HDPVR Support on the Mac (HDPVRCapture) - Page 7

I don't think it's a sleep thing. My Mini was already set to never sleep, but recording dies when it comes back from either a blank screen (Energy Saver > Put Display To Sleep) or from the actual Screen Saver (different Sys Pref). I've now turned both off, and trying again.

Is this what we're looking for (from:http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html ) ?

"Video formats supported
H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats"

You don't want to transcode 59.94 or 29.97 back down to 24fps unless you have a successful 3:2 pulldown method that actually works, and in any event this would only apply to content that was originally 24fps; i.e., filmed motion pictures or television. I attempted this in VisualHub (in Advanced Settings - framerate of "ntsc-film" per Tyler's suggestion) with results that were not satisfactory.


A better result is to get the AppleTV to play 720p at framerates greater than 25fps (the Apple spec).

My experience is that it will do it with CALVC up to 9Mpbs, but with CABAC, we are open to experimentation.

The key is to get iTunes to sync this content over to the AppleTV so that you will find it in your My Movies folder. Follow this "fool iTunes" trick, mentioned in this post (which I have not tried with CABAC, but still should work):

http://forum.awkwardtv.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1986

fool itunes:

http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/wiki/How_t...ts_to_Apple_TV

Of course an unhacked AppleTV will not play CABAC; only one with Perian installed...

Automation would be good, but the "fool itunes" trick does require QuickTime Pro.

I just added the afterthought that the AppleTV will require Perian to view CABAC.

Remember, I have only done limited testing on watching these MP4 files in AppleTV (30 seconds samples) and I am not convinced yet that they are acceptable from the point of view of stuttering; and my guess is that they will never be without transcoding (until the AppleTV 3.0 hardware updates to a more powerful CPU or internal H.264 decoding chip).

Steve: a philosphical question:

In Windows with TME, in the default settings, I get .TS files with much larger bitrates than the command line examples you gave me to use (6,000 vs. 2100, etc.), which I then transcode to 4-6MPBS for the AppleTV.

My HDTV connected to my AppleTV is a lousy 32" LCD Emprex; my wife has her AppleTV connected to a 42" Panny Plasma, so I cannot see quality differences as easy as most.

Do you feel you get the proper visual quality at 2100kpbs vs 6000?

I modified my last comment: "Remember, I have only done limited testing on watching these MP4 files in AppleTV (30 seconds samples) and I am not convinced yet that they are acceptable from the point of view of stuttering; and my guess is that they will never be without transcoding (until the AppleTV 3.0 hardware updates to a more powerful CPU or internal H.264 decoding chip)."

ignore; repeated below:

1. I seem to randomly get failures. I originally thought I could solve it by moving all 3 new files out of my bin folder: tootsie.ts, tootsie.log, tootsie.mov, but not that is not always solving the problem:

I pasted the wrong attempt, sorry!

HDPVRCapture v1.1.0 (Nov 15 2008 @ 19:27:58)
Downloads are available from www.steventoth.net
Copyright 2008, Steven Toth.
License for: MichaelLAX@aol.com HDPVR:0xxxxxxx

Output filename: tootsie.ts
Duration: 00:00:30 (30 seconds)
Monitor via VLC: No (default)
Bitrate : 5500000 bps
Peak Bitrate: 20000000 bps
Device: 0 (default)
Audio Boost: Disabled (default)
Audio Encode: AAC
Audio Input Mux: SPDIF
Video Input Mux: COMPONENT
Bitrate Mode: AVG (default)
GOP Mode: SIMPLE (default)
Lights: OFF (default)
Ir Blaster:
Region: North America
Device: Satellite
Vendor: DirectTV
Codeset: 125
Channel#: 501
Min digits to send: 4
Needs Enter: No (default)
Post Processing with profile #4
Searching for HDPVR devices, vendor ID=0x2040 product ID=0x4900 or 0x4901

Found HDPVR, serial number = 00xxxxxx
Loading ir.xml
Booting IR Blaster
Sending channel change information
Captured: 180224 bytes, success.

Starting post processing for profile#4
Extracting Video
Extracting Audio
HDPVR1212: Failed, No such file or directory
HDPVR1212: Failed, No such file or directory
Creating staging file
HDPVR1212: Failed, No such file or directory
Creating .MP4
HDPVR1212: Failed, No such file or directory
Converting .MP4 to .MOV
HDPVR1212: Failed, unable to locate any tracks in the .mp4,
Cleaning up
HDPVR1212: Failed to remove temporary file No such file or directory, tootsie.ts
HDPVR1212: Failed to remove temporary file No such file or directory, tootsie.ts
HDPVR1212: Failed to remove temporary file No such file or directory, tootsie.ts
Adding content to iTunes
Post processing complete

It works in QuickTime "non-Pro".

Initial observations (I now have to go to my Day Job and pay for this hobby, so I am done for today):

hdpvr.mov plays on my AppleTV; I did not try the fool itunes trick:

Visually: looks good, but remember on my crappy 32" LCD and my vision apparently is not as discriminating as my friends when it come to HDTV (maybe time to go to the opthomologist!?!).

Audio: I find that your AC3 audio when fed to my Panny home theater with TOSLINK: echo'y and unacceptable.

I have had this problem before.

However, when I transcode hdpvr.ts in VisualHub to AppleTV 5.1 + 2.0 (AC3/5.1 passthru with a compatible AAC/2.0 audio track added), the AC3 track plays perfectly thru my Panny.

Earlier I discussed this problem with Graham Booker (the principal author of Perian), but his responses were beyond my technical expertise. It may have something to do with the way Apple implemented AC3 in their upgrade to v2.x of the ATV software.

In any event, if you can just mimic the VisualHub process of adding the compatible AAC/2.0 audio track (which when viewed in QuickTime in Command-J mode, will show the AC3 track first, but unchecked and the AAC track next, but checked), this process seems to work on the AppleTV and provides an AAC track for those who listen to their AppleTVs on a non-surround sound system (their HDTVs for example).

I need to do another test however. The 30 seconds did not provide me a good clip of talking, so I could judge if the audio is in sync; my guess is that it is, so if you want to work on a profile for AppleTV post processing, I think you might be there (if you can fix the audio problem and add the fool itunes trick)...

in the fool itunes trick:

in the nothing.mov file, using Command-J in QuickTime, change the aspect ratio to 1280x720 and do a SAVE.

This way there is no visual disruption in the first second, and since the file still thinks it is 1 second of 100x100, iTunes still syncs it.

I wonder, however, if the nothing.mov file should also have a 1 second AAC track, when used with combined AC3/AAC audio track HD-PVR captures.

Since the 5.1 driver is still relatively new, I have not done many captures that I later have enabled to fool itunes...

Well, this is just weird.

I restarted the recording, went and had lunch, raked the yard, came back downstairs and found the recording still going. I moved the mouse--about an inch--and the recording died.

Very weird. I'm trying a shorter program (1 hour) now.

UPDATE: Scratch that, I'll load 1.2 and try it instead. One hour record the first time, that doesn't do anything weird I'll keep working my way up.

AC3 audio problem on AppleTV:

compare the audio tracks from the .TS file and the resulting .MOV file in MediaInfo Mac. You'll see some wierdness here...

After transcoded with VisualHub with the compliant AAC file, looking at this file in MediaInfo Mac shows the proper AC3/5.1 specs.

I guess I should try a VisualHub AppleTV 5.1 only transcode, but no time now...

Steve, if I'd forgotten to put in the -a AC3 command (and I did), could that play into nuking a recording part of the way through? (Good move putting the error check in 1.2.)

Hmm. Okay. Here's the latest.

With 1.2 installed, I fired up a one-hour record and took the dog outside. My Mini is hooked up to a Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK plasma screen via the VGA port. Thanks to the screen saver and such being deactivated, I turned off the TV power while recording unattended. Turning the TV power back ON kills a recording. Also, pausing or doing other weird things with the source box (DirecTV HR21-700) also kills a recording. I'm monitoring the source via p-in-p through HDMI on the TV, not through VLC.

So I'm not sure if I'm dealing with weirdness in my own setup (possible, given the power-on-TV-recording-go-bye-bye), or weirdness in the way the Hauppauge box talks to the Mac, or both, or what.

Appreciate it if somebody with a similar setup (i.e., Mac is hooked up to a TV, not a computer monitor) would run a test and see if they see the same thing.

Yeah, it's hard wired. Don't think that's it.

I'll try it with an HD-DVD player next. Probably be sometime tomorrow before I have a chance.

Just an update:

HDPVRCapture works under the AppleTV provided the mach kernel is patched to bypass the USB device whitelist. The easiest way to do this is using NitoTV and including the 10.4.9 OSX update in ~/Documents. The kernel patch via NitoTV also installs several USB related kexts so at this time, I'm not sure if both the whitelist patch and the kexts are required.

As a bonus, the -P params also work and result in ts -> mp4 conversions.

Still have problems with capture of 480i, not with HDPVRCapture but nothing but current VLC can play them. Also analog audio input for -V SVIDEO seems to have changed (from 1.0 version) from front panel to back panel connectors.

Moved downstairs again to test 720p captures under the AppleTV OS.

Okay, I figured it out. The problem is not the Mac or the app or the capture box, the problem is the DirecTV STB. I've been previously monitoring what's on the STB via its HDMI output, which goes through a switch box and then to the TV (I have the Mac desktop in one p-in-p window and the DTV HDMI output in another). Whenever the TV cycles power (or either of the p-in-p screens refreshes, as in the Mac coming out of screen saver), the STB is (I'm guessing) doing an HDCP handshake, and that's (guessing again) generating enough of a hiccup in the analog stream from the component outs to make the Hauppauge box stop recording. When I either disconnect the HDMI cable or turn off the HDMI switch box, I can switch the TV on and off to my heart's content, the 1212 keeps running and the app keeps recording.

So there's my work-around: start a recording, then turn off the HDMI switch if I'm going to leave it unattended with the TV off. Only problem is, this is going to make it pretty hard to tell what's going on with the SDB while a recording is in progress. Guess it's time I tried using the VLC monitor option.

UPDATE: The VLC monitor option works just fine, even on the Mini. Now all I need is a "preview" window to see what I'm doing before a recording begins.

Steve, this is not exactly your problem, but a minimum-size passthrough window just for monitoring purposes would be a very nice addition once we get to GUI-ness.