray
]

Which network are you recording? Are you sure it is not encrypted?

That was it. I guess Comcast in my area encrypts the HD channels except for the local HD Channels. I got it to work!! :)

Question for anyone: I've got a Sony HDV camera coming next week, and am wodering if the Apple SDK DVHS FW apps can be used to capture from it? Or if there's another way? I know I can process the resulting files in MPEG Streamclip. TIA,

Tim

Can MyHD files be converted into something VirtualDVHS can read (assuming they can't be read in their existing format). I am talking about using SMB to transfer the files from PC to Mac, rather than attempting to use MyHDs Firewire output which requires the use of Windows XP.

I may not understand your question but I believe the answer is no. VirtualDVHS is written to be able to record a transport stream that is presented on FireWire. If you use SMB you can certainly transfer a captured transport stream to your Mac and in all likelyhood it can be played using VLC on the Mac or PC. You could even use VLC on the PC to play the transport file while it is being recorded on the PC to the IP address of your Mac and play that with VLC on the Mac. I've done that successfully using FusionHDTV on the PC rather than MyHD. I suppose that is the closest to what you were asking but VirtualDVHS would not be involved.

The step needed to "publish" to the network is to select the "Stream output" checkbox in the file open dialog and then make the appropriate choices in the dialog that you get by clicking the "Settings..." button. So, for instance, you could select the RTP checkbox in the Output Methods area and type in the IP address of your Mac. On the Mac you would choose the same protocol and enter the address of your PC. The beta version of VLC I have on the Mac has that feature broken currently but I have used it successfully in the past and it will probably work in the release version. Of course you need a much faster Mac than mine to make this useful.

Couldn't you just change the file extension to .m2t to make it recognizable by VirtualDVHS?

Oops. I forgot to mention that possibility. I was assuming that recording was the issue but if you want to playback from VirtualDVHS you can transfer the transport stream file using SMB to the Mac. Change the extension to .m2t and put the file in the directory that has been specified for VirtualDVHS recordings. The next time it is started it will scan the directory and if the files from MyHD are like the files from FusionHDTV it will be able to play those files out through the FireWire port to a device connected there.

Originally posted by Compromise
I just purchased 169Time

Setup:
SonySatHD300(D*)->AVX1->MAC 933G4->VirtualDVHS->VLC 0.8.0->DVI->PIO503(1280x768)

Picture is jerky on HD playback. Any ideas how to fix this? It seems a little smoother on VLC 0.7.3.

Thanks for any input.


I hate to quote myself, but I believe this is important. I took the file over to my 3GHZ Pentium with 1GB Ram and ran the .m2t file on VLC there and it is smooth with no glitches.

Thanks, I'll try copying and renaming the file once I get my MyHD PC set back up.

Does anyone know if a MAC card exists that is similar to MyHD PC which will provide a hardware MPEG decoder and DVI instead of trying to use VLC and the MAC video board?

Hello all,

I have just discovered VirtualDVHS and I just recently bought a Mitsubishi HDTV. I am using an older clamshell ibook to do my recording and while it took me a little while I have finally got it to record. Netcommand on the Mitsubishi controls it through the firewire very well.

However I have run into a snag, the very first time I tried to record and playback through the TV everything went well. However I installed Firewire SDK 19 and got the beta 3 of VirtualDVHS and now I cant seem to get any sound. Even the one I recorded before has no sound playing. My Reciever is getting a Dolby Digital signal but nothing is coming through.

Anyway any advice as to what I might try or what the problem may be?

The setup is my ibook connected to my Mitsubishi TV with a firewire cable and the tv outputs sound to my reciever. I am also only recording over the air broadcasts.

Thanks in advance :)

Nathan Bishop

Been reading this forum for 2 weeks and have been happily recording with my SA3250HD for 1 week now. One issue that I've already turned up here in the Austin, TX area is a problem with MTV2... The videos seem to record just fine to the G5, but when I attempt to demux on the P4 (usually with Project X, but also with others) or on the G5, a lot of the GOPs get dropped because they are "bad"... Even messing with the options to demux the bad ones anyways, a handfull still get dropped. Just checking to see if any one else has experienced this (just MTV2 for some reason) and if there are any known solutions - I would assume there is a work-around as I can watch the original TS stream just fine. Any ideas?

HOw can I archive recordings currently on my Moto 6208 box. Do I just play them and record them, or is there a way to access the HD of the 6208?

Thanks,

Tom

Originally posted by tloder
HOw can I archive recordings currently on my Moto 6208 box. Do I just play them and record them, or is there a way to access the HD of the 6208?

Thanks,

Tom


You play them and record as they play. Provided they were recorded from unencrypted channels.

http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetv610

Who/what supports this "standard"?

Originally posted by ASword
http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetv610

Who/what supports this "standard"?

The 610 seems to be a European model.

I have seen earlier posts where it is said that Virtual DVHS only worked with the Sony910 for playback. I have th 960 which is essentially the same TV with a few enhancements. I was wondering if anyone had experience with using VIrtual DVHS and Sony TVs. I am able to hit the record icon in VIrtual DVHS and have the TV say the 'Device has intiated recording' but I get nothing on the bitrate regardless of what channel I have virtual DVHS set to. Is there another setting I could try to get it to work.

Thanks

Originally posted by kaadray
You play them and record as they play. Provided they were recorded from unencrypted channels.

How can I tell if they're encrypted? I recorded a few movies off HBO and wouldn't mind archiving them to my computer.

Try transferring part of one and if it doesn't play back with VLC/etc... it is encrypted. Unless you are one of the few lucky ones everything but the broadcast channels and analog are likely to be encrypted by your cable co.

Originally posted by kaadray
Try transferring part of one and if it doesn't play back with VLC/etc... it is encrypted. Unless you are one of the few lucky ones everything but the broadcast channels and analog are likely to be encrypted by your cable co.

I have LOTR The Two Towers sitting on my 6208's internal hard drive which I recorded back in September from Starz-HD. I cannot playback the .m2t file recorded while replaying LOTR:TTT on my 6208. However, I can playback the brief snippet of "2 Fast 2 Furious" from Starz-HD that is showing on Starz-HD currently. Any ideas why?

My only idea is the firmware in my cable box may have been updated since september. I believe I have version 8.12 now, and I used to have 7.07 or 7.12 in September.

Originally posted by ghostman
The 610 seems to be a European model.

I'm not sure -- this standard claims to be supported by various cable providers in the US & Canada (including my cable provider, unfortunately Canada still doesn't have a supported TV listing service).

Anyone knows which is the best software for playing back MPEG2 transport stream on Mac? I tried VLC 0.8.1 on my 15" PowerBook 1.33Ghz/768MB ram and it's not fluent(full screen). The PB has a Radeon 9700 video card, I think it should do better. VLC is not optimized enough, even on PC/Windows, while other MPEG2 TS playback software works fine, I can still see lots of scanlines from VLC.

Any other better software for MPEG2 TS playback on Mac?

Is Apple's QuickTime6 MPEG2 component($19.99) better? Don't know if it can playback transport stream or not.

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/mpeg2playback/

Mplayer does not play .ts files on the mac. VLC is the only software for the mac that I know of that will play .ts files. It will also play .m2t files.

There is a program called MPEG Streamclip that kind of converts the transport streams on the fly so that the Apple MPEG-2 Playback Component will work.

Originally posted by RKay
There is a program called MPEG Streamclip that kind of converts the transport streams on the fly so that the Apple MPEG-2 Playback Component will work.

Yes, this is true. MPEG Streamclip beautifully uses the MPEG-2 component. But for playback, the application does not permit full screen display, i.e. the window remains, so I did not consider this to be a player, but more of a very useful and powerful editing utility for .ts and .m2t in particular, and other files.

I bought a Mitsubishi wd62725 a couple of weeks ago and almost immediately stumbled on this thread. Really cool stuff!

It was easy to record off-air HD to my Powerbook (Ti 550) using VirtualDVHS and iRecord. However, VirtualDVHS dropped my firewire connection after only a few minutes of recording. But, iRecord never dropped the connection. I had screen saving and sleep turned off. Is this expected? Playback thru VirtualDVHS and the TV worked fine.

I also tried to record un-encrypted cable channels with VirtualDVHS. Recording seems to go OK with around 36 Mbits/sec data rate. However, I cann't get anything to play it back, including the TV, VLC, and mplayer (for Mac). Should I expect to be able to record and play back digital cable on a Mit 62725?

Tom

Regarding the play back of your recording from VirtualDVHS, 38 MB/s is way too high. The recording should have been more like 18 or 19 MB/s. 29 MB/s is the absolute limit and never seen from Satellite. So, there maybe something wrong in Buffalo here (no offense Buffalo Avsforum members). Try recording it again, this time monitor the firewire channel by monitoring the output of an HDTV decoder the likes of which are built into HDTV DVHS recorders (5U, 04K, 40K) to make sure you are having real HD video available for VirtualDVHS to record.

Actually, there may be something wrong in Dallas.

I have a lot of unknowns here: a new Mit WD-62725; Comcast digital cable; firewire SW (VirtualDVHS & iRecord), etc. Mainly, I would like to know if the TV is working correctly. It seems odd that I can record and play back off-air fine, but no joy with un-encrypted digital cable. From this thread, I know that un-encrypted digital cable can be recorded from a firewire STB. Shouldn't I be able to do this with my TV?

As for the bit rate, I'm not sure. VirtualDVHS seems to support upto 36.096 Mb/sec and this is the bit rate I get. However, the transport stream seems to be defective: mplayer, VLC, MPEG Streamclip and my TV (using VirtualDVHS) don't like the file.

Originally posted by tldavis
...As for the bit rate, I'm not sure. VirtualDVHS seems to support upto 36.096 Mb/sec and this is the bit rate I get. However, the transport stream seems to be defective: mplayer, VLC, MPEG Streamclip and my TV (using VirtualDVHS) don't like the file.
If you check some of the other discussions of transport streams you can find other instances where a cable system seems to be multiplexing two channels onto one transport stream. I don't mean the usual subchannels. This has caused problems for other devices.

I've been using VLC and MPEG Streamclip on the Mac - they're both a little rough and could use our support but they're really promising.

VLC won't output over the optical audio ports on new G5 Macs, for example... and MPEG Streamclip needs to be optimized for the G5... both of which Apple would gladly help those developers with!

Full screen MPEG Streamclip tip:

Open the MPEG Streamclip application as a folder - hunt inside until you find the .nib file - save a backup copy then open the .nib file in the free Apple developer tool Interface Builder, rearrange the windows to full screen, (as large as you can get it) - save and quit - now when you restart MPEG Streamclip the window will be the size of the new window. You still see the window container, but it's now large enough to be watchable on your HD monitor.

VLC won't output over the optical audio ports on new G5 Macs, for example...

I'm successfully using the optical audio port on my G5 with VLC.

See the following thread from videolan.org for instructions on how to change VLC's audio setup to fix the problem:

http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?t=304&highlight=g5+digital

Hello all,

This is my first post to avsforum, although I have been lurking here for a few months. I just bought a 32in LCD TV, Hitachi 32HDL51 to be exact (great tv!). It has two firewire ports, so I began testing the ability to record and playback HD content. I have the TV hooked up to a Motorola 6200 box from comcast. The Moto box is connected to my powerbook (G4 667 DVI). Using the iRecord app, I am able to record HD (and SD) programming from the Moto box to an external firewire drive.

Playback of HD & SD content is perfect on my windows PC, my powerbook just is not fast enough to playback HD content. To playback to my Hitachi LCD TV, I use apple's Virtual DVHS program. Unfortunately, playback to the TV results in frequenct audio dropouts. The video playback is perfect, but the sound drops out for about 1 second. I do not believe it is the actual recorded file, since playback of that file is fine on my computer.

I searched the forums but could not find anyone else reporting this odd behavior. Has anyone else experienced this audio loss behavior using VirtualDVHS output to an HDTV? Maybe it is my TV?

Thanks!

What's interesting here is that your TV must have built-in Mpeg2 decoders and must therefore be decoding the audio as well. Typically I use my JVC5U decoders for this process as my plasma is unable to do this.

Regarding your audio problem, try the firewire feed through alternative HD decoder like a 5U or 40K/40K box if you have one. If you do not have one, you may eventually.

Originally posted by Compromise
What's interesting here is that your TV must have built-in Mpeg2 decoders and must therefore be decoding the audio as well. Typically I use my JVC5U decoders for this process as my plasma is unable to do this.

Regarding your audio problem, try the firewire feed through alternative HD decoder like a 5U or 40K/40K box if you have one. If you do not have one, you may eventually.

Thanks for the response. My tv does have a built-in HDTV tuner, perhaps that allows mpeg2 decoding?

The JVC5U is an interesting solution. I have read the 5U manual, and if I understood it correctly: I would need to make a firewire link between my mac and the 5U, then use HDMI link between the 5U and my TV? Would I also need to have a DVHS tape in the VCR (in record mode?) to be able to view the firewire output of my mac on the TV?

You can use an SVHS tape, but it does not have to be in record mode.

Regarding the tuner, it would not have decoders. The decoders would only be on the firewire chain. Check your manual.

I was a little surprised to find just one reference to using hardware accelleration for playback on this thread.

For those using VLC, you can do a few things to make playback better:

The main thing is to use OpenGL for your video output module! If you stick to 'Default' or 'MacOS X Interface...', then you have /no/ hardware accelleration. (Yuck!) Switch to OpenGL.

Another thing you can do (not for the faint of heart), you can grab the source for VLC and the basic set of packages it needs for MPEG2 playback (mpeg2dec, libmad, wxWidgets, ffmpeg, and libdvbpsi) and build them tuned for your processor. E.g. for my G4 laptop, I use "-mtune=G4 -mCPU=G4 -fast -falign-loops=16". My lowly 1.25GHz G4 can play 1080i with these optimizations, although I can see that it is still dropping some frames.

One last trick, you can record HDTV with VirtualDVHS, of course, but you can play back ripped DVD's as well. To make a m2t file compatible with VirtualDHVS, I use something like this (in Terminal, of course):

/Applications/VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/VLC dvdread:/dev/rdisk1 --audio-type=2 --sout
'#standard{acccess=file,mux=ts,url=/Volumes/bigoutboarddisk/mydvd.m2t}'

audio-type is dependant on the disc. '2' in this case is AC3 for a U2 concert DVD I own.

Have fun!


-Phil

Anybody with a Mits integrated TV kept up with this? I'm getting a WD52725 and would love to be able to record AND ARCHIVE Comcast's HD offerings.

Originally posted by linux_mofo
I was a little surprised to find just one reference to using hardware accelleration for playback on this thread.

For those using VLC, you can do a few things to make playback better:

The main thing is to use OpenGL for your video output module! If you stick to 'Default' or 'MacOS X Interface...', then you have /no/ hardware accelleration. (Yuck!) Switch to OpenGL.-Phil

Thanks for this input. It does make a big difference. I did not know about this.

Regarding the other inputs, too complicated for the average Joe like me.

I have a 933 MHz machine. OpenGL DID help a little, but did not fix it.

Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks.
C

Not smooth enough for my 933.

Anyone have any info on Pioneer equipment? I just got the 1120HD and I have been dying to try virtualDVHS for recording. AVCBrowser recognizes the device, but when I try to record, the bitrate stays at 0 and the file is empty. I tried iRecord and have the same problem. I have the HD broadcast from a rooftop antennae piped into the Pioneer media receiver which claims to support iLink devices, but the on screen iLink setup doesn't recognize the Mac either. I'm on 10.3.7 and I've tried beta 2 and 3 of VirtualDVHS with no luck.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

VDHVS working! Sony KD34XBR960 (CRT w/ (3) 1394 ports), dual G5, latest VDVHS. I can control VDVHS playback (start/pause) via the iLink on-screen controls on the Sony. It *appears* that VDVHS must be started prior to putting Sony into iLink mode. Recording must be started on the Mac. BEST part is that playback from VDVHS plays perfectly on the Sony. (for an earlier poster who mentioned problem w/ Sony, note about starting VDVHS 1st & using channel 32)

Maybe someone can help me here. A quick rundown of my setup:

G5 (Dual 2ghz)
OSX 10.3.7
Firewire SDK19
Mototola DCT-6200 (Cox Cable)
MPEG Streamclip v1.1
VLC v0.8.1

I can record broadcast HD channels (CBS, PBS) with both audio and video without any issues. Unfortunately whenever I record the premium HD channels (HBO, INHD, etc.) I get garbled audio. Has anyone else experienced this? I assume based on the success of my other recordings it is an issue with the transport stream itself?

I would appreciate any input. Just bought a 250gig HD with nothing good to record on it :(

I have a question about channel tuning over firewire. I can use the iRecord app and AV/C Browser Enchanced (from home.comcast.net/~macpvr) both to tune channels and record from the Motorola 62XX box.

My hitachi tv has a built-in hi-def tuner and CableCard slot. The CableCard itself is working fine. However, I am unable to get either of the above programs to tune channels using the hitachi integrated tuner. I can record from the built-in tuner using iRecord, AVC browser, and apple's V-DVHS just fine.

Perhaps, the hitachi has different firewire commands for channel tuning? Has anyone else attempted changing channels using their TV's built-in tuner via firewire (using iRecord or some other app)?

cmont: Just a guess, perhaps your motorola box needs to upgraded (i.e. the firmware)?

Has anyone figured out how to remote control VirtualDVHS. The only way I am able to do it is with a VNC type interface over a bluetooth link which is an extreme soluton. I would love to program my Pronto and use my existing Keyspan remote sensor and software. Unfortunately I am unable to find any codes or keystroke commands to control V-DVHS.

Is it scriptable? You can write AppleScripts and have them invoked from different keyspan commands. If it isn't directly scriptable, you can turn on the universal access preference "Enable access for assitive devices" and use the AppleScript System Events addition to manually tweek any UI elements in VirtualDHVS.

...

Carlos answered my question for me. So just use the Keyspan application to map the keyspan controls to the appropriate VirtualDVHS applescript command.

I examined the scripts and they appear to be specific to a particular STB. However I believe that new scripts could be generated, yes? But then how to link them to the Keyspan? Good start.

Edit: Actions on V-DVHS do not appear to be recordable using recording scripts.

Do you have the Keyspan USB controller or PCI? I have the USB version and how I edit it is like this:

1) Launch KeyspanDMR
2) Click on the Configure button
3) Set the Application to "VirtualDHVS"
4) Double click on the button you want to map (say "STOP")
5) Change the action type to "AppleScript"
6) Click Browse and select the AppleScript you have for telling VirtualDVHS to stop
7) Click Test to make sure its all working correctly
8) Click OK
9) Quick the Editor and save changes

This will route all the Keyspan commands to the appropriate AppleScripts when the VirtualDVHS application is frontmost. You can also make any of the commands be global regardless of frontmost application.

Hope that helps

Kevin

Kevin,
Thanks for the Script mapping advise. Any advise on how to script the D-VHS buttons since AppleScript does not seem to be able to record them? And the scripts on the referenced website are STB specific (also D-VHS specific for example b2 vs. 3)? Do you think I will have to hack these scripts to make them work?

Edit: Started hacking and am unable to determine the button groups and numbers for anything but record and stop record. Anyone having information for play, stop play, pause, ff, fr, and the transport controls, it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Comp.

I have a .ts file of Arrested development in my hard drive, with all the commercials removed.
With DVHSCap and a JVC 30K I recorded the episode on tape but when I played it back, after every commercial break the audio became more and more out of sync (delayed).

So I opened the ts file with Streamclip and fixed the timecode breaks (I noticed that there was a timecode break every time the commercials were cut).
I saved the fixed file as a .ts file and used DVHSCap again to record it on tape, but this time the tape was unwatchable! the picture was skipping frames after frames and I had to stop watching.

Anything I did wrong? One thing i noticed is that the bitrate of the original ts file was variable while the bitrate of the "Streamclipped" ts file was fixed. Something that I can't really explain, since the only thing I did was fix two timecode breaks.

What I really want to solve now is the audio that goes out of sync progressively after each commercial cut. any soution to that?

If you are going to do serious editing you might consider stepping up to DVDSP or FCPHD.

Carlos,

anything like that for mac?

You must use streamclip to do a conversion to quicktime DVPro first. Its not that much of a pain as it is to listen to audio out of sync with the video.

I suppose though you are right that this is a bit of a lame solution.

Has anyone tried LumiereHD instead of VirtualDVHS
http://www.lumierehd.com/lumiere_hd.php

Hi-

The way I work around MPEG Streamclip's audio problems is to never use the "editing" features to cut commercials - that usually leaves me with no audio at all. I just select each segment of a show(between commercials) and use "save as" to make the individual show segments(make sure you number them sequentially). I then open them all at once in streamclip and save them as one file again. I also fix the timecode breaks at that point, but I think it works if you don't. This method works well for me - the show retains it's ac3 audio and I have never noticed any sync problems...

I should mention that I am not using tape...just playing the transport streams with VirtualDVHS through my T165...I don't know if that matters or not. Also, using this method makes you want a really fast RAID...or two.

Looking forward to a streamclip update...

Zach

I have made numerous recordings from my Mac to my JVC HM DH5U. Occasionally I have a problem, and it is typically a bad spot on the tape or two. But nothing like you describe. I also have PCs but do not use them. I tried once sending the file over to try the MPEG2 repair tool as described elsewhere (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4301062#post4301062) on this forum but it didn't seem to really improve an already near perfect transfer.

Of course I haven't tried ripping the stream apart to get rid of commercials so I do not have similar issues.

But I will say I have very good transfers from the mac to the 5U.

Originally posted by zmatzkin
Hi-

The way I work around MPEG Streamclip's audio problems is to never use the "editing" features to cut commercials - that usually leaves me with no audio at all. I just select each segment of a show(between commercials) and use "save as" to make the individual show segments(make sure you number them sequentially). I then open them all at once in streamclip and save them as one file again. I also fix the timecode breaks at that point, but I think it works if you don't. This method works well for me - the show retains it's ac3 audio and I have never noticed any sync problems...

I should mention that I am not using tape...just playing the transport streams with VirtualDVHS through my T165...I don't know if that matters or not. Also, using this method makes you want a really fast RAID...or two.

Looking forward to a streamclip update...

Zach

Several interesting points here. Regarding using Streamclip to select segments, I have to say it is only marginally useful to me. Selecting an In or OUT point is difficult. If you get close and then use the forward or backwards keys, after a couple of toggles, the program freezes on me, thus rendering it near useless for cutting commercials, so I gave up on this.

But your idea seems sound once you have all of the clips, with subsequent rejoining.

Regarding RAID however, I do not know why one would waste the money on RAIDs. Cheap 500GB drives for $500 vs. Apples' RAID price near 5 to 10 times that. I do not think video data needs that type of backup unless you are working on a project for a client or something.

But if you are just taping the Rose Parade, I think a RAID is extreme overkill, although I might be getting one soon, as they don't want the G4 raid at the office anymore (now using Dells).

Originally posted by Compromise
Regarding RAID however, I do not know why one would waste the money on RAIDs. Cheap 500GB drives for $500 vs. Apples' RAID price near 5 to 10 times that. I do not think video data needs that type of backup unless you are working on a project for a client or something.

But if you are just taping the Rose Parade, I think a RAID is extreme overkill, although I might be getting one soon, as they don't want the G4 raid at the office anymore (now using Dells).

Except when using the eyeTV 500. I've looked a little bit, but, once you fill a hard drive and switch to another you loose the recordings you did on the other drives, so a large (but not very fast) RAID should be sufficient.

Oh, I just found Streamclip, and have started to play with it. The edit to clips and then reopen sounds like a decent solution. I tried to convert an eyeTV 'elementary stream' export to '.ts' with it and it dumped the clip to my DVHS deck but, no audio, so the AC-3 tracks are a problem.

Originally posted by Compromise
Several interesting points here. Regarding using Streamclip to select segments, I have to say it is only marginally useful to me. Selecting an In or OUT point is difficult. If you get close and then use the forward or backwards keys, after a couple of toggles, the program freezes on me, thus rendering it near useless for cutting commercials, so I gave up on this.

But your idea seems sound once you have all of the clips, with subsequent rejoining.

Regarding RAID however, I do not know why one would waste the money on RAIDs. Cheap 500GB drives for $500 vs. Apples' RAID price near 5 to 10 times that. I do not think video data needs that type of backup unless you are working on a project for a client or something.

But if you are just taping the Rose Parade, I think a RAID is extreme overkill, although I might be getting one soon, as they don't want the G4 raid at the office anymore (now using Dells).

Huh, once in a while I have a file that causes streamclip to freeze in that way, but for me it has been rare...and i don't use the arrow keys, just the mouse and the JKL keys to find my ins and outs...the cuts are not that accurate anyway.

About the raid, I just wanted these large files to save and copy faster...I use a striped raid for speed, and would love to have another...and I set up my 320GB hardware raid for about $160 (2 rebated $50 160GB drives and a raid PCI card from ebay).

gaderson: Is that true about the EyeTV 500? Seems weird that you can't archive files somewhere else and play them later...? And I thought i read that the 500 uses transport streams - have you tried just changing the extension?

Zach

All of my files with streamclip freeze this way, with the arrow keys after about five clicks.

Regarding your raid, it sounds like you are doing a software raid which is extremely unreliable and dangerous. They type of raid I was referring to was Apples full hardware raid, which is very reliable. I would never consider doing a soft raid.

Nope, I have an Acard PCI ATA hardware raid card...it does raid0 or raid1...love it...

Zach

Originally posted by zmatzkin
gaderson: Is that true about the EyeTV 500? Seems weird that you can't archive files somewhere else and play them later...? And I thought i read that the 500 uses transport streams - have you tried just changing the extension?

Zach

Yes, it's weird. You can open the files from a browser--and even .ts files, but, the way eyeTV saves the files, they're just a bunch of hex codes:

0000000007765bd2
000000000776546e

are the two folders that I see in my "EyeTV Archive" folder, so it's rather a pain to find your recordings, and it looks like if you did any edits, each edit is it's own file (have a few folders on another drive with multiple MPEG files). I figure I'll be harassing the elgato guys at MacWorld in a week.

I play transport streams directly back through the 5U via 1394 so why get a 500 when you can spend it on a 5U instead?

Originally posted by Compromise
I play transport streams directly back through the 5U via 1394 so why get a 500 when you can spend it on a 5U instead?

Because as long as you have hard drive space, you can schedule recordings 'till they fill up. Whereas you STB connected to the 5U, may or may not be able to schedule many recordings--am not aware of a STB that can do weekly recordings. It also has a really easy editor--wish you could use it on imported transport streams though (but I've seen that's what Streamclip is for).
My 500 is only one of four HD tuners that I'll be recording to, it's just a little more convenient to record with the integration with my Mac. Just a little more convenient.

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
I spent a total of $125 for a cheap Celeron and I use it to edit out commercials (using HDTVtoMpeg2) Mpeg2Repair (for fixing problems streams), and sometimes TStoATSC3 to fix errand nullpackets.

I even use it to add/synch a 5.1DD audio track on streams of movies that came through with 2.0 audio and I have the DVD.

I hate PC's (actually, its Windows that I hate) but there are somethings that cannot be done on the Mac. But I will not spend more than its really necessary to accomplish the job.

Carlos,
I can get hold of an old PC laptop and I will try Mpeg2Repair (I tried it with Virtual PC but it doesn't work).
What I'm quite sure about is that the audio delay problems I am having is due to timecode problems.
When I checked my .ts file with Streamclip, it found two timecode breaks exactly where the commercial breaks were edited out.
Will Mpeg2repair be able to repair the timecode breaks without altering picture and sound quality (unlike Streamclip)?

I'm interested in side-stepping the EyeTV software and writing my own PVR. Anyone aware of lthe firewire protocol used to set the tuner frequency and receive the IR signal?

I hope this isn't off topic, but I've been trying to find a way to just download recorded programs from my Motorola 6412 to my iMac G5. I've tried playing back the recordings and following the instructions within this thread (I admit I have not read all 42 pages yet), and have not had success. It seems that I can record live TV, but not previously recorded programs that I'm playing back. I get MPEG2 header errors, if I remember correctly. Should this work, is it a totally different process, or what? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
Holy cow, Batman!!!!

I just finished updating my Dual 1Gig MDD with the latest ATI drivers and with OS X 10.3.7. The I switched the video output module to OpenGL and I noticed a huge increase in smoothness. I cannot see any dropped frames even in the most active streams (The Matrix shootout scene in the lobby) which always gave me problems. The tiger battle scene in The Gladiator was another stream that skipped and had horrible video tears that now seems to be running smoothly as silk.

I did not check the logs to see if there were any frame drops since I can't see any and I did not want to spoil my happy joy joy dance.

BIG THANK YOU for this tip....

I have a Titanium PB (867MHz) and can't seem to find an OpenGL video output module. Where is it, or does my computer not support hardware accelleration?

Ad Astera.
The major issue with the Mac, now that I have it working beautifully, is the lack of a good software PVR, which could also work interactively with a remote solution like Keyspan and the STB to change channels if possible, although not necessary, as it is possible to just set up the STB to switch when desired. iRecord just does not cut it, although I am happy someone tried. I have searched high and low for solutions here.

Good luck on your PVR project and please keep us informed.

Originally posted by Ad Astera
I'm interested in side-stepping the EyeTV software and writing my own PVR. Anyone aware of lthe firewire protocol used to set the tuner frequency and receive the IR signal?

Download my Subunit Explorer app and see if the device shows up and if any subunits arelisted. If so, and depending on the subunit, you may be able to borrow/by the spec, or find some code examples.

http://home.comcast.net/~macpvr/

Then select Subunit Explorer.

Originally posted by Compromise

iRecord just does not cut it, although I am happy someone tried. I have searched high and low for solutions here.


If you have the time to list or email some of the major deficiences I would appreciate the input. I don't know what I can do without seeing the list, but if nothing else, other potential app writers such as Ad Astera will at least know what the community is looking for.

kaadray,
I am unable to get iRecord to reliably record when setting the timer. The time comes, and it does not record. This is the number one problem.

Then I noticed problems when trying to set multiple times.

In addition, I noticed problems trying to set iRecord to the proper iLink channel to use manual settings, etc.

Originally posted by Compromise
kaadray,
I am unable to get iRecord to reliably record when setting the timer. The time comes, and it does not record. This is the number one problem.

Then I noticed problems when trying to set multiple times.

In addition, I noticed problems trying to set iRecord to the proper iLink channel to use manual settings, etc.

Thanks for the info, I will give it a look. So far the timer has been reliable for me, but everyone has different patterns/etc. so there must be some condition I am overlooking.

I just brought the manual settings stuff over from the standard AV/C browser. If that/Virtual DHVS works for you, I would have thought that iRecord would. If they don't work or are intermittent, iRecord definitely will be too.

The modified AV/C browser v0.3 is most interesting because it connects properly to the AVX1, as compared to VirtualDHVS. V-DVHS only works when the AVX1 is active, i.e. V-DVHS is unable to trigger the AVX1 properly, whereas the modified AV/C browser is able to do so through connect in the device controller.

iRecord will not record from the AVX1 but from the STB which is not the proper flow within the 169time system. Recording must occur from the AVX1.

So if you just brought the manual settings over from the v0.3 then for 169time setups, this should work better. Please let me know, I would be most interested in trying this.

Edit: Regarding manual mode. iRecord sees three devices in my setup, yet the record button is dimmed for all three. One is my STB, one is the AVX1 and one is the HD-DH5U JVC deck. So I am unable to use manual mode.

At the moment I have the unit set to record from the AVX1, and when the time came to record, nothing happens. So I reset the unit to record from the 169time mod STB and wait for the right time, and again nothing happens. In both cases it says status PENDING. I was able to get it to work once before. The firewire signal is present and on the monitor from the AVX1 through the 5U. I am able to record with both V-DVHS and the modified AV/C browser v0.3.

Yes, it's weird. You can open the files from a browser--and even .ts files, but, the way eyeTV saves the files, they're just a bunch of hex codes:

0000000007765bd2
000000000776546e

are the two folders that I see in my "EyeTV Archive" folder, so it's rather a pain to find your recordings, and it looks like if you did any edits, each edit is it's own file (have a few folders on another drive with multiple MPEG files). I figure I'll be harassing the elgato guys at MacWorld in a week.

I've got a JBOD hot swap setup for archiving. What you need to do is drop the hexcode folders into an "EyeTV Archive" named folder and select it in EyeTV prefs. I've got different EyeTV Archive Folders for each program I timeshift to keep everything easy to keep track of. To figure out what the program is inside each folder drop the .tvp file in the folder on TextEdit and find the title of your recording. The ones with multiple .mpgs are probably instances where you saved a "clip" rather than an edit. Editing leaves just one file.

A real import and naming function is needed badly.

About the Eyetv 500:

So is there any reason that one could not play the files back out over firewire? I almost never watch anything on my Mac, but I would consider buying the Eyetv for its scheduling and editing ease... Can you just find the right file and change the extension to .m2t and open it in VirtualDVHS? Anyone doing this? Buying one of these would also give me two tuners...nice...

Zach

Originally posted by zmatzkin
About the Eyetv 500:

So is there any reason that one could not play the files back out over firewire? I almost never watch anything on my Mac, but I would consider buying the Eyetv for its scheduling and editing ease... Can you just find the right file and change the extension to .m2t and open it in VirtualDVHS? Anyone doing this? Buying one of these would also give me two tuners...nice...

Zach

I had been doing this pretty extensively and posted about it once or twice (either here or at htmug.com, I can't remember). Nobody ever really responded to my posts so I assumed I was about the only person doing it.

Just changing the file extension did not work for me, I would just get black screen when I output via VirtualDVHS. But, if I opened the EyeTV .mpg file with VLC and output to an MPEG TS file then the resulting file (which I would put a .m2t extension on) would work flawlessly with VirtualDVHS with seemingly no loss in quality. The VLC process took a while on my G4 400 powerbook (about equal to the time of the recording depending on bit rate) but is *a lot* faster on my dual G5.

One of the downsides is that if you edit the EyeTV files first then it seems to make VLC choke. I didn't play around with this a whole lot and there may be some way to make it work. You are right that the flexibility is pretty cool. I can record from the EyeTV and Virtual DVHS at the same time.

Alex

elgato has officially released the QAM update. The firmware number is lower than the beta so I'll need to check if I need to "downgrade?"

There's also a new streaming soft from them. The Readme for the EyeTV update talks about exporting to DIVX and other .avi encased files. Just skimming.

Mac Mini, iPod Shuffle, iMovie edits HD, me wants QT7 now. :D

iMovie HD just announced! Finally an easy way to crop all those recording.

Originally posted by rcliff
iMovie HD just announced! Finally an easy way to crop all those recording.

Are you guys convinced that this(or final cut express hd) will handle transport streams? I couldn't find anything about it in the web docs, and considering all the trouble we have with converting these files...I'm not sure how excited to be...

Zach

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
It wont...it only handles HDV (from Sony or JVC HD camcorders) and also Mpeg4 when it comes out on Quicktime 7 later this year.

And iMovie HD will not export to HDV, only SD DVD in anamorphic 16x9. Final Cut Express on the other hand will export to HDV in true HD.

The output format of HDV is MPEG2-TS. I would suspect that either iMovie HD or FCE HD should be able to edit an MPEG2-TS stream captured OTA. The answer will be known by or on the 22nd.

I would be curious about converting MPEG2-TS to MPEG4 on a Mac to save on file size while maintaining the same quality at lower bitrates, etc.

Are you guys convinced that this(or final cut express hd) will handle transport streams?
My use of transport streams will be next to nil once 10.4 is released. EyeTV export or .ts to H.264 is the way to go. Will have plenty of editing, playback, and conversion options at HD res

Originally posted by Joseph S
elgato has officially released the QAM update. The firmware number is lower than the beta so I'll need to check if I need to "downgrade?"

There's also a new streaming soft from them. The Readme for the EyeTV update talks about exporting to DIVX and other .avi encased files. Just skimming.

Mac Mini, iPod Shuffle, iMovie edits HD, me wants QT7 now. :D


elgato + Mac Mini + LCD = living room HTPC!

Did you try the EyeTV 500 with QAM?

Cheers!

Originally posted by Joseph S
My use of transport streams will be next to nil once 10.4 is released. EyeTV export or .ts to H.264 is the way to go. Will have plenty of editing, playback, and conversion options at HD res

Sounds good... But I want to play back streams via my T165...At least until I can do a real mac HTPC setup. So easily producing clean, edited transport streams is high on my list...

Zach

elgato + Mac Mini + LCD = living room HTPC!

Did you try the EyeTV 500 with QAM?

I've been using QAM since the Red Sox won the World Series. :D

They fixed the software so now encrypted channels can be hidden, but it is a little confusing as a hidden channel means x becomes x - 1. So be careful. The tuning isn't always instant, but it works much better once only active channels are "tunable."

I didn't get this firmware upgrade so I don't know if mine (1.0.3) is newer or just a poorly numbered beta to release(1.0.2). The hex file is in the .app but I'm not sure how to trigger the upgrade.

There's also new CC and Teletext options on quick glance. I wonder how well the MiniMac will handle full screen 1920x1080 or 1280x720 compared to my hopefully soon to be replaced G4 500 x2 and PB G4 867. Still planning on the Dual G5 though, but this thing would be a perfect little quiet 24x7 Media server with FW storage hookup.

The only thing that would make EyeTV absolutely perfect would be an import feature for any TS files from other sources such as VirtualDVHS.
I agree, but the boatloads of freeware/shareware media players that could handle H.264 natively via QT will make the EyeTV import a lesser priority. Presently, the import function would be a great help.

So I just ordered a Mac Mini for just these purposes.. I have a Comcast 6412, and I will DEFINITELY be experimenting with offloading stuff via firewire.

For those of you who are watching this material on a (non-firewire) TV instead of a monitor, how do you connect your Mac to your TV? I have an infocus x1, and so I could use the VGA connection, but I would love to find some kind of component-video output for the Mac, as that seems to give me the best results. Anyone know of any hardware that will do that for me, or will the VGA connection be good enough?

For those of you who are watching this material on a (non-firewire) TV instead of a monitor, how do you connect your Mac to your TV
My Powerbook connects via VGA-> VGA/USB KVM -> VGA to component adapter -> Zektor Component switchbox -> Sanyo Z2 Component in

My Mac tower connects ADC - > ADC/KVM to LCD display and DVI -> Gefen HDCP DVI x 4 -> Sanyo Z2 HDCP-DVI in

Lots of paths, but it all works fine.

You should just go with the fee DVI/VGA dongle to VGA in on the projector. It shouldn't be an issue at all, but you'll probably want to utilize Switchres X for VGA.

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
The only thing that would make EyeTV absolutely perfect would be an import feature for any TS files from other sources such as VirtualDVHS. I have begged and pleaded with them but they keep saying that this feature will not be implemented.

If I could only figure out how to get EyeTV to recognize foreign TS files, my world would be complete. Their playback engine is far superior to VLC.

Have you read through all the read-mes? One of them mentions that you can open up .ts files by holding down the 'option' key when selecting 'Open' from the File menu. I've done it, but, all you can do from there is Export--can't edit.

Any other questions I can ask them tomorrow when I'm at MacWorld?

Jobs mentions in the keynote around 50min after showing a HDV based iMovie, "We're anxiously awaiting Blu-ray DVD, so we can burn our own Blu-Ray DVDs as well." :D :tu: :tu:

I thought it was control + open?? Still want import.

Originally posted by jsb_hburg
The output format of HDV is MPEG2-TS. I would suspect that either iMovie HD or FCE HD should be able to edit an MPEG2-TS stream captured OTA. The answer will be known by or on the 22nd.I also remain hopeful that this will work. I would imagine that they are using the same frameworks so lets keep our fingers crossed.I would be curious about converting MPEG2-TS to MPEG4 on a Mac to save on file size while maintaining the same quality at lower bitrates, etc. This would be a huge bonus.

Originally posted by quetranza
So I just ordered a Mac Mini for just these purposes.. I have a Comcast 6412, and I will DEFINITELY be experimenting with offloading stuff via firewire.

For those of you who are watching this material on a (non-firewire) TV instead of a monitor, how do you connect your Mac to your TV? I have an infocus x1, and so I could use the VGA connection, but I would love to find some kind of component-video output for the Mac, as that seems to give me the best results. Anyone know of any hardware that will do that for me, or will the VGA connection be good enough?

That's exactly what I want to do (more or less):

- Mac Mini
- EyeTV 500 to record OTA
- Panasonic AE700U attached to the Mac via DVI to HDMI adapter

The problem is that I don't think the mini has the horsepower to playback 720p/1080i streams via its own display hardware. As an experiment I tried playing back Divx encoded 720p content on my Powerbook 12" (1.33 Ghz CPU - so similar specs to a mini) and it couldn't do so w/o dropping frames. Am I correct in assuming I need to wait for the "G5 mac mini" :-) to do this?

j.

You may have better luck with the EyeTV playing back content than VLC (which I'm assuming is what you used?). But you're right, this might be a bit much for it.

Hmm, perhaps using a Mac Mini, an EyeTV 500 (which now comes with eyeconnect), and a AVEL LinkPlayer2 would give me everything I need. That's assuming the LP2 supports UPnP, which I'm not sure it does...

The really cool thing here (IMO) is that the EyeTV 500 is the only product I know that supports QAM as input, so it would work well for me since I already have a digital cable subscription.

Hmm... that EyeTV 500 is down to $300 during MWSF and includes eyeconnect (normally $49) for free right now.

Tempting. BTW, I'm looking at the Mac Mini as a $421 purchase since if I don't get it, I'm getting iLife '05 ($79)... :-)

I'm setting up DVHS and AVCbrowser on my Mac to record from my Motorola HDPVR 6412.

I have viewed all of the pdf files (thanks, they were awesome!)

Dumb question I'm sure: I cannot determine what the input channel (in AVCbrowser) is. I've tried channels 0-63, but no dice. I get the "error trying to connect to input plug 0:0xE000 etc." message.

Am I missing something very basic?

Tempting. BTW, I'm looking at the Mac Mini as a $421 purchase since if I don't get it, I'm getting iLife '05 ($79)... :-)
The next ebay scam. Buying the MacMini and re-selling without iLife. :D

Originally posted by jaysoffian


Tempting. BTW, I'm looking at the Mac Mini as a $421 purchase since if I don't get it, I'm getting iLife '05 ($79)... :-)

Not to mention that there will probably be a Tiger discount..

I bet the above posters are right about the Mini not being able to do fullscreen 720p or 1080i. Thing is, my projector is only 800x600, so I can downsize recordings and it won't show up much on screen.

Here are the Video specs from the apple store (http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html )

Video
DVI video output for digital resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 pixels; supports 20-inch Apple Cinema display and 23-inch Apple Cinema HD display; supports coherent digital displays up to 154MHz; supports non-coherent digital displays up to 135MHz

VGA video output (using included adapter) to support analog resolutions up to 1920 x 1080 pixels
S-video and composite video output to connect directly to a TV or projector (requires Apple DVI to Video Adapter, sold separately)

Originally posted by imlucid
You may have better luck with the EyeTV playing back content than VLC (which I'm assuming is what you used?). But you're right, this might be a bit much for it.

That's the problem with the EyeTV 500 its really just a tuner and does not have hardware decoding. On the PC side we have the myHD and other which are both tuners and decoders and allow smooth playback on slow machines.

I wonder what would it take for el gato to make a tuner/decoder EyeTV.

Originally posted by leannaaker
I'm setting up DVHS and AVCbrowser on my Mac to record from my Motorola HDPVR 6412.

I have viewed all of the pdf files (thanks, they were awesome!)

Dumb question I'm sure: I cannot determine what the input channel (in AVCbrowser) is. I've tried channels 0-63, but no dice. I get the "error trying to connect to input plug 0:0xE000 etc." message.

Am I missing something very basic?

Try using iRecord. A search within this thread will lead to its link.

Hello,

What are the chances of el gato providing for re-encoding of MPEG2-TS to H.264 on the fly for near realtime viewing? Could this be done via software upgrade? Or would new hardware be required? If this could happen at all, I imagine it would be after the release of Tiger.

I would imagine that a 1.25 G4 Mac running Tiger should process H.264 7-9 Mbps HD content quite nicely.

For those of you interested, my new JVC HM-DH5U HD tape deck does an excellent job of real time 'decoding' of .m2t files served from VirtualDVHS. No glitches, missed frames, etc. I do not see what is so great about the 500.

Hi everyone... I am planning my HTPC setup and I need some advice/assistance. I have read this thread (TONS of info, thanks) but I have afew specific questions.

Specifically, since I live in Toronto the local cable co hasn't enabled the firewire ports of the SA 3250 or 8000 STBs. As such, I cannot get a signal OUT of the STB.... so I was thinking of getting one of the new SONY XBR Tvs with CableCARDs and firewire/iLink. My question is, will the SONY OUTPUT the HD signal down the firewire link to a Mac using iRecord?
(P.S. for those in T.O I hear rogers is currently testing CableCARDS, so hopefully we are catching up to our US brethren).

Secondly, could I use a Mac Mini's firewire link to play BACK content on the SONY (VLC or EyeTV as player).... OR would I have to use DVI/HDMI port on the TV with the Mac Mini driving the TV?

The way I envision this is that the TV does the decoding, passes the signal to the MAC... the Mac captures the signal (PVR, etc) and allows me to play back later... HOWEVER if I chose not to I can just change inputs on the TV and have the TV act normally.

Also, I would like to be able to use the Mac Mini to play back DVDs... any thoughts? Can I output the DVD signal to the TV via firewire to the TV? Will that include sound?

The only potential limitation is that the Mac Mini doesn't have digital audio out, so I would need a USB audio output adapter, but I am hesitant to buy one for fear of getting the sound out of sync...

Perhaps I will wait for the Mac Mini revision with optical out (seems to be the most requested feature).

P.S. please don;t worry about HD/RAM size, I will hack the mac Mini to hell (I have a buddy who is an Apple Tech)

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!! :)

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
OK...using EyeTV 1.7 I can import ALL .ts files using the control+file menu+open quicktime movie and it plays them perfectly...looks a lot smoother than VLC.

-snip-

Now for the BAD NEWS...I could not for the life of me get the audio working. It showed that it was outputing through the system sound but no sound. The Revo 7.1 card would not even show up (not highlighted). I checked the sound preference and no changes would produce sound.

I am not sure if there is a problem with ac3 sound and foreign streams but I was not able to get any to play sound.

I will keep playing...but this is very promising since I am more than happy that I can at least play the video portion. One down, one to go.

BTW, thanks to Joseph S for the tip.

Well, I ordered an EyeTV 500 for the special show price...and you get the new streaming software free...

While waiting for the unit to come, I thought I would check out the software (I had no idea that you could run the software with out an EyeTV, but you can - just download it...)

I think this is pretty cool: When using the above mentioned control-click trick to open previously recorded(irecord) .ts files the EyeTV treats the file like a live TV stream - that is why you cannot edit. BUT, if you hit record, you can create a new EyeTV recording that can then be edited! OK, it is not a direct importing solution, and it takes a long time, but it seems to work at least on my system (Dual 1gig G4)...

As a test, I was able to make a short EyeTV archive file from a clip of a 720p OTA recording. I then edited out a section of the file in the EyeTV editor, found the file, used VLC to convert it back to a transport stream, and played it on VLC. Have not tried streamclip or VirtualDVHS(output) yet. The only strange thing is that VLC pauses during playback at the point of my edit - nothing is missed, but it just freezes for a few seconds and then starts up again. Will need to do more tests...

Also - the audio seemed to work fine for all of this...i was just using the system audio, but i'm pretty sure the original clip had AC3...

As others have written here, the editor is really nice! Much easier than streamclip, and the little thumbnails should make finding the commercials really easy...

Looking forward to getting my EyeTV...
Zach

Looking forward to getting my EyeTV...

I think you'll like it. :)

I've had mine about six months and the only real problem for me is becoming hard drive space. Currently, I have nearly half a terrabyte of recorded shows sitting on two drives because the exporting part of the EyeTV software is lame at best. This includes a dozen combined Soundstage and Austin City Limits shows that I'd like to transcode to DVD with the AC3 tracks in place. Not to mention roughly 100GB of Olympic recordings. Oh yeah, I've also currently got six football games (in upconverted SD, not HD but roughly 7GB an hour anyway) and so far three upconverted college basketball games.

My hope is that with the new iLife, El Gato will be able to figure out how to make EyeTV transcode the MPEG-2 .ts files into HDV relatively fast and painlessly for editing in iMovie HD or burning to DVD using the new iDVD. It might be great to use AVC/H.264, but that seems to me like it would be slower than demuxing and remuxing back into HDV.

My first real crisis is coming up on Monday. I've kind of gotten hooked on 24 on the local FOX, plus CSI: Miami has been a staple since its debut. But my local college basketball team is on ESPN-HD at 8 p.m. And I really want to record the new Ken Burns' documentary "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson". So from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., there is programming on three channels that I want to watch, but my only choice is to watch one and record one. So, it looks like I'll be missing 24 and CSI:Miami... :)

Dennis

Is there a direct way to simply *play* the HD content streamed from the Mot 6200 over firewire? Just breaking in a new dual G5 and thought I'd revisit the topic... been a few months since I last tried to get that working. I don't care about recording, and would rather not save a .ts and then begin playing it back... just want to simply plug in a view.

Thanks in advance :) and sorry if this is answered elsewhere.

Well here are some things from my interrogations at MacWorld. (Hopefully Steve's emphasis on HD will kick some in the butt!)

elgato:
They are planning on support for .ts files, and others to be imported.
For those filling up drives they plan on have the ability to have archives on multiple drives and direct recordings to specific drives.
No real plans to do 'real-time' encoding (e.g. H.264, etc.), but, will be coming out with an SDK so others can work with the recording/recorded stream.

Also planned is an error log, and multiple error messages that can be used for trouble shooting. I've been having trouble recording and can't tell what's going on so this would be great.

Didn't get a chance to look at eyeconnect, but, would be a cool idea to serve to your AV system from a desktop/server with lots of storage space (http://www.wiebetech.com/products/rackfireplus.php).

Lastly, pick up your eyeTV 500 (http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/eyetv500.php) while you can, because, they stop production in April to comply with the Broacast flag crap (http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/)!!!

Quicktime:
Eventually we will be able to play and import .ts streams--even 'de-muxing' them so they can be edited 'frame accurate', since the ATSC stream is not really segmented into frames (why 'fine' in eyeTV is only so accurate). He even mentioned the Firewire SDK in our conversation so they are certainly aware and hopefully we'll see some cool stuff there.
And, lots of emphasis on H.264, had an "Elektra" 1080[p?] trailer playing along with a couple of SD 480 trailers, but, still not stable--crashed when opening a second HD stream. But, the picture quality with scaling was impressive.

iMove/FCE/P HD:
Got a basic "No" from the FCE HD guy, but the later talk with the aformentioned Tiger-QT 7 guy noted eventual support.

G-Tech (http://www.g-technology.com) had an interesting AV drive media server G-Play, that can be hooked up through USB-2 and after dumping stuff on it has an interface that is displayed through composite, s-video, component to your [HD]TV. Granted the largest one is 100GB, but, that's a couple HD movies, only not sure it has the processor to decode it.

Eye TV question

Can the 500 take an HD feed from a cable box as well as set up a recording schedule over firewire?

gaderson- That is some very good news... we appreciate your efforts... glad to hear recorded TV is still on some of Apple's minds...

Concerning my experimentation with EyeTV 1.7... Although people posted here that they could not simply change the extension of an EyeTV file to .m2t and have it play correctly in VirtualDVHS, I have found it to work perfectly so far. No converting with VLC or streamclip, just finding the right file and changing it to .m2t works for me. I thought editing the clip in EyeTV would break it, but I just watched a whole episode of "Lost" via transport stream on my T165 that had the ads edited out with EyeTV. This was not an original EyeTV recording - I got it into Eye with the method in my last post - but I don't think that should make a difference...a 1080i test will be next...

Anyone else playing with this? I'd be curious if it works for you...

Zach

Originally posted by ciparis
Is there a direct way to simply *play* the HD content streamed from the Mot 6200 over firewire? Just breaking in a new dual G5 and thought I'd revisit the topic... been a few months since I last tried to get that working. I don't care about recording, and would rather not save a .ts and then begin playing it back... just want to simply plug in a view.

Thanks in advance :) and sorry if this is answered elsewhere.

Well the EyeTV 500 can certainly do this, but I don't think that is what you mean...

kaadray has posted a VLC module that can display the live stream in VLC:

http://home.comcast.net/~macpvr/

It is not able to do audio for HD, and I cannot seem to get it to work on the latest VLC - though it still runs fine for me in the older version...

Zach

Originally posted by jaysoffian
Hmm... that EyeTV 500 is down to $300 during MWSF and includes eyeconnect (normally $49) for free right now. I ordered one of these a few days ago without doing my normal, read-everything-possible-on-subject-for-months methodology.

Since my MDD dual 1.25GHz is on the other side of the house from the living room's older 27" Sony XBR TV and DB930 A/V receiver, I'll initially be satisfied if programming recorded by the EyeTV 500 is easily dumped to recordable DVD via Toast 6.07 so I can sneakernet it over to the DVD player in the living room.

I'm sure this will get old soon (addicted to the convenience of TiVo, ya know) so I'll figure out some sort of hardwire Ethernet or wireless streaming possibilities later if it turns out the Mac can be tweaked to be used as the playback device. Perhaps recording the HDTV programing in something less than best quality?

Originally posted by Compromise
Eye TV question

Can the 500 take an HD feed from a cable box as well as set up a recording schedule over firewire?
You need an answer from someone who is actually recording an HD transport stream from a cable box but from other reports here I think it can be done with Mac OS X but the application you would use would be VirtualDVHS from Apple rather than EyeTV. For scheduling a firewire recording you would need something like iRecord (http://home.comcast.net/~macpvr/irecord.html)

The issue with EyeTV is that there seem to be just 8 different types of devices it is prepared to work with (from the popup menu in the device preferences dialog).

Just looked closer at the specs, and it does not appear to have 1394 input capability, only output. I do not need another OTA HD source. I was hoping the 500 could control timed gating to the MAC from my AVX1 169time source from satellite, but it appears it will not.

iRecord does not work in this application either. I have tested it extensively. At the moment it seems to be the only hope for AVX1 and cable 1394 sources to the MAC but it needs to be modified somehow.

Originally posted by SBryan
The issue with EyeTV is that there seem to be just 8 different types of devices it is prepared to work with (from the popup menu in the device preferences dialog).

Well that is because the Elgato software is meant to support the Elgato hardware...

Concerning the cable box questions: I know this is a long thread, but I would search within this thread to find all the answers you need and more. The EyeTV can now display and record unencrypted QAM cable feeds as well as OTA DTV broadcasts. No, it does not have firewire input.

Zach

...I'll initially be satisfied if programming recorded by the EyeTV 500 is easily dumped to recordable DVD via Toast 6.07 so I can sneakernet it over to the DVD player in the living room.

Then you probably won't be satisfied. Even if the process were easy, it takes me roughly two hours of transcoding and encoding per hour of final HDTV for archiving the ABC show Lost to 16x9 DVD. I'm using a dual 2.5Ghz G5 so your results might be slower. Due to some issues with what EyeTV does, here are the steps I use...

1. Edit out commercials
2. Export 720p HD to 16x9 DV (30 minutes to transcode 42 minutes of finished video)
3. Open up my DVD Studio Template and add the transcoded video clip.
4. Build out DVD to a Disk Image (roughly an hour per 42 minutes of video)
5. Burn disk image to DVD

You might be able to save some time here and there, but the reason I go to 16x9 DV is that all other export options get truncated after exporting around 30 minutes of video. Also, by going to 16x9 DV, you lose the AC3 audio track so no Dolby Digital 5.1 if that's important to you. I go to disk image because I've found that with my new wireless gear, I can stream DVDs over Super G to my Powerbook, simply by mounting them on the G5's desktop.

OTOH, Playback should be fine on the Mac and I'm a big fan of my EyeTV 500. I'm hoping the new support for HDV in iLife '05 might improve the workflow for this process.

Dennis

Originally posted by Ladd
... Since my MDD dual 1.25GHz is on the other side of the house from the living room's older 27" Sony XBR TV and DB930 A/V receiver, I'll initially be satisfied if programming recorded by the EyeTV 500 is easily dumped to recordable DVD via Toast 6.07 so I can sneakernet it over to the DVD player in the living room.

I'm sure this will get old soon (addicted to the convenience of TiVo, ya know) so I'll figure out some sort of hardwire Ethernet or wireless streaming possibilities later if it turns out the Mac can be tweaked to be used as the playback device. Perhaps recording the HDTV programing in something less than best quality?
A possibility you might want to consider is the Roku HD1000. It is not exactly cheap at $280 (from Amazon) but whether you have an HDTV now or sometime in the future it will allow you to play transport streams across your home network to component outputs on the Roku. When I've seen it in action those component outputs were connected to an ATSC display but I imagine it should work fine with an older NTSC display.

So the setup would be to record with EyeTV 500 to your Mac's hard drive. If you do it somewhere within your home directory (the default location) you can turn on Windows sharing and the files will be shared using samba. That is what Roku needs in order to play the files across the network. No need to burn a DVD, reduce resolution or do any transcoding.

So is the Roku the answer for the Mac mini? Get a Mac mini, EyeTV 500 and a Roku?

We could be on to something here and to what Asteroid will be!

It is easy to find mpeg2 decoders - eyeTV, Roku and in my case I use the JVCDH5U which works beautifully, without dropped frames, and provides for archival tape backup.

I do not think the answer is any of the above - because none of them address the issue of 1394 for HD recording. The ONLY answer for non OTA sources is tape or the 5U, which is limited to the length of time you may record - but fortunately DVHS tape is 3hours for some tapes.

Trust me, you are not onto something here Alric -- PM me if you like -- we have had this disussion two years ago.

because none of them address the issue of 1394 for HD recording

Aren't we all capturing transport streams via firewire already?

The EyeTV is not touted mistakingly as a MAC PVR but many here are confusing it with a PVR. It only provides recording solutions for its own OTA HD (and SD) signals. Its software will not aid in providing general PVR solution for external sources like cable, other OTA receivers, DVHS tape units, and 169time devices.

What Mac needs is a general PVR software solution. VirtualDVHS is not the solution. Yes it can capture -- but only manually. iRecord is finicky at best, and I have never been able to make it work with many of the sources listed above.

Theere just is not a good software PVR solution that will work with arbitrary transport stream sources.

This entire thread is focused on HDTV recording on a MAC. Recording should offer solutions beyond V-DVHS. The EyeTV 500 is EyeTV500 specific and is an EyeTV500 only solution - not a "How-To: MacOS X Firewire HDTV recording" solution. Actually iRecord is as close as it gets, in concept.

Actually, all I want is to capture and playback HD from a Mac mini; be it manual or automatic.

Since it seems the Mini is lacking in horsepower for HD playback, the Roku sounds like the perfect add-on.

The Mini will not provide enough horsepower for decoding MPEG2t streams (or .ts). You will have to have an external decoder.

I would recommend you purchase the 5U as the decoder as you get a DVHS tape deck with it as well. Using the EyeTV or Roku to do the deocding is in my opinion a waste of money if you already have an OTA and in the case of the Roku, a waste period.

If you are using them only as a decoder and don't want a tape deck, put your money into a dual G5 with >2GHz clock and use VLC instead. The G5 will handle it, the Mini absolutely will not handle it.

I have been using, flawlessly I might add, for several years even, the m-audio Sonica on my G4. The audio is never killed. It works flawlessly with all HD recordings, DVDs, and any source of audio from my mac.

If the G5 folk want to use Apple'optical output for audio, then yes there is a problem. I have heard that the M-audio works fine on the G5 as well.

So spend the $50 on the M-audio and enjoy -- or get the 5U which works great with its DD5.1 optical output. I do not use my G4 for decoding.

Originally posted by ultimate
Then you probably won't be satisfied. So when Elgato's EyeTV 500 page says:

"Save your collection of favorite shows for all times. Create DVDs, Video CDs or Super Video CDs of your recorded television shows to play on standard DVD players. (Toast 6 Titanium required)"

it either is flat out false or it is so complicated a procedure as to be the next best thing? :(

Originally posted by Ladd

Since my MDD dual 1.25GHz is on the other side of the house from the living room's older 27" Sony XBR TV and DB930 A/V receiver, I'll initially be satisfied if programming recorded by the EyeTV 500 is easily dumped to recordable DVD via Toast 6.07 so I can sneakernet it over to the DVD player in the living room.

I'm sure this will get old soon (addicted to the convenience of TiVo, ya know) so I'll figure out some sort of hardwire Ethernet or wireless streaming possibilities later if it turns out the Mac can be tweaked to be used as the playback device. Perhaps recording the HDTV programing in something less than best quality?

Well, talked with both elgato and Roxio, and they're both working on making it better. Currently I can't get the audio to sync correctly with my exports. SD is fine, but, transcoding the HD so it will burn on a DVD correctly is in process. Also anyone burned and anamorphic DVD--I keep getting letterboxed. So, if you want that capability right now, start getting familiar with Streamclip, otherwise wait for the next Toast upgrade (guy at Booth said within the next week or so). They are very aware that this needs improvement.

As for your second comment keep looking into eyeconnect (http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyeconnect&PHPSESSID=ef9cedfe191d05deaffa2a743bfd3443). This seems like the solution you'd be looking for. The Roku idea is certainly in the right direction--there was a simmilar box in the eyeconnect part of their booth.

And, yes, it's not exactly like a TiVo, but it's definitely a rather sophisticated PVR (the integration with TitanTV is great--though no 'season pass'). You can record OTA and unencrypted QAM (digital cable). But to those who complain that it doesn't do everything on the planet, well, you'll be waiting forever. As I noted the elgato guys are certainly thinking of getting eyeTV capable to dealing will most content that is on your hard drive, and relatively easy to access--they do come with remotes.

Get the multi-tuner support working. :D

With the Pats on their way to another AFC Championship up against ABC Sunday night, I took the plunge and ordered a second EyeTV 500 to record at the MacWorld discount price. The editing out of commercials is something I've become far too dependent on with all the timeshifting I'm doing even with the availability of MyHD and a firewire 3250. It is also a plus when ABC continues to run their shows extra minutes and seconds beyond expected. When the MyHD 130 with DVI comes out I will upgrade for playback purposes and live timeshifting because I need a better tuner in my HTPC, but I'm loving the EyeTV's ability to save me $ on HD space. The only problem is I keep eating away at my dual G5 fund. :D

Originally posted by gaderson
.....but, transcoding the HD so it will burn on a DVD correctly is in process. Also anyone burned and anamorphic DVD--I keep getting letterboxed. As for your second comment keep looking into [url=http://www.elgato.com/index.php?

Why would anyone want to do this. Down rez??? Your missing the whole point of HD.

Originally posted by gaderson
But to those who complain that it doesn't do everything on the planet, well, you'll be waiting forever. As I noted the elgato guys are certainly thinking of getting eyeTV capable to dealing will most content that is on your hard drive, and relatively easy to access--they do come with remotes.

Let's rephrase this, those of us who wish to do more than just record limited and useless OTA transmissions (except for the playoffs).

Originally posted by Compromise
Why would anyone want to do this. Down rez??? Your missing the whole point of HD.

Then you tell me how to get an HD show onto a DVD so I can give to my friends to play? Since I'm burning [SD] DVDs for my friends, the shows need to be transcoded so they can more easily work with Toast. I mentioned the step because a direct export from eyeTV has to be transcoded/downresed and Toast doesn't to it very well.


Let's rephrase this, those of us who wish to do more than just record limited and useless OTA transmissions (except for the playoffs). [/B][/QUOTE]

Well, you'll have to talk to the MPAA about that since they're the ones that are keep the 'magic box' from being sold. Why not just buy the requisite PVR? At present all any computer device can do is ATSC and QAM--and unencrypted at that (i.e. "limited and useless OTA transmissions"). It's the providers (http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/) that keep us from easily time shifting our HD--not necessarily the tech.

There have been several mentions that the EyeTV only records OTA; however, according to the posts on xlr8yourmac the new software allows recording digital cable including HD.

http://xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/eye_tv_review.html#updates

There have been several mentions that the EyeTV only records OTA; however, according to the posts on xlr8yourmac the new software allows recording digital cable including HD.


Yes, it does QAM as well which is another bonus only "officially" introduced this past week. However, unless you're the lucky stiff in SF Comcast market who is getting everything unecrypted you won't get much more than you got in OTA. No antenna needed though and you can watch all the promo channels if you please.

Originally posted by Vikingmd
There have been several mentions that the EyeTV only records OTA; however, according to the posts on xlr8yourmac the new software allows recording digital cable including HD.

http://xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/eye_tv_review.html#updates

This is using the EyeTV 500 AS the cable box which is not desirable. I am confident that the EyeTV box will not, for example, be able to schedule the numerous other functions such as VOD that external cable boxes can do.

What I refer to is the ability to connect over firewire EXTERNAL firewire sources such as another cable box (which can do VOD), other OTA HD receivers, and other HD firewire sources such as 169time AVX1, while using the Eye software for scheduling. This is not possible, i.e. it may not be used as a PVR.

You can only use Eye as the source, and not a pass through external devices which limits its utility to such. It is therefore NOT useful as a general PVR solution, as it is not designed to do so.

Originally posted by SBryan
I apologize for being the bearer of possibly bad news. Seth Finkelstein announced in a discussion on Slashdot that the EyeTV 500 is Broadcast Flag compliant a year earlier than currently necessary. This means that others will decide what you can and cannot record. Oh, I know their shills will pop up and claim this has nothing to do with people making personal copies but I think there are more than a few cynics who see this as a first step to put the genie back in the bottle. The eventual goal being the elimination of fair use as a relevant fact. It will still be on the books but you will be in violation of federal "police state" laws like the DMCA (can you guess which side I favor?).

If it is true that the EyeTV 500 has implemented the anti-consumer "broadcast flag" one year early let's remind them who buys (or does not buy) their products by boycotting all BF compliant products.

Having just ordered a eyeTV 500 because it did not support the 'broadcast flag' I was very worried to read this. So I emailed elgato and got a response in less then 6 hours. Here is the exchange:

------- begin email ----

>I just purchased a eyeTV 500 thinking that it did not support the
>broadcast flag. But I just read that is does. Can you give me a
>clear answer? Thanks,

John,

Thank you for contacting Elgato Systems.

EyeTV 500 does not support the broadcast flag. Units bought before
July 2005 will never support the broadcast flag. We will not update
EyeTV 500 units bought before then to support the flag.

Thus, your EyeTV 500 will never support the broadcast flag. It will
ignore flags, and not use DRM for any content. That means you'll
have the maximum freedom possible with its recordings.

Nick Freeman
Elgato Systems Customer Support

----- end email -----


So get them while they are cheap(er) and DRM free :)

Hmmm...

I don't see where having a separate boot partition for HD playback helps at all. Wouldn't you be better off simply creating a new user and logging in as that user when you want to watch HD? If you run top, you'll see that there aren't that many system processes likely to steal CPU cycles, but that mostly user processes -- e.g. applications, user extensions, etc. -- eat up a lot of cycles.

HD actually worked pretty well on my G4/450DP using the EyeTV software, but then I had really fast striped SATA drives and 2GB of RAM. I didn't even have a special user set up for HD...

Dennis

I am actually a little surprised. I did not think VLC could be set up for two processors. I do not believe its instruction sequence may be multiprocessed. I would appreciate a link to a VLC page that indicates that is is multiprocessor compatible.

A VLC page or reference would be sufficient.

The reason for putting HD content on a separate drive is so you don't have the drive head having to switch back and forth between where the HD content is and the rest of system resources, including VM paging.

Preferably, you'd have the other drive on a separate drive controller as well.

With all due respect, there is no way that a 450DP can match my Dual Gig when it comes to CPU processing speed. And I know that I am dropping frames here and there.

The only claim I'm making is that recorded HD was watchable on my Dual 450Mhz G4 with striped SATA drives and plenty of RAM using the EyeTV software. Was it as good as my dual 2.5Ghz G5 is now? Nope, but certainly watchable.

Starting with a clean lean (no third-party extensions/drivers/apps) is the only thing that will make sure that Mac OS X runs at its optimum. Anytime you add something, you rob CPU power and ram.

Personally, I haven't run Mac OS 9 as my main system since my 400Mhz single processor G4 in 2000. But I don't think that the same rules apply to Mac OS X as a Unix system; it's just a different animal.

Dennis

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
I just received iMovie HD and the first thing I did was to attempt to import a standard Mpeg2 HD transport stream with either the .ts or .m2t extension and I got the following error message...

http://www.carlossalcedo.com/images/cpu/imoviehd.jpg

I was not able to import any HD Mpeg2 streams no matter what format or extension I tried.

The author of HD for Indies (http://www.hdforindies.com/) wrote that both iMovie and Final Cut Express would only accept HDV files from the the three HDV cameras (Sony, JVC, Sharp). His assessment looks to be accurate.

Thanks for testing. I had hoped for a better result.

After going through all the postings, I'm still not sure if I understand if I can do this. I have a Sharp Aquos LC37GD4U with two firewire ports and a cablecard slot. I currently receive HD from TWC via a SA8300HD. When I plug in my Powerbook to the LCD via firewire, it shows up in the AV/C Browser, but I'm not following how exactly I can get any sort of signal or reception. Anyone care to shed some light on this for me? Thanks in advance.

Originally posted by ksas
After going through all the postings, I'm still not sure if I understand if I can do this. I have a Sharp Aquos LC37GD4U with two firewire ports and a cablecard slot. I currently receive HD from TWC via a SA8300HD. When I plug in my Powerbook to the LCD via firewire, it shows up in the AV/C Browser, but I'm not following how exactly I can get any sort of signal or reception. Anyone care to shed some light on this for me? Thanks in advance.

Try iRecord from http://macpvr.home.comcast.net

You should be able to record your local digital channels as they should be unencrypted. You should be able to play the recording back through your LCD using VLC

Ok. I might need a little bit more detail. I currently receive the message "No i.LINK model is available". Can I do the following?

1. Control the Mac via DVHS controls on my Sharp Aquos?
2. Record / Backup programs previously recorded on my SA 8300HD?

Looks like I have it basically working so far. I can record live television.

Thanks in advance.

maxx

Does the Sharp have FireWire?

yes, two firewire ports and one cablecard slot

You will need to use VirtualDVHS for playback. Specifically, the left-hand player side. Before you launch VirtualDVHS, you will need to drag and drop the folder containing the .m2t file onto the VirtualDVHS icon. This action should launch VirtualDVHS. Highlight the file you want to play in the Transport Stream Library field. Make sure you are in FireWire mode on your Sharp internal tuner. Then click on the play button. It should play on the Sharp. The Sharp tuner should decode the .m2t file for playback.

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
I just received iMovie HD and the first thing I did was to attempt to import a standard Mpeg2 HD transport stream with either the .ts or .m2t extension and I got the following error message...

(image)

I was not able to import any HD Mpeg2 streams no matter what format or extension I tried.

The author of HD for Indies wrote that both iMovie and Final Cut Express would only accept HDV files from the the three HDV cameras (Sony, JVC, Sharp). His assessment looks to be accurate.

Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is a problem (aside from the fact that I ordered and paid for the product). First one with a solution gets a free pie.

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
Blonde or brunette??? Oh, I'm sorry...you meant food...:)

I am working on it trying to figure out what makes the .m2t streams that comes out of the Sony/JVC so much different from any other...There must be some sort of tag or header in the stream.

I will not give up on this...

It's something in the way it's 'muxed'. Since the FCE HD guy gave me a flat out "No" when asked if it could do a ATSC .ts, it's stands to reason that iMovie HD wouldn't do it either. I think part of the problem may be audio (the AC3/A52), and ATSC does have the potential to have multiple streams (note the different PID ID etc. when in Streamclip).

But, as noted above, there is hope that QuickTime will eventually have support. And, even one of the FireWire guys (at a presentation for the HDTV-in-SFbay user group) hinted that there would eventually be support to Final Cut, but that it's the camera HDV streams that are the priority.

And, what was it that made you think you could edit an ATSC transport stream with the new Apple software?

Can you record an ATSC transport stream from a JVC recorder to a JVC camera? If not, why not? (Question of the moment.) This should be doable. And if so, then you should be able to export to iMovie from both.

Originally posted by Compromise
Can you record an ATSC transport stream from a JVC recorder to a JVC camera? If not, why not? (Question of the moment.) This should be doable. And if so, then you should be able to export to iMovie from both.

Nope. According to the Instruction Manual - Important Features Of The Digital HD Camera (http://books.jvcservice.com/download/495209949/30060.pdf)(watch out PDF) under "High Definition (HD) images can be stored using a D-VHS VCR or other other such devices" the third point notes that you can't dub an ATSC signal to the DVHS then to the HD camera. So, there's definitely something different between the two transport streams.

thx to all for the information collected w/in this thread, i have pages through much of it today and am left confused still, was hoping someone could clarify it for me; i really just want to be able to view live HDtv signals on a powerbook in my office, in their full HD resolution glory or otherwise... i was initially planning on acquiring an Elgato EyeTV500, but have learned recently that my local cable signals are scrambled QAM, and not to work using the EyeTV as a tuner.

i was thinking that i should just get the set-top HD box from my local cable company, DVR or just tuner, but am trying to find how i can view the output on my 17" powerbook screen, live. i'm not concerned w/ recording or time-shifting on the powerbook, just being able to use it as a display for the signal... is this possible over firewire into my powerbook? do i need the Elgato device or is it of no use in this instance? any clarification about how to accomplish this would be greatly appreciated, thx all..!

Originally posted by shinoSetsuna
... i'm not concerned w/ recording or time-shifting on the powerbook, just being able to use it as a display for the signal...
This may sound unreasonable but what you are hoping for is more difficult and probably not likely to be satisfactory with a G4 Mac. In the US HDTV is delivered as a 20 Mbps MPEG2 compressed transport stream that is moulated onto an RF signal with either 8VSB for OTA (over the air) or some variety of QAM for cable. That transport stream is what is sent over FireWire while the RF signal is sent over coaxial cable. Elgato's EyeTV hardware takes the 8VSB or unencrypted QAM and converts it to a transport stream. Elgato's software renders the transport stream to your screen.

Saving, time shifting, editing the transport stream can all be managed with less processor speed than rendering. There are rumors you can record HDTV using EyeTV 500 with a G3 Mac. You just can't view the content directly on your computer monitor. This may not be as useless as it might sound. Using a Roku HD1000 and ethernet you could view saved EyeTV 500 files on an HD screen connected to the Roku.

Getting back to your specific question you could probably view at least something on your Powerbook if Elgato made their software capable of accepting transport streams from devices other than the EyeTV 500. At this point I would guess that is not likely but it is a possibility. Another slight possibility is VLC. It plays transport streams across ethernet quite nicely (from my Mac's file share to an Athlon 2400+) or directly VLC to VLC using their open network option. What you are seeking is for them to add FireWire capability. That isn't out of the question and Apple does do most of the heavy lifting with one of their programming frameworks. But I doubt there is a huge business opportunity here so I'd be more hopeful about Elgato.

Just 4 days ago in this very thread I posted this answer to a very similar question:

Originally posted by zmatzkin
Well the EyeTV 500 can certainly do this, but I don't think that is what you mean...

kaadray has posted a VLC module that can display the live stream in VLC:

http://home.comcast.net/~macpvr/

It is NOT able to do audio for HD (it does SD audio fine), and I cannot seem to get it to work on the latest VLC - though it still runs fine for me in the older version...

Zach

Boy, did I space out on that development. I try to keep up to date with all the information that appears on this thread but I managed to miss the remarkably good news about VLC. Thanks for taking the time to reiterate the interesting news. I look forward to perusing the source code.

The operative language here is "almost works for high-def". This module has been up for quite some time. Also I posted this question/post on the VCL forum quite some time ago (November) titled Is VLC client doable over firewire (http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?t=5836&highlight=) and the key response from Sigmund was:

"It does not. It should however be able to play files captured with other applications. Also, if you know some objective-c programming, this should not be hard to implement. Many reasources have been made available and much discussion have been done on how to implement this, but bottom line is that non of the developers have any hardware to test it with."

Originally posted by SBryan
Saving, time shifting, editing the transport stream can all be managed with less processor speed than rendering. There are rumors you can record HDTV using EyeTV 500 with a G3 Mac. You just can't view the content directly on your computer monitor. This may not be as useless as it might sound. Using a Roku HD1000 and ethernet you could view saved EyeTV 500 files on an HD screen connected to the Roku.



Ok, two quick follow-up questions

1) Do I have to use eyeTV, or if my TV (Mits?) has a firewire port, can I just export using iRecord? What if I use a CableCARD as my decoder?

2) Can I get the picture back by reversing the 'flow' eg. have a saved .ts file and sending it back the the TV over firewire to decode?

I ask because, it seems after reading this thread that everyone uses STBs and DVHS equipment... call me a mac purist, but I am looking for the ultimate in simplicity... minimal extra harware! (e.g TV, CableCARD, and a Mac Mini!)

Thanks to anyone who helps a noob like me!

Cheshire: You say you read the thread, but your questions are answered quite well in the very FIRST post of this thread...

1. Yes, you should be able to record to your mac mini by just connecting it to your firewire enabled TV and using either iRecord or VirtualDVHS...you will want a large external firewire drive...

2. Yes, you should be able to play back the streams via VirtualDVHS directly to your TV (but the extension must be changed to .m2t)

There is tons of info on how to do these things in this thread...

I use a set top box (SIR-T165) because I do not have a display with built in firewire. The EyeTV is attractive to some because it allows you to watch live HDTV on your Mac, it makes scheduling recordings easier and more reliable, it has really nice editing software for taking ads out, and it is broadcast flag safe(?) Also, I am looking forward to seeing how well their upcoming UPnP server software works...

Originally posted by zmatzkin
Cheshire: You say you read the thread, but your questions are answered quite well in the very FIRST post of this thread...


Thanks for the reply... I assure you that I did read the "entire thread"... however I didn't see anyone talk about CableCARD and exporting using Firewire.

I apologise as I am a noob, and also Canadian, and spedific info here (CAN) is hard to come by. We don't have broadcast flag (yet) but we also lack ALOT of TVs with firewire inputs, AND our Cable Co's wont allow output via Firewire on our STBs... so I needed some specific answers e.g. will a CableCARD (only PLANNED for us up here) TV allow output to a DVHS?

I need to be a bit of a pain, as I will need to import much of the hardware (Mits doesn't sell TVs up here, sigh) and I wont be able to get service after the fact, so I am trying to learn as much as I can before I take the plunge!

So, I do thank you for reply, it helps to have some answers from people with "experience" with this stuff (not many Canadians do!)

As I said, my plan is to use a Mac Mini to record using iRecord from a CableCARD enabled TV, then use Virtual DVHS to send the signal back to the TV later where the TV can decode the .ts stream and send the Audio to the receiver (thus getting around the no-digital out on the Mini)...

Thanks again!

Originally posted by Compromise
The operative language here is "almost works for high-def". This module has been up for quite some time. Also I posted this question/post on the VCL forum quite some time ago (November) titled Is VLC client doable over firewire (http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?t=5836&highlight=) and the key response from Sigmund was:

"It does not. It should however be able to play files captured with other applications. Also, if you know some objective-c programming, this should not be hard to implement. Many reasources have been made available and much discussion have been done on how to implement this, but bottom line is that non of the developers have any hardware to test it with."

Exactly. That is why it plays standard def stuff. It was trivial to bridge the existing VLC modules with the Apple FireWire stuff and get something working.

You need to know at least a little about how the modules work to write something properly to handle the high def rates, though, and I got zero responses to my questions on the VLC developer forums about some of the parameters/info about VLX modules. So I put the code up in hopes someone w/VLC experience, or the time to dig into would take it up. Their resources are better than many projects, but are far from comprehensive.

Originally posted by CheshireMac
Thanks for the reply... I assure you that I did read the "entire thread"... however I didn't see anyone talk about CableCARD and exporting using Firewire.

I am no expert and don't know tons about cablecard, but my guess is that the cablecard does not have the ability to tell the TV to output the stream via firewire or not... But I would certainly try to make sure of that before I started importing...heh

I would bet that your answers are somewhere here on avsforums...

If you want a Mac HTPC forum at avsforum, make your interest known here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5034650#post5034650) .

Originally posted by Compromise
Kevin,
Thanks for the Script mapping advise. Any advise on how to script the D-VHS buttons since AppleScript does not seem to be able to record them? And the scripts on the referenced website are STB specific (also D-VHS specific for example b2 vs. 3)? Do you think I will have to hack these scripts to make them work?

Edit: Started hacking and am unable to determine the button groups and numbers for anything but record and stop record. Anyone having information for play, stop play, pause, ff, fr, and the transport controls, it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Comp.

Sorry, I was not paying attention earlier. I used UI Browser to create the scripts using VirtualDVHS from SDK 18. The scripts are all for the recorder side of VirtualDVHS. I did not create any scripts for the player side. I was thinking use with iCal and not with a remote.

Are you using beta 2 (SDK 18) or beta 3 (SDK 19) of VirtualDVHS? Rather, I should ask: have you created the scripts you needed to click the stop and play buttons on the player side of VirtualDVHS?

Originally posted by Compromise
Kevin,
Thanks for the Script mapping advise. Any advise on how to script the D-VHS buttons since AppleScript does not seem to be able to record them? And the scripts on the referenced website are STB specific (also D-VHS specific for example b2 vs. 3)? Do you think I will have to hack these scripts to make them work?

Edit: Started hacking and am unable to determine the button groups and numbers for anything but record and stop record. Anyone having information for play, stop play, pause, ff, fr, and the transport controls, it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Comp.

Sorry, I was not paying attention earlier. I used UI Browser to create the scripts using VirtualDVHS from SDK 18. The scripts are all for the recorder side of VirtualDVHS. I did not create any scripts for the player side. I was thinking use with iCal and not with a remote.

Are you using beta 2 (SDK 18) or beta 3 (SDK 19) of VirtualDVHS? Rather, I should ask: have you created the scripts you needed to click the stop and play buttons on the player side of VirtualDVHS?

An interesting viewpoint on the future of HDTV on the Mac mini:

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050120.html

iMovie HD and MPEG2 streams....

Early indications are that if you have installed iMovie HD and use MPEG Streamclip to to save your MPEG2 streams to 'Apple Intermediate Codec' you can then import them into iMovie HD for editing.

No luck on getting iMovie to see my JVC 5U deck.... maybe Final Cut Express HD when it ships?

Originally posted by Dorsai
iMovie HD and MPEG2 streams....

Early indications are that if you have installed iMovie HD and use MPEG Streamclip to to save your MPEG2 streams to 'Apple Intermediate Codec' you can then import them into iMovie HD for editing.

No luck on getting iMovie to see my JVC 5U deck.... maybe Final Cut Express HD when it ships?

How do you find 'Apple Intermediate Codec' in MPEG Streamclip?

Nevermind, I gather from this post (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38145) that it shows up as an option when iMovie HD is installed.

Originally posted by jsb_hburg
...Are you using beta 2 (SDK 18) or beta 3 (SDK 19) of VirtualDVHS? Rather, I should ask: have you created the scripts you needed to click the stop and play buttons on the player side of VirtualDVHS?

Thanks for getting back to this.

Actually I am using the rollernet version of VirtualDVHS 1.0b2 (which is originally from SDK 18) because the fast forward and fast reverse work somewhat (from the play side). These two functions do not appear to function in 1.0b3 which is included in SDK 19.

I have NOT been able to create scripts for the play side. I only have your two scripts for the record side, that being record and stop. Pause would be nice to have if you can.

I gave up on the scripts as Applescript is dysfunctional on VirtualDVHS (any version). If you know how to get some scripts to work it would be most appreciated. Thanks for the pointer to UI Browser, I will check it out if I can find it.

Originally posted by Compromise
Thanks for getting back to this.

Actually I am using the rollernet version of VirtualDVHS 1.0b2 (which is originally from SDK 18) because the fast forward and fast reverse work somewhat (from the play side). These two functions do not appear to function in 1.0b3 which is included in SDK 19.

I have NOT been able to create scripts for the play side. I only have your two scripts for the record side, that being record and stop. Pause would be nice to have if you can.

I gave up on the scripts as Applescript is dysfunctional on VirtualDVHS (any version). If you know how to get some scripts to work it would be most appreciated. Thanks for the pointer to UI Browser, I will check it out if I can find it.

Right here. (http://www.prefab.com/uibrowser/) It is very easy to use.

$55 worth it? Just for a few scripts. Maybe it can be done with the evaluation version.

Originally posted by Compromise
$55 worth it? Just for a few scripts. Maybe it can be done with the evaluation version.

Yes, it can be done with the evaluation version. That is what I used about a year ago.

What are the file sizes for Apple Intermediate Codec? I am reading it is all I-frames and will probably be a bit larger than ts files.

Originally posted by xmltok
What are the file sizes for Apple Intermediate Codec? I am reading it is all I-frames and will probably be a bit larger than ts files.

I think the answer is here (http://www.hdforindies.com/2005/01/yes-you-can-edit-hdv-in-fcp-with) .

Were it not for today's football games, I would have travelled to pick up iLife 05 to see what it looks like on my 1.25 G4 Mac.

Originally posted by jsb_hburg
Right here. (http://www.prefab.com/uibrowser/) It is very easy to use.

Thank you jsb_hburg.

After dittling with UIbrowser a little, I was able to write 8 scripts for VirtualDVHS. Again I am using version 1.0b2. I have written scripts for the following buttons and attached them in a .zip file (because the avsforum does not allow for .sit files) for anyone else who might want to use them.

From the play window:

Reverse
Stop
Play
Pause
Forward

And from the record window:
Stop
Record
Pause

Remember these are specific to the Rollernet modified VirtualDVHS and to have these scripts work you need to title the app VirtualDVHS1,0b2rollernet.

Are there any current or future implementations of AVHDD functionality on Macs via Firewire? Or do the current Mac D-VHS applications support simultaneous playback and recording with time-delayed viewing of recording shows?


My upcoming plans (next few days or so, while pre-Superbowl HDTV sales are on) are to assemble the following:

RCA HD61LPW163 TV
-- Seems the best of the 162-165 group, using the HD2+ DLP chip from the 162's and the Firewire and web browsing of the 165's (only missing the on-screen TV guide, which has been reported as spoty anyhow)

Motoroloa 6412 STB/PVR
-- Dual tuners and 120 GB HDD seems like the best replacement for my ReplayTV... Loses many of the RTV's features (and the 250GB HDD I put in it) but gains dual tuners, high definition, integrated cable box, and firewire connectivity (ReplayTV unit will move to a different TV)

CableCARD (for the TV)
-- May seem redundant with the STB, but it would provide a THIRD concurrent channel for only a few dollars more a month

G4 Powermac
-- I have a number of older spares and can put a large HDD on it

JVC RX9010 Receiver
-- Was the central hub for my last AV stack, now shoing its age as the hub mantle changes to the TV (where it should be) and now relagated to being nothing more than an audio amp (with USB audio in)

JVC Progressive DVD player


Connections:

TV to STB/PVR via FW
TV to Mac via FW
DVD to TV via component
TV to Receiver via optical
Mac to Receiver via USB-audio
(Also Xbox to TV via component 2)

The TV has support for timed recording of digital programming with a D-VHS connected via Firewire. It also has a menu to list and play previously recorded programs and supposedly supports the full compliment of standard transport buttons (play,stop,pause,FF,REV,record). But does VirtualDVHS support all that?

I'm guessing that the DVLink protocol sends the stream to the D-VHS unit, which records it and sends it back. The TV then displays this return feed. Pressing the transport buttons (except stop) sends commands back to the D-VHS unit, which suitably modifies the return stream, while the record stream continues unabated. This would mean that a Mac plugged into this TV via firewire and running VirtualDVHS would act as a PVR. How's my guess?

If I am guessing right here, does the DVLink protocol support 30-second skips? If so, perhaps there's an alternate IR signal for my TV that would send that to the Mac.

I'd love for my whole stack to be Firewire only, but I haven't yet found a Firewire receiver or DVD player yet.

EDIT: to add this interesting link: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050120.html

I got your thread from the support at Motorola when I asked if it was possible to download content off the Motorola DCT 6412 to my Mac and then burn the shows to DVD.
I downloaded the SDK 18 package and hooked up my 250g LaCie firewire drive to the Motorola STB via the firewire port. The Motorola doesn't show up on my desktop, but System Profiler shows it in the firewire chain. I launched the DVHS capture app and it shows "no DVHS device".
I'm trying to download the four FOX 24 episodes I have on the DVR and burn them to DVD on my iMac.
Any suggestions you could forward me would be greatly appreciated. I'm assuming the firewire ports on the DCT 6412 are active.
Thanks.
Jim

Originally posted by lardlad
I got your thread from the support at Motorola when I asked if it was possible to download content off the Motorola DCT 6412 to my Mac and then burn the shows to DVD.
I downloaded the SDK 18 package and hooked up my 250g LaCie firewire drive to the Motorola STB via the firewire port. The Motorola doesn't show up on my desktop, but System Profiler shows it in the firewire chain. I launched the DVHS capture app and it shows "no DVHS device".
I'm trying to download the four FOX 24 episodes I have on the DVR and burn them to DVD on my iMac.
Any suggestions you could forward me would be greatly appreciated. I'm assuming the firewire ports on the DCT 6412 are active.
Thanks.
Jim

First, where are you and who is your cable company?

If Comcast, your Firewire ports should be enabled. The Motorola 6412 should be the last device on your Firewire chain. I have some helpful PDFs here (http://mac_hdtv_timer.home.comcast.net) to give you more of a background as to how VirtualDVHS and AVCBrowser works with the Motorola boxes.

For simple offloading, I would suggest using iRecord from this website (http://macpvr.home.comcast.net) as it incorporates the functions of AVCBrowser and VirtualDVHS to get things connected and recording.

What I have done is play the program in realtime from the 6412 and then immediately click the record button in iRecord. You cannot swap tuners on your 6412 or it will mess up the stream over Firewire.

Good luck, it should not be a problem using iRecord.

Originally posted by lardlad
I downloaded the SDK 18 package and hooked up my 250g LaCie firewire drive to the Motorola STB via the firewire port. Not sure if that's a typo or not, but don't hook a Firewire external HDD to the STB, it won't know what to do with it. All AV components that use Firewire rely on a specific communications protocol. A computer, on the other hand, knows many protocols. An external HDD won't know how to speak the AV protocol language so the STB won't be able to talk to it or use it in any way.

Your computer will probably be able to still see the HDD if you hook it all up like that, but it's best if you connect the HDD directly to the computer just to be sure, since it will be the computer that will be using it. Use the other Firewire port on your computer to attach to the STB. Then the STB can talk to the VirtualDVHS program (or iRecord or whatever) on the Mac, and the Mac can send the data to the HDD to be saved.

I've been studying the threads concerning recording from a STB to my mac. I've downloaded the apple SDK 18 and connected via firewire to the STB. The STB show up in the AVC browser and I'm able to connect, but when I try to manually record using the Virtual DVHS there is no field called "channel" to enter the firewire channel I connected on via the AVC app.
All I'm trying to do is access the HD on the DCT 6412 and take some recorded episodes of "24" and then burn them to DVD. I don't understand why the DCT-6412 doesn't show up on my desktop like any other connected firewire device and then I should be able to drag the data from the 24 episodes onto my external firewire HD and then transfer them to DVD.
Thanks.
Jim

Thanks for responding.
I only have on firewire output on my iBook. I hooked things up as you suggested as I did eventually see that the STB didn't know what to do with the external drive.
My problem is that my iBook only has about 640MB of room left on its 10g HD so to download off the STB I need the external space. I'm still having trouble getting any data off the STB when I connect my computer directly to the STB. It shows up when I use AVC browser and I'm able to connect via the AVC browser but I get nothing after that. Maybe I'm just in over my head here. I just want to get some episodes of "24" off the STB and burn them to DVD.
I do have an iMac with multiple firewire ports, but it's not in the same area as the STB.
Anyway, thanks for your reply. I guess I need to do some more homework. I thought it would be pretty straight forward to do this.
Jim

Originally posted by lardlad
I've been studying the threads concerning recording from a STB to my mac. I've downloaded the apple SDK 18 and connected via firewire to the STB. The STB show up in the AVC browser and I'm able to connect, but when I try to manually record using the Virtual DVHS there is no field called "channel" to enter the firewire channel I connected on via the AVC app.
All I'm trying to do is access the HD on the DCT 6412 and take some recorded episodes of "24" and then burn them to DVD. I don't understand why the DCT-6412 doesn't show up on my desktop like any other connected firewire device and then I should be able to drag the data from the 24 episodes onto my external firewire HD and then transfer them to DVD.
Thanks.
Jim

Use iRecord from http://macpvr.home.comcast.net to simplify the process. The 6412 Firewire is not bidirectional so it must be the last device in the Firewire chain. You can have the chain like this:

iBook <---> external Firewire hard drive <--- 6412

It will work.

Originally posted by lardlad
I just want to get some episodes of "24" off the STB and burn them to DVD. I guess the biggest conceptual difference here is that firewire can speak many languages. You can hook up a webcam or DV cam via firewire and programs that know that language can control the camera and get video from them. You can hook up an external drive and it will apear as an icon on your desktop. And now you can hook your STB up and use VirtualDVHS to talk to it. But it won't show up as an icon nor can you stream the video out through iChat. It's a different protocol (language).

If you want to get your episodes of 24 onto your mac, what you have to do is get it all hooked up (sounds like you're close there) then start the show PLAYING on the STB then start the Mac recording via VirtualDVHS. As its name indicates, it's like a virtual digital VHS. Treat it like you would your VCR to record shows. (The difference being, it's all digital.)

I have a ReplayTV, and have been using DVArchive to extract shows from it. That operates far more like an external HDD than the current VirtualDVHS system. I'll miss it.

As for hooking things up, if your firewire drive has two ports on it, put it in the middle of the chain. You want to minimize the distance data has to travel and how much backtracking it has to do. The ideal layout would be a straight path from "STB to Mac to HDD", but without two ports on your Mac "STB to HDD to Mac and back to HDD" works and is a little better than "STB to Mac back to STB to HDD". The other issue is that some firewire ports are only rated for 400 speed and some are 800. If any path has a 400 speed port in its way, that will be the max speed for that path. This is why all the instructions say to put the "slower" units on the ends of the chain. (1600 and 3200 speeds are in the works for the future, btw.)

Hope that helps a bit.

Has anybody tried to record Comcast On Demand content through VirtualDVHS?

I'm using a Motorola 6200 with my PB 1GHz G4. I'm able to record regular SD and HD programs that play fine through VLC and I can edit in MPEG Streamclip.

However, when I record any On Demand content everything works fine up until it's time to play it back. VLC won't play the file and MPEG Streamclip 1.1 says "File open error: unsupported file type". While it's recording, the bitrates are normal and the filesize is as you'd expect. Any ideas?

BTW, thanks to all the fellas started this thread and have kept it going. You've seriously saved me so much time and money!

Thanks,
Jonathan

Originally posted by rismo
Has anybody tried to record Comcast On Demand content through VirtualDVHS?

I'm using a Motorola 6200 with my PB 1GHz G4. I'm able to record regular SD and HD programs that play fine through VLC and I can edit in MPEG Streamclip.

However, when I record any On Demand content everything works fine up until it's time to play it back. VLC won't play the file and MPEG Streamclip 1.1 says "File open error: unsupported file type". While it's recording, the bitrates are normal and the filesize is as you'd expect. Any ideas?

BTW, thanks to all the fellas started this thread and have kept it going. You've seriously saved me so much time and money!

Thanks,
Jonathan

5C might be the cause. You will not be able to play those files. Try using EyeTV software for playback for the files that do play.

Originally posted by lardlad
Thanks for responding.
I only have on firewire output on my iBook. I hooked things up as you suggested as I did eventually see that the STB didn't know what to do with the external drive.
My problem is that my iBook only has about 640MB of room left on its 10g HD so to download off the STB I need the external space. I'm still having trouble getting any data off the STB when I connect my computer directly to the STB. It shows up when I use AVC browser and I'm able to connect via the AVC browser but I get nothing after that. Maybe I'm just in over my head here. I just want to get some episodes of "24" off the STB and burn them to DVD.
I do have an iMac with multiple firewire ports, but it's not in the same area as the STB.
Anyway, thanks for your reply. I guess I need to do some more homework. I thought it would be pretty straight forward to do this.
Jim

I've had no problems recording HD to an external hard drive using my iBook. Of course, the hard drive has several Firewire ports and will act like a hub, so I have one Firewire cable coming from the STB (actually, in my case it's the built in HD tuner on my TV) to the hard drive. Then another Firewire cable between the hard drive and my iBook. And yeah, this does make it nothing but a stupid VCR. I'm a little better off though, since my TV sees the iBook as a DVHS. I can hit record on my TV remote and the TV will send the signal out to my iBook to start recording whatever's coming over the firewire cable. Haven't tried manually telling the iBook to record anything yet.

Hi EVERYONE!!! I have been following this thread for a few months now in search on some answers.... mainly.. has cablevision enabled/disabled the firewire port on the 4200hd.... I never could find an answer anywhere on the web.. but I tried and tried myself and I could never get it to work...


SOOOO

Last night I was playing with my box agian and I finally got it to work.. I can now record HD on my powerbook. (867mhz) I can't play it back but I defiantly can capture it. In any case I WANTED TO SHARE THE WEALTH!!! THE SA4200HD FROM CABLEVISION DOES WORK..... By the way, tonight I will try recording my g5 and see how playback is...


By the way, this forum is great and I hope no too many people burn me on my first post...

Hi EVERYONE!!! I have been following this thread for a few months now in search on some answers.... mainly.. has cablevision enabled/disabled the firewire port on the 4200hd.... I never could find an answer anywhere on the web.. but I tried and tried myself and I could never get it to work...


SOOOO

Last night I was playing with my box agian and I finally got it to work.. I can now record HD on my powerbook. (867mhz) I can't play it back but I defiantly can capture it. In any case I WANTED TO SHARE THE WEALTH!!! THE SA4200HD FROM CABLEVISION DOES WORK..... By the way, tonight I will try recording my g5 and see how playback is...


By the way, this forum is great and I hope no too many people burn me on my first post...

You mean your first TWO posts

:D

sorry bout the double post.....

Originally posted by mazda3ndp
... By the way, tonight I will try recording my g5 and see how playback is...
There are a couple of threads here about the Mac and HDTV. One suggestion I'd make is about EyeTV and Elgato. When you are testing playback on your G5 keep in mind that you might get better results with Elgato's application which you can download from their web site. The information about this possibility is either in this thread (in which case you are already aware of it) or possibly in another thread. If you hold down the control key while selecting "Open QuickTime Movie..." from the File menu you can choose a transport stream file. This hack actually treats the file as a stream source like the receiver so you can import the file by recording it as it plays. That allows you to edit the file with EyeTV controls.

I've tried this both with Virtual DVHS and iRecord. I was recording a 3 hour long show. About 2 hours in, the recording would just stop. what I recorded up until that point was just fine, but it would just stop recording (plenty of hard drive space was left, and I was recording to the local HD and not an external.) I tried scheduling a recording with iRecord but it stopped recording as well...earlier than VDVHS did. Any thoughts? I did get some errors in VDVHS

MPEG2Receiver Error: DCL Overrun!


MPEG2Receiver Error: Received unsupported length isoch packet:41024


ANyone see these before? I was getting these throughout the recording session...

If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears! :-)

Thanks!

Originally posted by Carlos_Salcedo
If I am not mistaken the first one is a hard drive error that tells you that it could not keep up with the steady stream...in other words, I had the same probelms when recording to the same drive where my boot system was located...I switched to a secondary drive (either internal or external) and I have never had one since...

The second one is a major Mpeg2 error that is mostly cause either by the tuner box (OTA or cable) or a problem with the firewire cabling...in other words, stream error of some sort and probably what cause the recording to stop....Is this error the always there when the recording stops??? It does on mine...I fix it by re-booting my cable box or tuner before each recording session.

Sounds right to me. I eliminated the first one by getting an external FireWire drive. I dealt with the second one by talking with the Engineering VP at Comcast. Coincidentally, 5C subsequently rolled out in my neighborhood rather quickly compared to other systems.

the reason your harddrive couldn't keep up wasnt because it was an off brand but rather think of it like this.... When a drive is empty and you bring to write, your writing on the furtherest most point of the disc therefore you can write faster, this is because your able to cover more disc more quickly being further out even though the rpm is constant. As the disk gets more and more full the closer to the center of the disc you are, therefore not writing as fast... In anycase dont be bummed... there is a program somewhere I forget the name, if you want to test your drive speeds and partition it according to your drive speed, that way you never run into writing problems. or you could just get an identical drive to your current one and put it in a raid 0.

All, thanks for the insight! That makes sense about the first error. In it's final form, once my mini arrives, I'll be using an external drive so I won't worry about that issue. About the second one though, someone mentioned talking to a VP at Comcast. Can I ask what the resolution was? i.e. did you say, "I'm trying to record stuff off my Comcast box" or was it in another context. Also, does anyone know if we can send a command from the Mac to the box to tell it to power off and then power on? If that's the solution, I'd love to be able to automate that when I schedule recordings...

Again, thanks for all your help! I can't wait till my mini arrives!

Originally posted by ikinsella
All, thanks for the insight! That makes sense about the first error. In it's final form, once my mini arrives, I'll be using an external drive so I won't worry about that issue. About the second one though, someone mentioned talking to a VP at Comcast. Can I ask what the resolution was? i.e. did you say, "I'm trying to record stuff off my Comcast box" or was it in another context. Also, does anyone know if we can send a command from the Mac to the box to tell it to power off and then power on? If that's the solution, I'd love to be able to automate that when I schedule recordings...

Again, thanks for all your help! I can't wait till my mini arrives!

It was a transport issue. A lot of pixellation was occuring in the video over Firewire. They had to make corrections at the headend. You could see the pixellation even while monitoring it using a JVC DVHS. They fixed it. And then a month later, they added 5C.

I can still record local HD channels over cable. As for premiums, I am content to wait for Blu-ray, the good stuff at high bitrates.

One of the things I really like about the 169time (using V-DVHS) is that the data tap is apparently before the 5C flag is inserted. Therefore there will never be any copy protection on any of the HD channels that I get. The only down side is that eventually the mpeg4 stuff might kill this great setup. Hopefully Richard will know how to get around this.

So, I have a Motorola STB and Powerbook G4. I have followed the instructions and can record files off the STB, both regular and prerecorded files on the DVR. I am having trouble with the sound. I don't know if a sound file is being recorded on the powerbook, or if the programs I am using aren't recognizing the sound portion of the file. VLC will play the file, but I can't get any sound. I have played with it for a while, but am not all that up to speed on codecs, etc. as they relate to this. Any suggestions?

Has anyone figured out a definitive way to transcode the .m2t format to something burnable on DVD?

I have all the new Battlestar Galactica episodes sitting on my DVR and would LOVE to be able to burn DVDs for archival purposes and to share with my friends.

Ideas????

I'd suggest MPEG2 Works (http://www.mpeg2works.com/) but I'm not sure that it can handle that format. If not, the author will probably be able to add it, given a small sample recording. He added a whole toolset for ReplayTV files, so I bet this up-and-coming format will be high on his list.

Originally posted by cschmelz
Has anyone figured out a definitive way to transcode the .m2t format to something burnable on DVD?

I have all the new Battlestar Galactica episodes sitting on my DVR and would LOVE to be able to burn DVDs for archival purposes and to share with my friends.

Ideas????

Yes I have. I have been working with ffmpeg and have successfully downrezed .m2t file (NE vs. Steelers) and made a DVD with AC3 audio.

It works but the settings are a bit particular. Also, I did not use ffmpeg to make the Video_TS file, but rather imported the audio and recompressed mpeg2 video streams into DVDSP in order to add a chapter + menus, in this case 1st quarter, 2nd quarter, etc.

I have successfully used EyeTV version 1.7 to open an m2t file and output it to a DV file. (i think it is a free download at their site and doesn't require any hardware) I then successfully imported it into imovie HD.

1. Start EyeTV
2. Hold down the ctrl key and select "open quicktime movie" from the file menu
3. You should now be able to select any m2t files.
4. enter command-b followed by command-r (this will record the file to Eye-TV)
5. click the "eye" logo (grey not color) on the on-screen remote control and you will see a list containing your recording
6. Select the file, then select export from the file menu.
7. The save-as panel will give the the following choices: for email, for web, for imovie, for idvd, for dvd studio pro, for toast, mpeg program stream , mpeg elementary stream, DV stream 4:3, DV stream 16:9, quicktime movie, AVI, mpeg-4, 3G, DivX avi. (I used the DV 4:3, using the 16:9 and importing into imove HD left a white strip on the right hand side in the background).

I recorded a segment of PBS-HD via firewire from a motorola 6200 using AVS Browser 0.8.1 to get the m2t file. The Video is HD and the audio AC3.

I hope this helps.

YES! Thanks!
Originally posted by gregzw


I hope this helps.

Originally posted by bruintoo
YES! Thanks!

I downloaded EyeTv 1.7 and I can't get it to open .m2t files at all! Nothing!

oops...got it to work! Cool!

Hello Everyone,

I am new to AVS but am eager to get video out of my ST box.

Here is the setup:

Provider - TW cable (Syracuse NY)
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 with 2 FW/Out ports
G5 OSX 10.3.8
FW SDK 19

When connecting the STB to my G5 -- Nothing happens. I have followed the instructions laid out on this thread to a tee. When I launch AVC Browser - It just doesn't see my STB.

Is it possible that these FW ports are disabled?

Anyone have any thoughts on getting this to work?

Originally posted by ctaloi
Hello Everyone,

I am new to AVS but am eager to get video out of my ST box.

Here is the setup:

Provider - TW cable (Syracuse NY)
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 with 2 FW/Out ports
G5 OSX 10.3.8
FW SDK 19

When connecting the STB to my G5 -- Nothing happens. I have followed the instructions laid out on this thread to a tee. When I launch AVC Browser - It just doesn't see my STB.

Is it possible that these FW ports are disabled?

Anyone have any thoughts on getting this to work?

If AVC Browser cannot detect the STB, then the FireWire ports are not active. Call your local cable office to find out when they plan on activating the ports.

Hello again,

Thank you for your reply...

I contacted TW - and asked if it was possible to activate these ports or if they have another STB that supports FW ports. She stated "We do not currently support that technology". I asked if I could exchange for another STB and she stated that none of the current STB's have FW enabled.

Is there anything else I can try?
I recall reading something about a "mandate" that FW out needs to be enabled; is this true?

Anyone have any advice?

Thanks!

Originally posted by ctaloi
Hello again,

Thank you for your reply...

I contacted TW - and asked if it was possible to activate these ports or if they have another STB that supports FW ports. She stated "We do not currently support that technology". I asked if I could exchange for another STB and she stated that none of the current STB's have FW enabled.

Is there anything else I can try?
I recall reading something about a "mandate" that FW out needs to be enabled; is this true?

Anyone have any advice?

Thanks!

As of last year, cable companies are required by the FCC to provide an STB with active FireWire ports.

See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5065026#post5065026) .

Thanks ....

Has anyone had success pursuing this with the CB company?
What is the best way to go about this?

Thanks!

Its a good question how to pursue.

Originally posted by ctaloi
Thanks ....

Has anyone had success pursuing this with the CB company?
What is the best way to go about this?

Thanks!

I would suggest starting with the general manager of your local system and cite the FCC regulation. There are accounts of those in the HDTV Recorders Forum of their efforts to get a working FireWire-equipped box.

Worked like a charm!

Just got off the phone with a CSR who knew what they were talking about - I mentioned the FCC regulation and now I will have a STB with active FW on Tuesday!

Thanks for the help!

Now my next thought....

Will I be able to push SD over FW as well? Or is the interface limited to just HD?

Thanks!

Originally posted by ctaloi
Now my next thought....

Will I be able to push SD over FW as well? Or is the interface limited to just HD?

Thanks!

You can push both SD and HD to the extent the 5C flag is copy-freely. Most expanded basic and premium channels are copy-once and require a 5C compliant device such as the JVC 5U DVHS to record. I use my Mac to record local HD channels. Comcast was so kind to implement 5C.

I was finally able to download the episodes of "24" off my Comcast 6412 onto my external firewire HD. They show up as .ts files. Now I'm trying to take that file and burn it to a DVD to archive it. I have iLife 05 with iMovieHD and I also have Toast 6, I'm unable to get either one of these to recognize the .ts file. iLife says Quicktime can't parse it and Toast says it doesn't recognize it. Has anyone taken .ts files and converted or burned them to DVD? These are Standard Definition shows I'm taking off the Comcast DVR.
Thanks,
Jim

Originally posted by lardlad
I was finally able to download the episodes of "24" off my Comcast 6412 onto my external firewire HD. They show up as .ts files. Now I'm trying to take that file and burn it to a DVD to archive it. I have iLife 05 with iMovieHD and I also have Toast 6, I'm unable to get either one of these to recognize the .ts file. iLife says Quicktime can't parse it and Toast says it doesn't recognize it. Has anyone taken .ts files and converted or burned them to DVD? These are Standard Definition shows I'm taking off the Comcast DVR.
Thanks,
Jim

See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5176180#post5176180) .

I couldn't resist making the 1000'th post to this thread :) I'm glad to see there are so many interested Mac users here. Dare I say this thread was the genesis of this Sub forum...

couldn't resist making the 1000'th post to this thread I'm glad to see there are so many interested Mac users here. Dare I say this thread was the genesis of this Sub forum...

You lost. :D You're Post #1001.

Originally posted by Joseph S
You lost. :D You're Post #1001.

Given his importance to the thread I demand a recount.

Originally posted by Joseph S
You lost. :D You're Post #1001. How's that? Looks like it was 1000 to me.

How's that? Looks like it was 1000 to me.
I have no idea. Here's the screenshot I see.

Originally posted by Joseph S
I have no idea. Here's the screenshot I see. Ah, I get it. I was looking at the count on the thread list which actually shows the number of replies not posts so it differs by 1. Now fixed :D

Will the new FCC rules implementing the Broadcast flag July 05 have an impact on firewire recording?
Doesn't seem to make much sense to buy equipment that will not work in a few months.

Originally posted by HD2005MM
Will the new FCC rules implementing the Broadcast flag July 05 have an impact on firewire recording?
Doesn't seem to make much sense to buy equipment that will not work in a few months.

Equipment purchased before the implementation of the broadcast flag will work.

Hopefully the cable companies won't cut off old equipment.

Cannot get iRecord or AVC Enhanced to run. Just installed OS 10.38. anyone else having a problem with them. I downloaded them multiple times and the files unpack fine, just won't run.
Help.
Thanks

Originally posted by pwat
Cannot get iRecord or AVC Enhanced to run. Just installed OS 10.38. anyone else having a problem with them. I downloaded them multiple times and the files unpack fine, just won't run.
Help.
Thanks

What is the source? What else is on the FireWire inputs?

I d/l them from the site mentioned here...don't have the addy handy. My Moto 6412 is hooked up. I was testing it out and reading the messages here. Trying to get smart. I was able to use the regular AVC in the SDK pak and the Virtual DVHS and could see the Moto. Still learning the ropes and was trying to use the Enhanced AVC and iRecord to make life easier.
The firewire goes from the Moto to the back of the computer.

Additionally when I try to record, I get zero bytes. There must be something else wrong, but I am really not sure what. I have used the AVC and Virtual DVHS exactly like the directions and it seems to be working, but all zero bytes. Any thoughts on that issue.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Originally posted by pwat
I d/l them from the site mentioned here...don't have the addy handy. My Moto 6412 is hooked up. I was testing it out and reading the messages here. Trying to get smart. I was able to use the regular AVC in the SDK pak and the Virtual DVHS and could see the Moto. Still learning the ropes and was trying to use the Enhanced AVC and iRecord to make life easier.
The firewire goes from the Moto to the back of the computer.

Additionally when I try to record, I get zero bytes. There must be something else wrong, but I am really not sure what. I have used the AVC and Virtual DVHS exactly like the directions and it seems to be working, but all zero bytes. Any thoughts on that issue.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Hmmm. Sounds like the handywork of the MPAA and its evil spawn 5C. Try recording a local HD channel which should be copy-freely, though copy-once content should fill up space on your hard drive just as well.

The Moto 6412 should be at the end of your FireWire chain. If you have an iSight, disconnect from the Mac. Try iRecord again. Make sure you have set up a capture directory on the Mac's hard drive for starters.

On the local HD channel you want to record, check the Moto's diagnostics. You can do this by tuning to the channel, power off, then immediately press the OK/Select button. Use the OK/Select button to open and close module screens. You should see a menu of modules. Navigate down to Interface and press OK/Select. Check for 1394 transmission which should be yes and 5C Implementatioin which should be 0 (copy-freely) or 1 (copy-once but only on a 5C compliant device such as a JVC DVHS). Then navigate to Exit on the menu and press OK/Select. Press power button to turn box back on.

Joe,
No 5 C, I am trying to record a regular channel....CBS as example. Checked the diagnostics and all is OK.
No iSight and now 6412 is at the end of the chain.
iRecord doesn't boot up, I wonder if it is a OS X 10.38 problem. Neither does AVSC Enhanced.
I am sure it must be something simple. I wonder if I should not have installed OS X 10.38 first?
When I hit record, there is zero bitrate, zero packets stored on the Virtual DVHS. I did follow the instructions and do have a folder in the right place for storing, it stores the name of the files there, but they have no data in them. The AVC looks like this: see jpg .
Will keep reading the messages and maybe someone else did something I forgot.
Thanks for you help.
Phil

I am using 10.3.8 with iRecord. Do you have any other DV device attached? If so, remove it and give it a try. iRecord should launch.

Joe,
I appreciate your comments, but so far nothing is working.
The 6412 is last in the chain. There are no other DV devices hooked up. I cannot boot AVC Enhanced or iRecord. Using the regular AVC and V-DVHS doesn't do anything. No packets or bit rate. I tried every channel. I am just trying to record either HD or local programming channels for playback on the computer and DVD burning. The 6412 records as a DVR fine. I watched recorded shows last night, but I cannot get the computer to record. All files are zero bytes.
Computer
G4 10.38
1Gig
1 MB L3 cache
memory 1 Gig

My TV is NOT HD, but I cannot figure out why that would matter, since the signal is going to the MAC.

AVC reads the 6412, so it is working.
SORRY!
Any thoughts.
Phil

I have never been able to get iRecord to work with my AVX1, but I do not think it is compatible for some reason. I have contacted the author of iRecord and he was unable to help.

But using the AVC Enhanced and V-DVHS both work fine. I do not believe you can use the regular AVC to record. I would recommend that you use V-DVHS. In addition, you should launch V-DVHS first before you turn on your 6412. I have to do this with my AVX1. If I launch second, it will not work.

Hope this helps.

Is this something I could use to archive tv recorded to my Scientific Atlanta, Explorer 8000HD cable box/DVR?
I have an imac g4 700mhz and could purchase a large firewire drive if necessary.
If I can how would I then play the recorded shows back?

sorry something of a mac novice.
mark

Originally posted by mgason
Is this something I could use to archive tv recorded to my Scientific Atlanta, Explorer 8000HD cable box/DVR?
I have an imac g4 700mhz and could purchase a large firewire drive if necessary.
If I can how would I then play the recorded shows back?

sorry something of a mac novice.
mark

I have some PDFs here (http://mac_hdtv_timer.home.comcast.net/). There are three PDF links on the home page; focus on the latter two for background.

Originally posted by Compromise
I have never been able to get iRecord to work with my AVX1, but I do not think it is compatible for some reason. I have contacted the author of iRecord and he was unable to help.

But using the AVC Enhanced and V-DVHS both work fine. I do not believe you can use the regular AVC to record. I would recommend that you use V-DVHS. In addition, you should launch V-DVHS first before you turn on your 6412. I have to do this with my AVX1. If I launch second, it will not work.

Hope this helps.
I cannot get the AVC Enhanced to boot either, suggesting that I have something wrong in my setup or in my system.
By turning off the 6412 and then on it puts it into the middle of the daisy chain of firewire devices. Joe, says it has to be last. The only way I can get it to be last is to have it on, unplug from the computer then, plug it in. It sees it last, so it is last. For some reason whenever I reboot the computer or the 6412 it changes its position in the chain. All I have hooked up is 2 Firewire drives. How can I keep the 6412 at the end of the chain. Honestly I cannot believe that is the only problem. I cannot boot iRecord or AVC Enh, there has to be something else wrong with my system, but I cannot figure it out. I have followed the directions to boot everything and the AVC sees my 6412, just nothing happens when I hit record( on the VDHVS.
Any other thoughts. I think Joe is out of suggestions.
Thanks.
Phil

After reviewing the preceding 50 pages, I have attempted to convert the saved files on my Motorola 6412 PVR to DVD using the collective knowledge found there. I was able to successfully capture the .ts files from the PVR to my Powerbook using iRecord. This worked great once I got EyeTV uninstalled (which I tried as a viewer, as suggested in an earlier post) - everytime I plugged the firewire cable in, it launched EyeTV. I then used MPEG Streamclip to convert the files into a format that iMovie HD could handle. I tried both Quicktime with the AIC codec and the DV stream export. Both seem to be supported in iMovie - my test clips both imported. But when I tried to capture more video (about 40 mins worth) I found that the exported clips had audio sync problems - audio was about a half second ahead of video once you got about 5 mins in.

So can anyone provide some suggestions for making the process work? What format should I use to export from Streamclip? How can i get the audio resynced?

Originally posted by bogen2
After reviewing the preceding 50 pages, I have attempted to convert the saved files on my Motorola 6412 PVR to DVD using the collective knowledge found there. I was able to successfully capture the .ts files from the PVR to my Powerbook using iRecord. This worked great once I got EyeTV uninstalled (which I tried as a viewer, as suggested in an earlier post) - everytime I plugged the firewire cable in, it launched EyeTV. I then used MPEG Streamclip to convert the files into a format that iMovie HD could handle. I tried both Quicktime with the AIC codec and the DV stream export. Both seem to be supported in iMovie - my test clips both imported. But when I tried to capture more video (about 40 mins worth) I found that the exported clips had audio sync problems - audio was about a half second ahead of video once you got about 5 mins in.

So can anyone provide some suggestions for making the process work? What format should I use to export from Streamclip? How can i get the audio resynced?

In EyeTV Preferences, uncheck the box for Start EyeTV when device is plugged in.

Originally posted by pwat
Joe,
No 5 C, I am trying to record a regular channel....CBS as example. Checked the diagnostics and all is OK.
No iSight and now 6412 is at the end of the chain.
iRecord doesn't boot up, I wonder if it is a OS X 10.38 problem. Neither does AVSC Enhanced.
I am sure it must be something simple. I wonder if I should not have installed OS X 10.38 first?
When I hit record, there is zero bitrate, zero packets stored on the Virtual DVHS. I did follow the instructions and do have a folder in the right place for storing, it stores the name of the files there, but they have no data in them. The AVC looks like this: see jpg .
Will keep reading the messages and maybe someone else did something I forgot.
Thanks for you help.
Phil

Search back through this thread, I think, and find what channel you need to be on (32 I think, your screenshot shows '0'). Someone was having trouble with V-DVHS earlier and needed to switch channels to get a recording to work (though this might have been off a JVC DVHS deck or Sammy Firewire tuner). Also AVC, I think, is able to see what channel to use.

Originally posted by gaderson
Search back through this thread, I think, and find what channel you need to be on (32 I think, your screenshot shows '0'). Someone was having trouble with V-DVHS earlier and needed to switch channels to get a recording to work (though this might have been off a JVC DVHS deck or Sammy Firewire tuner). Also AVC, I think, is able to see what channel to use.


I have read the thread...what a headache. My AVC says channel 0. I have tried every channel as well and none work. There must be something in the way things are set up here that are preventing it from working.
I just reconnected the 6412 while the computer was off and followed all instructions even disconnecting the other 2 HD so there was nothing on the firewire except the 6412. The AVC recognizes it, but when I connect I cannot record...all zero bytes/bit rate.
ARHGGG!
Thanks for trying.

Originally posted by pwat
I have read the thread...what a headache. My AVC says channel 0. I have tried every channel as well and none work. There must be something in the way things are set up here that are preventing it from working.
I just reconnected the 6412 while the computer was off and followed all instructions even disconnecting the other 2 HD so there was nothing on the firewire except the 6412. The AVC recognizes it, but when I connect I cannot record...all zero bytes/bit rate.
ARHGGG!
Thanks for trying.

One other suggestion, use a DVHS deck. I know the 169time guys run their signal through a JVC deck and then to Virtual DVHS. So if you have one, but more likely borrow one, you could check and see if you can record at all. Have you checked your 'local reception' thread to see if others are having trouble with their 6412s?

Originally posted by gaderson
One other suggestion, use a DVHS deck. I know the 169time guys run their signal through a JVC deck and then to Virtual DVHS. So if you have one, but more likely borrow one, you could check and see if you can record at all. Have you checked your 'local reception' thread to see if others are having trouble with their 6412s?
Thanks for the reply.
I don't have a DVHS deck and don't know where to borrow one. What do you mean "local reception thread. I am in the Hartford Ct area.

Hello,

Well I finally got my SA3250HD to work via FW out. I am using AVC Browser and V-DVHS... I am able to capture content from HD and 'digital' channels. The only problem is I am only able to play back HD content using VLC. When I try to play any SD captured video VLC rejects it and fills the message window with "ps warning - garbage at input". I am using TW-CNY -- They stated that standard analog channels would not work with the FW out, but HD and their 'digital' channels will. Are these channels encrypted? or am I missing something?

Also - I am unable to play output from HBO-HD, anyone have any thoughts?

I do see the bit-rate and file-size increase while capturing these channels. A



Thanks!!

Originally posted by pwat
Thanks for the reply.
I don't have a DVHS deck and don't know where to borrow one. What do you mean "local reception thread. I am in the Hartford Ct area.

Go to the Local HDTV Info and Reception (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&forumid=45) threads, and check the threads near you commenting on cable. Mostly you'll be searching to see if anyone knows if the Firewire ports are enabled, and the whether 5C encryption is set (the later means you may not be able to record).
You might also want to check the Recorders & Players (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&forumid=42) for others with your cable box to see if they are able to record through Firewire, and what setting may be needed.

Thanks, will check out those 2 areas and see if anyone around here has got it working.
What a pain!!!

Gaderson,
The Hartford, Ct area is recordable. So the problem must be on my end. Oy!
Guess I have to start all over. I still wonder if it is the OS X 10.38 somehow. Wonder if it is worth going backwards to a previous version?