I was able to a while back as well. It's never worked on an HD channel though. :(

I absolutely HATE TWC.

what are the other options in nyc?

I checked the diagnostics menu and you are correct. CCI is set to once for all channels it seems. My next question is if I had a DVHS recorder, would I still be prevented from recording from the STB? Thanks.
A DVHS recorder will record and playback CCI=record once content from your STB. You can't record that content off the DVHS recorder to your computer via firewire though.
CCI="record once" content is stuck on tape once recorded...

Is there anyplace where HBO isn't 5c protected now?

computer show be able to record 5c-0.
that is my understanding.

what are the other options in nyc?

None, as far as I know. I'm not able to get Comcast or any other network here in NYC so I'm essentially screwed.

Hi Epsilon.

Awesome post. After I repeated your two steps I had to check View -> Show Hidden Devices to see them. And I uninstalled them. However now they simply don't show up as new hardware. My AV/C device is gone completely. Any other ideas?Yeah, I should've mentioned that you also need to check that in DevMgr.

That's odd, are you saying that the New Hardware Wizard doesn't come up when you connect the DVR? Are you sure you uninstalled them and not just disabled them? Perhaps you also need to uninstall AV/C Panel and Unknown device under IEEE 1394 Host Controller or somesuch before re-installing the drivers. Don't forget to disable those two, after you've successfully installed.

ETA: Do realize that the enviroment variable setting I mentioned above, is only active during that command console session. You'll have to repeat it every time you want to do this, including launching devmgmt from that session.

Yeah, I should've mentioned that you also need to check that in DevMgr.

That's odd, are you saying that the New Hardware Wizard doesn't come up when you connect the DVR?
Originally there were three devices that were found when I connected the DVR.
1. AV/C panel
2. AV/C display
3. The DVR device itself
What I'm saying is that the New hardware Found wizard comes up for item 3. Interestingly enough it comes up twice for it. But not for the first two.
Are you sure you uninstalled them and not just disabled them?
Yes absolutely. When I right click there are four options.
1. Update Driver
2. Uninstall
3. Scan for hardware changes
4. Properties
I chose option 2 for all of them.
Perhaps you also need to uninstall AV/C Panel and Unknown device under IEEE 1394 Host Controller or somesuch before re-installing the drivers. Don't forget to disable those two, after you've successfully installed.

Not only did I do that I uninstalled the 1394 Host Controller itself. Essentially removing any mention of firewire devices in Device Manager. And then rebooted.

ETA: Do realize that the enviroment variable setting I mentioned above, is only active during that command console session. You'll have to repeat it every time you want to do this, including launching devmgmt from that session.
Yeah no problem there. Supposedly I'm a computer programmer during the day. :o Even if I can't figure out how to clean up my own computer. This thing definitely has me stumped.

I'll take any ideas at all. Anything. I would so hate to reinstall the IS to get rid of a pair of drivers.

Thanks.
Rudy

Can anyone help me? Whenever I start a recording with CapDVHS it crashes right after it begins the recording. I'm not sure what the problem is...
Screenshot is of what happens after is starts to record.

Rudy: I'm not sure which DVR you have; if it's a Motorola and you don't need MCE support, you may want to try the drivers from here: http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html#Setting_up_for_drivers_for_DCT6412

I still use those with no problems.

Rudy: I'm not sure which DVR you have; if it's a Motorola and you don't need MCE support, you may want to try the drivers from here: http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html#Setting_up_for_drivers_for_DCT6412

I still use those with no problems.
Hmm confession time. My source is a TV. A Sony kdsr50xbr1. I initially used the following link to set it up. http://hdjunkie.com/tutorials.html
and it worked very well. I was able to record 1080i off of my TV tuner over firewire and after conversion watch it. I then made the mistake of istalling firestb.msi and now my AV/C panel has evaporated. It's like it was never on my system. I need to uninstall firestb.msi drivers from my system somehow. :(
It looks like the only way to get those off the system is to reinstall XP, which for me would be a huge hasle. Which I would add to the OP. Unless I'm missing something obvious.

Thanks epsilon for sticking with this. If you or anyone else have any ideas I'd love to hear them. I would love to find the email address of the firestb.msi writer to see which sys and inf files it writes onto the system so I could delete those and hopefully get this thing off my system.

Thanks.
Rudy

P.S. My system is XP SP2 and no MCE.

I always like to ask this after a certain amount of time as I'd like to attempt to transfer some .ts files to DVHS tape over firewire.

Has anyone ever successfully managed to make a smooth transfer? I've never been able to do it and threw in the towel years ago. I'm hoping Vista fixes the problem but I'm not expecting anything (in fact I don't even expect Vista64 to have drivers).

Am I going to have to give in and buy a MAC? I really don't want to.:(

Randy: I believe Tim Moore wrote firestb.msi. You can find his contact info here: http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/wsb/html/view.cgi-contact.html-.html

You may also want to read the greebutton thread (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/98944.aspx), as well as search greenbutton for other threads containg "Tim Moore". Finally if you google "Tim Moore firewire", you should find several discussions on the drivers.

Randy: I believe Tim Moore wrote firestb.msi. You can find his contact info here: http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/wsb/html/view.cgi-contact.html-.html

You may also want to read the greebutton thread (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/98944.aspx), as well as search greenbutton for other threads containg "Tim Moore". Finally if you google "Tim Moore firewire", you should find several discussions on the drivers.If that's addressed to me those drivers are not DVHS device drivers, just for Firewire STBs.

Sorry Dave, I posted that before I saw your post.

Randy: I believe Tim Moore wrote firestb.msi. You can find his contact info here: http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/wsb/html/view.cgi-contact.html-.html

You may also want to read the greebutton thread (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/98944.aspx), as well as search greenbutton for other threads containg "Tim Moore". Finally if you google "Tim Moore firewire", you should find several discussions on the drivers.
Thanks E.

I will email him only as a last resort. I'll go through the links and info you provided first. In fact he may well be too busy to answer me anyway. I'm surprised more people are not having this problem. Oh well, off I go.

Huge thanks for everything.
Rudy

You're welcome, Rudy. One thing I forgot to mention is, if you have a restore point earlier than the installation of firestb.msi, you may want to give that a shot. Not recommended if you've made a lot of changes to your system since then, but you may want to give a shot anyway since you can always undo the restore if other things break.

As a last restort, if you have a second partition, you can make a fresh XP installation and use dual-boot for your capturing needs.

Can anyone help me? Whenever I start a recording with CapDVHS it crashes right after it begins the recording. I'm not sure what the problem is...
Screenshot is of what happens after is starts to record.

Do you have TWC? That's what happened to me. Always crashed and never got it to work.

You're welcome, Rudy. One thing I forgot to mention is, if you have a restore point earlier than the installation of firestb.msi, you may want to give that a shot. Not recommended if you've made a lot of changes to your system since then, but you may want to give a shot anyway since you can always undo the restore if other things break.

As a last restort, if you have a second partition, you can make a fresh XP installation and use dual-boot for your capturing needs.

Unfortunately I wasn't using the restore option. Since in th epast I was able to undo the things that I installed with reasonable effort. This is the first piece of software that is undeletable. At least in my experience. :(
I read the Greenbutton threads and in one post someone seemed to think that these device drivers are in oem*.inf which I removed. And still no soup for me. Kind of amazing really if you think about it.
I have a brand new drive that I can do a fresh install on, but the time and the effort to transition all my apps and settings is going to be enormous. Sigh. Oh well. Thanks.

Rudy

Do you have TWC? That's what happened to me. Always crashed and never got it to work.

I have Charter. I think all of the channels are protected because even after I got it to stop crashing all of the recordings would end up 0 bytes. Oh well.

i get the same crash in CapDVHS too, is there a solution to this? I just talked to TWC in Austin and he said the problem was SA hadn't written the firmware for the firewire port, so it can't be used yet. So i'm guessing we'll never get it working.

I'm in North Dallas (Richardson), and TWC (was Comcast) "upgraded" their cable system yesterday. I've had to trade up my 6408 to a 6412 III today in order to get TV service again.

Unforunately, my PC no longer detects the Firewire! I've tried trading the box again as well as uninstalling the "hidden" a/v device. My PC just does not seem to detect the cable device when I plug it in.

The diagnostic screen on the 6412 III does show Firewire as "INST" but active ports as 0.

Anyone know if I should be able to use the Firewire port on the 6412 III? I've talked to a couple of reps at TWC, but not surprisingly they have no idea what I'm talking about.... Any other diagnostic I can perform? TIA.

I see some reference to "re-associating" the driver to a new box.. Is there instruction somewhere on how to do this? I've already uninstalled whatever I could find in the device manager, and my PC is not seeing the new cable box when I connect the Firewire cable.

Hey, I finally got it to work! Here's what I did in case anyone else runs into the same issue after swapping out a box. I have two PCs with Firewire, so I connected them to each other. After that, I disconnected and reconnected the Fireware cable to the 6412 III, and ta-da, my PC sees the box. I install the driver as I've done w/ the 6408 before, and was able to record over Firewire again.

All these firewire issues lead me to an obvious question; is there any software, preferably freeware, available for testing firewire ports? I can't tell for sure which of my ports work, how well they work, what is attached.

Same question also for USB1x, USB2 ports.

Thank You In Advance For All Replies.

Does a pc recognize a cc that is inserted? Looks like it will fit...Of course no external output on it but if its installed can you then use a 1394 and have the 3216 recognize pc as valid recorder?

My pc seemingly passes the detected stb signal from the stb thru the firewire to my pc and out via 1394 to the tv fine. I just wonder if a cc in the pc might somehow allow digital recording to pc for handy backup of licensed digital content.

I have a brief summary of what I have to working with.

Motorolla 3216 or 6412 III STBs
firewire port
hdmi port
components
USB & SATA ports. These are reportedly always disabled.
5c=1, 2 stations only my area. Lucky eh?

PCs:
usb 2.0
ieee nics
wmc sp2 & xppro sp2. Can get vista in november if needed.
will add external storage media yet to be decided if able to crack this nut
Small home network both wired/wireless

TV:
cablecard Installed
hdmi x2
ieee x2 (ilink)
component connections
vga
svideo
OTA Tuner.
Digital Optical Out

Capture SW:
capdvhs
vlc

"Record and playback via IEEE 1394 (a.k.a. Firewire) with linux!" Thread Coming to this forum soon !

Anybody having problems since Comcast pushed the new firmware?

Kinda weird results here. No error messages and the file size looks right. But there is no data in the data window and the file isn't playable.

Looking at the diags, 1394 is enabled but not active (5C=no). Shouldn't it show as active?

Anybody having problems since Comcast pushed the new firmware?

Kinda weird results here. No error messages and the file size looks right. But there is no data in the data window and the file isn't playable.

Looking at the diags, 1394 is enabled but not active (5C=no). Shouldn't it show as active?

I haven't been able to record via firewire from Comcast SA3250 STB's since January of this year. I hooked up VLC to the STB today and I have very garbled results. This his happening with 2 identical MCE machines going against two different SA3250's. I also hooked up a straight WinXP SP2 laptop using VLC and got the same result.

The STB's have firmware 1.58.7.1 I think this is what has pooched it. I've put a few postings over at thegreeenbutton.com, but nobody seems to have any ideas.

What type of STB are you running and what firmware does it have?

Someone on page 90ish had a similar issue as I do. I am getting audio and video with the VLC program while it streams but when I close that program to record via the DVHS program. While it does record it doesnt record any audio. While it's recording I see the stats of the video but there is no stats for audio so it's stopping at the program. I have all the checks that are listed in the first post of this great thread but the audio is still not working. Now remember.....I get both 5.1 audio and the HD video through VLC.

Any help?

In the drop down box I am bringing in the stream(DVHS) using the motorola 6412 Unknown video #1 and there is a second device in the dropdown called Motorola 6412 Tuner but when I try recorded I get an error saying something about grabbersample error. Am I supposed to have 2 devices??? theres so many options in this program that its so hard to narrow down the problem....anyways any offerings of advice?

I'm running a Moto3416 16.20

Hoping someone who has a similar STB and has firewire working will tell me if their 1394 shows active. (power, OK, OK, scroll to d11, right arrow)

Ahigee, the two choices of devices isn't a problem. You are simulating a DVHS deck, so you don't use the 'tuner' one.

[update] I can capture from the non-HD channels, which I think other people have
also reported.

[further update] Using VLC while changing the cable channel, I discovered two of our local stations (co-owned) are the problem. ABC & NBC.

Called comcast and the guy let me know in no uncertain terms that they owned my box, not me, and they do not "support" 1394 out. It's in the contract. Take a hike, go cry to the FCC.... goodbye.

Is anyone still capping non-5C material with an SA3250 (SARA 1.58.7.1)? I can not seem to get mine to work for the life of me. I have read and read and read and read this post, but I could be missing something.

I tried the firestb.zip files first and that didnt work at all. So I started to look for the directions for the meidvhs drivers and couldnt find them. They worked for me about a year ago, so I figured they would work for me now, but I cant remember how to install them and I cant find the directions here anywhere. I thought they were on the first page of this post, but I was wrong.

If anyone can help me, I would be VERY VERY appreciative. Its after 3AM here and I have been searching and testing for hours with no luck. Please please help..

Drew

Drew, the secret to installing the mei drivers is understanding that you want the PC to pretend to be a Panasonic tape device. Just say NO to anything windows suggests until you get a 'have disk' button, then point to meitape.inf. Skip any device labeled panel or tuner.

In my atttempt to get the 6412 working again, I had tried using firestb.msi at some point. Now that I've got 6412 working as I had w/ the 6408 before, I no longer need the firestb.msi.

I did not find an uninstall for firestb.msi, so I simply deleted whatever was in the installed directory. However, now whenever I reboot my Windows XP, firestb.msi install kicks in.

I've looked in my start-up folder and the registry run entries and don't see anything. The only thing I've been able to do is deleting the firestb.msi file itself. This is fine, except msiexec will still start everytime I reboot, not finding firestb.msi, and give up. It's still rather annoying.

Does anyone know how to stop msiexec from doing this? TIA.

NEWBIE HERE:

I am using a Motorola DCT 64 12/2005 DVR cable box. I realize I need a 6 pin Firewire cord for that box, correct?

My question is: What end to I need for my Emachines home PC? Can I use a USB port? I'm not sure my PC has a firewire port, is that a normal port on a home PC?

Thanks

PS what is the longest cord sold? I need a long one. Who sells the long cords?

Answering my own question.. I ended up reinstalling firestb and then using Microsoft's "Windows Install Clean Up" utility to remove the MCE 2500 entry. After that I'm able to just delete the shortcut and files created by firestb w/o the reboot-reinstall problem.

Is anyone still capping non-5C material with an SA3250 (SARA 1.58.7.1)? I can not seem to get mine to work for the life of me. I have read and read and read and read this post, but I could be missing something.

I tried the firestb.zip files first and that didnt work at all. So I started to look for the directions for the meidvhs drivers and couldnt find them. They worked for me about a year ago, so I figured they would work for me now, but I cant remember how to install them and I cant find the directions here anywhere. I thought they were on the first page of this post, but I was wrong.

If anyone can help me, I would be VERY VERY appreciative. Its after 3AM here and I have been searching and testing for hours with no luck. Please please help..

Drew

As you saw in my post... no luck on capturing from 3250.

Does anyone have a suggestion on what STB to use with FIRESTB on comcast?

Drew, to answer your question about a location for the MEIDVHS go here:
http://hdjunkie.com/tutorials.html

He has a walkthrough. FWIW I used this for the laptop I mentioned in the last post and it didn't make a difference for me. Hope you have better luck. Please post the outcome.

I am trying to record with a JVC 40K DVHS deck and MyHD capture card.
I downloaded the meidvhs drivers and Windows finally recognized the VCR.

Unfortunately I can't seem to get data to stream. I am using DVHSTool, which used to work fine back when I had a JVC 30K deck and Windows XP without an SP.

1) When I try and read a show from tape, it says "Capture complete" immediately and never writes the file.
2) When I try and write a show to tape, it says "Recording, writing leader (delay)" and never actually shows any progress in the status window.

Does anyone have any idea what is causing the problem?

thanks,

John

Thanks for the help guys..

YourMomma.. I am in an old Adelphia market switching to Comcast, so I am in the same boat as you. I actually work for the cable company, so I have done research with SA about the firewire port. To answer your question, I think the only chance we had was the 3250. The 8300 reboots when I try it on there. We dont have 4200s here, but if you do, give that box a shot. I will bring an 8000HD (8010) home and try that also.

I havent had a chance to try it since I posted, but I will try these suggestions and get back to you. I am at work right now, but I will try when I get home.

This really stinks because it used to work great. OTH, I didnt install the mei* drivers properly this time, so I will try that.

Thanks again guys,

Drew

Many people, including myself, have reported here that passport 4.2 build 68 has introduced a bug that prevents recording via 1394(firewire) to a PC (or to a DVHS player for that matter).

My service provider is Comcast in the Seattle area and I have the DCT 3412. In the last couple weeks, I've been able to capture from all HD channels except Fox-HD. Anybody else seeing this or have any idea what might be the cause? I'm getting the .ts file, but neither mpeg2repair or Womble are able to open it. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

Tim

That channel is probably copy-protected.

If this doesnt want to work, I may just bring my box back and buy a MyHD card and capture that way. Its much less of a headache it seems. And I am all about less headaches lately...

i confirmed that channel 713 in nyc, pbs hd, showed copy freely on it.

Yet another Newb here. (at least with this stuff)

I successfully captured a 2 hours ALMS race from my Moto 6416 (with Passport..CoxOC CA) to my Dell I9300 Laptop. A 2.7Gb .ts file. I tried to edit out commercials with H2M (kept getting multiple files, then cleared all so I could at least finish this first project. I need a help guide for this program! Anyone?) I then used H2D to create the DVD files needed.

Problem is those files are now 6.8Gb....to large for one DVD. (although capable, I don't have any DL media for it, and feel I should be able to get a 2 hour show on a 4.7 Gb DVD!)

So any ideas? I guess I need help guides for these programs, and a way to compress the file. (not crazy about losing any detail) Not sure why it grew so much.......

That channel is probably copy-protected.It never has been before. It seems strange that they would suddenly go to the trouble of flipping the flag on FOX-HD but not do anything with Discovery-HD or INHD (or ESPN-HD or ESPN2HD).

Besides, I get files that have something wrong with the header but otherwise seem to be the right filesize for how long I captured. Anybody know anything that might be able to work with such a file (Womble and Mpeg2repair won't open them)?

Not really, all those channels are copy protected 24/7 here. Maybe this is just the start of it for you.

That's exactly what happens when the channel is protected. It records a huuge file (as long as you record the file gets larger and larger) but it's blank... it won't play.

Not really, all those channels are copy protected 24/7 here. Maybe this is just the start of it for you.

That's exactly what happens when the channel is protected. It records a huuge file (as long as you record the file gets larger and larger) but it's blank... it won't play.It was my understanding that copy-protection is supposed to be triggered at a network's head-end - not at the local level. Why would some people be getting the copy never or copy once flags while others are getting copy free? Besides, shouldn't everything that's not a premium channel get at least a copy once flag for passing through a D-VHS machine? Isn't this supposed to be applied consistently?

Thanks,

Tim

No luck YourMomma, I think we are screwed until SA releases a firmware that will restore recording capabilities. Like I said, I think I am going to get a MyHD card and do it that way. If I do come across anything, I will let you know though.

Thanks for the links.

Drew

No luck YourMomma, I think we are screwed until SA releases a firmware that will restore recording capabilities. Like I said, I think I am going to get a MyHD card and do it that way. If I do come across anything, I will let you know though.

Thanks for the links.

Drew

Drew,
Thanks for the update. Finally someone else to confirm what I've found.

By chance did you try using VLC? You should find that it will connect to the firewire stream but what you see is crap.

I've been thinking of getting an HD card and trying either QAM or OTA. I had been thinking about DVICO, and was reading at their site when I had a flash. Are we possibly seeing subchannels muxed into the same stream? I'd love to see what firmware 1.58.7.1 was supposed to fix and/or do.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start researching about HD cards?

It was my understanding that copy-protection is supposed to be triggered at a network's head-end - not at the local level. Why would some people be getting the copy never or copy once flags while others are getting copy free? Besides, shouldn't everything that's not a premium channel get at least a copy once flag for passing through a D-VHS machine? Isn't this supposed to be applied consistently?

I think some markets have broken / not implemented 5c yet, that's why.

It just depends on where you live (or what "head end" you are on, maybe what STB you are using)...

In my area, NBC (Jay Leno and SNL in HD) works most of the time, I can't record anything on CBS-HD (705). Nothing works period. The 5c appears to be off in the service menu but it won't record regardless... ABC works for local programming (which is 99% NOT Hi-Def) but not for ABC network shows (Pixar animation in HD on Wonderful World of Disney? NOPE can't record it via FW).

We've never (never) been able to record INHD (including local FSN sports teams like SF Giants or A's) or ESPN (1 or 2) or of course, any of the premium channels (HBO...) These are all protected 24/7, even when showing local sports programming.

Is there any method to this madness? As someone once said, "I don't see.... any method at all..." :rolleyes:

As for DVHS machines, we're talking about WinXP here right? If the 5c=1 (copy once) you can NOT record it either. Anything other than 5c=0 is a big NO GO.

I do know for a fact that if you try to record a protected channel, it will make a really large file, but it's filled with nothing. It throws up error messages when you try to play it back... I can email you one of these if you like (good luck!) hehe.

The only good thing is that you can tell if it will record or not. I use CapDVHS and it will show video data (frame size, i.e. 1920x1080, 1280x720 etc) and some other info if the stream is recordable. Otherwise it's just blank - then you know it's no good.

walk,

Thanks - I've been seeing that the frame size is blank on these captures that don't open, but is there any way to see the flag on the file on the DVR? The only place I see 5c mentioned on the DVR is under the Interface Status screen of the service menu and every time I've looked it says "0". How 'bout if I record a segment to my 40k DVHS? Will that tell me anything more?

Tim

You can tell the flag on the DVR by looking at the CCI status. If it's 0x02, then it's copy once and that copy is to the DVR's drive. No firewire out possible.

I know in my market, I used to be able to cap CBSHD, NESNHD and PBSHD BEFORE the firmware upgrade. Any other HD channel is 5C encrypted. The problem that YourMomma and I are having is from the box itself, not the stream from the headend.

I, myself have been in the headend and looked at the QAM modulators for all the HD QAMs and can verify these (CBS, NESN, PBS) are NOT copy protected channels. We are in the process of getting ABC and FOX HD and those will not be encrypted either. We encrypt the SD digital counterparts, but not the HD.

YourMomma, I will see what I can find out from SA on the FW upgrade and what it was supposed to "fix". I can try to find out when the next scheduled FW is going to be rolled out. But who knows, by then we could be capping just fine from a QAM tuner!

Drew

P.S. YourMomma, a lot of what I read is that MyHD cards are the way to go. I have been looking at buying a MDP-130. There is a huge thread on here about that card.. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=493691&highlight=myhd

And the meta FAQ..
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=647837

If someone has something better, please let us know. Thanks

Like I said, here CBS (705) shows 5c=0 but I still can't record it for some reason. This might be the same situation with Fox in your area, and I couldn't tell you why that is... I've never gotten an answer from anyone. But I know for-sure if it says 5c=1 or 2 or anything else, you won't be able to record it.

The only way the DVHS will help you figure this out is maybe if you can record it to DVHS and it works, and THEN re-record that on a PC (or another DVHS) it might tell you something about the copy-protection status.

You can tell the flag on the DVR by looking at the CCI status. If it's 0x02, then it's copy once and that copy is to the DVR's drive. No firewire out possible.

Are you sure of this? I had always assumed that CCI=2 (copy once), would allow one additional copy to a real DVHS device that was licensed and could do the key exchange, as oppsed to the free software solutions that are not so licensed.

If you are correct , then Microsoft's licensed HD media center implemtation on Vista is not going to be very useful with firewire.

I, myself have been in the headend and looked at the QAM modulators for all the HD QAMs and can verify these (CBS, NESN, PBS) are NOT copy protected channels. We are in the process of getting ABC and FOX HD and those will not be encrypted either. We encrypt the SD digital counterparts, but not the HD.
Well don't mix "encrypted" with "copy protected" they are 2 very different things.

None of the local channels should be "encrypted", they are actually required by FCC law to be "clear-QAM" so you can watch them on a QAM tuner (no Cable-Card req.). That says nothing about the copy-protection status. That supposedly comes from the content provider, and (if everything is working right... see above) they can and do have the ability to turn copy-protection on for certain programs, or not. Like I said I've been able to record ABC at certain times (and it says 5c=0) but not for ie. Disney/Pixar animated shows (it says 5c=1).

Interestingly, I was able to capture from FOX-HD last night, so I'm guessing the restriction I'm running into must be that 5C flagging on that channel is being exercised on a case-by-case basis. Unfortunately, I was hoping to get some captures from the classic Seahawks-Rams game for posterity in HD and have been unable to. Hopefully, I can at least get the desired segments to D-VHS tape (much less-desireable media).

For the life of me, I can't figure out why the NFL would assign 5C restrictions on some games and not others. I was able to make captures from last night's game on ESPN-HD without any trouble at all. Could it be that this flagging is being done by Comcast and not the NFL?

Are there any other options for me to save HD-resolution captures from the Seahawks-Rams game I still have on the DVR?

Hey Walk,

I do understand what you are saying. They (SD digitals) are encrypted. The FCC only requires what is availible OTA to be "clear-QAM". There is no SD digital OTA, as the networks themselves only broadcast analog and HD over air, so we can actually encrypt the SD digital counterparts. The SD digital is part of our ADS (All Digital Simulcast).

I am in no way an expert or trying to be one, its just the way it is here.

I thought the broadcast flags (from the content providers) didnt go into effect until next year?

hello i've been watching this thread for awhile now, and i am interested in this process i have a motorola dvr but not quite sure how to find my model # i knew it at one point in time, but forgot it. i have sever connectors on the back, 2 firwire, 1 ethernet, and 1 usb. my cable provider is time warner. any info would be great, I'm going to go pick up a cable thursday. Btw my box is about 3-4 months old.

my dvr also has a dual tuner and is hd/tv capable

Isn't the model marked on the back panel somewhere?

Hey everyone-
This forum is really helpful and I'm looking into hacking my Motorola 6200, but I want to know can I watch one show while recording another? I'm wondering since the DCT6200 has 2x 1394 ports. Thanks.
-DP

You can tell the flag on the DVR by looking at the CCI status. If it's 0x02, then it's copy once and that copy is to the DVR's drive. No firewire out possible.Tonight I tuned both tuners to FOX-HD during the baseball game and looked at the channel status. CCI was 0x02. When I had checked it last night during regular programming it was 0x00. 5C for the box is always showing 0.

So my question is, how is the CCI set? Is it set by the producer, the network, the station, the provider, or ???

Tim

Hey everyone-
This forum is really helpful and I'm looking into hacking my Motorola 6200, but I want to know can I watch one show while recording another? I'm wondering since the DCT6200 has 2x 1394 ports. Thanks.
-DPThe 6200 only has one tuner, but it still allows you to play a show off the hard drive while the tuner is being used to record another.

Tim

So my question is, how is the CCI set? Is it set by the producer, the network, the station, the provider, or ???
Tim

I would like to know that also. I called Comcast, and they told me to go away, they own the box and they don't provide support for 1394 issues. I called the station and the tech guy is on vacation.

COOL

:D

works great for me using d-vhs capture... I don't have an MCE compatible tuner though... any chance I could get this working with Beyond TV? Heh... heh...

...If local HD channels over cable have 5C on, that is ILLEGAL and prohibited per the FCC. You should call the cable company and try to get to someone who knows what you are talking about. The first thing I would ask the person who answers the phone is "Do you know what 5C is?" If the answer is no, ask to be transferred to a higher up or someone in engineering.Does anybody know if this is really true??? Where can I find that statute and who would back me up?

I had only been having trouble capturing certain shows (namely MLB Baseball and NFL Football) from our local FOX affiliate (KCPQ-DT) over the last week or so. Until Tuesday night when for the first time ever I ran into the same problem with our local CBS affiliate (KIRO-DT) when trying to capture the Maria Sharapova segment on Letterman. Each time the faulty recordings create a file whose size was commensurate with how long I captured, but the resolution in CAPDVHS stayed blank during the recording. I looked at the CCI status while such programming was on and it said 0x02. I've looked since then during other programming and CCI was 0x00.

Now 5C for my box (Motorola DCT-3412) remains at "0", so CCI is apparently being toggle back and forth (on certain locals) at someone's whim. I really want to know where it's being done so I know who to appeal to.

Can anybody please help?

Thanks!

Tim

I just wanted to throw in a quick woo hoo and thank you for this thread. I got this working with capdvhs then with sageTV (which is kind of a pain in sageTV). I havent found a 5c channel yet. I dont have a tuner in my computer I just use the 62xx box. It works great with analog and digital channels. No problems with hd. On one computer I had to do that firewire patch from microsoft but on this new computer I didnt have to. One time the cable box shut off on its own while I was recording and once channelw locked up but I think the box was upgrading when both of the happened. I turned it on this morning and charter had a new guide up so I'm gonna guess it was that. Worked fine so far today.

Thanks to everyone on this thread!

Before I read through 103 pages can someone tell me if this will work with the DCT3412?

There's a little window up close to the top that says search this thread. I typed in 3412 & this is what came up. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/search.php?searchid=13889979

Before I read through 103 pages can someone tell me if this will work with the DCT3412?It's working great with my 3412 capturing to a Dell Inspiron 8600 notebook PC through a 25-foot cable (make sure it's a quality cable). The only problems I have is when the cable company uses improper CCI settings on a couple channels (according to FCC documentation, CCI is supposed to be left at "0" (copy any) for OTA locals). Good luck!

Tim

(according to FCC documentation, CCI is supposed to be left at "0" (copy any) for OTA locals).

Tim

Can you point out what FCC order says that? The best I can find is 5C must be zero, but no mention of CCI.

And then looking at the CCI specs, it's a Cable Card thing. So it would seem the STBs should ignore it since they don't have CCs.

Can you point out what FCC order says that? The best I can find is 5C must be zero, but no mention of CCI...Channels that are broadcast unencrypted over the air should always be set to "copy freely" (0x00) according to Code of Federal Regulations Title 47, Chapter I, Subchapter C, Part 76, specifically §76.1904, paragraph (a) (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=c1af73cf8621f5f48a59994e0a682317&rgn=div8&view=text&node=47:4.0.1.1.4.23.3.4&idno=47).

...And then looking at the CCI specs, it's a Cable Card thing. So it would seem the STBs should ignore it since they don't have CCs.As far as I can tell, the 5C (referencing the 5 Corporations who devised DTCP) setting is a characterization of STB-wide (anything the box outputs) behavior. In contrast, I believe the CCI (Copy Control Information) is embedded in the program-specific MPEG stream - the presence of a cable card notwithstanding.

Please correct me if this is in error.

Tim

Thanks very much tluxon.

The only caveat I see (in arguing with Comcast) is the following:
"shall not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying thereof by covered products".

What is the 'covered product'? If it's the STB, fine. If it's the device output to (HTPC), not so fine since it doesn't comply with any DRM.

Reading back about a month ago on this thread, I see some of what we're talking about has already been discussed. Based on what I've read over the last few days and reconciling that with the symptoms I've experienced, I think what Ron (dr1394) said in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8520228&&#post8520228) may explain it best.

DTCP/5C is (or was) an approved way of implementing the Broadcast Flag, so they are tied together. In DTCP, there is a special mode called EPN (Encryption Plus Non-assertion). In this mode, the stream is encrypted, but the CCI is set to "Copy-free". By encrypting the stream, redistribution (especially to PC's) is controlled. But with DTCP devices, copying is unlimited.

My guess is that what folks are seeing with the inability to record OTA stations is an implementation of the Broadcast Flag that was never turned off when the Broadcast Flag was repealed. Many OTA stations are still sending the Broadcast Flag in their bitstreams. The cable companies and STB's were ready for the Broadcast Flag, so the software exists (remember, it got repealed at the last second).

People complain when an OTA stations forgets to "flip the switch" to HD. In this case, the cable companies and OTA stations have forgot to "flip the switch" back to no Broadcast Flag and/or recognition of it.

Ron

So I'm thinking we may have to work this out with the TV stations themselves.

Tim

Just curious if I'm doing something wrong. Mytray changes channels and Mytray says its recording but all I get is a 14k unplayable file whenever I try to record anything over firewire.

Thanks

Interestingly, I was able to capture from FOX-HD last night, so I'm guessing the restriction I'm running into must be that 5C flagging on that channel is being exercised on a case-by-case basis. Unfortunately, I was hoping to get some captures from the classic Seahawks-Rams game for posterity in HD and have been unable to. Hopefully, I can at least get the desired segments to D-VHS tape (much less-desireable media).

For the life of me, I can't figure out why the NFL would assign 5C restrictions on some games and not others. I was able to make captures from last night's game on ESPN-HD without any trouble at all. Could it be that this flagging is being done by Comcast and not the NFL?

Are there any other options for me to save HD-resolution captures from the Seahawks-Rams game I still have on the DVR?

I'm having the same problem. I tried recording the Cards-Tigers World Series game from my Comcast 3412 and was unable to. I did record it to the DVR. Am I stuck or might it be possible to transfer that to a PC?

I'm having the same problem. I tried recording the Cards-Tigers World Series game from my Comcast 3412 and was unable to. I did record it to the DVR. Am I stuck or might it be possible to transfer that to a PC?The only options with the CCI set to "2" are to either record to D-VHS (where it can't go any further) or to record the composite outs (480i). I chose to record the 480i output to an attached ReplayTV where I could download the files to a PC. It's 16:9 but it sure isn't HD. :(

Tim

5c can be turned on or off for specific programs. Ie. you might be able to record your local news/etc but when it switches over to network programming you may not.

Keep in mind the PC is not a 5c-approved device (yet) so even if it's set to =1 (copy once) as per the FCC regulations you still won't be able to record it to a PC (but would be able to with a real DVHS deck).

edit: you can record anything to the internal DVR of course, but not everything to a PC via 1394.

5c can be turned on or off for specific programs. Ie. you might be able to record your local news/etc but when it switches over to network programming you may not.

Keep in mind the PC is not a 5c-approved device (yet) so even if it's set to =1 (copy once) as per the FCC regulations you still won't be able to record it to a PC (but would be able to with a real DVHS deck).

edit: you can record anything to the internal DVR of course, but not everything to a PC via 1394.I've yet to see 5C set at anything other than "0". All I've seen is the CCI (Copy Control Information) setting that's embedded in the Mpeg stream toggle between "0x00" and "0x02" from our local FOX affiliate.

What do you mean by "...set to =1 (copy once) as per the FCC regulations"? I haven't been able to find such FCC regulations that are currently in effect.

Tim

I have the same problem trying to record sports on Fox.

5c is off, but 0x02 is on.

hi,
Using a 3412 with firmware 12.22. I got the device recognized and the driver installed but when I use Capdvhs it doesn't work. I downloaded the Windows XP SP2 1394/firewire patch but it won't install (gets error messages.) Any ideas?

thanks

I cant for the life of me get my box working. i have a moto 6200 box, is not dvr but has the firewire portsm i get the drivers installed fine and it says its working but i get nothing trying to record via Capdvhs and vlc just sits there, now do i have to use the drivers for the moto 6200 or force it to use the panasonic dvhs?

Ive tryed both and can not get it working.......

Try this: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR and look for the Firewire link.

It also depends on what you are capturing. HBO, SHOWTIME, CINEMAX, and STARZ are all encrypted and won't record.

well thanks for your help i got it working but i guess comcast has lock all, except 2-32 for me ........ :mad: :mad: :mad:

My DVR doesnt have a fire wire... Just sata, USB, S video ..... What do I do?

I've yet to see 5C set at anything other than "0". All I've seen is the CCI (Copy Control Information) setting that's embedded in the Mpeg stream toggle between "0x00" and "0x02" from our local FOX affiliate.

What do you mean by "...set to =1 (copy once) as per the FCC regulations"? I haven't been able to find such FCC regulations that are currently in effect.

Tim
Just quoting what others have said here, I don't know anything about it personally. Supposedly.... FCC requires local OTA channels to be recordable via Firewire (but it has to be a 5c compliant device, which XP is not). There's a sticky thread here about it.

Just quoting what others have said here, I don't know anything about it personally. Supposedly.... FCC requires local OTA channels to be recordable via Firewire (but it has to be a 5c compliant device, which XP is not). There's a sticky thread here about it.Well, I'm not sure about the source of what others are saying, but that doesn't seem consistent with how I read the Telecommunication section of the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) ( Code of Federal Regulations Title 47, Chapter I, Subchapter C, Part 76, specifically §76.1904, paragraph (a) (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=c1af73cf8621f5f48a59994e0a682317&rgn=div8&view=text&node=47:4.0.1.1.4.23.3.4&idno=47)).

I'm not a lawyer, but it seems pretty clear to me in reading the above summary and then browsing through the pages linked from Subpart W--Encoding Rules (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr;sid=2d31437f87e8937fb7f860afdc0ced6b;rgn=div6;vie w=text;node=47%3A4.0.1.1.4.23;idno=47;cc=ecfr), that programming content that originates unencrypted over the air must never be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying. In other words, any programming that is broadcast over the air (whether network, Hi-Def, or whatever) must have CCI=0x00 encoding. The only exceptions I see are for video-on-demand, pay-per-view, or pay television transmissions.

Am I reading this wrong?

...
§ 76.1904 Encoding rules for defined business models.

(a) Commercial audiovisual content delivered as unencrypted broadcast television shall not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying thereof by covered products or, to constrain the resolution of the image when output from a covered product.

(b) Except for a specific determination made by the Commission pursuant to a petition with respect to a defined business model other than unencrypted broadcast television, or an undefined business model subject to the procedures set forth in §76.1906:

(1) Commercial audiovisual content shall not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying thereof except as follows:

(i) To prevent or limit copying of video-on-demand or pay-per-view transmissions, subject to the requirements of paragraph (b)(2) of this section; and

(ii) To prevent or limit copying, other than first generation of copies, of pay television transmissions, non-premium subscription television, and free conditional access delivery transmissions; and

(2) With respect to any commercial audiovisual content delivered or transmitted in form of a video-on-demand or pay-per-view transmission, a covered entity shall not encode such content so as to prevent a covered product, without further authorization, from pausing such content up to 90 minutes from initial transmission by the covered entity (e.g., frame-by-frame, minute-by-minute, megabyte by megabyte).
...

Having a very odd issue here.
Cox San Diego using SA8300HD with SARA 1.88.19.1

Couple weeks ago I looked at my diagnostic menu and saw that the 1394 ports were NOT active.So a call to my cable co was made and was told they would be activated within 24hrs.Fair enough.Well much longer has gone by and still reads DISABLED
So I thought why not try and see if I can get something.Maybe it just says that and I can record via 1394
Well after following the instructions here (http://hdjunkie.com/tutorials.html) I was ready to go.One thing I did notice was that now that I had a firewire cable connected, the diagnostic menu read UNAVAILABLE this time under the 1394 ports.I paid no mind and went on to record.
Here is where it gets strange.

I first tried live recording.No go.Not any channel.Well that sucks.Guess I need to call the cable co again.But wait, let me see if I can get things I have recorded from different channels.
I first try CHRONOS from INHD - CapDVHS crashes after about 1min and gives me a very watchable 100mb clip.I thought this was odd and tried a few times and got the same result.CapDVHS would crash.
I then moved on to a channel I know shouldnt have any problems and no 5c junk.I try a recording from my local channel 10 ( ABCHD ) and same thing.So I think, well this couldnt be a 5c thing could it?
So I move onto a recording of Metal Mainia from VH1 Classic which is like channel 300's and would think had 5c and no way to capture.Well I was wrong! I captured 30min worth just fine ( got me some cool 80's metal videos now! )
So I thought that was odd that everything was fine with that channel.
Just to remind you, all these tests are being done on recordings I did over time.Nothing here is from live recordings as for whatever reason I cant.These are all on my DVR waiting to be transfered if they can.
So getting back.I tried something I have on INHD2.I tried The Philadelphia Experiment and as with the music videos, all was good.I for 20min of that and no CapDVHS crash.
I tried then to get a cool program I saved on Discovery HD called Sharks Under Glass.Well even though my diagnostic menu reads FREELY ( as do all channels I have worked with so far ) I got about 20 seconds and CapDvhs crashed.

So here I have a 8300HD that tells me my 1394 ports are no go.That tell me my good HD channels are set to FREELY and I am only getting scattered results.
Both INHD and INHD2 are set to freely yet can only get one to record ( INHD2 )
Can record VH1 Classic but not something local and available OTA and not set with 5c

Can anyone tell me what is going on?
I am using a Gateway Laptop with XP home SP2 as I only have a 3ft firewire cable and main PC is too far away from 8300HD

Ok, I started reading this thread but I am stuck. I have XPsp2 so I cant just install the MCE firewire stuff. I have to enter this somewhere "MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0" but i don't know where to put this code so that I can install the drivers only.
I have a dct3412 and I can get it to talk to my comp but I can't get the drivers...

There's a TON of posts in this thread so I don't have time to read ALL of them...can someone tell me how to get these drivers installed?

Ok - New Problem - 6412 ver3 moto, latest firmware, on rcn, using the new echo (I think that's what it's called) software. So - firewire downloading works just fine, but after I set it up the ffd and rwd no longer work - they just hold for 3 seconds, then jump forward 3 then hold for 3, jump for 3, (in ffd). I've seen a few folks complain about the rwd and ffd not working before, but none directly connected with the firewire setup. I have tried disconnecting the fw cable, turning the box off and on after the cable is removed, etc, nothing is working. Any thoughts? :confused:

Ok, I started reading this thread but I am stuck. I have XPsp2 so I cant just install the MCE firewire stuff. I have to enter this somewhere "MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0" but i don't know where to put this code so that I can install the drivers only.
I have a dct3412 and I can get it to talk to my comp but I can't get the drivers...

There's a TON of posts in this thread so I don't have time to read ALL of them...can someone tell me how to get these drivers installed?
Open a command prompt in the directory you downloaded firestb.msi and type that command.

I just exchanged my old comcast motorola 6412 for a new one due to my PVR recordings being jittery. I have had the new 6412 hooked up and running for 5 hours and on channels like ESPN, TNT, and Cinemax HD 5C implementation is set to NO, and Copy Control shows Copy Free. However, these channels still will not record via capdvhs. Has anyone else had this happen? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

Any updates on the 8300HD? Anyone successful with that?

Just an update for Motorola DCT6412 users that want to pull programs from their DVR. Here are the steps I took and the programs I used:

Downloaded the XP drivers from:
http://www.accidentsworld.com/tgb/firestb.zip

Downloaded Capvhs from:
http://www.yamabe.org/soft/CapDVHS0306e.zip

Pulled the video (had to watch it at 1:1) and it came across as a .ts file (transport stream) which I burned to a watchable dvd with Nero Vision 4.

Use the guide at the begining of this post to get the drivers uploaded and what not. If anyone has found a better way of doing this please post it.

Thanks to those that have helped develop this process. I am looking for a way to transfer the files to my laptop as they are being recorded to the DVR.

Has anyone gotten this to work with the SA 4200HD? I'm on Brooklyn Cablevision and my 4200HD's firewire ports are active as I can record fine to DVHS. I have WinXP Pro SP2 with all the updates. I cannot get the PC to recognize this STB no matter what I do. I have tried different firewire cards, reinstalled the firestb drivers, and everything short of reinstalling Windows to no avail. I just cannot get the Add New Hardware wizard to come up. I did get it to come up the very first time I plugged in the box, but it only came up once with the unknown device. I cancelled that as per the instructions and waited for the Tuner AV/C Device or Tuner AV/C Panel to come up but they never did. I also cannot get it to recognize my Samsung T-165 when I plug it in. Could there be something missing with my Windows installation? I'm really out of ideas here. Help!

I have a Mitsu 65731 tv that has 2 1394 ports in the back and under the record button you can see channels that you want to record but the TV does not have anything to record onto. I do not want to give any more money to the cable company for a DVR box. How can i use my PC as the DVR through the 1394 port. I do not want to have to buy a cable card for my pc. I just want to use the hard drives in my PC to record onto.


The pc spec's are

AMD X2 3800+
1g DDR redline ram
2- 250g WD 3g's SATA drives
one IDE 250g
2- GF 6600GT in SLi
and fiber out for sound.

I have a Mitsu 65731 tv that has 2 1394 ports in the back and under the record button you can see channels that you want to record but the TV does not have anything to record onto. I do not want to give any more money to the cable company for a DVR box. How can i use my PC as the DVR through the 1394 port. I do not want to have to buy a cable card for my pc. I just want to use the hard drives in my PC to record onto.


The pc spec's are

AMD X2 3800+
1g DDR redline ram
2- 250g WD 3g's SATA drives
one IDE 250g
2- GF 6600GT in SLi
and fiber out for sound.

Have you tried the Vividlogic firebus driver (http://www.vividlogic.com/products/dtvr_overview.html)?
You should have received a small flyer on it with your TV.
I'm trying it with a WD57831 and am having some luck with OTA, but cable is giving me a problem (cablecard/no STB).
Their support states they are working on a new release due out in a month.

ok i am going to give this a try tonight

i will see how it work i have just regual windows XP pro

and then beta Vista with MC

I have downloaded the drivers (Cap and Firestb) i am using a Moto 6412. It is recording my files but when i play them they are black but there is data in the file. I recorded a show for 5 minutes and the file was 800mb but did not show anything when i played it. All i want to do is record the shows off of my dvr

Thanks

I am sure this problem is already posted but with 3000 posts i could not find anything

800 megs ...they streams do take up a lot of space. I am guessing you don't have the software to play the .ts file it comes off the dvr as.

Swilhelm, you are probably getting foiled by the CCI=0x02 flag.

You can check it in the diagnostics menu. You can quickly find which channels have 0x02 set by streaming with VLC (videolan) and scan through the channels you watch using the STB remote.

Have anyone had a little luck recently in New York with CAPDVHS running Windows XP Pro SP2 and a 8300HD DVR on Passport 2.5.066?

I have had success recording about 10 to 30 seconds worth of 1080i that were recorded on the 8300HD DVR. I cannot get any HD stuff LIVE but can get a few seconds off the stored 1080i off the hard drive in the 8300HD DVR. It matters not whether the 1080i stuff is in the 8300HD internal hard drive or the external hard drive I have attached.

After the few seconds of perfect non distorted 1080i recording, CAPDVHS simply crashes and I get a Windows crash report with little information which helps in the debugging.

Anyone with better luck with this setup or with another setup here in New York city and the 8300HD DVR?

With the Star Wars 1080i movies MARATHON coming up November 11 on Cinamax-HD, it would be great to have it recorded for viewing later. Sure, we can recorded it into the DVR but if the DVR fails, the recording is gone forever.

Since the 6 Star Wars films are not going to be available in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray DVD yet, this broadcast event is the only way for SW fans to have these 6 films on HD.....

Anyone?

How do I get the 8300hd to even install on my PC? I trued using the same drivers that worked on my Motorola box, but AVC tuner comes up and installs, then AVC panel comes up but no matter where I point XP it says it cannot find drivers or intall it.

Don't forget what you are trying to achieve: make your PC appear to be a DVHS tape deck.

Not a tuner or a panel. The driver you need is in meitape.inf for the Moto and I assume it is similar for SA boxes.

Have anyone had a little luck recently in New York with CAPDVHS running Windows XP Pro SP2 and a 8300HD DVR on Passport 2.5.066?

I have had success recording about 10 to 30 seconds worth of 1080i that were recorded on the 8300HD DVR. I cannot get any HD stuff LIVE but can get a few seconds off the stored 1080i off the hard drive in the 8300HD DVR. It matters not whether the 1080i stuff is in the 8300HD internal hard drive or the external hard drive I have attached.

After the few seconds of perfect non distorted 1080i recording, CAPDVHS simply crashes and I get a Windows crash report with little information which helps in the debugging.

Anyone with better luck with this setup or with another setup here in New York city and the 8300HD DVR?

With the Star Wars 1080i movies MARATHON coming up November 11 on Cinamax-HD, it would be great to have it recorded for viewing later. Sure, we can recorded it into the DVR but if the DVR fails, the recording is gone forever.

Since the 6 Star Wars films are not going to be available in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray DVD yet, this broadcast event is the only way for SW fans to have these 6 films on HD.....

Anyone?

Could you give a step by step of how you were even able to get 10-30secs? I followed the directions to a t and capdvhs just crahes.

Thanks for this FANTASTIC guide. Using the method listed I was able to capture video using CapDVHS. For an hour long show, I end up with an almost 3gb uncompressed MPG file. I have tried many software options to try to convert this to a smaller format such as divx or xvid. So far, almost every program cannot detect the type of video file (even though it plays great as-is in windows media player, sound and video). When I open it with Dr. Divx it looks like it may be working and converts it into a 384mb .divx file (thats more like the size I want) but it has no sound in the final video.

Which programs or encoders would I need to convert this to a smaller file so that I may save some space on my video files?

Thanks!

An hour at 3GB seems to be SD (Standard definition TV). Did you try to use CAPDVHS for HD 1080i or 720p material as well?

The full version of NERO 7 can resize TS files into MP4 or others at a fraction of the size.

Paul


Thanks for this FANTASTIC guide. Using the method listed I was able to capture video using CapDVHS. For an hour long show, I end up with an almost 3gb uncompressed MPG file. I have tried many software options to try to convert this to a smaller format such as divx or xvid. So far, almost every program cannot detect the type of video file (even though it plays great as-is in windows media player, sound and video). When I open it with Dr. Divx it looks like it may be working and converts it into a 384mb .divx file (thats more like the size I want) but it has no sound in the final video.

Which programs or encoders would I need to convert this to a smaller file so that I may save some space on my video files?

Thanks!

Have anyone had a little luck recently in New York with CAPDVHS running Windows XP Pro SP2 and a 8300HD DVR on Passport 2.5.066?

I have had success recording about 10 to 30 seconds worth of 1080i that were recorded on the 8300HD DVR. I cannot get any HD stuff LIVE but can get a few seconds off the stored 1080i off the hard drive in the 8300HD DVR. It matters not whether the 1080i stuff is in the 8300HD internal hard drive or the external hard drive I have attached.

After the few seconds of perfect non distorted 1080i recording, CAPDVHS simply crashes and I get a Windows crash report with little information which helps in the debugging.

Anyone with better luck with this setup or with another setup here in New York city and the 8300HD DVR?

With the Star Wars 1080i movies MARATHON coming up November 11 on Cinamax-HD, it would be great to have it recorded for viewing later. Sure, we can recorded it into the DVR but if the DVR fails, the recording is gone forever.

Since the 6 Star Wars films are not going to be available in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray DVD yet, this broadcast event is the only way for SW fans to have these 6 films on HD.....

Anyone?

It would be great to record the entirety of Star Wars in HD and pull it off the hard disk for archiving, but how will you go about bypassing the copy protection on CINEMAX? I'm not asking to know because it's not possible if the flags are set to Copy Once. The only channels I can get to a PC are OTA.

I have Nero 7 so I will try to see if I can figure it out with that. The file I have was my first attempt, and although it is named .mpg I wonder if its a .ts file instead... but as far as the options, I followed the directions on the guide located at (well I can't post a URL till I have made 5 posts but the compact version of the guild) so my options were set how they recommended. The options I used (directly from the guide) were:

2. Run CapDVHS.exe and make sure the Motorola device is selected in the capture device list. Make sure you have the following settings:
Convert 188 bytes
Check PTS
Delete to SyncByte
Use .ts for all file extensions.

(except I must have tossed a .mpg extension on it instead of a .ts). But my final file is playable by windows media player (sound and all). I will go try Nero now to see if it can do the conversion. I hadn't even thought to try that because I was not thinking of burning the videos yet so Nero had slipped my mind.

An hour at 3GB seems to be SD (Standard definition TV). Did you try to use CAPDVHS for HD 1080i or 720p material as well?

The full version of NERO 7 can resize TS files into MP4 or others at a fraction of the size.

Paul

With the Star Wars 1080i movies MARATHON coming up November 11 on Cinamax-HD, it would be great to have it recorded for viewing later. Sure, we can recorded it into the DVR but if the DVR fails, the recording is gone forever.

Since the 6 Star Wars films are not going to be available in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray DVD yet, this broadcast event is the only way for SW fans to have these 6 films on HD.....

Anyone?
Other than a temporary copy on an HD-DVR, the ONLY way to archive encrypted cable channels
is to use an HD-STB with a Firewire interface (e.g SA3250HD with WORKING IEEE-1394 port)
feeding a D-VHS Recorder:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=JVHMDH5U&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=348125
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=dvhs+recorder
You can also check eBay for used D-VHS Recorders...

I'm ready to record all six, with a new box of Fuji S-VHS tapes already pre-punched
(turning them into D-VHS tapes).....

With the full version of Nero, which portion of the application would I be looking for to try to get it to convert the mpg to an avi of some sort?

Thanks!

An hour at 3GB seems to be SD (Standard definition TV). Did you try to use CAPDVHS for HD 1080i or 720p material as well?

The full version of NERO 7 can resize TS files into MP4 or others at a fraction of the size.

Paul

Hollands,

Your cable provider over in California may still allow for 1394 recordings on a D-Theatre DVHS recorder, but over here in NYC, that's not the case anymore.

We can no longer use any D-VHS recorders from all 3 makers to record off the 3250HD or 8300HD boxes. This was over some 10-11 months ago. The last successful D-VHS tape I made with the 3250HD box here in New York was HBO's Rome the mini series...

What we are trying to find is another version of CAPDVHS or VLC that records off 1394 through a stored 8300HD DVR, which some users from other cable providers have experienced success.

Best,
Paul



Other than a temporary copy on an HD-DVR, the ONLY way to archive encrypted cable channels
is to use an HD-STB with a Firewire interface (e.g SA3250HD with WORKING IEEE-1394 port)
feeding a D-VHS Recorder:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=JVHMDH5U&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=348125
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=dvhs+recorder
You can also check eBay for used D-VHS Recorders...

I'm ready to record all six, with a new box of Fuji S-VHS tapes already pre-punched
(turning them into D-VHS tapes).....

does anyone have a mirror for Sasem OnAir Editor? i couldn't click the link it would just time out...

Try using Nero Recode
Also try renaming the TS (transport) file to MPG is needed.

Paul




With the full version of Nero, which portion of the application would I be looking for to try to get it to convert the mpg to an avi of some sort?

Thanks!

I've followed the directions in installing this software, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to want to work on my system. Here is my setup:

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2 with update rollup 2
ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro
Samsung SIR-T165 STB
Microsoft Media Center remote and IR blaster

According to the information in this thread my setup should work. I'm feeding the Samsung T165 analog signal in through the S-Video input on the ATI card, and I have Media Center set up to control the Samsung T165 via the IR blaster. All this is working fine. I also have the STB software installed and the Samsung STB connected via Firewire to the PC. The software installs fine, and I get one Windows prompt to install a "Tuner AV/C Device" after installing the software (no prompt to install an unknown device or a "Tuner AV/C Panel"). I of course have the option to record via Firewire checked in the tray control program. I do not have it set to move or delete Media Center recordings.

However, when I make a recording in Media Center the tray program does not also grab the Firewire feed. I have not been able to figure out the problem. The tray program does detect when Media Center is tuned to a channel, and also when it is recording. This information is all shown in the tray program. Yet it does not grab the Firewire feed.

I have noticed that the tray program Tuner 1 drop down list does not contain an entry for any tuner, only “N/A.” However, I have successfully captured the Samsung SIR-T165 transport stream with CapDVHS, so it seems that the tray program should be able to do the same.

I really need to get the tray program working with Media Center, as I need a drop-dead simple way to record the digital stream from the Samsung tuner for my family.

If anyone has any suggestions, especially if you have gotten this software working with a Samsung T165 and Media Center, I would really, really appreciate your help.

Well upon further inspection, it seems that windows media player does not play audio after all. If i open the file in VLC video player it works...so I am thinking that my windows system must not have the correct audio codec for this type of file.

When using CapDVHS.exe to capture the video, what codec should I have installed to be able to play the audio from any application?


Try using Nero Recode
Also try renaming the TS (transport) file to MPG is needed.

Paul

You're giving too much credit to CapDVHS. It simply copies the ts files from the STB to your PC.

TS files are a container with mpeg-2 files inside.

If the file I have is a proper .TS file (which can play audio in one or two video players) but just can't play audio in native windows media player, and since my conversion utils to shrink this .ts file all only see the video and report no audio, wouldn't that indicate that I need some kind of updated codec for mpeg2 to work properly in all apps? And if so, where is a link I can download such a codec from and try it out?

Thanks!

You're giving too much credit to CapDVHS. It simply copies the ts files from the STB to your PC.

TS files are a container with mpeg-2 files inside.

If the file I have is a proper .TS file (which can play audio in one or two video players) but just can't play audio in native windows media player, and since my conversion utils to shrink this .ts file all only see the video and report no audio, wouldn't that indicate that I need some kind of updated codec for mpeg2 to work properly in all apps? And if so, where is a link I can download such a codec from and try it out?
This almost sounds like your system lacks a Dolby Digital decoder, which is quite odd considering you have Nero 7 installed on your system. The Nero suite installs MPEG-2 and Dolby Digital decoders which are available to other Windows programs such as Windows Media Player.

Try opening the .TS file with Nero Showtime. Does it play fine? At the very least you can check what format the audio track is in. Right click in the Nero Showtime video window and choose Options > Show additional info on OSD. When the video plays in Showtime it will now display the format of the video and audio tracks, along with the bitrate.

Assuming it is a problem with a missing Dolby Digital decoder, the reason VLC media player can play the .TS file without problems is because it includes open source decoders for DVD playback. However, these decoders are only accessible to VLC media player.

I finally stumbled across the following post, I needed a cineplex codec registered and now all my applications for converting that would previously only detect video now detects and converts audio as well. And to answer your question though, yes the .TS file played properly in nero showtime and vlc, but only played video in the windows media player, until I did was the information on the posts linked here suggested, now its all working great!

http://dvbportal.dyn1.de/forum/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=627;start=msg3404# msg3404

This almost sounds like your system lacks a Dolby Digital decoder, which is quite odd considering you have Nero 7 installed on your system. The Nero suite installs MPEG-2 and Dolby Digital decoders which are available to other Windows programs such as Windows Media Player.

Try opening the .TS file with Nero Showtime. Does it play fine? At the very least you can check what format the audio track is in. Right click in the Nero Showtime video window and choose Options > Show additional info on OSD. When the video plays in Showtime it will now display the format of the video and audio tracks, along with the bitrate.

Assuming it is a problem with a missing Dolby Digital decoder, the reason VLC media player can play the .TS file without problems is because it includes open source decoders for DVD playback. However, these decoders are only accessible to VLC media player.

Thanks for this FANTASTIC guide. Using the method listed I was able to capture video using CapDVHS. For an hour long show, I end up with an almost 3gb uncompressed MPG file. I have tried many software options to try to convert this to a smaller format such as divx or xvid. So far, almost every program cannot detect the type of video file (even though it plays great as-is in windows media player, sound and video). When I open it with Dr. Divx it looks like it may be working and converts it into a 384mb .divx file (thats more like the size I want) but it has no sound in the final video.

Which programs or encoders would I need to convert this to a smaller file so that I may save some space on my video files?

Thanks!


I recommend capturing the files through CapDVHS in .TS format, instead of MPG.

Take the captured TS file into HDTV2MPEG2 to cut out any of the commercials or credits or whatever else you want to remove, and then take the resulting smaller TS file into AutoGK.

AutoGK automates the entire TS to DIVX/XVID conversion process. All you need to do is choose a file size.

It may have been covered before but I'm pretty lazy...

Say I cap a movie/documentary via Firewire and it's some outlandish size like 14.5GB. Now I want to put it onto a DVD DL which hold 8GB and change. Will something like HDTV2MPEG2 make a DL size authored output? What I'm asking is the a fairly simple, straightforward method for DL since it seems a shame to compress all the way down to standard DVD.

Is TMPEGEnc Author worth a try? ULead Moviefactory 5 doesn't seem to have the DL option. Since it's probably a long, arduous task, asking here was a good idea.

Hopefully I am not too far off topic or in the wrong thread. Does anyone know how to change the amount of time capture using CapDVHS.exe? As near as I can tell, this program is limited to 99 minutes? It appears to be limited to two digits. Makes if difficult to record HD movies, most of which are 2 or more hours.
Thanks
Rick

I've been a lurker here quite some time now...

A few posts as HDCowboy, but forgot my password and long story short had to re-register as HighDefCowboy...

Finally got to where I thought I might record HD from 6208 via Firewire but now am confused...

Can I do this without a tuner card? Laptop doesn't have the Bundled TV tuner card package...

I just wanted to finally save some of these movies and shows I have to keep deleting from the 6208's harddrive... Author a DVD maybe...

Do I install the driver before the PC will recognize the Firewire?

I guess I really need to ask "How do I install that driver?"

Tried plugging Firewire via PCMCIA Notebook Firewire adapter card last night and DID NOT get the traditional "found new hardware" popup...

Not sure what to do at this point... The first post directions suggest driver first but do I do that from the add new hardware in control panel or "run" in start panel?


here's the gear...

Aspire 5102 WLMi laptop with PMCIA notebook Firewire adapter card.

Moto 6208 Firmware 10. something

Panasonic projector with VGA from laptop...

Please help. Just got this laptop and now I am worried that it was all for nothing....

Happy Trails are always in HD...

HDC :confused:

Hopefully I am not too far off topic or in the wrong thread. Does anyone know how to change the amount of time capture using CapDVHS.exe? As near as I can tell, this program is limited to 99 minutes? It appears to be limited to two digits. Makes if difficult to record HD movies, most of which are 2 or more hours.
Thanks
Rick


There's a small window in the upper/middle left side of CapDVHS for the total record time. Delete whatever defualt number is there and enter your own based upon time length. I just finished capturing 111 minutes of Enron guffaws from a recorded show.

It's possible that your 99 minute limitation is based upon available disk space, but that would mean CapDVHS calculated the empty/full space. I'm not home or I'd check.

Hopefully I am not too far off topic or in the wrong thread. Does anyone know how to change the amount of time capture using CapDVHS.exe? As near as I can tell, this program is limited to 99 minutes? It appears to be limited to two digits. Makes if difficult to record HD movies, most of which are 2 or more hours.
Thanks
Rick
Only 2 digits are visible, but you can enter more than 2.

Can I do this without a tuner card? Laptop doesn't have the Bundled TV tuner card package...

Do I install the driver before the PC will recognize the Firewire?

I guess I really need to ask "How do I install that driver?"



The laptop acts as a DVHS tape deck. You just want to do a file transfer from the 6208. You are not tuning anything, that is done by the 6208, which makes a TS file you want on the PC.

Firewire drivers are built into XP. Look in device manager and you will see your 1394 drivers already installed.

You want to install the drivers to emulate a tape deck. Read the first post and realize the driver you want comes from meitape.inf in core_driver. The other two (panel & tuner) can be skipped.

Hint: always say NO to anything Windows suggests and use "have disk".

GRITTREE

Thanks for the quick reply... I'll be staying pretty closely tuned to this thread while I sort out this archiving thing.

Should I not see "New Hardware Found" when I connect the 6208? or "Your New Hardware is installed and ready to use"? or something?

I get such a message when I plug in the DYNEX adapter card... just not the actual Firewire.

Also should I not see on the diagnostics screen (after the Firewire is connected) on the 6208 that the "INST" ieee port go ACTIVE where the value for "ACTIVE" changes from "0" to "1"?

I did use firestb.zip and started the install process of the driver only... I came up with an installer from Timmoore ( am I onto the right deal? ) and after that driver is installed isn't that the one that I am supposed to specifiy as the driver for Windows to use when it sees the 6208 hardware (connected by firewire)? I looked at the Add New Hardware Wizard but couldn't find anything Motorola to assign that driver to in the "let me pick the driver from a list" option.

I'm pretty sure I understand the premise of what we are doing with the driver and the box and such... There was a little ambiguity as to which comes first, the driver or the Firewire... Still is kinda... the bigger issue for me is the not seeing any hardware when I connect...

I'm only hope that what I'm typing makes sense to you or someone that can help me, 'cuz I'm one confused cowboy right now... I think I understand that this machine I bought may be able to record .ts files from the 6208 I hope so anyhow

AND I really hope you guys will be patient with me during the learning curve...

Thanks again.

HDC.
If yer trails aint HD... How kin they be happy?

Think of firewire as like USB. It's just an input/output device.

You will get the wizard when you connect the 6208 the first time. If you install the firestb driver package, you can let windows autoinstall the Panasonic tape drivers. What Timmoore did was was edit and rename the meitape.inf file to include an updated database of the Moto (and SA) boxes and called it meistb.inf. And renamed meitape.sys to meistb.sys.

This makes it really easy to install the drivers since windows now has a .inf file with the exact drivers for the device found. You no longer have to force windows to use a driver identified as a Panasonic D-VHS Tape Recorder/Player (MPEG2TS). Your driver will be listed as Motorola, although it is really the same Panasonic driver as the old method used.

I see that the first post no longer mentions the core_driver package. This is good, since it was not intuitive to keep telling windows it was wrong and caused countless headaches. If you are not running MCE, you need to force the install of the firestb package with the "MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0" command.

I wouldn't worry about the diagnostics on the 6208. If the wizard appears, the 1394 output is active.

I've been successfully capturing network and premium recordings from the same Comcast/Motorola 6412 to the same htpc with CAPDVHS to .ts for over 1 1/2 years without any problems. Suddenly, without my changing anything, I can't get a clean capture.

I check most captures with MPEG2Repair and usually get 0 errors. Shows I recorded starting Wednesday of last week and captured to PC Thursday and over the weekend have 1000's of errors now and the video is unwatchable. Like I said, I didn't change anything. In fact of three shows I recorded Wednesday and capped sequentially Thursday, the first 2 were ok and the next and all subsequent ones were bad. Like something broke at that moment.

I defragged the hard drive and ran a virus scan and pest scan and tried capping to a different hard drive on the same PC - none of which helped. Any ideas? Should I be thinking there is something wrong with the PC? the 6412? something else?

Any help or ideas would be appreciated!

[edit - corrected typos]

this has happened to all of us with the new comcast firmware update. it also changed the menu options for DVR (some are improvements) but made the box more sluggish. Capture is intermittent. I can try it 6 times before i get a good capture. & yes, the file is mostly garbled. i have no fix. it does affect both SDTV as well as HDTV. It all happened 2 weeks ago with the firmware update. i have called comcast but have no information yet.

wow - that sucks. I said I didn't change anything but, you're right, I noticed some changes in the comcast menu layout so I must have gotten the new software/firmware. I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be to much talk of it here though... any discussions going on elsewhere that I'm missing?

Checking around it looks like the system I'm on got the update 11/2 - right when my problems started. I've still got an original 6412 from at least 1 1/2 years ago. I never swapped for anything newer since it was working and I didn't want to mess around with something that wasn't broken. Now that it's broke - think a newer 6416 series III might help?

Any updates on 8300hd?

Checking around it looks like the system I'm on got the update 11/2 - right when my problems started. I've still got an original 6412 from at least 1 1/2 years ago. I never swapped for anything newer since it was working and I didn't want to mess around with something that wasn't broken. Now that it's broke - think a newer 6416 series III might help?

Yes. My opinion is that I'm renting these boxes and should have the latest and greatest. They added an extra cooling fan to the series III so that might help with the hd running sluggish. Also a soft reboot would definetely help.

Thanks, but what I was wondering is if a newer (phase III?) STB would help with the firewire recording problem. Anyone have a STB that didn't have firewire recording break with the 16.20 software?

I've read through this thread, not all of it since its huge, and I'm still not sure if I can connect an SA8300HD Passport box to a media center PC. I'm beginning to build a media center PC, but I don't want to build one if I can't run HD programing from this box through it and be able to record it.

Does anyone know if it's even possible with Passport and how it would be done. Or which thread has this information.

Thanks

Think of firewire as like USB. It's just an input/output device.

You will get the wizard when you connect the 6208 the first time. If you install the firestb driver package, you can let windows autoinstall the Panasonic tape drivers. What Timmoore did was was edit and rename the meitape.inf file to include an updated database of the Moto (and SA) boxes and called it meistb.inf. And renamed meitape.sys to meistb.sys. So, when I plug in the 6208 on the Firewire the wizard to add new hardware should appear, right? Install the firestb driver before plugging in the 6208?

This makes it really easy to install the drivers since windows now has a .inf file with the exact drivers for the device found. . The device is found right after plugging in, correct? Is it (the 6208 device) found with or without the driver installed? You no longer have to force windows to use a driver identified as a Panasonic D-VHS Tape Recorder/Player (MPEG2TS). Your driver will be listed as Motorola, although it is really the same Panasonic driver as the old method used.

I see that the first post no longer mentions the core_driver package. This is good, since it was not intuitive to keep telling windows it was wrong and caused countless headaches. If you are not running MCE, you need to force the install of the firestb package with the "MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0" command.I have Media Center in the machine but I don't know that it is running all the time. Is it? I know that it is available on the start menu and if I select it it wants to then open the MCE interface screen with the 5 or 6 icons in the middle of the screen. By virtue of having a Media Center laptop is it considered to always be running Media Center? If I have to force the install of the firestb where do I enter that command "MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0"? Is that on the "Start" "run" and then type in the field?

I wouldn't worry about the diagnostics on the 6208. If the wizard appears, the 1394 output is active. The wizzard appearing being the "add new hardware wizzard from the moment after plugging in the STB?

Sorry if my questions seem stupid or if I seem dense in not getting this.... It shouldn't be this hard for me... I am a fairly intelligent fellow... for a cowboy that likes to Wild Horse Race. I am just complicating things I'm sure.

NUTSHELL... here's what is happening for me.
Firewire from 6208 (that indicates the 1394 is INST [installed])
Plug into laptop firewire adapter card
Nothing
No bell - no "found new hardware message"
Nothing.

Is that because I did not install the driver yet?

Hope I'm still making sense because I'm starting to confuse me...

Thanks again.

Relax, this thread isn't 105 pages because it is easy.

OK, you have MCE so installing the driver package is simple. Just run the firestb.msi program. You don't need to run media center.

Now look in device manager and see if your firewire card is installed. Then see if you have a Moto 62xx entry in imaging devices. (see attached image).

Since you don't get a wizard when you plug in the 1394 cable, you either have already installed the Panasonic driver or you have a more basic problem. IIRC, you need to use the firewire port closest to the power cord on the 6208. Also, I seem to remember that there are some PC firewire cards with an incompatible chipset.

Have you tried the Vividlogic firebus driver (http://www.vividlogic.com/products/dtvr_overview.html)?
You should have received a small flyer on it with your TV.
I'm trying it with a WD57831 and am having some luck with OTA, but cable is giving me a problem (cablecard/no STB).
Their support states they are working on a new release due out in a month.


Well vividlogic will not suport xp 64 bit so i redid my computer with windows XP then after that i installed the new updates made sure that all hardware had drivers and installed vividlogic 1.1 well i get this looping message that says Vl firebus then under that it says "bus reset storm, bad devices in the network or device connected in loop."

i have tired different ports on the computer and on the TV still nothing seems to work. anyone on here use this software with the mitsu 65731

Hi. Really glad to know that a Charter Moto DTC 6200 box works. I am in the Asheville, NC market and my 6200 will not show me its firmare revision. I can get to a config screen, but it is only "User Configuration" and allows setting the aspect ratio and closed captioning. I press the "Menu" button on the remote or front panel with the unit's power off to get this. Is there some other way to get to the firmare info screens? Thanks!

Relax, this thread isn't 105 pages because it is easy.
No joke there... I thought it'd be a snap!!!
OK, you have MCE so installing the driver package is simple. Just run the firestb.msi program. You don't need to run media center. Yup, did that last night and installed the three checked boxes... I did not check the fourth.



Now look in device manager and see if your firewire card is installed. Then see if you have a Moto 62xx entry in imaging devices. (see attached image).
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou so much for the screen shot... that was like the biggest help to see where to look for stuff... The firewire card is definitely installed, I can click "Safely Remove Hardware" in the tray, with the device manager open and then remove the card and watch it disappear from the device list as the list refreshes. Reverse is true on installation of the card. List refreshes and Voila! Firewire card installed again. However; I watch the imaging device list very closely... and with the firewire plugged into the port closest to the power cord and the STB powered "on" I plug in the firewire to the adapter card and... snif snif :( ... no STB appear.... I'm so sad.


Since you don't get a wizard when you plug in the 1394 cable, you either have already installed the Panasonic driver
Pretty sure not
or you have a more basic problem. IIRC, you need to use the firewire port closest to the power cord on the 6208.
Please what is "IIRC"? And I think I may have the more basic problem... I'm going to try to keep reading from page 19 or 20 where I left off looking for a reference to the
Also, I seem to remember that there are some PC firewire cards with an incompatible chipset.
PC firewire cards with the incompatible chipset... If that information isn't in the thread please tell me where or how you've heard of this and if you have any information on which chipsets work (ie which adapter card I should go with) and which don't... (ie mine)

Thank you so much Mr Grittree for ALL of your time and kindly responses... I AM DEFINITELY NOT GIVING UP.... NEW FIREWIRE ADAPTER CARD HERE I COME.... FOLLOWING THAT NEW LAPTOP RETURN OR EXCHANGE FOR A DIFFERENT ONE FROM THAT COMPUTER STORE.... or maybe is there just a way to test that there is anything coming down the firewire pipe? maybe? meter it or something?

Thanks again...

HDC staying tuned to this thread for ANY further input from the esteemed AVS members who have pioneered through this thing that has now got me obsessing about archiviing my HD!!!

If yer trails ain't in HD how kin they be happy??? ;)

Can someone tell me if it is possible to transfer video from my SA Explorer 8000 to my PC so I can burn what I have on there? If so how do I do it? Thanks.

HDC

IIRC = If I recall correctly. The stuff about the chipset is from long ago, and might not apply.

I think the easiest way to see if you ever installed the Panasonic drivers is to search for meistrm.sys on the C: drive. It should show up twice. In Program Files\Timmoore and in
c:\windows\system32\drivers\ .

If it isn't in the latter place, you never completed the wizard for the 6208.

Your statement
>I plug in the firewire to the adapter card and... snif snif ... no STB appear.
is troubling. Either the imaging device or the hardware wizard should appear.

Just curious, why are you using a 6208? Here Comcast lets you swap out for newer boxes at no charge.

Hey guys,

Just curious... is this also available for a mac?

If so is there a link to firewire drivers and a capdvhs type program?


Can the mac save 5c protected content?

Thanks!!

Hey guys,

Just curious... is this also available for a mac?

If so is there a link to firewire drivers and a capdvhs type program?


Can the mac save 5c protected content?

Thanks!!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=386740

scoombs,

thanks for the link!

can anyone tell me if recording with firewire on a mac bypasses the 5c encryption? Or will it be the same as capturing on a pc?

thanks!

HDC


I think the easiest way to see if you ever installed the Panasonic drivers is to search for meistrm.sys on the C: drive. It should show up twice. In Program Files\Timmoore and in
c:\windows\system32\drivers\ .

If it isn't in the latter place, you never completed the wizard for the 6208.

.

Just curious, why are you using a 6208? Here Comcast lets you swap out for newer boxes at no charge.

Well, I'm having a heck of a time...

New firewire adapter card today... (109 bucks) and nothing... Same as the 59 dollar card....

Started looking though for the driver in it's installed location as you suggested... NOT THERE.... SOOOO
I uninstalled the STB controller package, then shut down firewall, antivirus, and antispyware and re-ran the STB installer....

NO DIFFERENT... the install wizard finishes and the driver sits in the TIMMOORE folder but not in the c:/windows/system32/drivers folder...

Can I manually or "force" feed this machine that particular driver? I do have a copy of the driver seperate in a different folder that I unzipped, that folder came with CAPDVHS in it... no fancy Timmoore installation program...

Just 4 files in a drivers folder
meistb.inf
meistb.sys
meistrm.sys
mstapeo.sys
and
CapDVHS.exe

Please advise.... and Thank you very much again...

OH here in Shaw land Alberta Canada we have to buy the box that allows us to buy the programming from the provider and the new box would be 700 can $ right now.... I paid 350 for this one almost 3 years ago now and I have been living with dumping all the movies I record all that time.... I started to record to DVD but on 100" projector they look horrible.... STILL TRYING HERE... NOT GIVING UP>>

HDC
When yer ride is in HD Eight seconds ain't so long....

Hi. Really glad to know that a Charter Moto DTC 6200 box works. I am in the Asheville, NC market and my 6200 will not show me its firmare revision. I can get to a config screen, but it is only "User Configuration" and allows setting the aspect ratio and closed captioning. I press the "Menu" button on the remote or front panel with the unit's power off to get this. Is there some other way to get to the firmare info screens? Thanks!

Power the box off, and within 2 seconds hit the Select button twice. Your remote may have OK instead of select. you will have a white menu that comes up

Scroll down to D08- Code Modules, (hit select) and your Platform Built: Version: ie 12.31 will be your firmware for the settop

Well vividlogic will not suport xp 64 bit so i redid my computer with windows XP then after that i installed the new updates made sure that all hardware had drivers and installed vividlogic 1.1 well i get this looping message that says Vl firebus then under that it says "bus reset storm, bad devices in the network or device connected in loop."

i have tired different ports on the computer and on the TV still nothing seems to work. anyone on here use this software with the mitsu 65731

They're pretty good at email support.
I have been working with them thru email.
I have it recording and playing back.
Right now I need to disable services that hog disk/cpu, but it works.

Try emailing them with your problem.

P.S. They are at v3.02 (unreleased beta) right now.

P.S. They are at v3.02 (unreleased beta) right now.

1.1 right to 3.02 is crazy, where have all the interim releases been? The product has such potential on paper, but almost impossible to get to reliably function with the 1.1 version. I sure would like to get a copy of the beta.

Ove the last few days on every new Windows restart, I have been able to record as much as 5 seconds worth of 1080i stuff off a 8300HD DVR from what's stored.

I have Time Warner Passport 2.5.066 and Windows XP Pro Sp2

After the CAPDVHS captures the stream, it comes up with a Windows error popup with code that I cannot google for more info.

VLC stops after saving the stream on file without any error message.

Any of you with similar results?

Fellas, I need some help. I have a Comcast 3412 I in Connecticut.

I picked up a firewire cable and ran it into the back of my Windows XP system. I followed the guide and installed the drivers via command line. When I rebooted and plugged in the firewire cable It installed the AV/C Device and the AV/C Panel I think, something like that. It tried to install other stuff too but had no idea what that was, so I cancelled that out and removed the device so it wouldn't keep bugging me. I was left with two entries in my Windows XP hardware manager under IMAGING DEVICES:
Motorola AV/C Panel Device (DCT-3412), and Motorola Tuner AV/C Device (DCT-3412).

Problem is when I open up CAPVHS I have two capture devices listed. Motorola Tuner Device (unknown Video #1), and Motorola AV/C Panel Device.

IF I click RECORD on the Panel Device...I get an ERROR from the app saying it could not connect SampleGrabber.

IF I click RECORD on the Tuner Device it starts recording an mpeg......but it doesn't put any info at all in the DATA INFO area. When I stop it and go to play the file, there's nothing there.....some clicking perhaps.

I've tried a couple different digital channels.

Anyone have any ideas on whats going on? Any info would be appreciated...and yeah this is my first day trying this out so if its something obvious, I apologize in advance.

1.1 right to 3.02 is crazy, where have all the interim releases been? The product has such potential on paper, but almost impossible to get to reliably function with the 1.1 version. I sure would like to get a copy of the beta.

If you want to beta test it, just email them and ask what the latest beta version is. If you're serious about spending the time & effort to test it, I'm sure they'll let you test it.

So far so good. All my drives working well into the 1st hour.

http://paulchiu.zoto.com/img/50/4de30418efc0e37be99931203ed958fa-.jpg

Above capture of my 1080p 37w3 panel using 8300HD DVR as primary and 3250HD as secondary through a D-VHS firewire recorder.

http://paulchiu.zoto.com/img/50/332d7361d2c6428d397a8ab1a6257589-.jpg

Above with 3250HD through D-VHS and Component as primary and 8300HD through DVI as primary

http://paulchiu.zoto.com/img/50/a2d7838cd65412e584617ef72836db1d-.jpg

D-VHS recorder connected to 3250HD and recording via firewire. Will know PQ after marathon....

http://paulchiu.zoto.com/img/50/bd470a6bed6428448ddb607687212a4b-.jpg

3250HD on left and 8300HD DVR on right

http://paulchiu.zoto.com/img/30/ab2730c5969a5288884ebe1c22698512-.jpg

Drives working hard with 8300HD


There you have it. The recorders working hard and hot in my office. People partying in living room watching another HDTV with 3250HD. Most kids still up and interested.....

Later....

Paul

Amazing!

Star Wars (4) can be recorded with 3250HD and D-VHS with D-theater chip.
Almost no artifacts in the playback of the first 5 minutes.
Have to record Empire now.

The PQ of the first 4 HD 1080i editions have been so so so GOOD!
The one that was weakest has been the Menace (1)

I'm having some trouble and need a little help. The firewire connection from a DCT6416 to PC (which once worked just fine, I may say) is no longer recognized by the PC. CapDVHS sees not Motorola device, Tuner AV is no longer an option in the Device Manager, and I'm stumped on how to reinstall it (and the drivers) after trying a few times. My only thoughts on how it could have happened are either 1. the 6416 reboot done by a TWC tech 4 days ago or 2. mapping a network disk from another PC.

I gladly welcome any direction :)

I have a question.

If I record a show to my HD from my DVR, then lets say delete it. Is it possible to transfer it back to the DVR and watch it?

I have a question.

If I record a show to my HD from my DVR, then lets say delete it. Is it possible to transfer it back to the DVR and watch it?

Good question, but why not just watch it from the pc?

Good question, but why not just watch it from the pc?


I could but that would require me to move the pc to the living room. I just have a long firewire cable I use to transfer so it is in another room.

Ahh, good reason! :D

If I record a show to my HD from my DVR, then lets say delete it. Is it possible to transfer it back to the DVR and watch it?
No.

If you had a stand-alone TiVo, you could run video out (s-video, etc.) from your PC and tell the TiVo it was recording from a STB, but that's not firewire and it only works on TiVo because it has an analog input where almost all other DVR's do not.

evening all, I've recorded the star wars saga, but my DVR box is acting up, I would like to copy the DVR data to my HDD, how can I go about this (I only see 'how to record live feeds') I've got my box connected via 1394, drivers installed, programs downloaded for recording live feeds, but I would like to copy the dvr data. is this possible? Please let me know.

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but would it be possible to repair a stream at all once I get it on my PC via firewire?

I watched some of the six Star Wars HD movies and noticed several digital hiccups in the picture when playing it back from the box itself, in the first 5 mins of the movies. So I re-recorded and watched Return of the Jedi and about the last quarter of the movie had hiccups.

evening all, I've recorded the star wars saga, but my DVR box is acting up, I would like to copy the DVR data to my HDD, how can I go about this (I only see 'how to record live feeds') I've got my box connected via 1394, drivers installed, programs downloaded for recording live feeds, but I would like to copy the dvr data. is this possible? Please let me know.

The chances are very high (99% or more hehe) that CINEMAX encrypted the shows which would make them non-transferrable to a PC. There are ways around it, none of which I'm particularly familiar with nor would I comment upon "live feeds or from recorded shows" unless you have a DVHS box.

ok, my tuners in MyTray are empty... does anyone know what it could be? I'm still just trying to figure out mce, and don't even know what an stb is yet, so this could be user error.
right now I have a 6416, and the tuner1 and tuner2 in MyTray are blank.
any ideas while I try to figure this out?

thanks!
-Josh

STB stands for Set Top Box.

can anyone tell me what firewire cable they are using? is it 6pin to 6pin or what? I started looking, and I believe it is, but wanted to double check before I ordered it. BTW, I'm using the Moto 6214 III.

Thanks,
Mark

No love for my connection issues via Firewire?? :(

Headrusch, you don't have connection issues. Just use the one that Capdvhs accepts. See post #3141 for a screenshot showing how to eliminate the wrong one.

As to the useless files, you probably are trying on 'record once' shows. That's the CCI = 0x02 you can see in the diagnostics. You have to check to see which channels allow further copying. Using VLC to stream the 1394 out while changing channels with the STB remote is another way to do it.

HDC - canadian, eh!

You likely are out of luck unless you can get Shaw to hit you with a firmware update.

Marky, yup, 6 to 6 pin cable

Josh, you don't use a tuner to capture the file over firewire. The STB tuner already captured the file and you use Capdvhs to simulate a Panasonic tape deck.

So install Capdvhs and install the Timmoore firestb drivers. Then you use Capdvhs (not a MCE app) for the file transfer from STB to PC.

If you want to then play the files with MCE you put the .ts files in \recorded TV\ and convert them to .dvr-ms format with tsconverter, a freeware program.

STB stands for Set Top Box.

can anyone tell me what firewire cable they are using? is it 6pin to 6pin or what? I started looking, and I believe it is, but wanted to double check before I ordered it. BTW, I'm using the Moto 6214 III.
The DVR end is 6-pin, the other 4 or 6-pin, depending on your PC. Typically, a desktop PC with a built-in or firewire card is 6-pin, a laptop 4-pin. Look at your PC connection; if it's the same as the 6412, then it's 6-pin.

Headrusch, you don't have connection issues. Just use the one that Capdvhs accepts. See post #3141 for a screenshot showing how to eliminate the wrong one.


Ok, I'll take a look. I was trying to grab, I thought, INHD...which is probably protected. But I thought "Copy Once" meant as long as you weren't saving it to the DVR.....you could save it to the PC instead. (christ I hate being a noob) :)


As to the useless files, you probably are trying on 'record once' shows. That's the CCI = 0x02 you can see in the diagnostics. You have to check to see which channels allow further copying.


Ok, quickly..how can I test this?


Using VLC to stream the 1394 out while changing channels with the STB remote is another way to do it.

OHH!...yeah...how do I do this???? :D

Sorry, any help you could provide would be great. I'll go check out that post.

Thanks grittree and epsilon. I figured it was 6 to 6, so I ordered it after my original post. After I get it, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions for you guys.
Thanks again,
Mark

To stream with VLC, click file/open capture device. There should be some direct show gibberish in the top window (open). Click OK and you are watching the STB's 1394 output.

So can you capture that stream...? I assume this is how people are saving off their pay channels to their HD's and stuff....???

HDC - canadian, eh!

You likely are out of luck unless you can get Shaw to hit you with a firmware update.

Firmware Update? Firmware update! Good God Maud....

Any other Canuks having any luck with this???

Please respond...

Also BTW I got a NEW laptop AGAIN... That's three in two and a half weeks...
Maybe the drivers will load this time!

Any response re: force feeding just the driver to the PC... ? (ref: post #3149) I think it stinks that just cuz we're Canadian that we wouldn't have the ability to record off the firewire.... this is injustice! Shaw be damned!!!

I'm SO not happy.

has anyone gotten the 8300HD to work?

I've got my SA 3250HD box setup to MCE 2005 via Firewire and everything appears to be working. Recording a show is working (HD captured via Firewire and labeled correctly in MCE). However, on playback I get severe stuttering and lost audio/video. :mad:

I've tried everything to resolve the problem:

Verified the Firewire adapter is not sharing an IRQ.
Verified that my Codec (Purevideo - latest version) can playback MPEG-2 content.
Verified that I don't have a performance issue (CPU load ~13%) on playback or recording (CPU load ~10%).
Changed the Cable Box output to 720p instead of 1080i.
Downloaded from MicroSoft a 720p sample HD video which playsback fine.


It appears that the problem is during the capture process, but I haven't been able to determine why or how to tweak it. Any help would be appreciated!!

HDC, until you have an active 1394 port on your STB, you can't install any drivers for it. The found new hardware wizard must appear in order to install drivers.

jskyler, are you using capdvhs? And labeling the file as .dvr-ms?

If so, that's the problem. Your file is a mpeg2 transport stream (.ts). A rose by any other name ....

You use tsconvert to change the file from .ts to .dvr-ms.

jskyler, are you using capdvhs? And labeling the file as .dvr-ms?

If so, that's the problem. Your file is a mpeg2 transport stream (.ts). A rose by any other name ....

You use tsconvert to change the file from .ts to .dvr-ms.

Thanks for the response. I should have mentioned that I am using timmmore's Media Center Edition package w/drivers that integrates everything together. So no I'm not using CAPDVHS and I believe the package does the ts conversion.

I did try to use CAPDVHS to ensure I'm capturing a stream from the box and getting info and sure enough that is indeed working. I didn't try to watch a stream though capdvhs (if this is even possible) which I suppose I can do to see if that results in stuttering as well.

I don't think naming the captured stream to ts, tp, mov, or dvr-ms makes any difference during the capture phase. In fact, you can simply name it 2006-11-15 without an extension.

Later, when you play the stream through various software players like WMA, PowerDVD, or VLC, you will need to rename to TS of MPG.

As for 3250HD and 8300HD working or not. If you are in New York city and Time Warner cable, those 1394 outputs are active on the 3250HD and you can capture using both CAPDVHS and VLC with no problems with no encypted channels. With most HD premium channels like HBO, SHO, and MAX, you cannot record anything longer than a few seconds at a time. I think this is due to something in the stream that kills the CAPDVHS or VLC capturing program once initiated. I have had HD 1080i recordings that were as long as 5 seconds before termination.

As such, it's a big waste of time trying this firewire recording and recording with the HD-DVR is the only way to go until they have recordable Blu-Ray or HD-DVD machines.

Paul

jskyler

Looking at the MCE extender, which I never installed, it appears to essentially (for HD) do the same thing as using capdvhs to file transfer the .ts from the STB plus also reformat it to the .dvr-ms standard like tsconvert does.

Perhaps you could manually do the capdvhs/tsconvert thing and see if you get better results. I don't see any difference in playing back my HD captures from whatever source. Approx 30% cpu on a X2-3800 with integrated nvidia 6150 graphics.

I have tried to use this on a Mitsubishi HDTV integrated tuner Tv WD-62527 however when pluggin in the firewire cable I get option to install drivers for a "AC/V Monitor" but nothing that says AC/V tuner or anything close. WHen trying to install drivers for the AC/V Monitor it says THe hardware is not installed because the wizard cannot find the necessary software. ANyone know how to help me situation? BTW, I am trying to do the Over the Air HDTV recordings straight from my tv to the pc.

Windows has recognized your televisions tuner, but it needs a driver to do anything with it.
Hmmmm....does Mitsubishi have a driver available? I'd start googling Mitsubishi Firewire Driver and see where that gets you (sorry I can't be of more help).

Again, has anyone been able to get the sa8300hd to work? I have something I need to get off of there.

Vividlogic Released FireBus DTVR v3.02 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=751960)

I've been successfully capturing network and premium recordings from the same Comcast/Motorola 6412 to the same htpc with CAPDVHS to .ts for over 1 1/2 years without any problems. Suddenly, without my changing anything, I can't get a clean capture.

I check most captures with MPEG2Repair and usually get 0 errors. Shows I recorded starting Wednesday of last week and captured to PC Thursday and over the weekend have 1000's of errors now and the video is unwatchable. Like I said, I didn't change anything. In fact of three shows I recorded Wednesday and capped sequentially Thursday, the first 2 were ok and the next and all subsequent ones were bad. Like something broke at that moment.

I defragged the hard drive and ran a virus scan and pest scan and tried capping to a different hard drive on the same PC - none of which helped. Any ideas? Should I be thinking there is something wrong with the PC? the 6412? something else?

Any help or ideas would be appreciated!

[edit - corrected typos]
Newbie here. I was successfully able to capture (with no errors- as .mpg's) off my 6412 with CAPDVHS for the last two days- and today my captures are filled with audio and video errors (when played through Windows Media Player). As a test I encoded one of these clips with errors to Divx using my DivX Converter application- and the resulting file came out perfect (no audio or video errors). So maybe the captured files from CAPDVHS aren't actually damaged- just that something has happened in the ability of the computer to play them back properly??

Windows has recognized your televisions tuner, but it needs a driver to do anything with it.
Hmmmm....does Mitsubishi have a driver available? I'd start googling Mitsubishi Firewire Driver and see where that gets you (sorry I can't be of more help).

I have googled the hell out of this... and have never found anything close to helping with Mitsubishi firewire drivers. I even called mitsubishi tv service center and asked for access to the firewire drivers and they told me its out of the question. Bungholes! I could have sworn I should have the right to drivers for the firewire on my friggin tv that I paid for. There have to be some drivers for it somewhere. BTW, wth is this right above my IEEE 1394 firewire ports on the back of the tv?
http://img356.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000970ee4.jpg

Newbie here. I was successfully able to capture (with no errors- as .mpg's) off my 6412 with CAPDVHS for the last two days- and today my captures are filled with audio and video errors (when played through Windows Media Player). As a test I encoded one of these clips with errors to Divx using my DivX Converter application- and the resulting file came out perfect (no audio or video errors). So maybe the captured files from CAPDVHS aren't actually damaged- just that something has happened in the ability of the computer to play them back properly??
Sounds like a wmp problem. Try playing it with mpc or vlc.

HDC, until you have an active 1394 port on your STB, you can't install any drivers for it. The found new hardware wizard must appear in order to install drivers.
I ask again, any Canadians having any luck with this? At All? Please help!!!

Hopefully, someone can lend a hand here... My firewire port on a Moto6416 seems to be fried but I'm not sure. With all the drivers installed, I could capture video and audio onto either of 2 PCs up until a week ago leading me to believe the STB is at fault. But, I have no way to check it. Is there a diagnostic in Setup that can confirm it? I have a tech from TWC on the way out tomorrow but that doesn't hold much promise to me. I expect him/her not to be acquainted with the FW ports and how to run them. TIA

A lot of the Moto boxes got recently upgraded to firmware v16.20 which has been reported to break firewire capture. Check your version under Main Menu, Setup, Cable Box Setup, Configuration.

I'm at firmware 12.35, software 71.44 and sorta pissed about the firewire. Is it possible the FW ports fried? I have no other way to explain it to the tech tomorrow beside a demand to replace the box. Since neither of my PCs see the cable box and they used to, I'm at wit's end about what to do.

I'm grateful for this thread. Works great for me. Just moved into Comcast (Motorola 6412) territory from Cablevision (SARA SA8300HD). And although the SA box was nicer overall, the Moto's saving grace is I can now record to the PC.

Here's my HD lineup and how it works for me (Mountain View, CA)

702 KTVUD FOX 1280x720 60fps 38.81 Mbps
703 DKNTV NBC 1920x1080 29.97fps 38.81 Mbps
704 KROND 1280x720 60fps 13.95 Mbps
705 KPIXD CBS (5c currently set)
707 KGOHD ABC 1280x720 60fps 38.81 Mbps
709 KQEDH PBS 1920x1080 29.97fps 38.81 Mbps
719 INHD (5c flag set)
720 FSNHD (5c flag set, but currenly no programming yet)
722 DHDTV (5c flag set)
723 ESPND (5c currently set)
724 ESPN2 1280x720 60fps 38.81 Mbps
725 HD-SE (5c set , but no programming yet)
726 TNTHD 1920x1080 29.97 fps 38.81 Mbps
727 UniversalHD 1920x1080 29.97fps 38.81Mbps
728 MHD 1920x1080 29.97fps 38.81Mbps

i don't know if you guys know that you can record with VLC player. but not all programs. like discovery hd show protected and unprotected stuff.

I have googled the hell out of this... and have never found anything close to helping with Mitsubishi firewire drivers. I even called mitsubishi tv service center and asked for access to the firewire drivers and they told me its out of the question. Bungholes! I could have sworn I should have the right to drivers for the firewire on my friggin tv that I paid for. There have to be some drivers for it somewhere. BTW, wth is this right above my IEEE 1394 firewire ports on the back of the tv?


D-VHS Tape Recorders: There are a couple of D-VHS HD Recorders by JVC and Mitsubishi. The JVC recorder can receive signals from a firewire-equipped STB or TV and record allowable programming. The Mits HD recorder must be connected to an appropriate Mitsubishi integrated HDTV, with firewire out. I'm not sure if the Mits D-VHS works on any other equipment.

I'm having the same problem with my Moto3412. My PC used to record from it, however it has stopped being able to (with the exception of 2 channels that I have noticed 706 and 712). I confirm I have firmware 16.20.

Has anyone found a workaround? Does anyone know if Comcast is working on a future update that will fix the problem?

I have also started seeing a black rectangle that blocks the center of my screen on many non-HD channels. Not sure if it is related to this firmware update. Has anyone else started seeing this as well?

Jeff

Hey HighDefCowboy, I'm in Surrey using shaw 6412 box & am having no problems with recording over firewire cable. A few tips I have found are get a good heavy duty firewire cable cause the ipod style thin ones don't work. Also try another firewire port on you pc if you have the option & also I found the fw port closest to the optical output seems to work for me. If you need some more help or tips let me know & I'll try an help you out.
Mach3

I've looked everywhere. Is there a working driver for PowerKey (not Motorola) Moxi MP-12? If and when I find it, can I follow the exact rules on page one to capture?

D-VHS Tape Recorders: There are a couple of D-VHS HD Recorders by JVC and Mitsubishi. The JVC recorder can receive signals from a firewire-equipped STB or TV and record allowable programming. The Mits HD recorder must be connected to an appropriate Mitsubishi integrated HDTV, with firewire out. I'm not sure if the Mits D-VHS works on any other equipment.

then how is this info transmitted to the PC from the D-VHS? I want these on my computer not a Tape. Forgive me for my ignorance on this subject. I just want to be able to get the HDTV signals recorded onto my hard drive not a VHS tape.

Well, I got my firewire cable this afternoon, and the instructions on the first page worked flawlessly for my Motorola 6412 III. Absolutely no problems, although I had to install the drivers in a different method than was listed. Thanks everyone for this thread.

then how is this info transmitted to the PC from the D-VHS? I want these on my computer not a Tape. Forgive me for my ignorance on this subject. I just want to be able to get the HDTV signals recorded onto my hard drive not a VHS tape.

trufolks, once you get the signal converted to firewire and sent into the computer, you probably just follow the directions on the first page.

then how is this info transmitted to the PC from the D-VHS? I want these on my computer not a Tape. Forgive me for my ignorance on this subject. I just want to be able to get the HDTV signals recorded onto my hard drive not a VHS tape.

You are dealing with a different subject here. This thread is about transferring a file from a STB to a PC by having the PC emulate a DVHS deck.

Apparently the Mits TV can only transfer to a "real" DVHS deck. I don't know how to transfer from deck to PC. Look for a thread about DVHS tape decks.

hi

I have followed the above steps and it all worked, however now my DVR is having issues. I can no longer fast forward or rewind. The arrows come up, but it just jerks forward slowly at the same speed as normal.

also I am wondering if there is any way to just pull files off the DVR and not have to record them in 'real time'. I was hoping whhen i started looking into this i would find a way to get my DVR to just show up like a device...like an mp3 player or a camera or a hard drive

I've spent the last couple of days searching for info on the IEC 63881 spec and didn't really find too much. I think the prices they want for these specs are exhorbitant for hobbyist purposes. $150 for a 45-page pdf is highway robbery IMO. Regarding 63881-1, can anyone tell me if the information in Microsoft's DDK along with the samples is enough to figure out FCP? I'm having a devil of a time with this device driver. Is there enough in the DDK to also deduce the contents of 61883-2, 3 and 4? Ultimately I'll be using AV/C but I'm trying to pull myself up by the bootstraps here and would like to have as much of the relevant information as possible for all the layers involved. I already have access to 1394, 1394a and the AVC specs for the camera, digital camera and tape subunits, as well as the command set general description. I got my hands on a lot of patents that, combined, you can read between the lines and extract useful information from. 61883 is very elusive.

FWIW my project is not a virtual tape deck, and I apologize if that makes this post off topic for this thread. It's for a virtual camcorder. I have a DVDR that will record from firewire DV, but only if it comes from a camcorder. That's what I want to emulate. I want the DVDR to think it's talking to a DV camcorder over the 1394 connection. If anybody has any information or links or pointers to places that I might have missed I would really appreciate them.

Apparently the Mits TV can only transfer to a "real" DVHS deck. I don't know how to transfer from deck to PC. Look for a thread about DVHS tape decks.

Not true - see the Firebus (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=751960) thread for one of the few options available to record a Mits TV tuner on a PC. Note that the Firebus software, at least until the latest release, has been dreadful (which is being charitable) but it does show that the PC can be used instead of a D-VHS deck.

thanks ill take at look at the Firebus thread. However, just for clarification.. I didnt mean to go off topic. I was only responding to someone who said that I would have to use a D-VHS instead of my PC. I was attempting to record to my pc from my Mitsubishit HDTV integrated tuner television through firewire. THat was not successful when install drivers for firewire posted on this thread because It would read the HDTV as a "AV/C Monitor" and therefore would not work.

A lot of the Moto boxes got recently upgraded to firmware v16.20 which has been reported to break firewire capture. Check your version under Main Menu, Setup, Cable Box Setup, Configuration.

Same sh!t happened to me :(
Damn Comcast, why did they have to fix what was working...

Anyone get the 8300hd to work? I have everything installed and it is recognized in CapDVHS but the file size of the capture is zero and no data is shown on the data info tab.

Anyone have a gray line across the bottom of their recordings? I'm using a 6412 III, and it's all working well, except every recording has this gray line all the way across the bottom of the recording.

I'm a total newby at this, but I am recording from a Comcast Motorola 6412 via firewire to my HTPC using CapDVHS. I am able to record and play back programming from INHD just fine, but I've tried recording movies from Universal HD, and the files seem to be corrupt. CapDVHS doesn't seem to have a problem recording the signal (at least it creates the files without a problem), but the files won't play back without freezing up or stuttering badly right from the beginning. The signal on this station does not appear to be the greatest (the picture and sound break up at least a couple of times an hour), but shows recorded on my DVR play back fine, except for an occasional break-up of the picture. Could the poor signal on this station be contributing to my problems, or should I be able to play back the files and see problems only at the times when the picture also breaks up on the DVR?

I'm not sure seplant, but could that be because of some copyright protection?

im trying to capture video from my dct 6412 digital cable box to my comptuer through firewire. the drivers do not work properlly on my comptuer. i am using windows xp pro. i have the box connected to the computer through firewire. what do i have to do be able to capture video?

ive installed the drivers listed on this site. but nothign has worked for me. my cable provider is cogeco. and according to them firewire is enabled but usb and ethernet is disabled.

in the past i have successfuly captured video using the exact same drivers posted on the site. the only difference is the box has been switched, as my box is rented and there was a problem with it so it was replaced.

please help.

You may have received a box with disabled firewire ports. In my case, the Time Warner tech support center did a remote factory reset on my box and now the ports are disabled and nothing I can do or say to them will get them turned on (sounds like my last girlfriend). I'm having the box replaced Friday but if firewire is off, it's off they say. With no way to test it at their center, a replacement is hit and miss. I dare say that tech support admitted they haven't been trained on the relatively new 6416 III boxes and are clueless on what an IEEE 1394 port is. Now, CapDVHS on XP2 Home doesn't recognize the Moto box at all despite previously installed and functional drivers. With no way to reinstall drivers with the PC 'seeing' the cable box, there's no way to check for corrupted drivers. I can live without offloading files to PC for archiving or just to make more space available, but it's disappointing not having the option.

can someone please link or quote, which law requires cable providers to provide ieee1394 on their stb? i can't seem to find it anymore, i'm sure i read it in this forum.
i want to use it as a weight when i talk to comcast about this new firmware 16.20 crap!

I was able to use my pc to capture, in real time, Star Wars from Cinemax. When I tried to transfer the same movie from my DVR to my pc, the file had a lot of digital break-up. I also tried to transfer last years Super Bowl and some episodes of LOST to my pc and it would not even stream over firewire. I assume that 5c protection is occurring in both instances, but why will a movie recorded from a premium channel at least output from the DVR, while a content recorded from ABC will not even stream over the firewire output?

I was able to use my pc to capture, in real time, Star Wars from Cinemax. When I tried to transfer the same movie from my DVR to my pc, the file had a lot of digital break-up. I also tried to transfer last years Super Bowl and some episodes of LOST to my pc and it would not even stream over firewire. I assume that 5c protection is occurring in both instances, but why will a movie recorded from a premium channel at least output from the DVR, while a content recorded from ABC will not even stream over the firewire output?

Isn't that how 5c works? It only allows recording of a program once. You can capture programming as it is being broadcast, but you can't capture a recording.

if 5c=1 or it's from on-demand, i could never capture it (not even once).
but once i was able to capture it (5c=0), then the .ts is good forever.
some shows would be premiered with 5c enabled, then later on, the repeats usually are not - but it depends on the channel, some channels always have 5c=1 all the time

not that it matters now, since my 6200 fw is messed up from the comcast fw update

Isn't that how 5c works? It only allows recording of a program once. You can capture programming as it is being broadcast, but you can't capture a recording.

Yes. That is how I believe it works, but being able to transfer from DVR to pc isn't necessarily my question. Ultimately, neither program can be transferred it seems, but I was just curious because the attempted transfer behaved differently. My specific question is why one program will stream from my DVR to pc, although the file is apparently encrypted, while another will not stream at all? This can be observed with CapDVHS within the data info tab. Is one program flagged differently than the other?

I am capturing hi-def programming from my Comcast DVR on my HTPC via firewire using CapDVHS. Is there an application to allow viewing the video stream in a window on my HTPC prior/during capture?

can someone please link or quote, which law requires cable providers to provide ieee1394 on their stb? i can't seem to find it anymore, i'm sure i read it in this forum.
i want to use it as a weight when i talk to comcast about this new firmware 16.20 crap!
From 47CFR76.640 (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/09nov20051500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/octqtr/47cfr76.640.htm):

"(4) Cable operators shall:
(i) Effective April 1, 2004, upon request of a customer, replace any leased high definition set-top box, which does not include a functional IEEE 1394 interface, with one that includes a functional IEEE 1394 interface or upgrade the customer's set-top box by download or other means to ensure that the IEEE 1394 interface is functional."

I am capturing hi-def programming from my Comcast DVR on my HTPC via firewire using CapDVHS. Is there an application to allow viewing the video stream in a window on my HTPC prior/during capture?


Yes, VLC does that nicely and it's free.

hmmm, I have astound cable service and well, i have a 3250HD box with firewire ports. The drivers install perfectly fine. However, i was able to get capdvhs and vlc to play/record one second of video before it would crash. capdvhs would just crash the program while vlc would crash my computer.

oh wait.. hmm, it seems i can record all SD HBO channels. thats weird. but it doesnt seem to do anything for anything else. i cant even grab the local HD channels.

EDIT: also, ive been trying to look for the command/keypresses to show the status of the 5c protection. to see which programs/channels are copy once, free view, etc. but i havent found anything that says this. any ideas?

From 47CFR76.640 (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/09nov20051500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/octqtr/47cfr76.640.htm):

"(4) Cable operators shall:
(i) Effective April 1, 2004, upon request of a customer, replace any leased high definition set-top box, which does not include a functional IEEE 1394 interface, with one that includes a functional IEEE 1394 interface or upgrade the customer's set-top box by download or other means to ensure that the IEEE 1394 interface is functional."


Eric, Thanks! Really appreciate it.
I'm all set for this Monday, I'm going to try to get a replacement STB from Comcast (one below 16.20) and ask them how to avoid future firmware push.

I found a Copy Protection section on the diagnostic menu. (i did some more searching and i got it to that point, it turned out i was pushing the buttons wrong)

under it it says

Outputs
-----------Protection Type Enabled Constrained
DVI/HDMI: none-----------no-------- no
YPrPb: none ---------------yes-------- no (strangely was disabled when first starting PC until i changed channels)
1394: Unavailable---------Unavailable
Composite: none

Policies
HDMI: 0x0000000C v1
YPrPb: 0x00000002 v1
1394: 0x00000000 v1
Composite: 0x00000000 v1
VOD: 0x00000000 v1

CCI Events

Source Destination CIT EPN EMI BF APS
RF------Video Output---no--- no--freely-no--disabled
RF------Video Output---no--- no--freely-no--disabled


Now this screen true for all channels.

I am able to watch all of my HBO channels without any glitches using vlc. changing to HD froze the computer, the music channels work but the audio skips like crazy.

strangely, i just power cycled the tuner box and i can view through vlc most hd channels. however the only one that comes through without breaking up/glitches is HDNET. local channels come through all blocky, HBOHD is even worse. Everything else is about teh same as the local channels. i was also able to record a brief few seconds of my channel 902 (local channel FOX2, in HD broadcast) they just finished the news, and was playing a non hd version of friends, before it just cut off the recording and crashed the capdvhs recording program. the recordings do look better without glitches, there is just some page tearing objects as things get jagged when being moved around. im guessing thats just from being recorded from interlaced instead of progressive mode. any ideas on why my computer/program crashes when recording certain channels? but i can view them in vlc with tons of artifacts?

Is there a way to get these techniques to work to archive content off an AVHD via the IEEE1394/firewire interface ? So far I have not had any luck using it with my new Symbio on a Toshiba 42HP595 TV with cablecard. It would be helpful to archive some of the shows before the Symbio fills up. I am not sure which driver to use, or even where to get the proper driver. CapDVHS allows a Generic driver I found somewhere, but after the recording is done the file size is 0, or about 90bytes and unreadable. I am using Windows XP. Any suggestions would be welcome. Coincidentally, I do have a Motorola DCT6412 in another room, but that is not the unit I need to archive from. Thanks

At one point in installing the firestb.msi my XP Home edition recognized my Pace Micro TDC 775 - but the installation could not complete - both the Tuner AV/C Device and the AV/C Panel show incompatibility issues in Device Manager. I am going to assume this device is just simply unsupported at this time, unless someone else has a solution......

Hey, don't you hate it when someone says, "hi, I'm new here", as if it's not obvious? Yeah, so I won't bother with that.

But anyway, I've got a problem. I'm trying to capture HD video onto an older PC from my SA 8300HD, using firewire (obviously). Maybe I should've started a new thread, but this seemed like a good place to post this. Because my newest PC is upstairs and my DVR is downstairs, the PC I'm trying to use is an old Athlon XP 1700+, with a GeForce2 GTS Pro, and only 512MB of RAM. It's a piece of crap, I know, but I'm not planning on watching anything on it. I was planning on burning the videos to DVD and playing them elsewhere.

Because that PC is about 4 years old, I had to buy a firewire PCI card, and I've already installed that without a problem. I had everything up and running just fine, until I tried to install the drivers which are posted on the first page of this thread (firestb.zip). Right near the end of the installation, I got an error message saying "a DLL required for the installation to complete could not be read". I thought that perhaps the installer was corrupt, so I tried again with another copy, but to no avail. The drivers do install on the newest PC though, so the installer can't be the problem. Now, while the older PC is running XP, I don't believe I ever installed Service Pack 2, which I'm thinking may be the problem. I would've just done it right now, and then tried to install the drivers again, but that PC isn't connected to the internet. To do that, I'd have to run an Ethernet cable all the way downstairs, so I don't want to do that unless I absolutely have to. So could the lack of Service Pack 2 be the problem here?

One more thing -- and I feel stupid for asking this -- but, do I need a TV tuner card to do what I'm trying to do? I don't know very much about this, and something it says on the first page, "There are a few pieces of software that I know of that can capture using these drivers..." made me think I could do it without a tuner card. Did I completely misinterpret that?

DJK

I don't know if missing SP2 is the problem. But since you aren't running MCE, you only need the driver files. I've attached them.

You don't need a tuner card. All you are wanting to do is transfer a file from the STB to the PC.

Ok, thanks. But what am I supposed to do with those? To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure exactly what those drivers are for. It seems the more time I spend on this, the more confused I get. Because the older computer isn't connected to the internet, I put the drivers, and a copy of the first page of this thread on a CD, and took it downstairs to try and hook everything up. But when I plug in the firewire cable, I'm not seeing anything that says "Tuner AV/C Device" or "Tuner AV/C Panel". The new hardware wizard pops up twice, but with something labeled as "unknown". After repeating the process several times, I decided to try and install the drivers for "unknown", so I chose "install the drivers automatically", but it said it was unable to find the software, and asked to look online, which of course it can't do at the moment. So I'm completely stuck here. I've been trying to follow the instructions on the first page of this thread, but nothing is working for me.

Also, there are two firewire ports on the back of the DVR, so I thought that perhaps only one was active, and I had picked the wrong one. So I tried the other one, and while a box on the bottom right of the screen did pop up saying "Scientific Atlanta 8300HD", the new hardware wizard never said anything other than "unknown". During the course of this, I've had to plug and unplug the firewire cord several times to bring up the new hardware wizard, and I've yet to see that pop up box which says "SA 8300HD" like I did that first time. Although, something does pop up in the bottom right corner of the screen for a fraction of a second before the new hardware wizard appears, but there's not enough time to read it.

unknown device pops up a few times, before it says tuner.

i think the third device it found for my 3250 was the tuner, then it was panel..


do this, uninstal all drivers/hardware found in the device manager. then reboot when prompted. install the drivers found on the first page. then wait till after you reboot. after rebooting, then plug the cord into your 8300hd(be sure that the power is off, it will automatically turn on when you plug it in).

But for me, there was no third device. Also, when you say tuner, you don't mean a tuner card, do you? As I said in the first post, I don't have one.

And when you said to install the drivers, exactly how do I do that?

no its the cable box... av tuner device or whatever, and av panel device.


edit: if it helps any, i installed 3/4 of the things that were listed in the msi program. the first and the last two items. i dont know if that had anything to do with it. but it worked for me. i find it kinda strange that your box is somewhat recognized, but then doesnt fully connect. did you look in your device manager? and what happens if you unhide your hidden devices? do you see anything then? im thinking its installed.... check under capture devices.

Is there a FAQ that updates and outlines the recording process? Please post or PM me,

Thank you,

Ralph

everything is pretty much in the first post. including how to record using the software.

I looked at the device manager while plugging and unplugging the firewire cord, and there are 4 new things when it's plugged in, all of which have a little yellow icon next to them, representing the fact that there's a problem with their drivers. There's something called "61883 Class Bus Device", "AVC Device", and two instances of "unknown device" under "other devices".

Also, I couldn't find any reference to "capture devices". As for what you said about installing 3 of the 4 things in the msi program, I can't install any of them, as I got an error message near the end of the installation. That's why grittree posted the drivers by themselves. But as I said, I'm not exactly sure what to do with them. Without an installer, I'm lost. :o

It's not real easy because you have to disregard what MS suggests.

For each wizard that pops up, disagree with everything MS suggests until you get to a 'have disk' button. Click that (disregard specifying what type of device it is) and point to the meistb.inf in the driver package.

You will end up with one or two devices that wont install a driver. Disable them in device manager. The one that you want will say something like 'AV/C Device'.

Anyone get the 8300hd to work? I have everything installed and it is recognized in CapDVHS but the file size of the capture is zero and no data is shown on the data info tab.

Well, I have good news and bad news. I uninstalled those 4 things from the device manager, unplugged the firewire cord, and plugged it in again. This time, for some reason, after closing the new hardware wizard for both "unknown" devices, it appeared a 3rd time with "AV/C Tuner", just like it's supposed to. I installed the driver you (grittree) posted, and everything seemed fine. But then, it said that more new hardware had been detected, and the wizard popped up again, saying "AV/C tuner" again, or something similar ("AV/C panel device", perhaps). So I selected "install driver automatically", and it did. But then I got an error message saying that there was a problem, and that the device didn't start up. I thought perhaps that was normal, since it seems that this whole process involves ignoring what Windows has to say. I was prompted to reboot, and I did, and everything seemed ok. I opened the CapDVHS program, set it up as directed, and tried to record from ESPNHD. But the moment I hit record, I got an illegal operation. I took a look in the device manage, and saw two new entries -- "Scientific-Atlanta AV/C Panel Device", and "Scientific-Atlanta Tuner AV/C Device. But the first one has an exclamation point next to it, indicating a driver problem. When the wizard popped up that last time, should I not have automatically installed the driver? Should I have done something different?

Normally I'd just uninstall everything and try again, but I'm a bit afraid to, considering how many attempts it took for it to recognize the STB. Any suggestions?

has anyone gotten a Motorola QIP6416 box under Verizon Fios to work?

Right, unless you have MCE, do NOT auto install. Always use 'have disk' and point to meistb.inf.

BTW, I don't have a SA box, so the above assumes it works like with Moto boxes.

TJ22, sounds like CCI=0x02 - copy once. Try it with all the OTA channels.

For the second time now, my PC fails to recognize my 6512. Was working fine for a while, and now it's gone. Firewire card is ok. This happened before and I had comcast replace my box and it was fine for a while. Has anyone else experienced this? I have disconnected the firewire cable and reconnected it, and the new hardware wizard does not appear. I'm wondering if the firewire port went bad in the STD. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

So both "Scientific-Atlanta AV/C Panel Device" and "Scientific-Atlanta Tuner AV/C Device" need meistb.inf as their driver?

so how would i go about gettin my pc to connect and work with a Motorola QIP6416 box?

hi

I have followed the above steps and it all worked, however now my DVR is having issues. I can no longer fast forward or rewind. The arrows come up, but it just jerks forward slowly at the same speed as normal.

I have the exact same problem (and it's driving me insane!). Anyone out there who can help?