Latest Ceton InfiniTV 4 Info Thread - Page 141

I could very well be in their boiler plate contracts, I just don't think TWC is fighting for their customer's best interest. My guess is it is in some of the contracts and they just have it on across the board to make things easier.

This is a pointless exorcise I am sure, but it is just one of those annoying things about the cable oligopoly.

xnappo

It is definitely a pointless exercise, but apparently not stopping you from cross-posting into every Cablecard user thread. Don't forget about all the SD Prime threads, you missed those.

Hey, if I wanted to get the word out, cross posting to three threads is not that excessive. I am surprised you read all three though

xnappo

I have yet to see my InfiniTV4 USB stay up for more than 3 days without experiencing a channel conflict or subscription error no tuner avail error.. Typically when it fails it stays that way until the Infinitv4 is power cycled.

Things I have tried:
1. replace all cables with high quality cables.
2. have TWC tweak the 'intelligent' power tap in front of my house to produce signal strength in the +6 to +12 db (varies with freq) and SNR of +37 or +38db
3. Built three separate PC's to test it on..two of them were amd cpus w 790gx / fx chipsets and ATI 5850 / 6870 / 6950 VGAs one of them were intel i3 ib w z77 chipsets and no vga (use HD4000 IGPU)
4. RMA the usb infinitv4 with a preflashed replacement usb unit. 1.2.2.6 / HW 6298 (part of the action from an open ticket with ceton.. opened and have been actively working it since May of 2012.)
5. Using Win 7 sp1 and all recommended hotfixes for usb...
6. Have moved the TWC Cisco TA and USB onto their own separate usb2 controllers.
7. Opened ticket with Ceton support on May4th 2012 (after messing with it for a week on my own) Ticket is still open and worked weekly.
8. Turned off ALL updates.. both media center and win7 and in the ceton advanced diag options. Turned all power saving and usb selective suspend and other power saving / screen saver / monitor poweroff options off. PC runs all the time, no hibernation etc. (that helped a little but did not eliminate the issue)
9. swap out the TA with a replacement unit from TWC.

My 1 year purchase date comes due on April 7th. So far I've spent a few thousand dollars on the various components for these test platforms but still cannot get ANY of them to work with the infinity usb for more than a few days.. (then lose the tuners and have to power cycle.)

Ceton customer support has been working with me and to their credit, its gotten a bit more stable due to their efforts, but I'm looking for cablebox like reliability.. (did I really just say that!) Hell I'd be happy to see it run for a week. (so far the longest I've seen it go is about 4 days.. and thats only because I didn't use the media extender or the HTPC WMC ehshell.exe processes during that time. As soon as I started WMC ehshell.exe I got a channel error no tuner avail within 15 minutes. then had to power cycle the ceton.)

When the errors happen, the ceton diag cannot communicate to the infiniTV. Nor can I IP directly to the diag page. attempts to collect diags produce dumps that ceton says contain no useful info. (only way to get a full diag is to powercycle the ceton, and then the logs get reset.)

I just wanted to reach out to the other InfiniTV USB owners to see if I can compare notes.. (settings.. components.. drivers.. etc)

I just can't seem to build a system that allows the usb inifinitv to work reliably.
I just purchased a 4th set of components..
(Gigabyte z77x-ud3h / Intel IB i5-3570k)

I really like the ceton product. Its 99% good.. (except for tuner dropouts) I've tried harder than most folks to make it work.. But I've already went overboard building three systems (soon to be four) and still no joy.

I don't know what else ceton can do for me. I've even asked for specific hardware and driver recommendations but they refused to do that (and I understand why) .. so I've tried several times on my own.. two amd builds and one intel build so far.

Here's the latest Intel attempt:
CPU: i3-3225 / HD4000 igpu
MOBO: Asrock extreme4 z77
MEM: Patriot DDR3 - 1600 9-9-9-24 1t
PSU: Rosewill 750w
UPS: Cyperpower pure sine wave 810w
SSD: Intel 330 128GB
HDD: WD 1002FAEX 1TB
DVD: Pioneer 207MBK BDXL bluray burner
OS: win7 sp1
Monitors: Primary - Vizio 32" led 1080p (HDMI) Secondary- Acer 22" 1680 x 1050p (DVI)
Ceton infinitv4 usb / w Scientific Atlanta M-card
Cisco TA


No VGA, NO Hauppauge, Just the OS and prescribed hotfixes.
No oc either.. I think I've met the min build requirements for hardware.
I have a dedicated work bench setup in the middle of my family room with bare bones builds scattered on the table. My room has been an infinitv QA lab since
last May.

So whats a guy to do to make the Infinitv4 USB work more than 3 days without a power cycle? Aside from the tuner drops its good. Is this as good as it can get on a usb model?

AMD_System1.txt 1k .txt file AMD_System2.txt 1k .txt file
Edited by NCoastTweaker - 2/26/13 at 3:09pm

Have you tried asking Ceton if you could RMA with a PCIe device vs. the USB to see if you have the same issues? Not sure if that's something you'd even want (since you probably bought the USB for specific reasons...), but maybe it'll help narrow things down? I haven't used the USB, but I've been really happy with my PCIe version (once they released the FW that fixed the reboot problem close to a year ago).

I did bring that up earlier in the ticket I have open.. On the 1st system I did choose the usb cause of the tight case.. but now it doesn't matter. I just want it to work and would me willing to go with PCIE if thats what it takes.. I may ask them again in the ticket.. I would not be opposed to trying the PCIE version if they would be willing to exchange it for my usb model..

I thought for sure I'd get it working after three separate builds, but success has evaded me. Its damn close to being there, but the unpredictable tuner drops ruin it. The fact that I see the same symptoms across three builds kinda make me look at the ceton with some suspicion.. but I can't really prove or disprove anything..

Theres the TA and cablecard to consider too.. (both of which I've replaced)
And theres the Catalyst / VGA drivers.. (more moving targets)

Trying to troubleshoot is next to impossible...
Edited by NCoastTweaker - 2/26/13 at 1:00pm

Check your PMs if you want to trade.

FWIW, Catalyst 12.8 is the only version that completely works on the AMD card in my HTPC. Earlier and later versions have issues on my system.

THIS might be related to your issue, if you want to give it a shot.

I had a lot of problems losing tuners until I ran THIS. The symptoms were appeared to be poor signals, but the real cause turned out to be DRM. It's a stretch, but your issue may be related.

Seen your pm. I don't want to trade, but I am checking the couch cushions for some xtra $$$.. I might be willing to try out the pcie version on the gigabyte ud3h / i5 build.
Edited by NCoastTweaker - 2/26/13 at 3:15pm

Hardware update 6829 now appears on my beta update page... Anyone try it?

I have the latest at 6212 according to my update page...PCIe.

Pcie here as well. Current Hardware Version: 6408.

I have a USB version sitting on my desk but I have not had time to even open it yet. I'll set it up tomorrow and let you know if I experience the same issues after a few days.

I wonder why my card isn't showing either of the updates (6408 or 6829)...maybe different revision board? Weird...might talk to Ceton about this...

I think you have to download and run the latest InfiniTV installer package so the update utility sees the newer updates. I have hardware version 5124 and I've been on FW 1.1.7.2 since it was a beta. My diagnostic tool isn't showing any updates either but it's working so well I don't want to change anything.

Ok, thanks for the info.

I agree, 'if it aint broke, don't fix it', however I would like to see a change log to determine if I should upgrade. If it improves stability, performance or tuning time for example, it might be worth while.

Changelog at: http://cetoncorp.com/infinitv_support/beta-driver-update/

They way I interpret this system as working there are three components that are upgradable:

1. The software driver on the computer (linked above).
2. The card 'firmware' - software running on the card, possibly pulled from non-volatile memory during card initialization.
3. The card 'H/W Version' - 'H/W version' to me should mean the physical revision of the board. (E.g. remove a resistor or change a track and the hardware version / revision changes.) I think at Ceton they are referring to the a hard coded piece of programming. (E.g. programming of an FPGA onboard.)

The change logs that would determine whether to upgrade would be for item 3, and I'm not sure are publicly accessible.

Does a second Ceton card require a second TA or can I split the output of one TA and feed two Ceton cards and get by ok?

@th3Pil0t

I would agree about changelogs for #3. I have never seen them either, which makes me hesitate to upgrade. In the past, I've used forums such as this and TGB to try to assess what changes may have been made. Ekotz from Ceton will sometimes fill in the blanks. I will say that, typically I would agree with Ken F. re: updating, but I have noticed a huge decrease in the frequency of the macroblocking issue due to one update or another in the last few months. I'd almost forgotten how bad it was until I watched a few recorded episodes of Tosh that aired in October 2012.

The hwimage is an FPGA code update (which is why it requires the power-cycle to take effect). I believe 6829 increased compatibility for timing with out-of-spec CableCARDs.

Thanks Eric,

So that falls solidly into the "don't mess with the beta unless your are having problems" group? I still have some minor line macroblocking on higher frequencies - but pretty happy with performance right now.

xnappo
Edited by xnappo - 2/27/13 at 8:52am

Yes...thanks, Eric, for the update. Is there any chance that, at some point, changelogs for the firmware and hardware updates will be published?

Thanks Eric. I will try to update tonight as I am now a couple of versions behind and am having some macro blocking issues... I guess I'll try downloading the latest InfiniTV installer packages and see if I get the option to upgrade.

I installed the beta update even though I am having no issues. I am still having no issues.

You need 1 TA per InfiniTV.

Re: Changelogs, I'll see what I can do, but most of our updates lately have been along the lines of compatibility improvements.

I am not sure if this is the right thread but since its titled Latest Ceton Info Thread, I figured why not post here. I just put my finishing touches on my new build. I just went through the TV Tuner setup in Windows and I think (I know) I made a big mistake. When I was asked if I want to bind all four tuners to my PC I left it checked. I went through the whole installation process and called my cable company and went through their process as well. Everything is setup and just when I thought I was home free for the night (morning hence the time), I just found a Ceton Installation guide that states that I shouldn't bind all four tuners tom my PC if I want to use them with extenders. >>>>KICKING MYSELF

So my question is can I unbind 3 of them and if so how?


Thanks in advance.

Are you trying to use Network Tuners, or Extenders. If you are trying to use Extenders, you should not install network tuners.

So I didn't get around to updating the drivers yet, but I have another issue.

Some of my recordings have all of a sudden started flashing subscription required screens. During playback, it'll flick to the subscription required screen for 1/2 a second, then back to the recording for a few seconds. I fast forwarded about 30 seconds and seemed to fix it. Anyone else seen this? It happened on two different shows last night.

Can I use Network tuners and extenders? I mainly want to use extenders, so should I unbind the tuners from my htpc?

Media Center extenders remotely connect to Media Center on the HTPC. If the tuner isn't available to the HTPC it won't be available to a Media Center extender.