You should be more descriptive with the scenarios you get BLOD's if you want help. I can't speak for everyone; for me, using Vista with the proxy app, is rock solid. In fact, its so solid that I use that machine as full time workstation as well; running all 10 tuners (4 of them R5000s) invisibly in the background. I can even play 1080p 3D games in the foreground while all 10 tuners are active in the background at the same time. I even have FTP, HTTP (with asp.NET apps) servers on that same machine.

As far as troubleshooting goes, general rule is remove all USB and PCI peripherals except the device causing the bug check from the driver. If youre still getting BSOD's without anything connected, except for the R5000 on a clean Vista machine... its an incompatibility between your motherboard with respective drivers and your R5000. If it doesnt BSOD without anything connected, then you can start adding your devices back one by one until you see which one conflicts with the R5000; causing the BSOD.

So, this brings up some questions from me.. is ANYONE using the R5000 with Vista or Win7 successfully? I get BSOD's whenever I try it, even on a completely clean install. DVBLink, I saw your comment about modified .inf files, and tried that, but it does the same thing. Is anyone else having this problem?

Thanks

well, I've definately narrowed it down to the R5000 causing the crash, though I hadn't thought about USB incompatability... This is Win7, but from the driver standpoint, it's pretty much equivalent to vista. I can run the system fine and stable, even WITH the r5000 hooked up, but if it's hooked up AND the app is running, it'll crash pretty reliably.

Does that mean you already tried running the R5000 without any other peripheral connected or not?

well, I've definately narrowed it down to the R5000 causing the crash, though I hadn't thought about USB incompatability... This is Win7, but from the driver standpoint, it's pretty much equivalent to vista. I can run the system fine and stable, even WITH the r5000 hooked up, but if it's hooked up AND the app is running, it'll crash pretty reliably.

Seems as though Nextcom is in the process of putting up a new version of software. Some release notes are posted on their site in the downloads section, but I didn't see the software:

8/29/09: ver 3.1c New version supports 64-bit systems. Requires new driver package and is incompatable with previous versions. Changes and additions: Startup options added. All configuration options managed via UI, configuration files no longer used. Record logging files eliminated. This data is retreived via the "Recordings Log" utility menu. Media Player no longer integrated with DVR app. Dish 211/622/722 periodic wake-up command added. Fast channel switch for SageTV modes.

Seems as though Nextcom is in the process of putting up a new version of software. Some release notes are posted on their site in the downloads section, but I didn't see the software:

Those look like some decent additions... hope they improved the stability as well.

This may be helpful...who's gonna be first (http://www.nextcomwireless.com/R5000/download/install/)

It looks like the 32 bit "Multi" versions are completely broken. The drivers load okay, but the DVR app doesnt know how to correctly handle all 4 devices.

Using only 1 R5000 box will work okay for both the single and Multi versions (and works with SageTV fine as long as only 1 R5000 is plugged in).

Those look like some decent additions... hope they improved the stability as well.

This may be helpful...who's gonna be first (http://www.nextcomwireless.com/R5000/download/install/)

Thanks for being the first test guy, My sage/R5000 system have been running great forever.
I better not fix it :p

Yeah, I can also confirm the multi instance not working for me either with my receivers both plugged in.

Has anyone tested the 64bit Vista version? I'm doing a lot of work on my systems and won't be able to test for a while.

Has anyone tested the 64bit Vista version? I'm doing a lot of work on my systems and won't be able to test for a while.

I did and it works great.

Wow, so if I switch to 64bit, I will be able to use all 4 of my R5000s with the new software?

Edit: Opps, I just realized that you probably meant it only works on systems with 1 R5000 only.

I did and it works great.

I have a single R5000, so the issues with multiple devices won't affect me. Fits right in with changes I'm making with my systems. I still won't be able to use it for a while, but I'm glad there's some progress with the software.

Hopefully they are monitoring this thread, but has anyone reported the 3.1c multi-instance problem to Nextcom?

Hopefully they are monitoring this thread, but has anyone reported the 3.1c multi-instance problem to Nextcom?
Maybe that's why they have not announced the release... we did jump the gun a bit.
They have not taken them down though.

BTW... I'd love to notify them of the multi-instance problem, but I only have one so I can't confirm it.

Yes, I did. But they generally dont reply back to emails reporting bugs. If they do, it's to respond that it works on their setup. Maybe someone here has better communication with the developer for R5000.

Hopefully they are monitoring this thread, but has anyone reported the 3.1c multi-instance problem to Nextcom?

After months of trying, I still can't get things working properly. My worst problem is missing channel changes, or having recordings chopped up by retunes. I'd estimate that 95% of the recording have one or more defects, or don't record at all. I have the R5000 mod in my HDD200 and am using an IRblaster to tune the 4DTV. If anyone here has this hardware configuration, I'd like to compare notes. Questions:
1. Do you set SageTV to always tune the channel, even if there is no channel change?
2. Do you set the R5000 software to surf mode? If so, what have you set the 'resend sat code' time to?

It's funny. When the R5000 was first released, it was such a great solution. The older Firewire technology (can't even remember the name of the company that produced it) that did the same sort of capture was buggy as hell. The R5000 just plain worked. Fast forward to today and so many people seem to be experiencing issues with it.

Hi Transco, I'm sorry I dont have the answer to your question. But, I am curious about your setup. Even if you manage to get it working correctly, aren't there only 3 HD channels to watch anyway on your HDD200? (HBO, Stars, & DiscoveryHD)? I'm curious what's motivating you to go down this route verses cable or DishNetwork? I'm sure there's a good reason; and, that's why I'm asking.

After months of trying, I still can't get things working properly. My worst problem is missing channel changes, or having recordings chopped up by retunes. I'd estimate that 95% of the recording have one or more defects, or don't record at all. I have the R5000 mod in my HDD200 and am using an IRblaster to tune the 4DTV. If anyone here has this hardware configuration, I'd like to compare notes. Questions:
1. Do you set SageTV to always tune the channel, even if there is no channel change?
2. Do you set the R5000 software to surf mode? If so, what have you set the 'resend sat code' time to?

It still works perfectly just like it always did. It's when people try to make it work other than the typical Windows XP cableTV/dishnetwork setup. I had to jump through hoops to get a rock solid Vista setup; but that was my choice to not use XP.

It's funny. When the R5000 was first released, it was such a great solution. The older Firewire technology (can't even remember the name of the company that produced it) that did the same sort of capture was buggy as hell. The R5000 just plain worked. Fast forward to today and so many people seem to be experiencing issues with it.

Well... I've been using C-band as my primary entertainment source for about 25 years now. The advantage of C-band 4DTV is you can get your programming a la carte; i.e. you only pay for the channels you actually watch. The annual cost for us ends up being 25% or less of the cost of getting these same channels from either Dish or DirecTV. In addition, the bandwidth allocation on most of these channels is greater on C-band than DBS; i.e. better picture quality. Finally, I chose the HDD200 approach because it has been my experience that the HDD200 is far more reliable than the 4DTV receiver. By putting the USB interface in the HDD200, I can easily switch 4DTV receivers. I have two, so if one has to go in for service, I can simply switch to my backup receiver. No, the HDD200 R5000 interface taps into the primary data stream so you can record all broadcasts, both SD and HD.

The big downside to using the 4DTV receiver was there was no simple way to make scheduled recordings. I had to program the receiver and DVR separately and frequently messed up in one way or another. The R5000 / SageTV approach was a dream come true... that is if it worked reliably. Unfortunately it doesn't, and on shows I really don't want to miss, I still make standalone DVR recordings as a backup for when the SageTV approach fails.

Thanks for explaining transco. This might sound like a silly question; but, I honestly dont know... do you really have less 4-5 HD channels to watch anyway on your HDD200?

Well... I've been using C-band as my primary entertainment source for about 25 years now. The advantage of C-band 4DTV is you can get your programming a la carte; i.e. you only pay for the channels you actually watch. The annual cost for us ends up being 25% or less of the cost of getting these same channels from either Dish or DirecTV. In addition, the bandwidth allocation on most of these channels is greater on C-band than DBS; i.e. better picture quality. Finally, I chose the HDD200 approach because it has been my experience that the HDD200 is far more reliable than the 4DTV receiver. By putting the USB interface in the HDD200, I can easily switch 4DTV receivers. I have two, so if one has to go in for service, I can simply switch to my backup receiver. No, the HDD200 R5000 interface taps into the primary data stream so you can record all broadcasts, both SD and HD.

The big downside to using the 4DTV receiver was there was no simple way to make scheduled recordings. I had to program the receiver and DVR separately and frequently messed up in one way or another. The R5000 / SageTV approach was a dream come true... that is if it worked reliably. Unfortunately it doesn't, and on shows I really don't want to miss, I still make standalone DVR recordings as a backup for when the SageTV approach fails.

I'm not sure how many there are. Both HBO and Showtime have 2 HD channels each and Discovery Channel has 1 (that I know of). NASA has a HD feed. There may be others, but these are the only ones I'm familiar with.

I'm not sure how many there are. Both HBO and Showtime have 2 HD channels each and Discovery Channel has 1 (that I know of). NASA has a HD feed. There may be others, but these are the only ones I'm familiar with.

Cinemax had an East-coast 4DTV HD feed; I'm not sure if they still sell it, though.

It's quite unfortunately impossible for an individual to get an IRD authorized for a service such as HITS Quantum or other CDNs, so the HD selection on big dish is lacking. Which is a shame, because the quality before Dish or a Cableco's recompressing is fantastic.

Cinemax had an East-coast 4DTV HD feed; I'm not sure if they still sell it, though.

It's quite unfortunately impossible for an individual to get an IRD authorized for a service such as HITS Quantum or other CDNs, so the HD selection on big dish is lacking. Which is a shame, because the quality before Dish or a Cableco's recompressing is fantastic.

Why not get it from Starchoice instead? They do ala carte nad have a muhc better selection, and there are several folks who are willing to act as billing intermediaries for you in canada.

Why not get it from Starchoice instead? They do ala carte nad have a muhc better selection, and there are several folks who are willing to act as billing intermediaries for you in canada.

Is Shaw Direct (nee StarChoice) any better than Dish Network/DirecTV in not cramming way too many channels into a transponder? Perhaps having more programming options might lessen the pain.

We subscribed to DN nearly three years ago and have watched a steady deterioration in quality as DN strove to become a 'bean count leader' in HD. Nowadays a R5000 HD recording off DN can run as little as 1.5 GB/hr, which sounds and looks pathetic. I picked up a 4DTV receiver and installed a R5000 in hopes of improving quality. It's definitely better.

I picked up a 4DTV receiver and installed a R5000 in hopes of improving quality. It's definitely better.

How have you setup the R5000 software: delay for dish, surf mode, resend delay, etc.? How about the SageTV software... do you have it send out the channel information every time, or only when there is a channel change? Had any problems with it recording the wrong channel? Or glitching the recording once it has started?

How have you setup the R5000 software: delay for dish, surf mode, resend delay, etc.? How about the SageTV software... do you have it send out the channel information every time, or only when there is a channel change? Had any problems with it recording the wrong channel? Or glitching the recording once it has started?

We're having the same conversation over at Satellite Guys. For others: I have channel changes going out for every recording, compressed recordings, surf mode off and a 5 second dish delay, although the 4DTV can't move the dish on its own. Only one bad channel change in many, many outings. I don't have a HDD box, but I believe modifying the 4DTV receiver instead leads to better reliability. XP is definitely more reliable than Vista. I got Vista to work pretty well, but it never equalled XP. I'm no longer running Vista with R5000s as it had nothing to offer.

It's funny. When the R5000 was first released, it was such a great solution. The older Firewire technology (can't even remember the name of the company that produced it) that did the same sort of capture was buggy as hell. The R5000 just plain worked. Fast forward to today and so many people seem to be experiencing issues with it.

I think the older firewire technology you're referring to, along with it's own separate required computer which they called the AVX1, was the 169time solution. My recollection was that there was no software interface, channel changes needed to be made manually and it was hit and miss.

I've had the R5000 solution since it first came out in 2004 and have had nothing but perfect recordings. I've had it operating with a D* STB, an E* STB and am currently using it with my DCT2000 for recording from Fios. I am using it in conjunction with Sage. The R5000 just continues to produce excellent recordings.

Just passing along my experiences.

Has anyone been able to get Vista32 Version 31c Multi to work? I'm curious why they would even compile a build (even internally) if it doesnt work at all. Maybe, there's something needed to get it working?

After months of trying, I still can't get things working properly. My worst problem is missing channel changes, or having recordings chopped up by retunes. I'd estimate that 95% of the recording have one or more defects, or don't record at all. I have the R5000 mod in my HDD200 and am using an IRblaster to tune the 4DTV. If anyone here has this hardware configuration, I'd like to compare notes. Questions:
1. Do you set SageTV to always tune the channel, even if there is no channel change?
2. Do you set the R5000 software to surf mode? If so, what have you set the 'resend sat code' time to?


Other than the missed channel changes it sounds like the problems I was having with my starchoice system. (although I did notice a missed channel once).

Transco, do yourself a favor and setup the R5000HD proxy found earlier in this thread. I was missing about 95% of my recordings - it actually got worse over time. Then I started using the proxy program and I have not missed a single recording since then.

It seems that there is a resource leak in their software and the proxy program protects the R5000HD program from responding to all the sage requests and therefore slows the leak way down or avoids it.

The proxy program is the only way to use the R5000HD for me.

Greg

Other than the missed channel changes it sounds like the problems I was having with my starchoice system. (although I did notice a missed channel once).

Transco, do yourself a favor and setup the R5000HD proxy found earlier in this thread. I was missing about 95% of my recordings - it actually got worse over time. Then I started using the proxy program and I have not missed a single recording since then.

It seems that there is a resource leak in their software and the proxy program protects the R5000HD program from responding to all the sage requests and therefore slows the leak way down or avoids it.

The proxy program is the only way to use the R5000HD for me.

Greg
Have you tried the latest version? Does anyone know if they incorporated the proxy code?

The Nextcom download directory is showing 31c files dated this morning. I'm not sure if they're any different from the last ones, but I would suspect so. The Nextcom website is a little in disarray.

Thanks! I just saw the same version, but didnt look at the dates (thinking its the same thing). I have a feeling they mistakenly put the wrong builds before (which were incomplete alphas) at least for the multi-instance versions. I'll try tonight when I get home. It would be cool if they have working multi-instance versions!

Edit: The Vista32 Multi-instance r5000hd.exe was compiled 7:12:28AM TODAY!!!

This is definitely very new.

The Nextcom download directory is showing 31c files dated this morning. I'm not sure if they're any different from the last ones, but I would suspect so. The Nextcom website is a little in disarray.

Multi-version appears to be working! I just upgraded from an existing version with 4 R5000 units, and cleanly upgraded. I restarted without Proxy apps, all is working. I havent tested more than 10 minutes.. but at least its off to a very good start.

Edit: All weird issues related to Vista seem to have disappeared. Also, using all the new features (start with Windows, hide on startup, automatic recovery in case there's an issue).

I tried the new rev. and it was a disaster. For one thing, it continuously initiated dish movement delays, even though there was an ample signal after the first delay. The dish would move, the delay timeout, data start to flow, then several seconds later, it initiated another dish delay, when that timed out, the previous recording stopped, and it started a new one. A few seconds later, it started the whole process over again. The next problem is that NextCom added a Power-On function for the STB. Unfortunately the power is a toggle. Every time it started another dish movement delay, it would toggle the power. First cycle the power would be on then, on the next delay cycle it would turn it off and so forth. No setting I could find to shut off this function. Lastely, everytime the data transfer started the bandwidth numbers shot up well into the 'Pushin It' end of the bar graph. It would stay there several seconds, then eventually back down to its normal value... about 1/3 bar.

I restored the previous rev. and all is working again... or I guess it would be more accurate to say it is working as well (or as poorly) as it did before the update.

Sorry youre having trouble transco. I didnt even know there was support for satellite dish movement. What dish service do you have? The only dish service I know of that works great with sageTV/R5000 is DishNetwork. I wonder if there is anyone on this thread that uses the the DVR software the way you do.

I tried the new rev. and it was a disaster. For one thing, it continuously initiated dish movement delays, even though there was an ample signal after the first delay. The dish would move, the delay timeout, data start to flow, then several seconds later, it initiated another dish delay, when that timed out, the previous recording stopped, and it started a new one. A few seconds later, it started the whole process over again. The next problem is that NextCom added a Power-On function for the STB. Unfortunately the power is a toggle. Every time it started another dish movement delay, it would toggle the power. First cycle the power would be on then, on the next delay cycle it would turn it off and so forth. No setting I could find to shut off this function. Lastely, everytime the data transfer started the bandwidth numbers shot up well into the 'Pushin It' end of the bar graph. It would stay there several seconds, then eventually back down to its normal value... about 1/3 bar.

I restored the previous rev. and all is working again... or I guess it would be more accurate to say it is working as well (or as poorly) as it did before the update.

I'll be running a very stressful test on all 4 of my R5000 boxes 24/7 for the next few days (recording all available HD movies it can). In the meantime, I'll be playing 3D 1080p video games full screen on the same machine and ask family members to aggressively watch more TV on the extenders as well. This machine will actively used as an SSH/WWW/FTP/Streaming TV server as well.

Sorry youre having trouble transco. I didnt even know there was support for satellite dish movement. What dish service do you have? The only dish service I know of that works great with sageTV/R5000 is DishNetwork. I wonder if there is anyone on this thread that uses the the DVR software the way you do.

I use a 4DTV C/Ku band receiver and content is provided by NPS. Programming is spread out over several satellites so it is necessary to move the dish to get it all. The dish can take up to 60 seconds to move between the farthest separated satellites.

Hello again!

After the launch of DVBLink for R5000HD Alpha1, which turned to be almost a disaster, we have worked with NextCom to improve our software. As a result we have released today DVBLink for R5000HD Alpha2. This product only works with recently released 3.1c version of original R5000HD software (all flavors - basic, multi and sagetv).
Please feel free to try and report your experiences. The software is available for download from our forum:
http://dvblogic.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=41

Thanks!

Sorry youre having trouble transco. I didnt even know there was support for satellite dish movement. What dish service do you have? The only dish service I know of that works great with sageTV/R5000 is DishNetwork. I wonder if there is anyone on this thread that uses the the DVR software the way you do.

I have three R5000s. Two are for Dish Network and one is for 4DTV (the latter is the same as transco). Unlike transco my 4DTV/R5000 combo is solid like a rock. I don't understand our different results, but I modified my 4DTV receiver and transco had the outboard decoder modified instead. It sounds like the decoder modification is somewhat a kludge. I haven't tried the 3.1c software yet because I'm in the middle of major server and dish antenna upgrades, but it's on the list.

I haven't tried the 3.1c software yet because I'm in the middle of major server and dish antenna upgrades, but it's on the list.

Please be sure to post your results when you try V3.1C. In retrospect I should have modified the 4DTV and not the HDD-201. Unfortunately, I can't afford to change now. I've already gone through 2 HDD-201's and two R5000 USB boards.

The most obvious problem I have with V3.1c is the power-cycling. As far as I know there is only a single 4DTV IR command for power, so it acts as a toggle. I'm guessing, since you have a modified 4DTV you won't have this problem. Out of curiosity, are you using 'Surf Mode'? If so what have you set the retransmit delay to? Finally, have you set SageTV to transmit the satellite / channel with every recording, even if it hasn't changed?

I haven't seen my R5000's this stable and rock solid since I used to use XP (with nothing else running on it). If anything, I think it's more solid on Vista 32 than even XP. Overnight, I managed to record over 15 movies, and >10 other misc shows. Currently, I'm flipping through different HD channels at work (live transcoded streaming HDTV video @10mbps using sageTV placeshifer).

Out of curiosity, are you using 'Surf Mode'? If so what have you set the retransmit delay to? Finally, have you set SageTV to transmit the satellite / channel with every recording, even if it hasn't changed?

No surf mode in use here. I have Sage send the satellite and channel for every recording. As the USB interface for the receiver has a line that goes directly to the IR sensor (electrical, not optical), there's not a lot to go wrong when sending tuning commands.

Not the best of news for 3.1c with 4DTV receivers. I installed it today and it didn't work. My problem may be similar to transco's, but perhaps a little different. While the new software 'sees' the correct power status on both of my R5000-enabled Dish Network 211 receivers, it sees the opposite of what the 920 4DTV receiver actually has.

In earlier versions, the software got no power status at all from the 920, but it didn't care. Recordings were started and worked fine. I reported the status problem to Nextcom a few months ago and they said they would look into it. Now it gets the opposite status and misapplies it. If the 920 is powered on when a recording is started, the Nextcom software powers it down. If the 920 is powered off when a recording is started, the Nextcom software leaves it off, apparently thinking it is on. Not surprisingly this wreaks complete havoc and renders 3.1c useless for me.

I fell back to 3.0c and all is well again. I have written to Nextcom pointing out the earlier email chain I had with them.

Does anyone understand how the new software is supposed to be displayed in Windows system tray? My understanding is that there is supposed to only be 1 icon to represent all 4 devices and only one DVR app window that pops up when you double-click that icon.

My experience is different. I see strange behaviors such as:


1. Two icons in the system tray.
2. A DVR app window will spontaneously popup when a recording starts (even though startup option "icon no dialog" is selected.
3. When I see two icons in the system tray and open both windows, I see the same 4 devices in two different windows; except a different active device in each.

If there are supposed to be multiple icons in the system tray (one for each device, I ony see 1 at first, then two at most (even when all for are active at the same time). I emailedl R5000 support, but as usual, they just prefer not to reply back.


Two icons instead of 1:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/mkanet/Clipboard01-2.jpg

Two windows showing the same 4 devices in tabs:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/mkanet/Screenshot-0782.jpg

Has anyone attempted to see if the new builds improve teh behavior of the SageTV app? I'm curious if the proxy is still needed. Obviously, it doens't do any harm, but it would be nice to clean up the setup a bit and skip the proxy app step..

It definitely removes the need for the proxy app, and then some. I still had a lingering Vista related issue even with the proxy (although minor). But, that's now gone too. It doesnt really make sense to use the proxy app since the R5000 developer decided to use the same code (or same concept) after Hugo proved that it's needed for further dependability. It's not by accident that its so stable now... throwing everything and the kitchen sink at this will not not break it for me.

The relatively minor quirkyness I mentioned above isnt really a major issue. I can live with it; unlike the stability issues I used to have with previous versions under Vista. I think what takes higher priority in fixing the visual issues I posted above is the power on/off issue that others reported.

Has anyone attempted to see if the new builds improve teh behavior of the SageTV app? I'm curious if the proxy is still needed. Obviously, it doens't do any harm, but it would be nice to clean up the setup a bit and skip the proxy app step..

Now if only they'd post an 'update' to the price section of the DIY 211 mods...

Yeah, there's a 4 device limit. Darn. I would add a 5th R5000 device (211 mod) if I could. I know my wife would love to have the Armenian and Russian channels. :)

Y'know MKANET, if you need to simplify your setup, you can send a couple of those mod'ed 211's my way. ...

Yeah, there's a 4 device limit. Darn. I would add a 5th R5000 device (211 mod) if I could. I know my wife would love to have the Armenian and Russian channels. :)

Well, there are quite a number of such channels relayed in-the-clear and available with free-to-air dishes. I went that route to add nearly a thousand channels, many of which DN doesn't even offer, while avoiding the R5000 limit. I only have 3 x R5000 mods (2 x 211 + 1 x 4DTV), but there are 5 FTA tuners and 6 for OTA, all controlled by Sage. Admittedly 14 sources are more than we normally need for only 5-6 people :)

Not the best of news for 3.1c with 4DTV receivers. I installed it today and it didn't work. My problem may be similar to transco's, but perhaps a little different. While the new software 'sees' the correct power status on both of my R5000-enabled Dish Network 211 receivers, it sees the opposite of what the 920 4DTV receiver actually has.

In earlier versions, the software got no power status at all from the 920, but it didn't care. Recordings were started and worked fine. I reported the status problem to Nextcom a few months ago and they said they would look into it. Now it gets the opposite status and misapplies it. If the 920 is powered on when a recording is started, the Nextcom software powers it down. If the 920 is powered off when a recording is started, the Nextcom software leaves it off, apparently thinking it is on. Not surprisingly this wreaks complete havoc and renders 3.1c useless for me.

I received a quick reply from Nextcom about this. Actually, I've always received prompt and accurate replies from them.

They originally told me to wire the 920 with active low for the power sense, but according to them the new software expects active high for that unit. The software for the 922 is the same, except for wanting active low. That was the ticket I needed. I reinstalled 3.1c and changed the tuner type to the 922, and so far it is working fine with both the 211s and the 4DTV (920) tuner. I'll keep an eye on this as I was not previously having any problems under XP.

Thanks! I already have more than enough preimum TV; especially with all the On Demand PPV programming for our family. However, I would love to be able to suppliment Armenian, Russian and similar channels for free through OTA satellite. Could you please tell me what kind of a dish, receiver, PC DVB tuner card I would need to tune into these channels if I live in the California? It would be awesome to get electronic guide information to seemlessly integrate into sageTV Guide. Is there an easy to access URL/electronic guide I can look at now to see what channels I will get if point my dish (that I dont have yet lol) to the satellite that gets these channels (Armenia, Russian, and maybe Persian/Farsi)? I would prefer a USB tuner/receiver; but can use a PCI card if I have to. Thanks so much.

-Michael

Well, there are quite a number of such channels relayed in-the-clear and available with free-to-air dishes. I went that route to add nearly a thousand channels, many of which DN doesn't even offer, while avoiding the R5000 limit. I only have 3 x R5000 mods (2 x 211 + 1 x 4DTV), but there are 5 FTA tuners and 6 for OTA, all controlled by Sage. Admittedly 14 sources are more than we normally need for only 5-6 people :)

Yeah, there's a 4 device limit. Darn. I would add a 5th R5000 device (211 mod) if I could. I know my wife would love to have the Armenian and Russian channels. :)

Well, to be fair, the limit is just per machine.. you could easily add another machine (or add 4 more R5000's to a different machine in the house) and use that. That is the key advantage of the way the R5000 works over network.

Yeah, except, I wouldnt build and run a second machine that runs 24/7 dedicated to one extra R5000.

Well, to be fair, the limit is just per machine.. you could easily add another machine (or add 4 more R5000's to a different machine in the house) and use that. That is the key advantage of the way the R5000 works over network.

I would love to be able to suppliment Armenian, Russian and similar channels for free through OTA satellite. Could you please tell me what kind of a dish, receiver, PC DVB tuner card I would need to tune into these channels if I live in the California?

This can easily cover the full spectrum from something like a single 90 cm dish to a farm of multisatellite dishes with 10' and up dishes. I'm a bit on the extreme side with four motorized large dishes, two fixed 90cm dishes that cover nearly 30 satellites and one motorized 1.2m dish. But I get a couple thousand unencrypted channels for free along with 4DTV master feeds using the R5000-equipped 920. One can receive a number of incredible HD feeds that shame Blu-Ray. For me this comes through a collection of five USB and PCI-based FTA satellite receivers, each which can connect to any of nearly 50 LNBs on the dishes. Sage runs it all.

On the more normal side one can get by with as little as a fixed 90cm dish, a Ku FSS LNB and a USB, PCI or PCIe receiver. There are freeware apps and Sage plug-ins that can hook this directly up to Sage. As there are a lot of good satellites to choose from, I would recommend starting with a motorized 1.2m dish because that can cover the full North American Ku band. After that the sky is the limit, particularly if you don't mind a big dish for C-band.

I don't want to get too far OT here, so if you want to explore this, I'd recommend posting over at the Satellite Guys forum. I'm 'pendragon' over there and that forum offers a lot of great advice to anyone doing legal FTA.

It would be awesome to get electronic guide information to seemlessly integrate into sageTV Guide. Is there an easy to access URL/electronic guide I can look at now to see what channels I will get if point my dish (that I dont have yet lol) to the satellite that gets these channels (Armenia, Russian, and maybe Persian/Farsi)? I would prefer a USB tuner/receiver; but can use a PCI card if I have to. Thanks so much.

My wife is from Switzerland, so we go after the European channels, but we found so many from around the world that there is always something interesting going on. There are a number of Russian channels I've seen, I believe at least one Armenian (but I haven't sought any) and a plethora of Persian/Farsi channels. It's easy to get hooked and nowadays my wife and I watch the majority of TV from the FTA birds. We still have a full DN subscription, but even the kids are moving to the variety on FTA. It offers a much broader and richer cultural and world view.

Some of the channels show up in the standard Sage guides, particularly when they are available through some DBS or cable provider. It doesn't matter whether you use that provider or if they're available in your Zap2It 'zip code'. Some people have put together XML importers that allow Sage to pull in guide data from channels' web sites, but I haven't spent much time on that because we have so many channels to choose from.

There is a site called Lyngsat that lists all the satellites up there and differentiates between the channels that are encrypted and those one can receive FTA. It's incomplete and normally out-of-date, but it does give a clue as to the variety available. There are normally links to the individual channel web sites where one can get a sense of the available programming. Once you get going you'll find a lot more.

I hope this helps and if you decide to proceed, there are many resources to help you get started. Good sailing!

I reinstalled 3.1c and changed the tuner type to the 922, and so far it is working fine with both the 211s and the 4DTV (920) tuner. I'll keep an eye on this as I was not previously having any problems under XP.

I've been testing this pretty hard for the last few hours and I'm not convinced one way or the other. Doing one of my standard acid tests with all three R5000s running HD and a mix of FTA HD recordings, I was overflowing buffers like mad on the R5000s with 3.1c. Recordings starting on one R5000 would corrupt an existing recording running on another R5000. On 3.0c that load would normally work on XP. This is a tough test as the FTA tuner and the 4DTV R5000 HD feeds are at a lot higher rates than what the R5000s on the 211s ever see combined.

I juggled the on-board USBs and didn't find any combination that worked any better. However I think I already had found the best combination prior to this test after fighting Vista for several months. So next I installed a quad USB PCIe card that I dedicated to the R5000s. There are hiccups with the R5000s when recordings start, but the recordings so far have been error-free. I've scanned them manually and all check out.

At the moment my biggest concern is the lack of, or my lack of ability to find, any quality assurance tools for 3.1c recordings in the new software. Previously I monitored the R5000 remuxer logs, as they alerted me to any gross failures such as caused by transponder maintenance, rain fade or some stupid TV news station flying a helicopter in between my dish and the satellite. Those recordings normally go into the bit bucket. But I can't find anything in the 3.1c software to enable remuxer logs, as was possible with 3.0c. I'm reduced to scanning every recording manually which is a real PITA.

If I go to the R5000 recording log dialog box and right click on a recording that has completed, there is a menu option to view the remuxer log for that recording. But it always comes up with a file not found message. In fact all of the recordings are marked with file not found messages in spite of the fact that the file and path shown in the dialog box exactly matches the recording file readily available in Sage. This seems an incomplete and/or possibly not fully debugged part of 3.1c. I went to the registry and found the configuration settings for the R5000, but nothing for turning the remuxer logs on and off. I suppose I could start guessing, but that often proves to be a wild goose chase. I'll probably write Nextcom instead and ask for their thoughts.

So 3.1c kind of works and the controls are much improved, but I'm not happy with the loss of a very important capability from 3.0c. I'm toughing it out for a little bit, but I have yet to find a compelling advantage for 3.1c in my system.

Wow Pendragonsound, thanks for all the info! Yeah, I'm only interested a very small fixed dish; as I'm only interested in armenian.... russian and persian if available on the same satellite. I'm guessing reception on these are much more resilient to breakup than direcTV? When I had direcTV, it never, ever broke up even in a storm; unless it was part of the broadcast. What Internet forum do you suggest for helping me get setup wtih the smallestest and most popular dish and high quality lmb + most popular usb receiver and knowledge to know where and how to aim the dish?

I've been testing this pretty hard for the last few hours and I'm not convinced one way or the other. Doing one of my standard acid tests with all three R5000s running HD and a mix of FTA HD recordings, I was overflowing buffers like mad on the R5000s with 3.1c. Recordings starting on one R5000 would corrupt an existing recording running on another R5000. On 3.0c that load would normally work on XP. This is a tough test as the FTA tuner and the 4DTV R5000 HD feeds are at a lot higher rates than what the R5000s on the 211s ever see combined.

I juggled the on-board USBs and didn't find any combination that worked any better. However I think I already had found the best combination prior to this test after fighting Vista for several months. So next I installed a quad USB PCIe card that I dedicated to the R5000s. There are hiccups with the R5000s when recordings start, but the recordings so far have been error-free. I've scanned them manually and all check out.

At the moment my biggest concern is the lack of, or my lack of ability to find, any quality assurance tools for 3.1c recordings in the new software. Previously I monitored the R5000 remuxer logs, as they alerted me to any gross failures such as caused by transponder maintenance, rain fade or some stupid TV news station flying a helicopter in between my dish and the satellite. Those recordings normally go into the bit bucket. But I can't find anything in the 3.1c software to enable remuxer logs, as was possible with 3.0c. I'm reduced to scanning every recording manually which is a real PITA.

If I go to the R5000 recording log dialog box and right click on a recording that has completed, there is a menu option to view the remuxer log for that recording. But it always comes up with a file not found message. In fact all of the recordings are marked with file not found messages in spite of the fact that the file and path shown in the dialog box exactly matches the recording file readily available in Sage. This seems an incomplete and/or possibly not fully debugged part of 3.1c. I went to the registry and found the configuration settings for the R5000, but nothing for turning the remuxer logs on and off. I suppose I could start guessing, but that often proves to be a wild goose chase. I'll probably write Nextcom instead and ask for their thoughts.

So 3.1c kind of works and the controls are much improved, but I'm not happy with the loss of a very important capability from 3.0c. I'm toughing it out for a little bit, but I have yet to find a compelling advantage for 3.1c in my system.

I have 2 Dish VIP211s. I successfully used 3.1c for about 4 days, but only a few scheduled recordings and occasional live TV.

Last night I noticed that SageTV was reporting that one of Dish boxes wasn't functioning. I checked the server and there were still 2 instances of r5000hd.exe running, but one of them was hung. I couldn't kill it through the task manager or using taskkill /f.

I tried several times restarting everything, rebooting the computer, etc. I repeatedly had problems. One time it prompted me again for my license keys, and said they were invalid. After that one process kept complaining that the port was already in use.

I had been messing with it for about an hour at that point, so I gave up and reverted to 3.0c with my modified version of Guho's proxy.

Oh well.

Boiler, what you are seeing is normal behavior. Your supposed to see multiple instances of R5000HD.exe; one for each R5000 that's used on your machine. I dont think you can kill the process even if you tried as it's tied into the driver. SageTV will falsely report devices that are hung; when they are perfectly fine, not just the R5000, but many other types of devices (ie USB Hauppauge products like the 950q, etc). I think you can turn this new sageTV error reporting off.

I would be very surprised if you missed a recording (or part of a recording) with this version; and didnt with the older version. If anything, its supposed to fix the remaining stability issues.

The only thing I see that's odd about the R5000 interface is it sometimes gets confused and doesnt properly hide things the user should not see. It seems to only happen with 4 devices though.

-Michael


I have 2 Dish VIP211s. I successfully used 3.1c for about 4 days, but only a few scheduled recordings and occasional live TV.

Last night I noticed that SageTV was reporting that one of Dish boxes wasn't functioning. I checked the server and there were still 2 instances of r5000hd.exe running, but one of them was hung. I couldn't kill it through the task manager or using taskkill /f.

I tried several times restarting everything, rebooting the computer, etc. I repeatedly had problems. One time it prompted me again for my license keys, and said they were invalid. After that one process kept complaining that the port was already in use.

I had been messing with it for about an hour at that point, so I gave up and reverted to 3.0c with my modified version of Guho's proxy.

Oh well.

Wow Pendragonsound, thanks for all the info! Yeah, I'm only interested a very small fixed dish; as I'm only interested in armenian.... russian and persian if available on the same satellite. I'm guessing reception on these are much more resilient to breakup than direcTV? When I had direcTV, it never, ever broke up even in a storm; unless it was part of the broadcast. What Internet forum do you suggest for helping me get setup wtih the smallestest and most popular dish and high quality lmb + most popular usb receiver and knowledge to know where and how to aim the dish?

There's one Ku bird at 97W that has a lot of FTA channels; it's probably the best match for you if you want to go after only one satellite. A 90cm dish should be fine for that. You can probably get by with a 76cm dish, but you will have less rain fade margin and you might miss some of the higher rate/weaker transponders.

Get an Invacom LNB instead of messing with LNB roulette. They're outstanding units. As for a PC-based receiver, look at one of the DVB World DVB-S2 units. They have USB, PCI and PCIe versions and have been steadily improving their drivers. After a painful period of having to personally import them, they are now readily available at one store in the US, at least. As for a Windows app, I like DVB Dream with the Sage plug-in. Both are freeware.

I'd recommend the FTA forum at satelliteguys.us. They're knowledgeable and patient helping beginners, as long as you don't threaten their egos. You can threaten mine over there and I won't care :) There are other forums of a more specialized nature that might be helpful once you get going.

So 3.1c kind of works and the controls are much improved, but I'm not happy with the loss of a very important capability from 3.0c. I'm toughing it out for a little bit, but I have yet to find a compelling advantage for 3.1c in my system.

I ran tests straight through last night and gave up on 3.1c for XP 32-bit. A couple of recordings simply stopped in the middle without any warnings, one of the 4DTV recordings had a glitch about the time a 211 recording started up and there was a bad channel change. This is completely over the top when compared to my nearly perfect experience with 3.0c.

I also don't like the fact that 3.1c insists on streaming data all the time. That seems to increase the load on my machine unnecessarily. It also causes a rash of failed transfers when the DN 211 boxes do their daily updates. Apparently constant sreaming also leads to buffer overflows at the start of recordings. The recordings are fine, but the error counters aren't. I like to use error counters when they're meaningful, which they were in 3.0c. In 3.1c they're a waste of time.

I got a response back from Nextcom regarding the remuxer logs. Supposedly there should be entries for each of my recordings but for some reason they are not there. They're speculating this is caused by the option for changing the recording file extension for Sage, but I don't think I'm using that.

I'll be following up, but I'm in no hurry to try this again. The first time I fell back from 3.1c to 3.0c, it was a piece of cake. After last night it was a horror show. The 3.1c drivers wouldn't go away and 3.0c won't work with them. I went on a rampage manually deleting .sys and .inf files along with some work in the registry and finally eliminated all traces. I probably should have cloned the drive before the upgrade, but after my first experience with 3.1c I thought I was only tweaking details and would be on 3.1c to stay. Now I'm staying away.

Boiler, what you are seeing is normal behavior. Your supposed to see multiple instances of R5000HD.exe; one for each R5000 that's used on your machine. I dont think you can kill the process even if you tried as it's tied into the driver.


I know there's a separate process for each instance. When you run the r5000hd.exe, it spawns more processes for each instance. I believe the way in which they spawn the process is the reason why it's difficult to kill, not that it's "tied" to the driver. But then again, I didn't write the code ...


SageTV will falsely report devices that are hung; when they are perfectly fine, not just the R5000, but many other types of devices (ie USB Hauppauge products like the 950q, etc). I think you can turn this new sageTV error reporting off.

I would be very surprised if you missed a recording (or part of a recording) with this version; and didnt with the older version. If anything, its supposed to fix the remaining stability issues.


It was really hung, sage was correct. I neglected to mention, but when I logged into the server, I had a windows dialog indicating that the process had terminated improperly, or something along those lines. I don't remember exactly how they word it. However, when that happened with the older versions of the app, the process would really go away. With 3.1c, it does not.

Note that I'm NOT using the new 3.1c options to load at startup and auto recovery, they are disabled. I'm pretty sure the statup option loads at user login, not at boot. I don't usually log onto my server, so load at login doesn't work.

I could probably get the proxy working with 3.1c to avoid the crashes, but there's no real benefit. My wife was tired of me messing with it, so I'm back to 3.0c ...

Sean

I have yet to move to 3.X because the last time I tried, there was a bug where the driver would ignore the checkbox to use compressed format, and all the recordings would be padded (which burns a lot of wasted storage space).

Is that fixed in 3.0c or 3.1c?

thx
mike

I have yet to move to 3.X because the last time I tried, there was a bug where the driver would ignore the checkbox to use compressed format, and all the recordings would be padded (which burns a lot of wasted storage space).

Is that fixed in 3.0c or 3.1c?

thx
mike

I believe the only version with that problem is 3.0e, 3.0c is fine.

Ohhh... you know what.. that probably explains why I see these R5000HD Interfaces popup in front of me on my desktop unexpectedly when a recording starts sometimes (even though I have the option set for hiding it in "iconic" mode in the taskbar.

Another unusual behavior is when flipping through the different tabs on the interface, it has this weird focus issue where I'll lose focus of the interface and it will hide behind another window (if there is one).

I tried contacting their support recently about this with respective screenshots, but, never received a reply back. I'm not sure if I should attempt to try again; or, thats their way of saying I dont get support anymore from them (even though I've spend more than 2 grand and refered over 8 grand <-edit worth of customers) in the last couple of years.

I know there's a separate process for each instance. When you run the r5000hd.exe, it spawns more processes for each instance. I believe the way in which they spawn the process is the reason why it's difficult to kill, not that it's "tied" to the driver. But then again, I didn't write the code ...



It was really hung, sage was correct. I neglected to mention, but when I logged into the server, I had a windows dialog indicating that the process had terminated improperly, or something along those lines. I don't remember exactly how they word it. However, when that happened with the older versions of the app, the process would really go away. With 3.1c, it does not.

Note that I'm NOT using the new 3.1c options to load at startup and auto recovery, they are disabled. I'm pretty sure the statup option loads at user login, not at boot. I don't usually log onto my server, so load at login doesn't work.

I could probably get the proxy working with 3.1c to avoid the crashes, but there's no real benefit. My wife was tired of me messing with it, so I'm back to 3.0c ...

Sean

Anyone else experience this, I'm using the multi (2x r5000) sagetv xp version of 3.1c and it worked fine for about a day or two and then it came up with the error "port already in use" and asking me to change it and that tuner quite communicating with sagetv. It has done this several times now and I have to restart the r5000 app and restart the sagetv service to get it working again with the assigned port. So I have gone back to using the proxy to bridge the gap with sagetv and this issue hasn't happened yet. Although 3.1c fixed the handles/memory issue with sagetv did it introduce another bug? I had a rock solid setup with 3.0e (although the proxy was needed).

Yes, of course. It happens to me alot; usually when restarting sageTV. Can you please send the R5000 support telling them this is a reproducible bug? I think they are tired of my reporting bugs to them. I didnt tell them about this one. :)

Anyone else experience this, I'm using the multi (2x r5000) sagetv xp version of 3.1c and it worked fine for about a day or two and then it came up with the error "port already in use" and asking me to change it and that tuner quite communicating with sagetv. It has done this several times now and I have to restart the r5000 app and restart the sagetv service to get it working again with the assigned port. So I have gone back to using the proxy to bridge the gap with sagetv and this issue hasn't happened yet. Although 3.1c fixed the handles/memory issue with sagetv did it introduce another bug? I had a rock solid setup with 3.0e (although the proxy was needed).

Anyone else experience this, I'm using the multi (2x r5000) sagetv xp version of 3.1c and it worked fine for about a day or two and then it came up with the error "port already in use" and asking me to change it and that tuner quite communicating with sagetv. It has done this several times now and I have to restart the r5000 app and restart the sagetv service to get it working again with the assigned port. So I have gone back to using the proxy to bridge the gap with sagetv and this issue hasn't happened yet. Although 3.1c fixed the handles/memory issue with sagetv did it introduce another bug? I had a rock solid setup with 3.0e (although the proxy was needed).

Yep. That's exaclty what I was talking about several posts ago. That's why I'm back to 3.0c with the proxy.

Have anyone informed Nextcom about this specific issue?

Yep. That's exaclty what I was talking about several posts ago. That's why I'm back to 3.0c with the proxy.

Yeah I did...I got a response explaining I need to make sure each tuner/instance needs a different port, which of course I do and explained that further to them...

Anyone else noticed that they actually RAISED the prices of the mod? This seems odd.. I mean, are they really selling THAT well? what's the story on that? I was thinking about getting a couple more DiY kits, but can't believe they raised the price...

Anyone else noticed that they actually RAISED the prices of the mod? This seems odd.. I mean, are they really selling THAT well? what's the story on that? I was thinking about getting a couple more DiY kits, but can't believe they raised the price...I did. I've been waiting for a price drop so that I can get one and add support to GBPVR for it. It looks like I won't be anytime soon.

Has anyone noticed that they took off the DIY Motorola cable mods? I'm not exactly sure the reason for this. But, whatever the reason is, I wish they would consider putting it back.

What were the prices before?

I just discovered this product and was considering it, but the prices did seem a bit high to me. I was looking specifically for the motorola mod, and I could have sworn I saw a DIY for that one. Now I know I'm not crazy, and they removed it just as I was looking into it.

Hello again!

After the launch of DVBLink for R5000HD Alpha1, which turned to be almost a disaster, we have worked with NextCom to improve our software. As a result we have released today DVBLink for R5000HD Alpha2. This product only works with recently released 3.1c version of original R5000HD software (all flavors - basic, multi and sagetv).
Please feel free to try and report your experiences. The software is available for download from our forum:
http://dvblogic.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=41

Thanks!
Although the instructions are a bit convoluted (screen captures don't match the current software configuration for example), I installed the R5000-HD 3.1c app, made sure it worked and then installed DVBLink. I setup the channels, media center sees DVBLink, I can do the channel configuration, the channels show up in the guide but I get no picture.

Any ideas what is wrong?

BTW, I have both installed on my HTPC running Windows 7 RC

Anybody who installed the DIY R5000HD kit, what is the chip/device on it? The driver suggests it is a Cypress Semiconductor USB device. Thx.

Well I just uninstalled version 3.1. It ended up doing the same thing that 3.0e did without the proxy code. 3.0e was losing about 90% of my recordings without the proxy code and was losing 0% (recording perfectly) with the proxy code.

I decided I would upgrade to 3.1 to give it a try and shortly after that it started losing 25% of the recordings. I just reverted back to 3.0e with the proxy and we will see how it goes. The first recording worked flawlessly.

This is on XP sp2 with a single recorder.

Greg

Although the instructions are a bit convoluted (screen captures don't match the current software configuration for example), I installed the R5000-HD 3.1c app, made sure it worked and then installed DVBLink. I setup the channels, media center sees DVBLink, I can do the channel configuration, the channels show up in the guide but I get no picture.

Any ideas what is wrong?

BTW, I have both installed on my HTPC running Windows 7 RC

Our excuses for discrepancies between the instruction and the current version.
1. Remove log file ..\DVBLogic\DVBLink\DVBLinkServer.log.
2. Set in Source Configuration->Server->Configuration->Log Level in Info.
3. Start DVBLink server.
4. Choose 2-3 channels in MCE.
Attach zipped log on our forum http://dvblogic.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=41&p=13664#p13664.

Our excuses for discrepancies between the instruction and the current version.
1. Remove log file ..\DVBLogic\DVBLink\DVBLinkServer.log.
2. Set in Source Configuration->Server->Configuration->Log Level in Info.
3. Start DVBLink server.
4. Choose 2-3 channels in MCE.
Attach zipped log on our forum http://dvblogic.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=41&p=13664#p13664.

I'll get to this as soon as I can. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to devote to this that I would like. Too many unfinished projects on the house.

OK, I concede, I give up on trying to move to 64-bit single system running everything, and have plunked down $109 on an MSI Atom based nettop to run my R5000's...

So I looked at the proxy, but I've got two problems...one is hmmm I thought %1 %2 etc were wild cards that were filled by how you write the command line that calls the bat file...can someone provide an actual example of the BAT they use to run the Proxy, and if I'm right about the %x's in the file, an example of the cmd line they run to execute the bat?

Also, with the new 3.1, my old bat for launching the 3.0 app now hangs as the 3.0 app knows there is a 3.1, and stalls with a new interface asking me if I want to upgrade...err. How are you guys dealing with that issue / adjusting your startup commands.

Since I want to use the Nettop headless and robust (XP with a startup bat)...can someone walk me through how to address these items?

thanks,

and I apologize in advance for not recognizing MKANET's wisdom on both holding out for 64-bit, and trying to get everything to run on just one 24x7 system :D

jmv

Well, I've got my system setup, but I can not get the Proxy to work. The system works ok w/o the proxy using 6967 and 6969 as the ports for the two R5000's I have. However, when I start up the R5000 App, and tell it to use 6966 and 6968 respectively, and then set up the Proxy using the command line

R5000HDProxy 6966 6967 >out6966.txt 2>err6966.txt
and...
R5000HDProxy 6968 6969 >out6966.txt 2>err6966.txt

SageTV just doesn't see them. I also tried reversing the port order in the Proxy eg. 6967 6966...but that had no effect. I know SageTV and the R5000's are talking because everything is fine if I just leave the R5000 SW set to 6967 and 6969...any help on what I'm doing wrong?

thanks,

mv

Try changing the address of the encoder in the sage.properties file to point to the name of the server, or the ip, instead of 127.0.0.1. If I remember right, there's a problem with the proxy app not tying itself to localhost (127.0.0.1) so it doesn't listen there.

Crazyfuzzy,

Thanks for the response. I am running the R5000 on a separate PC and I did change the Sage.properties file to look at the IP of that separate computer. I never could get Sage to talk to the proxy app...I could get sage to talk to the R5000App on the separate computer, although the playback was very poor and choppy it did "see it".

I've since moved the R5000's back to the server PC where it runs reliably w/o the Proxy app...although handles to "grow" so I would prefer to have a working Proxy app.

thanks,

mv

Boiler, what you are seeing is normal behavior. Your supposed to see multiple instances of R5000HD.exe; one for each R5000 that's used on your machine. I dont think you can kill the process even if you tried as it's tied into the driver. SageTV will falsely report devices that are hung; when they are perfectly fine, not just the R5000, but many other types of devices (ie USB Hauppauge products like the 950q, etc). I think you can turn this new sageTV error reporting off.

I would be very surprised if you missed a recording (or part of a recording) with this version; and didnt with the older version. If anything, its supposed to fix the remaining stability issues.

The only thing I see that's odd about the R5000 interface is it sometimes gets confused and doesnt properly hide things the user should not see. It seems to only happen with 4 devices though.

-Michael

did anyone get this port issue resolved? I have emailed them a few times, but they only responded once,hopefully that means a fix is imminent.

Nextcom wireless will not fix reproducable software/driver bugs just because several paying customers report the same issues over and over again. It seems there are other factors preventing them from addressing these issues within a reasonable time frame; at which they feel they are at liberty not to not say why.

My guess is they arent using the money they receive from R5000 sales, repairs, instalations, to pay for the developer's time; and the developer himself doesnt actually use the software he developes for personal use. They should at least make their software/drivers available to the opensource community if they are unable to support their own products anymore.

I'd love to know what it is exactly that "Nextcom Wireless" is so busy doing that they dont have time to address significant reproducible software bugs on a major new software release.

EDIT: I remember they used to provide frequent bug fixes in beta releases on their webpage a couple years back. Then... all of a sudden, they just stopped.

did anyone get this port issue resolved? I have emailed them a few times, but they only responded once,hopefully that means a fix is imminent.

Who wants to help me hook up my proxy so it talks directly to the driver? The driver is the generic Cypress EZ-USB driver. I know how to stream the raw video data. I've got a lot of the pieces in place but one thing I need help with is a function to extract a single program's transport stream from the raw data.

Nextcom wireless will not fix reproducable software/driver bugs just because several paying customers report the same issues over and over again.

Guho,

I can't help you I have 0 programming skills...but I do have a request...would it be possible to make your Proxy intercept an incoming sage request from a separate machine (ie different IP address) and have the R5000 and Proxy running on a different IP address. I exchanged e-mail with MKANET, and he thought that because I was running R5000App+Proxy on one physical machine and SageTV on a separate machine, that was why I am having issues getting SageTV and the Proxy app to talk...

mv

Hugo, you know I am always here to do testing for you. I used your proxy program for a long time until the new driver was released. If they were to fix these trivial bugs with their new software it would be great. But I cant wait another year for them to try to fix their broken software.

Who wants to help me hook up my proxy so it talks directly to the driver? The driver is the generic Cypress EZ-USB driver. I know how to stream the raw video data. I've got a lot of the pieces in place but one thing I need help with is a function to extract a single program's transport stream from the raw data.

Who wants to help me hook up my proxy so it talks directly to the driver? The driver is the generic Cypress EZ-USB driver. I know how to stream the raw video data. I've got a lot of the pieces in place but one thing I need help with is a function to extract a single program's transport stream from the raw data.

It's been a LONG time sense i spent any time digging through the internals of an MPEG transport stream, but I'm pretty sure grabbing a single program from it should be relatively easy. You have to read the Program Map Table (PMT), determine what program you want, and, from the table, get which Packet Identifiers (PID's) are included in that table, then, each packet is either written, or ignored, based on the PID.

Who wants to help me hook up my proxy so it talks directly to the driver? The driver is the generic Cypress EZ-USB driver. I know how to stream the raw video data. I've got a lot of the pieces in place but one thing I need help with is a function to extract a single program's transport stream from the raw data.

How are you streaming it and when you say "raw video data" I assume you are talking about a transport stream and not actually raw video? If you could port your code into a DirectShow BDA filter, you wouldn't need to worry about splitting the stream. Any DirectShow application would then handle all the demuxing (splitting off each program). I can help you somewhat with the DirectShow filter but I don't have an R-5000 so someone else would have to do the testing and be willing to do lots of it.

yeah, BDA would be the way to go (really, the way nextcom SHOULD have gone to begin with).

Does anybody know what affects the "pushing it" bar in the recorder?

I just moved the recorder to a brand new quad core i5 with 4 GB of ram running on 500 GB sata drives and I am getting the bar closer to pushing it than I did when I was running a dual core Pentium D820 with 3GB of ram and the exact same disk drives. (I moved the disk drives to the new machine).

Any suggestions would be good. Even with the latest version of their driver / program I am still getting recordings that get interrupted. it doesn't happen as often as before, but it happens about a couple times a week.

With the new system I have started to see overflows happening as well. I don't remember them ever happening on the Pentium system.

Thanks
Greg

Does anybody know what affects the "pushing it" bar in the recorder?

I just moved the recorder to a brand new quad core i5 with 4 GB of ram running on 500 GB sata drives and I am getting the bar closer to pushing it than I did when I was running a dual core Pentium D820 with 3GB of ram and the exact same disk drives. (I moved the disk drives to the new machine).

Any suggestions would be good. Even with the latest version of their driver / program I am still getting recordings that get interrupted. it doesn't happen as often as before, but it happens about a couple times a week.

With the new system I have started to see overflows happening as well. I don't remember them ever happening on the Pentium system.

Thanks
Greg

Did you use 64K clusters on the storage volumes that are being used for recordings? Depending on how the code handles writes, default windows configs sometimes have issues with write performance.

Greg,

More about the configuration...are you using the Proxy app?, What OS are you using? Is SageTV your front end? Although the drives are "local" are they seen as local, or are you using a network address?

FYI, I have a Q9450, and use the old app w/o the proxy, have the sometimes miss the first 5 min issue, but never loose a recording once started, but some recordings have playback issues (skip randomly).

I have a very fast RAID array (500MB/s) and the indicator always sits below the mid-point on the "pushing it" scale.

mv

Knock on wood, I haven't had mine go over 10%-15%. This has been the case recording to a clunky USB disk with 4K clusters/fat32 or dual high performance RAID class SATA disks RAID-0'ed with 128k stripe width/64k NTFS clusters.

We have been focusing a lot on the bandwidth/latency to a local logical disk, including me. I know some people have issues with too much buffer used or the first 5 minutes being skipped. However, I think we might overlooking a few key items:

-Available bandwidth on the USB bus the R5000 is on (unlikely the case)
-Performance/compatibility issues with some USB 2.0 hub chipsets & respective drivers (or other devices on the USB hub).
-Performance/compatibility issues with some RAID/AHCI chipsets & respective drivers

I can confirm good compatibility with the two technologies below:

- 7 port Belkin USB Hub (SMSC USB2707 chipset)
- Intel ICH8 32bit (RAID mode)

There is a very good chance the person/people who made the generic R5000 interface driver only bothered testing on a couple of types machines. I know for a fact that making usb-based drivers can get pretty hairy; especially for devices that stream data that are performance sensitive. I'm sure that probably why there are programmer tools such as USB port analyzers/tracers.

Did you use 64K clusters on the storage volumes that are being used for recordings? Depending on how the code handles writes, default windows configs sometimes have issues with write performance.

I am pretty sure I formatted the drives on the old system with 64k cluster size. But now that I am trying to check, I am not sure. I found one post saying to use the System Information tool to find this information. The strange thing there is that when I run that tool is that I don't find something called cluster size. I am sure it is there just named something different. Here is the output.

Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model ST3500630AS
Bytes/Sector 512
Media Loaded Yes
Media Type Fixed&#x0009;hard disk media
Partitions 1
SCSI Bus 0
SCSI Logical Unit 0
SCSI Port 1
SCSI Target ID 0
Sectors/Track 63
Size 465.76 GB (500,105,249,280 bytes)
Total Cylinders 60,801
Total Sectors 976,768,065
Total Tracks 15,504,255
Tracks/Cylinder 255
Partition Disk #1, Partition #0
Partition Size 465.76 GB (500,105,217,024 bytes)
Partition Starting Offset 32,256 bytes


I will keep looking for a definitive answer.

Greg

Greg,

More about the configuration...are you using the Proxy app?, What OS are you using? Is SageTV your front end? Although the drives are "local" are they seen as local, or are you using a network address?

FYI, I have a Q9450, and use the old app w/o the proxy, have the sometimes miss the first 5 min issue, but never loose a recording once started, but some recordings have playback issues (skip randomly).

I have a very fast RAID array (500MB/s) and the indicator always sits below the mid-point on the "pushing it" scale.

mv

I am running Windows XP Pro. I am not using the Proxy App as I understand that the latest version includes that code and isn't needed.
I am using SageTV as the front end and the recording directory is specified as a local drive. I was using a UNC path initially (because of migrating to the new hardware) and that seemed worse. I change Sage and it got better.

What is your RAID setup that you are getting 500 MB/s?

I am using two stand alone drives (no raid). They are Seagate 7200.10 500 GB drives.


Greg

I can confirm good compatibility with the two technologies below:

- 7 port Belkin USB Hub (SMSC USB2707 chipset)
- Intel ICH8 32bit (RAID mode)


You are listing the hub you have it connected to, but wouldn't the on board USB chipset also be important in your case?

I am using the USB controller and SATA controller built into the P55 chipset for the new Core i5.

Device Manager lists the USB as:
Intel 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller

Sata controller as:
Intel 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller

Greg

I will keep looking for a definitive answer.

Greg

Hmm, I just did a chkdsk on one of my 500GB drives and it said 4096 bytes in each allocation unit. So I think I need to reformat the drives. :(

Now I just need somewhere to put 500GB of files for a couple hours. :)

Greg

I think I found my issue. One of my 500GB drives had 4k cluster size and the other had 64k cluster size.

I think when I noticed it performing poorly, it was recording to 4k drive. I will fix that.

Greg

Greg,

I've got an Areca raid card with 12 1TB Seagate drives in Raid 6 configuration to get my 500MB/s.

let us know how the 4K to 64K cluster change works out. I am still using the old App and Driver, I read through the posts when people were testing it out and it seemed like the majority concensus was to return to the old app / proxy setup as they were having more issues with the new version, so you might want to try that as well.

mv

You are listing the hub you have it connected to, but wouldn't the on board USB chipset also be important in your case?

I am using the USB controller and SATA controller built into the P55 chipset for the new Core i5.

Device Manager lists the USB as:
Intel 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller

Sata controller as:
Intel 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller

Greg

I wonder if this is related to your problem: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/31/iphone-and-windows-7-dont-play-nice-intel-p55-chipset-to-blame/

Looks like the P55 has some issues with USB compatibility. You might try and addon card and see if it fixes it.

I wonder if this is related to your problem: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/31/iphone-and-windows-7-dont-play-nice-intel-p55-chipset-to-blame/

Looks like the P55 has some issues with USB compatibility. You might try and addon card and see if it fixes it.

I too have been bitten by bad USB chipset quirkiness.. not with the R-5000, but with some pro-audio adapters that are very picky in timing. I've found the most across teh board acceptance from NEC chipsets. They are very common on $5-$25 PCI and PCIe boards, so you're not out much in trying. monoprice.com sells some that are specified to have the NEC chipset.

I wonder if this is related to your problem: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/31/iphone-and-windows-7-dont-play-nice-intel-p55-chipset-to-blame/

Looks like the P55 has some issues with USB compatibility. You might try and addon card and see if it fixes it.

Thanks for pointing that out. The second guy to post has the exact same motherboard I have.

I guess I should start looking for a USB add-on board.

Greg

I probably should have presumed it goes without saying that the Intel ICH8 embedded controller shares the chipset thats responsible for hosting USB as well on the same motherboard. Intel makes a pretty popular "ICHx" series chipset which supports both USB and SATA/RAID. So, just to explain more more clearly.

I can confirm good compatibility with the two technologies below (Vista32):
- Intel ICH8 (USB host controller) and (SATA controller)
- 7 port Belkin USB Hub (SMSC USB2707 chipset) <--R5000's connected to

PS: You guys might have also missed that I was able to record to a USB hard disk (non-sata) with 4Kb clusters. So, although this only allowed me to record from one R5000 with nothing else bandwidth intensive going on the USB bus, the R5000 DVR app buffer was still below 30%. I was just trying to say that although adding 300MB/sec RAID and 64kb clusters will make a world of difference to comfortaby handle more than one stream, it wont necessarily help the other issues affecting just one stream.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MKANET http://images.avsforum.com/avs-images/retro/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17448003#post17448003)

I can confirm good compatibility with the two technologies below:

- 7 port Belkin USB Hub (SMSC USB2707 chipset)
- Intel ICH8 32bit (RAID mode)



You are listing the hub you have it connected to, but wouldn't the on board USB chipset also be important in your case?

I am using the USB controller and SATA controller built into the P55 chipset for the new Core i5.

Device Manager lists the USB as:
Intel 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller

Sata controller as:
Intel 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller

Greg

Seeing that you have been able to record to a usb drive w/ 30%, it made me wonder what type of source you are recording.

Was that recording of SD or HD? Is your provider using H.264 or MPEG2?

I am mostly recording HD from StarChoice that is MPEG2, I think this is the most bandwidth demanding and when I am recording this is it always around 66% when working well.

Greg

Folks,

Don't know if those of you interested in adding the R5000 or another R5000, it looks like Nextcom is offering "refurbished units" for 50% off. I just bought a third for DCTxxxx unit for 219 + shipping...I think this was cheaper then the old buy 2+ get 50% off...which I didn't do since I only wanted 1 more :).

mv

Good question. I dont record SD with my R5000s. However, I do record Comcast's overcompressed mpeg2 "HD" channels (Usually around 6mbps... below picture was taken with around 5.5mbps)... however, it can vary anywhere from 4.8mbps-10mbps. Im using the "Compressed (no filler pkts)" option in the R5000 DVR software.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/mkanet/sata.jpg

PS: Thanks for the tip JMV! It would be good to have a couple of spare kits.

Seeing that you have been able to record to a usb drive w/ 30%, it made me wonder what type of source you are recording.

Was that recording of SD or HD? Is your provider using H.264 or MPEG2?

I am mostly recording HD from StarChoice that is MPEG2, I think this is the most bandwidth demanding and when I am recording this is it always around 66% when working well.

Greg

Running 2 R5000HD Streams of HD data, I am getting ~110~140 mbits/stream, my disk IO is running between 8~13 MB/sec.

I am doing something weird (running 2x R5000 app as "admin" while Sage is logged in as "Mike"), so unfortunately, I can't figure out how to pull the pushing it info, but I'll work on that.

Hey MKA net, that is a 3.1 screen capture...I thought you dropped 3.1 and were back on 3.0? Wassup with that :)?

I was planning on going back to 3.0 + proxy. I was giving the R5000 people a few more weeks before switching back. I dont have any stability issues with 3.1c; but there's only so much of the "port is already in use" bug I can tolerate. I'm due to reimage my server in 2 weeks, that's when I'll revert back.


Hey MKA net, that is a 3.1 screen capture...I thought you dropped 3.1 and were back on 3.0? Wassup with that :)?

Nextcomm has a new 3.1d out on their download site (I think the link is somewhere a few pages back). I've been using if for a little over a week with no Port In Use issues. I did have one corrupted video since I started testing this new version but I was having occasional issues with 3.0c along these same lines so I don't think is its related to 3.1d

- Chad

I wish there was a way for us to be notified when there's a new version. Here I am strugging with 3.0c waiting for their webpage to be updated. I even checked today on their webpage and didn't see it. I just downloaded it directly from their directory listing on their webserver. Thanks for letting us know! Maybe next time someone would be nice enought to post here when there's a new release.

Edit: I just tried it, the port issue doesnt happen anymore, neither does the weird focus issue when switching from one tab to the next between 4 devices. If they fixed the cosmetic bugs that affected me, I'll be set.



Nextcomm has a new 3.1d out on their download site (I think the link is somewhere a few pages back). I've been using if for a little over a week with no Port In Use issues. I did have one corrupted video since I started testing this new version but I was having occasional issues with 3.0c along these same lines so I don't think is its related to 3.1d

- Chad

ok, I give up...how do you get to 3.1d...I tried using the links to vista 32 and vista 64 multi replacing the 31c with 31d and both gave me nada...

mv

Browse to the directory and you'll get a full listing...

http://nextcomwireless.com/R5000/download/install/

I've also switched to the 3.1d... haven't seen the 'port already open' bug since, though i did have a whoel day of botched recordings after updating.. (I had just closed the app, updated, and re-run it... after a reboot, it's running flawlessly again...

So... Close app... Extract 3.1d... reboot...

Has anybody used a USB card with the NEC chipset? The local computer store has a USB card with that chipset for $13.

Greg

Is anybody getting "Program not found, waiting ..." message when it tries to record?

I am getting two types of errors. One is when it starts to record and then stops and the second error is that it just tries to record and it doesn't find the program.

Any suggestions on the can't find the program?

Thanks
Greg

I tried the latest version and I'm getting some trouble with recordings (using SageTV).

I tried to revert back to the previous version I was using (3.0c), and use the previous driver (I believe 2.4e). But I couldn't get the R5000 application to recognize the device.

I keep getting stuck on step 4 of this installation guide: http://nextcomwireless.com/R5000/dvr_manual/dvr_manual.htm

The "New Hardware Wizard" never starts again.

Any ideas?

Has anybody used a USB card with the NEC chipset? The local computer store has a USB card with that chipset for $13.

Greg

I bought this card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124008) a while back to see if it would do any better, but it actually does much worse than the built in usb on both motherboards I've had as my sage server. TONS of failed transfers, totally unusable. Maybe it's just a crappy card, I don't know. YMMV

I switched from 3.0c WITH the proxy to 3.1d WITOUT proxy last night. The port in use errors seem to have disapeared. I've only done minimal testing, but it seems to be working ok so far.

Is anybody getting "Program not found, waiting ..." message when it tries to record?

I am getting two types of errors. One is when it starts to record and then stops and the second error is that it just tries to record and it doesn't find the program.

Any suggestions on the can't find the program?

Thanks
Greg

Try increasing the record delay. In versions prior to 3.1c, you set it in the config file:

RecDelay: 3000

In 3.1c and later, it's in Options->Preferences->Tweaks->New Stream Delay

I have mine set to 3000.

I tried the latest version and I'm getting some trouble with recordings (using SageTV).

I tried to revert back to the previous version I was using (3.0c), and use the previous driver (I believe 2.4e). But I couldn't get the R5000 application to recognize the device.

I keep getting stuck on step 4 of this installation guide: http://nextcomwireless.com/R5000/dvr_manual/dvr_manual.htm

The "New Hardware Wizard" never starts again.

Any ideas?

You're probably not getting the driver reverted. I've repeatedly had trouble getting the newer driver installed on my vista machine when trying to upgrade to 3.1c/3.1d. Try this, or some variation:


Unplug your r5000 devices
Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers and delete NxtcmUSB.sys
Uninstall r5000 app if not already done
Install old version or r5000 app
Reboot
Plug only 1 r5000 usb back in (if you have more than 1)
go throug driver install, after install, check C:\Windows\System32\drivers to make sure correct version of driver is there
unplug 1st device, delete NxtcmUSB.sys from C:\Windows\System32\drivers, plug in 2nd device, make sure correct version of driver in C:\Windows\System32\drivers
lather, rinse, (maybe reboot), repeat as needed


Good luck.

Thanks for the reply.

I'll try the steps when I get home. I think if I plug the R5000 in to a different USB port, it may force it to reinstall...


Also, I'm getting recordings that are starting late with the new R5000 software. I checked the logs for SageTV, and SageTV seems to initially think the R5000 is no longer connected/running even though it is.

Would the proxy software previously spoken about fix this?

Thanks.

I bought this card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124008) a while back to see if it would do any better, but it actually does much worse than the built in usb on both motherboards I've had as my sage server. TONS of failed transfers, totally unusable. Maybe it's just a crappy card, I don't know. YMMV

Thanks, From the photos on the newegg site, it looks like that has the NEC chipset. I guess I will keep looking. I noticed that tigerdirect has one with the Via chipset.

I think might be that my MFT table is fragmented and full. I am installing diskeeper right now to defrag and extend the table. I am getting constant failures right now, so I should be able to see if this fixes the situation.

Greg

Thanks, From the photos on the newegg site, it looks like that has the NEC chipset. I guess I will keep looking. I noticed that tigerdirect has one with the Via chipset.

I think might be that my MFT table is fragmented and full. I am installing diskeeper right now to defrag and extend the table. I am getting constant failures right now, so I should be able to see if this fixes the situation.

Greg

It is an NEC chip, that's why I bothered mentioning it ;) But, I wasn't saying to avoid NEC, in fact, that's what nextcom recommend. I'm just saying that particular card does NOT work well in both machines I've tried.

I'm sticking with the new version for now to see if I can get the bugs worked out.

The proxy seems to have stopped the problem of SageTV losing communication with the R5000 application, but now there is a new problem....

The R5000 seems to be having trouble tuning to the correct channel. I've had 3 recordings today that did not have the channel properly changed, thus recording the wrong show.

The "IR Inter Digit Delay" is set to 500, should I try increasing that?

Thanks.

Peter, when it changes to the wrong channel, is the channel's first two digit or last two digits that was part of the original channel number? The IR Inter Digit Delay would help that if that's the case.

I used to have a weird timing problem like that a while back when I was trying to playback live TV on the same PC as the R5000 under Vista. Using the proxy fixed that vista related problem for me as well as a strange handle leak.

The new R5000 versions have the proxy code builtin; however, they also include other enhancements which might adversely affect some people. I've been using the 3.1D release; and, knock on wood, works the way things did back when I had my XP machine. Simple, solid, and reliable.

I'm sticking with the new version for now to see if I can get the bugs worked out.

The proxy seems to have stopped the problem of SageTV losing communication with the R5000 application, but now there is a new problem....

The R5000 seems to be having trouble tuning to the correct channel. I've had 3 recordings today that did not have the channel properly changed, thus recording the wrong show.

The "IR Inter Digit Delay" is set to 500, should I try increasing that?

Thanks.

mkanet,

The channel never actually "changes", it remains on the previous channel. I don't know which digit isn't get sent to the receiver since I wasn't home when the recordings were going wrong. This isn't happening every time either, so it's difficult to troubleshoot to see what is actually going wrong.

Even though the new 3.1d has the proxy code built in, I was still getting encoder "halts" in my SageTV log related to the R5000. This caused recordings that were missing the begin of the file (until Sage tried to reconnect to the R5000 app). I haven't seen any of these since I started using the proxy app... weird I know.

I adjusted the IR settings and I'm going to see how it works out.

I had been using version 3.0c for a while. It worked fine except when we had a bad spell of weather and the signal was lost, causing the R5000 app to crash. I'm hoping the new version is a bit more resilient to these types of problems.

Thanks for the help.

If you look at the box when its changing the channels, youll have a much better idea how to tweak the timing instead of guessing. You want to know where to put the delay. For me, I put the delay at the begining with a pre-delay command. This seemed to fix it.

I do see the halts errors in sageTV all the time, but only for my HDHomeruns and my DVB-S2 tuners, not the R5000s. However, it doesnt seem to affect any of my recordings in any way.

I'm wonder if its anything youre doing on your R5000 machine to interfere with channel channing. When it was happening for me, it was when watching liveTV sageTV on the same machine as the R5000s.

mkanet,

The channel never actually "changes", it remains on the previous channel. I don't know which digit isn't get sent to the receiver since I wasn't home when the recordings were going wrong. This isn't happening every time either, so it's difficult to troubleshoot to see what is actually going wrong.

Even though the new 3.1d has the proxy code built in, I was still getting encoder "halts" in my SageTV log related to the R5000. This caused recordings that were missing the begin of the file (until Sage tried to reconnect to the R5000 app). I haven't seen any of these since I started using the proxy app... weird I know.

I adjusted the IR settings and I'm going to see how it works out.

I had been using version 3.0c for a while. It worked fine except when we had a bad spell of weather and the signal was lost, causing the R5000 app to crash. I'm hoping the new version is a bit more resilient to these types of problems.

Thanks for the help.

Eureka! I figured out why it is happening!! Not sure how to fix it though....

I have two receivers. Receiver #1 is my HD R5000 receiver. Receiver #2 is my SD receiver hooked up to a Hauppauge PVR250, using the USB-UIRT IR blaster.

Before installing the proxy, this is how it worked when two shows needed to be recorded starting at the same time.

1) SageTV sends signal to R5000 app, and waits for the R5000 application to change channel, and starts recording.
2) Once the R5000 app is recording, THEN the USB-UIRT is fired to change the channel on the second receiver.

But now the proxy seems to be sending a signal back to SageTV right away, not waiting for the R5000 to finish tuning. So the USB-UIRT fires right away, while the R5000 is still changing the channel. Even though the receivers are setup using different IR codes, I guess the R5000 receiver gets confused with the other IR activity going on. Thus, resulting in the R5000 not getting a chance to enter the full channel number.

Does anybody have any idea how I can get the proxy app to wait a bit longer when it starts a recording before sending Sage the confirmation the recording has started?

Could there be another solution?

Thanks.

Been reading up on this thread today.

So as of now, how are you guys enjoying your r5000hd setup? I'm thinking about doing this. How difficult is the software? How smooth of a process is it to pull up the programming guide, record something, and then get it imported into Windows Media Center to view?

I didn't see anywhere about the compatibility with Windows 7. Does anyone have any word on that?

Sale on pre-modified units and refurbished/reconditioned boards:


Pre-modified Dish 211 receiver - Special purchase, lowest price ever on a new Dish 211 with the R5000-HD modification. Ready to activate.


Pre-modified DCP501 cable - Best deal. Buy from a single source and save shipping charges on this heavy unit. These are new in box units.


Refurbished R5000-HD boards - Save up to 50%! We have a limited number of refurbished/reconditioned boards. Not available for DIY. Full warranty.


Limited quantities available. See sales page (http://www.nextcomwireless.com/store/) for details.

-R

Hi,

I was hoping someone here could shed some light on the issue I am having. I am trying to tune my DCP-501 R5000 to cable channel 1 (VOD) in SageTV, however the R5000 never changes the channel or starts recording. I can change to channel 1 on the STB with the remote, but if I go to SageTV and change the channel to channel 1 the R5000-HD app says for mode "Waiting for Sage Record..." and down in the status area it says "STOP from SageTV client." How do I get the R5000-HD app to change the channel to channel 1?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

which driver/software version do I download to use my R5000 with Vista MCE? The one listed on the nextcom wireless webpage (for 49.95) is grayed out.

Hi,

I was hoping someone here could shed some light on the issue I am having. I am trying to tune my DCP-501 R5000 to cable channel 1 (VOD) in SageTV, however the R5000 never changes the channel or starts recording. I can change to channel 1 on the STB with the remote, but if I go to SageTV and change the channel to channel 1 the R5000-HD app says for mode "Waiting for Sage Record..." and down in the status area it says "STOP from SageTV client." How do I get the R5000-HD app to change the channel to channel 1?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

It's actually working just fine. The R5000-HD captures the MPEG stream coming from the mpeg-2 decoder.

But the menus and guide that show up when you change channels or trigger VOD on ch 1 are not coming from the MPEG decoder, but a small CPU that generates the graphics overlay for the text and menus. That output is mixed with the MPEG2 later in the video chain after the R5000-HD can get at it.

The result is that the box is tuning to channel 1, but you get no video output for the R5000-HD to capture. If you connect to the S-video jack, you'll see the VOD menus. And if you select a program for playback, the R5000-HD will record that program. But you'll never see th menus on the R5000-HD.

In fact, I bet you never noticed that when you do a channel change, you don't see the little menu that shows the new program info and channel number that you would if you connected up to an analog output.

So if you want to record stuff from VOD, you need a set up like MKAnet's. You'll have to switch your display from sage to STB output, start a video, and then switch back to sage and start the manual recording.

This is true for any R5000-HD box, whether its the DCP501 or a DCT6416, etc...

Hope this is helpful.


That

Eureka! I figured out why it is happening!! Not sure how to fix it though....

I have two receivers. Receiver #1 is my HD R5000 receiver. Receiver #2 is my SD receiver hooked up to a Hauppauge PVR250, using the USB-UIRT IR blaster.

Before installing the proxy, this is how it worked when two shows needed to be recorded starting at the same time.

1) SageTV sends signal to R5000 app, and waits for the R5000 application to change channel, and starts recording.
2) Once the R5000 app is recording, THEN the USB-UIRT is fired to change the channel on the second receiver.

But now the proxy seems to be sending a signal back to SageTV right away, not waiting for the R5000 to finish tuning. So the USB-UIRT fires right away, while the R5000 is still changing the channel. Even though the receivers are setup using different IR codes, I guess the R5000 receiver gets confused with the other IR activity going on. Thus, resulting in the R5000 not getting a chance to enter the full channel number.

Does anybody have any idea how I can get the proxy app to wait a bit longer when it starts a recording before sending Sage the confirmation the recording has started?

Could there be another solution?

Thanks.

You have to realize the way the R-5000 controls the STB is by sending signals onto the signal line coming from the IR receiver. Therefore, if there are other IR signals present at the time (whether they are for that box or not) they will interfere with STB control (same as if you were trying to use two IR remotes to control two different things at the same time).. best option would be to make sure the IR from the USB-UIRT isn't hitting the R-5000 mod'ed box. A strip of electrical tape over the IR receiver might be all you need.

Been reading up on this thread today.

So as of now, how are you guys enjoying your r5000hd setup? I'm thinking about doing this. How difficult is the software? How smooth of a process is it to pull up the programming guide, record something, and then get it imported into Windows Media Center to view?

I didn't see anywhere about the compatibility with Windows 7. Does anyone have any word on that?

I've had a setup in one form or other for years and I do enjoy it. In my opinion the software (basic) is a bit of a mess but I could get it working to a degree. The guide has been iffy for me. Now that I have Win7 the basic version of the software works but I am having some struggles with timed recordings... probably a sleep issue that can be resolved by settings in Win7. I'd like to try the Media Center version when they have that available.

If you enjoy a challenge then the software will probably be ok for you.

Good luck!

I can't speak for everyone; maybe, I'm an exceptin, but I remember my first install being extremely simple. I got it all up and running with sageTV in less than 10 minutes under XP years ago using my last PC. On my Vista PC, it worked fine, but it needed a 3rd party app with older versions. With the latest software update for Vista, 3.1d, it works perfectly without any hacks just like the very first time I installed it on XP. With the right PC hardware + Windows XP/Vista + SageTV, and the latest software/driver release, it seems to just work. My machine runs 24/7 in the background like a TIVO; I never tried to introduce hardware sleep/hibernate into the mix since the PC doesnt stay idle for too long. I dont see why Windows 7 would be any different than Vista, as they share the same 32/64 bit drivers and many of the same OS services/components.

I've had a setup in one form or other for years and I do enjoy it. In my opinion the software (basic) is a bit of a mess but I could get it working to a degree. The guide has been iffy for me. Now that I have Win7 the basic version of the software works but I am having some struggles with timed recordings... probably a sleep issue that can be resolved by settings in Win7. I'd like to try the Media Center version when they have that available.

If you enjoy a challenge then the software will probably be ok for you.

Good luck!

I have asked in the past about editing, is there anything new out there that will allow one to edit the recordings the R5000 produces?

What about scheduling recordings, what software out there supports the R5000? Does BeyondTV or MC7? Is it working at all with Windows 7? I see there is no longer a download option for MC software on the web site.

Thanks

If you're going to use cableTV. All you need is sageTV and VideoRedo. The nice thing about recording cableTV is they are simple mpeg2 files. SageTV even offers builtin editing of recordings via the Videoredo addon.

I edit out music videos from MTV and HowardTV HD On Demand clips all the time i just seconds. Things might not be so easy when dealing with satellite recrdings which use h.264 1080i format when editing. I dont know anyone that uses beyondTV or MC7 with the R5000. I've used sageTV even before I added my R5000s, so sageTV was already familiar to me. Maybe someone else can comment on DishNetwork support.

I have asked in the past about editing, is there anything new out there that will allow one to edit the recordings the R5000 produces?

What about scheduling recordings, what software out there supports the R5000? Does BeyondTV or MC7? Is it working at all with Windows 7? I see there is no longer a download option for MC software on the web site.

Thanks

I finally installed my R5000 into my VIP622. I hadthe install kit since last November but finally got aoundd to it.

1) What is the best video card for MPEG4 playback to DVI/HDMI?

2) Which version, I assume v3.0C with WinXP?

3) Any other cautions?

TIA

I'm suddenly having problems with my R5000 moded vip211 boxes not tuning correctly. Since this weekend, about 50% of the time it won't get all the digits of a channel change from SageTV. It happens on 3 and 4 digit channels. I checked my boxes' software version and it's the latest (L527), which just got released according to this (http://dishuser.org/211sw.php). So I'm thinking it could be due to the software update.

Any one else running into this? The r5000 software is getting the correct channel number from SageTV, but not all the digits are being received by the boxes.

I've tried tweaking all the different delays for the r5000 software, including precode, inter-digit, and stream wait delays. I've tried setting them all really high, and nothing seems to fix it.

:(

Edit: Forgot to mention that I've tried 3 versions of the r5000 app, 2.5f, 3.0c, and 3.1d. All 3 have the same problem.

I know for a fact if you get sageTV, their HD200 client plays these dish network 1080i H.264 streams perfectly with very nice FF/REW capability; just as good as if they were mpeg2. I didnt have the same kind of luck on my PC based clients for dish network using my Nvidia 8xxx/9xxxx cards.

I finally installed my R5000 into my VIP622. I hadthe install kit since last November but finally got aoundd to it.

1) What is the best video card for MPEG4 playback to DVI/HDMI?

2) Which version, I assume v3.0C with WinXP?

3) Any other cautions?

TIA

I know for a fact if you get sageTV, their HD200 client plays these dish network 1080i H.264 streams perfectly with very nice FF/REW capability; just as good as if they were mpeg2. I didnt have the same kind of luck on my PC based clients for dish network using my Nvidia 8xxx/9xxxx cards.

So the Sage HD 200 is a all-in-one playback appliance? I realize I still need a PC to make the h.264 streams from the R5000 but seems exactly what I need.

I don't want an HTPC as a playback device if I can help it.

Better head over the the sagetv forums for more details, but yes, the HD200 is the playback device. It is best used with SageTV software running on a PC. It IS simpler than an HTPC setup.. it's pretty much turnkey (on the playback side). Even configuring the R5000's to work with sage are relatively painless (with the newer versions).

I finally installed my R5000 into my VIP622. I hadthe install kit since last November but finally got aoundd to it.

1) What is the best video card for MPEG4 playback to DVI/HDMI?

2) Which version, I assume v3.0C with WinXP?

3) Any other cautions?

TIA

I've had my R5000 in a VIP622 for a while now and like the combo. My recordings stay on the server and I use a PS3 for playback over the network.

I'm currently using a Radeon 4670 and playback of recordings works fine.

I believe the most recent version is 3.1c

Potential issues arise with the R5000/VIP622 combo if your recording schedules are conflicting. Depending upon how much you record with each device, it can definitely happen. Also, I've had some issues with the R5000 not waking up the 622 from sleep mode. My solution previously was to setup the 622 to have it wake up each day by having a timer tune to a particular channel each morning at the same time. YMMV.

So the Sage HD 200 is a all-in-one playback appliance? I realize I still need a PC to make the h.264 streams from the R5000 but seems exactly what I need.

I don't want an HTPC as a playback device if I can help it.

Glimmie,

Check out the TViX M6600N which is similar but supports more video formats. It's rock solid as a player for virtually all files (except resticted WMV) including Dish H.264.

Glimmie,

Check out the TViX M6600N which is similar but supports more video formats. It's rock solid as a player for virtually all files (except resticted WMV) including Dish H.264.

Can you confirm if this unit works with teh Dish transport streams obtained from the R5000?

I would much rather do business with DC.

Can you confirm if this unit works with teh Dish transport streams obtained from the R5000?

I would much rather do business with DC.

Thanks. :)

Yes. I use it with my R5000 recordings which I believe are all h.264 these days.

Glimmie,

Check out the TViX M6600N which is similar but supports more video formats. It's rock solid as a player for virtually all files (except resticted WMV) including Dish H.264.

Not to take this too far away from the R5000 topic, but what formats does this much more expensive player play that the HD200 does not? Throw in the HUGE customization that the HD200 offers when combined with a true SageTV setup, and there is absolutely NO comparison. Especially in this context, where we are talking about utilizing it for playing back TV files, it is MUCH nicer to have a fully integrated TV-DVR system, than a box that can play back some files.

I wouldn't care about this, but I am trying to track down a "halt detected" message in Sage. I noticed that the r5000 app itself doesn't seem to stop recording after a show is over. For example, if I look at the app, it says it has been recording Dirty Jobs for more than 24 hours. It seems like it doesn't shut down like the older versions did, and I am wondering if that is somehow causing it to lose contact with sage.

I believe that is normal behavior for the newer versions. Something about allowing it to restart recording faster. It isn't ACTUALLY recording anymore, as if you look at the file size number beneath the timer, it is no longer changing. They just need to update teh UI to stop the timer when it stops recording.

I wouldn't care about this, but I am trying to track down a "halt detected" message in Sage. I noticed that the r5000 app itself doesn't seem to stop recording after a show is over. For example, if I look at the app, it says it has been recording Dirty Jobs for more than 24 hours. It seems like it doesn't shut down like the older versions did, and I am wondering if that is somehow causing it to lose contact with sage.

Yeah, what CraziFuzzy said is correct.

When are your halts occurring? At the beginning of a show, when it's first trying to tune to the correct channel, or later in the middle of the show?

Not to take this too far away from the R5000 topic, but what formats does this much more expensive player play that the HD200 does not? Throw in the HUGE customization that the HD200 offers when combined with a true SageTV setup, and there is absolutely NO comparison. Especially in this context, where we are talking about utilizing it for playing back TV files, it is MUCH nicer to have a fully integrated TV-DVR system, than a box that can play back some files.

I have to say that I was not as familiar with the Sage, but from what I have read on the MPC review, it sounds like a great device for use with tuners and recorders. I probably should not have jumped in here, and I would recommend the Sage to Glimmie.

You're right that the TVIX is more expensive, the differences such as SATA drive bay and VFD display will add to the cost. The M6600N is a relatively new model and needs some firmware work to get it up to the level of the more mature Sigma products that has now been out for 1-2 years, but it starts with a stable platform based on more powerful processor. I've been an avid Dish/R5000 user for a few years but with degradation of the broadcast resolution, I'm now moving more towards ripped conent, which is coloring my comments.

I would much rather do business with DC than any other vendor as well. They have always provided me with excellent products and technical advice. If they say something works for sure, I would definitey take their word for it.

I dont own a TIVIX; and, not sure if all the recent TIVIX models use the same technology for decoding streamed H.264 1080i media or not, but I know someone that owns a both the the TIVIX 6500A and the TVIX 4100M and a R5000-based VIP211. He didnt own an HD200 at the time; but was very motivated to find out if HD200 could handle reliable, fast, and accurate FF/REW (aka trickplay) of large DishNetwork files (particularly towards the end of the file) streamed through a network; as, neither of his TIVIX devices could handle this correctly. Digital Connections should be well aware of this issue; as well as the TIVIX forums (per the person I know). I'm a little hesitant to say this, since I dont want to products that DC backs in a negative light, but my HD200 blew away both TIVIX devices in handling the same Dish Network files produced by the R5000 without or without SageTV in respect to this issue; which is pretty significant.

Knowing Kei and her R&D team, I am sure they wouldnt just ignore an issue like this; and very possible that the newer TIVIX 6600 can handle the issue mentioned above much better.

However, it's my opinion that nothing compares to the SageTV HD200; in terms of it's size, price, and ability to support the highly customizable sageTV media center backend; and plays all file formats I can throw at it. Heck, it even plays the strange H.264 1080i AVC 50FPS recordings from my DVB-S tuners. Its pretty cool to just plug in an HD200 in any of my rooms at my home and gain access to all 12 of my TV tuners (cable TV, satellite TV, ATSC OTA, 1080p bluray movies, mp3s, video clips, satellite radio, Slacker, Pandora, YouTube, Google Video, 1080p movie trailers with theater showtimes, etc, etc) without any configuring necessary.

Can you confirm if this unit works with teh Dish transport streams obtained from the R5000?

I would much rather do business with DC.

Michael,

Thanks for the compliment as well as the thorough information. Many users have commented on how well and reliably the Sage box works in the environment you have described.

I made the comment about playing back H.264 to Glimmie because I too have been frustrated with the various models that concentrated on the multitudes of formats becoming popular elsewhere but not so much for the US market. For once I was quite pleased with the "out of the box" experience so soon after introduction after the last several years of testing and playing with media players, I guess my enthusiasm got the best of me. I've not been a SageTV user, in fact I really dislike Media Center so my appreciation for that backend component was lacking.

I've been spending quite a bit of time on the eye candy aspect of the player with the user interface art and layout which gets a little closer to a DVD server market. After watching some movies ripped and converted down from Blu-Ray in what I consider low resolution (often 1280x720/24p or even lower) and ridiculous file sizes you can get these down to (some are as small as 4-8GB for the full movie) that simply blew away the quality of movies on Dish, I'm starting to rethink how to optimize my video library, but obviously this is not the right venue for that discussion.

IMO, the R5000 1080i H.264 film based files have been somewhat problematic to decode. AFAIK, the R5000 recordings are telecined from a 24p source, while Blu-Ray films are encoded for 1080 24p. For me, software decoding the 1080i R5000 files suffers in terms of PQ, but a good hardware decoder, like the HD200 or possibly the M6600N works much better with those files.

I think the comments about Dish HD quality compared to Blu-ray are 100% correct which is why my desire to archive much content these days has significantly decreased. That is not a knock against Dish its just the reality image quality of DBS/cable vs. blu-ray. That being said, there are still things that I occasionally record and like having the option of archiving. Currently, I am able to playback all of my Dish R5000 recordings with the PS3. While no where as complete as an option as the Tvix for supported formats or HD200 for integration into SageTV for scheduling, the PS3 does work well for R5000 Dish recordings.