How to record via IEEE 1394 (Firewire) to Windows XP - Page 2

John

OK- found it on Page 17 on the Service Menu.

OK, guess it was just the two INHD channels I couldn't record.

Having no problem grabbing clips of the Pistons-Pacers on ESPNHD :-)

1280x720@60fps 18mbit/sec stream

I used bdraw's instructions to setup my PC. Was able to configure exactly as directed. I do capture video and audio but both breakup badly on playback. I am using VLC for playback. Also tried using my HiPix card to playback. Both have same problem. VLC will playback my HiPix files perfectly. Charter updated my 3250HD with current SA software on 4/9.

Anyone have any ideas?

This thread is certainly what I was looking for! Thanks bdraw!!

I am new to all this, other than I have spent several hundred hours capturing and encoding analog broadcasts up till now..

All went well with my SA 3250HD with activated 1394 port (Cox cable delivered to me this week) and bdraw's instructions until I hit the record button in CapDVHS.exe. I get "Error 80040217; Cannot connect SampleGrabber." From what I have read, it has something to do with Directshow. Since I am using W2k, I thought that might be part of my problem...other than my own lack of understanding...

I would appreciate any feedback on this first post of mine!

Thanks!

Thanks bdraw,

I was afraid you were going to say that..

I was hoping not to have to buy a new computer to do this. W2k has worked well for me till now, and my experiences with XP have been less than favorable with both the hardware and software I use. I guess I'll just have to improvise and dedicate a separate drive for XP on an experimental basis..

Thanks for your help!

Seems to work fine with the Samsung T-165.
I can't open the output file with any of the MPEG editors I own, tho. I can play the file with WMP, Nero etc. but Pinnacle 9, Ulead 7, Nero editors all bomb when trying to load it for editing. Any ideas?

Tnx,
--jim

i just received my moto 620x 3 days ago (in place of my previous 5100 box). 7 weeks ago, i have read about recording via firewire, using a Mac, but no one then had any clue how to get firewire recording with a PC.

i didnt think it was yet possible, but i decided to plug the STB to my HTPC, and it detected it. having had no driver to work with, i spent about 10 minutes scouring the driver database in XP, but of course to no avail. so i unplugged the firewire cable from the HTPC, but left it at the STB end.

enter this article - Thanks for the guide! its immensely helpful, easy and direct to the point. i got it to work without any hitch. Ive just fired up CapDVHS and it works so well. Took a while to figure out dctrecord, but its now running. actually, im recording the Lakers/T'Wolves Game 2 on TNT. its analog so im not expecting much out of the PQ. But later ill try it on an actual digital channel (anything between 102 to 171), and later, ill try it on an HD channel. i CANT wait!

man, this is AMAZING - thank you so much!

this is about to render my replayTV obsolete, once the 6208s are OFFICIALLY finally released in my area. Timeshifting thru the STB, and recording to my own hard drive via CapDVHS or dctrecord.

again, bdraw, i cant thank you enough for such a great job!

Ben, there is now a more recent version of HDTVtoMPEG2 (aka H2), which I believe has the MPEG2 output bug in 1.10 fixed, available here.

Anyone have any success with just watching (HD, SD or even just analog)?

Thanks! That makes sense.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to play with it for a day or two. Work has a way of interfering with the important stuff..

I do have one report to make, tho. Using the Elecard MPEG2 player to play the 1080i TS files on my Samsung 5065 (DVI interface from PC) works quite nicely. Scaling the output window to 720p, CPU usage runs < 30% on a 3.2ghz P4 Northwood with an ATI 9600XT. (1024MB RAM) Video is very good, with the only notable defect being that the Elecard decoder seems to run heavy on color saturation at default settings.

Wish I had more time to play. This lashup falls under Truly Useful in my book.

--jim

Thanks for all of the great research.
I am trying to get this going on my system, and am gettting close. Using the capture program I was able to get video from my 6200.

I have set up VLS and GotTV, and both see the "panasonic" AV tuner, but display black when selected as the input source. When I try to configure them in either application - BAM! BSOD (ugh).

New to this AV stuff, so any additional help is appreciated.
Anyone hear if motorola plans on releasing matching drivers? I looked at their site, and actually just sent an email to support.

You want to use Panasonic "DVHS", not Pansonic "Tuner" as your device driver.

If you have things set up properly it will show the capture device in CapDVHS as:
"Panasonic MPEG2TS Tape Subunit Device(Unkown Video#1)"

Thanks for the catch - it was a typo. It is set up as a Panasonic DVHS.
I was able to capture some video using CapDVHS.
The panasonic DVHS Tape shows up as a device in GotTV and VLS. The problem I see is when I try to use it to get the stream live, as opposed to capturing it to file via CapDVHS.

I am expierencing the same issue, did you get your problem resovled, if you did let me know and if you have any suggestions!
Thanks
Scott

Does anyone have a good guess as to what the minimum required PC configuration is to support the HD capture/HD playback using the drivers and players listed at the beginning of this thread?

Ron Jones

Has anyone tried this with Windows 2000?

Or does it just work with XP?

It just works with XP.

for those interested, I got a response back from motorola support regarding my request for information for real XP drivers...
_____________________________

Thank you for your inquiry,

The connection was made for it to be connected to a D-VHS or to a
television, not the computer.

If you need to reply to this email, please include a brief restatement of
the issue for our reference.

Thank you,
Motorola Broadband Support
1-877-466-8646
____________________________

one word: ...thhhbbpppt....

Hmmm...I've got a 3250HD with firewire and WinXP, but I'm not seeing a DVHS entry under Panasonic. I'm seeing:

Panasonic Digital Tuner AV/C Device (TU-BHD100)
Panasonic Tuner AV/C Device
Panasonic Tuner AV/C Device (NV-DH1)
Panasonic Tuner AV/C Device (NV-DHE10)
Panasonic Tuner AV/C Device (NV-HDR1000)

Should I use one of them? Any ideas why I'm not seeing DVHS as an option?

Ah, nevermind, I hadn't pointed it to the right directory before selecting Panasonic. Once I actually followed the directions, it worked like a charm!

Incidentally, trying to record HBO-HD didn't result in a 0-length file, but the capture program didn't display resolution or fps or anything and the resulting file wasn't playable with Elecard or anything else. Who knows what it was recording....

braw- Thanks, that's pretty interesting. Now there really are less reasons to purchase a QAM enabled tuner card. It's really unforunate almost all the digital channels in the Boston area are 5C=1, so we can't stream them.

a couple of questions please:

i just got my replacement HDTV box from comcast in Sterling Heights Mich. it has the required 7.10 ver of bios & fireware out. i have installed the software as suggested in this thread. the hardware was found correctly. But....

1. i can capture any channel from 02 to 99 (not digital channels) & ABC, CBS, PBS, NBC HD channels without any problems. But, HBO, SHOWTIME, INHD, INHD2 & ESPN (all of which i subscribe too) do capture but the resultant file is not playable by any player. I have also noticed that CAPDVHS normally shows info about the capture (frame rate, resolution, etc.) but for these channels (HBO etc) these boxes are left blank.

I called Comcast & they told me that the basic local channels are in the clear but these others have a "limited encryption" enabled. They said that a normal Panasonic DVHS should still be able to record these channels but that there was some restriction to further duplication. They also told me that there is some ADDITIONAL software that can be added to the proceedure we are using here that will decrypt this & allow recording to continue. Is this the 5C encryption for firewire? How do i work around this issue?

2. comcast also offered me the Motorola DCT 6212 (i think) that has a Hard Drive internal to act as a PVR (a newer unit will be avail in aug. that has 2 tuners & larger HD to allow watching different that what is being recorded). The tech told me it is the same firmware & basically the same unit. Would the proceedure in this thread also work with the DVR version of the HD box?

i will attach a screen snap shot of CapDVHS with & without the TS stream showing (normal channel vs. ESPN, HBO, etc). again, the resultant file is not playable at all.

I appreciate your assistance.
Thanks,
Mark

 

my pictures.zip 24.7646484375k . file

are there QAM cards avail for a PC? do they understand 5C? would they use a smart card from my cable company for identification to allow optional channels to be watched / captured? I have not seen any of these so far.

thanks,
mark

theswid: The channels you list as being non-recordable/streamable all have their copy-protection bit set (presumably to "copy once"). Since the PC that we're recording to isn't 5C compliant and won't enforce that restriction, it simply disallows the recording entirely.

I have no idea what "additional software" would allow you to bypass this restriction, and I suspect that it doesn't exist -- after all, it sounds like it would be in violation of the DMCA and would completely eliminate the protections put in place by 5C.

Personally I think restrictions like "copy once" fly in the face of fair use, but there's not much we legally can do about that while the DMCA still stands.

Anyone have any luck trying other drivers for these cable boxes? These drivers seem to work, but only BARELY. I can do exactly what Ben lists and it works, but if I try to do basically anything else (including using GraphEdit to build DirectShow filter graphs or setting up a mpeg2 capture via DirectShow C++ code), I bluescreen.

I'd love to write a nice scheduling/capturing PVR-ish piece of software for these boxes, but without a reliable driver it's not really feasable, unfortunately.