DVICO Fusion 5 HDTV tuner

[u149113]

I picked up the Fusion USB model this week. Having all kinds of issues viewing and recording HD. Setup went very smoothly. I got the latest drivers from the site (3.5x). Channel scan was good and seemed to pick up more than my MDP-130 from the same source (Comcast Digital). I get all of my local HD channels (about 8). In all I get about 75 digital channels between (D83-D9310) and another 50 or so for analog (A2-A99). Almost all the digital channels report 95-100% signal strength at 30-35db. HD appears very clear. The problems I am having are related to watching and recording anything on the D83-D9310 range. When I watch certain channels it seems that frames are being dropped or skipped. There are pauses in the viewing and it does not appear that the signal going down when this happens (stays at near 100% according to the app). After watching for about 5-10 minutes the screen and sound just go off and the application freezes. The same thing is happening when I record anything on the D83-D9310 range.

My setup is XP on a Dell GX280 Optiplex (3.0Ghz, 1GB Ram). Video is generic Intel on board. I have no issues with anything else. No PCI cards installed.

I sent Dvico a note for assistance as well.

I have tried to change several setting to resolve this with no luck. Any assistance appreciated.

[skibum5000]

Well I followed the above directions without positive result. Still get the same error. Anyway to tell if the card is dead? It was working fine the day before. Other than my old Fluke meter I have no test equipment.

I had the same nightmare too. I finally did:

uninstalled software by running install with uninstall
unistalled using control panel
reboot
turn off PC
unplug card switch it to a different slot
reboot
uninstall again
remove all registry references to it
remove all folders for it
install it (first says I need to uninstall or repair, i uninstall again!, it says it can't find some referecnes, I say continue)
install it (then it works in this slot, but this slot makes it jumpy)
then I go through the whole thing again with it back in the original slot

that has worked both times that horrible error has appeared. never got any other method too. that said, I'm sure a few of the dozens of steps I did above could be skipped, but who knows which ones.

[TPeterson]

If you had read down a few more posts to Stan's next one (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9145265&&#post9145265) below the one you quoted, you'd have seen that he found a shorter (and more rational) solution than yours to the EP45 error.

[TPeterson]

I picked up the Fusion USB model this week....When I watch certain channels it seems that frames are being dropped or skipped. There are pauses in the viewing and it does not appear that the signal going down when this happens (stays at near 100% according to the app). After watching for about 5-10 minutes the screen and sound just go off and the application freezes....Video is generic Intel on board.I suspect that the Intel on-mobo graphics hw or driver are not up to the task of HDTV rendering. Can you try an nVidia 440 MX (or newer) video card? FusionHDTV plays very well on even those old (and now cheap) nVidias but it doesn't do so well on cards that don't make good use of DxVA.

[u149113]

TPeterson, thank you for the prompt response. It is appreciated.

Looking at the other threads out there, I probably should have posted this elsewhere.

(http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=744292&page=12&pp=30)

Apologies on that. Well after I posted, I placed a nVidia GeForce 5200 PCI 128 (the only thing I have handy tonight) in the PC with the Fusion USB. Then I disabled the Intel card. So far I am able to capture (recording some PBS HD stuff now and it has not crashed yet). But the dropped frames and stuttering effect is still going on with a lot of the Digital stations. Fox29 (D1111.1) which is really one of the reason I got this for the football games in HD, is one of the stations giving me issues.

One thing of note is that during install I had one minor error (reg serv type of popup) but the install continued w/o issue and as mentioned the channel scan went perfectly. I actually went back and looked and the scanner found over 400 channels. I was able to get the Comcast audio/music stations (which the MYHD cannot pick up).

So how to fix the stuttering effect? The specs on the rest of the PC would appear to be sufficient to display and cap HD. I can play 1080p, h264 and native HD MPEG content on this same PC w/o any issues or dropped frames so there has to be something amiss here.

[TPeterson]

Are you making recordings using "minimize on silent" mode in the Fusion Agent tray app? If not, try that and see if those play back without issue in FusionHDTV and whatever player you're using for "1080p, h264, and native HD MPEG". The problem may be with that popup rather than the video hw. Did you try reinstalling using KAXKID's method?

[Jazzy]

Had the Dvico card for about a month so far, and able to watch, record, timeshift, and all the rest w/o much problem. All OTA HD recording. But I've noticed that the volume of the recorded show is too low, as compared to my TV's hd OTA tuner. Is there a way to have the audio recorded louder, as I have to turn up my Plasma TV's volume twice as loud compared to when I am watching the TV's OTA tuner.

Has anyone else noticed that the DVICO tuner card records or plays audio a bit lower than 'normal'

[TPeterson]

No, nobody else has "noticed" that, because it's not true. FusionHDTV, like all ATSC recorders, simply records the digital transport stream from the broadcaster and the audio part of that is whatever the broadcaster encoded. If your DTV plays the audio louder, that is because its gain is set higher than whatever equipment you have in the audio path of the recording's playback. You can undoubtedly adjust them to be equivalent.

[sedavis76]

Why not just turn up the sound on the PC to mach what's coming from the TV's itegrated tuner?

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Had the Dvico card for about a month so far, and able to watch, record, timeshift, and all the rest w/o much problem. All OTA HD recording. But I've noticed that the volume of the recorded show is too low, as compared to my TV's hd OTA tuner. Is there a way to have the audio recorded louder, as I have to turn up my Plasma TV's volume twice as loud compared to when I am watching the TV's OTA tuner.

Has anyone else noticed that the DVICO tuner card records or plays audio a bit lower than 'normal'

How do you have your audio run? SPDIF to a receiver (I'm guessing no)? Line out from your audio card to speakers? Line out from your audio card to your tv? etc...

There is a setting in the audio settings for the fusion software that if you are using analog audio out from your sound card, you can set the gain. I think it is set for -10 by default. I use SPDIF so I'm not sure if this setting is what you are looking for, but I remember seeing it.

If you use SPDIF out to a receiver like I do, I don't think there should be any difference in the Fusion audio level from any other SPDIF source.

Ronnie

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Quick yes or no question before I go pulling my HTPC case apart again to check my jumper settings.

Should I be able to turn my PC on from the off state or wake it up from suspend or hibernate state by using the Fusion MCE remote?

I can turn the PC off with the remote and the PC will wake from suspend 3 minutes before a recording and it will wake from suspend when I use RDP to access it from work. But it will not wake when I press buttons on the remote.


Thanks,


Ronnie

[TPeterson]

What kind of Fusion card do you have?

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Ooops, I guess that piece of info would help with my question! :o

I have the latest FusionHDTV5 RT Gold.


rf

[TPeterson]

Then the answer is "yes". The details depend upon whether or not your PC supports wakeup from S5 via PME or not. If not, you'll need to use the PSU control jumper supplied with the RT to parallel the action of the front panel "power" switch.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Then the answer is "yes". The details depend upon whether or not your PC supports wakeup from S5 via PME or not. If not, you'll need to use the PSU control jumper supplied with the RT to parallel the action of the front panel "power" switch.

Thanks! My motherboard (ASUS M2NPV-VM) supports wake from S5 via PME and has a setting for it which I've enabled in the BIOS. I know that much is working because the onboard NIC will wake it from S5. I'm guessing that my jumper is set for SW and not PME on the card.

Just wanted to make sure the remote was suppose to wake it before opening the case back up.


rf

[Jazzy]

I'm running line out of my sound card to audio line in 'RGB' of my TV, and the PC volume is full on for both 'volume' and 'wave'. Also Dvico volume is full max at '15'

So Tpete...what you're saying is my DTV gain is set higher than the gain for my audio RGB input on the TV. Do ya think I might be able to adjust the RGB to match the DTV gain? or lower DTV gain, so my master volume of the TV, matches DTV ota audio and dvico ota volume.

I'll also look for the 'audio settings' for the Dvico software, I did notice it at -10, maybe I need to boost it up.

[TPeterson]

The gain in audio settings is for analog audio only. It seems that your sound card line output is low. Perhaps the DTV has per-input gain adjustments, I don't know, is there also a gain adjustment on the sound card itself? There may be if it's an actual card rather than the AC'97 on-mobo stuff. Make sure that there aren't any other gain sliders in the Windows volume controls that are limiting the Fusion's output. The culprit may not even be displayed by default. I would temporarily display them all and set all to max, just to eliminate this possibility.

[jcr74]

is the driver ZIP file I see from the digital connection site the most current set of drivers available for the LITE card?

[TPeterson]

I don't know what "zip file" you mean. The latest app is the one called 3.50.01 on the DViCo site under "Software ATSC", which is linked from DC's site. But it's not a zip and it works with all FusionHDTV units.

[jcr74]

I don't know what "zip file" you mean. The latest app is the one called 3.50.01 on the DViCo site under "Software ATSC", which is linked from DC's site. But it's not a zip and it works with all FusionHDTV units.

http://www.digitalconnection.com/drivers/Fusion5Lite.zip

is the link (hence the zip file) that is posted for drivers on the dc fusion 5lite product page.

i was not sure if the LITE was supported with the new 3.50.01 from the DViCo site becuase (according to the site) it is a x64bit driver and the LITE is not listed in their provided link for supported models.

[64bit driver not available models, but we'll add this driver ASAP ]
We cannot support x64 driver for 878 chipset-based models at this moment.

<ATSC>
- FusionHDTV1
- FusionHDTV2
- FusionHDTV3 Silver
- FusionHDTV3 SilverT
- FusionHDTV5 Lite
- FusionHDTV5 RT Lite

[TPeterson]

Are you running 64-bit Windows? If not, please don't touch the 64-bit driver, it's not for you.

If you're running non-64-bit Windows, just download and install the 3.50.01 package using The KAXKID Procedure (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7600356&&#post7600356) and you'll be fine.

[skibum5000]

If you had read down a few more posts to Stan's next one (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9145265&&#post9145265) below the one you quoted, you'd have seen that he found a shorter (and more rational) solution than yours to the EP45 error.

well, yes that is much shorter, but not sure how rational it woudl have been since it was a fix impossible to apply in my case.

anyway, yes, I saw that, but it did nothing for me. it may well be a nice quick solution for some, that is all well and good, but it is not the universal EP45 fix.
and yes mine is a mess and surely half the steps could be omitted, but anyway, it did the trick at least.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Then the answer is "yes". The details depend upon whether or not your PC supports wakeup from S5 via PME or not. If not, you'll need to use the PSU control jumper supplied with the RT to parallel the action of the front panel "power" switch.

I now have my remote waking my PC from S5, it was the jumper not set properly on the card.

Is there a way to have the remote wake the computer from S1 or S3? It will only wake the PC from S5. I know a mouse or keyboard is usually what is used to wake from S1 or S3, but I use a wireless keyboard and mouse and they cannot wake the PC because the receiver does not have power when the PC is in S1 or S3 standby.

If I use the PSU control jumper "SW" route instead of PME, will the remote wake the PC form S1 or S3?


Ronnie

[TPeterson]

Ronnie--

I dunno what's up with your PC. I'm using PME mode with my Fusion RT and I just confirmed that the remote's power button (the one on the lower left corner of the layout) powers up the machine from S3, S4, and S5 states. (I never bother with S1, since that leaves all the fans, etc., running and doesn't save much power at all)

The only purpose of the RT's SW mode, is to wake PCs that don't have PME fully implemented from S5, soft off.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Ronnie--

I dunno what's up with your PC. I'm using PME mode with my Fusion RT and I just confirmed that the remote's power button (the one on the lower left corner of the layout) powers up the machine from S3, S4, and S5 states. (I never bother with S1, since that leaves all the fans, etc., running and doesn't save much power at all)

The only purpose of the RT's SW mode, is to wake PCs that don't have PME fully implemented from S5, soft off.

Well using the patch cable in SW mode was the ticket. Guess PME with the Fusion RT is a little flaky on the ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard. The remote would start the PC from the S5 "off" state in PME mode but not from S3. The Fusion card itself WOULD wake the PC from both S5 and S3 in PME mode when firing off a scheduled recording. Also my NIC will wake my PC form both S3 and S5 modes. Not sure why the Fusion remote will not.

Anyway, the remote works as it should using the jumper cable and SW mode. No more getting off the couch and waking my HTPC with my toe! :D


Ronnie

[TPeterson]

Glad that you got it working. Thanks for sharing your solution. (Strange, though, that the newer ASUS had problems. My testing was done with an ASUS P4P800-Deluxe)

[williammanda]

I have installed two FusionHDTV5 RT Gold units. I have a few issues that I could use some help with:
1. My TitanTV does not work correctly. When I select the watch button, another window opens. It propmts me to open, save or cancel (reminds me of the screen when you are downloading a file). I select open and I can view the channel. I started using TitanTV with another tuner so I changed my setup in TitanTV for the fusion tuner but still get the same issue.
2. What are the possible PVR programs for the FusionHDTV5 RT Gold cards? What would be the best?
3. My cpu usage is high when viewing HDTV (50 - 75%). The cpu usage when viewing analog is 5 - 10%. Is this normal? If so, how can I use two tuners at the same time viewing HDTV?
4. I would like to use one remote between both tuners. Is this possible?
5. When closing PIP, it will turn off the volume on the main screen. The only way I have found to fix this is to close and restart the fusion software.
6. My goal is to have one remote to control the total system. Is there any other software that may need to accomplish my goal.

My current config
P4 HT 3Ghz
1GB ram
160 GB HDD
ATI X1650 AGP 512MB
2 - FusionHDTV5 RT Gold
Westinghouse 42" LCD display
Windows XP sp2

Thanks

[TPeterson]

William--

1. You need to change Windows' association of tvpi and tvvi files from your old app to FusionHDTVtray.exe.

2. Right now, I like AllenDB's Record_This, because it works with FusionHDTV to flexibly schedule recurring favorite programs in a TiVo-like way. There are others (BeyondTV and SageTV to name a couple with many PVR features, but they don't use FusionHDTV for playback)

3. Sounds as though you have a video driver issue. With your CPU and video card, I'd expect DxVA mode play to be under 20% CPU for HDTV rendering.

4. I haven't actually used a remote on a machine with more than one Fusion card, but from the way that the application works, I'd expect that you can't use more than one remote to control them, since there's only one instance of the application.

5. I suggest that you look in the DViCo Q&A FAQ and post a question about this if you don't find a solution already there. (But first, I'd try re-installing both FusionHDTV and your soundcard driver)

6. Check out the Harmony remotes. They're by far the easiest in my experience to set up and they can control nearly anything.

[Avatar8481]

I have a dvico 5 hooked to an Nforce 3 motherboard, with a Radeon 9800 pro and the Dvico works and then will suddenly lose the signal. I reboot, still no signal and the only way to get the card to work again is to take it out and move it to another PCI slot. Then, maybe every few days (of very light use) I'll have to switch it back to the origianl slot where it will work again. Has anybody ever heard of this probelm before or have any ideas about how to trouble shoot it? Is it an IRQ conflict, problem with the board, overheating? Any ideas would be appreciated.

[TPeterson]

Do you have another computer in which to try the tuner? If it behaves similarly in a second PC, I'd suspect that it's defective and try an RMA exchange. If you don't have a second PC for testing, you could still try the RMA route, I suppose, but there's a fair chance that the problem is with the computer hardware.

[williammanda]

Update
Thanks for the reply.
Since the last update I have found other issues:
1. When I try to manually analog record a program in PIP and then manually analog record a program in the main screen, It will refuse the reord in the main screen. But I can change to digital record in the main screen and it works.
2. No sound issues during playback. I made a digital record in the main screen and the playback was ok. I then did step #1 and the digital play of a new recordings had no sound.

I have went out and purchased another computer: Gateway GT5238E core 2 duo E6300. I have used all the equipment that has come with it, nothing was transfered from the other system other than the fusion cards.
I still have all the same problems as with the other computer except for:
1. The cpu usage is less.
One new problem:
1. The new computer has XP MCE and it will not use the fusion cards. I get an error message that it needs at least one tuner card that uses NTSC. I noticed used the device manager that there is two: fusionHDTV 88x, WDM video capture (NTSC).
There seems to be only one constant here and that is the fusion tuner system. I'm ready to return these things unless I have missed something. Please advise.

When I started out on this project I wouldn't have believed that situation wouldn't have been this bad. This reminds me of the windows 95 / 98 days of loading software / dealing with int problems. I would apprecaite any suggestions on a system that works with cable analog, digital, and HDTV. The cable analog is really only a temporary situation. But I would like to have a system to utilize two tuners, DVD, etc...
Thanks

[sterno3]

Update
Thanks for the reply.
Since the last update I have found other issues:
1. When I try to manually analog record a program in PIP and then manually analog record a program in the main screen, It will refuse the reord in the main screen. But I can change to digital record in the main screen and it works.
2. No sound issues during playback. I made a digital record in the main screen and the playback was ok. I then did step #1 and the digital play of a new recordings had no sound.

I have went out and purchased another computer: Gateway GT5238E core 2 duo E6300. I have used all the equipment that has come with it, nothing was transfered from the other system other than the fusion cards.
I still have all the same problems as with the other computer except for:
1. The cpu usage is less.
One new problem:
1. The new computer has XP MCE and it will not use the fusion cards. I get an error message that it needs at least one tuner card that uses NTSC. I noticed used the device manager that there is two: fusionHDTV 88x, WDM video capture (NTSC).
There seems to be only one constant here and that is the fusion tuner system. I'm ready to return these things unless I have missed something. Please advise.

When I started out on this project I wouldn't have believed that situation wouldn't have been this bad. This reminds me of the windows 95 / 98 days of loading software / dealing with int problems. I would apprecaite any suggestions on a system that works with cable analog, digital, and HDTV. The cable analog is really only a temporary situation. But I would like to have a system to utilize two tuners, DVD, etc...
Thanks
It is a well known & advertised limitation that MCE needs an analog (NTSC) tuner to enable an ATSC tuner. I believe there are workarounds (hacks) as well as other options (buy an NTSC card, install the ATSC, take the NTSC out and return the NTSC card to the store), but since i haven't dirtied my hands with MCE, this is all hearsay from browsing other topics. You should be able to find some advice on this stuff in the AVS forum as well as thegreenbutton.com etc. Google is your and my friend.

As far as the complexity of things, it is much like anything else, the greatest cost is upfront, learning the terminology & problem space, but once you get over the original learning curve, things get remarkably less difficult. It is a hobby though, and if you aren't willing to (or don't enjoy) investing the time, a settop box from your cable company or dish provider is probably the way to go.

[Avatar8481]

I don't have a second computer I could try the card in, and it's been too long for an RMA I expect. I've been tempted on several occasions to just try a different card since I'm doing OTA and not interested in cable decoding. I'm running XP pro, not MCE, so analog tuner support is also a non issue for me.

[Vasanth B]

Hello TPeterson. I just got my Fusion5 Gold RT yesterday and installed it. Everything went smoothly and the card, wake from PME, recording functions smoothly. I have an Athlong 64 2.2 Ghz machine, nForce 4 mobo and an nVidia 7900GT video card with latest 93.71 drivers.

The only major issue I'm having is related to the video decoding modes in the config menu. When I select the DxVA (which I take to mean hardware accelerated) mode, all the 1080i stations (which in my area is everything except Fox) exhibit significant tearing / smearing on the edges of moving objects on screen. If I switch to the 3rd decoding option which seems to be pure-software, the performance is much better although during fast motion of sharp-edged objects, there's still a slight fine combing effect. These seem to be de-interlacing errors. Indeed, checking Task Manager for CPU % shows the DxVA mode is about half the CPU usage compared to software rendering, yet it looks junky. I'd like to use my relatively new high-horsepower card to decode MPEG2 OTA and keep the CPU usage down. I did some research on nVidia's site and while it appears the 93.71 enables PureVideoHD, it seems you have to download and pay for the PureVideo decoder to take advantage of the hardware acceleration and quality features? See here (http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html). The site suggests it works only with Windows Media Player so I'm not sure if it will work for FusionHDTV. They have a free trial I can try it out if you think this is the solution, or is there another setting in FusionHDTV that fixes this?

EDIT: Note I'm use Win XP Pro. I searched the thread and found posts referencing using the NV PV decoder for MCE, but will this change work for XP?

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Hello TPeterson. I just got my Fusion5 Gold RT yesterday and installed it. Everything went smoothly and the card, wake from PME, recording functions smoothly. I have an Athlong 64 2.2 Ghz machine, nForce 4 mobo and an nVidia 7900GT video card with latest 93.71 drivers.

The only major issue I'm having is related to the video decoding modes in the config menu. When I select the DxVA (which I take to mean hardware accelerated) mode, all the 1080i stations (which in my area is everything except Fox) exhibit significant tearing / smearing on the edges of moving objects on screen. If I switch to the 3rd decoding option which seems to be pure-software, the performance is much better although during fast motion of sharp-edged objects, there's still a slight fine combing effect. These seem to be de-interlacing errors. Indeed, checking Task Manager for CPU % shows the DxVA mode is about half the CPU usage compared to software rendering, yet it looks junky. I'd like to use my relatively new high-horsepower card to decode MPEG2 OTA and keep the CPU usage down. I did some research on nVidia's site and while it appears the 93.71 enables PureVideoHD, it seems you have to download and pay for the PureVideo decoder to take advantage of the hardware acceleration and quality features? See here (http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html). The site suggests it works only with Windows Media Player so I'm not sure if it will work for FusionHDTV. They have a free trial I can try it out if you think this is the solution, or is there another setting in FusionHDTV that fixes this?

EDIT: Note I'm use Win XP Pro. I searched the thread and found posts referencing using the NV PV decoder for MCE, but will this change work for XP?

Have you tried older forceware drivers? I had the same issue as you with my 6150 integrated video card with the latest drivers. It was like there was not any hardware acceleration. I tried several different things with the latest drivers and never fixed the laggy playback with them.

Try either 84.21_forceware_winxp2k_english_whql.exe from nvidia's site or 84.25_forceware_winxp2k_english.exe. I get better results with the 84.25 drivers on my 6150 but they are beta drivers if that matters to you. You can get them here:

http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_winxp_2k_32bit_84.25.html

With the 84.25 drivers and my 6150 (which your 7900GT should smoke,) I get perfect 720p and 1080i source playback with the Fusion software set to DxVA render and my vid card res set to 720p output to my TV. My AMD 3500+ (AM2 single core) cruises at around 15-25% usage with 1080i source material with the above settings.

FYI- 1080i res. output settings on my 6150 do not look as good as 720p res settings on my TV (a lot more flicker) and also taxes the 6150 a little too much. I'm guessing your 7900GT should not have problems with either though...


rf

[TPeterson]

Vasanth, I agree with Ronnie's suggestion to try the older driver for your video card. DViCo says that they have known problems with the 9x.xx forceware version. I have no personal experience with the paid-for Nvidia codec but, IIUC, it wouldn't do anything for FusionHDTV, which uses its own codecs.

[Vasanth B]

OK guys, this suggestion makes sense and I'll give it a try. I understand the latest Forceware drivers are only really needed to support the latest 8xxx series nVidia cards.

[skibum5000]

Have you tried older forceware drivers? I had the same issue as you with my 6150 integrated video card with the latest drivers. It was like there was not any hardware acceleration. I tried several different things with the latest drivers and never fixed the laggy playback with them.

Try either 84.21_forceware_winxp2k_english_whql.exe from nvidia's site or 84.25_forceware_winxp2k_english.exe. I get better results with the 84.25 drivers on my 6150 but they are beta drivers if that matters to you. You can get them here:

http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_winxp_2k_32bit_84.25.html

With the 84.25 drivers and my 6150 (which your 7900GT should smoke,) I get perfect 720p and 1080i source playback with the Fusion software set to DxVA render and my vid card res set to 720p output to my TV. My AMD 3500+ (AM2 single core) cruises at around 15-25% usage with 1080i source material with the above settings.

FYI- 1080i res. output settings on my 6150 do not look as good as 720p res settings on my TV (a lot more flicker) and also taxes the 6150 a little too much. I'm guessing your 7900GT should not have problems with either though...


rf


ok, now I know i'm not going crazy. i could've sworn my HDTV looked a little messed up in a weird to describe way ever since I popped in an 8800 GTS, most noticeably with sports, and it seems to sort of match the above. in my case though i can't roll back the drivers. :(

my HD DVD is way better with my X2 and 8800 and games too (the former mostly because of the X2 I'm sure, well the 8800 did give DVI which does look a little crisper than VGA on my display, and the latter mostly because of the 8800 I think), but HDTV is clearly worse now, clearly :( .

i hope nvidia fixes this up soon (and much moreso that they can)
i'm a little worried though that three drives in a row for 8800 ALL have this. including the one that will be officially released in another two weeks or so :eek: .

[Ronnie Ferrell]

OK guys, this suggestion makes sense and I'll give it a try. I understand the latest Forceware drivers are only really needed to support the latest 8xxx series nVidia cards.

Something I should mention is on my 6150 with the 84.xx drivers and the latest fusion software, digital 480i content is messed up with DxVA and the default settings. On digital 480i channels, the bottom 1/3 of the image is all gray/white. I've only seen one other person post about this issue. There is a fix because I no longer have the issue with the 84.xx drivers, but I'm not exactly sure what I did to fix it. I think it is either disabling AA in the forceware drivers OR checking the box to use VMR render with DxVA. Not sure what using VMR with DxVA does but I think it fixed the above issue. I do not see any performance hit when I check use VMR and I do not notice any difference in the image. My CPU usage stays the same as when the box is unchecked.

For whatever reason I no longer have the issue and I don't want to try and reproduce it because I'm happy with my current settings. But it would happen every time with a fresh install of the Fusion software and the 84.xx drivers on my 6150 Asus motherboard.

It's almost a mute point even if you have the same issue and cannot fix it because most digital 480i stations are "shop-at-home" type of crap anyway, but I figured I'd mention it.

rf

[Vasanth B]

Update: I tried 84.25 and while there is some improvement, there's still combing artifacts on the edges of moving objects and on some channels the bad wavy artifacts. I'll stick with software decoding as it doesn't seem to tax my Athlon 64 single core 2.25 Ghz too much. I'll try to posts some pics of the problem. I might fork over the $10 for a driver cleaner program to completely remove all trace of the 91.73 drivers.

Here (http://home.austin.rr.com/vbalak/upload/OTA_snapshot_j_20070110_0000.jpg) is a link to a 1080i screenshot taken using the FusionHDTV capture function. The bunny slippers were moving pretty fast in this commercial...seems like there is no deinterlacing being done on 1080i streams in DxVA decode mode. No image quality issues on 720P.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

I might fork over the $10 for a driver cleaner program to completely remove all trace of the 91.73 drivers.

You should not have to do that. I've installed and unistalled the drivers several times, with probably 5 different versions of the drivers. The "add/remove" Nvidia Drivers and selecting only remove graphics drivers option has always worked for me.

I know some people have had issues if the Fusion card is sharing IRQ's another device like the graphics card. You might want to check that and see. If it is and you want to see if that is your issue, you'll have to pull the card and move it to a different PCI slot. I'm not sure exactly what issue people have had with the IRQ sharing because I do not have that problem with mine.


rf

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Here (http://home.austin.rr.com/vbalak/upload/OTA_snapshot_j_20070110_0000.jpg) is a link to a 1080i screenshot taken using the FusionHDTV capture function. The bunny slippers were moving pretty fast in this commercial...seems like there is no deinterlacing being done on 1080i streams in DxVA decode mode. No image quality issues on 720P.

Wow, I've never seen anything like that with mine before when using the Fusion drivers. I've had slow frame rates etc, but nothing like that.

I have seen something like that before when using VLC to watch recorded TP files and not having my codec settings correct. But if you are using the Fusion software with live streams or recorded files, it should be using the included Fusion ZULU drivers.

Strange.

rf

[Vasanth B]

I know some people have had issues if the Fusion card is sharing IRQ's another device like the graphics card. You might want to check that and see. If it is and you want to see if that is your issue, you'll have to pull the card and move it to a different PCI slot. I'm not sure exactly what issue people have had with the IRQ sharing because I do not have that problem with mine.
Thanks for the suggestion. I would say it doesn't seem like an IRQ issue but then again, if I switch decode modes while a channel is being viewed live, I can the program to crash with a fatal error about 1 out of 3 times I try it. It will restart fine. I don't get the crash when stop viewing, then switch decode modes. Is this a known bug or a symptom of IRQ issues?

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Thanks for the suggestion. I would say it doesn't seem like an IRQ issue but then again, if I switch decode modes while a channel is being viewed live, I can the program to crash with a fatal error about 1 out of 3 times I try it. It will restart fine. I don't get the crash when stop viewing, then switch decode modes. Is this a known bug or a symptom of IRQ issues?

Are you using the latest version of the Fusion software from Dvico's site or are you using what came with your card?

(You might have already mentioned this...)


rf

[Vasanth B]

But if you are using the Fusion software with live streams or recorded files, it should be using the included Fusion ZULU drivers. This deinterlacing issue is only present when using DxVA mode. If I choose the ZULU software decoders, there's no problems. I'd like to fix this problem to enable HW acceleration but it's not a deal-breaker since software decode looks fine and I don't have dropped frames even in full-screen 1080i mode.

I'm using what I think is the latest software, 3.50.01 downloaded from the Korean DVICO site.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

This deinterlacing issue is only present when using DxVA mode. If I choose the ZULU software decoders, there's no problems. I'd like to fix this problem to enable HW acceleration but it's not a deal-breaker since software decode looks fine and I don't have dropped frames even in full-screen 1080i mode.

I'm using what I think is the latest software, 3.50.01 downloaded from the Korean DVICO site.

Does the issue happen when you play back recorded TP streams using the Fusion software in DxVA mode? Or is it only when watching live streams?


rf

[Vasanth B]

Good question. I believe it happens also on TP playback but I'm not certain. I tried Remote Desktop from work into my home computer but overlay isn't supported over RD. :) I'll check tonight.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Good question. I believe it happens also on TP playback but I'm not certain. I tried Remote Desktop from work into my home computer but overlay isn't supported over RD. :) I'll check tonight.

I'm just shooting in the dark here, but If it does not show the combing issue on the recorded TP file in DxVA mode, I'd say it might be an IRQ sharing issue or a motherboard driver issue. As in it only happens when data is traveling over the PCI bus from the fusion card to the video card.


rf

[Vasanth B]

Ronnie, just checked and it does have the deinterlacing errors on TP playback in DxVA mode. It's definitely something to do with the decode function. I'll keep trying things.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Ronnie, just checked and it does have the deinterlacing errors on TP playback in DxVA mode. It's definitely something to do with the decode function. I'll keep trying things.

I'm stumped then. I'd poke around in the advanced nvidia display settings to see if changing any options there makes a difference like making sure you are set for single monitor mode etc.

Have you tried checking the VMR box in the Fusion software next to the DxVA setting to see if it changes anything? You might have to quit out of the fusion software and reload it for the changes to take.

(all of these are just suggestions to try. I have not idea if they will help...)


rf

[holligl]

I don't know what "zip file" you mean. The latest app is the one called 3.50.01 on the DViCo site under "Software ATSC", which is linked from DC's site. But it's not a zip and it works with all FusionHDTV units.

I just installed the Fusion5Gold yesterday (with minor difficulties) and have most bells and wistles working. (Except for too weak of a VF digital signal on CBS.) I did start with the latest software download.

Is there a similar thread going, specific to the software?
For example - Conversion software.

The documentation focus on the DBT hardware is a bit disconcerning. Is there a US oriented set?

[holligl]

Something I should mention is on my 6150 with the 84.xx drivers and the latest fusion software, digital 480i content is messed up with DxVA and the default settings. On digital 480i channels, the bottom 1/3 of the image is all gray/white. I've only seen one other person post about this issue. There is a fix because I no longer have the issue with the 84.xx drivers, but I'm not exactly sure what I did to fix it. I think it is either disabling AA in the forceware drivers OR checking the box to use VMR render with DxVA. Not sure what using VMR with DxVA does but I think it fixed the above issue. I do not see any performance hit when I check use VMR and I do not notice any difference in the image. My CPU usage stays the same as when the box is unchecked.

For whatever reason I no longer have the issue and I don't want to try and reproduce it because I'm happy with my current settings. But it would happen every time with a fresh install of the Fusion software and the 84.xx drivers on my 6150 Asus motherboard.

It's almost a mute point even if you have the same issue and cannot fix it because most digital 480i stations are "shop-at-home" type of crap anyway, but I figured I'd mention it.

rf

I do have this problem with 480i display. My Nvidia driver is setting at 8.4.2.1.
What is the AA setting? My band is about the bottom 20%.

[TPeterson]

Ronnie and hollig1--

Are you sure that the key factor wasn't in making sure that your BIOS AGP aperture setting (or whatever is the PCI-e equivalent) was as big as the shared DRAM setting?

[tarius1210]

Has anyone been able to tune into RF channels above 124? My cable provider has 2 HD channels above that frequency. I heard that there was a registry hack for the software to trick it into seeing channels above 124. Can someone please help me out?

[TPeterson]

Search the Forum for "TS0-1" and you'll find the discussion of how to substitute higher number channels in the first 125. There's a thread on the subject (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8200574&&#post8200574) also.

I think that the need for this hack will be going away in the next sw version but I may be mistaken.

[tarius1210]

Thanks...I posted in another thread and was given the information. I finally got it working after 3 days. How did someone figure that hack out? What a genius.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Ronnie and hollig1--

Are you sure that the key factor wasn't in making sure that your BIOS AGP aperture setting (or whatever is the PCI-e equivalent) was as big as the shared DRAM setting?
Don't think this is it. I have the only bios "video memory setting" set to the max 128MB. (I cannot remember what the setting was called right now...)
I do have this problem with 480i display. My Nvidia driver is setting at 8.4.2.1.
What is the AA setting? My band is about the bottom 20%.

I messed around with mine this weekend doing some color calibration tweaks. Using VMR renderer with DxVA is the key to NOT having the 20% weird gray/white band at the bottom of the screen with 480i digital channels.


On another note, does anyone know if DVICO plans no supporting VMR9 render without overlay instead of VMR7 which uses overlay? I like calibrating my system to be able to output BTB info and calibrating my monitor to display gray 16 as black. DVD's look outstanding this way. But when I calibrate my system like this for awesome DVD playback, the Fusion software crushes the heck out of the blacks in HDTV video since it outputs in overlay and already extended gray 16 to be pure black. Since the Fusion software is my only software that uses overlay, I can get ok results by tweaking the Nvidia video overlay settings and pumping the brightness up to 135% to 140% and dropping the contrast to around 80%. But I'd rather be able to bypass overlay with the Fusion software like I do for DVD playback in Media Center and use VMR9 mode with the Fusion software sending full 0-255 and do the final corrections on my TV.

Ronnie

[tarius1210]

Does anyone know of any good HD video editing programs to go with the DVICO FusionHDTV tuner?

[Jim Shaffer]

How would one go about suggesting to DVICO that they allow users to edit the Service names for digital channels? My cable company recently reconfigured their QAM channels and they no longer send any channel names.

Alternately, is there some other program I can use with a Fusion HDTV USB that will let me configure my own channel names?

[hdtvincr]

Jim - My cable provider does the same. I have hacked the registry to change the names, but Fusion always resets them. unless someone else knows something I don't, I believe you're out of luck.

[TPeterson]

DViCo has been notably unresponsive to suggestions regarding editing the QAM service names. You can make your pitch to their Q&A Forum but don't hold your breath. :(

You can use Record_This to at least schedule things using human-readable names. Also, help is on the way from CW_EPG to do the same.

[Jim Shaffer]

Upon thinking about it further, I believe the problem with editing the service names is that every time I switch to a QAM channel, it re-identifies the streams coming down on that physical channel. I found this out because the cable company just started doing VOD :) So editing the service names on the configuration screen is probably out without changing the way the whole program works. But it would be nice if I could set up custom names in my Favorite Channels list, which should not be re-scanned every time I change.

[hdtvincr]

Jim - I WAS able to redefine the names of the favorite channels by editing the registry and those DO stick. Of course, be careful when playing with the registry....

[Paw Paw]

Would you please tell me where you fixed the favorite list in the registry? I found what looked like the Favorites under HKEY Current User - Software - DVICO - ZuluHDTV - data - SubCh but changing them did not stick.

[hdtvincr]

That is where I found them, and they stuck for me....

[Paw Paw]

Thanks, I tried to get too fancy and put in the call letters. If I just change them to a 3 digit channel number they stick for me too.

[hdtvincr]

I used call letters and they worked. Like I said, you must be careful and make sure the record you are editing remains the same length.

[Jim Shaffer]

It worked for me too. I wonder just how many bytes we're allowed to use for names.

[Gibbie]

I have installed a Fusion HDTV5 Express in a system running MCE. FusionHDTV runs fine but then after closing it (the tray icon is still visible) and re-opening it, I get an unexpected error and all channels show a signal strength of -1. No channels display video or audio. Rebooting resolves the problem but then repeats. Looking at the event log, prior to the error, MCE is reporting and error with the Media Center Receiver.

I haven't seen any reference to uninstalling the MCE remote receiver but I'm wondering if this is the cause. I am running the 3.51 driver included with the Express card. The other specs are AMD 3200+. 2gb ram, Gigabyte 7600GT, ASUS A8-NE MB, and Hauppauge 150. I've done a fresh install of MCE and related software. I did not unplug the MCE remote receiver prior to reloading so I suspect that may have caused a problem. Does this sound like a possible cause? I plan on reloading from scratch and leave the MCE remote unplugged as I don't think it is necessary as long as I use the Fusion remote.

Thanks.

[TPeterson]

Gibbie--

Did you check the FAQ section on the DViCo site for your problem? I doubt that you'll find many people here with the Express card yet so that's probably your best bet. If you don't see the problem described in their FAQ, you can log onto their Q&A forum and post your question. They're very responsive to that forum.

[skibum5000]

Does the issue happen when you play back recorded TP streams using the Fusion software in DxVA mode? Or is it only when watching live streams?


rf

i also get that issue live or recorded streams. i get weird stutters from certain camera pans or if an object moves fast, sometimes it stutters while the rest sometimes still looks ok, that is with any combo of live or recorded or render mode chosen in fusion. startedwhen i put 8800 GTS card in. was fine with my old 7800. OTOH, SD DVD and HD DVD playback are 100% fine no matter what render mode I pick in powerdvd.

[TPeterson]

Sounds as though the 8800 installation created a resource conflict. Did you try moving the Fusion card to a different slot and/or reinstalling the Fusion software after the 8800 installation?

[dschmaltz]

I have installed a Fusion HDTV5 Express in a system running MCE. FusionHDTV runs fine but then after closing it (the tray icon is still visible) and re-opening it, I get an unexpected error and all channels show a signal strength of -1. No channels display video or audio. Rebooting resolves the problem but then repeats. Looking at the event log, prior to the error, MCE is reporting and error with the Media Center Receiver.

I haven't seen any reference to uninstalling the MCE remote receiver but I'm wondering if this is the cause. I am running the 3.51 driver included with the Express card. The other specs are AMD 3200+. 2gb ram, Gigabyte 7600GT, ASUS A8-NE MB, and Hauppauge 150. I've done a fresh install of MCE and related software. I did not unplug the MCE remote receiver prior to reloading so I suspect that may have caused a problem. Does this sound like a possible cause? I plan on reloading from scratch and leave the MCE remote unplugged as I don't think it is necessary as long as I use the Fusion remote.

Thanks.

I have also just installed this card and have been having software issues with FusionHDTV. It crashes and then says it is already running and would restart unless I reboot. I have contacted the DViCO and they did respond by saying that they are currently compiling an alpha version 3.51.02. They said they will contact me when available for ftp so you may want to do the same.

[Gibbie]

Dvico responded to my issue with the error I was getting running the Express card under the 3.51 driver. Here is their response. I'll give it a try tonight.

"We think it is because system file is corrupted. We'll send another program to you.
Here's FTP site.

ftp://Fusionbeta:fusionhdtv@partner.dvico.com
ID:fusionbeta
Password :fusionhdtv
File name : FusionHDTV3.51.02_Alpha.exe

Before installing this software, please entirely uninstall application on the control panel-Add or Remove programs if already installed on your PC.

This version didn't finish the testing, so there is some bugs. But you can check this issue in advance. Recording scheduler doesn't work now, do not test it."

[TPeterson]

Note to other AVS Forum readers of this thread:

I recommend against installing the alpha software posted at the link above.

It has not even finished DViCo's own testing (that's what "alpha" means) and it has known-broken features. Install at peril to your system enjoyment. There will be "beta" version(s) of this code in the near future that will be worth waiting for.

[Gibbie]

Needless to say I was concerned with the Alpha tag and "there is some bugs" but the current version makes the product unusable so I'll have to take my chances. I wonder if the 3.41 version would work with Express?

[TPeterson]

IIRC, there is not a driver for the Express card included in 3.41.

[dschmaltz]

Anything less than 3.51 does not appear to have drivers for the pci express card.(sorry, but it looks like the previous post addressed this)

I was able to get 3.51.01 off of the ftp site and it does work a little better now. I will wait for them to compile a newer beta verson and try again.

Am I correct in assuming that I can use Windows Vista Media Center with this card(without having an analog card) and possible get rid of the Fusionhdtv software?

[mfwit]

I have installed a Fusion HDTV5 Express in a system running MCE. FusionHDTV runs fine but then after closing it (the tray icon is still visible) and re-opening it, I get an unexpected error and all channels show a signal strength of -1. No channels display video or audio. Rebooting resolves the problem but then repeats. Looking at the event log, prior to the error, MCE is reporting and error with the Media Center Receiver.

I haven't seen any reference to uninstalling the MCE remote receiver but I'm wondering if this is the cause. I am running the 3.51 driver included with the Express card. The other specs are AMD 3200+. 2gb ram, Gigabyte 7600GT, ASUS A8-NE MB, and Hauppauge 150. I've done a fresh install of MCE and related software. I did not unplug the MCE remote receiver prior to reloading so I suspect that may have caused a problem. Does this sound like a possible cause? I plan on reloading from scratch and leave the MCE remote unplugged as I don't think it is necessary as long as I use the Fusion remote.

Thanks.

I have the exact same problem except I have yet to see any HD content with their software and when I tried the alpha I get an error when I try to run the program saying authentication failed.

[holligl]

Newbie Wish List for Fusion HDTV 5 Gold:

I have had the card installed about a week. While over-all I am pleased, there are a few things about the setup that seem awkward. I am comparing this to long experience with a Hauppague PVR-250 and TiVo.

1) The documentation is poor at best. It would make sense to me to totally separate the ATSC and DVB-T documentation. Many optional settings with little or no explanation.
2) When playing a recorded file, why can’t you use the remote to control the playback? I’ve only been able to use the mouse to control with the slider, to get through commercials.
3) Fusion Converter can not be used with the HDTV on? What is the logic behind this?
(To watch shows via the network on another computer, I have to convert them first. Can’t watch or record during conversion.)


The HD quality is great!

[TPeterson]

To watch shows via the network on another computer, I have to convert them first.Not so. There are many players that will handle native transport streams perfectly well, including Theatertek, VLC, Nero Showtime, most software DVD players,.... I have only used the Fusion Converter to experiment with the thing. It's not needed in general.

[hollywoodjoe]

I've scanned through all 27 pages of this thread so far before posting...

I just installed the Dvico FusionHDTV5 Gold Plus PCI TV Tuner w/ FusionHDTV3.50.01_Web.exe and use Charter Communications (Glendale, CA digital build) cable feed only for HDTV via QAM. I use my Hauppauge PVR-150 w/ an external cable box for all of the non HDTV stations via BeyondTV. My main reasons for buying this was:

1) Record network HDTV stations in DD 5.1. I don't care about the analog channels.
2) Specifically record "24" on FOX-HD and "Smallville" on CW-HD instead of waiting 6 months for the DVDs (in lower resolution) to come out. If those turn out well, then record other HDTV shows for my personal video library.

I've noticed a couple of issues, though:

1) BeyondTV doesn't support QAM. :(

2) For analog, audio needs to be set up separately from video in BeyondTV. I guess if I want to get rid of my Hauppauge PVR-150, I should hook up the audio cable directly to my SB Xi-Fi?

3) After I switch back and forth only between digital/QAM channels, I can't get a steady feed (picture & sound) anymore. My signal strength drops from the high 80's to the low 80's. It was so bad that I couldn't even watch Smallville tonight.

I had to reboot to be able to access those QAM channels again w/o any issues. However, by chance, I found out that if I switch to an analog station it "clears" whatever HDTV issue I'm having with the QAM channels so I can then switch back to QAM with no problems.

I haven't tried setting up automatic recordings yet, so I'm not sure if I'll get this problem during that time. Maybe I can schedule a 5-minute analog recording between digital/QAM recordings?

4) The QAM channels jump around. My broadcast HDTV QAM channels for Charter in Glendale, CA are:

D782.1 CBS-HD
D786.1 PBS-HD
D1020.1 FOX-HD
D1021.1 NBC WEATHER
D1022.1 NBC-HD
D1040.1 ???
D1041.1 THETUBE
D1042.1 ABC-DT
D1043.1 CW-HD
D1044.1 ABC-HD

However, sometimes D1023.1 and D1024.1 come up and the channels "shift up". i.e. D1021.1 NBC WEATHER and D1022.1 NBC-HD jump to D1023.1 and D1024.1 or the D1040.1 - D1044.1 channels shift down to D1023.1, etc. Why? :confused:

5) I can't add a QAM channel. The D780's are for the broadcast HDTV stations, but somehow some of them got mapped to the D1020's and D1040's.

6) There are few more QAM channels in the 200's to 800's, but when I try to change to them, I mostly get a black screen.

7) I get an "access error(?) 0x????????" sometimes.


Also, I use VideoReDo to cut out the commercials. I tested it with an HDTV 1080i DD5.1 (AC-3) transport stream and it makes very clean cuts and does not re-encode any audio or video data. As someone mentioned above, you can edit frame-by-frame and the automatic commercial-finder works pretty well. If you edit your recordings, this is a must-have app.

Lastly, if I get an HDTV cable box (Scientific Atlanta) from Charter, can I tune to an HDTV channel, then use the coaxial-out to record HDTV in Fusion? Or is the coaxial-out only SDTV and stereo? In other words, are my only options to record HDTV via an antenna or direct coaxial cable w/ QAM? I'd like to record some games on ESPN-HD.

BTW - WOW! :eek: HDTV looks awesome!

Thanks!!! :)

[holligl]

Not so. There are many players that will handle native transport streams perfectly well, including Theatertek, VLC, Nero Showtime, most software DVD players,.... I have only used the Fusion Converter to experiment with the thing. It's not needed in general.
It does not work with PowerDVD or RealPlayer. I will have to try it with NeroShowtime, I don't have any of these on the laptop. The filesize and throughput over a wireless network will probably make for jumpy playback.

I did find out through trial and error that I had to check interlaced to get the sound to synch in FusionConvert.

I started out trying to record direct to MPeG. The files were much larger than expected for this format. My apps would open them, but playback was way bad.

[holligl]

Not so. There are many players that will handle native transport streams perfectly well, including Theatertek, VLC, Nero Showtime, most software DVD players,.... I have only used the Fusion Converter to experiment with the thing. It's not needed in general.
Downloaded VLC (the price was right). Works pretty well even wireless. :)
It will also allow me to watch recorded files while recording another on the Fusion based PC.

Now, is there a way to "redirect" the Fusion Remote "DVD" button to this application?
Does it just start the default DVD player?

[dtebh]

PMFJI

I am looking for a HD tuner card. I prefer a USB based solution, with recording, live TV pause and scheduling capability. I was looking for something exactly like the Fusion HDTV USB tuner and was delighted to find this thread.

After reading the posts, I have to say I am not only overwhelmed with the seemingly incomplete offerings, but am disappointed with the unstable and buggy software. Seems all the posts are regarding bugs and missing/broken functionality.

Actually, I am about to abandon my search and remain on the sidelines. Who wants to pay to be a product tester on their own time? I do not really see a product on the market by anyone that someone really likes with that functionality.

Am I off base here? Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance, Ed.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

3) After I switch back and forth only between digital/QAM channels, I can't get a steady feed (picture & sound) anymore. My signal strength drops from the high 80's to the low 80's. It was so bad that I couldn't even watch Smallville tonight.

I doubt the switching back and forth is the actual "strength" issue. High 80's signal strength is usually still too low for good QAM tuning, at least it was for me. I had the same issue and had to get Comcast to come out and install an Electroline EDA-2200 drop amp last weekend. My lowest signal digital QAM signal strength on any channel is now above 94 with most being 97-100.

I have no more dropout issues. And my other 2 old analog TV's with cable have never looked better. No snow or ghosting what so ever.

Ronnie

[hollywoodjoe]

High 80's signal strength is usually still too low for good QAM tuning, at least it was for me. I had the same issue and had to get Comcast to come out and install an Electroline EDA-2200 drop amp last weekend. My lowest signal digital QAM signal strength on any channel is now above 94 with most being 97-100.
I found the PDF instructions for the Electroline EDA-2400 (http://www.electroline.com/en/products/drop_amplifiers/images/dropamp_installation_instructions.pdf). It looks simple enough for a DIY job.

I noticed that my cable runs into a 2-way splitter: one for cablemodem, the other for a 3-way splitter for cable to 3 rooms around the house. Maybe if I replace both of them with one Electroline EDA-2400, my signal strength for QAM will improve?

EDIT: After looking at the Electroline Drop Amps some more, I found this website (http://www.dropamp.com/connect.html) which recommends the Electroline FT 08100 (http://www.electroline.com/en/products/drop_amplifiers/eda_ft/index.html) Drop Amp which can have a direct cablemodem connection. I'll first call Charter to see if they can set this up for me, but after seeing how they hooked up my basic cable, I think I'll go the DIY route. Hopefully, this will improve the signals I get on my FusionHDTV 5 Gold card.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

I found the PDF instructions for the Electroline EDA-2400 (http://www.electroline.com/en/products/drop_amplifiers/images/dropamp_installation_instructions.pdf). It looks simple enough for a DIY job.

I noticed that my cable runs into a 2-way splitter: one for cablemodem, the other for a 3-way splitter for cable to 3 rooms around the house. Maybe if I replace both of them with one Electroline EDA-2400, my signal strength for QAM will improve?

EDIT: After looking at the Electroline Drop Amps some more, I found this website (http://www.dropamp.com/connect.html) which recommends the Electroline FT 08100 (http://www.electroline.com/en/products/drop_amplifiers/eda_ft/index.html) Drop Amp which can have a direct cablemodem connection. I'll first call Charter to see if they can set this up for me, but after seeing how they hooked up my basic cable, I think I'll go the DIY route. Hopefully, this will improve the signals I get on my FusionHDTV 5 Gold card.

You setup right now is almost exactly like mine was. But mine was a 4-way splitter where you have the 3-way, 2 going to analog TV's and 2 going to my HT room, one for my HTPC and one for the QAM tuner in my Sony TV.

If you are not having any issues with your cable modem, I would not touch the first splitter you have. Leave it in place and leave the modem line alone. That is what I did. I installed the EDA-2200 where the 4-way splitter was. I ran both lines out of the amp into two 2-way splitters. Two line go to my analog TV's and two go to my HT room. (Pretty much what I did was turn a EDA-2200 into a EDA-2400 by using two 2-way splitters.) If I'd of purchased the amp elsewhere I'd of got a EDA-2400. Comcast only offered the EDA-2200. Their price after install, extra cable runs, a couple extra splitters I bummed off of the installer, a couple new patch cables, etc, came out a lot cheaper than if I would have purchased the amp off of eBay and all the new cable and fittings from Home Depot and ran it all myself. If I would not have needed new cable runs, and only the amp, I'd of gonew pure DIY as well.


Ronnie

ps- The install of the amp is a piece of cake. I'd highly suggest if at all possible you install the amp as show in Figure A and not Figure B. I do not like having power AND a signal on the same line. It makes for a real easy install though without running a dedicated power line. I had an unused AC outlet in my crawl space so it was very easy to run a dedicated power line.

[Jim Shaffer]

However, sometimes D1023.1 and D1024.1 come up and the channels "shift up". i.e. D1021.1 NBC WEATHER and D1022.1 NBC-HD jump to D1023.1 and D1024.1 or the D1040.1 - D1044.1 channels shift down to D1023.1, etc. Why?

The only reason the physical channel should change is if the cable company changes it, which I wouldn't think they would be doing very often.

Sub-channels, on the other hand... Mine change occasionally, and I'm not sure whether it's the cable company or the software. The software used to be tremendously buggy and would generate duplicate channel names for QAM channels. It hasn't done that for the past several versions, however. I can tell you that every time you switch to a digital channel, it re-identifies the streams on that channel. But I don't know if the cable company is switching streams or if the software is still a little loose in assigning names. For example, sometimes two of my local HD channels will be WYOU on D1110 and WVIA on D1111, other times it'll be WYOU on D1111 and WVIA on D1110. And WOLF will come up on D1130 sometimes and D1131 other times. This last one is particularly interesting because there isn't any other stream on that physical channel! I thought about using TSBrowser to see whether the actual PIDs are changing, but it's kind of a hard experiment to do when the channel only switches occasionally!

[Ronnie Ferrell]

...And WOLF will come up on D1130 sometimes and D1131 other times. This last one is particularly interesting because there isn't any other stream on that physical channel!

When WOLF is on D1131, have you checked your Channel setup page to see if an encrypted channel is listed as being on D1130?

This happens to me with INHD in my market. It is on D870 (or should be.) Sometimes it junps to D871. When it does this, if I go under the channel setup tab there is an encrypted QAM channel being listed on D870.

The channel is not actually changing subs because my QAM tuner in my Sony TV has had INHD on 87.1 for over 2 years. It's just that the Fusion software is moving the virtual mapping around.

I posted about this a few days ago and TPeterson said it is a known bug but is hard to nail down what is causing it.


Ronnie

[Jim Shaffer]

When WOLF is on D1131, have you checked your Channel setup page to see if an encrypted channel is listed as being on D1130?

No I haven't, I'll have to try that sometime.

I always thought it was weird that they would give a broadcast channel its own physical channel because all the other ones are paired up, but since I don't subscribe to anything other than basic I don't know what sort of channel might be coming and going.

[Lynch1j2]

I bought my drop amp from here for much less.
http://cabletvamps.com/drop%20amps.htm

[hollywoodjoe]

I doubt the switching back and forth is the actual "strength" issue. High 80's signal strength is usually still too low for good QAM tuning, at least it was for me. I had the same issue and had to get Comcast to come out and install an Electroline EDA-2200 drop amp last weekend. My lowest signal digital QAM signal strength on any channel is now above 94 with most being 97-100. I have no more dropout issues.As a temporary workaround until I run new RG6 cables throughout the house, I swapped my cablemodem line (off of a 2-way splitter) with my cable line (off of a 3-way splitter off of the 2-way splitter). It made a BIG difference. My signal strength is now in the mid 90's and I can watch all local HDTV QAM channels w/o any issues. From time to time, I still have the channel "jumping" but as you said, I don't think it's due to the "strength" issue.

Right now I'm recording 1080i shows w/o any problems as *.tp (Transport Protocol?). I edit out the commercials in VideoReDo and save as *.ts (Transport Stream). FusionHDTV can play back *.ts as well as Windows Media Player.

I recorded the same show in HDTV 1080i (FusionHDTV5) and analog SDTV (Hauppauge PVR 150) and compared them together... WOW! What a difference! :D

[KAXKID]

I have the exact same problem except I have yet to see any HD content with their software and when I tried the alpha I get an error when I try to run the program saying authentication failed.
sounds like you did not get a good driver install yet. check in device manager for some yellow exclamation marks indicating driver problems.

[KAXKID]

...

6) There are few more QAM channels in the 200's to 800's, but when I try to change to them, I mostly get a black screen.

...
does the fusion app show qam channels with 200's or 2000's and 800's or 8000's?

the fusion app may be mapping higher multiple sub channels of "on demand" channels using the 2000's and mapping music channels in the 8000's which could explain the black screen.

[holligl]

PMFJI

I am looking for a HD tuner card. I prefer a USB based solution, with recording, live TV pause and scheduling capability. I was looking for something exactly like the Fusion HDTV USB tuner and was delighted to find this thread.

After reading the posts, I have to say I am not only overwhelmed with the seemingly incomplete offerings, but am disappointed with the unstable and buggy software. Seems all the posts are regarding bugs and missing/broken functionality.

Actually, I am about to abandon my search and remain on the sidelines. Who wants to pay to be a product tester on their own time? I do not really see a product on the market by anyone that someone really likes with that functionality.

Am I off base here? Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance, Ed.

Given the high cost of HD TVs, I viewed this as a relatively cheap experiment. $150 for a card (I have the RT-5 Gold PCI version) and <$80 for the OTA antenna. The quality of the HD, and ability to record in HD is awesome!

In or out?
This is NOT TiVo simple. Expect some level of frustration with the software quirks.
If you live in an area with good coverage, most local programing is available free OTA. I you have cable, check whether there is added cost for HD.
If you have the right Video Card and Computer, this solution works efficiently. (You are probably going to want a larger Harddrive!)

I'm In, and would do it again. Will likely expand to the USB for dual tuner watching/recording at some point. CBS has always been a weak signal, even on cable. Now crystal clear. Recordings look like you are playing a DVD. 10x better than the PVR-250 or TiVo Series 2.

[dtebh]

holligl, thanks for taking the time to reply.

I suppose it's clear that a lot of fiddling/tweaking and debugging is involved.

I'm still leaning towards the Fusion USB. I called Digital Connections and spoke with the tech support guy. His opinion is that it is virtually a bug free product, and works great out of the box. Seems there is a disconnect compared to the volume of posts I see here? He also said my GFORCE 6200 was compatable, but there was no mention of it at all in the compatability section of the documentation, which I have downloaded and reviewed already. His only other opinion was that he preferred MYHD product due to the hardware decoding instead of the software decoding used in the FUSION, but if you already have an adequate system and existing video card, that will be a moot point.

My main use is in an office/study, with some scheduled recording, some ad-hoc video capture, editing and saving/burning for later use.

My quest continues......

[hollywoodjoe]

If you live in an area with good coverage, most local programing is available free OTA. I you have cable, check whether there is added cost for HD.Are you implying that you would use a STB to tune to each station and feed the coax-out (HDTV signal?) into the FusionHDTV card?

Currently, I have my Charter coax cable directly plugged into my FusionHDTV card. The picture and sound is awesome! However, I don't get any of the basic SDTV channels (above 99), nor do I get DiscoveryHD. I only get CBS, PBS, NBC, WB, and ABC in HD via QAM.

Is it possible to use an HDTV Scientific Atlanta STB and feed the coax-out to the FusionHDTV card and record in HD? If so, could I also do that with the premium content that I subscribe to like HBO-HD, SHO-HD, ESPN-HD, etc.?

This is what I was doing previously with my Hauppauge PVR-150 card - feed the coax into the STB then out to the card; record channel 3 and tune the channel I want on the STB via IR blast. I don't care if IR blast is not a "clean" way to change channels. If I can record in HD, I'll do those workarounds. Thanks.

[hollywoodjoe]

does the fusion app show qam channels with 200's or 2000's and 800's or 8000's?

the fusion app may be mapping higher multiple sub channels of "on demand" channels using the 2000's and mapping music channels in the 8000's which could explain the black screen.It shows the channels in the 200's and 800's.

D84 N/A
D94 N/A
D100 N/A
D281 CMC2 (advertising)
D282 CMC (advertising)
D283 ATV (Armenian TV)
D782 KCBS-HD
D786 KCET-HD (PBS)
D800 BARKR (N/A)
D802 NICK GAS
D820 ??? (movies)
D860 ???
D882 ???
D887 ->D282
D1020 KTTV-HD (FOX)
D1021 KNBC WEATHER
D1022 KNBC-HD
D1040 ??? (advertising)
D1041 THETUBE
D1042 KABC-DT
D1043 KTLA-HD (CW)
D1044 KABC-HD
D1050->D786
D1051->D782

I put in the -> because sometimes those channels show and the ones they point to don't. But then I tune to that channel, it automatically jumps to the other one. Then it goes away and I can see the new one. For some reason, sometimes KTLA on 1043 jumpes to 1041. And other times I don't get the 800's.

What's odd is that the Charter lineup for HDTV broadcast channels is supposed to be 781-787:

781 KTTV-DT - FOX Hi-Def Lifeline
782 KCBS-DT - CBS Hi-Def Lifeline
784 KNBC-DT - NBC Hi-Def Lifeline
785 KTLA-DT - WB Hi-Def Lifeline
786 KCET-DT - PBS Hi-Def Lifeline
787 KABC-DT - ABC Hi-Def Lifeline

But only KCBS and KCET are at those channels. The others are bumped to the 1020's and 1040's. :confused:

[skibum5000]

Sounds as though the 8800 installation created a resource conflict. Did you try moving the Fusion card to a different slot and/or reinstalling the Fusion software after the 8800 installation?

yeah, doesn'thelp. in fact, the other slot, adds problems of its own. the other slot was where I originally tried it and it had some issues there causing a very different type of stutter, skip and occasional audio crackle. i think i have it in a good slot, since none of that stuff happens. there is one more combo of slots i could try, but not sure it would make a difference.

i did re-install the fusion software too.
nvidia drivers too.

it's a weird problem, by far most apparent when sports are being broadcast such as football, way less noticeable with other material for the most part, but even there, sometimes when a part of the frame has some fast action or does a certain type of pan or something something just doesn't look quite right.

[KAXKID]

It shows the channels in the 200's and 800's.

D84 N/A
D94 N/A
D100 N/A
D281 CMC2 (advertising)
D282 CMC (advertising)
D283 ATV (Armenian TV)
D782 KCBS-HD
D786 KCET-HD (PBS)
D800 BARKR (N/A)
D802 NICK GAS

D820 ??? (movies)
D860 ???
D882 ???
D887 ->D282
D1020 KTTV-HD (FOX)
D1021 KNBC WEATHER
D1022 KNBC-HD
D1040 ??? (advertising)
D1041 THETUBE
D1042 KABC-DT
D1043 KTLA-HD (CW)
D1044 KABC-HD
D1050->D786
D1051->D782

I put in the -> because sometimes those channels show and the ones they point to don't. But then I tune to that channel, it automatically jumps to the other one. Then it goes away and I can see the new one. For some reason, sometimes KTLA on 1043 jumpes to 1041. And other times I don't get the 800's.

What's odd is that the Charter lineup for HDTV broadcast channels is supposed to be 781-787:

781 KTTV-DT - FOX Hi-Def Lifeline
782 KCBS-DT - CBS Hi-Def Lifeline
784 KNBC-DT - NBC Hi-Def Lifeline
785 KTLA-DT - WB Hi-Def Lifeline
786 KCET-DT - PBS Hi-Def Lifeline
787 KABC-DT - ABC Hi-Def Lifeline

But only KCBS and KCET are at those channels. The others are bumped to the 1020's and 1040's. :confused:
the 781-787 numbers you have listed above are the virtual numbers used by charter for their stb. they have no relation to the actual rf channels that the signal for those stations are actually transmitted over the cable wire.

the fusion app uses the actual rf channel it scans to assign a new virtual channel recognized by the fusion app to tune each channel. these new numbers will not be the same as what charter uses for the stb.

some channels have psip data transmitted that will be shown in the fusion app. i believe that is what you are seeing when you say that only kcbs and kcet are at those numbers.

the "others" are on subchannels of rf 102 and rf 104, which are assigned new virtual numbers by the fusion app because there is no psip data present.

[hollywoodjoe]

the fusion app uses the actual rf channel it scans to assign a new virtual channel recognized by the fusion app to tune each channel.I noticed that CBS-HD and PBS-HD are both on RF 105. The other HD channels are on RF 102 and 104. How does that work? In analog, there is only 1 channel per RF signal. For DTV there are more than 1 channels per RF?

I tried to add more channels per an existing RF (i.e. 102) but FusionHDTV said it already exists. If so how did it get D1020, D1021, and D1022 from RF 102? I'd like to try to add D1023 but can't.

[KAXKID]

I noticed that CBS-HD and PBS-HD are both on RF 105. The other HD channels are on RF 102 and 104. How does that work? In analog, there is only 1 channel per RF signal. For DTV there are more than 1 channels per RF?

I tried to add more channels per an existing RF (i.e. 102) but FusionHDTV said it already exists. If so how did it get D1020, D1021, and D1022 from RF 102? I'd like to try to add D1023 but can't.
yes, the analogs are on one rf channel each.

yes, for DTV there can be more than one station on an rf channel.

D1020 would be the first subchannel of rf102 D1021 is the second subchannel etc. there is a formula for how the fusion app assigns the numbers and it has be posted numerous times. the fusion app will only display the unencrypted subchannels. you should not need to add any manually if everything is working the way it was designed. the latest fusion apps are pretty good at getting the channel line-up correct.

you should not be able to add a channel where there is not one scanned by the fusion app(if all is working correctly) and you could only add the main RF channel not a sub.

hope that's a little clearer.

[TPeterson]

You can only add the rf channel, not the subchannels. FusionHDTV detects the clear subchannels when you tune the rf channel.

It seems that your cableco is sending a PSIP that identifies KCBS and KCET with their cableco virtual channels. This is so far unique in my experience! Other cablecos are either sending no PSIP data at all or they send a modified version of the original OTA channel that identifies the program with the OTA virtual channel number (usually the same major number as the old analog channel uses plus a number to designate a subchannel. E.g., 28.1 for KCET-DT).

[TPeterson]

Is it possible to use an HDTV Scientific Atlanta STB and feed the coax-out to the FusionHDTV card and record in HD?No. You have the correct approach by connecting the Fusion input directly to your cable feed.

[TPeterson]

I suppose it's clear that a lot of fiddling/tweaking and debugging is involved.Yes!I'm still leaning towards the Fusion USB. I called Digital Connections and spoke with the tech support guy. His opinion is that it is virtually a bug free product, and works great out of the box. Seems there is a disconnect compared to the volume of posts I see here?The folks who post here are the ones who have problems. The DC tech knows about all the units that they ship to happy customers. ;)He also said my GFORCE 6200 was compatable, but there was no mention of it at all in the compatability section of the documentation, which I have downloaded and reviewed already.Yes the 6200 is fine. Just be sure to use the nVidia 84.21 Forceware and not the newer versions, which have HDTV bugs.His only other opinion was that he preferred MYHD product due to the hardware decoding instead of the software decoding used in the FUSION, but if you already have an adequate system and existing video card, that will be a moot point.Some of us also prefer the stability and user interface of MyHD over the FusionHDTV offerings to date, but the gap is definitely narrowing.

[KAXKID]

...
It seems that your cableco is sending a PSIP that identifies KCBS and KCET with their cableco virtual channels. This is so far unique in my experience! Other cablecos are either sending no PSIP data at all or they send a modified version of the original OTA channel that identifies the program with the OTA virtual channel number (usually the same major number as the old analog channel uses plus a number to designate a subchannel. E.g., 28.1 for KCET-DT).
this is probably why the other D1050 and D1051 virtual channels show up sometimes for KCBS and KCET. this indicates these two stations are really on rf 105.

[holligl]

Are you implying that you would use a STB to tune to each station and feed the coax-out (HDTV signal?) into the FusionHDTV card?


No - wasn't typing to imply anything complicated. We have Comcast Cable, which will gladly provide HD for another $7/mo, and digital recorder for about $12-13/mo. Most of what I wanted is Free Over the Air (OTA) with a simple antenna.

[holligl]

Newbie Wish List for Fusion HDTV 5 Gold:

2) When playing a recorded file, why can’t you use the remote to control the playback? I’ve only been able to use the mouse to control with the slider, to get through commercials.

Not sure what I was doing before, but the remote is working great. You can pull up recorded files and play with full control, using only the remote. Surprised no one set me straight!

[joepic]

I purchased a Fusion HDTV5 RT Gold in December. I have it connected to TW cable in Akron Ohio using the QAM signal for HD recording. I recorded the Ohio State BCS game (should have deleted the file but haven't yet). I recorded 5 hours for the pre game and game which took approxmiately 33.5GB. Here is what I am able to do with this .TP file.

I like to play all of my multi-media files with Media Player Classic. To find out what codec's and framerates are used when playing a file in MPC, go to FILE, PROPERTIES and DETAILS. I also use a program called GSPOT to find the codec's and framerates used in a file.

Using VideoReDo Plus I was able to automatically remove ALL commericals. The .TP file was converted to a .TS file of approximately 22.5GB for this 5 hour recording.

I could have used Avi.NET or AUTO GORDIAN KNOT to convert the .TS file to a .AVI file. Both are EXCELLENT FREE programs. A word of caution when using these programs. Uninstall any old versions of Xvid before installing this software. You may have video/audio sync problems otherwise. I also STRONGLY recommend that you read the FAQ and Tutorials on their web sites before using the software.

Avi.NET requires you to download two support packages (with multiple software installs in each package) and install them. So it is not a simple one button install like Auto Gordian Knot is.

The next conversion I did was to create an .MPG file and the DVD folder structure (VIDEO_TS) files on my HD using the FREE software HDTV2DVD. Using the 22GB .TP file as input, this software created an 11GB .MPG file and the DVD folder structure (Video_TS) which included 11 .VOB files of 1GB size. I realize that an 11GB DVD is not possible but it plays great from a HD!

Then I could have used the FREE software ImgTool to make an image (.ISO file) of a DVD Folder(VIDEO_TS) and also burn it. I could have used the FREE software VOB2MPG to join my 11 .VOB files together creating a single .VOB file.

I hope this gives you some ideas what you can do with the programs that you record using your Fusion card.

If you are looking for other multi-media software try:
http://www.videohelp.com/tools

---------------------------------
VideoReDo PLUS
http://www.videoredo.com/Download.htm

VideoReDo is the perfect tool to edit your MPEG1/MPEG2 files. Whether you create digital video by capturing off-the-air programs, convert analog (VHS) tapes, HDTV, DigitalTV, DVB, TivO, ReplayTV,

DVR-MS or extract chapters from DVDs, VideoReDo makes fast work of trimming, cutting, and/or joining your MPEG compressed digital images. Repair/fix MPEG streams.

AdDetective™ Commercial Detection takes the pain out of finding the best places to cut advertisements from your videos. AdDetective will scan your files for likely places where advertisements start and end. You can preview and change AdDetective recommendations before editing, or let VideoReDo Plus do the job automatically.

-------------------------------
Media Player Classic
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303&package_id=84358

A great all-in-one player based on the Windows Media Player 6.4. Supports most formats if you have the codecs installed like DivX, XviD, AVI, MOV, MPEG1/2, RM, TS and TP. Built-in MPEG2/SVCD/DVD codec.

SVCD/CVD switchable subtitle support.
------------------------------
GSpot
http://www.headbands.com/gspot/v26x/quick_start.html

Establishes what video and audio codecs are required to play any video. Shows framerate, duration, aspect ratio, bitrates, structure info, and more. Supports AVI, MPG, VOB, DVD, VCD, SVCD, MP4, FLV, MOV, QT, RM, SWF, WMV,
-----------------------------
Avi.NET
http://www.clonead.co.uk/

avi.NET will allow you to load in both MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files and convert them to an AVI file that has the correct codec options set to allow perfect playback on your standalone AVI player. No other AVI conversion program is available whose number one priority is standalone player support.

avi.NET v2.2.2.0 - released 5th January 2007 - NEW
DVD/SVCD/VCD/MPEG1/MPEG2/HDTV to AVI Converter: Used to make AVI files (DIVX & XVID) from DVD or MPG.

avi.NET support package - released 2006
Contains: AVISynth v2.57 RC1, VobSub v2.23, XviD v1.1.2. (needed for avi.NET to function)

VirtualDubMod package - released 2006
Contains: VirtualDubMod v1.5.10.2, MP3 (professional) audio codec v3.3.2, AC3 audio decompressor v1.2.
--------------------------------
AUTO GORDIAN KNOT
http://www.autogk.me.uk/

This site is a homepage for THE tool for DivX / XviD backup utility. With support of DVDs, MPEG2 (such

as DVB captures and transport streams), MPEG1 sources along with AVI/DV sources encoding into your favorite MPEG4 format was never as easy as now!

Program features support of:
- DVD/VOBs(unencrypted from hdd), MPEG2, MPEG1, transport streams (including multi-program ones) and

AVI/DV input sources
- XviD or DivX(5/6) output formats
- AC3, DTS, PCM, MPA input audio tracks
- AC3, DTS, MPA, CBR/VBR MP3 output audio tracks
- two audio tracks in AVI
- external (vobsub) or internal (burnt-in) subtitles (with support of forced subs)
- HDTV input/output resolutions(upto 1920x***) and frame rates (50/60fps)
- automatic crop and resize based on compressibility of the source to achieve Best results
- automatic detection of input source: PAL, NTSC, FILM, HYBRID
- automatic deinterlacer and IVTC
- automatic split into CD-sized chunks for main video and external subs
-----------------------------------
HDTV2DVD
http://www.svcd2dvd.com/HDTV2DVD/default.aspx
HDTV2DVD is a new freeware tool to simply convert your HDTV material to DVD. HDTV captures are MPEG-2

Transport Streams at either 1280 x 720p or 1920 x 1080i resolution yet DVD is typically MPEG-2 Program

Streams at 720 x 480 (for NTSC). This means that to play HD material on a "normal" DVD player you have to convert the source. This is what HDTV2DVD does in a simple, user friendly way.
Load up your HDTV file (.ts or .tp), start the processing and HDTV2DVD will produce a VIDEO_TS DVD folder ready for you to burn!
------------------------------------
VOB2MPG v2.3
http://www.svcd2dvd.com/downloads.aspx#VOB2MPG

VOB2MPG goes through a whole DVD VIDEO_TS folder and joins up the various vobsets to produce MPG's for

the different titles. Requires .net framework 2.
-----------------------------------
ImgTool
http://www.coujo.de/ib2/index.php?act=module&module=include&incl_name=download
Popular tools to make an image (.ISO file) of a DVD Folder(VIDEO_TS) and also burn it. In Addition, the burning tool allows you to confirm and burn a DVD from VIDEO_TS made by any other application.

[tvspy]

Joepic.

Thanks for the contribution.

[cornbuds]

I see many others in this thread with stuttering problems, so I don't feel quite so alone. I've got the Fusion 5 RT Lite card.

My board is a mATX and I've tried both available PCI slots with the same stuttering results. I've got the latest 7.1 catalyst drivers and also tried the last 4 releases. I've also tried the most recent 2 driver releases from Dvico. My video card is an X1300 w/ 128mb of RAM, Athlon64 3800 x2, 2GB DDR400, WinXP Pro SP2. I've tried all kinds of various settings in the Fusion software that all yield the same poor result.

I get the stuttering on all HD channels, regardless of signal strength. I happens on a 95% signal as much as an 83% signal. I'm pulling the signal from Comcast cable line without a STB.

Any ideas? Did I forget to check something?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[TPeterson]

cornbuds--

I've seen periodic A/V jerks when using certain nVidia drivers but they go away when using other drivers without making any other changes. The Forceware version 84.21 from last spring seems to be good for most nVidia cards. I'm not familiar with the ATI cards and drivers, so I don't know what vintage to suggest to you, but I think that you're probably seeing a video card driver incompatibility with FusionHDTV. Perhaps the DViCo FAQ on their website has some tips on Catalyst versions.

[AllenDB]

Stupid question time. Reading my F5RT Lite documentation I see all the references to timeshifting . Ahhh, since the card cannot be hooked directly to a TV (it can't , can it????) is it describing timeshifting while viewing on the PC monitor? I use the card exclusively for recording because its tuner is far better than my MYHD 120. I use the 120 for playing and timeshifting (when the signal is strong enough) but would rather use the F5Lite if there was a way.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Stupid question time. Reading my F5RT Lite documentation I see all the references to timeshifting . Ahhh, since the card cannot be hooked directly to a TV (it can't , can it????) is it describing timeshifting while viewing on the PC monitor? I use the card exclusively for recording because its tuner is far better than my MYHD 120. I use the 120 for playing and timeshifting (when the signal is strong enough) but would rather use the F5Lite if there was a way.

It all depends on the video card in your PC. It would need to be able to support your TV via it's DVI, Component out or S-Video out.

The integrated Nvidia 6150 video on my ASUS mother supports all 3. I first had it hooked to my TV via component, I now use a DVI to HDMI cable. And as you have probably guessed, my TV is the only thing I have hooked to my PC, no other "PC monitor" is connected.


Ronnie

[dirkling]

Cornbuds,

This is based on my experience with the (made by) ATI Radeon 9800XT, FusionHDTV5 gold and software 3.50.01.

Did you install the Catalyst Control Center with the driver? If so try uninstalling it and install the driver only package. With earlier versions of the Fusion software it made a big difference (and I've been too chicken to go back to using it.)

Unfortunately the latest ATI drivers are not always the best performing drivers. For me, the sweet spot for the Radeon 9800XT was Catalyst 6.2 with win2ksp4 and Catalyst 6.9 with winxpsp2. When I tried upgrading to a more recent driver the Fusion software started stuttering and I saw a drop in reported OTA signal strength. I have not tried the 7.1 driver (6.11 was the last I tested.)

While I get very nice playback with 85% OTA, I've heard that the QAM decoding wants a cleaner signal. You may want to speak with your cable company.

AllenDB,

In my limited experience, enabling timeshifting precludes standard recording. If you are methodical enough to remember to disable it before turning off the Fusion app it works well. Otherwise I'd continue to use the myhd. (I keep forgetting to turn it off and then get frustrated with missed recordings.)

[TPeterson]

Dirk--

Thanks, I'd missed cornbud's reference to "83%" signal strength on QAM. That is too weak/noisy for reliable QAM reception. You need over 90% on QAM and at least 70% on OTA for stable operation.

[breeze45]

I had stuttering problem in the digital channels only. I swapped my Fusion card with my sound card and it went away.

Keith

[cornbuds]

Hmm, yeah, I have the CCC installed, I'll try uninstalling it and see what happens. Maybe I should try going back further with ATi's drivers if that doesn't help. I'm just not sure if I lose my AVIVO functionality if I roll back too far. I've never liked ATi's CCC, it just seems like it's made for people that buy HP's or Dells.....no offense HP or Dell owners! :p

Yeah, I can understand poor reception with an 83% signal, but certainly not a 95% signal - I get stuttering on every channel.

Thanks for the tip, I'll post back with results.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

OK, Now it's time for my stupid questions... I know some of these are not directly Fusion questions, but they are Fusion related because I'm trying to tweak my Fusion HTPC to it's "best" settings...

Also these questions have nothing to do with stuttering/pauses/dropouts/ etc. They are all about image quality as in color correctness and noise in the video.

If I'm recording a scheduled transport stream via QAM in "minimize on silent" mode, does my video card drivers/codecs or anything else in my computer have any bearing on the recorded TP file? i.e. if I recorded the same stream with different video card drivers could the resulting TP file have more/less noise or better color depending on which video card drivers etc that I have installed on my computer?

Or is my computer just recording the 1's and 0's of the digital signal.

Is there any quality difference in recorded TP files from different tuner cards, i.e.- from a Fusion card vs. a MyHD card?

Is there any difference in the quality of recorded QAM TP files vs. recorded OTA TP files?

Again all of these questions are related to the information in the actual recorded TP files, as if I played the same recorded test files back on different systems would how I recorded the file make any difference in the playback image quality? Or is that all up the the playback systems decoders/drivers/settings?


Thanks!


Ronnie

[TPeterson]

OK, Now it's time for my stupid questions... I know some of these are not directly Fusion questions, but they are Fusion related because I'm trying to tweak my Fusion HTPC to it's "best" settings...

Also these questions have nothing to do with stuttering/pauses/dropouts/ etc. They are all about image quality as in color correctness and noise in the video.

{1} If I'm recording a scheduled transport stream via QAM in "minimize on silent" mode, does my video card drivers/codecs or anything else in my computer have any bearing on the recorded TP file? i.e. if I recorded the same stream with different video card drivers could the resulting TP file have more/less noise or better color depending on which video card drivers etc that I have installed on my computer?

{2} Or is my computer just recording the 1's and 0's of the digital signal.

{3} Is there any quality difference in recorded TP files from different tuner cards, i.e.- from a Fusion card vs. a MyHD card?

{4} Is there any difference in the quality of recorded QAM TP files vs. recorded OTA TP files?

Again all of these questions are related to the information in the actual recorded TP files, as if I played the same recorded test files back on different systems would how I recorded the file make any difference in the playback image quality? {5} Or is that all up the the playback systems decoders/drivers/settings?
1. No. 2. Yes. 3. No. (Although the capture settings will change the amount of non A/V data that are recorded together with the program, as well as the number of A/V PIDs that are included) 4. There can be if the cableco re-encodes the stream but, AFAIK, none currently do. 5. Yes.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

1. No. 2. Yes. 3. No. (Although the capture settings will change the amount of non A/V data that are recorded together with the program, as well as the number of A/V PIDs that are included) 4. There can be if the cableco re-encodes the stream but, AFAIK, none currently do. 5. Yes.

Thanks for the answers. You verified what I "thought" was happening, but wanted to be sure.

FWIW: The reason I asked is I'm having a bear of a time with my setup getting color calibrated for both DVD playback using MCE/PureVideo/VMR9 and recorded QAM TP file playback using overlay. (Anything else but overlay and 1080i material on my system produces stuttering.) I can calibrate my monitor to get DVDs or HDTV looking awesome, but not both at the same time. Right now I'm using DVI out to my TVs HDMI port. Tonight I'm going to do some testing with the integrated component out on my ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard to see if I get better results.

I think it all boils down to a color bug in the older Nvidia drivers and the Fusion software's issue with the latest Nvidia drivers. The latest Nvidia driver seems to fix the issue I'm having with getting both overlay and non-overlay playback calibrated on my monitor. But with the latest Nvidia drivers I get the "stuttering" playback with the Fusion software that is not there with the older 84.xx drivers.

Ronnie

[tvspy]

I had stuttering problem in the digital channels only. I swapped my Fusion card with my sound card and it went away.



When I installed my Fusion card I had stuttering problems at first as well. I took the advice from this forum and swapped PCI slots. My card is now in my first PCI slot on my motherboard and the stuttering went away.

After I upgraded my nVidia video card drivers to the latest versions, some stuttering came back. Again, after reading this forum I found the newer versions of nVidia drivers don't work with the Fusion. You need to have nVidia 84.21 Forceware drivers ONLY if using a nVidia video card.

Trust us, the Fusion card does work very well.

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Thanks for the answers. You verified what I "thought" was happening, but wanted to be sure.

FWIW: The reason I asked is I'm having a bear of a time with my setup getting color calibrated for both DVD playback using MCE/PureVideo/VMR9 and recorded QAM TP file playback using overlay. (Anything else but overlay and 1080i material on my system produces stuttering.) I can calibrate my monitor to get DVDs or HDTV looking awesome, but not both at the same time. Right now I'm using DVI out to my TVs HDMI port. Tonight I'm going to do some testing with the integrated component out on my ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard to see if I get better results.

I think it all boils down to a color bug in the older Nvidia drivers and the Fusion software's issue with the latest Nvidia drivers. The latest Nvidia driver seems to fix the issue I'm having with getting both overlay and non-overlay playback calibrated on my monitor. But with the latest Nvidia drivers I get the "stuttering" playback with the Fusion software that is not there with the older 84.xx drivers.

Ronnie

UPDATE: (for anyone who might have this issue in the future. I'm not sure if this issue is with other Nvidia video cards and the Fusion but it is an issue with the 6150 built in video. I have an ASUS M2NPV-VM)

If you are using the Nvidia 6150 video to drive a TV, until Dvico fixes their issue with Nvidia drivers > 84.xx, here is the "best" hookup option that I can find to get both DVD playback using MCE/PureVideo/VMR9 AND HDTV playback using the Fusion software to both have correct color space.

If you use DVI or DVI to HDMI and install 84.xx drivers without doing anything else, you can calibrate your display to get both DVD and Fusion HDTV playback to look OK. But DVD playback will not pass BTB and WTW info to your display and the color space of 16-235 will be extended to 0-255. This causes color banding in gradations when playing DVDs. You can see it in Finding Nemo in the "Anglerfish" chapter (the fish with the "flashlight" thingy in the dark) along with other ocean water sceens in Nemo.

If you do the "VMRCCCSStatus" registry hack documented in the Nvidia 84.xx release notes (http://download.nvidia.com/Windows/84.21/84.21_ForceWare_Release_Notes.pdf) it will fix the the DVI color space bug and DVD playback will pass BTB and WTW info. You will have to recalibrate your monitor after the hack. But with this setup blacks get crushed with Fusion HDTV playback and the resulting image is WAY too dark. There is no good fix for the Fusion playback with this setup. I've tried tweaking the Nvidia overlay hue/saturation/brightness/contrast to fix the crushed blacks but doing so adds all kinds of other color issues into the equation.

The "best" solution is to use the component HDTV out of the 6150 to drive your TV. Using the 84.xx drivers "as is" with the component out still crops the color space to 16-235 and DVD playback will not pass BTB and WTW info causeing the color banding in DVDS. BUT the "VMRCCCSStatus" registry hack mentioned above also fixed the color space with HDTV component out on the 6150! You will still have to recalibrate your display after the hack BUT after applying the hack, the Fusion HDTV playback DOES NOT suffer from crushed blacks as long as you do not set the option in the Fusion software to use VMR. If you do use VMR in the Fusion software with this setup, the blacks WILL get crushed, but in normal overlay mode they do not.

Side notes:

The only downside with the above "best" setup is digital 480i stations will have about 20% of the bottom of the screen covered by a white/gray bar. If you check use VMR in the Fusion software, quit and reopen the Fusion software, the white/gray bar will be gone, BUT your blacks will now be crushed and ALL channels will be too dark. So it's not a "perfect" solution, but I can live with it! (Only a few people have reported the white/gray bar issue with digital 480i digital stations but I can recreate it every time on my system. It even shows up in the JPG snapshots that I take. I can post an example if anyone wants/needs to see the issue. I think it's a 84.xx Nvidia driver issue because it does not happen with the 9x.xx drivers but then we are back to the poor/stuttering playback issue with the Fusion software.)
I have not tried VGA breakout to component to see if it also suffers from the above issues so that might also be a workaround option as well.
If Dvico fixes their issue with the 9x.xx ForceWare drivers all will be good with DVI/DVI to HDMI connections. Nvidia has fixed the color issue I described above in the 9x.xx drivers (I think) but they cause poor "stuttering" playback in the Fusion software.
If you only use your PC that has the Fusion card in it to watch HDTV and not DVDs or other video formats, the above is a mute issue and you can get good results via the Fusion software and display calibration.
I have not tried using the BDA drivers with the Fusion in MCE because I use clear QAM so I'm stuck with the Fusion software for HDTV.

Hope this helps someone else out.


Ronnie

[yobdab]

Does anyone know if I should be able to record simultaneously on my FusionHDTV 5 Express (in the FusionHDTV app, using QAM) and on my Hauppauge MCE500 (in MCE 2005)?

I purchased and installed a FusionHDTV 5 Express (the PCI-e 1x version) yesterday. The problem is that if I'm recording on the Fusion, starting MCE and viewing Live TV or starting a recording kills the recording on the Fusion. The reverse is also true, ie. if I'm recording on MCE and a Fusion recording starts it kills the MCE one (the Fusion recording doesn't work either).

I've tried several things but to no avail:

1. I've checked I don't have an IRQ conflict between the Hauppauge and the FusionHDTV. They were sharing the same IRQ before (19) although windows didn't flag this as a conflict. I've now moved the Hauppauge around and verified that all