Is it at all possible to accomplish capturing to PC using windows XP Pro?

I've tried everything so far and only get:

An error ocurred during the installation of the device:

The data is invalid...

I never tried it, but I think there is no constraint on the composite/s-video outputs.

Okay,

So since my SA8000HD isn't active, I went to a friend's house who has a SA 3250HD box. I plugged my laptop into the firewire port, and it found the devices.

Yay!

However, tuning to stations, I see the video, however it's partially garbled. On all channels. I've only installed the FireSTB drivers and was viewing through the newest version of VLC. Is this normal? Is this something I can fix?

EDIT: I do not have the post-SP2 firewire drivers. Would that be the culprit?

I just got a 65731 and wanted to use my PC (actually a spare pc) to record HD content to. I've tried to install the TV as a device following the directions at the beginning of this thread but it just says that the driver can't be installed and I get devices with errors. I only get a AV/C Monitor ( not the Tuner AV/C Device" or "Tuner AV/C Panel" that the instructions say).

Is there a setting on the TV that I need to set first? Any help would be appreciated.

I downloaded the demo of FireBus but I hate so spend money on something that's tied to an interface card. And I couldn't find anything on upgrade policies - I don't want to get stuck paying to upgrade every few months.

I know this is a XP forum but I'd be willing to move to *nix if there is a better solution there.

I have Comcast in the DC area, using Motorla DCT-6200 cable box. I was able to record the shows with CapDVHS with the 5c=0 and copy freely channels for sometime now. Recently Comcast upgraded the firmware to 16.35 has cause a lot of un-explainable problem. First all channel shows 5c=0 and copy freely including OTA and premium channels such as Discovery and HBO, etc. But I am not able to record CBS and Fox shows except the commercials. I am able to record Discovery but not HBO even though diagnostic shows the same settings.

Anyone experience the same problem??

Has anybody run across this problem?
I had to replace my Dct6214 with the Dct3416 a few weeks ago. I reinstalled the drivers using Firestb from the opening of this thread. When I capture a program live with CAPDVHS everything turns out good and VLC plays it with no problems. When I capture a program from the DCT3416 hard drive using CapDVHS I get a grey screen when playing with VLC. CapDVHS does show info when capturing a file from the hard drive. If I run the same file through HDTV to Mpeg2 and then HDTV2DVD the resulting file then can be played with VLC with no problems. I can't figure out why capturing live it works fine and from the hard drive there are problems.

That doesn't make sense since there is no "live" output from a DVR. All output is from the drive, which is always recording. I trust you used the same show, first "live", then paused, then resumed?

Grittree,
Yes I know it makes no sence. When I refer to live, I mean when it is being broadcasted everything is ok. If I record (capture) from the my dvr section that was saved, I have the problem. I tried it on monday with 24, I captured it when i was being broadcasted and had the dvr save it. The broadcast was fine, The file from the DVR that was saved when copied to the PC later gave me a grey screen when playing.

Grittree,
Yes I know it makes no sence. When I refer to live, I mean when it is being broadcasted everything is ok. If I record (capture) from the my dvr section that was saved, I have the problem. I tried it on monday with 24, I captured it when i was being broadcasted and had the dvr save it. The broadcast was fine, The file from the DVR that was saved when copied to the PC later gave me a grey screen when playing.


Try watching in VLC-it plays almost anything. If it doesn't play first time, you probably selected wrong settings. It will crash your system, and you'll have to reboot untill settings ae correct. Problem is you will probably get something that looks like snapshot below.

Many who previously could capture to pc from cable box can no longer. It may be frutile to try and fix. Apple users may be having better go of it. Nonetheless, I have not given up hope because most of us are window users. Attatched if a snapshot of what I now get - unwatchable video and sound. Most of my snaps were clear. But when strung together they are useless. Also attached is stats from Vlc. Numbers and pictures make no sense to me but hoping they do to somene else. Also noticed that CPU usage is at least half what it was.

[IMG]Sorry can't upload images. They have acceptable extension. Looks like it is trying to upload, but after about a minute it comes back with message telling to upload again?? If anyone knows why, let me know, and I'll edit this post with my exam;les, and data.

I have been using this method for about 2 weeks now and notice that some channels won't work. Now I assumed up until now that they hd 5c blocking on them, but today I checked and they do not.

It says:

1394: Enabled Yes, Active No
5c implementation: No
Copy Control: Copy Free

The exact same thing is said for a channel that I can watch and record. Which leads me to believe there is something wrong between my cable box (the Motorola Comcast box) and my computer. I can neither watch nor capture this channel.

So if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Dwight (???), you are looking at the wrong screen. Look at the next to bottom line on the attached.


a8v, there is a size limit on attachments.

Ok, here is a find. On demand programs record perfectly with firewire drivers. What does this mean?

When you flip to an on demand channel is looks like the same pixalated crap. But if you play a selection.....presto. I'm recording again. It is only in SD though, and since time warner only has one HD, and it is PPV I have not tried it yet. But, again, why is on demand recordable but not network channels???

Try watching in VLC-it plays almost anything. If it doesn't play first time, you probably selected wrong settings. It will crash your system, and you'll have to reboot untill settings ae correct. Problem is you will probably get something that looks like snapshot below.

VLC is the program that is giving me the grey screen when I copy a file over from the my dvr section using CAPDVHS. If I copy the show with CAPDVHS while it is being broadcasted, I get no grey screen when playing it in VLC and the file is good. The copied file that gives me grey will play in media player, but is hesitating and audio is out of sync. If I process the file through HDTV TO MPEG2 and then HDTV2DVD, the final dvd compliant file plays with no problems. This makes no sence especially when grittree mentioned that both ways still come from the hard drive. Unless it has something to do with the way it is saved into the my dvr section.

Dwight (???), you are looking at the wrong screen. Look at the next to bottom line on the attached.


a8v, there is a size limit on attachments.
Ok thanks. For Discovery (one I cannot capture, nor watch) It says, CCI: 0x02, APS: 0x00, and RC Flag 0x00. But I don't know what I'm looking for though.

You look at the CCI. Needs to be 0x00.

Ok cool. And now would the R-50000 thing be able to get past that? Or is the 5c like Fort Knox?

Ok cool. And now would the R-50000 thing be able to get past that? Or is the 5c like Fort Knox?
The R5000 HD mod cannot be done on receivers that are 5c enabled.

Well I guess I gotta live with what I got. Ain't much, but oh well.

I finally got CAPDVHS to record correctly but when I schedule a recording, it turns the Comcast 6412 off after the scheduled recording. I do not have any of the boxes checked in the settings that would allow that. Am I doing something wrong? Anyone else have this issue?

I have a Motorola 6416 (Verizon FIOS) and followed the instructions at replayguide-sourceforge-net/dct6412
Using CAPDVHS, I see the Motorola DVR & click record but see no info on the data tab during recording. It does create a .ts file. I tried playing it with VLC & Media Player Classic but get no video.
I checked for the 5C flag but see a 0 entry.

I searched the forum but didn't see this problem.....please help.

You don't have to search very far. It's been covered in the last 10 posts.

Hint: 5c flag has nothing to do with it.

I hope this isn't what your talking about..."Many who previously could capture to pc from cable box can no longer. It may be frutile to try and fix."

No, but that is a true statement.

Read posts #3760, 61, 64, 65.

Thanks for the post. I was also trying to record on Discovery HD. I tried a local HD feed that did not work as well. I'll check it tonight to see what CCI says on mine.

I was successful in recording HD from the DCT6416 but only on 2 channels (ABC & WEDU). I checked all the HD channels. They all had the CCI 0x02 flag except the 2 that worked, which worked live & recorded. It looked fantastic with no sync problems. I did try one SD that also worked.
What's the deal? Are they blocking this on purpose? Is it because ABC is 1280x720 and the rest are 1920x1080?

I tried recording some clips from the final 4 on CBSHD, they recorded ok and play back fine, but I get occasional audio dropouts for a split second. They aren't always in the same place though, so it might be the playback on my system. But other HD MPEG2 files I captured awhile ago are fine. I'm always capturing files being played back on the DVR, I never capture live TV. This is contrary to the first post.... but capturing HD files being played on the DVR always worked for me... of course only on the channels that don't have 5C on, which are properly set up on my system to include the network HD channels, and UHD(big deal, it's already on QAM in the clear anyway).

I also noticed that I cannot seem to "break" the box with firewire plugged in, and BOTH ports worked fine for capturing video. Did firmware 16.35 finally fix the "firewire bug"?

I'll try some more stuff eventually, but it's kind of a pain to disconnect the DVR from my equipment rack and receiver. I also cringe whenever I unplug the box, praying that all my recordings are still there. So far they only got wiped once, way back when I had an old DVI 6412PII box. I had been having problems with it, and one morning all my recordings were gone! Swapped that thing out that same day for a new 3416, no major problems since then.

I have been using this method for about 2 weeks now and notice that some channels won't work. Now I assumed up until now that they hd 5c blocking on them, but today I checked and they do not.

It says:

1394: Enabled Yes, Active No
5c implementation: No
Copy Control: Copy Free

The exact same thing is said for a channel that I can watch and record. Which leads me to believe there is something wrong between my cable box (the Motorola Comcast box) and my computer. I can neither watch nor capture this channel.

So if you have any suggestions please let me know.
It looks like a problem with the connection from the PC to the box. 1394 enabled means it is available. Active means there is a connection, in your case "no". You may have to reload the drivers and start from scratch, that is what I had to do.
G/L

I will repost my problem since I got no answer previously - I see that Daptek has the same if not similar problem:

Following the instruction at the start of this thread, I install the drivers, using either XP-SP2, Win MCE 2005, and now Vista. I connect the STB to the computer using the firewire connector. The computer recognizes the tuner AV/C device - with a yellow error message. The message is:

"Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)"

I have replaced the 1394bus.sys and ohci1394.sys drivers, to take care of the firewire limitations with Winxp, and still cannot get the computer to recognize the STB. Another thread, about the code19 error, dealt only with CD/DVD units not being recognized.

My STB information is as follows:

guide build: 1.3.19 (5882s)
build type: DCT-FE-1.7H
platform ID: 641

Does anyone know what changes I have to make on the registry to get the computer to recognize the STB? Why is the driver not installing?

My cable length is about 15 feet, however it is one of those that light up when a positive connection is made, so I presume that I have a valid connection between the computer and the STB. The drivers seem to install, but the error message appears after I reboot per the instructions.

All, I have a question please forgive me I am sure that some where in this 125 page thread this has been asked but I could not find it in my quick skimming. I have a dct3416 of which I am trying to hook up to a windows media center pc via firewire 6 pin from the cable box to 4 pin to the pc. I have already installed capdvhs and yet the computer never sees the box. is there something that I am missing? Is there a way in the software to verify that the firewire/1394 port is active? I have checked the menus that I could find and no luck at this point. I have many things that I would love to retrieve from the box any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!!!!

I have MCE2K5 and a DCT-6412 III...

I used the timmoore instructions and it worked for me...

Do a live search because it won't let me post the url...

I went through all the steps to record through firewire from my motorola DCT6200. It even changes the channels, but when I try and record from it I get cannot start capture error with capDVHS. I have media center 2005 with all updates. I can capture through analog, but I would like the digital recording. Any help would be much appreciated :)

I have win xp sp2 and I have done everything that I know of to get the drivers for the fireware to install and yet still have come up with nothing. Everyone keeps telling me to use the Code:

MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0

to install the drivers. Well I think that I'm going to have to ask one of you the proper way to use this command line. It seems not to work for me. I keep getting a message error:

"This installation Package could not be opened. Verify that the packagae exists and that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer package"

Can someone help me with this... I have the Comcast Motorola DCT3416 I unit if that helps.

All this effort to get our PCs connected via firewire to the Motorola DCT 62xx is pretty much a waste of time these days - ever since the upgrade to 16.20 on these boxes and the advent of CCI: 0x02 - there isn't a whole lot available to stream that interests me - all my local HD stations are CCI: 0x02 - even PBS (this just happened a couple of weeks ago)

I was so excited after streaming the 1st few episodes of Lost and the PBS opera series - than wamo CCI: 0x02 and no more fun

I sure miss the good old days

All this effort to get our PCs connected via firewire to the Motorola DCT 62xx is pretty much a waste of time these days - ever since the upgrade to 16.20 on these boxes and the advent of CCI: 0x02 - there isn't a whole lot available to stream that interests me - all my local HD stations are CCI: 0x02 - even PBS (this just happened a couple of weeks ago)

I was so excited after streaming the 1st few episodes of Lost and the PBS opera series - than wamo CCI: 0x02 and no more fun

I sure miss the good old days


So the FCC Firewire mandate is just another useless, meaningless rule full of loopholes. :mad: It's ONLY value being it makes the FCC look like they are doing something to help the consumer. :mad:

So the FCC Firewire mandate is just another useless, meaningless rule full of loopholes. :mad: It's ONLY value being it makes the FCC look like they are doing something to help the consumer. :mad:
are the channels encrypted? the couple of times i called and complained about the locals being encrypted and dropping the "I'm going to the FCC & franchise board" the situation was cleared up in a matter of days, i mean if they channels are in the clear, can they still set them to record once/never?

It looks like it is the beginning of the end for Insight cable customers, atleast in my area. They have enabled a CCI flag on Showtime now, so no more recording to my PC. I still have HDNet Movies, but with Comcast buying them, that channel will be gone by the end of the year. Corporate America sucks!

OK, I finally got it working again, and the only channels I seem to be able to record are WPIX HD and PBS HD. All the other channels are a no go.

Has anyone called Verizon FIOS to find out what the deal is? This would have been the perfect way to archive a few movies on want on HD, which is all I needed this setup for....but now it appears all but useless.

Are all the channels encoded with a flag, or just certain programs?

well i almost got it working lol.
i have an 8300hd hooked up via firewire. the devices that i have currently installed are
scientific-atlanta av/c panel device (explorer8300hd)
scientific-atlanta tuner av/c device (explorer8300hd)

this is my second time installing the drivers. on capdvhs the first time i was able to select
the scientific atlanta or unknown video, i was unable to record on anything only sample grabber errors or no capture device.

after reinstalling again i only get 1 tuner option to record to - unknown video
this time i can record but i see no data in the data info tab i see the record timer counting down, but my files are 0 bytes and it crashes after 15-20 seconds. any ideas?

Hey there anyword on x64 64bit drivers for vista around somewhere?

thanks

Ok so im new to this and still a little confused. I have a Mototola DCT6412 III from Comcast. I live in the central valley of CA. I have HBO in HD and when i look at the flag it says 0x00 but I still cant record off it? Could someone plesase explain this a little bit more to me.

Well they hit me this morning around 2am with FW: 16.35 on my diagnostics it also says 1394: Enabled Yes, Active No but I can still watch TV through VLC and record HBO @Max 2,4,7 on my PC, On Demand is still a no go here in LA.

When I saw the box DL I thought okay the funs over because I knew they were going to wipe my 8.14 FW and I thought for sure I was screwed and would be canceling everything except my basic cable.

But to my surprise nothing has changed as far recording everything is still the same, so I guess I won't be canceling after all. :o

That's cool because i have a d11 page showing Active Ports 0 and 5C Implementation 1 with v. 12.35 and it still somewhat pisses me off.

I followed the instructions and have been able to record HD content from my Motorola 3416 to my PC (Sony VGX-XL2A) through MCE. On HD content I get sound.

My problem is that suddenly with SD content I get no sound with Live TV or recordings. SD recordings that I made prior to installing the STB drivers will no longer play sound.

Through MCE I also get sound from Music and windows sounds, just no SD TV sound.

Strange, I've spent several hours troubleshooting to no avail. Any suggestions would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks,

Kurt

VincentVonDarkne

I had The same problems trying to load drivers in XP from firestb.msi. This worked for me.
Save firestb.msi in "C" root directory. C:\.
Enter in Start/Run: MSIEXEC /i c:\firestb.msi IDENT=0.

Have a weird issue that I'm wondering if anyone else has had.

Apparently, Motorola has pushed out a firmware update to the 6200's series boxes. My cable company Service Electric Cable, pushed it out on Sunday Night. I have been using this box with firewire and MCE for over a year, no problem. Then, all of the sudden, the picture on the analog stations through the box became jumpy, almost looking like a webcam picture. The digital stations through my box were fine, but the analog are bad. I figured my box fried, so I exchanged it for another box. Everything was fine, but then I plugged in the firewire and back to the same crappy picture. Once again, everything works great on digital channels, but crappy on analog. Anyone else having this issue?

-jocal

Hey guys there are so many pages that I couldnt sort it all out, so I'm just gonna post. I got a brand new SA3800HD from Brighthouse yesterday and has two 1394 ports on the back. I went into the diagnostic screen but was unable to tell if they were active or not. So is there a way of telling if your 1394 connection is active?

BTW - Its running Passport

I have been using this method for about 2 weeks now and notice that some channels won't work. Now I assumed up until now that they hd 5c blocking on them, but today I checked and they do not.

It says:

1394: Enabled Yes, Active No
5c implementation: No
Copy Control: Copy Free

The exact same thing is said for a channel that I can watch and record. Which leads me to believe there is something wrong between my cable box (the Motorola Comcast box) and my computer. I can neither watch nor capture this channel.

So if you have any suggestions please let me know.


I have the same thing. We had Insight here which just switched to Comcast, and a firmware upgrade to 16.35 was just pushed through. Now I can't record UHD but others do record... the message reads the same for all of them as quoted above. I also tried resetting the box, no luck.

Is it really not possible to capture previously recorded programs from the HD DVR onto a PC through firewire?

This link says I can:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/

Also, can I burn the captured video onto a Blu-ray Disc?

Is it really not possible to capture previously recorded programs from the HD DVR onto a PC through firewire?

This link says I can:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/

Also, can I burn the captured video onto a Blu-ray Disc?

Others say you can't, but I have had no problems capturing stored programs on my Comcast 3416. Of course the program can't be from a channel with 5C on. In fact that's all I do, since I have to physically unplug my box and move it over to the computer in the other room.

As far as burning to Blu-Ray, are their any burners yet for the PC? If so they have to be expensive, not to mention the discs probably about $20 a pop. Also what software supports burning to Blu-Ray disc? But if you had a .ts or .ts converted into a regular MPEG2 movie file from the DVR, which is obviously not protected in any way if you got it onto the PC, I don't see why you couldn't burn it onto a blu-ray disc, copyright and DRM wise.

hello i've been trying to read some of the post on here. im not too computer savy, so im having a bit of a hard time following. i was wondering if anyone can help me. i have a moxi box bmc from time warner. ive recoreded shows but nothing hd or from big networks its a local show from another country. my question is how exactly can i use to usb port can i directly connect it to my pc? or how exactly to i connect the two? thanx for the help i'd greatly appreciate it.

Hi,

I've followed the links to find the Firewire drivers for the motorola 6412. Thanks ! Do I need to look for another set of drivers for the Motorola DCT3400 ? I'm not near my cable box right now, so I'm hoping to find out if others have successfully recorded from the DCT3400 . Right now, the 3400 doesn't seem to output info over the 1394 port that I've connected to my JVD HM-DH30000 DVHS.

Others say you can't, but I have had no problems capturing stored programs on my Comcast 3416. Of course the program can't be from a channel with 5C on. In fact that's all I do, since I have to physically unplug my box and move it over to the computer in the other room.

As far as burning to Blu-Ray, are their any burners yet for the PC? If so they have to be expensive, not to mention the discs probably about $20 a pop. Also what software supports burning to Blu-Ray disc?

Great, I'm trying to use a DCT3400 for Firewire capture to WindowsXP laptop or a DVHS (JVS HM30000). Haven't been able to get it to work yet ...

For for short-term strategies for authoring to HD discs, here's an article on how to use a DVD-DL for storing smaller files to be played on a BlueRay or HD-DVD. I haven't tried this yet, but I'll get to it and run a disk at a store as I'm delaying the purchase of these HD players.

NOTE: I'll add the link soon, as this group requires five posts before allowing me to include links.

Sting, there is only one set of drivers ever written. meitape.sys and meistrm.sys. meistb.sys in the Moore set is the same as meitape.sys

The problem is getting an updated INF file that tells windows to install those two drivers for the device_id of the STB.

See post #3462 for details. Don't know about the Moto3400. And, of course, copy controls have made this pretty useless on many cable systems.

Sting, there is only one set of drivers ever written. meitape.sys and meistrm.sys. meistb.sys in the Moore set is the same as meitape.sys

The problem is getting an updated INF file that tells windows to install those two drivers for the device_id of the STB.

See post #3462 for details. Don't know about the Moto3400. And, of course, copy controls have made this pretty useless on many cable systems.

Thanks, grittree. I've read your earlier posts, and you've been very helpful solving problems. The INF file seems tom contain information about a Matsushita device so I balked installing them last night. I'll try again tonight.

As far as burning to Blu-Ray, are their any burners yet for the PC? If so they have to be expensive, not to mention the discs probably about $20 a pop. Also what software supports burning to Blu-Ray disc?

Yes, BlueRay burners are available at shop4tech and others, but they're still in the $800-1000 range. HP announced it would be making some HD burners for less. Write once disks are about $20 while RW are about $25. As for software, I think Pinnacle Studio 10 supports HD authoring and DVDIt supports HD disk writing. Though, I have not tried those packages, yet.

Authoring blu-ray / hd-dvd on a regular dvdr/rw burner:

http://www.emedialive.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=12157

Has anyone installed this ?

Update for Windows XP (KB896626)
Brief Description
An issue has been identified with your Windows-based system that may cause problems when a DirectShow TV tuner program is tuned to receive a Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) video stream on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=14caaf6d-198c-4197-82ad-28251f9c50a5&displaylang=en

I have a Kmedia tuner in the system, but I notice that the system slows to an unusable crawl when I minimize my HD playback window (Total Media software).

Yes, BlueRay burners are available at shop4tech and others, but they're still in the $800-1000 range. HP announced it would be making some HD burners for less. Write once disks are about $20 while RW are about $25. As for software, I think Pinnacle Studio 10 supports HD authoring and DVDIt supports HD disk writing. Though, I have not tried those packages, yet.

Authoring blu-ray / hd-dvd on a regular dvdr/rw burner:

http://www.emedialive.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=12157

I put 1920x1080i recordings on regular DVD+R's all the time. Transfer them to my $77 250 gig external hard drive and play them back through my Ps3. Perfect for musical acts from leno or Letterman or guest intervews. Also have HD golf clips from various PGA events. Great way to show off an HD system with pre-recorded best PQ clips.

Does anyone have the drivers_channel.zip file with the Vista drivers?

Thanks in advance!

I don't know if the drivers work with the Pace box, but keep in mind there is only one set of drivers (Nov 2003). The only thing newish is the update to the .inf file that matches the device_id of the (different) boxes to the actual drivers. No Pace boxes are listed.

But you can fix that pretty easily. Just d/l the drivers
and patch the meistb.inf file.

First, plug in the 1394 cable and cancel the wizard (3 times). Next go to device manager and disable the AV/C Panel and Unknown devices. That will leave you with one 'bad' device. Double click that and click on 'details'. Write down what it says through ..ID_0. My 3416 says AVC\Motorola&DCT-3412&TYP_5&ID_0\71....

Open meistb.inf with notepad and using 'replace' function (ctrl-h) replace all instances of "AVC\Motorola&DCT-3412&TYP_5&ID_0" with what you wrote down.
Save to a new file such as pace1394.inf.

copy pace1394.inf \windows\inf
copy meistrm.sys \windows
copy meistb.sys \windows

Now, in device manager, update driver for the device. Use pace1394.inf if more than one choice appears. You can safely skip the mstapeo driver.

Install capdvhs and you are done.

this worked for me, i have 6208 dvr, basically i didn't even had to replace anything, just renamed that file and copy&paste it, and it worked!!! YAY... now i'm recording this...

First, plug in the 1394 cable and cancel the wizard (3 times). Next go to device manager and disable the AV/C Panel and Unknown devices. That will leave you with one 'bad' device. Double click that and click on 'details'. Write down what it says through ..ID_0. My 3416 says AVC\Motorola&DCT-3412&TYP_5&ID_0\71....

Open meistb.inf with notepad and using 'replace' function (ctrl-h) replace all instances of "AVC\Motorola&DCT-3412&TYP_5&ID_0" with what you wrote down.
Save to a new file such as pace1394.inf.

copy pace1394.inf \windows\inf
copy meistrm.sys \windows
copy meistb.sys \windows

Now, in device manager, update driver for the device. Use pace1394.inf if more than one choice appears. You can safely skip the mstapeo driver.

Install capdvhs and you are done.

I've done everything that you said and this is still not working for me. I concider myself to be pretty computer literate but I don't understand why you want me to copy the files above and where I am supposed to put them.

On the device window I get the following error message:
"Windows cannot start the hardware device because it's configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)"

And of course it's not working. Also I am still only getting a "Tuner AV/C" as description. The meistb.inf file did actual contain my exact device (Motorola DCT6412) so I'm not sure why XP is not finding it automatically or when I specify.

Any help would be appreciated
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those that used the firestb.msi file... I have no idea where I am to use the "MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0" code. I keep getting the "intro window" that says I'm not using MCE and then a close window.

See so I have tried different options and still have not been able to do this. (Feeling rather inadequate at the moment)

:'(

Again any help would be appreciated
Alwysquiet

I found another post that worked.

I dropped the firestb.msi file into C:/
The went to Start->run and type MSIEXEC /i c:\firestb.msi IDENT=0
This worked like a charm for installing the necessary drivers.

I was then able to run CapDVHS. I do find it a bit frustating that the channels and prerecorded programs that I want to convert via firewire are blocked via 5c. Is there no way around this on previously recorded shows?

OK, I have a dumb question, does a Mitsuibishi LT46131 constitute as a HD tuner while plugging my MCE to the LCD via Firewire? For some reason, when I try to load the drivers for "AC/V Monitor" it doesn't detect it. What am I doing wrong?

I've done everything that you said and this is still not working for me. I concider myself to be pretty computer literate but I don't understand why you want me to copy the files above and where I am supposed to put them.


For those that used the firestb.msi file... I have no idea where I am to use the "MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0" code. I keep getting the "intro window" that says I'm not using MCE and then a close window.



Unfortunately, I and many others still use DOS notation w/o a full explanation.

For the 1st question, the line "copy filename \windows" means copy the file to the \windows directory (aka folder).

Since there was no full paths specified, you must be in the same folder as all the files named before typing. Use a command prompt, not the 'run' command to do this stuff.

The "MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0" should really read "MSIEXEC /i [path to]firestb.msi IDENT=0" unless you are in the folder where firestb.msi is located.

does anyone know how i can go about using a firewire cable with the DCT6412 and Vista. Sorry I am new to all this and i just ordered a new computer and vista is on the computer. can someone please et me know if it is different than Xp??????

I am using a DCT3412 and can capture fine off of regular channels. I have run into problems when trying to capture the recordings off the DVR. With the CapDVHS, it counts down the recording time, but there is nothing in the data window such as size, bitrate, etc.

Any suggestions?

Yup, change to a channel that isn't flagged as 'copy-once'. PBS should be OK.

I have a Moto 3416 and cannot seem to get my XP machine to load the A/V Panel drivers. Any Ideas?

Also I read somewhere on this forum that if I could watch a channel or recording on VLC media player; I should be able to capture it. Which seemed to hold until yeterday when I was playing around I was able to watch 5c channels with VLC and I was able to grab stills from the channels VH1 Classic and Discovery HD using the snapshot feature of VLC. I figured if I could capture stills I should be able to capture a stream. Anyone know whats going on here.

Thanks

You don't use the Panel driver with XP.

i dunno if this has been answered but, when i playback a show that i recorded off of my dvr, its somewhat glitchy

anyone know why? anyway to fix it?

Is there an XP SP2 version of the firestb drivers (Not going through the hacks).

Is there an XP SP2 version of the firestb drivers (Not going through the hacks).
It is the same driver for all Windows versions. firestb will work with XP SP2, just read the first post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3818890&&#post3818890) of this thread if you need to use the command with the installer to just install the driver.

You can also read this page (http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html), referenced in the first post. It has step-by-step instructions for XP SP2, with a download for the driver.

However, the most up-to-date driver package for the most STBs is updated by myself, and available at: http://exdeus.home.comcast.net/stbfirewire/

The driver and INF file comes from firestb, but which I updated with the following boxes:

Motorola DCT-3416
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 4250HD

How do I not install the driver a/v panel

Xp seems to be looking for it?

How do I not install the driver a/v panel

Xp seems to be looking for it?
There are different versions of the INF file floating around. The INF file is included with the drivers, and tells Windows what drivers to use for what hardware.

In some INF files, the hardware ID for the A/V Panel is included in the file, in others it is not.

But, you don't need the Panel device in XP, so you can disable it like the other unknown device, or your can install the driver with the same files as the Tuner if your INF file works with it.

If you really want it, download the driver from my post above (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10546774&&#post10546774). It has the hardware IDs for the Tuner and Panel devices for most Scientific Atlanta and Motorola DVRs.

Today I used CAPDVHS to record the America's Cup racing from Comcast channel 81 in San Francisco, I also used the 3416 DVR to record the same program. I played them back simultaneously on the cable box and PC and the commercials were different on the firewire recording. How can that be?

It is the same driver for all Windows versions. firestb will work with XP SP2, just read the first post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3818890&&#post3818890) of this thread if you need to use the command with the installer to just install the driver.

You can also read this page (http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html), referenced in the first post. It has step-by-step instructions for XP SP2, with a download for the driver.

I also attached the driver here, which comes from firestb, but which I updated with the Motorola DCT-3416, and also works for most Scientific Atlanta and Moto boxes.

This updated driver works for me now. The problem on the driver in the first post is that it cannot identify my DCT-3416. The driver installs but the device is unknown. Now I have it running on my Acer Ferrari 4000 with XP SP2 although I still have to see if the captured mpg file is actually readable.

Thanks a lot.

Oopps. I have to read more the first post to capture and convert files correctly.

Guys - I have made my setup running. Made 3-minute test recording of both HD and SD and worked just fine. The HDTVtoMGEG2 is great although I have not yet tested the commercial skip feature. My PowerDVD software played the converted files very flawlessly.

Today I used CAPDVHS to record the America's Cup racing from Comcast channel 81 in San Francisco, I also used the 3416 DVR to record the same program. I played them back simultaneously on the cable box and PC and the commercials were different on the firewire recording. How can that be?

I just could not believe it, here I am checking frame for frame between the 2 recordings, and it just doesn't make sense. Then i figure out there were 2 broadcasts, one at 9Am and one at 1:30PM. I hit the wrong schedule square on the DVR . DUH.

I will never post a stupid question.
I will never post a stupid question
I will never .......

I'm sorry no commercial skip just commercial scan on HDTVtoMPEG2

new here, will this work for SA4250HD via cablevision???


thanks....

new here, will this work for SA4250HD via cablevision???


thanks....
Don't know, but you can try. I imagine it will. I've updated the driver so it should recognize the 4250HD. I updated the file attached to this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10546774&&#post10546774).

Does anybody know if there is a software out there that can schedule a recording through this driver. Or is the source code of CAPDVHS available. Thanks again.

Don't know, but you can try. I imagine it will. I've updated the driver so it should recognize the 4250HD. I updated the file attached to this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10546774&&#post10546774).


it installed but its not streaming any information from it....

it installed but its not streaming any information from it....
I'm not that familiar with the Sci Atl boxes. Are you on a channel that isn't encrypted, i.e., a local channel on basic cable?

If a show streams, but doesn't provide info, you are out of luck. That show is copy protected (not encrypted).

If a show streams, but doesn't provide info, you are out of luck. That show is copy protected (not encrypted).
Explain:

- By what mechanism content can stream but not be captured.
- By what mechanism content is copy protected over Firewire without encryption.

This is Firewire. The copy protection scheme is encryption. If the devices on both ends of the link are not DTCP-compliant and licensed, then any copy protection (encryption) will render the content unreadable. Any CCI flag but "Copy Freely" will apply copy protection (encryption) to the content.

The only copy protection without encryption that I'm aware of is the Redistribution Control Descriptor --- the "Broadcast Flag" --- which consists of only some flipped bits and can easily be ignored.

If you can explain the technical basis of either of the two scenarios above, I'll learn something.

It's a semantics thing. I think of encryption as different than copy control. Perhaps wrongly.

5C is encryption. I don't pay the HBO fee, so I don't have the key, so don't get to even record it. CCI=0x02 is copy protection. I can record it but not able to get a usable copy to a non-compliant device.

Yes, BlueRay burners are available at shop4tech and others, but they're still in the $800-1000 range. HP announced it would be making some HD burners for less. Write once disks are about $20 while RW are about $25. As for software, I think Pinnacle Studio 10 supports HD authoring and DVDIt supports HD disk writing. Though, I have not tried those packages, yet.

Authoring blu-ray / hd-dvd on a regular dvdr/rw burner:

http://www.emedialive.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=12157

Try here also for Authoring HDDVD on regular DVD burner.
The procedure in here is what I use on a regular basis

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8105904&&#post8105904

well it works, i just installed the wrong driver... i think i installed the capture one not the "tunner" driver...

anyway it works, just some channels are very laggy over others.... And i don't think it has anything to do with system compatibility for basic channels sometime lag, while HBO HD works flawless.

any ideas? + tv guide thing doesn't work at all, any way in enabling that ???

It's a semantics thing. I think of encryption as different than copy control. Perhaps wrongly.

5C is encryption. I don't pay the HBO fee, so I don't have the key, so don't get to even record it. CCI=0x02 is copy protection. I can record it but not able to get a usable copy to a non-compliant device.
I would have to agree it's a matter of semantics, but it seemed that's what your argument was about.

Copy protection (or Digital Rights Management) is a policy. It enumerates rights and restrictions for content. One method of implementing a copy protection policy includes a flag indicating the policy, and encryption enforcing the policy. Another method would be just a flag that expects a device on the receiving end to honor (i.e., the Broadcast Flag, Macrovision, etc.).

Broadcast/cablecast systems employ a variety of scrambling/encryption technologies to enforce copy protection / subscriber access policies but, in the case of Firewire as it used in cable STBs, the method of enforcing the copy protection is encryption. "5C" or "CCI" both have to do with the Firewire output; neither have to do with the data stream delivered to your STB, unless the cable system employs a copy protection scheme that uses the same acronyms as 5C DTCP.

The long name is Five Company (5C) Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP). 5C DTCP defines Copy Control Information (CCI) flags that trigger either no encryption (0x00, copy-freely), or encryption with other various requirements for the two pieces of hardware in communication (any other CCI value). So really, CCI is the part of 5C DTCP that defines the copy protection for the content stream.

CCI=0x02 indicates a copy protection policy that stipulates copy-one-generation. But what is the copy protection? The copy protection is encryption.

In this context, there really isn't any point in distinguishing b/w something that is "copy protected" and "encrypted", because copy protected content is encrypted. As far as how the "5C", "CCI", "DRM" and "RC Flag" values that are displayed in a STB menu are determined, we can only guess. It's a black box, and we can only speculate what they mean based on the type of content and the empirical results of attempting a Firewire transfer. My best guess on the "5C Implementation" flag is that it is indicating whether the device connected to the STB via the Firewire port is 5C-compliant, that it has a 5C implementation. So CCI could still be 0x02, indicating encryption would be applied, while "5C Implementation" is still off/no, if the STB is connected to a computer.

Last September, with Tim Moore's help we modified the meistb.inf to work with my PACE 551HD. At the time I could not playback the recorded file, but a few firmware upgrades later, I can use capDVHS to record a .ts file and play it back in Zoomplayer.

My problem is that VLC (I tried version 0.8.5 and the latest 0.8.6b) refuses to display/record from the "PACE AV/C tuner", and even refuses to play the file recorded by capDVHS... I guess it might have something to do with all those null packet, as VideoReDo's quickstream fix can shrink my SD and HD recordings by 80% and 50%, respectively, by simply stripping those null packets... Is there any other reasons as to why VLC is choking, while capDVHS is just fine with the firewire stream?

I am about one third through this thread, so I guess I might find my answers as I keep reading, but I've seen a few posts of people interested in improving on capDVHS or dctrecord, so did anything ever happened in that regard?

PLEASE help me!!! I've read over 100 pages of this thread and I'm feeling like a huge failure.

I have gone through all of the steps on the replayguide site.

In fact I've done everything twice. Every step of te way was done correctly. I was prompted exactly as I read and followed each set of instructions. everythig works beautifully until I get to the part where I need to run capDVHS.exe so that I can begin the capture. I continually get the error message "Cannot Find Capture Device" . I know that it says to unplug the firewire, close out of CapDVHS and try again 2-3 times. well I'm literally on 2-3 dozen times. I've shut down the computer, rebooted, and even tried a different port on the back of my 3412 (the one I read not to use)... nothing works.
I've given it a few minutes to 15 minutes between tries... no good. I've uninstalled and reinstalled... no good.

Any ideas?

What operating system and what cable box?

Go to device manager - imaging devices, and make sure you have your AV/C device listed.

PLEASE help me!!! I've read over 100 pages of this thread and I'm feeling like a huge failure.

I have gone through all of the steps on the replayguide site.

In fact I've done everything twice. Every step of te way was done correctly. I was prompted exactly as I read and followed each set of instructions. everythig works beautifully until I get to the part where I need to run capDVHS.exe so that I can begin the capture. I continually get the error message "Cannot Find Capture Device" . I know that it says to unplug the firewire, close out of CapDVHS and try again 2-3 times. well I'm literally on 2-3 dozen times. I've shut down the computer, rebooted, and even tried a different port on the back of my 3412 (the one I read not to use)... nothing works.
I've given it a few minutes to 15 minutes between tries... no good. I've uninstalled and reinstalled... no good.

Any ideas?

I have this problem when I first setup mine. What is happening there is when CapDVHS loads, it searh for devices it can use and populate the dropdown box near the top of the main window. You will notice in your case, that the dropdown box is empty that is because there is no device seen by CapDVHS that it can use and the reason for that is becuase your driver was not properly installed. It was not properly installed becuase I am guessing you are using XP SP2. You need to read back the instruction on how to install the drivers in XP SP2. If you are using DCT-3416 box you also need to update your driver. This this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10546774&&#post10546774) for the updated driver.

Jez could somebody make a another threader only for vista pc's and how to record it via firewire because im so confused! I have a Vista PC and a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 3250HD.. cable provider is Brighthouse

I have the device listed on my device mgr. It reads AV/C panel device (DCT-6412). I believe this is correct accrding to the instructions. My device mgr says this is functioning properly.

Priesteria, I read back through the directions in the link and follwed everything for the XP SP2, the one thing I can't do is use the updated driver for DCT 3412 that is on the link you sent me to... I clicked on it but it won't read/download from this site. I just keep getting an error message... anywhere else that I might be able to get it?

Fenway, that is the wrong device. You don't use a "panel" device.

Read the instructions again. The device you want will be labeled "unknown". Point it to either meitape.inf or meistb.inf. They load the same drivers.

Drivers loaded fine on XP SP2.
Capturing direct from Mits DLP TV using cablecard.
Capture of OTA works fine.
Capture of one cable channel fine.
Rest of HD cable capture, CapDVHS fails after 1-2 secs with small capture file.
These HD channels show CCI=0x00 (ABC/NBC/CBS/DiscoveryHD,etc.).

Running VLC to display live stream shows many errors on these that CapDVHS won't capture. Also, video display shows major pixelization and breakups.

Is anyone familiar with VLC output?
Here's the message log from VLC while displaying 3 channels. First 2 are problem channels and last entry is channel I can capture with CapDVHS.

I have a Moto6412. This morning, I unplugged the moto completely, in anticipation of a new TV stand that was delivered this evening. After approximately 10 hours of being unplugged, I carefully placed the moto box on the new TV stand and plugged it into my HP plasma TV. I plugged it in just as it was before, with RGB cables for video, and white/red RCA cables for sound.

The moto box is sending the video signal to my TV just fine, but I cannot hear any sound coming from the box. I plugged my PS2 into the same component-in and RCA jacks, and it played fine with video AND sound (so it seems as though it is not the TV). I checked through the moto's settings and spent a couple of hours on the phone getting refresh signals from Cox's tech support, to no avail.

I really don't want to exchange this box for a new one. First, I am afraid that the new box will not be IEEE 1394-enabled, and I will no longer be able to record programs to my computer. Second, I have two "episodes" of the local news recorded on the box, in which my baby girl is featured. I cannot capture via firewire from this local channel, so the box is the only copy I have of the footage; I really don't want to lose it.

The Cox guy wanted to send an initialization code to the box, to essentially wipe it clean and re-load the default settings (but at the same time deleting all of my recordings and settings). Before I do that, I wanted to see what you guys and gals had to say.

By the way, I entered the Diagnostics menu, and hit option d10 (audio/video status). I have attached a few photos of this screen. Please take note of the Audio Mute and Video Mute settings. Doesn't it seem odd that the Audio Mute is set to "On"?? Or is this a normal setting, and it just sort of reads weird? Also, Video Mute tended to switch back and forth between "Muted" and "Unmuted", depending on which channel I was on previous to entering the diagnostics menu. I tried the diag menu while on the local Fox affiliate, and then Cox's TNT-HD channel.

Any ideas on what could have caused this, and what I can do to fix it?

Thanks!

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2319/dscf4422hm1.jpg

http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/5736/dscf4423ud5.jpg

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7760/dscf4425kr1.jpg

I have the device listed on my device mgr. It reads AV/C panel device (DCT-6412). I believe this is correct accrding to the instructions. My device mgr says this is functioning properly.

Priesteria, I read back through the directions in the link and follwed everything for the XP SP2, the one thing I can't do is use the updated driver for DCT 3412 that is on the link you sent me to... I clicked on it but it won't read/download from this site. I just keep getting an error message... anywhere else that I might be able to get it?
The device you need is the "Tuner AV/C Device" --- install the driver for that. You can leave the "Panel AV/C Device" installed if you want, but it's unnecessary. The "Unknown device" is not needed and there is no driver for it. Find it in Device Mgr under "Other devices" and disable it by right-clicking and selecting "Disable".

Also under "Other devices", you should see the "Tuner AV/C Device" if you haven't installed the driver for it. If you've already disabled it, then right-click on it and select Enable. Then right-click on it again and select "Update Driver". Point it to the location of the same driver you used for the panel device, as the instructions in the first post detail. Since you already have it installed, you may be able to just let Windows search and find the driver.

The moto box is sending the video signal to my TV just fine, but I cannot hear any sound coming from the box.
Have you tried unmuting the cable box? By default, the MUTE button (on Comcast remotes, anyway) is mapped to mute/unmute the TV. Try the remedies for the problem listed here (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#Picture_but_no_sound_.28.22MUTE.22_may_be_superimposed_ over_top-center_of_picture_in_small_white_letters.29) to unmute your cable box.

Likely, you just need to change the function of the MUTE button to work for both the cable box and your TV. One caveat, I don't know what remote you have with Cox, so I don't know if it's covered there.

Also, this one's a freebie, but the correct thread for this type of question is here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=464986).

What drivers do i need for Vista because i tried the others and it seemed they installed ok but then when i go to CapDVHS and hit the record button i get and error saying CapDHS has stoped responding and it shuts down the program. any help would be appreciated

Have you tried unmuting the cable box? By default, the MUTE button (on Comcast remotes, anyway) is mapped to mute/unmute the TV. Try the remedies for the problem listed here (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#Picture_but_no_sound_.28.22MUTE.22_may_be_superimposed_ over_top-center_of_picture_in_small_white_letters.29) to unmute your cable box.

Likely, you just need to change the function of the MUTE button to work for both the cable box and your TV. One caveat, I don't know what remote you have with Cox, so I don't know if it's covered there.

Also, this one's a freebie, but the correct thread for this type of question is here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=464986).


Thanks for the info, ExDeus. I will post in that thread.

I tried the first method linked on the page, regarding unmuting the cable box. The box is, indeed, unmuted already, but still no sound.

If you or anyone else thinks of any other fixes I could try, or has feedback relating to those screenshots I posted, please feel to reply here or PM me.

Thanks!

Thanks so much! I got it! the panel was the issue. Thank you all! Now I just need to figure out how to edit out the commercials on the playback.. but if that's the least of my issues I'm psyched!

Thanks so much! I got it! the panel was the issue. Thank you all! Now I just need to figure out how to edit out the commercials on the playback.. but if that's the least of my issues I'm psyched!

Try the free program HDTVtoMPEG2.

It is the same driver for all Windows versions. firestb will work with XP SP2, just read the first post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3818890&&#post3818890) of this thread if you need to use the command with the installer to just install the driver.

You can also read this page (http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html), referenced in the first post. It has step-by-step instructions for XP SP2, with a download for the driver.

I also attached the driver here, which comes from firestb, but which I updated with the Motorola DCT-3416, and also works for most Scientific Atlanta and Moto boxes.


Sorry for the noobish question, but how to I install the files for the 3416 on my PC. My 6412 turned out to be fried, so I got a new box (a 3416). I already have the drivers for the 6412 installed; do I just insert these other ones someplace, or do I need to use some sort of exe or command line app? Please be as specific as possible.

Thanks!

Sorry for the noobish question, but how to I install the files for the 3416 on my PC. My 6412 turned out to be fried, so I got a new box (a 3416). I already have the drivers for the 6412 installed; do I just insert these other ones someplace, or do I need to use some sort of exe or command line app? Please be as specific as possible.

Thanks!
It depends on how you installed the driver for the 6412. The driver is the same for all the different boxes, it's just a matter of the INF file you used. It defines what hardware can be used with the driver.

The INF file you already have may work, and so the driver may install by letting Windows search automatically, depending on the firmware on the 3416. To be safe I would download the driver I posted and follow the normal instructions:

Download the driver with the INF file I updated for the 3416, here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10546774&&#post10546774).
Unzip the .zip file to a folder on your HDD.
Connect your PC to the 3416 via Firewire.
Cancel the installation prompts for any unknown devices.
For the Tuner AV/C device, follow the directions as you did before to choose the driver location yourself, and browse to the drivers folder inside the folder where you unzipped the .zip file.
Do the same to install the driver for the Panel AV/C device.
Go to Device Mgr, right-click on the unknown device under "Other devices", and select disable.

It depends on how you installed the driver for the 6412. The driver is the same for all the different boxes, it's just a matter of the INF file you used. It defines what hardware can be used with the driver.

The INF file you already have may work, and so the driver may install by letting Windows search automatically, depending on the firmware on the 3416. To be safe I would download the driver I posted and follow the normal instructions:

Download the driver with the INF file I updated for the 3416, here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10546774&&#post10546774).
Unzip the .zip file to a folder on your HDD.
Connect your PC to the 3416 via Firewire.
Cancel the installation prompts for any unknown devices.
For the Tuner AV/C device, follow the directions as you did before to choose the driver location yourself, and browse to the drivers folder inside the folder where you unzipped the .zip file.
Do the same to install the driver for the Panel AV/C device.
Go to Device Mgr, right-click on the unknown device under "Other devices", and select disable.



Worked like a charm! Thanks for all of your helpful posts!

I had captured a show from my DVR to my PC and it worked great, playback was wonderful... all good...

Then, the next show I went to capture gave me an error message as soon as I hit record... "Cannot Open Output File" hmmm... so I checked to make sure everything was still checked and unchecked appropriately. All good.

I thought maybe it was because the channel I wanted to capture was protected.. nope. So I tried to capture the show that I know has already worked and that too comes up with the same error message.

There is nothing in the data window as there was when the capture worked... I'm trying to save this to the same folder as my other successful recording so I haven't changed anything there, except to rename the file.

I don't understand what has happened between last night and this morning to have caused this.

Any thoughts?

"Cannot Open Output File" hmmm... so I checked to make sure everything was still checked and unchecked appropriately.
Double check that the folder exist, that no such filename exist and that you haven't used invalid characters for windows' filenames...

I'm naming the file Oprah Winfrey Show (I was a recent guest) so I don't think there are any funny characters in there. I'm saving the file into the My Videos folder which already contains another show I was on. So I know it exists.

I also tried to save to my desktop and that won't work. I did notice a simialr question back on pag 124 of this thread, so I went through that whole process of disabling the file sharing, but that also did not work.

It's so odd that it worked fine last night and not now.

Any other ideas?

ok, I uninstalled everything and reinstalled it all back. I seem to be doing fine now. All set. Whatever it was is taken care of.

Thanks everyone.

help im new to this site ive recorded with the motorola firewire drivers they worked pretty good but i just moved to phoenix and my new box is a 8300hd and i cant find the drivers for my 1394 devices can anyone help please

my new box is a 8300hd and i cant find the drivers for my 1394 devices
Check the message 3820...

I have read a good part of this thread and am still having issues. I have no problem recording firewire in CapDVHS, but when it try to record HD through Media Center nothing happens, only one file is created. I am running vista if that helps.
Thanks
-Tim

Do I absolutely need to change the file extensions to .ts? Couldn't I just keep them as .mpg?

Yes, any 5C=1 material is encrypted and no, you can't get at it. Your fair use argument won't go very far, I'm afraid. The FCC has said that fair use means you can record programs & watch them later (timeshifting). It doesn't mean you are entitled to use a COMPUTER to do this. You can easily buy a JVC D-VHS tape deck at most consumer electronics stores that is 5C-compliant. It will record & play back any 5C=1 material just fine. Don't hold your breath for a PC-based 5C implementation any time soon, if ever.


I am brand new to Verizon FIOS coming from Directv so sorry for coming late to this thread.

In this post, I am doing my best to explain my question concisely so hopefully what I am asking is clear to you folks.



I have a question about using a JVC DVHS to play back 5C protected recordings on my TV.

Background:
Using Capdvhs and the instructions found here , I am able to record from my Verizon FIOS Motorola 6416 HD DVR onto my Mitsubishi Model 2000 DVHS or to the PC.

The 5C encrypted files are unplayable as is to be expected and the non 5C files play back just fine.

In reading up on 5C, my understanding is that if you record to a 5C compliant device (which my MITS DVHS is) then you can play back that recording and see it on the display device.

My problem is that my MITS DVHS deck has no way to output EXCEPT via it's firewire port and it does not have an mpeg or ts decoder like I believe that the JVC has.
I have no 5C compliant devices that have firewire inputs, and the MITS deck was designed to be used with a firewire STB or a Mits firewire TV.

In the past, this was not a problem since I merely used it as a storage device. I used it to archive MYHD recordings where I would use Dvhstool to dump to the Mits and to later retreive the MYHD recordings.
All this was done over the firewire connection.


It occurs to me that I have 2 ways to be able to view 5C protected material that has been recorded from the 6416.
1) Find a 5C compliant STB with firewire like the old model Samsung OTA STB and play my Mits Dvhs into it.
2) Record with a firewire JVC DVHS like the HM-DH5U and play it back to my TV over HDMI

Can anyone chime in on either of these options or tell me where I am all wet.


The post that I quoted seems to imply that using a JVC deck will do the trick BUT he refers to 5C=1 and my 6416 shows that 5C is set to 5C=2 for those channels that are copy protected.

Thanks,
Joe

Do I absolutely need to change the file extensions to .ts? Couldn't I just keep them as .mpg?
I'm assuming you're talking about after using CapDVHS, and not after using HDTVtoMPEG2 or some such program.

The de facto standards are that .mpg indicates an MPEG "Program Stream", while .ts and .tp indicate an MPEG "Transport Stream" --- which is what you actually have when capturing with CapDVHS.

Some programs won't care, some might not play the file correctly.

In CapDVHS, you can set the default output file extensions on the Setting tab, which I would recommend setting to either ".ts" or ".tp".

After using a program like HDTVtoMPEG2, which converts the transport stream to a program stream, the extension of the output file should be .mpg.

I have a question about using a JVC DVHS to play back 5C protected recordings on my TV.




No one has tried to playback a 5C encrypted recording from the JVC DVHS which is 5C compliant?

No one has tried to playback a 5C encrypted recording from the JVC DVHS which is 5C compliant?


You won't be able to play back a PC captured 5C encrypted recording on any 5C or non-5C device. This is because if you don't do the 5C key negotiations in the beginning of the session(recording), you won't have the session key to decrypt. The source will discard the session key once the session (recording) is over. The session keys are not stored, so once they are discarded, no one can decrypt the data.

Techtom

You won't be able to play back a PC captured 5C encrypted recording on any 5C or non-5C device. This is because if you don't do the 5C key negotiations in the beginning of the session(recording), you won't have the session key to decrypt. The source will discard the session key once the session (recording) is over. The session keys are not stored, so once they are discarded, no one can decrypt the data.

Techtom

Thanks for answering. Glad to find someone who knows what he is talking about.

What you said made a lot of sense when recording via a PC.

I am asking about a NON pc transfer:

If I record a 5C encrypted show FROM the Motorola 6416 directly TO the JVC DVHS and then play that Tape back on the JVC will I get a picture on the HDMI output of the JVC?

I have been searching the net for 2 days trying to find the answer to what I think is a straightforward question.



On a somewhat related note:

I do have a Mits Dvhs and it is supposed to be 5C compliant.
It does record directly from the Moto 6416 via firewire but since I have no 5C compliant firewire interfaces , like the 'old 'Samsung OTA Firewire STB, I have no way to display what it has recorded.

I pulled a chunk of the data off of the MITS onto my PC via Dvhstool but the data was obviously encrypted since Tsreader complained that it could not find any valid headers.
What you answered to me explains that even thought the MITS is 5C compliant.



Thanks,
Joe

If I record a 5C encrypted show FROM the Motorola 6416 directly TO the JVC DVHS and then play that Tape back on the JVC will I get a picture on the HDMI output of the JVC?


Thanks,
Joe

Yes. I do this all the time. HDNET--HBOHD---SHOWTIMEHD are all 5C compliant. I record them from a Moto 6412 to my JVC units and they play back fine through HDMI ( on the JVC 5U).

Originally Posted by Joe Q
If I record a 5C encrypted show FROM the Motorola 6416 directly TO the JVC DVHS and then play that Tape back on the JVC will I get a picture on the HDMI output of the JVC?


Thanks,
Joe

Yes. I do this all the time. HDNET--HBOHD---SHOWTIMEHD are all 5C compliant. I record them from a Moto 6412 to my JVC units and they play back fine through HDMI ( on the JVC 5U).


Excellent :D
I figured that this should work but I have been unable to verify - until now. Thanks!!

I was with Directv using an HDTIVO upgraded with a LOT of disk space until last Tuesday when I switched to Verizon FIOS (GREAT Picture Quality,BTW).

I knew all about the smaller disk in Verizon's HD DVR before I did the switch but figured if I could offload some of it to some other medium then I would not have to spend the big money on a 250 Gb or 500 Gb Series 3 TIVO.




Everything I have read about the 5C implementation makes me wonder if playing my 5C compliant MITS DVHS deck through a 5C compliant OTA STB would be an alternate method.
My bet is that it would.

Time to search around and see what each of these items cost.


Joe

Not sure where this question should be posted but im hoping its here.
I have been capping from HI DEF LOCALS from my TIME WARNER CABLE PVR for a few years now with no problems.
The receivers tho are really slow on tv guide navigation etc etc.
So i called TW up and they arrived with a new PVR but this time it was a HDMI one rather than the older DVI ones i currently have.
They replaced 3 of them and everything seemed to be fine until i tried to cap from them.
They do work but when i cap from the box and stop i then have to power down the box because the pvr fast forward or rewind will not function.
Now this happens on all 3 boxes.
Also something weird happens.
When its stuck in the wont rewind or f foward mode and i try and cap from any show while the show is playing i have sound but once i use cap dvhs the sound goes from the broadcast.
The only way to get this to work is to reset each time i cap which of course makes me lose the tv guide each time i do this.
Does anyone have any idea why this might be happening.
I have reinstalled all the software on my pc.
Im using 3 different laptops and its doing it on all 3 pvrs.
I never once had this issue with the DVI PVRS.

I just installed the timmmoore drivers and was able to recognize my 3250HD. However, there are three unknown devices that came along with the two that were recognized. Also, I'm using MCE but it keeps telling me that there is no tuner attached. I've also tried the D-VHS capture app. One of the devices available allows me to capture but nothing gets written to the file. The other device throws an error. Any ideas?

They do work but when i cap from the box and stop i then have to power down the box because the pvr fast forward or rewind will not function.
Now this happens on all 3 boxes.


It's a firmware bug. It started happening about 6 months ago on my Cox PVR after a firmware update. I'm hoping it will get fixed soon.

But im now thinking i should try and get my DVI boxes back because i didnt have this problem with them

1st thank you all for the time and postings. I did a lot of this a few years back but kids and work have kept me off of the web.

I have a DELL XPSM1710 with MCE 2005 and all service packs, connected to my DCT6416 III. In DM i have Motorola Tuner AV/C device (DCT-6416) enabled. The AV/C Panel is disabled. The "unknown" device is also disabled. I have nero7 ultra latest installed, as well as VLC. I have set up D-VHS Mpeg as directed in forums. w/ following:
Convert 188 bytes
Check PTS
Delete to SyncBye
PS File EXT.ts
188 Bytes TS File Ext .mpg
192 Bytes TS File Ext .mpg

Questions:
1. when recording my size on the Data Info page says 544 x 480, aspect 4:3 PTS blank, layer blank, all others blank... Is this normal and expected. Not very good picture quality. I get better picture if I tap my panasonic Digital camcorder to back of my SONY AV center. How do I increase resolution size? I am not using any other PC software controls. I turn on the tV select the saved show hit play then click on the record button on the D-VHS. Are there output settings I can change on my Motorola Unit.

2. Unable to launch Nero Vision 4 while tuner AV/C decice enabled.(BSOD) on MEISTB.sys. When I remove firewire cable I can launch Nero vision. I read on some other postings somewhere on web where someone was going straight from Motorola 6416 to nero MPeg4. I have no problem shifting laptop to standard XP pro or any flavor of Vista. Does anyone have any thoughs or links to achive this or is there no real benifit. :)

when recording my size on the Data Info page says 544 x 480, aspect 4:3 PTS blank, layer blank, all others blank... Is this normal and expected.
That is how your cable company is transmitting on that specific channel...

It's a firmware bug. It started happening about 6 months ago on my Cox PVR after a firmware update. I'm hoping it will get fixed soon.


I had a 6412 that crashed on me a week or two ago. It had the same problem with FF/RW after capturing. After the crash, Cox gave me a 3416, and the FF/RW problem is nonexistent. It is very nice not having to reboot the box whenever we want to FF/RW a show.

I just installed the timmmoore drivers and was able to recognize my 3250HD. However, there are three unknown devices that came along with the two that were recognized.
The others shouldn't matter as long as the Tuner and Panel devices get installed. You should be able to disable the others in the Device Mgr.

Also, I'm using MCE but it keeps telling me that there is no tuner attached.
I don't use MCE, but from what I remember, the timmmoore driver setup allows you to record the channel from your STB over Firewire, but MCE still requires an analog tuner card, so it still records the same channel with the analog tuner while it captures the Firewire. Do you have a tuner card installed?

I've also tried the D-VHS capture app. One of the devices available allows me to capture but nothing gets written to the file. The other device throws an error. Any ideas?
I would use the tuner device that works. I would guess you are trying to capture an encrypted channel, and that is why nothing shows in the file. Does the file play back blank video, or is the file actually 0 bytes? Make sure you are on an unencrypted channel, like a local one.

I would correct the bolded settings:

Convert 188 bytes
Check PTS
Delete to SyncBye
PS File EXT .mpg
188 Bytes TS File Ext .ts
192 Bytes TS File Ext .ts

1. when recording my size on the Data Info page says 544 x 480, aspect 4:3 PTS blank, layer blank, all others blank... Is this normal and expected.
The output from the Firewire port will always be in the native format in which it is broadcasted/cablecasted. So, on some channels, it will be low resolution and bitrate, like you show. This is normal, and the stream data is normal, although it should also show a bitrate. If it is missing resolution, aspect, or bitrate, it may indicate you are attempting to capture an encrypted channel/program, which won't work with a PC.

2. Unable to launch Nero Vision 4 while tuner AV/C decice enabled.(BSOD) on MEISTB.sys.
I have the same issue, and always have, on different machines and with different software. Basically any capture software other than CapDVHS produces a BSOD for me. I believe it to be a driver issue, which obviously isn't being updated, so we deal with it until another driver comes along.

I read on some other postings somewhere on web where someone was going straight from Motorola 6416 to nero MPeg4. I have no problem shifting laptop to standard XP pro or any flavor of Vista. Does anyone have any thoughs or links to achive this or is there no real benifit.
I wouldn't recommend this anyway. Unless you're really trying to conserve space on the fly, I would do 2-pass transcodings of your captures after the fact. This should give much better quality by not forcing your box to encode the incoming stream in real time. It also gives the option to encode in a higher-quality format, like AVC. If you're concerned about time or HDD space, then I don't know how others have gotten this to work with the current driver.

Thank you all, so I need to insure that the family records from the digital channels and not the analog ones. That should yeild higher resolution.
Doing a multipass is always my thought proccess. I have a server which does nothing but run Nero Recode and DVD cloning ripping etc all day long. I was just using the laptop to grab as the cable box is in the living room and the servers are in the garage. I guess i could buy another box and tap it into where the cable modem is in the garage.

I was unable to get my Verizon issued Motorola 6416 device installed using the timmmoore drivers listed in the instruction on the first page in this thread.

Maybe the 6416 from Verizon is different and has been covered elsewhere in this thread but I gave up looking after the first 10 pages of this thread.

I thought I would pass on my results with this particular device.

I used this driver for my 6416:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/motorola6412_firewire.zip

When I plugged in the 1394 cable and got the 'new device found' message, I chose CANCEL when it asked about 'Unknown Device' as well as the 'Panel Device'.

Then I used the 'let me pick my own driver/have disk" in the device install procedure for the AVC Tuner device and pointed it at where I unzipped the above driver.
You need to uncheck the box that says "Show All Compatible ..." check box during the installation of the driver and then scroll throgh the list. There is an entry for the "6416 Panel device" as well as "6416 AVS Tuner Device"
Pick the Tuner device and you will be good to go.

After I did this, I went back and disabled the Unknown and the Panel Device and am successfully capturing with Capdvhs.

See the enclosed picture for what my device Manager looks like now for my Moto 6416:



Hope thjis helps someone who is having trouble with the Verizon FIOS 6416 HD DVR as I nocticed that most of the discussion in here centers around the Comcast equipment. That was a bit greek to me since I went from Directv to Verizon so I know nada about Comcast.

Joe

Edits thanks to Lee11

I started a thread where I was listing a spreadsheet (work in progress) that showed Resolution/data rate as well as the 5C status for Verizon FIOS channels in MY area.

During the course of the dicsussion, I got to talking to a very helpful person who explained in step by step fashion how to successfully record and playback shows that have the 5C flag set.

You will need 5C compliant devices.

He also pointed out an interesting bug on the Verizon issued Moto 6416 that sometimes sets the 5C flag incorrectly.

See this thread for that information:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10663452&&#post10663452



Joe

I was unable to get my Verizon issued Motorola 6416 device installed using the timmmoore drivers listed in the instruction on the first page in this thread.

...
You need to uncheck the box in that menu and then scroll throgh the list, There is an entry for the "6416 Panel device" as well as "6416 AVS Tuner Device"
Pick the Tuner device and you will be good to go.

...
Hope thjis helps someone who is having trouble with the Verizon FIOS 6516 HD DVR as I nocticed that most of the discussion in here centers around the Comcast equipment. That was a bit greek to me since I went from Directv to Verizon so I know nada about Comcast.

Joe

Joe Q,
Thank you very much, this is exactly what I have been looking for. I had mine working when I had Adelphia but was never every able to get the FiOS box working. I was trying the new timmmoore instead of the ones I used a long time ago but could never remember which one I used.

Also, for those trying this, the check box Joe Q mentioned that needs to be unchecked is the "Show All Compatible ..." check box during the installation of the driver. It took me a few times to figure that one out.

For people interested in a capDVHS alternative that can be used from a command line... I have created GrafCorder (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076), it is based on SageGraphRecorder and HDHRcorder... It takes as parameter a GraphEdit (.GRF) file, the end time (or duration) and the filename. The GraphEdit must include a dump filter (and only one).

This is a first release and meant to be used with my addon and BeyondTV, but I figured others might be interested too... Don't expect to find all the fancy informations (about the stream ) shown in capDVHS just yet... ;)

Some of you guys are getting confused about the drivers.

There are only two drivers, both written by Panasonic in 2001 for Panasonic D-VHS tape decks. They have never been changed. No matter where you get them, you will always get the exact same drivers. meitape.sys and meistrm.sys. If you got meistb.sys, that is just a rename of meitape.sys

This isn't video cards with constant driver changes.

Joe Q,
Thank you very much, this is exactly what I have been looking for. I had mine working when I had Adelphia but was never every able to get the FiOS box working. I was trying the new timmmoore instead of the ones I used a long time ago but could never remember which one I used.

Also, for those trying this, the check box Joe Q mentioned that needs to be unchecked is the "Show All Compatible ..." check box during the installation of the driver. It took me a few times to figure that one out.

I am glad that it helped someone. I had Verizon Fios installed 2 weeks ago so I am learning as I go.
Somehow,I did manage to get the Verizon box to work using the other instructions. However, it bugged me that the device showed up in Capdvhs as 'avc tuner device (unknown something or other)' - you get the idea as I forget exactly what it said.
I stumbled upon the driver I posted and was pleased to now seemy device listed as what it really is.

Sorry about not adding more detail about the install process as that is KEY to getting this device to be recognized properly.

The PC hooked to my TV (different than this one I am writing on) is in a different room and since I am temporarily in a wheelchair recovering from surgery, I posted that info by memory because it is a bit of a hassle getting into that room.

Course, this gives me LOTS of time to mess with this stuff:)


The list in the driver page is quite extensive and I recall that it listed all the 64xx models.
My Verizon boxx is a 6416 and I had a 6416 Panel device and a 6416 AV tuner listed.

What exacrtly is this 6416 Panel Device?
Make me wonder if that referrs to somehow being able to control the PVR like changing channels and such.
I have had no luck with the "MCE 2005 Controller" channel changer.
I do have MC running on that XP machine but the tuner in there is the MYHD tuner which is a great playback device for these recordings.

Some of you guys are getting confused about the drivers.

There are only two drivers, both written by Panasonic in 2001 for Panasonic D-VHS tape decks. They have never been changed. No matter where you get them, you will always get the exact same drivers. meitape.sys and meistrm.sys. If you got meistb.sys, that is just a rename of meitape.sys

This isn't video cards with constant driver changes.
Well, not exactly. There are 4 drivers, and there are some differences, but essentially either will work. Whether they work for different STBs all comes down to whether the PnP hardware ID for the STB is listed in the .INF file included with the drivers. And, of course, the filenames referenced in the .INF file must be the correct filenames for the drivers you have.

You are right about the fact that they are essentially the same drivers written by Panasonic (Matsushita), but the timmmoore driver package loads the tape driver (meistb.sys) for the tuner device, and instead of loading a tape device, it loads a panel device with an altered version of the Microsoft firewire driver.


Matsushita -> TimMMoore

The Tuner driver:

meituner.sys -> (not included)
Loaded for the Tuner device -> (not included)

meituner.sys
Panasonic Tuner driver
Copyright (C) Matsushita Electric Industorial Co.,Ltd.
Windows File Version: 5.0.2195.1620
Internal File Version: 1.00.130.1200
Internal name: MeiTuner.sys


The Tape driver:

meitape.sys -> meistb.sys
Loaded for the Tape device -> Loaded for the Tuner device


meitape.sys
Panasonic D-VHS driver
Copyright (C) Matsushita Electric Industorial Co.,Ltd.
Windows File Version: 1.0.130.1430
Internal File Version: 1.00.130.1430
Internal Name: MeiTape.sys

meistb.sys
Panasonic D-VHS driver
Copyright (C) Matsushita Electric Industorial Co.,Ltd.
Windows File Version: 1.0.130.1430
Internal File Version: 1.00.130.1430
Internal Name: MeiTape.sys


The Panel driver:

(not included) -> mstapeo.sys
(not included) -> Loaded for the Panel device

mstapeo.sys
Microsoft AV/C Tape Subunit Driver
© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Windows File Version: 5.3.2600.2180
Internal File Version: 5.3.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Internal Name: MSTape.sys


The Stream Filter driver:

meistrm.sys -> meistrm.sys
Loaded for all devices -> Loaded for all devices

meistrm.sys
Panasonic AVC Streaming filter driver
Copyright (C) Matsushita Electric Industorial Co.,Ltd. 2001
Windows File Version: 1.0.130.1100
Internal File Version: 1.00.0130.1100
Internal Name: MeiStrm.sys



How do I to create mstapeo.sys?

The quickest way to get mstapeo.sys is to download it from the link (http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/firewire/readme.htm) at the top of the document. If not the following are the details of how to create it:

Copy mstape.sys from XP SP2 to mstapeo.sys in meistb drivers’ directory

Edit using a hex editor

Offset 130 is 04 BC 01 00 change to 0a 11 01 00

Offset 18bf is 8b f0 3b f7 0f 8c a0 01 00 00 change to 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90

Offset 1a76 is 8b c6 change to 33 c0

Save the file


Can I use mstapeo.sys on XP SP1a?

The following instructions create an mstapeo.sys for SP1a.

Copy mstape.sys from XP SP1a to mstapeo.sys in meistb drivers’ directory

Edit using a hex editor

Offset 138 is CC 03 change to D1 58

Offset 17ad is 8b f0 3b f7 0f 8c a0 01 00 00 change to 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90

Offset 1964 is 8b c6 change to 33 C0

Save the file

The list in the driver page is quite extensive and I recall that it listed all the 64xx models.
My Verizon boxx is a 6416 and I had a 6416 Panel device and a 6416 AV tuner listed.
Tell me the Hardware IDs of the FIOS STB and I will update my driver package.

Go to Device Mgr.
Double-click the Tuner device.
Go to the Details tab.
Select "Hardware Ids" from the drop-down box.
Select one of the Hardware IDs.
Press Ctrl+C to copy it.
Reply to the post here, and press Ctrl+V to paste it.
Repeat the copy/paste for each of the Hardware IDs.
Click Cancel.
Repeat the procedure for the Panel device.

What exacrtly is this 6416 Panel Device?
Make me wonder if that referrs to somehow being able to control the PVR like changing channels and such.
Exactly. Here's what Tim M. Moore says about it:



Why are channel change commands sent to AV/C Panel device?

The AV/C Panel device seems to be an emulation of the front panel of the STB and so accepts the channel change commands. The firewire tuner device does not support change channel commands and using the –f parameter with channel.exe to force the firewire tuner device to be used will blue screen the machine.

You are right about the fact that they are essentially the same drivers written by Panasonic (Matsushita), but the timmmoore driver package loads the tape driver (meistb.sys) for the tuner device, and instead of loading a tape device, it loads a panel device with an altered version of the Microsoft firewire driver.


I don't think that's exactly right. Don't forget we were using these drivers on Moto boxes long before anybody updated the .inf files. The update just made them much, much easier to install. When we installed them, the device was identified as Panasonic D-VHS AV/C Device and showed in capdvhs as Panasonic MPEG2TS. These aren't essentially the same drivers, they are exactly the same drivers.

One of the offshoots of updating the .inf file was some creative naming, including the words "Motorola" and "tuner device". These aren't Moto (or SA) drivers and don't control a tuner. The tape driver is still a tape driver, notwithstanding what the updated .infs call it.

I only brought this up because I can see lots of people thinking because their PC shows a Motorola device, they have added the STB to their PC. It might have been less confusing if the .inf file listed the Moto boxes for install purposes but kept the D-VHS in the name to properly indicate what was actually installed.

I don't think that's exactly right. Don't forget we were using these drivers on Moto boxes long before anybody updated the .inf files. The update just made them much, much easier to install. When we installed them, the device was identified as Panasonic D-VHS AV/C Device and showed in capdvhs as Panasonic MPEG2TS. These aren't essentially the same drivers, they are exactly the same drivers.
I understand, I used the drivers back then, as well. I don't know if an STB is supposed to be an "AV/C Tuner" or an "AV/C Tape" subunit, but I understand INF files and I know how Windows drivers are loaded.

The STBs identify themselves as 2 AV/C devices and one 1394 device. The AV/C devices are for hardware type IDs 5 (an AV/C Tuner) and 9 (an AV/C Panel).

The original Panasonic driver package (meidvhs.zip) that I have, supports hardware type IDs 4 (an AV/C Tape, from meitape.inf), 5 (from meituner.inf), and A (an AV/C Bulletin Board, from meibbrd.inf).

So, hardware type ID 5 was used from meituner.inf. It loads the following drivers:

meituner.sys
stream.sys (a default Windows driver)
meistrm.sys

The driver packages based on Tim M. Moore's (like mine), support hardware type IDs 5 and 9 --- the tuner and panel.

So, for hardware type ID 5 from firestb.inf, the following drivers are loaded:

meistb.sys (a/k/a meitape.sys)
stream.sys
meistrm.sys
mstapeo.sys (an altered default Windows driver)
avcstrm.sys (a default Windows driver)

So, I'm standing by my previous post until someone with more information comes along.

One of the offshoots of updating the .inf file was some creative naming, including the words "Motorola" and "tuner device". These aren't Moto (or SA) drivers and don't control a tuner. The tape driver is still a tape driver, notwithstanding what the updated .infs call it.
The naming isn't for the author of the driver that is loaded, it is a customizable name that is for your individual device (based on the full hardware ID). Because the hardware type ID for the STB is 5, like with the original Panasonic drivers, the device is called an AV/C Tuner. The full PnP hardware ID specifies the name of the AV/C device, in addition to its type, so that is where the names that have appeared in the updated INF files have come from.

The full hardware ID for my STB is "AVC\MOTOROLA&DCT-3416&TYP_5&ID_0", so it's helpful to show it as "Motorola Tuner AV/C Device (DCT-3416)" in Device Mgr, because that's really what it is.

I only brought this up because I can see lots of people thinking because their PC shows a Motorola device, they have added the STB to their PC. It might have been less confusing if the .inf file listed the Moto boxes for install purposes but kept the D-VHS in the name to properly indicate what was actually installed.
As much as plugging in a Firewire DV camera to your computer "adds it" to your PC, so does plugging in the STB via Firewire. You are not installing a D-VHS device, you are installing an AV/C device, which both a STB and a D-VHS deck are. The Panasonic drivers were written to communicate with a D-VHS deck, but generically, they're AV/C drivers.

The original Panasonic driver package (meidvhs.zip) that I have, supports hardware type IDs 4 (an AV/C Tape, from meitape.inf), 5 (from meituner.inf), and A (an AV/C Bulletin Board, from meibbrd.inf).

So, hardware type ID 5 was used from meituner.inf. It loads the following drivers:

meituner.sys <<assume you mean meistb.sys
stream.sys (a default Windows driver)
meistrm.sys


Well that is interesting. And clears things up.

What I do is put just three files in my install folder. meitape.inf, meitape.sys and meistrm.sys. When you install, there are only 4 choices for Panasonic D-VHS AV/C Devices. There are no "TYP_5" devices in the .inf file.

However, if you have the meituner.inf file in the same folder, you get more choices, including Panasonic Tuner AV/C Devices.

I didn't know that Windows would look in other .inf files that you didn't specify.

Nonetheless, the same two Panasonic drivers get installed whichever name you choose and whether or not you have the other .inf file present.

The original Panasonic driver package (meidvhs.zip) that I have, supports hardware type IDs 4 (an AV/C Tape, from meitape.inf), 5 (from meituner.inf), and A (an AV/C Bulletin Board, from meibbrd.inf).

So, hardware type ID 5 was used from meituner.inf. It loads the following drivers:

meituner.sys <<assume you mean meistb.sys << NO --- I'm saying it was meituner.sys
stream.sys (a default Windows driver)
meistrm.sys
Well that is interesting. And clears things up.

What I do is put just three files in my install folder. meitape.inf, meitape.sys and meistrm.sys. When you install, there are only 4 choices for Panasonic D-VHS AV/C Devices. There are no "TYP_5" devices in the .inf file.

However, if you have the meituner.inf file in the same folder, you get more choices, including Panasonic Tuner AV/C Devices.

I didn't know that Windows would look in other .inf files that you didn't specify.

Nonetheless, the same two Panasonic drivers get installed whichever name you choose and whether or not you have the other .inf file present.

No, I didn't mean meistb.sys, I meant meituner.sys. That's the point.

Now, I've realized at this point that I don't remember the original instructions. But if you do have meituner.inf and meituner.sys present, and you select "Panasonic Tuner AV/C Device", then meituner.sys will get used instead of meitape.sys.

If you uncheck 'Show compatible hardware' when selecting the driver, then you can select "Panasonic D-VHS AV/C Device" --- which will correctly load meitape.sys/meistb.sys.

But if you select "Panasonic Tuner AV/C Device", which is actually specified for hardware type 5, then you will load meituner.sys.

The Tim M. Moore-based driver packages essentially do the work for you, by loading the meitape.sys/meistb.sys driver for hardware type 5, with a friendly display name that matches your STB.

The point is, with user error introduced by not selecting "Panasonic D-VHS AV/C Device" (which has happened often), there is some difference in which driver can get loaded. Also, there is a difference in the Firewire driver that is loaded, mstape.sys, or TMM's altered mstapeo.sys.

I've been using TSReaderLite for awhile now to analyze captured .ts transport streams. It's now had a major overhaul and can capture direct from firewire using the drivers we're all using. Almost every HD channel I get on Comcast, except for CBSHD, cannot be recorded by CAPDVHS, it just traps and dies.

BUT with the new TSReader I'm starting to dig into the stream as it comes in over firewire (FILE->Select Source->firewire.dll || OR || CTRL-Click the Icon when you start it) and seeing some interesting stuff. Like VIDEO stream is DC-II instead of MPEG2 on some channels, variable bitrates, many continuity & CRC errors, etc. I haven't tried using it to record the streams yet, as I just installed and started using the new version an hour ago.

Let's see if we can use this great tool to find out why CAPDVHS is not capturing on cable like it used to (besides 5C issues, which ARE NOT the problem I'm having).

Get it here (http://www.coolstf.com/tsreader/)

Also, there is a difference in the Firewire driver that is loaded, mstape.sys, or TMM's altered mstapeo.sys. That's only the tuner control panel driver for changing channels [GetTransportBasicParameters]. I use the original SP2 version of mstape.sys renamed mstapeo.sys without the hex editing and I still get the drivers to load and can capture firewire. I have XP, SP2 and not MediaEdition, so don't care about channel changing since I capture right from my Mits TV w/cablecard.

Do you know about the DEV ENUM and how drivers and filters load?

I'm curious, because I'm capturing from my Mits TV using these drivers and here's what my device manager looks like (see attached image).

I had to show hidden devices to see the '61883 Device Class' and the 'AVC Device Class'

I've got the drivers installed, the channel app is working. When I run CapDVHS it sees the device(s), but when I go to data info and click record it crashes after about 9 seconds (regardless of what channel Im on). When I play back the file that was created (in the root of c:\) the video looks mostly ok, but the audio has a horrible stutter. VideoLan seems to play back the video fine, but again has the audio stutter issue. Any ideas? Note: This issue exists on all the channels i've tried (SD and HD).
Hardware
AMD 3800+ 4gb ram, Oxygen HD Audio, Nvidia 7900GT, Windows XP SP 2
Comcast Cable using SA3250HD.

I've got the drivers installed, the channel app is working. When I run CapDVHS it sees the device(s), but when I go to data info and click record it crashes after about 9 seconds (regardless of what channel Im on). When I play back the file that was created (in the root of c:\) the video looks mostly ok, but the audio has a horrible stutter. VideoLan seems to play back the video fine, but again has the audio stutter issue. Any ideas?
Hardware
AMD 3800+ 4gb ram, Oxygen HD Audio, Nvidia 7900GT
Comcast Cable using SA3250HD.AHHH, Comcast. See my post, 2 up from yours. CAPDVHS for cable STB recordings have been having problems for about a year now, depending on what area you're in, what STB & software it's running. I don't have an STB, but a Motorola cablecard in the back of my Mits TV and I have the same problem. Something changed in the CABLE TV INDUSTRY from the source to headend equipment to CE (STB or CC) somewhere that's causing this because I can CAP fine from OTA, but cable for the same channel is THE HEADACHE.

AHHH, Comcast. See my post, 2 up from yours. CAPDVHS for cable STB recordings have been having problems for about a year now, depending on what area you're in, what STB & software it's running. I don't have an STB, but a Motorola cablecard in the back of my Mits TV and I have the same problem. Something changed in the CABLE TV INDUSTRY from the source to headend equipment somewhere that's causing this because I can CAP fine from OTA, but cable is THE HEADACHE.

Are you seeing audio stutter issues? or gereral playback? Videolan doesnt crash, just cant seem to play the audio channel.

AHHH, Comcast. See my post, 2 up from yours. CAPDVHS for cable STB recordings have been having problems for about a year now, depending on what area you're in, what STB & software it's running. I don't have an STB, but a Motorola cablecard in the back of my Mits TV and I have the same problem. Something changed in the CABLE TV INDUSTRY from the source to headend equipment to CE (STB or CC) somewhere that's causing this because I can CAP fine from OTA, but cable for the same channel is THE HEADACHE.

More info, It seems that if I tune to HD stations I get a partial picture thats frozen, and the audio stutter. Issues with my onboard firewire device? Maybe its not able to capture fast enough? I have an Abit KN9 SLI Socket AM2 MB.

Are you seeing audio stutter issues? or gereral playback? Videolan doesnt crash, just cant seem to play the audio channel.I have 2 dedicated standalone (read $$$) hardware HD DVR's (firewire to/from my 2007 cableready TV set) that experience audio dropouts when playing back content recorded from CABLE ONLY, NOT OTA, to my TV over their firewire interface, but I don't get any audio dropouts viewing my TV while recording either from cable or ota over firewire to those IEEE1394 recorders[MORE HERE IF INTERESTED] (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10521847). On my firewire to PC caps, I get pixellated video and dropped audio when capping from cable, BUT NOT FROM OTA, for the exact same network broadcasts. I'm now trying to discern more by using the new TSReader I mentioned a few posts ago on this thread, and so far have seen many continuity and CRC errors in the stream, but not sure if they're because of the DATED Panasonic D-VHS drivers being used on my PC for that (That same driver we all use). (http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/wsb/html/view.cgi-showresources.html-TopRes-STB-20Firewire.html)


:eek: OBVIOUSLY, something has changed, and for those of us NOT IN THE INDUSTRY, we'll never keep up with it, or even know about it. :mad:

BUT with the new TSReader I'm starting to dig into the stream as it comes in over firewire (FILE->Select Source->firewire.dll || OR || CTRL-Click the Icon when you start it)
If you have more than one device connected over Firewire, how do you select which device is used by TSReaderLite? It seems to default to the same Firewire device every time, and I don't see a way to choose a different Firewire device. I tried changing the "device number" in TSReaderLite, but it made no difference. CapDVHS lets you choose from a list of Firewire devices, but I don't see a list in TSReaderLite.

Tell me the Hardware IDs of the FIOS STB and I will update my driver package.

Go to Device Mgr.
Double-click the Tuner device.
Go to the Details tab.
Select "Hardware Ids" from the drop-down box.
Select one of the Hardware IDs.
Press Ctrl+C to copy it.
Reply to the post here, and press Ctrl+V to paste it.
Repeat the copy/paste for each of the Hardware IDs.
Click Cancel.
Repeat the procedure for the Panel device.


Exactly. Here's what Tim M. Moore says about it:

I have disabled the Panel device since the driver does not work with it.

Here is the other info you requested:
http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/6360/tunerdeviceiw8.th.jpg (http://img485.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tunerdeviceiw8.jpg)

I've been using TSReaderLite for awhile now to analyze captured .ts transport streams. It's now had a major overhaul and can capture direct from firewire using the drivers we're all using. Almost every HD channel I get on Comcast, except for ABCHD, cannot be recorded by CAPDVHS, it just traps and dies.

BUT with the new TSReader I'm starting to dig into the stream as it comes in over firewire (FILE->Select Source->firewire.dll || OR || CTRL-Click the Icon when you start it) and seeing some interesting stuff. Like VIDEO stream is DC-II instead of MPEG2 on some channels, variable bitrates, many continuity & CRC errors, etc. I haven't tried using it to record the streams yet, as I just installed and started using the new version an hour ago.

Let's see if we can use this great tool to find out why CAPDVHS is not capturing on cable like it used to (besides 5C issues, which ARE NOT the problem I'm having).

Get it here (http://www.coolstf.com/tsreader/)



Are you using the FULL Tsreader?

I use Tsreaderlite a lot to analyze files but I am having ZERO luck with this new version that you posted.

Everything I try in order to get something from the connected device says "need Registered version of TSREADER"

First, I would like to thank all of you that have worked on this thread. Lots of good information here.

I am new to recording to my PC, but have been recording to D-VHS tape for a while, using a Samsung SIR-T165 for getting my OTA data streams for both the PC and D-VHS. I have found using CapDVHS, and programs to edit my files, that all my files from my local NBC and CBS stations are recording at 1920 X 1088i, not 1920 X 1080i. All the other stations in my area are running 720p and they seem OK.

Anybody have a idea why I'm getting 1088i, and not 1080i ?

Could I have a problem with my Samsung, or some software setting in CapDVHS that I didn't see?

Anybody have a idea why I'm getting 1088i, and not 1080i ?
Typically it's caused by the broadcaster's encoder, not by your recording device.

If it bothers you, you could try using fix1088 (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~balazer/fix1088/) or fix_1088_to_1080 (http://www.highdefinition.ch/fix_1088_to_1080.html).

Do you know about the DEV ENUM and how drivers and filters load?

I'm curious, because I'm capturing from my Mits TV using these drivers and here's what my device manager looks like (see attached image).

I had to show hidden devices to see the '61883 Device Class' and the 'AVC Device Class'
What do you want to know? Everything looks normal to me.

The 61883 device is a Firewire bus driver for isochronous packet streams, as used in consumer A/V devices.

The AVC device adds your AV/C Tuner as an endpoint for the IEC 61883 (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&hs=nsM&q=%22IEC+61883%22&btnG=Search)-compliant stream.

I have disabled the Panel device since the driver does not work with it.

Here is the other info you requested:
http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/6360/tunerdeviceiw8.th.jpg (http://img485.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tunerdeviceiw8.jpg)
Thanks. I updated the driver package. You should be able to use the Panel device if you want to do channel changing, etc. If not, as you know, you don't need it.

Thanks. I updated the driver package.
Here is the INF file to install a PACE 551HD receiver. I will be reinstalling and double checking soon, as for some reason my current installation has the PACE panel, but the Tuner shows up as the generic one.

If you have more than one device connected over Firewire, how do you select which device is used by TSReaderLite? It seems to default to the same Firewire device every time, and I don't see a way to choose a different Firewire device. I tried changing the "device number" in TSReaderLite, but it made no difference. CapDVHS lets you choose from a list of Firewire devices, but I don't see a list in TSReaderLite.I have two external recorders and my Mits TV on firewire. I just choose firewire.dll as Source in TSReaderLite v2.7.45f and it works.

Are you using the FULL Tsreader?

I use Tsreaderlite a lot to analyze files but I am having ZERO luck with this new version that you posted.

Everything I try in order to get something from the connected device says "need Registered version of TSREADER"Using TSReaderLite v2.7.45f and select Source firewire.dll

What do you want to know? Everything looks normal to me.

The 61883 device is a Firewire bus driver for isochronous packet streams, as used in consumer A/V devices.

The AVC device adds your AV/C Tuner as an endpoint for the IEC 61883 (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&hs=nsM&q=%22IEC+61883%22&btnG=Search)-compliant stream.I'm curious, because the device I select to load the drivers for is a Type 0.

Here's where I got TSReaderLite v2.7.45f (http://www.coolstf.com/tsreader/TSReaderLite2.7.45f.exe)

I have two external recorders and my Mits TV on firewire. I just choose firewire.dll as Source in TSReaderLite v2.7.45f and it works.
OK, but which one of those devices are you capturing from? And how would you choose to capture from the other devices instead? Do you have to physically disconnect the ones that you are not using, or is there another way?

I'm curious, because the device I select to load the drivers for is a Type 0.
Looks like you loaded everything correctly. With the Tim M. Moore-based driver packages, you just want to force the 'Tuner AV/C Device' (as it appears you have). With the original Panasonic driver package, you would force the 'Panasonic D-VHS AV/C Device'.

Here is the INF file to install a PACE 551HD receiver. I will be reinstalling and double checking soon, as for some reason my current installation has the PACE panel, but the Tuner shows up as the generic one.
I updated my driver package for the "Pace (Laguna)" as it was listed in the inf file you uploaded.

Can you see what the hardware ID is for the 551HD?

Go to Device Mgr.
Double-click the Tuner device.
Go to the Details tab.
Select "Hardware Ids" from the drop-down box.
Select one of the Hardware IDs.
Press Ctrl+C to copy it.
Reply to the post here, and press Ctrl+V to paste it.
Repeat the copy/paste for each of the Hardware IDs.
Click Cancel.
Repeat the procedure for the Panel device.

Thanks.

Thanks Erik for the links to the Fix1088 program. I am so new to trying to edit the files I have, that I do not know if my 1088i .TS files are going to be a problem or not. Thanks again.

Success with SA8300HD!!!

Thanks to BWALL23 for tipping me off to TSReaderLite 2.7.45f.

I downloaded it from http://www.coolstf.com/tsreader/TSReaderLite2.7.45f.exe
for the free trial.

At first I recorded the one minute limit allowed with "How I Met Your Mother".
The recording was full of artifacts.

After a couple of hours messing around I was able to record one minute clips from about 35 movies I have on my 500GB ESATA expanded SA8300HD!

All movies were prerecorded, live did not work.

Select fire.dll when opening TS Reader.

Check them out for yourself:
http://rapidshare.com/files/35575940/sample6.ts.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/35582252/sample18.ts.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/35586460/sample22.ts.html

The steps I had to take:

1. I reinstalled the firewire drivers with the vista-arc1 version (sorry I can't find a link) using the method from this site.

2. i installed the XP patch for firewire patch http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222/en-us

3. I stopped all unnecessary processes on my laptop including "disable radio" for the Proset wireless.

4. In TS Reader, settings: "Data Input Thread" change to CRITICAL
"Main Process Priority" change to realtime
"Stream Processing Thread" change to high
Change the buffer to 250MB for the Streaming Pipe
and 25MB for Thumbnail Pipe

I am able to record even some movies from STARZHD which is very strange because it is listed as copy once.

My ShotimeHD is copy freely but the recordings from that channel didn't work right for some reason.

All others worked very well, the only artifacts present were in the original stream.

The full version of the software is pricey at $99, but there are many more tweak option that are not available on the trial version.
I have not bought it yet because I want to give VLC one more chance.

I updated my driver package for the "Pace (Laguna)" as it was listed in the inf file you uploaded.

Can you see what the hardware ID is for the 551HD?
It seems to match the content of the .inf file:

Tuner
AVC\Pace_Micro_Technology_(plc)&Laguna&TYP_5&ID_0
AVC\Pace_Micro_Technology_(plc)&Laguna&TYP_5

Panel
AVC\Pace_Micro_Technology_(plc)&Laguna&TYP_9&ID_0
AVC\Pace_Micro_Technology_(plc)&Laguna&TYP_9

Select fire.dll when opening TS Reader.
That is great news you can get glitch free recordings.
I don't have a Source option for "fire.dll" in TSReaderLite.
How did you get that option???

OK, but which one of those devices are you capturing from? And how would you choose to capture from the other devices instead? Do you have to physically disconnect the ones that you are not using, or is there another way?
What other devices do you have connected? You might try disconnecting them as an experiment.
I'm capturing from my Mits TV which has firewire connections. I loaded the AVC Tuner driver for it. TSReaderLite doesn't let me select any devices, I just select Source = firewire.dll. I just have my TV attached to my PC running XP/SP2 (no MCE), drivers loaded and AVC Tuner appears in Device Manager, I start TSReaderLite and it just starts displaying whatever the TV is tuned to. TSReaderLite just grabs what the Tuner device driver is getting. I don't have any drivers loaded on my PC for my two external firewire recorders.

What other devices do you have connected? You might try disconnecting them as an experiment.
I'm capturing from my Mits TV which has firewire connections. I loaded the AVC Tuner driver for it. TSReaderLite doesn't let me select any devices, I just select Source = firewire.dll. I just have my TV attached to my PC running XP/SP2 (no MCE), drivers loaded and AVC Tuner appears in Device Manager, I start TSReaderLite and it just starts displaying whatever the TV is tuned to. TSReaderLite just grabs what the Tuner device driver is getting. I don't have any drivers loaded on my PC for my two external firewire recorders.

How did you get your pc to recognize your tv? What driver are you using to engage the A/VC monitor function? When I connect my WD-Y65, xpsp2 sees it as an A/VC monitor, and looks for a driver. What's the model of your Mits? Thanks.

M

How did you get your pc to recognize your tv? What driver are you using to engage the A/VC monitor function? When I connect my WD-Y65, xpsp2 sees it as an A/VC monitor, and looks for a driver. What's the model of your Mits? Thanks.

M
This whole thread is devoted to doing exactly that.

If you have installed the meistb package, you select the A/VC Monitor in Device Manager and INSTALL DRIVERS for by pointing it to where you installed the meistb drivers and selecting to manually load them since the .inf file doesn't have the Mits TV device info, so they won't load automatically.

I have the WD-57831.

Success with SA8300HD!!!

Thanks to BWALL23 for tipping me off to TSReaderLite 2.7.45f.

I downloaded it from http://www.coolstf.com/tsreader/TSReaderLite2.7.45f.exe
for the free trial.

At first I recorded the one minute limit allowed with "How I Met Your Mother".
The recording was full of artifacts.

After a couple of hours messing around I was able to record one minute clips from about 35 movies I have on my 500GB ESATA expanded SA8300HD!

All movies were prerecorded, live did not work.

Select fire.dll when opening TS Reader.

Check them out for yourself:
http://rapidshare.com/files/35575940/sample6.ts.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/35582252/sample18.ts.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/35586460/sample22.ts.html

The steps I had to take:

1. I reinstalled the firewire drivers with the vista-arc1 version (sorry I can't find a link) using the method from this site.

2. i installed the XP patch for firewire patch http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222/en-us

3. I stopped all unnecessary processes on my laptop including "disable radio" for the Proset wireless.

4. In TS Reader, settings: "Data Input Thread" change to CRITICAL
"Main Process Priority" change to realtime
"Stream Processing Thread" change to high
Change the buffer to 250MB for the Streaming Pipe
and 25MB for Thumbnail Pipe

I am able to record even some movies from STARZHD which is very strange because it is listed as copy once.

My ShotimeHD is copy freely but the recordings from that channel didn't work right for some reason.

All others worked very well, the only artifacts present were in the original stream.

The full version of the software is pricey at $99, but there are many more tweak option that are not available on the trial version.
I have not bought it yet because I want to give VLC one more chance.I tried your TSReaderLite setting for thread priority and buffers, but I still can only get glitch free recordings from CBS-HD through cable. Every other HD channel through cable shows 10-60 continuity errors per second. Even trying to playback content that was recorded on my external firewire boxes shows 10-60 continuity errors per second.

So, CBSHD from cable and all OTA HD channels record with no glitches and show no continuity errors (or very, very few). Everything else HD shows many continuity errors and has major glitches in Video & Audio.

I tried your TSReaderLite setting for thread priority and buffers, but I still can only get glitch free recordings from CBS-HD through cable. Every other HD channel through cable shows 10-60 continuity errors per second. Even trying to playback content that was recorded on my external firewire boxes shows 10-60 continuity errors per second.

So, CBSHD from cable and all OTA HD channels record with no glitches and show no continuity errors (or very, very few). Everything else HD shows many continuity errors and has major glitches in Video & Audio.

I had the glitches in the beginning as well, then i stopped the processes and ran the firewire patch and all was okay (also the vista-arc1 drivers).

Here's the HTML output from TSReaderLite tuned to both Comcast CABLE - Sacramento and OTA broadcasts of ABCHD for 1 minute each.

Filename ending in '-A' is OTA and '-C' is CABLE.

Cannot upload .htm files, so just rename extension from .zip to .htm.

Notice large number of continuity errors in the CABLE and none in the OTA.

Here's the HTML output from TSReaderLite tuned to both Comcast CABLE - Sacramento and OTA broadcasts of CBSHD for 1 minute each.

Filename ending in '-A' is OTA and '-C' is CABLE.

Cannot upload .htm files, so just rename extension from .zip to .htm.

Notice large number of continuity errors in the CABLE and none in the OTA.

Here's the HTML output from TSReaderLite tuned to both Comcast CABLE - Sacramento and OTA broadcasts of NBCHD for 1 minute each.

Filename ending in '-A' is OTA and '-C' is CABLE.

Cannot upload .htm files, so just rename extension from .zip to .htm.

Notice large number of continuity errors in the CABLE and none in the OTA.

Here's the HTML output from TSReaderLite tuned to both Comcast CABLE - Sacramento and OTA broadcasts of FOXHD for 1 minute each.

Filename ending in '-A' is OTA and '-C' is CABLE.

Cannot upload .htm files, so just rename extension from .zip to .htm.

Notice large number of continuity errors in the CABLE and none in the OTA.

Here's the HTML output from TSReaderLite tuned to both Comcast CABLE - Sacramento and OTA broadcasts of PBSHD for 1 minute each.

Filename ending in '-A' is OTA and '-C' is CABLE.

Cannot upload .htm files, so just rename extension from .zip to .htm.

Notice large number of continuity errors in the CABLE and none in the OTA.

I had the glitches in the beginning as well, then i stopped the processes and ran the firewire patch and all was okay (also the vista-arc1 drivers).Running XP-SP2 here, so not using vista-arc1 drivers, but I do have that firewire patch installed.

Running XP-SP2 here, so not using vista-arc1 drivers, but I do have that firewire patch installed.

What version of TS Reader Lite do you have? The one i used was 2.7.45f i think.

Also are your recordings live or prerecorded off a DVR?

My glitch free samples were from recordings off the DVR

I have disabled the Panel device since the driver does not work with it.

Here is the other info you requested:
http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/6360/tunerdeviceiw8.th.jpg (http://img485.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tunerdeviceiw8.jpg)



This is REALLY getting confusing.

I had to reinstall because I messed ijstalling a totally unrelated driver and NOW I am unable to find the 6416 device.

I got the driver from sourceforge and unless something has changed in the past few days, my screeb shot is my proof that I was able to choose 1 6416 device,

Now I can only choose the 6412 and the .info file that I downloaded does not even have the 6416 listed.

Since I had tried that darn system restore capability, I lost a bunch of files that I had yesterday.


What the heck is going on?

What version of TS Reader Lite do you have? The one i used was 2.7.45f i think.

Also are your recordings live or prerecorded off a DVR?

My glitch free samples were from recordings off the DVRSame version as you, 2.7.45f

Happens when looking at the stream (not recording) coming over firewire to my PC from my TV tuner when it's viewing broadcast network TV coming in over Comcast Cable and also when it's viewing previously recorded content from one of the two attached firewire dvr's.

The glitches I see are when viewing the stream with VLC, the errors (Continuity and CRC) show up in both VLC messages and in TSReaderLite.

In an earlier post you said you had selected the source option 'fire.dll' for TSReaderLite. I don't have a Source option for "fire.dll" in TSReaderLite.
How did you get that option???

Also, do you see lots of continuity and/or CRC errors in TSReaderLite when using it on live content coming in from your STB to your PC over firewire?

In an earlier post you said you had selected the source option 'fire.dll' for TSReaderLite. I don't have a Source option for "fire.dll" in TSReaderLite.
How did you get that option???

Also, do you see lots of continuity and/or CRC errors in TSReaderLite when using it on live content coming in from your STB to your PC over firewire?

Sorry for the confusion, its firewire.dll, not fire.dll.

VLC uses almost 100% of my laptop's cpu so i never stream with any program when i record.

It seems to have enough power to record without glitches as long as i don't touch the computer while it is recording!

I wonder if the problem we're encountering has to do with variable bit rate streams and/or stat muxing which causes the same.

Anyone on here technically savvy enough in A/V and brodcasting to be able to understand this stuff?

Conceptual Decoder Models
Smoothing Buffers
Buffer Leak Rates

I do get the basics of it, but don't know enough about current broadcasting and coder/decoder standards to be able to determine if that's the problem here.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7145912.html
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5991307-description.html
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7075584.html

OR, it could just be that that old Matsushita (Panasonic) driver we use it outdated and unable to handle the stream rate.

This is REALLY getting confusing.

I had to reinstall because I messed ijstalling a totally unrelated driver and NOW I am unable to find the 6416 device.

I got the driver from sourceforge and unless something has changed in the past few days, my screeb shot is my proof that I was able to choose 1 6416 device,

Now I can only choose the 6412 and the .info file that I downloaded does not even have the 6416 listed.

Since I had tried that darn system restore capability, I lost a bunch of files that I had yesterday.


What the heck is going on?
You were able to select the DCT-6416 for your QIP-6416. In order to do that, you would have had to uncheck the 'Show compatible hardware' checkbox when selecting the driver.

Alternatively, I added the QIP-6416 to my driver package (http://exdeus.home.comcast.net/stbfirewire/) if you want to try it.

I'm sure this has been answered, but I've pretty much read this whole thread and my eyes are tired as are my fingers from searching.

I am running Vista Ultimate. I normally use Vista's Media Center with an ATI TV Wonder 650 and Vbox Cat's Eye for a dual tuner HD setup in my HTPC. My problem now is, I'm out of slots for an additional HD tuner and would like another. I have firestb setup and it records great with CapDVHS. I understand that I could go on using CapDVHS as a third HD recording source. It is however very rudimentary as a 3rd recording source.

My question is, can I use the firewire source as a 3rd recorder in Media Center? I understand that I can use it as a backup source that will overwrite my OTA recordings. What I'm looking for, is if I can actually use the STB via firewire the way I would via S-video for recording purposes(I know LiveTV hasn't been figured out in MC). If this can't be done in Media Center, can it be done in any of the other front end's like SageTV or BeyondTV?

If this can't be done in Media Center, can it be done in any of the other front end's like SageTV or BeyondTV?
You should be able to record in Media Center (no LiveTV) using MyTray/FireSTB (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/98686.aspx), in Sage TV (with LiveTV) using SGraphRecorder (http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9288) or in Beyond TV using BTV-Externinator (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38716)... In Media Center, it's not the OTA recording that it overwrites, but it needed to be associated to an analog capture of the same cable box (not sure if it is still the case).

So I need to setup the STB with media center via S-video(which I've done before), and have the MyTray/FireSTB setup. Therefore the firewire would record in conjunction with the S-video and I can have the Firewire recording overwrite the S-video as I could with a normal tuner. The difference here would be:

a.) The channel would change via the firewire and not the irblaster once setup?
b.) I can have the firewire recording overwrite the S-video recording everytime. This would mean recordings from HD channels would now be in HD as opposed to letterboxed SD from the S-video?

So I need to setup the STB with media center via S-video(which I've done before), and have the MyTray/FireSTB setup. Therefore the firewire would record in conjunction with the S-video and I can have the Firewire recording overwrite the S-video as I could with a normal tuner. The difference here would be:

a.) The channel would change via the firewire and not the irblaster once setup?
b.) I can have the firewire recording overwrite the S-video recording everytime. This would mean recordings from HD channels would now be in HD as opposed to letterboxed SD from the S-video?
Yep.

See Tim's Readme (http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/firewire/readme.htm):

What does it do?

When the MCE is using a STB, the MCE receives from the STB via the analogue tuner in the MCE. This video is SD composite or S-Video even if the show being received by the STB is in HD.

This package records from the STB in parallel to the MCE recording from the analogue tuner. It records from the STB via the firewire connection. This connection gives you a copy of what the STB receives, whether it is HD or SD.

The way the package works is that it monitors when MCE starts recording. It works out which tuner the MCE is using; from there it works out which firewire connection to use to talk to the correct STB. It then requests from the STB a 2nd copy of the show. This 2nd copy is put into a .dvr-ms file. When MCE stops the recording the firewire recording is also stopped. The meta-data in MCE recording is then copied into the firewire recording so the information such as Title, actors, etc. that MCE shows is also part of the firewire recording.

Once set up to use this package, there is little difference in using MCE. Recording is done using MCE as if you are recording as normal from a STB. The difference is you get a two recording for each show. If you only want one recording, see the FAQ for how to do this. You will always get 2 recordings during the recording of the show and you can stop the recording only via the MCE recording (the entry with the red mark).

If the show is protected with 5C=1 then recording via firewire fails and only the MCE recording exists. If the STB is a DCT-3412, SA3250HD, SA8000HD or SA8300HD and the show is analogue, there is no firewire recording.

You were able to select the DCT-6416 for your QIP-6416. In order to do that, you would have had to uncheck the 'Show compatible hardware' checkbox when selecting the driver.

Alternatively, I added the QIP-6416 to my driver package (http://exdeus.home.comcast.net/stbfirewire/) if you want to try it.


Thanks for putting up that page where we now have one single organized place to go for the driver.

I did uncheck compatable hardwar but stiill no luck.

I ended up rolling back to my Acronis backup from the day before which I did when I had a working system.

My 6416 is back.

I tried out both the Firestb and RC-1 version of it no Vista Ultimate. I couldn't get the RC1 version to do anything right. The XP version though actually changes channels and records..................................................to an extent. The problem I've had though is, no matter which mytray setting, the HD recordings disappear. For example. I set the VMC guide to record my local news(which is in HD, but shows up SD live) this morning to test things. While the show was on, I look in the recorded tv/fire directory, and there is a dvr-ms file. I can double click it, and it is indeed a 1080i recording that plays perfectly. But when the tv show stopped recording, it just disappeared. I checked the other directories to make sure it wasn't moving itself despite settings to do nothing. The HD version doesn't show up on the recorded tv menu at all, so I'm just left with an SD recording. So what is happening here? do I have something set wrong in the registry?

progress:

I looked into the registry under Timmore's and found an entry called MCETOOLD or something like that. I switched the value to 0. This time I recorded from the local ABC affilliate thru the STB. Of course, it shows up in SD while watching live. Once I stopped the recording, a new entry now shows up in the Recorded TV menu, which was the recorded program with FIRE prefixed before. The problem is, this file only says disk error and doesn't seem to exist in the actual Recorded TV folder or any of its subfolders. Perhaps the registry change was no big deal.

If anyone out there can help, I am simply trying to prevent this file from deleting itself once the recording stops. This happens no matter the mytray setting. And I have disabled UAC in the meantime, yet it seems to have no effect so far.

Hi all. I also have an SA8300 and trying to transfer HD recordings from it.

Has anyone bought the full version of TSReaderLite 2.7.45f and see if it works?

Playing with my system (WinXP 2.8 P4-Dual), and VLC I can manage to get recordings off my DVR with a continuity rate of about 1-2 a minute (for a 17 Mbit transport stream). That's if I crank up VLC's priority and kill a bunch of processes. I've noticed my error rate drops when the bitrate of the transport stream I'm recording drops.

I think someone in one of the previous 130+ pages asked if they think all the problems people are having are with the drivers? I absolutely agree, but they are the only ones we have! :( I've heard Mac users have no issues.

I am also trying to get my XP SP2 computer to record off of my 8300HD from TW WI. I'm running Passport 2.6.002

Could someone who has gotten this to work show a picture of the 2 diagonistic screens for firewire?

Is there a line that says whether the firewire port is working or not?

I'm guessing by what the first picture shows with all the "0 Not Streaming" on the different lines, that my ports are not even active. Does this change once there is a working receiving end (DVHS, Mac, or PC that actually has working drivers)?

First Picture is of the Firewire page
Second Picture is the Copy Protection screen for Discovery HD
Third Picture is the Copy Protection screen for my local ABC HD

Thanks for any responses.
Michael

Hi all. I also have an SA8300 and trying to transfer HD recordings from it.

Has anyone bought the full version of TSReaderLite 2.7.45f and see if it works?

Playing with my system (WinXP 2.8 P4-Dual), and VLC I can manage to get recordings off my DVR with a continuity rate of about 1-2 a minute (for a 17 Mbit transport stream). That's if I crank up VLC's priority and kill a bunch of processes. I've noticed my error rate drops when the bitrate of the transport stream I'm recording drops.

I think someone in one of the previous 130+ pages asked if they think all the problems people are having are with the drivers? I absolutely agree, but they are the only ones we have! :( I've heard Mac users have no issues.
You've tried CapDVHS?

I am having a problem with unattended recordings.

I am using CAPDVHS to get the stream off a Motorola 3416. All is well if I manually start a recording or schedule a recording to start just after testing CAPDVHS. But when I leave my PC alone for several hours and CAPDVHS starts the recording on schedule, the resulting files are the right size but are unreadable. HDTV2MPEG says that a video header is not present, and neither VideoReDO or VLC Media Player will open them. I think that the computer is not starting up correctly when unattended.

The only thing that powers down in the power setup profile is the screen after 20 minutes. The disk drives are set to never spin down, and I have a blank screen screen saver running.

Maybe the sata drives are spinning down on their own and can't start up fast enough to accurately write the beginning of the recording.

Maybe a work-around is to set CAPDVHS to record a 1 minute period about 2 minutes before the scheduled program.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Is there anyway to repair the file or splice it on the end of a valid .ts file?

Thanks

I am having a problem with unattended recordings.

I am using CAPDVHS to get the stream off a Motorola 3416. All is well if I manually start a recording or schedule a recording to start just after testing CAPDVHS. But when I leave my PC alone for several hours and CAPDVHS starts the recording on schedule, the resulting files are the right size but are unreadable. HDTV2MPEG says that a video header is not present, and neither VideoReDO or VLC Media Player will open them. I think that the computer is not starting up correctly when unattended.

The only thing that powers down in the power setup profile is the screen after 20 minutes. The disk drives are set to never spin down, and I have a blank screen screen saver running.

Maybe the sata drives are spinning down on their own and can't start up fast enough to accurately write the beginning of the recording.

Maybe a work-around is to set CAPDVHS to record a 1 minute period about 2 minutes before the scheduled program.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Is there anyway to repair the file or splice it on the end of a valid .ts file?

Thanks

i recently bought a canon optura 30 and a 1394 card for my computer so i could capture and edit video from the camera. Im running windows XP on a Compaq Presario 6000, and i have windows movie maker, WINDV, and software that came with the firewire card. The trouble is when i plug the camera into the computer and try to capture video off it, it says there is no device connected to the computer. Ive tried reinstalling the firewire card to a different slot, and connecting the camera via usb, neither seem to work. Everything else about the camera works perfectly, and it didnt come with any software for video capture. Does any one know how to fix this, im getting desperate. thanku!!!!!

I am having a problem with unattended recordings.

...Maybe a work-around is to set CAPDVHS to record a 1 minute period about 2 minutes before the scheduled program.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Is there anyway to repair the file or splice it on the end of a valid .ts file?

Thanks

I have fixed captured video files using the "QuickStream Fix" tool from VideoRedo, under the "Tools" menu. Even though VideoRedo cannot open the file for editing it has been able to fix the file for me. Then I can do what I need and all apps I need can now read the file. Not sure if you have tried this already, but it has saved tons of times.

I'm actually in the habit of running this everytime since most of my capture files has some sort of problem.

BTW, I noticed the captures where the resolution changes, possibly from a SD commercial to a HD program almost always have problems. And since most recordings may start during the lead in commercial that may be the problem.
Good luck

I have fixed captured video files using the "QuickStream Fix" tool from VideoRedo, under the "Tools" menu. Even though VideoRedo cannot open the file for editing it has been able to fix the file for me. Then I can do what I need and all apps I need can now read the file. Not sure if you have tried this already, but it has saved tons of times.

I'm actually in the habit of running this everytime since most of my capture files has some sort of problem.

BTW, I noticed the captures where the resolution changes, possibly from a SD commercial to a HD program almost always have problems. And since most recordings may start during the lead in commercial that may be the problem.
Good luck
A free alternative would be mpeg2repair (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=442446). It can analyze and/or repair transport streams. If the problem is only with the first packet header, then it should be able to reconstruct the header or throw away the first packet. Luckily, transport streams are divided into packets, like internet traffic, so if one gets lost, it doesn't hose up the whole stream.

What are people using to edit the HD transport streams? I'm using SVCD2DVD to burn them to DVD, and that works great. But I've tried Adobe Premier Elements, and it won't read them. Any suggestions for a good editor to remove commercials and such?

Chris

I have fixed captured video files using the "QuickStream Fix" tool from VideoRedo, under the "Tools" menu. Even though VideoRedo cannot open the file for editing it has been able to fix the file for me. Then I can do what I need and all apps I need can now read the file. Not sure if you have tried this already, but it has saved tons of times.

I'm actually in the habit of running this everytime since most of my capture files has some sort of problem.

BTW, I noticed the captures where the resolution changes, possibly from a SD commercial to a HD program almost always have problems. And since most recordings may start during the lead in commercial that may be the problem.
Good luck

VideoReDo Plus Quickstream Fix says "The File Is Not A Video Transport Stream" and none of the other suggestions here have worked to repair it.

Yesterday I tried recording a scheduled 90 second"prep" file a minute before starting the recording of the scheduled feature. Both files were unreadable.
Today I have turned off the screen saver and monitor sleep on the power saving profile. I will see if that makes a difference. Right now the problems are on HBO.

Thanks so far for all the suggestions here.

I am having a problem with unattended recordings.

I am using CAPDVHS to get the stream off a Motorola 3416. All is well if I manually start a recording or schedule a recording to start just after testing CAPDVHS. But when I leave my PC alone for several hours and CAPDVHS starts the recording on schedule, the resulting files are the right size but are unreadable. HDTV2MPEG says that a video header is not present, and neither VideoReDO or VLC Media Player will open them. I think that the computer is not starting up correctly when unattended.

The only thing that powers down in the power setup profile is the screen after 20 minutes. The disk drives are set to never spin down, and I have a blank screen screen saver running.

Maybe the sata drives are spinning down on their own and can't start up fast enough to accurately write the beginning of the recording.

Maybe a work-around is to set CAPDVHS to record a 1 minute period about 2 minutes before the scheduled program.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Is there anyway to repair the file or splice it on the end of a valid .ts file?

Thanks

Now an interesting change.

Although I was able to stream HBO channel 730 earlier in the week. Now I can not.

5C on the box is set to No and Copyfree is yes. I don't understand.

728 is just fine and other HD channels but not some. 705 the high def version of channel 5 network will not but 707 does, just spotty.

Now an interesting change.

Although I was able to stream HBO channel 730 earlier in the week. Now I can not.

5C on the box is set to No and Copyfree is yes. I don't understand.

728 is just fine and other HD channels but not some. 705 the high def version of channel 5 network will not but 707 does, just spotty.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! That's entirely different.

5C encryption can be controlled per channel or per program, so it may not be consistent.

I would expect HBO to encrypted.

Local broadcast channels should not have 5C enabled. If they are encrypted, then the box has incorrectly honored the Broadcast Flag (some boxes respond to the Broadcast Flag by turning on 5C), and you should contact your local broadcaster and your local cable franchise authority to complain they have violated FCC rules. Look at your cable bill for your franchise authority contact info.

In the case of Fox network shows, the Broadcast Flag can come from the broadcast master, which is not controlled by your local affiliate, so that's an uphill battle.

Have you checked the CURRENT CHANNEL STATUS for CCI and DRM values? They can indicate 5C is being used, even when 5C IMPLEMENTATION is "No". See the wikibook entry (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Configuration#How_To_Check_If_5C_DTCP_is_Enabled).

You've tried CapDVHS?

CapDVHS crashes when it hits one of the continuity errors that I receive. I played around with it a bit, but VLC is surprisingly more stable.

Right now I'm using WinXP SP1, with a SA8300HD PVR (SARA some version). Are people having more luck with WinXP SP2 /w the firewire patch?

In the case of Fox network shows, the Broadcast Flag can come from the broadcast master, which is not controlled by your local affiliate, so that's an uphill battle.



How can one go about telling which are and are not controlled by the local affilliate?

Now that I have all my recording methods working rock solid, I have squirrly results from the Local HD stations.

Here is my list of recording methods in case anyone wants to ask any questions and it is germaine to my HD question below:

0) Sony DVD+RW recorder for daily recordings from the 6416 as well as offloading when the DVR disk gets full
1) CapDVHS for recording to PC files from the 6416 DVR
2) JVC 40K D-VHS controlled by either TSreader or Capdvhs to record from the 6416
3) Full product of TSREADER to record from the 6416 and to the JVC as well as streaming with VLC
4) WinTV for the Hauppage QAM WINTV1600 to record to disk without needing the STB

Number 4 is especially nice because it leaves the 6416 out of the loop so I do not have to worry about clobbering a recording due to a Season Pass on the 6416.

If I can finish getting Sage TV srtup properly with this QAM tuner, I will hace a full PC based DVR.



----------------------
Now about those HD stations.

The following HD stations are 5C protected when tuned from the 6416
CBS from Washington and Baltimore
ABC ONLY from Washington
PBS ONLY from Baltimore


I can tune to CBS via WinTV (QAM channel 7931 for Washington,7994 for Baltimore) and record/playback just fine.

I can only assume that the 6416 is putting the 5C flag on these channels since they are in the clear when using WinTV since WinTV is connected right to the Coax Cable.

Trying to capture from a 3416. I cancel first hardware found, then second one tells me there was a problem installing your hardware and might not run correctly.

I never get to the point where I can see Tuner AV/C Device, so i cannot install the driver.

I would appreciate some help on this. Thanks

Trying to capture from a 3416. I cancel first hardware found, then second one tells me there was a problem installing your hardware and might not run correctly.

I never get to the point where I can see Tuner AV/C Device, so i cannot install the driver.

I would appreciate some help on this. Thanks
Try cancelling all the New Hardware Wizards for everything but the Tuner AV/C Device. You can even cancel all of the wizards, and then open Device Mgr and look under Other Devices for the Tuner AV/C Device. Right-click on it and select Update Driver. Manually point it to the location where you unzipped your driver package.

If that works, then you can find the Panel AV/C Device and try installing the driver for it. All other devices should not have a driver installed and you should disable them in Device Mgr. If you don't plan on using it with Windows MCE, or to do channel changing, then you don't need the Panel AV/C Device at all, and you can disable it, too.

Which driver package are you using?

I'm capturing from my Motorola dct6416 with capDVHS. I can capture some channels fine, but some just show no data when I initiate the capture in capDVHS. I thought it may be the 5C protection on these certain channels, but when I look in the diagnostics menu it says 'NO' for 5C. Anyone else seen this? It seems to be the hi-def channels. I used to capture DiscoveryHD fine with my old DCT6412 box. My box went bad and was replaced with a DCT6416 about a month ago, now it won't capture.

I have recently acquired the latest firmware 16.35 and am now having the same issue apparently everyone else does with this update with the stuttering picture on recorded streams. For the last several months I have been using the firewire connection from a 6412 from Comcast and my HP. I am using CapDVHS to capture the streams onto the PC. I am not recording from the “live” but the recorded version of the show.

Thanks to this thread (kudos to all here) I have started using TSReaderLite which helps me to check the TS file for errors. It is normal for me to see 2-3 errors on cable channels associated with when the local provider inserts ads on these channels. When the commercial ends and goes back to the regular programming there is an error. Does anyone else see this too? It is something I have been dealing with as the picture gets lost on the stream when this happens. When I edit out the commercials I can usually fix it but the sound will be off and I will have to compensate for it. I can try to upload an example if anyone is interested in checking it out.

I have also been using TSReaderLite to check the Firewire stream before I start a recording to see errors. If I see any, I can usually stop the playback and resume play and it starts again without any errors. It’s not 100% as sometimes errors will start partway through the recording so I may have to re-record part of the show.

Of course, it took me time to determine the workarounds. Does anyone know *WHY* this is happening, what the specific causes or scenarios this happens because it seems random to me, and has anyone contacted Comcast on the issue? This is absolutely frustrating as I have recorded the same show 4 times before I got a good one. More reliable since using TSReaderLite but it seems like so much more work to accomplish the same result.

In addition to the what I mentioned earlier, I also use TSConverter to convert to mpg, TMPGEnc to edit mpg and author DVDs. I recently also downloaded VLC player although it doesn’t seem to offer anything additional for me except I can view the firewire stream to visually see the stutter if it occurs. Are there any other benefits of this program?

Thank you for reading :)

I'm capturing from my Motorola dct6416 with capDVHS. I can capture some channels fine, but some just show no data when I initiate the capture in capDVHS. I thought it may be the 5C protection on these certain channels, but when I look in the diagnostics menu it says 'NO' for 5C. Anyone else seen this? It seems to be the hi-def channels. I used to capture DiscoveryHD fine with my old DCT6412 box. My box went bad and was replaced with a DCT6416 about a month ago, now it won't capture.
Just spoke to this: 10799579.

You were able to select the DCT-6416 for your QIP-6416. In order to do that, you would have had to uncheck the 'Show compatible hardware' checkbox when selecting the driver.

Alternatively, I added the QIP-6416 to my driver package (http://exdeus.home.comcast.net/stbfirewire/) if you want to try it.


Can you put your link back up please?

Somehow I dorked up my system and lost one of my dual cores so I had to do a nuke and pave.

Darndest trhing I have ever seen.

I noticed that my machine was really slow and noticed that only one core was showing up in Task manager. I ran several HW tools and they all said that I had a dual core Athlon but the CPU loading programs that I tried all showed that only one core was being used.

Even re-installed the AMD cpu driver but that made no difference.

Re-installed from the factory 'preload CD's and it works fin now.


However, I can not find which driver I used that enabled me to see trhe Moto 6416 in the device list
Thanks.

When I edit out the commercials I can usually fix it but the sound will be off and I will have to compensate for it.
Try using VideoReDo to remove those commercials and fix the errors at the same time...

Try using VideoReDo to remove those commercials and fix the errors at the same time...

I have used VideoReDo but it did not necessarily fix the errors. I could edit the audio for the entire recording but not just for the section affected. The issue arises two ways ... more common if after locally inserted commercials end and also if there was ANY interruption in the feed or reception where I might see artifacts on the screen on playback.

Also, VideoReDo would erase my original file after it was converted. This did not make me very happy if I had to redo it again. I learned to make a copy of the file I wanted to edit. I liked the automatic commercial find and remove option.

For those of you in Montgomery County, MD, and I know some of you are, I urge you to submit a complaint sometime very soon at montgomerycountymd dot gov slash cable site (I dont have URL priveleges) concerning the recent troubles with the firewire output. Mine started in April when the new firmware was pushed. I filed a complaint and I heard back within the hour from the county. I'm now in the upper-level of Comcast support and communicating with some of their technicians. They basically have no idea what the IEEE1394 port is, in fact I have a letter from them stating "they have no control over the feature", which is not true since its enforcing 5C/CCI on over-the-air channels.

The contact with the county has been very helpful and was pleased I sent him the exact FCC ruling citing when I submitted my initial complaint (which I dont have handy anymore). I have a feeling if more people start complaining, we may start getting some traction on this.

I love to record to the PC via IEEE 1394 firewire, (Those non 5C HD channels that are recordable), but my ability to do so has been inhibited. I lost my main PC in April due to hardware issues, and am working with my laptop that does not have a firewire port. (Bummer).

As such, I haven't been able to record some of my free over the air broadcasts in high definintion. Until I get my computer fixed I won't be able to continue recording.

I've missed out on some of my favorite shows and would like to know if someone has been recording series such as The Office, or My name is Earl in high definition? I Would love to have the data copies of the .ts recordings.

I love to record to the PC via IEEE 1394 firewire, (Those non 5C HD channels that are recordable), but my ability to do so has been inhibited. I lost my main PC in April due to hardware issues, and am working with my laptop that does not have a firewire port. (Bummer).



I added a firewire port to my laptop with a PC Card. I think it was around $20 or so. Well worth it, and it just plugs right in.

Chris

Hey guys - I am having a problem recording stored shows on my DCT 3416 past a certain date - very wierd i know...my friend was on millionaire and ive been studying the thread and finally got it all working but if i stored a show past 2 weeks in wont capture...very strange

but im using drivers for 6412 because...

i cant download the proper drivers for my dct 3416....ive gone to the exedeus page and the download link with updated drivers appears broken, and has been for some time - i cant right click and save the zip file either - am i doing something wrong?

thx
m

Can you put your link back up please?
The link to my page is in your quote and in my sig. I just tested the download link, and it worked for me. The file downloaded and looked normal. After you load the page, trying holding the Shift key and clicking the Reload/Refresh button, which should make sure you are getting the most recent page.

Is the download link not working for you?

Hey guys - I am having a problem recording stored shows on my DCT 3416 past a certain date - very wierd i know...my friend was on millionaire and ive been studying the thread and finally got it all working but if i stored a show past 2 weeks in wont capture...very strange

but im using drivers for 6412 because...

i cant download the proper drivers for my dct 3416....ive gone to the exedeus page and the download link with updated drivers appears broken, and has been for some time - i cant right click and save the zip file either - am i doing something wrong?

thx
m
Depending on which driver package you installed, the drivers are already identical to, or nearly the same as, the ones on my page. If you have functioning drivers at all (if you can capture anything), there's no need to install different ones.

As for the 2 week window to capture content off your DVR, that's a new one to me. I don't think it has anything to do with your PC setup though. It's likely the box, or you're happening to select a program that, for one reason or another, has 5C encryption applied to it.

As I mentioned in a post I just made, after you load my page, hold the Shift key and click the Reload/Refresh button in your browser. This should make sure you are viewing the latest copy of the page. I tested the download link and it worked for me.

Depending on which driver package you installed, the drivers are already identical to, or nearly the same as, the ones on my page. If you have functioning drivers at all (if you can capture anything), there's no need to install different ones.

As for the 2 week window to capture content off your DVR, that's a new one to me. I don't think it has anything to do with your PC setup though. It's likely the box, or you're happening to select a program that, for one reason or another, has 5C encryption applied to it.

As I mentioned in a post I just made, after you load my page, hold the Shift key and click the Reload/Refresh button in your browser. This should make sure you are viewing the latest copy of the page. I tested the download link and it worked for me.

hey thx for responging so quickly - its really a date thing - no 5C...i actually just thought of something with my late night fresh eyes - tried youre link in mozilla and it worked fine! so tomorrow i will try setting up the 3416 instead of the 6412 and hopefully that will work.

It doesnt work at all for me with xp2 ie7, and also youre page frequently doesnt show up at all - i have to cntrl fr5 a bunch of times to get anything...and i use ie for everything so maybe a html issue......

but thx and ill keep ya posted!
marc

hey thx for responging so quickly - its really a date thing - no 5C...i actually just thought of something with my late night fresh eyes - tried youre link in mozilla and it worked fine! so tomorrow i will try setting up the 3416 instead of the 6412 and hopefully that will work.

It doesnt work at all for me with xp2 ie7, and also youre page frequently doesnt show up at all - i have to cntrl fr5 a bunch of times to get anything...and i use ie for everything so maybe a html issue......

but thx and ill keep ya posted!
marc
Ahhh... I am using Firefox. I got tired of editing the HTML by hand, so I edited in MS Word and saved it as a filtered web page. I see the error it introduced and corrected it. The link should work under all browsers now, but still SHIFT-Refresh to make sure you are viewing the latest page.

The link to my page is in your quote and in my sig. I just tested the download link, and it worked for me. The file downloaded and looked normal. After you load the page, trying holding the Shift key and clicking the Reload/Refresh button, which should make sure you are getting the most recent page.

Is the download link not working for you?

Thanks for your help.

Not sure what was going on but I kept getting the 'website not found' error message.

I assumed that you had taken down your website since I had tried your link several times during the day.

I just now tried it in response to your post above and it works perfeclty.
Gremlins:)


In the interim, I used the 6414 driver that I had (and I recall your saying that there was no difference except for the name listed in the .inf file.

I just like to have devices with their proper names as it gets teally confusing to me.
Considering that in my case, I have a Firewire PC, 6416,the JVC 40K and the Mits 20K all hooked up together over firewire bus and use about 4 firewire aware programs where you need to pick the deivce (like Capfvhs does)

Now it is back to re-installing drivers and geting my mess all straightenede out.

Your efforts in this 'project' are greatly appreciated.
Joe

Ahhh... I am using Firefox. I got tired of editing the HTML by hand, so I edited in MS Word and saved it as a filtered web page. I see the error it introduced and corrected it. The link should work under all browsers now, but still SHIFT-Refresh to make sure you are viewing the latest page.

cool glad i could help and repay back a little of the stuff i gleaned from you guys - so i installed the correct driver just by updating it- didnt delete it and start fresh - but it still didnt work -

my friend was on the daytime gameshow millionaire...i have it stored from like a month ago....it seems i cant capture anything past like 2 weeks - i really dont think it is 5c at noon on abc when its not in primetime - i can capture an american inventor i taped last week...

is there a way to check if a stored program is 5c?

is there anything else i can do to get that program for him...

thx

m

cool glad i could help and repay back a little of the stuff i gleaned from you guys - so i installed the correct driver just by updating it- didnt delete it and start fresh - but it still didnt work -

my friend was on the daytime gameshow millionaire...i have it stored from like a month ago....it seems i cant capture anything past like 2 weeks - i really dont think it is 5c at noon on abc when its not in primetime - i can capture an american inventor i taped last week...

is there a way to check if a stored program is 5c?

is there anything else i can do to get that program for him...

thx

m

ExDeus, anyone? would love some input here....thx!

I have the Motorola HDMI DCT6416 III Dual Tuner DVR/HDTV Compatable with Mediacom providing the service. I want to be able to move my DVR recorded shows onto my PC, but I am running Windows Vista. The only directions I have been able to find are for Windows XP only.

Can somebody please help?

Thank you! :)

cool glad i could help and repay back a little of the stuff i gleaned from you guys - so i installed the correct driver just by updating it- didnt delete it and start fresh - but it still didnt work -

my friend was on the daytime gameshow millionaire...i have it stored from like a month ago....it seems i cant capture anything past like 2 weeks - i really dont think it is 5c at noon on abc when its not in primetime - i can capture an american inventor i taped last week...

is there a way to check if a stored program is 5c?

is there anything else i can do to get that program for him...

thx

m
Well, I don't know what specific problem you're having, specifically what happens when you try a capture, but if you can already transfer some programs, but not others, then my experience has been that the only reason that happens is because of 5C DTCP. The normal test for 5C is to cap a bit of the program, and then see if the file is playable.

If you can capture anything at all, then the drivers are working. My feeling is that it's gotta be an issue with the box. Perhaps the software on your box is designed to turn on 5C DTCP for all programs older than 2 weeks. If that's the case, then look on your cable bill for your cable franchise authority (under the 'send unresolved complaints to' section, usually in small print) and complain that they have violated FCC rules.

Otherwise, I don't have any other suggestions. I'm assuming you've tried recording other episodes of Millionaire from the same channel and time slot, and they all capture fine newer than 2 weeks, and stop working after 2 weeks. If that's true, then I think it's 5C DTCP.

I have the Motorola HDMI DCT6416 III Dual Tuner DVR/HDTV Compatable with Mediacom providing the service. I want to be able to move my DVR recorded shows onto my PC, but I am running Windows Vista. The only directions I have been able to find are for Windows XP only.

Can somebody please help?

Thank you! :)
I can't give step-by-step instructions for Vista, but they are generally the same as for XP. You have to download a driver package and extract it or install it, and then connect the STB to your PC. When prompted, indicate that you want to install the device and select the driver yourself.

You can download the latest Vista version of Tim M. Moore's installer here (http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/firewire/firestb-vistarc1.msi). You can follow the instructions on his site (http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/firewire/readme.htm).

Or, the driver is exactly the same, so you can download my latest driver package if you don't want the media center hooks, but do want to use CapDVHS or some other capture program.

hello, I have been reading through this post for a couple of days now and cannot seem to find my answer. I am pretty savy on electronics but nobody knows everything right! My question is I have the comcast dct 3416, and I am trying to figure out what is the best way to transfer the video of the hard drive. I have read that serveral people have been successful with using the firewire method. Is this the best way or can you capture it using a capture card. Also does anyone know if you can take an external esata hard drive and use that as extra hard drive space for the dvr. If someone can answer these questions I would greatly appreciate it. I am sure that I could be of some help to you guys also!

I know its probably region specific, but does Comcast offer a firewire STB other than the DVR's? I would like to avoid paying the full $12+$6 they charge for a DVR in my area, if I have the box tied to a computer over firewire and don't use the DVR features.

I can't give step-by-step instructions for Vista, but they are generally the same as for XP. You have to download a driver package and extract it or install it, and then connect the STB to your PC. When prompted, indicate that you want to install the device and select the driver yourself.

Or, the driver is exactly the same, so you can download my latest driver package if you don't want the media center hooks, but do want to use CapDVHS or some other capture program.
Thank you ExDeus. I will give this a try tonight and hopefully it will work. Any tips on programs to use to re-encode HDTV?

I got it to work, but only for certain channels (all standard definition channels tried so far and MOJO [HDTV]), but nothing high def on my DVR has worked as of yet. I read that this may be an encryption issue. Is there any way to get around it? I have some concerts recorded from HDNet, a movie from TMCHD, and some Discovery HD shows that I really want to move off. Any help is appreciated. And thanks again for the previous tips, ExDeus.

I live in Jamaica and there's a new cable company thats offering full digital cable. I recently got service from them and am using a dct3412 i purchased from ebay. I tried the firewire setup from the set top box and I get all the channels I pay for!! I have become very used to vista mce and would prefer to use mce rather than the settopbox.

My question is this, does having all my channels available from firewire mean they are not encrypted? How or where do I go to see if a channel has the 5c flag on?

I've been using Meistb.sys under XP/MCE to archive TV and movies from our Comcast DVR box (Motorola DCT-6412).

Before I finish building my new HTPC, does the driver work under Vista? Both 32 and 64 bit Vista?

Thanks to anyone who knows, and takes the time to answer.

Turgidson

My question is this, does having all my channels available from firewire mean they are not encrypted? How or where do I go to see if a channel has the 5c flag on?

Use the front panel method and check each channel.

What is the front panel method?

Hello everyone, first post here, so I'll try to be as detailed as possible, my apologies if there is not enough info..

I have a Motorola 3416 in the Nashville, TN area.. I'm just now starting to attempt to stream/record programs from my dvr box to my laptop. I have MCE 2005, and I've installed the approriate drivers that were outlined in this thread.

Here's the problem I'm having.. I can record live streams and pre-recorded dvr content off my box for all of the major networks (ABC,NBC,CBS,FOX), however I cannot record live streams or pre-recorded content for any other station, such as FX, Cartoon Network, Speed Channel, etc, or any movie network.. I checked several networks though the box setup menu and they are not 5c encoded. I use capDvhs for streaming, and can confirm that on the major networks I get info in the data info tab when recording, but it's all blank on trying to record other channels.

Any help on this matter will be greatly appreciated.. and I apologized if this question has been asked before, I did several searches before making a post, but didn't really see any helpful answers to my problem

Are there any comparable drivers (comparable to meist.sys and CapDVHS.exe) available for Linux? Still looking for that 64-bit answer for my HTPC.

Thanks

T

I'm also on the Vista / DCT6416 wagon with Cox. I had capture working fine, but had to get a new box. Now I can install the drivers OK, see the box, but capDVHS records like it's just 5C, and I've set it on broadcast locals and checked that it's not 5C encrypted. I've tried using VLC and the only stream visible is an audio stream, though the file that is saved is 0K, just like the one from CapDVHS. Sometimes, if I go back to CapDVHS after VLC, I get an error about a problem with the SampleGrabber. Any ideas? I'm banging my head against a wall here, since normally once I get the drivers, recording is no problem.

Got the following error message when installing the drivers:

Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)

Any suggestions?

Comcast with Motorola 3412 firmware 16.20

ASUS P4C800E deluxe motherboard

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling with no avail.

quick question: I still can't see myTray from MCE more programs, even after many re-install of the firestb package.
What am I missing here?

bulmose, while you have VLC running, use your STB remote to change channels. The ones you can't watch have the copy-once flag set and can only be copied to a "real" D-VHS tape deck.

You can complain to Cox if you like tilting at windmills.

I used to be able to record HD content of off the SA boxes (3250 and 8300) to my D-VHS tape deck, but lost that ability when TWC pushed an upgrade to the Passport operating systems 'round about last August. It essentially disabled the firewire ports, as I stopped being able to get a solid lock on any channel with my JVC 40k tape deck, not just ones that were 5C protected. In fact, it looks (from the diagnostic area of the 8300) that they're not even applying 5C flags anymore. Why should they if the IEEE 1394 output is disabled?

So, my question is, how are you guys getting a good, solid firewire lock on your computers if I can't get one on my D-VHS deck? Any ideas? I'm running Passport V2.6.002 on my 8300. Thanks.

I went into the system setting on the cable box and it said the channel had no 5C and was copy free. I changed to numerous channels, mainly focusing on broadcast and still had no luck. Do I need transport stream codecs for this or any other configuration I'm doing wrong?

i tried recording via firewire while recording to my dct3416 dvr but the firewire recording was garbled.

is it that both cant be dont simultaneously?

i tried recording via firewire while recording to my dct3416 dvr but the firewire recording was garbled.

is it that both cant be dont simultaneously?
yeah they are finicky - i have same thing - reboot the box and you should be fine
m

Okay i have a whole community of Jovi fans counting on me here. I recorded 7 hours of the UHD broadcast of live earth yesterday taking up half of my box...

and i recorded the NBC broadcast...which i can capdvhs just fine...

i get nothing on the seven hours....

IS there anything i can do - buy a device that will capture the output from the componets or something? even that would be better than nothing....

i cant believe they would have that 5C flagged as i can capture from UHD for any other program...

anyone with any ideas what to do???
thx!