How to record via IEEE 1394 (Firewire) to Windows XP [Text View] - Page 19

erniegiro

04-17-08, 12:30 AM

I posted this solution that worked for me at thegreenbutton.com and many people seem to have had success. Here's the solution I posted:

This is what worked for me (Motorola DCH-3200). I’m running MCE 2005 so I’m not sure if this will work for Vista, but I guess it’s worth a shot.

If the driver for your stb was attained from ExDeus’s “stb_firewire_drivers_2007-12-17.zip” file, which can be found here, (or other) instead of timmoore’s “firestb.msi” setup file, and mytray is having trouble, try this:

- Uninstall FireSTB / MyTray (don’t restart yet)
- Go to Device Manager and delete the stb drivers and unplug the firewire cable(s)
- Restart
- Reinstall FireSTB / MyTray (restart)
- If you haven’t already done so, extract all the files from ExDeus’s zip file to a folder on your desktop
- Copy the following files from the new desktop folder to your desktop:
firestb.inf, miestb.sys, miestrm.sys, mstapeo.sys
**Note: If you don’t have any or all of the last 3 files, it should be okay. The .inf file is the most important.**
- Open the drivers folder in the C:\Program Files\Timmoore folder. You should see files similar to the four files copied to the desktop.
- Rename the fierstb.inf on the desktop to whatever the .inf file name is in the drivers folder.
- Cut the four files from the desktop to the drivers folder.
- It will ask you if you want to replace existing files. Click yes to all.
- Plug in the firewire cable(s). the Found New Hardware wizard should come up.

- Install the stb devices specifying the drivers’ location as the drivers folder in C:\Program Files\Timmoore folder.

When the hardware wizards are complete, you should now see the tuners in MyTray. (May require another restart.)

Good Luck.
Thanks ssterb1, with your instructions I was able to get my DCH-3416 to record thru firewire using MCE2005, I had lost the capabolity to do so when I switched from the DCT-3412.

Muad"Dib

04-17-08, 12:52 PM

Burnerbum

04-17-08, 01:21 PM

I know i read somewhere in this thread how to check for the 5c flag but now i can't find it. Anyone know off hand where it is. This thread is huge and i tried searching but still not go. Thanks.

xenophonite

04-17-08, 02:42 PM

I have a TWC 8300HDC and have been able to capture video using CAPDVHS just fine on Windows Vista. Now that I've upgraded to Vista SP1, the capturing bombs out within a few seconds with an error about MPEG2 Transport Stream stopping.

Anyone having issues with CAPDVHS in Vista SP1?

Is there a better way/tool to capture? I've had no luck in MCE on Vista to see the firewire device. Nero Vision bombs out on me too. Tried VirtualDub and it sees the firewire device but can't open it.

Burnerbum

04-17-08, 02:53 PM

I know i read somewhere in this thread how to check for the 5c flag but now i can't find it. Anyone know off hand where it is. This thread is huge and i tried searching but still not go. Thanks.

I found the setting in the cable box.
5C Implemented NO
Copy Control Copy Free

So shouldn't i be able to record from this channel. When i try using CapDVHS nothing appears in the setting and the file it records is blank.

ThurstonX

04-17-08, 03:39 PM

Has anyone been having issues recording stuff that is being played back from a recording? I have a Pace TDC775D.

As it stands right now, i can capture just about anything that is live... but if i go into my recordings, and play one of those, capdvhs crashes, and VLC Player doesnt stream anything.
When capdvhs crashes a windows window comes up saying capdvhs has encountered a problem..blah blah... but capdvhs is still running in the background. However, the file it makes is 0 bytes... so that doesnt help either.

Any suggestions and or feedback?

Thanks for your time.

This may or may not help, as I'm on Comcast using a Scientific-Atlanta 8300HD, but yes, I've experienced the CapDVHS crash when capturing playback of recordings from the DVR. I only tried 3 recordings, as it's a pain to have to do it in real time, but what I found with the 2 that kept crashing CapDVHS was a glitch in the original recording (and so in the stream out the IEEE-1394 port). Same spots everytime.

I switched to Fonceur's GrafCorder and was able to get around the crashing, and also confirm the glitches in the recording at the exact spots where CapDVHS gave up the ghost. The GrafCorder captures played fine, though the problems in the source are visible, and the Womble and VideoReDo editors could not trim the beginning and end (so only the movie/show remained) without throwing off the sync, and VideoReDo's stream fix (or whatever it's called) could not correct for it.

While having Dolby Digital audio is nice and all, I dumped those problem recordings out via S-Vid to a Hauppauge card using a high bitrate to record, and then AutoGK'd 'em to AVIs. They look fine et voila! no glitches in the playback, and trimming in Womble produced no sync problems.

So give GrafCorder a shot
http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076
it's a fine little app, and there are plenty of resources re: using Graph Edit (I was a newb, but had it all working in about 30 min.).

HTH.
(nice nick, btw ;-)

Burnerbum

04-17-08, 03:58 PM

So give GrafCorder a shot
http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076
it's a fine little app, and there are plenty of resources re: using Graph Edit (I was a newb, but had it all working in about 30 min.).

HTH.
(nice nick, btw ;-)

I just tried using GrafCorder and everytime it start it i get an error message stating "Not Enough Arguments".
Do you have any idea what the problem is?
Thanks

ThurstonX

04-17-08, 06:13 PM

I just tried using GrafCorder and everytime it start it i get an error message stating "Not Enough Arguments".
Do you have any idea what the problem is?
Thanks

I'd have to see how you constructed the graph. It may be that you haven't included 'HDTVDump.ax Version 1.1.0' (linked to from the GrafCorder thread), or it may be the naming of the output file problem. I seem to recall that error, but can't recall what caused it. I know I ran into GrafCorder's "Analyze" option problem with GrafCorder: when that option is checked the output file as specified in GrafCorder can't use the same name as what is in the Graph Edit... graph. The graph's dump file name is entered when you add 'HDTVDump.ax Version 1.1.0' to the graph (as required by that element, I guess). I just called it GrafCorder_Dump or something, and then used the name of the recording as the output name on GrafCorder's commandline (or in the batch file I use).

If none of that helps, I'd go back to the GrafCorder thread. I had to read it (and about using Graph Edit) a couple times before I figured it out.

Feel free to PM me if you want to take this off-thread.

bwall23

04-17-08, 11:54 PM

I am in Hartford Ct Comcast.

Any one know why about 2 months ago they encrypted these channels.

They were not before. Also the SD versions are not encrypted.

I am a teacher and use Cable in the Classroom a lot, and now I cannot get them off my DVR

ThanksGood luck. Here's my thread on it. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=956037)

bwall23

04-18-08, 12:10 AM

Trying my luck here as well:
Scoured the various threads but haven't found what I am looking for.
Like some other HDTV's, my TV(Hitachi Director's series - HDX62) has an integrated TV Guide system(TVGOS). This system allows to directly record to a device. The manual specifies that an AVHD device is required.
However AVHD devices seem to have gone extinct ! I found references to Toshiba's Symbio and one by Indigita here in the forums. But I do not find them in the market at this point in time(April 2008).
So here is what I am looking for:
1 - Which Recorders with IEEE 1394 interface are AVHD like and can
record through a TV Guide system ?
2 - Are these available in the market ?
Please help me.You could try contacting Indigita (now called Shin-Digita) http://www.indigita.com/company/contact/index.html who makes these (http://www.indigita.com/products/customsolutions/avhd.html) and ask them if they have a retailer.

Fonceur

04-18-08, 02:30 PM

I just tried using GrafCorder and everytime it start it i get an error message stating "Not Enough Arguments".
Well, it is basically a command line driven application, so unless you start it with the 3 arguments mentioned in the post (i.e. "GrafCorder.exe Grape.grf StopTime Output.ts"), you are going to get that error message... ;)

I do have plans to lift those restrictions and make it more of a standalone application at some point, it's just not a big priority... ;)

Muad"Dib

04-19-08, 12:18 AM

Thanks for the advice on GrafCorder, but i dont think that is my issue. I cant even get any (and ive tried at least 10) of my recordings to stream via VLC player.. That seems to make me think im out of luck!

Fonceur

04-19-08, 01:13 AM

I cant even get any (and ive tried at least 10) of my recordings to stream via VLC player..
It is highly hardware and firmware dependent... On some receivers, LiveTV won't record but playback of a recording will, while others have the reverse problem...

xenophonite

04-19-08, 04:16 PM

I have the SA8300HDC and am able to capture on Vista using CapDVHS but can't use any other capture program like Vegas8 or NeroVison - bluescreen of death on meistb.sys.

Is anyone working on an update of the Vista stb drivers to work with commercial capture programs?

cfaslave

04-20-08, 04:41 PM

I've been working on following the various instructions out there on this and having little success. My main goal is to be able to change channels via firewire - not necessarily watch video output through firewire (I'll be using the HD-PVR for that hopefully....)

I need someone who's been through this stuff to help me make sure I'm doing this right. Here's the steps I've taken thus far:

1. I downloaded graphedit from here and put it in c:\firewire\
2. I then downloaded this to get propage.dll and put propage.dll in c:\firewire
3. I then did a regsvr32 proppage.dll successfully
4. I could open graphedit so all looked good. I closed graphedit
5. I shut down SageTV and SageTV service
6. I connected my 4250HDC cable box to my PC using a firewire cable and as the instructions said I had 4 new devices detected - I canceled the driver install at that time per instructions
7. I went to this post and downloaded the firestb.msi file. I moved this firestb.msi file to my c:\firewire directory
8. Opened up command line went to the c:\firewire directory and entered:

MSIEXEC /i firestb.msi IDENT=0
this installs the firestb.msi files for a non-MCE computer (I'm using SageTV). I put them in c:\firewire directory
9. Rebooted PC
10. With the cable box turned on, opened up the command prompt and went to c:\firewire directory
11. typed in channel /v and the first two devices were the cable box tuner and cable box panel device. Here's the first two devices output from this channel /v:

C:\Firewire>channel /v
Firewire STB channel changer V1.0.15, by timmmoore
1 "FireBus MPEG2TS Tuner Subunit Device"
'Scientific-Atlanta AV/C Tuner Device'
"@devicenp:\\?\avc#scientific-atlanta__inc.&explorer(r)_4300&typ_5&id_0#263452ea1c00#{65e8773d-8f56-
11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\global" 0
2 "AVC Panel Device"
'Scientific-Atlanta AV/C Panel Device'

UniqueID '263452ea1c00'
VendorID '1cea'
ModelID '10cc'
VendorText 'Scientific-Atlanta Inc.'
ModelText 'Explorer(R) 4300'
"@devicenp:\\?\avc#scientific-atlanta__inc.&explorer(r)_4300&typ_9&id_0#263452ea1c00#{65e8773d-8f56-
11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\global" 0
12. so the panel is device #2. I entered the following in the command line: channel /v 2 33 and the result was as follows:

C:\Firewire>channel /v 2 33
Firewire STB channel changer V1.0.15, by timmmoore
Device 2 Channel 33 Timeout 100 Dec 0
1 "FireBus MPEG2TS Tuner Subunit Device"
'Scientific-Atlanta AV/C Tuner Device'
"@devicenp:\\?\avc#scientific-atlanta__inc.&explorer(r)_4300&typ_5&id_0#263452ea1c00#{65e8773d-8f56-
11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\global" 0
2 "AVC Panel Device"
'Scientific-Atlanta AV/C Panel Device'

UniqueID '263452ea1c00'
VendorID '1cea'
ModelID '10cc'
VendorText 'Scientific-Atlanta Inc.'
ModelText 'Explorer(R) 4300'
"@devicenp:\\?\avc#scientific-atlanta__inc.&explorer(r)_4300&typ_9&id_0#263452ea1c00#{65e8773d-8f56-
11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\global" 0
3 'Hauppauge WinTV PVR PCI II Capture'
"@devicenp:\\?\pci#ven_4444&dev_0016&subsys_e8070070&rev_01#5&9c5ad52&0&4008f0#{65e8773d-8f56-11d0-a
3b9-00a0c9223196}\{9b365890-165f-11d0-a195-0020afd156e4}" 0
4 'Hauppauge WinTV PVR PCI II Capture'
"@devicenp:\\?\pci#ven_4444&dev_0016&subsys_e8170070&rev_01#5&9c5ad52&0&4808f0#{65e8773d-8f56-11d0-a
3b9-00a0c9223196}\{9b365890-165f-11d0-a195-0020afd156e4}" 0
5 'Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 Encoder'
"@devicenp:\\?\usb#vid_2040&pid_2900#5&3975c876&0&7#{65e8773d-8f56-11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\capture"
0
6 'Camtasia Studio Video Capture Driver'
"@device:cm:{860BB310-5D01-11D0-BD3B-00A0C911CE86}\Camtasia Studio Video Capture Driver" 0
This device is not supported, if you are sure then add the -f flag
Calling CoUninitialize
Called CoUninitialize

Unfortunately the channel on the cable box did not change. Any suggestions? Am I doing something wrong or is my box not going to work for this?

bleary

04-21-08, 08:27 PM

Thanks bwall23 ! Yes I heard about them on the forums here and already sent them an e-mail. The contact e-mail address don't work and the mails bounced on me. Only address which did not bounce were webmaster@shindigita.com, support@shindigita.com. I am awaiting a response. I doubt I'll get any :(

bwall23

04-21-08, 09:50 PM

bleary

04-23-08, 01:27 AM

If that doesn't work, you might try sales@shindigita.com from here http://www.shindigita.com/sales/us-sales.html

Thats the very first address I had tried and it bounced. Then I tried presales and it bounced too. Finally I tried the others which I mentioned in my previous email and they did not bounce. But I dont think anyone reads them cos its been 3 days and no response. I doubt if this company exists anymore.

erj-drvr

04-27-08, 11:56 AM

Another newbee in need of some help!! I have tried both of the procedures below with some success but I am having the following problem:

Using CapDVHS I can copy live SD (Std Def) channels just fine but when I try to capture ANY digital channel including locals w/ C5=no and Copy Free I get nothing!!! Additionally, during the digital channel capture attempts CapDVHS does not register any info on the data info page. After much reading it sounds like it is some sort of a Cable Company encryption issue but can anyone confirm this???

replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/
home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/

Equipment:
Cable Box = DCT 6412
Cable Company = Insight transitioning to Comcast 5/1/08
PC = Core 2, Win XP Pro SP2

ExDeus

04-27-08, 05:02 PM

12. so the panel is device #2. I entered the following in the command line: channel /v 2 33 and the result was as follows:

Unfortunately the channel on the cable box did not change. Any suggestions? Am I doing something wrong or is my box not going to work for this?
Have you tried any of the alternate commands from http://home.comcast.net/~timmmoore/firewire/readme.htm?, i.e.,

channel –v –f –a0 2 33
channel –v –f –a1 2 33
channel –v –f –a2 2 33
channel –v –f –a3 2 33
channel –v –f –a4 2 33

ExDeus

04-27-08, 05:05 PM

Using CapDVHS I can copy live SD (Std Def) channels just fine but when I try to capture ANY digital channel including locals w/ C5=no and Copy Free I get nothing!!! Additionally, during the digital channel capture attempts CapDVHS does not register any info on the data info page. After much reading it sounds like it is some sort of a Cable Company encryption issue but can anyone confirm this???
Yes, confirmed. If your hardware & software are working, which you've demonstrated by successfully capturing SD content, then the symptoms you've described, 0-byte (or garbage) files and no info on that Data Info tab, are exactly what you see with 5C DTCP encryption.

Indiglow99

05-02-08, 01:46 AM

I have used the timmore script for quite sometime, but I have a 720p projector now and I find recording HDTV channels the quality is not very good, the direct component connection looks much much better the HDTV from the MCE box looks just a tad better than the standard def stuff.

I am using the moonlight HDTV mpeg decodeer, athlon 2000+ 768 ram, radeon 9600, Nvidia decoder.

coyoteaz

05-02-08, 02:23 AM

What connection are you using between the PC and the projector?

Indiglow99

05-02-08, 02:29 AM

What connection are you using between the PC and the projector?

I am using a standard VGA cable kind of an old cable, but a VGA cable nonetheless????

Fonceur

05-02-08, 11:35 AM

I am using a standard VGA cable kind of an old cable, but a VGA cable nonetheless????
And your desktop is in 720p?

Indiglow99

05-02-08, 04:40 PM

And your desktop is in 720p?

I have it set in 1024 x by 768 currently.

Fonceur

05-02-08, 05:29 PM

I have it set in 1024 x by 768 currently.
So you are going from 1080i to 1024x768 to 720p and wondering why you're losing quality? ;) Set your desktop to the native resolution of your projector...

Indiglow99

05-03-08, 12:35 PM

So you are going from 1080i to 1024x768 to 720p and wondering why you're losing quality? ;) Set your desktop to the native resolution of your projector...

Err.... umm..... (turns red) yea.....

Problem is my damn wall and projector screen and length will make the picture msuch smaller if I do it that way.

Fonceur

05-03-08, 02:26 PM

Problem is my damn wall and projector screen and length will make the picture msuch smaller if I do it that way.
Why would the projector produce a bigger picture when fed something else than its native resolution? Or do you mean that the projector screen is 4:3 so if you display the native 16:9 picture of the projector, you have to make it smaller to fit on that screen?

Anyway, it's probably a good idea to test it in 720p and see if that was your problem in the first place... ;)

Burnerbum

05-04-08, 09:39 PM

Indiglow99

05-05-08, 11:15 PM

So I have a media center PC and a 720P projector problem is 1024 by 768 works fine but 1280 by 720 is too large and I cannot reposition the projector due to no good mounting location closer.

So wathcing HDTV in in widescreen is no problem I don't miss much on the side, BUT when using the PC I can't use it.

Now here is another thing.... I need to somehow keep the PC in 1024 by 768, but when I launch Media Center have it go to widescreen 720P.

Any ideas?

Tom

Fonceur

05-06-08, 01:31 AM

Any ideas?
You should start a new thread in an appropriate section (like projector or HTPC)...

robinli1

05-11-08, 09:52 AM

I spent the last two days and read so many posts here. Finally, I got the tuner appeared in MyTray and patched the registry to make it able to change channel using firewire.

But, I have two problems:

1. The recording using Vista Media Center has no sound thru firewire. The other recording using rf has sound. I used VLC to watch live HD via firewire on my PC and there was sound. Can anybody help? I tried to record SD channels, it was the same - no sound through firewire in the recording.

2. Some channels come through smooth and great picture. Some channels do not pass any signal at all and I guess they are blocked. Some channels come through some blocky and start/stop picture - can this be fixed? Will it be due to the firewire cable not good enough? Or, is it just blocked by the cable company?

Thanks a lot.

Fonceur

05-11-08, 12:02 PM

1. The recording using Vista Media Center has no sound thru firewire. The other recording using rf has sound. I used VLC to watch live HD via firewire on my PC and there was sound.
You might need to install AC3filter or such, it sounds like VMC doesn't know how to handle the AC3 audio stream...

Some channels do not pass any signal at all and I guess they are blocked. Some channels come through some blocky and start/stop picture - can this be fixed?
You could try running the file through VideoReDo's quickstream fix, that does it for me...

davidk21770

05-16-08, 01:18 PM

I've been getting some nice HD recordings using the Firewire interface but have a couple of questions.

1. Has anyone been able to use Womble Mpeg Vdeo Wizard DVD. Whenever i do a file with it, it comes out jerky. The picture doesn't play smooth, this is with all files done with it. When i use Video Redo it plays fine. However, i have a couple of movies that Video Redo won't open but Womble will. Plus i like the interface on Womble, it seems i can edit a movie faster.

2. Is that any program that would allow me to make chapters with the .ts files from the recordings?

Thanks.Try processing the file with Project X 1st. This will usually fix the timing errors that VideoReDo is complaining about. You could also try PVAStrumato, but then you'll have to piece things back together. vlc can also repair TS files, but I've found that if Project X can't repair it, vlc's repair is inadequate for VideoReDo.

There are also some VideoReDo settings that will make it more tolerant.
Hold down the shift key while clicking on Tools/Options. This will bring up a Manual Parameters page. I have:
Number of TS Packets to read to find a selected PID: 1000000
Number of TS Packets to read when searching for PAT/PMI: 1000000
Number of bytes to read when searching for a valid TS packet: 2000000

There may have been more, but there are the ones that I remember.
AND, this will make it take a LONG time to decide that it can't read the file -- it tries really hard.

jazyjeff

05-19-08, 06:42 PM

well i want to add that i think that my source of choppy video is due to a cheap firewire. my digital 480 channels record good in parallel with my windows media center, but when i switch to a HD channel they start messing up. i just dont think this $15 belkin firewire is handling the speed of the HD video. Other than that everything is working well as far as the drivers and the channel changing in mytray automatically when i switch channel in media center. New Firewire in route.

coyoteaz

05-19-08, 10:33 PM

Assuming you're using a standard 3-6' cable, you're not going to see any difference in performance between a $7 cable and a $70 cable. The cable is designed to reliably pass 400-800Mbit/s, and the HD stream you're sending over it isn't going to go over 20. The SA boxes simply suck at Firewire, and there's no way to fix that short of moving somewhere that has Moto boxes.

jazyjeff

05-20-08, 08:07 AM

well its not a short cable 3-6 ft more like 10 ft. and yes i have a SA 4250 HDC box. so your saying even if i get a shorter and better firewire its not going to do anything much?

blueblazer22x

05-20-08, 08:07 AM

Is there ANY way to record HD content from a PACE TDC779X over firewire? I've been able to get SD to record with CAPDVHS, but HD will not record at all...it simply makes a small, unplayable mpg file. Any help is appreciated.

HeadHancho

05-20-08, 10:20 AM

On my Vista OS I've installed the drivers and INF file from Tim M. Moore's firestb.msi installer, with the INF file updated to work with the following device:

Motorola DCT-3416 - Added 2007-05-15 from

...exdeus.home.comcast.net/%7Eexdeus/stbfirewire/stb_firewire_drivers_2007-12-17.zip

Everything was working well enough recording to PC those free channels from Comcast in my area. Problem: I subsequently installed Nero 8 and am having conflicts (system crashes) when trying to access some Nero functions, specifically editing with Nero Vision 5 and accessing Nero's TV capture functions.

The Nero rep tells me it is a conflict with the DCT's drivers and indeed it is. If I disconnect the firewire before startup, all the Nero 8 functionality is restored.

Is there an update on the firestb.msi that I am not aware of? Anybody else have this problem? Solutions? Please advise.

xenophonite

05-20-08, 11:47 AM

^I have the same issue. Am hoping for a Vista update to the drivers soon.

coyoteaz

05-20-08, 08:53 PM

well its not a short cable 3-6 ft more like 10 ft. and yes i have a SA 4250 HDC box. so your saying even if i get a shorter and better firewire its not going to do anything much?
Pretty much. Even a 10' cable should be fine, as the spec is 15' max without a repeater.

jazyjeff

05-21-08, 01:40 PM

what a kick in the pants then. why must they make things so difficult these days? i might have to look into that new hauppage hd pvr.

Burnerbum

05-21-08, 02:11 PM

Pretty much. Even a 10' cable should be fine, as the spec is 15' max without a repeater.

I have a firewire ext drive connected to my pc with a 6 ft firewire and then i have a 15 ft firewire out of the drive to my Moto DVR and it works fine. So, unless you have a defective wire you should be fine. Or it's your box, i'm not familiar with other than the Moto.

AikonMGB

05-22-08, 02:47 PM

I have setup my laptop to capture video via FireWire from my Motorola DCT-6412. I used this guide*, which is supposedly based on this thread.

I have managed to successfully capture video from SD digital channels using CapDVHS, which I can view using VLC and Media Player Classic. When I go to convert the video using HDTVtoMPEG2, it all works properly.

However, I am having an issue with HD. I have checked the 5C copy protection, and it is disabled on the channels I have been testing, so I don't think that's the problem. When capturing video on an HD channel, the boxes in CapDVHS do not populate (i.e. the ones with video resolution, bitrate, etc.), and once it's done, I cannot view it in either media player.

VLC just plain doesn't play the file, and MPC says "Cannot render file." If I try to convert it using HDTVtoMPEG2, when I add the transport stream, I cannot select the channel from the drop-down menu (on the right); it is greyed out.

Any help would be appreciated; I've tried looking through this thread but I'm afraid it's simply to massive to parse effectively.

-Aikon

* I can't post URLs yet, so... here: http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/

AikonMGB

05-22-08, 04:43 PM

Yes to the first question.

Second -- with the box powered on, push power (off) then OK/SELECT (the middle button on the remote) within .5 secs. This will bring up the service menu. Scroll down to (from memory, d11 - something, near the bottom) it will say things like "1394 active = yes", and "5c = X" if it says anything but "5c=0" you can't record it with a PC.

I am having trouble recording from HD stations.. I have checked the 5c code and it shows "5c=0" on all the channels I've tested, but when I run CapDVHS, none of the stream information (bitrate, resolution, etc.) populate, and Media Player Classic says "Cannot render file" when I try to play the transport stream.

Suggestions?

p.s. I got it working for SD channels just fine..

davidk21770

05-22-08, 06:03 PM

1st, I've tried 3', 15', and 30' with and without a repeater and had it make absolutely no difference.

Can you get the HD to play in vlc? Try stopping and restarting the movie. That's what I have to do. Once it's playing properly, I can stop vlc and start capdvhs. I usually start my recordings 1 minute early so that I can do this.

Edit: Sometimes it takes vlc 15 seconds or more to synch-up and play; and the sound will probably be choppy when it does -- that's just vlc. It'll record ok if the video's ok.

Fonceur

05-22-08, 09:58 PM

I am having trouble recording from HD stations..
It simply means that they are copy protected, even if the flag doesn't say it...

AikonMGB

05-22-08, 10:44 PM

It simply means that they are copy protected, even if the flag doesn't say it...

Lame.. if it's copy protected, then the flag should indicate that =(

Fonceur

05-23-08, 10:32 AM

Lame.. if it's copy protected, then the flag should indicate that =(
The thing is that the flag is only one third of the equation, there's at least one other parameter visible from the diagnostic screen and one not visible which can also prevent recording.

AikonMGB

05-23-08, 11:43 AM

The thing is that the flag is only one third of the equation, there's at least one other parameter visible from the diagnostic screen and one not visible which can also prevent recording.

What is the one other visible thing? And what is the not-visible thing? Having 2/3 of the equation would still be better than 1/3 =P

SOM

05-27-08, 09:45 AM

I installed the drivers for my Comcast STB and when I open up Capdvhs it sees the D-VHS Unit but when I record it doesn't record anything:( Is there anything I can do or is there another program I can record Transport Streams from my cable STB to my computer?

Thanks,

SOM:)

Hanson

05-27-08, 02:27 PM

If I set up multiple recordings set 1 second apart, I can get MyHD to play them sequentially with only a momentary block up during file transitions with one caveat -- I have to rename the files so that there is a "." between the filename and the "000X.ts".

Is there any way to have CapDVHS put that "." there? Doing so would allow me to watch the program as it records (after allowing enough time for at least the first file to complete recording).

Making the file name "test." didn't work.

billqs

05-27-08, 07:08 PM

I have the same problem jazyjeff has. I have an SA 4250HDC box. The firewire port is active, but the pics I get are very pixelated and choppy. I recorded some samples using vlc. I tried running them through Video REDO but I still had lots of macroblocks in the pic even after quickstream cleaned up 475 errors. Is the 4250 a crappy box to capture from, or am I missing some configuration setting?

Hanson

05-27-08, 08:33 PM

coyoteaz

05-27-08, 09:34 PM

coyoteaz

05-27-08, 09:44 PM

I figured it out.

If you set up a timer recording and put two periods at the end of the file name, the resulting output file will have this format:

file.0001.ts

If you set up multiple recordings a second apart, the files will output like this:

file.0001.ts
file.0002.ts
file.0003.ts

These files can be played in MyHD or Theatertek and they will be auto-joined. If you set up 5 minute chunks, you can start watching after the first two files are recorded. The only drawback is a slight blocking as it transitions from one file to another and for a three hour program, you would need to set up 36@5 minute recordings.

I will mainly use this for Monday Night Football.
Couldn't you just use DCTRecord? It natively supports file splitting. Unfortunately, it's hardcoded to look for the device name from the original meidvhs drivers. Perhaps someone with the knowledge can take a few minutes and update the source code so it works with any device supported in timmmoore's driver pack and compile a new binary for everyone to use?

rocky01

05-27-08, 10:18 PM

This seem worthwhile if the programs can be recorded onto HD in faster than real time. This may have been asked before but I'm hoping that Capdvhs, DCTrecord transfer the data over firewire quickly. Thanks in advance.

Hanson

05-28-08, 07:49 AM

Couldn't you just use DCTRecord? It natively supports file splitting. Unfortunately, it's hardcoded to look for the device name from the original meidvhs drivers. Perhaps someone with the knowledge can take a few minutes and update the source code so it works with any device supported in timmmoore's driver pack and compile a new binary for everyone to use?
Actually, DTCRecord would be the optimal solution, but I can't get it to work because I'm not using MCE (XP Pro) and I'm not using the medivhs drivers.

I forgot that I had struggled with DTCRecord and gave up on it.

Fonceur

05-28-08, 05:16 PM

Is there any way to have CapDVHS put that "." there? Doing so would allow me to watch the program as it records
I am guessing that the reason for this is that CapDVHS is locking the file during recording, right? You could try GrafCorder (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076), I am not sure if the file gets locked or not... ;)

Hanson

05-28-08, 09:41 PM

The GrafCorder thread made my head hurt :o

Yes, CapDVHS locks the file so it can't be played. If anyone can confirm that the GrafCorder output can be played as it records, I will attempt to understand how it works.

SOM

05-30-08, 08:04 AM

I been successfully recording from my Comcast STB to my PC with CapDVHS since 2004 but for some reason I after I redid my Harddrive I am now unable to record to my PC. Does it matter if when I first connect my firewire cable to run through the setup process the Motorola box shows up before the found new hardware wizard pops up? If this doesn't happen does that mean it is not seeing my STB? When I setup and tried to record with CapDVHS it had an issue and said it could not start the capture. Is there a way to make sure my STB and my computer are properly seeing each other?

I appreciate the help.

SOM:)

Fonceur

05-31-08, 11:01 PM

The GrafCorder thread made my head hurt :o
The summary is that you use GraphEdt to create a filter graph, which dump to a file the output from your Firewire Tuner. Then that grf file, the filename of your recording and the stop time are the parameters for GrafCorder...

jazyjeff

06-03-08, 08:48 AM

yes everything points to the crappy SA box. I use WoW / Wide Open West in the Detroit area and i only have other choices for cable thats Comcast and ATT U-Verse. Is the box provide by Comcast or ATT any better? Do they use Moto box? WoW is way behind on every thing imo on there channel line up. i hate to change back to Comcast as there internet stinks from what i here as far as torrent file throttling.

coyoteaz

06-04-08, 01:30 AM

Comcast uses Moto boxes in most areas, and those are a lot more Firewire-friendly. Uverse uses MPEG4 and custom IPTV boxes and can't be recorded to a PC in digital format AFAIK.

Ven0r

06-04-08, 11:23 PM

Hanson

06-06-08, 01:10 PM

Hanson

06-06-08, 01:23 PM

I am guessing that the reason for this is that CapDVHS is locking the file during recording, right?
I found out that the stream dump function in VLC Player does not lock during recording. I can play the file in MPC or Theatertek! Awesome! Except...

The point that I start watching becomes the end of the file -- ie, if I start watching 15 minutes into the recording, the player stops at the 15 minute mark. I could keep restarting the file, but that's a bit cumbersome.

Is there any media player that will keep playing until the file is actually finished recording? I could really make this very Tivo-like for clear QAM channels.

davidk21770

06-08-08, 07:34 AM

Comcast uses Moto boxes in most areas, and those are a lot more Firewire-friendly. Uverse uses MPEG4 and custom IPTV boxes and can't be recorded to a PC in digital format AFAIK.

From personal experience, Comcast's blocking of torrents is atrocious! And, they won't make any changes until next year (assuming they're not lying about that, considering that they lied about torrent blocking until respected publications came forwards with proof).

I found out that the stream dump function in VLC Player does not lock during recording. I can play the file in MPC or Theatertek! Awesome! Except...

The point that I start watching becomes the end of the file -- ie, if I start watching 15 minutes into the recording, the player stops at the 15 minute mark. I could keep restarting the file, but that's a bit cumbersome.

Is there any media player that will keep playing until the file is actually finished recording? I could really make this very Tivo-like for clear QAM channels.Have you tried post processing the file in VideoRedo (just load it and save it as an mpg in the same subdir) or Project X (save it as a TS)?

smileyscout

06-10-08, 02:42 PM

Has anyone made or found drivers which will work from a Motorola DCH3416 on Windows Vista x64? Vista does not like the drivers from http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/.

EDIT: Well I got access to a Windows Vista x32 machine today but didn't have any luck with Vista Media Center or CapDVHS. Has anyone had success with the DCH3416 either using CapDVHS or watching live in Media Center?

MJCS

06-12-08, 10:40 PM

Yeah...works just fine...the show your trying to record might have a no copy flag on it...

dasefx

06-13-08, 04:55 AM

Tried doing a search for this problem but didnt find an answer.

I have a DCT6208 and CAPDVHS will capture SD recorded programs fine, but the HD ones will only capture the first 1 or 2 seconds. Based on the file size it looks like it's capturing the entire clip, but when i playback in Media Player Classic or VLC i get the 1 second of playback then it quits.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
I have the exact same problem, what IEE1394 controller are you using? I'm thinking it may be that since the channel doesn't have 5C protection here, aslo i've tried in both Windows XP & Vista with no luck.

pierogitus

06-15-08, 06:20 PM

i'd also be interested in x64 drivers if they are out there or if there is 32-bit source code helping port it over

rocky01

06-15-08, 06:28 PM

I'm more than a little suspicious of Vista itself since it takes DRM to new locked-down level even for things for which you have license. One of the reasons Mac alternative is so popular for multimedia.

Ven0r

06-15-08, 06:31 PM

I have the exact same problem, what IEE1394 controller are you using? I'm thinking it may be that since the channel doesn't have 5C protection here, aslo i've tried in both Windows XP & Vista with no luck.

It's a integrated controller on my T61 Lenovo laptop. According to lenovo it's a LSI R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller.

alcord

06-16-08, 07:33 AM

everytime i try to record an hd channel CapDVHS just crashes, it works fine with analog channels but with hd it just crashes, any help?

alcord

06-16-08, 12:17 PM

I'v now managed to cap a bunch of channels in HD FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS,CTV (Canada), Global (Canada), and Discovery Channel. Others like omni (Canada) (FTA/OTA), TSN (Canadian ESPN), SportsNet (Same as previous) just cause CapDVHDS to crash. I find it odd that i can cap Discovery Channel which is a premium channel but not omni which is FTA and OTA? Any idea on how to fix thi or what's causing this? Thanks in advance :)

Karl Beem

06-23-08, 09:38 PM

Why does the initial post of this thread have

"This method does not allow you to transfer shows already recorded on your HD DVR only live TV." ?

Is this true for the newer drivers? I've been transferring already recorded shows for years using older drivers.

ucaw

06-23-08, 11:33 PM

I've been having problems recording via firewire through my SA4250. I am able to install the drivers, and the firewire ports are active, but I can't get any HD channels. I checked and my HD channels had the 5c protection on them. I called my cable provider (Charter) and told them to remove it and they did. I checked again and there is no longer a 5c block on my channels. However, I sitll cannot record via firewire. The digital SD channels play alright, but there is pixelation from time to time. None of the HD channels work. I tried to watch through VLC to see if it works and it doesn't. Nothing shows up. I know nothing is wrong with my laptop's setup or hardware because I am able to record via firewire from my own apartment. However, I have a Motorola HD-DVR box there. Is it safe to just assume something is wrong with the SA box because it's an SA box? I read a couple of posts that said SA boxes are just bad in general with recording via firewire.

Karl: I'm not sure if it is. I am able to record shows off my DVR as well and I'm using newer ones.

MJCS

06-24-08, 02:17 AM

In the settings tab in D-VHS only have the following checked:
Convert 188 bytes
Check PTS
Delete to SyncByte

Leave the rest unchecked

Karl Beem

06-24-08, 07:00 AM

Fonceur

06-24-08, 06:52 PM

Why does the initial post of this thread have

"This method does not allow you to transfer shows already recorded on your HD DVR only live TV." ?
Well, for one thing some boxes are setup where indeed you can only record Live TV, while the DVR recordings are played back with protection. Then some boxes are the opposite way... ;)

Or it might mean that you can't transfer the files normally like on a PC, and that you need to play them back, thus the "Live TV" term...

MMABoxing

06-24-08, 11:11 PM

so would this work with Shaw HD PVR :http://www.shaw.ca/en-ca/ProductsServices/Television/Digital/Hardware-HD.htm

or is there a new technique lol

ucaw

06-25-08, 12:50 AM

In the settings tab in D-VHS only have the following checked:
Convert 188 bytes
Check PTS
Delete to SyncByte

Leave the rest unchecked

Those are the settings I use. It's frustrating haha.. I've been trying to figure out why it doesn't work for the past...year a half, almost 2 years now.

MJCS

06-25-08, 09:08 PM

Can you try it on another box...maybe a friends

ucaw

06-26-08, 07:32 AM

Can you try it on another box...maybe a friends

I've tried it on my other SA box at my parents house (they have 2.. one for my room and 1 for another bedroom). Neither of the SA boxes work right when connecting through firewire. The only place I've gotten it to work is at my own apartment.. which has a Motorola HD DVR box. So I know everything on my computer side works.

danielle1014

06-29-08, 09:44 PM

Hello smart people, I hope someone can help me, as this thread seems a little old? I have a Motorola DCH6416 cable box that I was trying to capture recordings from through my DVR and live, etc. I read all the posts I could find on the subject and ran out and bought a firewire cable. I then downloaded and successfully installed the drivers and everything seems to be working in that respect. However when I open CapDVHS and try to begina recording I keep getting the same error message that reads: cannot open output file. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong, or what I need to do from here to correct the problem? Thanks so much for any help you can give on the matter!!!

Burnerbum

06-30-08, 06:23 AM

Does anyone know what I am doing wrong, or what I need to do from here to correct the problem? Thanks so much for any help you can give on the matter!!!

Check the drop down menu under capture devise at the top. If it is connected it will be there and select it.

Yiatros

06-30-08, 06:28 AM

Can someone clear up a few things for me please?

In the 6416 III's diagnostics setup d11 (interface status), there are several subcategories under 1394 I/O Device. Active Ports, Data Xmission, 5C Implementation, Loop/Root/Cycle Master Status are listed. Leaving aside the Status lines, Active ports set to 0 tells me neither of the two firewire ports are activated. Data Xmission set to No indicates data cannot pass through the firewire ports. 5C Implementation set to 1 means encryption is in effect so streams will not cature via a PC or DVHS.

Are my assumptions correct?
Arvy, this Moto Box is the one I have here in Orange County, CA, via Cox. Remember, this box is also "blessed with 3GB/sec eSATA". So, that data reference could be attributable to this super high speed amenity that makes me even "sicker" that we are all being held hostage to this lunacy of archiving, for OUR PERSONAL USE, the programs we record. Now, isn't that what the 5c bit was all about, to allow us to copy it once to the archiving repository of OUR CHOICE ?
The answer from Cox (I have emailed them from local to corporate without mercy since getting the box 2 years ago) is always "copywright protection". My answer is, always, "you allow me to downconvert to VHS tape or a DVD through my VCR and firewire, so where's the copyright issue ?"...."...it's a quality issue, isn't it ?"..."if I watch it again, you want me to see 'crap', right ?".
So, I don't know that this was the right answer for your "data transfer" entry question, but can you imagine, eSATA NAS boxes have just come out from WD & Seagate for the masses in the last 9 months, and this beautiful, but chastity belted down device had eSATA facilities 2 years ago !!!
I will keep "nastying them" until this crap stops and I encourage all of you good people to do the same.
I just sent them an article for a deal done between DishNetwork & Western Digital for a WD 320GB 7,200rpm box to be attached to their DVR (or TIVO; can't remember), but I said, maybe you ought to think about "retention" when your competitors are giving the people what they've been clamouring for for years.
Just wear them out. I encourage all of you. How would they like folk to stop their service for a quarter and do OTA ? Just a "Ghandi" on them. They wouldn't know whether they'd lost you or you really just had had it with them. Extreme ? I say their draconian, meaningless stance on copy facilities and locking down OUTSTANDING TECHNOLOGY THAT IS SITTING IN YOUR DOMICILE, 90% DEAD, is worth the adversarial actions and "erosion technique". The buck is what they need. How many times has ESPN postured with the carriers to yank their service over pennies per household ? Yeah, they care, trust me.

cai

07-03-08, 01:40 PM

Like UCAW, I have been trying to make this thing work for the same amount of time with no luck. I too have those settings and my STB says "NO" and "COPY FREE", but I still cannot tape those programs. This goes for either live of pre-recorded programs.

I am mostly interested in prerecorded since I seldom remember to use this system live. I wonder if there is really an answer to these problems. I hear Haupauge has come out with a box that accepts component input and then puts out some kind of file to burn to BlueRay. I am not interested in BD, but to burn to plain DVD from a digital downloaded signal from my STB.

xenophonite

07-07-08, 10:08 AM

I got a new version of Navigator and am now able to record anything I want using VLC Player, including all movie channels. Sometime I have to DVR first though. Before the upgrade, VLC Player would bomb out on me if I tried to access the device. CapDVHS would work once in a while beforehand but now VLC works with virtually anything (if I DVR first).

Burnerbum

07-07-08, 10:55 AM

xenophonite

07-07-08, 11:05 AM

Navigator is the TWC guide on the hardware. See signature.

TWC released a new Navigator that also has new hardware drivers for the SA series.

Burnerbum

07-07-08, 02:07 PM

Navigator is the TWC guide on the hardware. See signature.

TWC released a new Navigator that also has new hardware drivers for the SA series.

Thanks, i have comcast with the Motorola DVR which blocks most channels. Even Discovery HD which i love. See you have the Visio 52 also, I'm happy with mine.

jpaddock3000

07-07-08, 02:14 PM

I have the SA 8240 cable box, but the drivers provided by ExDeus aren't working. I noticed that 8240 wasn't in the inf file that he provided. So I added:

%AVC\Scientific-Atlanta__Inc.&EXPLORER(R)_8240&TYP_5&ID_0.DeviceDesc%=MEITUN ER.SA,AVC\Scientific-Atlanta__Inc.&EXPLORER(R)_8240&TYP_5&ID_0
%AVC\Scientific-Atlanta__Inc.&EXPLORER(R)_8240&TYP_9&ID_0.DeviceDesc%=MSPANE L.SA,AVC\Scientific-Atlanta__Inc.&EXPLORER(R)_8240&TYP_9&ID_0

Windows can now see that ExDeus' driver is suppose to install the driver, but what is weird is the name that windows discovers is %AVC\Scientific-Atlanta__Inc.&EXPLORER(R)_8240&TYP_5&ID_0. It doesn't nicely say Scientific-Atlanta Explorer 8240 like it did for the 4240. Also, Windows can't start the device after that. Did I do something wrong?

Thanks

Fonceur

07-09-08, 10:22 AM

I have the SA 8240 cable box, but the drivers provided by ExDeus aren't working.
You could have forced the install of any other model...

Also, Windows can't start the device after that. Did I do something wrong?
You didn't update enough lines, I seem to remember having to modify 6-12 lines when I added the PACE 511HD.

jpaddock3000

07-09-08, 12:20 PM

Would you be able to tell me how to force the driver install and also, what other lines need to be modified?

Thanks

Fonceur

07-10-08, 11:19 AM

Would you be able to tell me how to force the driver install
Same way you force the installation of any drivers in windows, you tell it that you will select which drivers to install, where to look for those drivers and select which to install...

and also, what other lines need to be modified?
For the PACE 511HD:

;---------------------------------------------------------------
; P a c e
;
; AV/C Tuner Subunit
;---------------------------------------------------------------

%AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc)&TYP_5&ID_0.DeviceDesc%=MEITUNER.PACE,AVC\pace_micro_technology_(pl c)&TYP_5&ID_0
%AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc)&TYP_9&ID_0.DeviceDesc%=MSPANEL.PACE,AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc )&TYP_9&ID_0

%AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc)&laguna&typ_5&id_0.DeviceDesc%=MEITUNER.PACE,AVC\pace_micro_technology_(pl c)&laguna&typ_5&id_0
%AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc)&laguna&typ_9&id_0.DeviceDesc%=MSPANEL.PACE,AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc )&laguna&typ_9&id_0

;
; Device description
;

AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc)&typ_5&id_0.DeviceDesc="Pace Tuner AV/C Device"
AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc)&typ_9&id_0.DeviceDesc="Pace AV/C Panel Device"

AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc)&laguna&typ_5&id_0.DeviceDesc="Pace Tuner AV/C Device (Laguna)"
AVC\pace_micro_technology_(plc)&laguna&typ_9&id_0.DeviceDesc="Pace AV/C Panel Device (Laguna)"

Being a different manufacturer there was a lot more, but SA is already defined for you.

dools767

07-12-08, 03:56 AM

Has anyone figured out how to record premium channels like HBO HD using this method? I don't understand how it works, aren't the signals encrypted and wouldn't only the cable company know how to decrypt them?

Scott

MJCS

07-12-08, 03:57 AM

You cant record over firewire if the flag is on. Its that simple.

Vchat20

07-12-08, 04:59 AM

@dools767: The signal is only encrypted when it's flowing over the cable system. Once it reaches the box, the decryption system the cableco provides decrypts it where it then goes on to either a) television output, b) DVR storage, or c) Firewire output.

Difference being is some channels have the industry standard 5C flag implemented which varies between cable provider and actual channel. The firewire chipset ALWAYS honors this flag and only DTCP compliant devices (currently only devices like hardware DVHS decks and rare tv sets with firewire inputs are DTCP compliant. Computer firewire cards are not and CAN NOT be as it is implemented in hardware) can view/record the signal. Devices that are not compliant simply get squat.

To put it in laimens terms: The channel operator AND the cable company have to allow it via the 5C broadcast flag. If one or the other has it enabled, no cableco provided set-top with firewire will allow it to be transferred and the DTCP copy protection in charge of the broadcast flag is all done in hardware so is near impossible to circumvent.

Chances are highly likely that all HBO channels and any other premium movie channel will have the 5C flag checked disallow access to non-compliant devices outright.

xenophonite

07-12-08, 09:29 AM

dools767

07-12-08, 03:56 PM

Well first of all premium channels like HBO are not marked as copy never, they are marked with copy once so if a DVR was 5C Compatible (I understand they are not) it would enable you to make one copy of a movie just as you can with a DVHS VCR.

The reason that it doesn't work with a DVR player isn't because the cable company doesn't want you to record HBO (5C Copy Protection says that you can make one copy), it's only because your DVR or PC (in the case of firewire transfer) cannot comply with it right?

My brother in law has a DVR and he claims that he's able to record both HBO and even OnDemand. There are also posts in which people claim that there able to record HBO and on Demand in this thread. I'm wondering as to how that is possible and whether or not they are recording true HD through HDMI or DVI or is it recording through the component video output on your cable box? I've also read that for those who are recording analog but 1080i through a component video connection that the signal gets compressed and then recompressed and the output that you get is not high definition but standard definition.

XENOPHONITE, are you recording HBO through component video or are you able to get true HD through DVI or HDMI? I'm sure that you can record HBO through the component video out, it's still high definition (but not true HD), but it's still analog. What is the make and model of your DVR and does it have a guide that works (some DVRs no longer sync to cable guide)

Scott

xenophonite

07-12-08, 04:00 PM

I'm able to record via firewire in true HD. I do get digital artifacts once in a while though, but VLC says it is due to timing sync problems, not copy protection. CapDVHS bombs out after a couple minutes. Are there other programs that work with Windows drivers? VLC is the only one I found that works, but has sync issues once in a while.

See sig.

Fonceur

07-12-08, 06:55 PM

There are also posts in which people claim that there able to record HBO and on Demand in this thread. I'm wondering as to how that is possible and whether or not they are recording true HD through HDMI or DVI or is it recording through the component video output on your cable box?
Since this is a Firewire recording thread, they are obviously doing it through Firewire... ;)

Are there other programs that work with Windows drivers? VLC is the only one I found that works, but has sync issues once in a while.
Try doing a VideoReDo quick stream fix on the recorded file, of course that wouldn't help you for LiveTV... GrafCorder (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076) is another available recording application.

dools767

07-13-08, 03:30 AM

Is there a thread that talks about recording premium channels through a DVR. Is that possible, I've heard that some people are able to record premium channnels with their DVR. I don't know how that works.

Scott

xenophonite

07-13-08, 08:26 AM

Since this is a Firewire recording thread, they are obviously doing it through Firewire... ;)

Try doing a VideoReDo quick stream fix on the recorded file, of course that wouldn't help you for LiveTV... GrafCorder (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076) is another available recording application.

Took me a while to figure out GrafEdit/Corder but got it to work. Still have the exact same artifact issues. I tried on an XP laptop with firewire on PCCard and on Vista laptop with builtin firewire. Get the artifacts at exact same location in DVRd content.

Also tried VideoReDo demo with quick stream fix. It did not fix the artifacts.

The interesting thing is that the artifacts happen at the exact same location in a movie that is DVRd. Each time I play the same scene into VLC, the artifact will appear in the same place with the same distorted pattern. VLC log says it has timing problems of some sort (drifts) but I'm thinking it may be the content. I've ruled out CPU issues, firewire cable and many other things and have narrowed it down to likely the content itself or the STB drivers.

I'm going to try to DVR the same movie twice to have two separate DVR copies. Will then test to see if the artifacts appear at the same spot. If so, it could be the content. But Mac users are saying they can firewire record with no artifacts, which could mean the STB drivers for Windows have issues and perhaps can't recover from certain types of stream anomalies.

bdplaid451

07-13-08, 09:11 AM

Hi,

This has been gone over to death but all the instructions in the links don't work for me. Even the one that seems the most reliable - doing the patch-over using both Tim Moore's and ExDeus's drivers does not work.

I've never been able to A) see the tuners in MyTray and B) see MyTray in VMC.

The closest I've gotten to anything working is an initial install of just ExDeus's drivers - I've gotten Vista to see the cable box, the Capture program will turn the DCH3200 on/off, and once I was able to get a program for about 1/2 second. VLC version e will not tune the signal, but instead crashes. Initially, the ExDeus capture program would report the stats of the incoming signal, but now that doesn't work.

It's just not working, and I don't know where to look.

I also have an HDHomerun and an Avermedia USB tuner. I disconnected the USB tuner, but that seems to have no effect. I have a suspicion that the HDHomeRun is conflicting with the DCH3200 drivers, because all of a sudden VMC stopped seeing the HDHomeRun. Any thoughts?

Any help appreciated.

Comcast (Baltimore) DCH3200
Vista Media Center non-SP1, but updated
firestb, tried both the MCE version and the Vista RC1 version

ThurstonX

07-13-08, 10:36 AM

Took me a while to figure out GrafEdit/Corder but got it to work. Still have the exact same artifact issues. I tried on an XP laptop with firewire on PCCard and on Vista laptop with builtin firewire. Get the artifacts at exact same location in DVRd content.

Also tried VideoReDo demo with quick stream fix. It did not fix the artifacts.

The interesting thing is that the artifacts happen at the exact same location in a movie that is DVRd. Each time I play the same scene into VLC, the artifact will appear in the same place with the same distorted pattern. VLC log says it has timing problems of some sort (drifts) but I'm thinking it may be the content. I've ruled out CPU issues, firewire cable and many other things and have narrowed it down to likely the content itself or the STB drivers.

I'm going to try to DVR the same movie twice to have two separate DVR copies. Will then test to see if the artifacts appear at the same spot. If so, it could be the content. But Mac users are saying they can firewire record with no artifacts, which could mean the STB drivers for Windows have issues and perhaps can't recover from certain types of stream anomalies.
I've had exactly the same experience. I've managed one flawless capture with CapDVHS, but 4 or 5 others all caused it to crash. GrafCorder snags just about everything, but glitches are still present if they exist in the original stream (i.e., when played back on the DVR; one way to find them is try CapDVHS, see where it crashes, then find that spot in the original DVR recording), and are actually a bit more visible (I chalk that up to the Scientific-Atlanta DVR having better MPEG decoders than my PC). Said glitches are definitely in the content, which I chalk up to Comcast's poor delivery (they rarely deliver a flawless stream, at least where I live). And videoRedo also made the glitches even worse.

The only method I found for capturing and getting rid of the glitches was to use the DVR's Copy To VCR function over S-Vid to a Hauppauge card (350), but of course, that's not firewire.

And some content (an HD recording) won't capture at all in GrafCorder, while some will, but file sizes are insanely large (2.5 hour movie was upwards of 13 GB).

Fonceur

07-13-08, 01:08 PM

Is there a thread that talks about recording premium channels through a DVR.
Well, assuming you are subscribing to those premium channels, Firewire will do it if 5C is not enabled, or check the HD-PVR (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1015617) thread in the HTPC section...

Still have the exact same artifact issues. I tried on an XP laptop with firewire on PCCard and on Vista laptop with builtin firewire. Get the artifacts at exact same location in DVRd content.
You could try borrowing a MAC to test, but it sounds like a problem with the Firewire port of the cable box...

but file sizes are insanely large (2.5 hour movie was upwards of 13 GB).
That's a normal size for a 720p recording... I almost get that size per hour, recording on SD or HD channels, before I run the file through VideoReD'os quickstream fix... ;)

xenophonite

07-13-08, 02:15 PM

You could try borrowing a MAC to test, but it sounds like a problem with the Firewire port of the cable box...

If it were a port problem, then the distortion/artifacts would occur randomly. The artifacts only happen at very specific spots in the content and can be duplicated when playing back same spot several times. I can sometimes go 30 minutes with no artifacts. So it's not the port, it's probably encoding or decoding issues.

Is there a way to use a different MPEG decoder in Windows?

CANNON-FODDER

07-13-08, 02:56 PM

... premium channels like HBO are not marked as copy never, they are marked with copy once so ...

... recording true HD through HDMI or DVI or is it recording through the component video output on your cable box? I've also read that for those who are recording analog but 1080i through a component video connection that the signal gets compressed and then recompressed and the output that you get is not high definition but standard definition.

XENOPHONITE, are you recording HBO through component video or are you able to get true HD through DVI or HDMI? I'm sure that you can record HBO through the component video out, it's still high definition (but not true HD), but it's still analog ...The flagging/marking of the channels varies widely by source, provider and location. Without specifying those items, any response is guesswork. Specifically here, generalizations are less than helpful.

While this is a firewire thread and off topic, I think you are confusing COMPOSITE with COMPONENT. COMPOSITE (yellow RCA and accompanying red + white stereo audio RCA) is a reduction, although HD converted down to DVD is still very high quality. COMPONENT (Green, Blue, and Red RCA with R/W stereo audio) can carry 720p, 1080i, 1080p HD signals very capably. Not many folks have the equipment to record component signals, the only consumer level (<$1,000+) device I have ever seen with component input was a P/DVR from (Panasonic or Pioneer at WalMart) and it only accepted 480i/p IIRC.

I have never seen anyone discern "true HD" as only DVI or HDMI (other than salesmen) -- component 720p, 1080i, 1080p signals are still "true HD", just not digital.

v/r,
C-F

Fonceur

07-13-08, 09:42 PM

If it were a port problem, then the distortion/artifacts would occur randomly.
Why would it have to be random? Let say the specific Firewire implementation on that cable box/firmware combo, makes it that you are getting a buffer overrun (or whatever) once it reaches 123456 bytes read, you would always get the problem at the same position during playback of a single file... Or maybe it happens when the bit rate is too high. Or when the recording is happening on the PVR, it could be buggy there, or the source could have those issues but the cable box is able to smooth those hick-ups...

I can sometimes go 30 minutes with no artifacts. So it's not the port, it's probably encoding or decoding issues.
Well, there is no encoding of the Firewire stream, you get what the cable box is outputting (with some possible distortions), the only encoding happening is at the network (or possibly at your cable provider if they are squeezing more stuff within their limited bandwidth).

Is there a way to use a different MPEG decoder in Windows?
Sure, you can install various decoders or video players, then either select a specific decoder in the application or play with the filters merit...

xenophonite

07-13-08, 09:53 PM

Why would it have to be random? Let say the specific Firewire implementation on that cable box/firmware combo, makes it that you are getting a buffer overrun (or whatever) once it reaches 123456 bytes read, you would always get the problem at the same position during playback of a single file...

It's not that artifacts repeat only at playback of windows file, it repeats when during playback of same location at DVR layer content into recording PC. That is, play DVR at same position and record via firewire several times and the same distortion occurs with same pattern. There appear to be defects in the DVR recorded content that Windows can't recover from.

Can't be buffer overrun issues because it has problems when playing a particularly location from the DVR whether it's 2 seconds or 2 minutes before you hit the bad spot.

VLC shows it as a 'drift' and lost frames.

Schlotkins

07-13-08, 11:57 PM

Hello all-

I moved to Irvine, CA and I'm on the Cox system. I have HDnet, which I can't get to record over Firewire using CapDVHS. Other stations, such as UniHD, are working fine, but HDnet isn't. My guess was it was 5C flags, but it appears under the d11 menu that the 5C is OFF. My box is a DCT3416.

Am I looking at the right place for the 5C flag?!

Thanks,
Chris

MJCS

07-14-08, 02:04 AM

A month ago I was able to capture Star Trek Enterprise off of HDNet...odd. Call of cox and ask them to remove the flag

bdplaid451

07-14-08, 09:02 AM

Hi,

This has been gone over to death but all the instructions in the links don't work for me. Even the one that seems the most reliable - doing the patch-over using both Tim Moore's and ExDeus's drivers does not work.

I've never been able to A) see the tuners in MyTray and B) see MyTray in VMC.

The closest I've gotten to anything working is an initial install of just ExDeus's drivers - I've gotten Vista to see the cable box, the Capture program will turn the DCH3200 on/off, and once I was able to get a program for about 1/2 second. VLC version e will not tune the signal, but instead crashes. Initially, the ExDeus capture program would report the stats of the incoming signal, but now that doesn't work.

It's just not working, and I don't know where to look.

I also have an HDHomerun and an Avermedia USB tuner. I disconnected the USB tuner, but that seems to have no effect. I have a suspicion that the HDHomeRun is conflicting with the DCH3200 drivers, because all of a sudden VMC stopped seeing the HDHomeRun. Any thoughts?

I'm not getting any responses to this, so let me just ask:

are there any known incompatibilities between firestb etc and other usb tuners cards/sticks?

thanks.

dannyv@cybernex.

07-14-08, 03:29 PM

My brother in law has a DVR and he claims that he's able to record both HBO and even OnDemand. There are also posts in which people claim that there able to record HBO and on Demand in this thread.
Scott

I can record HBO and almost any standard digital and high definition digital channel on my cable system. They are all flaged copy freely. The weird thing is the only channel I can't record because its flagged copy once is "CBS" which make no sence. This is all done throught firewire. I do my captures on a MAC and I don't know if it handles the 5C flag differently but I would think it should handle the flags the same way as on the PC.

dannyv@cybernex.

07-14-08, 03:42 PM

The interesting thing is that the artifacts happen at the exact same location in a movie that is DVRd. Each time I play the same scene into VLC, the artifact will appear in the same place with the same distorted pattern. VLC log says it has timing problems of some sort (drifts) but I'm thinking it may be the content. I've ruled out CPU issues, firewire cable and many other things and have narrowed it down to likely the content itself or the STB drivers.

Just to clearify you say the artifacts are in the same place every time. Are there any artifacts in that place in the original DVR'D recording? If not is the scene a high action scene with a lot of motion. My problem when I tried it on a PC with VLC was I always had artifacts in the majority of the capture but they were expecially bad in high action scenes or scenes with a lot of scene changes. I chalked it up to the firewire drivers so keep that in mind when doing your evaluations. You may start to see a pattern forming.

xenophonite

07-14-08, 03:49 PM

dannyv@cybernex.

07-14-08, 03:56 PM

Is there a way to use a different MPEG decoder in Windows?

Media player classic does a fine job playing these streams. Also if you have videoredo which is an mpeg editor, that plays them back the best.

dannyv@cybernex.

07-14-08, 04:08 PM

^I have confirmed the artifacts are part of the DVR recording. It doesn't show during playback on the STB but does show up when playing the same section of the DVR recording into VLC via firewire (tried it many times, shows up in exact location of DVR recording). It could be the firewire STB drivers for Windows not able to cope with a particular DVRd stream anomaly.

A friend is bringing over his Mac laptop this week so will see what happens.

Any chance the STB firewire drivers will be updated?

I think you may be correct. The drivers can't handle errors correctly like the MAC firewire sdk. I've been doing it on a mac for well over a year and the only anomolies that show up on my captures are whats in the origional DVR'd source. I don't do live TV so I can't comment on that but DVR'd content comes out great on the mac. Be sure to follow the setup in this forum.

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

As far as firestb I just asked that question last week and got no answers.

Keep us posted as to your progress on the MAC. I do it on a dinky 475mhz G4 so you don't need a power house mac. Just don't try to play back the captured file on a mac transfer it to the PC.

dannyv@cybernex.

07-16-08, 12:01 PM

A friend is bringing over his Mac laptop this week so will see what happens.

I just retired my dinky 475MHZ G4 and purchased a 1.83 mac mini. I set it up fresh with the firewire sdk and it all went off without a hitch. The mac mini is also producing perfect captures. The difference is the new Mac also does a decent job of playing back the stream via VLC.

The setup is very simple download the firewire26 sdk from apple developers site. Install it and use the avcvideocap application to capture. There were no major steps to follow just install the app hook up the firewire and launch the app. The sa8300 will automatically be in the list of available devices. Select it and press the start capture button, Select a place to save the capture, enter the movie run time, Start the DVR'ed movie then hit go.....Simple.

xenophonite

07-16-08, 01:52 PM

Thanks. Good info. Will give it a shot.

Fonceur

07-16-08, 02:29 PM

Any chance the STB firewire drivers will be updated?
That's unlikely, considering we've been using a Panasonic driver written for a most likely discontinued tape drive... ;) ExDeus was looking at using the native Firewire drivers from Windows, but he seems to have hit a wall with that...

Schlotkins

07-16-08, 07:59 PM

A month ago I was able to capture Star Trek Enterprise off of HDNet...odd. Call of cox and ask them to remove the flag

Not sure where RSM, CA is, but have you tried lately? I just tried a different movie after resetting the box and resetting my laptop. Other channels are working so it's some specific with HDnet movies.

Thanks for any assistance,
Chris

MJCS

07-18-08, 12:29 AM

I dumped Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 2 weeks ago...no problem. It has to be your cable provider

xenophonite

07-19-08, 02:13 PM

Good news. I'm now able to get perfect firewire recordings from DVRd content on both my Vista and XP laptops.

I used the MCE encoder that came on a TV tuner disc that I had.

The commercial version is here, that came on my tuner disc...
http://www.mainconcept.com/site/index.php?id=17766

Fonceur

07-19-08, 02:33 PM

I used the MCE encoder that came on a TV tuner disc that I had.
So you are re-encoding the Firewire recording with it? Since the Firewire recording itself involves no encoder, as it's simply dumping the stream to a file...

xenophonite

07-19-08, 02:37 PM

Hmm... true. I am doing a raw stream dump. I haven't changed anything else except installing the encoder.

Edit: I've uninstalled the encoder and still get perfect recordings. I wonder if something on the cable box was updated? This is the first time I could record many things with no artifacts. I checked the diag screen and see no new version of Navigator (since last month) or no new updated drivers in the hardware diag screen.

Odd that both my vista and xp laptops now work flawlessly. Over the last month, both would record artifacts.

mike_seahawk

07-22-08, 08:56 PM

Hi,
I've successfully installed drivers for my Scientific Atlanta 4250HDC cable box and now I'm able to record digital channels using firewire but for some reason when I'm trying to record HD channels the CapDVHS just crashes and doesn't work until I restart my computer. I've checked copy protection on the box and everything looks good (see picture) . Is there any way to fix this problem?
Thanks.
P.S. I'm using Windows Vista Enterprise Edition
http://hitechloft.com/IMAG0034.jpg

coyoteaz

07-23-08, 03:28 AM

The copy protection screen contains no useful information. Check the 1394 information screen (should be the one right before).

ExDeus

07-23-08, 04:50 AM

That's unlikely, considering we've been using a Panasonic driver written for a most likely discontinued tape drive... ;) ExDeus was looking at using the native Firewire drivers from Windows, but he seems to have hit a wall with that...

indeed, I haven't been able to get the Microsoft drivers to work as expected. The technical details aren't worth belaboring, but I'm running out of ideas. I've had some time away from it for (quite) a while now, so I'm going to take another stab at it.

For now, I've updated the usual driver package for the Sci Atl 8240(HD).

ExDeus

07-23-08, 05:05 AM

Hi,
I've successfully installed drivers for my Scientific Atlanta 4250HDC cable box and now I'm able to record digital channels using firewire but for some reason when I'm trying to record HD channels the CapDVHS just crashes and doesn't work until I restart my computer. I've checked copy protection on the box and everything looks good (see picture) . Is there any way to fix this problem?

That's exactly how CapDVHS behaves with my 8300HDC. It crashes whenever the output stream is (5C DTCP) encrypted, then won't work on unencrypted streams until after reatarting.

My box also provides zero indication encryption is being used, but it's there on every HD channel.

Schlotkins

07-23-08, 10:11 AM

TBS HD is also not working for me. I'm going to contact Cox and see what they say.

Cheers,
Chris

Fonceur

07-23-08, 02:05 PM

indeed, I haven't been able to get the Microsoft drivers to work as expected. The technical details aren't worth belaboring, but I'm running out of ideas. I've had some time away from it for (quite) a while now, so I'm going to take another stab at it.
Should you still get stuck, start a new post with what you've tried and all, maybe someone else will come up with a solution... ;)

xenophonite

07-23-08, 05:42 PM

I've determined a consistent method of getting good recordings with no artifacts (TWC SA8300HDC) on WinXP and Vista firewire. They key is to DVR the content first and then when playing back, first tune the channel to a non-active SDV channel, such as one that will show pay per view not scheduled. If tuning to a channel that is buffering, I get artifacts. Oddly, I figured tuning to a music channel would work since it doesn't buffer but I still got artifacts. When tuning to a non-active SDV channel, consistently no artifacts.

I'll try several days in a row to check if that's consistent.

For those who don't have SDV yet, try tuning to a channel that you are not subscribed to, like maybe a sports PPV not playing or other channel that just gives you a blue screen about a subscription needed.

mike_seahawk

07-23-08, 09:25 PM

The copy protection screen contains no useful information. Check the 1394 information screen (should be the one right before).

Here is the 1394 information screen. I don't see any problems here.
Do I have any chance to record HD programs?
Thanks.
http://hitechloft.com/IMAG0035.jpg

mike_seahawk

07-23-08, 09:35 PM

That's exactly how CapDVHS behaves with my 8300HDC. It crashes whenever the output stream is (5C DTCP) encrypted, then won't work on unencrypted streams until after reatarting.

My box also provides zero indication encryption is being used, but it's there on every HD channel.

How do you know that HD channels are encrypted?
Did you find any solution?

Schlotkins

07-24-08, 02:23 AM

How do you know that HD channels are encrypted?
Did you find any solution?

Although I don't have your box, I have some info.

If 5C is enabled, then there is nothing you can do with DVHS. The firewire ports on a PC are not 5C enabled. Now, if I remember, there are 'rules' which cable companies have to operate under in terms of which channels can have what 5C rules. If you cable company is violating a rule, then you can probably do something about having 5C turned off.

In terms of my situation, my DCT-3416 is telling me the Cox channels I'm having trouble with do not have 5C enabled. However, past experience is telling me it is. This is the same problem your having. Interestingly enough, these same channels did not have 5C back on Cox in CT. (I moved to CA....)

Best of luck,
Chris

guarh

07-24-08, 10:22 AM

I have SA 4250HD but capdvhs crashes as soon as I start recording. The recorded files are either 0kb or 188kb. Tried on many channels with the same result. The drivers are installed, or at least the devices are showing up correctly in Device manager.
Anyone in Tampabay, FL area had a success with this STB? Cable company is Brighthouse (owned by Time Warner I believe)
The 1394 Info screen looks the same as in mike_seahawk's post

Rocka2

07-24-08, 04:22 PM

kobe4rings

07-26-08, 01:45 AM

@ guarh - I'm in Orlando and got Brighthouse. My box is SA3250HD and CAPDVHS crashes within seconds of recording something and VLC caps the Channels but the mpegs streams are full of pixelations and are extremely choppy. From what ive been told SA boxs sucks for capping. Hopefully the new firmware download (August 2 for me) will get rid of the problems that make the streams horribly pixelated and green.

rzuffi

07-28-08, 10:34 PM

sorry to jump in, but were vista 64-bit drivers ever created for this or is it on the back brner since most people don't have it?

MJCS

07-28-08, 11:42 PM

No x64 drivers exist.

Sizu

07-29-08, 01:34 AM

I have been importing videos with Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, and the audio always seems to be out of sync. The audio track is usually longer than the video track as well. This is after capturing through CapVHS. Is it possible to fix this problem? It's really annoying.

dannyv@cybernex.

07-29-08, 09:23 AM

My BD-RE disc will not playback without stuttering. I am cutting out commercials first with videoredo and saving the files as mpg then burning them with nero. What do you have to do so your videos play back from blu-ray without stuttering?

Is the studdering in the original stream capture or only after you encode with nero?

Did you try (as a test) to encode to a different format lets say divx.

When I capture I convert to divx in the HD profile of 1280x720. When I do 1920x1080 I can't play it back.

Fonceur

07-31-08, 04:18 PM

VLC caps the Channels but the mpegs streams are full of pixelations and are extremely choppy.

This is after capturing through CapVHS. Is it possible to fix this problem?

You should both try to run your files through VideReDo first... It can't perform miracles, but it does clean up a lot...

CaCHooKa Man

08-11-08, 10:32 PM

i just got a motorola dch-3200. would a 6-pin to 4-pin connector work? my laptop only has a 4-pin firewire port.

Vchat20

08-11-08, 10:55 PM

It should, yes. The only difference is that the 6-pin connection carries power over it for the connected device (like a video camera for example). These cable boxes should not require that.

MJCS

08-11-08, 11:26 PM

It works...that is what I have been using for years :)

DSperber

08-12-08, 10:04 AM

when I open CapDVHS and try to begina recording I keep getting the same error message that reads: cannot open output file. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong, Did you change your "filename"?

I either violated some CapDVHS rule about how that output filename should be named, or you just should not change it.

After having received the same error message you did (after I changed the YYMMDDHHNNSS default name to something "meaningful" to what I was creating), I put it back to the original value. And sure enough, the error message disappeared and I was able to create the .TS output.

DSperber

08-12-08, 10:39 AM

Since there are over 4600 posts in this thread, forgive me if I'm about to say something that's already been stated. I did not read every post, and "search" was not all that useful.

I've seen this thread for years but never bothered to get into it until this week, when I had a very specific pair of needs:

(1) I had an edited .TS file on PC hard drive (created by a BeyondTV recording using my ATI TV Wonder 650 PCI card) that I wanted to write to my JVC D-VHS VCR (DT100U) via firewire, and

(2) I had a D-VHS recording (from NBC's Olympics, commercials removed, archived from Moto DCH-3416 to JVC D-VHS) that I wanted to copy from D-VHS to a .TS file on PC hard drive via firewire. This would then be converted to AVI (compressed with xVid) using VirtualDub (and the "smart progressive" filter, with direct stream audio) to send to someone who did not have a D-VHS VCR but wanted to see my recording.

In other words, I wanted to both (a) read from D-VHS and write to .TS on PC hard drive via firewire, and (b) read from .TS file on PC hard drive and write to D-VHS via firewire. No DVR is involved (other than to have created my D-VHS recording) in this pair of needs. My outboard device connected by firewire is a D-VHS VCR in my case, not a DVR.

And I'm simply wanting to report that by installing the firewire driver package (http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/) pointed to in the first post of this thread which is described as pertaining to DVR/STB's, and not to D-VHS VCR's, and also by using CapDVHS, I was indeed able to accomplish both desired directions of read/write and my JVC D-VHS VCR!

MIRACULOUS!!!

In order to use VirtualDub, I first had to convert the TS file created by CapDVHS to an MPG (using VideoReDo). This produced an MPEG-2 file (1920x1080, AC3 DD5.1 audio) since that's what the D-VHS recording was.

And then I had to use the fccHandler MPEG-2 plug-in for VirtualDub 1.8+ (http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/~fcchandler/Plugins/MPEG2/index.html) in order to read the MPEG-2 file into VirtualDub (prior to learning I needed this plug-in, I got an error from VirtualDub complaining that the file was probably MPEG-2), so that I could compress it to an AVI.

Yes, the resulting high-quality AVI is large (I used target quant=2, resulting in an AVI about 1/2 the size of the .TS file) but it's definitely an AVI and playable by AVI players. But size is not an issue. Getting it from D-VHS into my PC and then into an AVI is the issue... and mission accomplished.

On the subject of read/write TO D-VHS, well amazingly that works to, using CapDVHS's "write to D-VHS" tab! Again... amazing! I simply had to set the JVC VCR to I-* and push record. The datastream was written via firewire by CapDVHS to the JVC and the result was exactly what I was hoping for.

NOTE: the recorded D-VHS content I was reading was from NBC OTA, so that 5C=copy always (carried forward in the original copy from DVR to D-VHS). I'm sure that's why I was further able to then copy it from D-VHS to my PC.

I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect I will not be able to be similarly successful trying to copy an HBO movie copied from DVR to D-VHS (which is allowed, via 5C=copy once) onto my PC from D-VHS. But I'm going to try it later, just to confirm that this won't work.

Very many thanks to the author of this thread.

WinXP Pro SP2.

Hardcore Legend

08-13-08, 12:34 AM

So, what am I missing about the Olympics broadcasts? They are able to be copied live however, when trying to take them from my DVR to my PC, it literally shuts down my box until I hit stop.

CAP DVHS will record the video (though it appears to not be playing on television) without any problem but the audio does not come through. What is causing this? I have a Motorola 6412 DVR with Comcast.

DSperber

08-13-08, 12:40 AM

So, what am I missing about the Olympics broadcasts? They are able to be copied live however, when trying to take them from my DVR to my PC, it literally shuts down my box until I hit stop. I'm certainly no expert here, but there's a bold statement in the very first post that started this thread:

"This method does not allow you to transfer shows already recorded on your HD DVR only live TV."

Hardcore Legend

08-13-08, 01:48 AM

I'm certainly no expert here, but there's a bold statement in the very first post that started this thread:

"This method does not allow you to transfer shows already recorded on your HD DVR only live TV."

Actually, I found the problem. It is with Comcast's latest firmware update. It is being resolved.

I've been able to transfer previously recorded HD programming from my DVR for years.

Fonceur

08-13-08, 02:19 AM

I'm certainly no expert here, but there's a bold statement in the very first post that started this thread:

"This method does not allow you to transfer shows already recorded on your HD DVR only live TV."
But this statement has been proven wrong by many people. Some can only record live, others only pre-recorded, the lucky ones get both, the unlucky ones get neither... ;)

gracie20

08-13-08, 04:26 AM

thanks for such a nice infornmation

Gracie Sh

bcarter7878

08-13-08, 03:52 PM

So how would one find out if they can record saved programs on their dvr, just trial an error? And do they just appear as files in a folder on the PC? Also, I have a motorola DCT3412 I, so does that mean I'm out of luck with this process?

CaCHooKa Man

08-13-08, 06:34 PM

just got my 6-pin to 4-pin firewire cable from monoprice and everything is working great. i pretty much have no need for my fusion hdtv usb tuner anymore.

acebreathe

08-13-08, 09:54 PM

Hardcore how did you resolve the firmware update? I've been having the same problem and figured it had something to do with Comcast.

Doktor Jones

08-13-08, 10:25 PM

Fonceur

08-14-08, 12:05 AM

I've seen people ask this question several times before in this thread, but no one ever seems to get an answer out of anyone.
Typically, it simply means that copy protection is indeed enabled, even though the diagnostic screens are saying the contrary...

and CapDVHS reports "Error 80040217: Cannot connect SampleGrabber".
You could also try VLC or go back to the basic, by creating a graph in GraphEdit which simply dumps to a file (using a dump filter (http://www.dvbportal.de/projects/hdtvdump/)).

Doktor Jones

08-14-08, 12:30 AM

Well I'm trying to record NBC (local and cable channel 3), so it shouldn't have 5C or any similar flags enabled. When I try using VLC (open capture device > Motorola AV/C Tuner Device), nothing displays, but the timer down in the corner shows 3:25:25/0:00:00 and counting. If I close VLC and try again, the counter picks up as though I never stopped, so I'm wondering if there isn't some sort of communication going on...

What is all this "graph" stuff I've been reading about, and that you mention? While I may be very knowledgeable about computer hardware and software, A/V stuff (including computer-related A/V stuff) is very, very new to me :)

Hardcore Legend

08-14-08, 01:30 AM

Hardcore how did you resolve the firmware update? I've been having the same problem and figured it had something to do with Comcast.

This actually works as far as getting the audio to actually record onto your PC. It DOES NOT, however, make the picture visible on your TV while doing that.

For the PC:

Start recorded program a minute before desired start point on program
Press pause
Plug Firewire Cable in
Open CAPDVHS
Press REC
Press Play on DVR remote

You won't see anything on the TV screen but if you record the desired program for as long as you think you need to, you can stop it and check it. Unlike the other recordings, the 5.1 audio does exist this time.

I hope Comcast can get a firmware update out soon.

Then run it through MPEG2Repair to fix any audio PID problems.

hondo21

08-14-08, 01:33 AM

MJCS

08-14-08, 01:39 AM

I use an iMac with AVCVideoCap to record from my Moto 6412 via firewire. It has worked fine for both live streams and DVR recordings for many months. But now Comcast pushed out the new program guide software update recently and I find that I am unable to capture DVR recordings (copy freely content). Live streams still are fine, but trying to capture from a recording on the DVR freezes the picture. I have to stop the capture to do anything on the DVR again. This is a major bummer. Any workaround?

Call them up and tell the according to federal law they need to have these channels copy free and firewire enabled.

dargo

08-14-08, 01:54 AM

I use an iMac with AVCVideoCap to record from my Moto 6412 via firewire. It has worked fine for both live streams and DVR recordings for many months. But now Comcast pushed out the new program guide software update recently and I find that I am unable to capture DVR recordings (copy freely content). Live streams still are fine, but trying to capture from a recording on the DVR freezes the picture. I have to stop the capture to do anything on the DVR again. This is a major bummer. Any workaround?
read this thread
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1032148
I have a contact at comcast working on this issue (new firmware screwed things up) but he would like to hear from people what their problems are what box, what firmware you have, what state etc.

Doktor Jones

08-14-08, 07:39 AM

I've seen people ask this question several times before in this thread, but no one ever seems to get an answer out of anyone.

I've got the drivers installed on my system fine, the DVR tuner and panel show up correctly in the Device Manager. However, when I try to use CapDVHS, WinDV, or DVIO, I get errors. WinDV and DVIO report about not being able to find the "output pin", and CapDVHS reports "Error 80040217: Cannot connect SampleGrabber". Poking around in my DVR's diagnostics, the channels don't have 5C or anything of the sort enabled, so it's not that. Any clue what's going on? I'm wondering if it has to do with the 1394 ports being "enabled" but not "active"... although on the third page it does report a connected device on one port (which I assume is my computer), so it makes me wonder. Does anyone know how to fix this? Thanks!

Below are my specs, as well as the appropriate diagnostic pages...

My computer
Windows XP32 SP2
AMD Phenom X4 9850BE
Asus M3N-HT mobo with onboard IEEE1394
4GB DDR2-800 (I dual-boot with Vista)
Asus Xonar D2X sound card with Dolby Digital & DTS support
36GB WD Raptor SATA as primary drive
External ~2TB RAID box via USB2.0

My DVR
Motorola DCH3416
160GB HD (82% full)
Firmware: 18.34
S/W Ver: 74.53 - 3321

d11 INTERFACE / PORT STATUS, p.1
INTERFACE/PORT STATUS

ENABLED ACTIVE
DOCSIS YES NO
1394 YES NO
DVI/HDMI NO NO
ETHERNET YES NO
IR XMIT YES YES
SMART CARD NO NO
SPDIF YES YES
RF BYPASS NO NO
USB YES NO
HMA AUTHORIZED YES YES
MoCA AUTHORIZED NO NO
Internal YES NO
External YES YES

d11 INTERFACE / PORT STATUS, p.3
1394
ACTIVE PORTS: 1
DATA XMISSION: ACTIVE
5C IMPLEMENTATION: NO
COPY CONTROL: Copy Free
CYCLE MASTER NODE: YES
IRM NODE: YES
ROOT NODE: YES
LOOP DETECTED : NO

EUI-64: 0x001E46FFFE69EA38

CONNECTED DEVICES: 02
DEVICE ID
0x001E8C00013233B3
0x001E46FFFE69EA38
N/A

...and the solution?

The drivers found at replayguide.sourceforge.net :)

I had updated to SP3, installed and/or updated .NET 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5, and run all the other Windows Updates... still nothing. I'd read somewhere else that someone had good luck with the drivers from the above site with their DCH-3416. On a lark, I went into the Device Manager and pulled up my DCH3416 tuner and panel. I right-clicked each and selected "Update Driver..." and went with all the manual settings (let me pick, don't search automatically, etc). I then specified the folder I'd downloaded the above drivers into, unchecked "show compatible hardware", and selected the DCT-6412 tuner and panel appropriately. I decided to go with the 6412 because AFAIK the only differences between it and the DCH-3416 are a lack of analog tuner and a larger hard drive in the 3416.

I crossed my fingers, fired up CapDVHS, and tried recording... no error!. One minute later (I'd set it for a one minute recording) I had a 103MB file, with beautiful 1080i 30fps Olympic footage!

*celebrate* :D

On a tangent, does anyone remember how to enter the DCH3416's "low-level" setup page? The one that looks sorta like the diagnostics page, and is also accessed while the box is in standby mode? I remember fiddling with it once to turn on closed captions, but I don't remember how to do it any more :p

P.S.: WinDV and DVIO still bitch about not finding output pins but now that I have CapDVHS working, I say "meh" to them!

Fonceur

08-14-08, 10:40 AM

What is all this "graph" stuff I've been reading about, and that you mention?
The capture or playback of any audio/video under Window can be seen as a chain of DirectShow filters (capture device, audio/video renderer, splitter, etc.). GraphEdit simply shows a visual representation of the process, the graph. So when building a graph, you are simply connecting output pins to input pins. The first picture in this thread (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076) shows a simple graph, connecting the "Digital AV/C Tuner Device" to a dump filter.

...and the solution?

The drivers found at replayguide.sourceforge.net
I am not seeing anything about some firewire drivers being included with this package, how did you find that out? If they fixed things for you, I suspect that they might also help many others who have issues with the current "Panasonic tape driver"... ;)

Doktor Jones

08-16-08, 06:43 PM

Sorry, it wouldn't let me post links until I reached three posts.

The actual site I'm referring to is the DCT-6412 section (http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/) on replayguide.sourceforge.net. You're looking for the link titled "motorola6412_firewire.zip" in step 1 of the first section. Apparently DCT-6412 = DCH-3416 :)

bcarter7878

08-16-08, 08:22 PM

Great link Dok, thanks for that. I jsut need to get the firewire cable now.

Fonceur

08-17-08, 02:14 AM

You're looking for the link titled "motorola6412_firewire.zip" in step 1 of the first section.
Which is just the Panasonic tape driver that everyone in this thread is using... ;)

Doktor Jones

08-18-08, 01:40 AM

Great link Dok, thanks for that. I jsut need to get the firewire cable now.

For reference, if you're using a laptop (or just have a 4-pin cable on your desktop), a 6-pin to 4-pin cable works just as well. The DVR obviously doesn't need power from the computer, so a 6-pin connector on the computer side isn't necessary... so 6-to-6 or 6-to-4 will work fine, whichever's cheaper; I got mine for $11 :)

Which is just the Panasonic tape driver that everyone in this thread is using... ;)

Aye, but this thread also has references to the firestb driver, which explicitly includes the DCH-3416 in its driver list; however the firestb driver didn't work nearly as well (that is to say, it didn't work at all) for me :p

Fonceur

08-18-08, 10:31 AM

Aye, but this thread also has references to the firestb driver, which explicitly includes the DCH-3416 in its driver list
Well, the actual drivers are the 3 *.sys files, which are exactly the same... The *.inf file only tells Windows what name to use and how to load them... Though it is possible that there is a typo or such for your model.

Doktor Jones

08-18-08, 10:03 PM

Well, the actual drivers are the 3 *.sys files, which are exactly the same... The *.inf file only tells Windows what name to use and how to load them... Though it is possible that there is a typo or such for your model.

Ah, I hadn't noticed that! Must be something in the INF then that's making the difference. Regardless, the DCT6412 drivers on replayguide worked for me and I'm happily ganking stuff off my DVR :)

arKas

08-19-08, 01:56 PM

Has anyone else received one of these RNG200 boxes from Comcast?

I used the stbfirewire drivers package, it installs the AV/C Tuner device (but fails on the panel one). In CapDVHS, I get "Cannot Start Capture" failure, and TSReader shows no data coming in (while on a channel where CCI/EMI is free/free on copy protection screen).

I assume this is a driver issue?

arKas

08-19-08, 10:48 PM

Believe it or not, I installed OSx86 (Kalyway 10.5.2 DVD) on my PC and followed the guide here: http://project-tigershark.com/people/rob/blog/2007/01/14/cable-tv-mac-firewire-hd-pvr/

Capping from RNG200 just fine now via the firewire port on my audigy2 card!

See screenshot (yes, that is OSx86 running on a PC): (WARNING LARGE SIZE) http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=osx86magickt5.jpg

For the first time in my life, I bow down to Apple!

dannyv@cybernex.

08-20-08, 11:01 AM

Believe it or not, I installed OSx86 (Kalyway 10.5.2 DVD) on my PC

I've been capturing on a mac using that procedure for a while now and it is the best method.

What interests me is your installation of Kalyway. I've been doing some reading on the procedure and it seems very problematic. I have several unused pc's that i wan't to convert to leopard.

Can you give me some insight into how your installation went. Maybe some tips and tricks to avoid the common pit falls. A good research link and just your general overall experiences with Kalyway.

arKas

08-20-08, 11:15 AM

What interests me is your installation of Kalyway. I've been doing some reading on the procedure and it seems very problematic. I have several unused pc's that i wan't to convert to leopard.

Can you give me some insight into how your installation went. Maybe some tips and tricks to avoid the common pit falls. A good research link and just your general overall experiences with Kalyway.

On my laptop, the Kalyway DVD would fail to boot up and die with a Kernel Panic... I assume this is because of unsupported integrated hardware on Inspiron 9300. On my PC, however, my installation was actually pretty smooth. I just used a spare 80GB drive I had lying around, instead of doing dual boot and all that (I unplugged all the other drives as a precaution). In "Customize" section I just picked the stuff that made sense according to my hardware (like nvidia driver for 256MB card). My system boots up just fine. I had to then get Firewire SDK 26... and also had to run the Leopard firewire components package (I am not sure if I am remembering the name correctly) to actually get it to pick up the Scientific Atlanta tuner... it's somewhere inside the SDK directory. If you need more specifics, I can check later.

Here are my system specs, if it helps:

[board@localhost] Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. - 965G-DS3 -
[cpu@localhost] Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz Speed: 1866/1866 MHz - Load: 0% - Socket: Socket 775 FSB: 266MHz String: x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 6 Voltage: 1.3V Internal Cache: 64KB External Cache: 2048KB
[mem@localhost] 867/2046MB 42% Slots: 512|512|512|512MB Virtual: 43/2048MB 2%
[vga@localhost] NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT @ 1368*768*32Bit @ 60Hz @ 96dpi ; Driver: 6.14.11.6921 RAM: 256MB
[net@localhost] Marvell Yukon 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller - Packet Scheduler Miniport Speed: 100MBit Received: 1927MB Sent: 1175MB
[sound@localhost] Realtek - Realtek High Definition Audio ]-[ Dvico - FusionHDTV3T, Unified AVStream ]-[ Creative Technology, Ltd. - Creative Audigy Audio Processor (WDM) ]

(note, the realtek audio works under OSX... but i haven't tried to make the audigy2 work, even though I'm using its firewire port for streaming)

dannyv@cybernex.

08-20-08, 02:46 PM

Thanks for the PM. Please check my reply to it.

On my mac mini i already have the firewire SDK installed and have been using it for sometime. So once I get the kalyway DVD installed the leopard setup as well as using the OS will be very easy for me as I've been using leopard for sometime now.

my questions refer to the actual install of mac on pc via the Kalyway DVD. I would imagine i need a pc that has close specs to the intel mac, which are duel core and duel core 2 but with hardware compatable with the available drivers on the DVD such as video, audio and nic.

I have an intel single core (at work now so can't check) which should work, with an nvidia onboard video chipset which is also good. My audio is a realtec chipset which is also good, but i may need to find a compatable nic card. the motherboard has a built in firewire port which is great so i don't need a capture card with firewire.

so for the most part i think i'm good to go on hardware.

by the way if my typing is a bit of mess forgive me i broke my right hand recently and being right handed this is diffucult to type.

now for some spicific questions that were bought up in my research.

1. i've read that after a sucessful install people have needed to have the install DVD in to boot to leopard each time they want to use it. is this true with your install as well?

2. A lot of people said that towards the end of the install it seemed to lock or stall. then they would reboot and some would go right into leopard and work fine while others would go into a kernal panic. I would imagine that this is what you experienced during your 2 attempts at installing. So this is why my assumption is to be as close to hardware and driver compatability as possible for the PC. Would you agree and is there any advice you can add to this?

Please add any other advice you can for the initial install. I think this is an important issue that can help the people in this thread to get firewire capture working on there PC's.

I will be attempting it this weekend and i'll report back.

thanks again for your help

arKas

08-20-08, 03:16 PM

1. its been said that after install people have needed to have the install DVD in to boot is this true?

I took out the DVD right after install finished. No problems booting up.

2. A lot of people said that towards the end of the install it seemed to lock or stall. then they would reboot and some would go right into leopard and some would go into a kernal panic. I would imagine that this is what you experienced during your 2 attempts at installing. So this is why my assumption is to be as close to hardware and driver compatability as possible for the PC. Would you agree and is there any advice you can add to this?

Actually, I was only getting Kernel panics on my Dell Inspiron 9300 (3 years old), and that was 10 seconds into booting from Kalyway DVD. I just assumed the laptop's integrated stuff was a problem for OSX. So I just decided to use my desktop PC instead and, as I said before, everything went smoothly. Obviously it helps to have highly compatible hardware like c2d, nvidia video, realtek audio, marvell network. The best place to get assistance would be the Insanely Mac forums:

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showforum=85

BTW, it does take some time to do OSx86 install. I haven't ever done an OSX install on a Mac, so I have no reference as to whether it's quick or slow. It probably took about half hour to 45 mins for me (wasn't exactly watching the clock) from install boot to post-install reboot. But it never "stalled" completely for me, even though it seemed like it would near the end of install. I was just patient. :)

JohnS.

08-21-08, 08:18 PM

i got the drivers installed. now can i set MCE 2005 to see it as a tuner device?

John

Hanson

08-27-08, 04:24 PM

I am guessing that the reason for this is that CapDVHS is locking the file during recording, right? You could try GrafCorder (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076), I am not sure if the file gets locked or not... ;)
Many moons later, I was forced to learn how to use GraphEdit to set up rcTVCap for my HDPVR. It took me a couple of hours, but I finally figured out what I needed to know. Armed with that knowledge, I came back to this thread and tried out grafcorder.

And yes! It wasn't all that hard after all! Thank you Fonceur, for your efforts. However...

While the file isn't locked and can be played, I am still having the same issue I had with VLC, which is that the file stops playing once it gets to the point at which you began watching the file -- eg, if you start the file and the end time is, say 2:00, the file stops playing at the 2:00 mark even though it is still recording. Conversely if you record a file in Mediaportal, you can play it with MPC and you can see the end time increase steadily as the file records, so it doesn't stop until it reaches the end of the recording.

I tried using the Cyberlink dump filter because that's the one mediaportal uses. It still doesn't let me watch all the way through. I assume there is some muxing/remuxing going on, but it's beyond me at this point.

Not a total loss, however -- grafcorder is perfect for scheduling recordings, and I can even set up a 999 minute batch file as a "record now" from the STB.

(UPDATE) I did a system restore and redid the graph and... it totally works now! So I can now record from the STB and open it in MPC as it's recording, and the end time increases to accomdate the current recording! It still doesn't work with Theatertek (the end time stays static), but now that I have MPC playing .ts files smoothly, it's no big deal. The Cyberlink dump filter did the trick.

Thanks again!

pcramrod

08-29-08, 03:10 PM

Doktor Jones

08-29-08, 08:12 PM

I'm not entirely sure why the audio wouldn't work; it works fine on mine. I assume you've got the DVR connected to your TV via conventional means while it's connected to your computer via firewire?

What I do is set CapDVHS to record a clip about 2-3 minutes longer than the segment I want to record from my DVR's storage, set up the DVR so it's ready to play the appropriate bit, then I start the recording in CapDVHS and hit play on my DVR.

Are you using the firewire port closest to the power cord on the DVR, or the other one? Maybe that's part of your problem... I've read elsewhere that people have trouble recording using the other port, but that the port closest to the power cord yields the best results.

DSperber

08-31-08, 07:02 PM

DCT6416UIIIuser

09-01-08, 02:32 PM

Would somebody save me reading 154 pages and just tell me if I can transfer already recorded videos from my DCT6416III DVR to my laptop via firewire to be viewed on the laptop?

If so a reference to a "how to" would be appreciated.

vsrt1012

09-01-08, 10:51 PM

hear hear. I've tried looking through some of this thread but wow, is it long. Can someone point me to the right page too. Or, is the 6 yr old stuff on page 1 still good?

MJCS

09-02-08, 03:34 AM

The first page is still up to date guys...

dannyv@cybernex.

09-02-08, 12:43 PM

Sorry if this issue has been posted before... I've tried finding it, to no avail...

I have a Motorola DCT3416. I have the firewire drivers working. I can view live TV via VLC, and record via CapDVHS. It seems like the consensus is that most people can't access their recorded shows on the DVR. I am able to view and record my recorded shows, but the audio doesn't work.

Has anyone had this problem? Or any suggestions?

Thanks

I've had this problem.

It seems that the audio of the raw .ts file usually digital 5.1 is placed on a non-standard PID (designator for the audio stream location in the file header). Devices such as the MVIX, Buffalo linktheater or popcorn hour media set top players do not recognize this non-standard PID and the result is no audio.

What I do is use videoredo www.videoredo.com and just do a stream copy saving it to mpeg. Just load the video then do a save as mpeg. It only takes about 5 -7 minutes per 2 hours of video to do this because it does not encode it just stream copies and changes the header into mpeg complient info. I believe there is a free utility called somthing like video streamclip which will do a similure function but videoredo is the better app.

CommDave

09-02-08, 04:19 PM

Hardcore Legend

09-02-08, 05:16 PM

spocko

09-05-08, 05:55 AM

I have a JVC HD-56FH97 TV which has an internal cablecard (Comcast) and firewire output intended for use with a D-VHS VCR. I am considering a simple HTPC for recording.

As proof of concept, I used my laptop with WinXP Pro SP3, and installed the dvhs firewire drivers from ExDeus as described on his page (referenced in the first post). I then verified that I can record with CapDVHS and playback with the Elecard player. If this worked reliably, I'd be a happy camper, but unfortunately CapDVHS crashes a lot. The crashes seem to be channel dependent, some channels crash immediately with no recording, others record for a few sec before crashing, and others I was able to record for 5 or more min before crashing. There doesn't seem to be any dependence on whether the channels are SD or HD, or whether they are encrypted or clear. For example, one of the longest record times that I got was on Discovery HD, which is both HD and encrypted. NBC HD, which is in the clear, always crashed immediately. After a crash, I have to reboot the computer or at least disconnect/reconnect the firewire cable before CapDVHS it will work again, otherwise I get the infamous Error 800705AA. Given the reports of trouble with the firewire drivers in XP SP2, I also tested with the drivers from SP1, but that didn't help at all. The kb885222 patch from Microsoft for the SP2 drivers does not apply to SP3 either.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get CapDVHS working reliably?

The first post says that MCE can also record from firewire. Can someone please confirm this? If so, I may consider building an HTPC with MCE. (I don't currently have access to MCE or Vista for testing.)

Would something like MediaPortal on XP, or MythTV on Linux be able to record from firewire?

Any info would be appreciated, and special thanks to ExDeus for your work on the drivers.

Fonceur

09-05-08, 10:35 AM

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get CapDVHS working reliably?
Sounds like your signal is just that bad... You could try using different application like VLC or GrafCorder (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076), and would most likely need to run the resulting file through VideoReDo's quickstream fix in order to be able to use it.

ExDeus

09-05-08, 07:42 PM

Has anyone figured out this problem? I have an RNG200 and want to work it through my XP laptop. The AV/C Panel driver starts to install, then fails.
The driver is the same for all boxes, and it's the Tuner device you need installed for capturing. The Panel device is only if you want to change the channel / interface with the box.

The problems with the RNG200 are the same everyone else is having with encrypted channels. The EMI/CCI values are unreliable.

apel

09-06-08, 07:35 AM

spocko

09-06-08, 05:34 PM

I have a JVC HD-56FH97 TV which has an internal cablecard (Comcast) and firewire output intended for use with a D-VHS VCR. I am considering a simple HTPC for recording. ...

I tried another computer (newer, faster, different firewire hardware), XP Pro SP2 with kb885222 patch. Unfortunately my results with CapDVHS were the same as before, lot's of crashing.

I figured out how to use GrafCorder, and the results are much better, no crashing. Now I have a different problem - the quality of the recorded material varies widely. When playing back the recordings with Elecard or VLC, some channels look clean, others have occasional "glitches", others have so much pixellation/breakup that they are unwatchable. The glitches also seem to be the cause of the crashes in CapDVHS because the channels that playback the cleanest are the ones that I could record the longest before crashing in CapDVHS. All channels look great when watching them on the TV, so I don't know why some look bad on the firewire output.

The VideoReDo quickstream fix didn't help the bad recordings. It didn't even seem to work right, since it finished immediately and only produced a tiny output file.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? If I can't make clean recordings with GrafCorder, I'm afraid that other recording options won't be able to either.

One other question: Is there any way to send the recordings back to the TV via firewire and have the TV handle the decoding/playback? That is what a D-VHS VCR would presumably do. I wonder if that might give better results, but I couldn't find any way to do playback via firewire.

Thanks!

Vchat20

09-06-08, 07:13 PM

I've been spectating this thread for a while now here so forgive me if I'm a little offbase. I'm only going by what posts I have seen here.

Hopefully the OP is around and can possibly do some cleanup/restructuring of his/her post since it's got quite old information by now. If not, I'd have no trouble setting up a sort of 'FAQ' post to cover a lot of this stuff if it came to that.

To the past couple posters: It's unfortunately been covered here that between of the windows drivers that have to be used and how the software like CapDVHS is coded, the program is VERY picky about what it'll record and it appears to depend largely on how the data is encoded on each channel by the cable company, PID's and all.

Remember that in most cases, especially HD channels and if your cableco does digital simulcasting, the DVR is only doing a direct copy of the MPEG2 data to the hard drive, encoder inconsistencies and all.

The only real 100% way around this is to use a Mac to do the job as the firewire driver for this is more open and better debugged on that end. The only option us windows users have is an ancient closed source panasonic driver and, thanks to the media industry in general, it's near impossible to write one from scratch and have it actually work with these set-top boxes.

AndySki77

09-06-08, 07:19 PM

I Have a Motorola 3416 with Comcast Hartford CT servive, and a Dell Laptop XP SP2 that worked fine about 2 months ago. I transfered tons of shows. Everything worked great as of mid June.

I did not transfer anything all summer.

Two days ago I went to hook it up. All drivers seemed to load fine.

When I hit record on CAPDVHS the screen on the TV freezes up and wont unfreeze until I hit stop. The show resumes play. It is as if I had hit pause on the remote. This happens for both live shows and recorded ones. Nothing transfers.

Any ideas? Did comcast do something to the DVR firmware?

Thanks

Apel
I am experiencing almost the same problem. I have a Motorola DCT6400 from COX Cinnecticut, from which I used to be able to pull recorded programs via firewire. Now all of a sudden, when I try to transfer material from the DVR using CAPDVHS the TV display freezes. When I stop recording the TV display reanimates, not at the point it left off but as if it was running all along. A TS file does get recorded on my PC's Hard Drive, but it is unusable. When I try to open it in HDTV2MPEG2 a dialog box pops up with the message "Could Not find a channel!" The file does not open after closing the dialog box.

I believe that COX recently pushed a firmware update to their DVR's, and it's causing all sorts of tech support calls (I talked to one of their service contractors and he told me he had 15 calls to fix update problems just that day alone).

I'd be very interestd in hearing if anyone has a post-update workaround that would enable us to retrieve recorded material from the DVR again?

Thanks!

Hardcore Legend

09-06-08, 08:38 PM

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1032148&page=2

apel

09-06-08, 10:23 PM

I would just like to thank Hardcore Legend and all the posters on this forum. AVS has been a valuable resource for me over the years.

The information is helpful and timely

Thanks again

Peace

spocko

09-08-08, 02:40 AM

Vchat20, thanks for your insights.

Remember that in most cases, especially HD channels and if your cableco does digital simulcasting, the DVR is only doing a direct copy of the MPEG2 data to the hard drive, encoder inconsistencies and all.

Isn't something like CapDVHS doing the same thing?

The only real 100% way around this is to use a Mac to do the job as the firewire driver for this is more open and better debugged on that end. The only option us windows users have is an ancient closed source panasonic driver and, thanks to the media industry in general, it's near impossible to write one from scratch and have it actually work with these set-top boxes.

How about Linux? Are the drivers solid on that platform?

Vchat20

09-08-08, 03:07 AM

Isn't something like CapDVHS doing the same thing?
In essence, yes. Though the difference is that the set-top is operated and programmed by the cableco and in nature is more resilient to these glitches. If a channel bugs up the set-top firmware pretty bad, you'd be damn sure the cableco would fix it one way or another. We don't have this kind of luck on the software side unfortunately and CapDVHS just happens to be real picky about what data streams it'll expect.

How about Linux? Are the drivers solid on that platform?
Honestly I have 0 clue and off the top of my head I don't recall anyone discussing trying to get linux to work with that in this thread.

Though on that note, I'm gonna be picking up a firewire card and cable in a week or two and will definitely do some investigation on the linux side with this just out of my own curiosity.

EDIT: I take that back. MythTV actually has functionality for this included it seems: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5174098#post5174098 The nature of the beast would indicate it should be possible elsewhere in Linux with some finagling. The driver is obviously there though. Could probably use mencoder as a great example to transfer the video. It's always seemed to be very robust against dropouts and other glitches at least in an analog environment (recording from a VHS with tracking problems is lots of fun for capture cards).

raminh104

09-08-08, 04:19 PM

after recording the show using CapDVHS, when i play it i get the picture but no sounds? what could be the reason

Fonceur

09-08-08, 09:50 PM

after recording the show using CapDVHS, when i play it i get the picture but no sounds? what could be the reason
Make sure you have the AC3Filter installed or another way to decode that AC3 audio...

gliff159

09-09-08, 12:31 AM

i need help with this i just cannot for the life of me figure this out. I have read and think i have somewhat of an understanding.

what i have XP svc pack 3
1.8 Ghz C2D
2GB ram
110 GB IDE HDD
firewire PCI card
box 8300HD (not HDC)
i live in gainesville, VA for C5 Protection

downloaded the drivers and they installed correctly(I hope) from this one ~exdeus/stbfirewire

used dvhs it goes for less than a second and then closes no error messages or anything then a pull it back up, its not running under processes even, i get an error 800705AA cannot start capture. i can reboot to make this cycle start over

please what did i do wrong?

Karl Beem

09-09-08, 09:11 AM

I've been unsuccessful in installing the older drivers and the ones in firestb.msi to Windows Pro x64. Is this impossible?

Fonceur

09-09-08, 02:16 PM

I've been unsuccessful in installing the older drivers and the ones in firestb.msi to Windows Pro x64.
Most likely out of luck on Vista/XP 64...

maschoff

09-09-08, 09:50 PM

spocko

09-09-08, 11:53 PM

i need help with this i just cannot for the life of me figure this out.
...
used dvhs it goes for less than a second and then closes no error messages or anything then a pull it back up, its not running under processes even, i get an error 800705AA cannot start capture. i can reboot to make this cycle start over

This is the basically same as my experience. On one computer I would get an error message when CapDVHS crashed, on the other computer it would crash and disappear with no notice. On some channels it would crash immediately, others would take longer. To reset the error condition, you can just disconnect and reconnect the firewire cable.

I don't think you or I did anything wrong in our setup, CapDVHS is just sensitive and crash prone. I had better luck with GrafCorder. See this thread for info on GrafCorder, in particular see the first post and my post #49.

http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40076&page=4

arKas

09-10-08, 08:59 AM

Re: Cisco RNG200 / Scientific Atlanta 8540

Here's some information that may help others...

When you power up the DVR (cold boot), CapDVHS does NOT work (you will keep getting "Cannot Start Capture"). If you then boot to OSX and do some test capture using AVCVideoCap (Firewire SDK 26, latest "Firewire Components" for OSX 10.5.2 installed), and then go back to Windows, then CapDVHS will start working and continue to work till you power down the DVR (unplugging the firewire cable or turning off your PC does not seem to matter... it works as long as the DVR itself isn't powered down).

Haynie

09-10-08, 11:31 PM

I'm new to this forum.

i have a motorola dct 3416 I DVR from Comcast.

can i record out to a G5 mac with wirewire?
i have Avid media composer and Final Cut Pro that will take in almost any firewire source but noting from this box. any hints.

this i my first post, so please be gentle.

dannyv@cybernex.

09-11-08, 02:48 PM

maschoff

09-12-08, 01:50 AM

Please help.

I came home today to find my computer at the device installation stage for my Motorola DCT 3416 . Now whenever I use capDVHS the Cable signal freezes and the output file is corrupt. I've tried disconnecting everything and reinitializing the cable box but it still freezes. Any ideas?

I attempted to capture with my laptop but experienced the same.

Returned the unit for a DCH 3416. Still the same problem. Any Ideas?

mces97

09-12-08, 02:50 PM

I am not sure if this has been answered, but quick question. Can Capdvhs record from a previously recorded program on a dvr, or must it be a live program. Thanks

Fonceur

09-12-08, 03:33 PM

Can Capdvhs record from a previously recorded program on a dvr
It can, you simply press play and record it like if it was Live... But it does depend on your provider and/or dvr firmware, as some have different copy protection flag enabled for that...

mces97

09-12-08, 03:42 PM

It can, you simply press play and record it like if it was Live... But it does depend on your provider and/or dvr firmware, as some have different copy protection flag enabled for that...
Cool. Hopefully this will work with the dvr.
Also Ive noticed that some of the channels that are protected do produce a file. I am surprised no one has figured out a way to remove this encrpytion in a similar way as removing the encyption from a tivo file. Can this be done or is it not possible and that is the reason why pretty much if its 5c enabled your stuck without being able to view it.
One last thing. I have all the hbo channels in hd. Some of them use 5.1 and some are showing 2.0 audio for the same hd movie. I thought all hd movies were presented with 5.1 sound.

maanitrules

09-14-08, 12:02 AM

ok so I am very new to this.. and have had a SA 8300HD DVR box for about a week... so very much a n00b at this whole recording thing..

this whole forum and thread is quite overwhelming for me... and i've done my best to read through as much as I can without posting here... but i've finally given up and would love as simplified a version or be pointed in the right direction atleast to record from my dvr to my media center edition PC.

Here's what I've done so far... (from the 1st post)
1. I connected my 8300 box to my PC with a firewire cable
2. I installed the drivers using the new found hardware wizard, and I can see the 8300 box in my device manager. Both AVC Tuner and AVC Panel Device.

I installed that CapDVHS and started recording after checking my settings to match the settings on the 1st page... As soon as I start recording, the program crashes on me and thats it...
Here's where I'm stuck... what can I do to watch/record on my media center?

Please help.. and be nice...I don't have the technical know how for this but would really like to configure this because I am already running out of space on my DVR!!!
Thank you

coyoteaz

09-14-08, 12:33 AM

Your best bet is to give up now. SA boxes are pretty much useless when it comes to recording Firewire in Windows, so any continued efforts will likely accomplish nothing except wasting your time.

maanitrules

09-14-08, 03:36 AM

Your best bet is to give up now. SA boxes are pretty much useless when it comes to recording Firewire in Windows, so any continued efforts will likely accomplish nothing except wasting your time.

lol well thats good 2 know...

so whats my best bet in getting this to work.. invest in a better DVR? ask my cable provider for something newer/nicer?

i would like to make the most use out of my dvr box.. coz the amt of storage they have on there is next to nothing...

ThurstonX

09-14-08, 11:37 AM

lol well thats good 2 know...

so whats my best bet in getting this to work.. invest in a better DVR? ask my cable provider for something newer/nicer?

i would like to make the most use out of my dvr box.. coz the amt of storage they have on there is next to nothing...
While I can't tell you how to get your SA 8300 (HD, I'm guessing) to dump via firewire -- I had mine dumping already recorded programs using GrafCorder to capture, but now I get unplayable files -- I can suggest a way to increase the amount of storage. I have Comcast (and Adelphia previous to the takeover), and since I signed up in Sept. 2005 I've been using the external SATA port on the DVR. I bought a 350 GB drive and an enclosure ($30 maybe) and it's worked great. In fact, it outlasted the original DVR, which died about 3 weeks ago.

So, call your cable co. and make sure they've enabled the eSATA port. One caveat though:
eSATA drives are keyed to each DVR. They can't be switched around, and if your DVR dies and you get a new one, you'll be forced to reformat the eSATA drive, thus losing all recordings. Yes, that certainly does suck ;-)

Which brings us back to dumping via firewire: it's a great way to make backups. You could try Fonceur's GrafCorder. It's not too hard to set up, and it may work for you. I'm not sure why mine stopped producing playable files. I did have to reinstall the SA 8300HD as a device on the PC after having it disconnected for awhile, but I did manage to figure which firewire port on the DVR was active (the one furthest from the power socket). It may be the two shows I tested were protected, though I'd never had that problem before (even with HD), or it may be some config issue. I've not had time to investigate more thoroughly.

Your other, less-than-ideal, method for backing up shows is to use the DVR's Copy To VCR function. I tend to use this method, recording via S-Video and the stereo audio OUT jacks to a Hauppauge PVR-350. The loss of signal quality makes me want to keep messing with firewire, but at least things can be backed up.

HTH.

mces97

09-14-08, 05:49 PM

So anyone know why a program cannot be created to remove the 5c encrpytion from a recorded stream. It seems if the data is able to be transfered to the pc there must be some type of decryption that can be done to it. Ive also noticed a few channels seem to put encrpytion in only parts of movies as some of my caps worked for 15 min, then 20 min of nothing, then another 15 min.

Fonceur

09-14-08, 06:56 PM

So anyone know why a program cannot be created to remove the 5c encrpytion from a recorded stream.
For one thing it's illegal in the US... ;) For another, the key changes often, like every 30 seconds or even faster...

mces97

09-14-08, 09:06 PM

For one thing it's illegal in the US... ;) For another, the key changes often, like every 30 seconds or even faster...

That probably explains why some of my recordings have different spots that work and others that don't.

Star56

09-15-08, 01:57 AM

You could use the Hauppauge HD recorder to record from component outs. 1080i and if you use a high bitrate the PQ is good (but not equal to uncompressed firewire recordings)

SOM

09-15-08, 10:31 AM

I am running Vista 64bit and when I plugged in the firewire cable from my COMCAST Motorola STB to my computer and tried to install the drivers from this how to guide...
http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/#_Toc185690664

The following happened:

* When I tried doing the advanced setup my STB showed up as an Unknown Device under Device Manager.

* When I tried to install the drivers and navigated to the directory that had the drivers it did not recognize the drivers so therefore I was unable to install drivers.

Is there anyone else having this problem and how can I get this to work?

Thanks in advance for help!!!

SOM:)

Fonceur

09-15-08, 01:00 PM

I am running Vista 64bit
That's your problem right there, there are no 64bit drivers...

SOM

09-15-08, 01:42 PM

So I am stuck until someone develops a driver for Vista 64bit? If so then that stinks!!!

Thanks,

SOM:)

TimHuey

09-16-08, 05:28 AM

So I am stuck until someone develops a driver for Vista 64bit? If so then that stinks!!!

Thanks,

SOM:)

Or set up a small partition on your hard drive to boot into xp or regular vista or MCE and use it just to download movies to your harddrive. Once they are on the hardrive pop back into vista64 and use it. Not the best solution but at least it's not difficult or a dealbreaker.

SOM

09-16-08, 08:08 AM

TimHuey,

I am working on a plan B. I have my old but still fast XP machine near my new one so I am going to try and set it up. What was weird when I connected my STB via firewire to my XP machine was the AVC/Panel or AVC/Tuner option was not popping up as new hardware. Which firewire port should I use on the STB? Is it the one closest to the power cord? In my Device Manager there was only one item and it was an unknown IEEE device? Should my Motorola STB have shown up as a device in my Device Manager even before I installed the drivers?

Thanks!!!

SOM:)

SOM

09-16-08, 09:05 AM

One more question...

For years I used the following process to record from my STB to my PC via Firewire:

HowTO record via 1394/Firewire to WindowsXP

First let me thank Timecop for discovering this process. He started a
thread a long time ago that became just too long and confusing so hopefully this will help.

This method should work for most 1394/Firewire enabled tuners. It has been tested on the Mitsubishi Integrated TV's, SA3250HD, Motorola 620X (with firmware 7.10), and the Samsung T165. *Please list your tests and I will update*

You will need some software. Download these and unzip.
First device drivers. These are not specially made for your device.*See directions that follow*
http://www.ntut.edu.tw/~s7310308/html/doc/other/BSD/files/core_driver.zip

If you are using a Motorola 620X you will need to replace your Meitape.inf from the zip file with this one.
http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~balazer/files/Meitape.inf

There are currently two pieces of software that I know of that can capture using these drivers, Capdvhs and DCTrecord.
http://www.yamabe.org/soft/CapDVHS0306e.zip
http://home.comcast.net/~brzez2/dctrecord.html

Now that you have everything you need.

Plug in the 1394 cable.
Found new hardware wizard will come up.

Keep hitting cancel until you see “Tuner AV/C Device” as the hardware that was found.
Then choose “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)”
Click Next

Choose “Don’t Search. I will choose the driver to install.
Click Next.

Uncheck “Show compatible hardware”
Click “Have Disk”
Under “Copy manufacturer’s files from:” put
C:\meidvhs\ ( The path of where you extracted the core_driver.zip.)
Click OK.
Make sure that “Show compatible hardware” is unchecked.
Under Manufacturer choose. “Panasonic”
Under model choose. “Panasonic D-VHS AV/C Device”
Click Next.
An “Update Driver Warning” will open choose “Yes”
A “Hardware Installation” window will open warning that the driver has not passed Logo testing. Choose “Continue Anyway”
Click Finished.

Click cancel on any other devices that are automatically detected.
I would go back into Device manager and disable the other devices so windows doesn't keep looking for drivers on reboot.

Now open CAPDVHS and a device should be listed under capture device.

Under settings I have the following boxes checked.
Convert 188 bytes
Check PTS
Delete to SyncByte

I use .ts for all my file extensions and I left the file name format to the default.

Select the "Data Info." tab and hit the "Rec" Button.
You should see the info populated.
Hit stop and check your file.
Elecard works well for playback or Sasem OnAir Editor or VLC

To play with zoomplayer check this thread.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=395039

**New** 5/26/04
To watch live HD without capturing first.
Open VLC v7.2 *might work with other versions.
Choose "File" > "Open Capture Device"

To the right of "Video device name" click "Refresh List" Then choose "Panasonic MPEG2TS Tape Sub" from the drop down.
Click "OK"

Just a word of advice if I hit "Configure" or "Advanced Options" It blue screens my computer.
This seems to be much more resource intensive than watching a captured file. My AMD 2600 works at ~83% if I don't resize or any other effect. Any effect drives it to 100%.

Troubleshooting

If you can't load the driver, go over the directions again and again, make sure you don't miss any steps. It does require you to force XP to accept the drivers.

If the driver is loaded but the files are 0bytes after recording. Then you may have the driver loaded improperly or your cable company may have copy protection turned on. Try a different channel or search the original thread for someone who lives near you to see if they are having the same problem. You may also be able to reboot the Tuner.
You may also have the wrong firmware version for the Motorola 620x, to check this.
To check firmware on Moto 6200:
Menu- Setup- Cable Box- See Configuration- one of the entries on that page is Firmware. * Thanks drbenson*

This is V.01 of this document please post corrections and suggestions.

I hope this makes it easier.

__________________
Ignorance is Bliss
Ben

www.tampahdtv.com

Last edited by bdraw on 05-27-04 at 03:16 AM

My question is since the 1st page of this post has been updated and suggests using the firestb.msi as the driver if you have XP then how do you get the firestb.msi drivers installed? Do you do it when you first connect your STB or do you install them even before connecting the STB? If you need to install before connecting then how do you do it? I have seen a reference to a command prompt but I have no idea what this means.

Please help!!!

SOM:)

SOM

09-16-08, 12:28 PM

I installed using the old meitape.inf method which has worked in the past. My computer recognizes my STB. I have the Panasonic unit listed in my CapDVHS program but when I try and capture it nothing shows up in the data field. It has frozen my TV picture when I tried to capture. I did a diagnostic check of my STB based on this link: http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html and I found some weird stuff. My 1394 is enabled but not active even though my PC is interfacing with my STB via Firewire. I then checked the channel I am on through the diagnostic and there is no 5C Implementation and Copy Control is set to Copy Free. Does anyone know what can be wrong here?

This is my last chance.

SOM:)

MJCS

09-16-08, 11:49 PM

Could be a bad firewire cable or your cable provider blocking firewire usuage. The former is the most likely cause.

SOM

09-17-08, 07:45 AM

The firewire cable is tested and working properly.

Thanks,

SOM:)

Vchat20

09-20-08, 01:32 PM

Well, just picked up my firewire card and cable today. Unfortunately my luck has me running into some major issues here.

Got an SA8300HDC running Mystro here,version 2.4.10.11.

The only devices that are picked up are two unknown devices and if installed they show up as 'Unknown IEEE 1394/5068 Device' and 'Unknown IEEE 1394/989 Device'. This is installed through the firestb inf file of course. No Panel or Tuner device show.

Now I have searched this thread and others have 8300HDC boxes with Mystro and have gotten it to work just fine, some have worked exceptionally. So I don't know what's wrong with my setup here. I have even checked the box diagnostics and the firestb driver on the box itself is loaded and enabled.

Running XP SP3 here btw., generic VIA based firewire chipset pcmcia card.

Hardcore Legend

09-20-08, 06:11 PM

Today I tried capturing a live HD program from a Explorer8240HDC and boy, does it not work.

The recording starts, doesn't really record anything and then comes up saying Vista will look for a solution to the problem and close the program. Everyother time I open it, I get a Samplegrabber error in CAPDVHS.

Has anyone gotten a Explorer 8240HDC to work properly via IEEE 1394? Anyone know of another way to get the HD program off the device.

qz3fwd

09-21-08, 11:47 AM

Success!
2 years after first trying the firewire method, I tried again this weekend and am able to record!

Now I need to find time to archive my DVR's recordings!

Thanks to all the AVS'ers for sharing the info & helping others.

rosscan

09-23-08, 02:23 AM

Tonight I tried recording Heroes on NBC from my Verizon DVR. All the info coming from CapDVHS seemed right, along with the file size. But what I get is unplayable files that are glitchy (random pixelation and screen tearing, skipping audio) and fail to play smoothly on any media/software. Is this a form of copy protection or something else?

qz3fwd

09-23-08, 10:29 AM

rosscan

09-24-08, 02:12 AM

Probably not. More likely it has to do with your settings in CapDVHS and or playback software. What software player are you using? (Hopefully not VLC, I have had great luck with Elecard MPEG player).

Also it your hard drive is slow and/or fragmented the drive may not be able to keep up, essentiall resulting in lost packets. Hopefully you are not using a laptop with a 4200 rpm hard drive?
Weird stuff, my pc must've been a bit wonky last night. Today I was able to play back the DVR'd eps and successfully record them. They play great.

Now my next problem is, when I try to join them in HDTVtoMPEG2, I get files that play back with no video at all. Any ideas?

MJCS

09-24-08, 04:00 PM

Weird stuff, my pc must've been a bit wonky last night. Today I was able to play back the DVR'd eps and successfully record them. They play great.

Now my next problem is, when I try to join them in HDTVtoMPEG2, I get files that play back with no video at all. Any ideas?

Get http://www.videoredo.com/en/index.htm

It will fix it.

ThurstonX

09-24-08, 06:19 PM

Anyone think VideoReDo will help with this problem...

I'm a Comcast customer and recently had to swap a dead Sci-Atl 8300HD for a new one (same model, same version of SARA). The new box appears to have both Firewire ports active, as I've done clean installs of exDeus's drivers from both ports (all four devices - Tuner, Panel, 2x Unknown - are in XP's Device Manager). I had been using GrafCorder with great success when dumping existing recordings (I've no need to record live/buffered programs).

Now when I try test dumps using recordings from various channels (some HD, some SD, all digital; we still have analog sources in the 2-99 range) GrafCorder is getting something, as a file of many MB is created. When I try to watch it in Media Player Classic I get "Cannot render the file." VLC wont play them either. When I look at one in GSpot 2.70a it says unknown type, whereas previous captures from the original 8300HD are identified as:

File Type: MPEG-2 Transport Stream
Mime Type: video/mp2t

I've tried both firewire ports on the 8300HD and both output something. My guess is that the "new" DVR is the problem. Is it worth further experimentation, in particular attempting to run a small recording through VideoReDo? FWIW I have Womble's Video Wizard DVD and it won't open the file, which does not bode well for VideoReDo from my admittedly limited POV.

Any other ideas? I'd sure love to dump some things off the new 8300HD.
TIA.