Hauppauge WinTV HD PVR (H.264) screenshot - Page 172

hello to all,
and like so many others. I'm having issues .
first this first off seems like a great device 1080i from sorce(great)recordings look good!
works fine(when it works),easly hooked up.great job haugpauge.
now comes the problem
(1600 tuner card in my set-up also) and win7 reconises this the first time and works fine, setup with mce is straight forward. then all hell hits the fan!!
the ir blaster work 1-2 times then something happens and and I loose the tuner side of the driver?in following the diection from haugg they say to update to the mce driver.
it installs to the sound devices. at first i see a capture device and a tuner device.
then i loose the tuner device??and the ir blaster stops working?? I've tryed reinstalling,no good.i,ve tried ejecting ,no good.I've tried shuting off,everything I can think of!!
can anyone help me with this problem or experienced this??
thanks
pbs

The 'optical in' jack came loose on my PVR. It's still in place but I can move it around a little where it connects to the circuit board. Can't capture without it. (5.1anyway)
Changing sources too many times i guess.
Anybody have experience in fixing issues like this?

Greetings everyone, new 1212 owner checking in. I'll start by noting three things:

(1) As nikknight described, one of my optical ports (SPDIF in) is pretty loose. Still works fine, but it bugs me on a new machine. I purchased from Walmart (for just this reason) so I've got a while to consider returning and picking up another.

(2) Now this one really reveals my technical skill: when I first set up the 1212 (specs listed below), I had all kinds of trouble getting it to work. In particular, I couldn't get the video preview on my notebook unless I set audio in to 2-channel, which is really weird because that port wasn't being used. I tried capturing that way, but of course...no sound. I also noticed that the TME interface was running REALLY SLOWLY.

Long story short: I had the two optical cables in the back of the 1212 plugged in backwards! I just naively assumed the "in" would be nearest the component ports, and the "out" would be on the side nearest the power. Silly mistake.

No wait. I wasn't naive. THAT'S THE WAY IT'S DIAGRAMMED!!


(3) Finally, I'm working on authoring/burning (it seems to be a pretty easy process). Based on some quick math, it looks like when you drop a capture file into TME studio, it adds 0.5GB as "overhead" on the disk (i.e., menus, images, etc.). In other words, recordings need to be 4.2GB in order to fit (with the overhead) on a 4.7GB disk. I'm going to search the forum for "disk overhead" but in the meantime, does this number line up with other people's experience?

TV: Panasonic 50" plasma
Media source: Dish Network, VIP722
PC: Asus UL30A (works perfectly with the 1212)
OS: Win7 Professional

Thanks!

-Matt

PS I just realized the 0.5GB may not be overhead (it sure seems like a lot), but rather the result of the infamous MB -> GB conversion mystery (i.e., 1 GB = 1 billion bytes). My first impression though is that's not the case (it's usually drive manufacturers that use that convention).

You're right, It has to do with the formatting of the disk. You get 4.35gb out of the blank I think is the number. I find that capturing up to 60min at 10mb VR will fit onto a 4.35 disc.

If menu's aren't important for you, I suggest you use tsmuxer for preparing the files for disc. much faster. automatic chaptering too.

just remember to capture .ts files if you use it.

Ah yeah, forgot about formatting.

Having some trouble with tsmuxer. Things seem to load fine into TWE and multiAVCHD, but a few titles are getting a "no audio loaded" with tsmuxer (while others work--they were all captured the same way). Any suggestions?

-Matt

I used to get that too. Then I started capturing in .ts format and not m2ts.
Don't know why, but it works.
Just change it by selecting 'acvhd' in the lower left corner.

btw, I use multiavchd when i need a menu. They are really sharp looking compared to TME. Multiavchd can give you XMB, Slide or carousel menus.

Yep, using .ts, so unfortunately that's not the culprit.

A question about multiAVCHD: if you do auto-chaptering in tsmuxer, does multiAVCHD pick up the chapter marks, and if so, how do you create image thumbnails? I'm afraid it all has to be done by hand, and the images need to be fed into multiAVCHD in a script or batch. I *do* like that XMB menu.

-Matt

I think you have something mixed up regarding authoring with multiavchd.
You use either tsmuxer or multi. Not both.
-pop the ts file in tsmuxer and output folders for burning.
-or drop the file(s) in multi and author it for burning.

quick and easy way to use multi.
import the file.
click on properties. It will give auto 12chapters unless you edit the chapters list. so i paste this into the 'edit chapters' area.
00:00:00.000
00:05:00.000
00:10:00.000
00:15:00.000
00:20:00.000
00:25:00.000
00:30:00.000
00:35:00.000
00:40:00.000
00:45:00.000
00:50:00.000
00:55:00.000
01:00:00.000
(i have it saved on my desktop as a txt file)

You can customize the thumbnails by scrolling thru the video in the window. then click on the the poster button to save it. then click on 'ok' to save your changes.
click on start. (bottom right) and choose 'avchd strict' for better compatibilty among players.

That's the short version on how to use it. There are many other options under the different tabs but that should get you going with menu's and chaptering.

One thing to remember, It uses tsmuxer to process the files so if you have a problem file using tsmuxer then it will probably be a problem in multiavchd.

To fix a problem file, I usually edit it using videoredo v4. ($95)
I usually chop a few frames or seconds off the front end of the file (and maybe the end of it too) I think the issue is the first few frames of the captured file that gives tsmuxer the problem. I could be wrong..

or you could skip editing it and just use TME. it usually takes care of it too..

Ah, let me explain! If I drop a capture directly into multiAVCHD, there are a few steps that seem to be a bit buggy. For example, loading the properties screen is pretty slow, and I don't consistently get the preview window working (usually grey). So setting up chapters and thumbnails is less than perfect (though you're right, it can divide the file automatically).

The part that I couldn't get to work in particular was cutting the end of the capture. But I realized I could easily do so in tsmuxer (and also select the chapter option) and then output it as an AVCHD folder, which multiAVCHD is happy to load. So I thought I could get some preprocessing done with tsmuxer before doing the menus in multiAVCHD. But I have a way of making simple things complicated!

Anyway, thanks for the detailed pointers. I'm frustrated that some of it doesn't work easily for me in multiAVCHD, but I'll continue tweaking. =)

-Matt

OK, follow up to my difficulties with multiAVCHD: last night I reinstalled a few components (e.g., avisynth) which has cleared up several problems. Now I can view thumbnails while working on chapters, and the whole program runs faster. I think the take-away message is check your third-party components.

I see that multiAVCHD has a way to test some of the components (multitest?), but ironically it looks like at least one of the ones I needed to update was in the multiAVCHD install itself. I suppose I've gotten lazy since other similar programs (e.g., autoGK) often bring along the "right" plug-ins, add-ons, etc.

Now it's time for a first impression. WOW. I've burned a few projects to DVD-RW for practice (not quite ready for DVD-R, still need to iron out the wrinkles in the menus), and watching them on my TV I get this happy glow. The video quality is about 90-95% of the original (bless my nearsighted eyes!), but to my untrained ears the AC3 5.1 sounds perfect. What a blast. I'm asking my Dish DVR to record all kinds of things I have no intention of ever watching, just because it's so easy.

OH!...almost forgot. I am working on a formula for estimating bitrate, given a target file (disk) size and duration of recording. The magic number seems to be...128 (or maybe 127)! If it generalizes as easy as I think it does--and isn't already on the forum--I'll fill in the details.

-Matt

Not sure if this was a local sale or not, but the Yellow sticker place has this on sale for $20 off!

Can't wait to try it out!

I would like to purchase one of these but my PC is aproximately 25 feet away can the usb be extended that far ? does an powered active usb work?

25' component cables work fine

I would like to put the HD DVR next to the cable box so that the ir blaster works, then 25 feet away is the computer so I am asking if the usb connection will travel that far

Hi Guys,

I hope someone can help me here, I've been waiting for Hauppauge Tech Support to respond to me for 4 weeks and I've not been able to solve my problem by searching the internet.

5 weeks ago I purchased a HD PVR 1212. I have connected this HD PVR via component cables from my Set Top Box to the HD PVR and then the output components cables (passthrough) to my TV, I have also connected the USB cable from HD PVR to the PC.

I have loaded the PC with the latest Win 7 MCE setup and driver version 1.5.7.0 from your website.

Issue 1:
The picture quality for the most part is excellent, both viewing from the PC and the component out (passthrough) of the HD PVR directly to the TV. However I noticed at times that when viewing from the PC that sometimes the box would lose signal typically when a program switched from 1080i to SD during commercials.

Issue 2:
Watching Monday Night Football on ESPN HD via component passthrough!!!(Not through the PC). I noticed flickering on my TV screen, followed by the picture being distorted and pulled to the left side of the screen, when a camera change occurred the picture fixed itself but the problem would come back frequently. My TV is connected from the component output of the HD PVR. In order to try and eliminate the problem I switched the component cables with another 2 sets that I own but it did not fix the problem, I then went into another room to check the picture quality to determine whether it was a cable feed problem but it wasn't. I have tried changing the output of the Set top Box from 1080i to 720p and power cycling the HD PVR but it makes no difference. Commercial breaks are fine! If I remove the HDPVR the STB to TV video is fine. I've put the power supply on its own circuit and that didn't solve it either.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the passthrough problem?

Regards

shawzie

For issue 1, look for a setting in your STB calle "SD Override" (or anything similar that dictates how SD material is displayed) and set it to OFF.

I'm not sure on issue 2, hopefully someone else can help you, I personally have never used the component output (passthrough) of the HD-PVR. My setup is that the HDMI out of the STB goes to the TV. The component out of the STB goes to the HD-PVR so no need for passthrough since my STB outputs signal on both HDMI/component at the same time.

@CPB

For issue #1 I have set the SD on the STB to OFF and always output 720P and I haven't seen any drop outs so far. However on SD TV I have the black bars on the top and sides on the video reducing the screen from full screen but I can live with that for SD :-)

For issue #2 I finally got a response from Hauppauge saying that the passthrough feed should be untouched, which I disagree with from my experience. If the STB outputs 1080i I see a slight interlacing problem on the TV which is not present when the HD-PVR is removed from the setup, so I have the STB set to always output 720P. I am hoping that the fix for issue #1 will help with #2, I'm going to wait until Monday Night Football on ESPN HD next week to see if there is any improvement as its currently unwatchable and the worst channel with the passthrough problem.

Thanks for all your help.

Shawzie

Yeah I usually get the black bars on the right-left for SD material but rarely on the top/bottom, only on selected channels such as those that are showing 16:9 material formatted (using black bars) for a 4:3 screen. At that point I usually hit the 'aspect' button on my STB remote and get it to full screen, but that's something I have to do every time. I don't do anything if there's just black bars on the sides but that's just me. I'd play around with your remote and STB settings to see if you can fool with the aspect ratio when you get the black bars completely surrounding the picture. Other than that, there's not much that can be done but at least your dropouts aren't occurring!

As for the other problem that's a head scratcher, I hope you get it all resolved!

Have used the HDPVR for a looooong time with my Fios dvr @ 720P and have made many perfect recordings. So, just got a new Panny 54" 1080P plasma so I up'd my fios box output to 1080i to make full use of the new TV.

I launch TME to begin a recording and on the preview window the video will hessitate every min or two even if I'm not actually recording. The recordings come out with those glitches as well which make them useless. I use hardware acceleration.

I run W7 64 bit, Nvidia GTX470, all drivers updated and arcsoft up to date. I see on Haup's website that their latest drivers supposedly cured this fios glitch... but I am experiencing it still... or something similiar.

Question is.. is this worth trying to figure out? Or should I just revert back to 720 p output on fios box? Don't really wanna do the latter albeit probably can't tell a difference really. I max out all my quality settings btw but still get issues even if dialed down.

Edit: Problem solved

With my new 3D setup, in order to watch 3D blu ray via my HTPC you have to set resolution in NVidia control panel to HD 3D 1080P 24hz. It doesn't change back after watching a 3d movie and TME doesn't like that configuration. I changed it to 1920x1080 60hz and now I'm recording fine even with 1080i input from fios box. Will be a hassle to have to do that, but don't see a way around it for now. PQ is worth it though on the new set! 8-)

i'm having a problem with KL Toolbox, about 2 weeks ago it would not and still won't open. i double click it and it immediately get the Windows error reporting screen. i'm running Vista Ult 32 bit. i can use TMT Extreme to record but the KL Toolbox is much easier to use and uses less resources. Any help please

Has anyone ever tried to use this device (or rather, the files it creates) to record to a D-VHS tape deck? My SA8300HD DVR long ago had its firewire ports crippled by TWC, so there went my HD tape recording. But if I could off-load HD content from my 8300 DVR to a computer via the "analog hole" with the Hauppauge HD-PVR, could I then take the transcoded material back off the computer and into the D-VHS deck via its firewire input and create D-VHS tape recordings of that material? Would that be the workaround to TWC crippling the firewire ports on their STB's and rendering the JVC D-VHS recorder useless?

If so, then I could once again use my D-VHS deck for its intended purpose - archival tape storage of television programs and movies from my cable STB.

I've never had a reason (or a D-VHS deck ) to try, but I don't see any problems doing this, as long as your computer/software does DV out. I would think this would be a snap on a Macintosh...

No. There are several problems with what you are proposing:

-What you are suggesting is using DVHS tapes as a computer data storage medium and that makes little economic sense in terms of gigs/dollar.

-DVHS doesn't record AVCHD, H264, or whatever it is we call the compressed video signals we get from the HDPVR, they record the raw uncompressed ATSC signal of HDTV. {you'd need a converter and they don't exist}

-DVHS doesn't play back AVCHD, H264, or whatever it is we call the compressed video signals we get from the HDPVR, either.

-tapes are going away as a medium (all forms, both audio and video, even digital versions). DVHS decks are no longer made, haven't been for some years, and buying blanks, either DVHS or SVHS you modify yourself by poking a hole in the correct spot on the bottom, is already quite difficult so you'd have to buy used ones unless you have a large stockpile you are sitting on.

If you like having a high quality hard copy of your recordings, instead of just archiving on hard drives and playing back from there or other computers via media server devices like the Roku XDS, that are more future proof and playback in HD on affordable decks that are still in production, I'd recomend Bluray or the AVCHD compatible DVD disc format which the Arcsoft software supplied can make on its own. All you need is a DVD burner, DVD blanks which are dirt cheap and still in production, and bluray decks to playback on. (some ar even under $100)

Actually, D-VHS tape decks record an MPEG2 stream, as uncompressed HD is waaaay too much data to fit on a 2-hour tape. And the HD-PVR doesn't record in the MPEG2 format, as I've just discovered. But it does take advantage of the "analog hole" to transcode HD component output into an MPEG4 stream, which D-VHS doesn't recognize. So it's a moot point.

I will just have to get used to the fact that my D-VHS deck's time has come and gone. But I can still use this nifty HD-PVR to transcode HD component out of my DVR (that tech used to cost thousands!) and burn a BD or, as you say, an AVCHD-DVD that will (as I understand it) play on my PS3. Time marches on, don't it?

One other question about the HD-PVR...

Does this device have an antenna jack to capture OTA television broadcasts? Or do you have to get a separate computer ATSC device or card to do that?

^No antenna jack (or tuner). Inputs are component, composite, s-video, optical dig audio (will do Dolby 5.1 but no form of DTS) and analog RCA audio.


D-VHS records a bit for bit perfect uncompressed signal presented to its digital Firewire input port, around 25GB per "2 hr" tape, but I was pehaps wrong to call that signal "ATSC", yes.

Thanks. That's what I thought. Looks like I'll have to buy a tuner card after all.


I think we're having a misunderstanding about compression. The signal has already been compressed to MPEG2 by the time it gets to the tape deck. It's not full-bitrate uncompressed HD that's being transmitted from the provider to the STB. OTA delivery is about 9GB/hour, the cable company is 5-6GB/hour of this MPEG2 stream after they rate-shape the hell out of it. The D-VHS deck is not doing any additional compression but it is recording a bit-for-bit copy of the previously compressed signal it's getting. It's just a bit-bucket.

Your original post which described shuttling a signal back and forth between a source device, a computrer hard drive, the HD-PVR, and a D-VHS deck sounded to me like you were unclear that these are not all the same type of signal.

You asked,
The HD-PVR compresses the incoming signal greatly, where as a DVHS is completly different, adds no further compression at all, and perfectly records the raw unprocessed data it is presented with perfectly, bit for bit, hence my description of its recordings as "uncompressed", although, yes, the incoming signal is already compressed.


Stop right there. That's all I meant when I wrote,


so no need to take it any further. You are beating a dead horse.

I'm done.

Been doing some searching and came accross this hd-pvr forum. Any how I had trouble with 1 of my hd-pvrs in sage tv and I uninstalled all of the drivers and downloaded the latest and reinstalled everything, still no worky so I done it again and still no worky. So I decided to install the arcsoft and tme software that came with these. After install it wanted me to udate the software, so I did, Both unit's worked fine in tme. So I went back to sage and redone them again and they both worked and appear to work fine now. The problem is that the status indicators do not come on now when recording. So now I do not know if and which one is recording. Any body got an answer where to turn these back on so they work?
Thanks
Wayne