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How to record via IEEE 1394 (Firewire) to Windows XP - Page 120

post #3571 of 5938
2/10/07 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tloder View Post

When trasnferring from my DVR recordings, I can record the video fine, but I get no audio. When I record live program material, I do get audio.

Any idea what could be going wrong?

Tom

The problem has to be in your playback, as the transport stream that is captured by nature has both audio and video. If you're getting video, you're getting audio.

It's most likely that you don't have the right audio codec installed for playback. I think a lot of people have reported success watching with Nero's video player if you have access to it.
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post #3572 of 5938
2/10/07 at 3:59pm
i am wondering is it possible if i borrow my brothers dvr and record the tv shows off the hard drive?

thanks
ayman
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post #3573 of 5938
2/10/07 at 7:31pm
It's odd though that with live recording, the audio works fine. It's only the DVR recordings that don't playback the audio.
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post #3574 of 5938
2/11/07 at 6:47am
anyone able to record with a SA4250? what software do you use? i tried to change channels using timmoore's app and it said something like '4300 device not supported'.

- Jon
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post #3575 of 5938
2/11/07 at 7:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tloder View Post

It's odd though that with live recording, the audio works fine. It's only the DVR recordings that don't playback the audio.

What do you mean by "live"? There is no "live" on a DVR.
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post #3576 of 5938
2/11/07 at 7:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by grittree View Post

What do you mean by "live"? There is no "live" on a DVR.

I assumed s/he meant recording while watching versus trying to capture a recording that has already been made on the DVR.

I'm wondering, though, if the issue is not one of "live" versus "DVR" but rather two different channels. Is it possible that when recording "live" you're recording a station that's broadcasting in DD 2.0, and when trying to capture the DVR recording you're trying to grab one with DD 5.1? That would support the codec theory if you don't have an AC-3 or DD 5.1 codec installed. A recording that's done with only DD 2.0 will play back fine in Windows, but 5.1 requires another codec.
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post #3577 of 5938
2/11/07 at 7:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZManCartFan View Post

I assumed s/he meant recording while watching versus trying to capture a recording that has already been made on the DVR.


That is what I meant. I will look around for a codec, and try that.

BTW, using VLC for playback
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post #3578 of 5938
2/11/07 at 9:48am
In the past I was able to capture shows via firewire to my PC using CapDVHS. I could capture audio and video as they were happening (ie: from a live cable feed, not a recorded show on the hard drive) **AND** I could capture audio and video from the playback of a show recorded on the hard drive.

I'm not sure what changed, if anything, but for some reason now, I can only capture audio and video from live cable feeds - not from the playback of a show that has been recorded on the hard drive of the DCT-6412.

Looking on the "Data Info" tab of CapDVHS, the size, aspect ratio, frame rate and bit rate all fill in automatically when I record from a show that is currently airing, but when I playback a recorded show from the hard drive in the DVR, and click on record, these fields don't populate and the resulting file, although full size, can not be played back.

Has anyone else run in to this? Perhaps it's due to updates my cable company has sent down to the box that prevent this? Any help would be appreciated, as I have some shows captured on the hard drive that I would like to back up.
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post #3579 of 5938
2/11/07 at 10:07am
It's important to understand that there is no live (as in passthrough) from a DVR. Everything output is a recording from the hard drive. Doesn't matter if it's 2 seconds delayed or 2 weeks.

nobiggie, you are recording shows flagged CCI=0x02. It's been covered before. Search this thread for "0x02".
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post #3580 of 5938
2/11/07 at 11:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by grittree View Post

It's important to understand that there is no live (as in passthrough) from a DVR. Everything output is a recording from the hard drive. Doesn't matter if it's 2 seconds delayed or 2 weeks.


While it is being recorded, there is a difference between the DVR recodrings and the temp recording of live material. That material is not saved or "recorded" unless you hit the record button. The hard drive is just buffering an amount of video which gets overwritten after about 45 minutes or so.

I am having the same issue as nobiggie. Specifically, I am trying to capture the halftime show from the Superbowl. I assume that I could have watch this live and recorded it with CAPDVHS, and it would have been fine (Did not test this theory though). I have done so with Lost and other not 5c material like SNL.

I did try some live captures from TNT which was in 5.1 which should have been fine, but I get no audio. This leads me to believe as suggested above that it is a codec issue with 5.1 sound. I don't know where to get codecs for VLC though.

Thoughts?
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post #3581 of 5938
2/11/07 at 1:45pm
Jon01,

On my 3250HD I got the same response (device not supported). Take a look at the readme file. You have to find out the device number of your "AV/C Panel". Mine was 2 and when I typed in "channel -v 2 210" where 2 is the device number and 210 is the channel number, it worked great (make sure you use a valid channel number). I now have GBPVR using firewire to change channels.

I still can't get a good capture though (only a few seconds on some On Demand content), I called Comcast and they told me that firewire capture has been blocked.

Bigbus
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post #3582 of 5938
2/11/07 at 1:47pm
Sorry, but the hard drive is the only source of output. To the screen or to the 1394 port.

This has nothing to do with 5C.
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post #3583 of 5938
2/11/07 at 3:41pm
I just found post #456 that describes how to look at the parameters/settings for my SA3250HD. It looks like my channels are not encrypted but my firewire ports are not enabled (although I can change channels via firewire). I guess there is no way around that.

Is there anything I can do to change that?

Bigbus
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post #3584 of 5938
2/11/07 at 3:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tloder View Post

While it is being recorded, there is a difference between the DVR recodrings and the temp recording of live material. That material is not saved or "recorded" unless you hit the record button. The hard drive is just buffering an amount of video which gets overwritten after about 45 minutes or so.

I realize this is a bit off-topic, but you do raise a good distinction. When you're wathching something "live" using a DVR, are you actually watching the signal straight from the cable to the tuner? Or are you watching a split-second delay of the same signal after it has been written and then read from the hard drive?

I had always thought it was the latter -- that you never actually were watching a truly live signal in the same way that you would be using a straight cable box, for example. But in thinking of how the 3416 boxes that I have operate, I'm wondering if that's the case. I do notice a split second shift when I press the pause button on a "live" show. The pause is never quite at the moment that the button is pressed. It makes me wonder if that's the moment that the DVR switches from the "live" source to reading from the drive.

I still don't think it would make a difference for the firewire capture, though. THAT shouldn't make any difference at all, as like I said before, you're getting the whole transport stream once it has made it to the PC. If you're not getting audio but you are getting video, the only thing that it can possibly be is a codec problem.
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post #3585 of 5938
2/11/07 at 6:35pm
Okay, I am a dumba$$. I just realized I can no longer record audio from a "live" stream. So I must have a setting disabled somewhere within CAPDVHS.

This dawned on me when I noticed that not all of the fields on the Data info screen were being populated. See the pic in the link CAPDVHS screen

I believe previously those were populated with misc. numbers. Am I right or wrong.
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post #3586 of 5938
2/12/07 at 12:27am
Rats! The broadcasting of our local NBC-HD affiliate just started passing the RC Flag of 0x01 to the Comcast box, causing yet another of our locals to carry the CCI of 0x02. It was bad enough that this happened to our local Fox-HD and CBS-HD programming last fall, but now this? The only local left that still has an RC Flag of 0x00 is our local ABC-HD affiliate, so opportunities to capture firewire off the Comcast DVR are rapidly disappearing.

It's leaving me little choice other than to buy some big hard drives and HD tuners. What good is the DVR going to be then if I can't even view local programming from it on displays of my choice and/or save stuff from them?

When is someone going to make dual-tuner OTA DVRs that allow us to view recorded programming on our notebooks and/or to save shows/clips from recorded OTA shows? When are they going to stop treating us as criminals by DRM controls that do nothing to stop the real theives?

There must be some recourse.
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post #3587 of 5938
2/12/07 at 1:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tluxon View Post

Rats! The broadcasting of our local NBC-HD affiliate just started passing the RC Flag of 0x01 to the Comcast box, causing yet another of our locals to carry the CCI of 0x02. It was bad enough that this happened to our local Fox-HD and CBS-HD programming last fall, but now this? The only local left that still has an RC Flag of 0x00 is our local ABC-HD affiliate, so opportunities to capture firewire off the Comcast DVR are rapidly disappearing.

It's leaving me little choice other than to buy some big hard drives and HD tuners. What good is the DVR going to be then if I can't even view local programming from it on displays of my choice and/or save stuff from them?

When is someone going to make dual-tuner OTA DVRs that allow us to view recorded programming on our notebooks and/or to save shows/clips from recorded OTA shows? When are they going to stop treating us as criminals by DRM controls that do nothing to stop the real theives?

There must be some recourse.


Write your Congressperson and quote the attached CFR. I gave up trying after numerous calls to TWC SoCal and 2 replacement boxes.
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post #3588 of 5938
2/12/07 at 8:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbus01 View Post

Jon01,

On my 3250HD I got the same response (device not supported). Take a look at the readme file. You have to find out the device number of your "AV/C Panel". Mine was 2 and when I typed in "channel -v 2 210" where 2 is the device number and 210 is the channel number, it worked great (make sure you use a valid channel number). I now have GBPVR using firewire to change channels.

I still can't get a good capture though (only a few seconds on some On Demand content), I called Comcast and they told me that firewire capture has been blocked.

Bigbus


i tried device #s 0-11 and nothing worked using that command anyone get this to work on a SA4250? anyone have any other ideas?

- Jon
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post #3589 of 5938
2/12/07 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tloder View Post

Okay, I am a dumba$$. I just realized I can no longer record audio from a "live" stream. So I must have a setting disabled somewhere within CAPDVHS.

This dawned on me when I noticed that not all of the fields on the Data info screen were being populated. See the pic in the link CAPDVHS screen

I believe previously those were populated with misc. numbers. Am I right or wrong.

I don't remember ever seeing any of the other fields populated. Since the stream contains both audio and video, I'm pretty sure you're going to want to demux the stream to separate them.
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post #3590 of 5938
2/12/07 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arvy View Post

Write your Congressperson and quote the attached CFR. I gave up trying after numerous calls to TWC SoCal and 2 replacement boxes.

That regulation doesn't appear to apply to whether or not programming should have the copy restriction flag on it such as the CCI=0x02 that cripples our firewire to XP process.

A more definitive source of information is probably the Telecommunication section of the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) ( Code of Federal Regulations Title 47, Chapter I, Subchapter C, Part 76, specifically §76.1904, paragraph (a)).

I'm not a lawyer, but at one time it had seemed pretty clear to me from reading the above summary and then browsing through the linked pages, Subpart W--Encoding Rules, that programming content originating unencrypted over the air should not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying. I interpreted that to mean that any programming broadcast free over the air (whether network, Hi-Def, or whatever) must result in CCI=0x00 encoding on a cable box, regardless of the output (component, HDMI, firewire, etc.). The only exceptions appear to be for video-on-demand, pay-per-view, or pay television transmissions.
Quote:


...
§ 76.1904 Encoding rules for defined business models.

(a) Commercial audiovisual content delivered as unencrypted broadcast television shall not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying thereof by covered products or, to constrain the resolution of the image when output from a covered product.

(b) Except for a specific determination made by the Commission pursuant to a petition with respect to a defined business model other than unencrypted broadcast television, or an undefined business model subject to the procedures set forth in §76.1906:

(1) Commercial audiovisual content shall not be encoded so as to prevent or limit copying thereof except as follows:

(i) To prevent or limit copying of video-on-demand or pay-per-view transmissions, subject to the requirements of paragraph (b)(2) of this section; and

(ii) To prevent or limit copying, other than first generation of copies, of pay television transmissions, non-premium subscription television, and free conditional access delivery transmissions; and

(2) With respect to any commercial audiovisual content delivered or transmitted in form of a video-on-demand or pay-per-view transmission, a covered entity shall not encode such content so as to prevent a covered product, without further authorization, from pausing such content up to 90 minutes from initial transmission by the covered entity (e.g., frame-by-frame, minute-by-minute, megabyte by megabyte).
...

I wonder if I've been getting it all wrong, though, because now we're seeing network programming (HD/SD on the HD channel) carrying an RC Flag of 0x01 which seems to be triggering the CCI=0x02 on many of our cable boxes. This despite the fact that the same program is going out freely over-the-air at the same time. Does this mean then that there's a distinction between what's broadcast free over-the-air and what constitutes an "unencrypted broadcast"? Apparently so.

Any takers at trying to explain or clarify this?
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post #3591 of 5938
2/12/07 at 6:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tluxon View Post

I don't remember ever seeing any of the other fields populated. Since the stream contains both audio and video, I'm pretty sure you're going to want to demux the stream to separate them.


I don't want to separate them, I just want to getvideo and audio recording again.
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post #3592 of 5938
2/12/07 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tluxon View Post

Any takers at trying to explain or clarify this?

I think there was a good discussion on this in the San Francisco local threed. A few months ago. Someone there seemed to be really up on this.

If you write the FCC, this is what you will get:

Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:44:58 -0500 (EST)
From:
Reply-To:
Subject: CIMS00000198457 - Comcast blocking copy of OTA TV...isn't that illegal?

You are receiving this email in response to your inquiry to the FCC.

Thanks for contacting the FCC Consumer Center.

On September 10, 2003, the FCC adopted rules permitting TV sets to be built with
?plug and play? functionality for one-way digital cable services, which include
typical cable programming services and premium channels like HBO and Showtime.

FCC Rule Section 76.640, entitled, ?Support for Unidirectional Digital Cable
Products on Digital Cable Systems,? in subparagraph (a) notes that the
requirements apply to digital cable systems with one or more channels utilizing
QAM modulation for transporting programs and services from their head ends to
receiving devices. Cable systems that only pass through 8 VSB broadcast signals
shall not be considered digital cable systems.

Complaints alleging violations of FCC rules should be in writing briefly stating
facts and sent to:

Federal Communications Commission
Enforcement Bureau
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
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post #3593 of 5938
2/12/07 at 11:12pm
Thanks for the contact information, grittree. That correspondence from the FCC makes it evident that regulations pertaining to 8VSB (OTA) transmissions are distinctly different than they are for digital cable transmissions.

If so, I'm afraid we don't have any real leverage over how the cable company handles QAM transmissions. Best advice is probably to try to work with them in a cooperative manner. I've been emphasizing my desire to watch HDTV programming on my laptop rather than making captures. There's probably very little chance I can affect any change, but trying is probably better than not.
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post #3594 of 5938
2/13/07 at 9:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by teague View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by kli View Post

I finally got the chance to try exporting a show over firewire using CapDVHS & HDTVtoMpeg2. I followed the instructions as listed here: http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/
It seemed to work alright, except for the fact that my resulting video file appears as if its in slow motion... or more accurately, that its dropping every other frame or so. Sound is choppy as well as playback...
I had the passing thought *maybe* it was that my laptop wasn't up to snuff (Pentium M 2ghz w/ 1gb ram) but I'm pretty sure thats not the case - but correct me if I'm wrong.
Any thoughts on what it could be?

I can capture fine with a Pentium M 1.6 GHZ laptop with 512 MB. IIRC, it used roughly 50% of the cpu while capturing, but that's a foggy memory. But do make sure nothing else is running at the same time. A virus scan kicking in could cause that, or anything else that chews up CPU cycles.

I got around to trying it again, and I'm still having the same issue. I typically run very little in the background if at all possible, but I made sure nothing else that wasn't essential was running in the background, and I still have the same issue. I'm not really sure what else it could be.
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post #3595 of 5938
2/13/07 at 10:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kli View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by kli View Post

...It seemed to work alright, except for the fact that my resulting video file appears as if its in slow motion... or more accurately, that its dropping every other frame or so. Sound is choppy as well as playback...

I got around to trying it again, and I'm still having the same issue. I typically run very little in the background if at all possible, but I made sure nothing else that wasn't essential was running in the background, and I still have the same issue. I'm not really sure what else it could be.

How long is your firewire cable?
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post #3596 of 5938
2/13/07 at 10:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tluxon View Post

How long is your firewire cable?

The firewire cable is a 6Ft M/M 6pin to 4pin cable that I picked up from a local computer store.
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post #3597 of 5938
2/13/07 at 10:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tluxon View Post

Rats! The broadcasting of our local NBC-HD affiliate just started passing the RC Flag of 0x01 to the Comcast box, causing yet another of our locals to carry the CCI of 0x02. It was bad enough that this happened to our local Fox-HD and CBS-HD programming last fall, but now this? The only local left that still has an RC Flag of 0x00 is our local ABC-HD affiliate, so opportunities to capture firewire off the Comcast DVR are rapidly disappearing...

Interesting update here. Since last October our local CBS-HD affiliate has had a CCI flag of 0x02, and I'm assuming it's always been caused by the reaction of the box to the network's RC Descriptor of 0x01.

Last night during Letterman I checked it again - as I do every couple days or so - and this time both the CCI and RC Flag were at 0x00! I'm not sure what the deal is, but I must say I never expected to get freedom back quite like this. Perhaps it's just an anomaly or a test of some kind or maybe some new equipment that isn't in its final configuration yet. I'll just have to wait and see.

I checked FOX-HD and it was at 0x00 as well, but that was to be expected as it was only carrying SD programming at the time, so I'll have to check it again during HD programming. I double-checked NBC-HD and it was still at RC Flag=0x01 and CCI=0x02, so it's definitely not an across-the-board thing.

Anybody else notice any changes to their RC Flags or CCIs?
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post #3598 of 5938
2/13/07 at 10:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kli View Post

The firewire cable is a 6Ft M/M 6pin to 4pin cable that I picked up from a local computer store.

Okay, that's probably not it. What RPM does your hard drive run at and how full is it?
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post #3599 of 5938
2/13/07 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tluxon View Post

Okay, that's probably not it. What RPM does your hard drive run at and how full is it?

Its a 60gb 7200rpm drive... there's about 9gb of space left. The "test files" i'm creating are only 5 mins long, and are about 650mb give or take.
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post #3600 of 5938
2/13/07 at 2:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tluxon View Post

Interesting update here. Since last October our local CBS-HD affiliate has had a CCI flag of 0x02, and I'm assuming it's always been caused by the reaction of the box to the network's RC Descriptor of 0x01.

Last night during Letterman I checked it again - as I do every couple days or so - and this time both the CCI and RC Flag were at 0x00! I'm not sure what the deal is, but I must say I never expected to get freedom back quite like this. Perhaps it's just an anomaly or a test of some kind or maybe some new equipment that isn't in its final configuration yet. I'll just have to wait and see.

I checked FOX-HD and it was at 0x00 as well, but that was to be expected as it was only carrying SD programming at the time, so I'll have to check it again during HD programming. I double-checked NBC-HD and it was still at RC Flag=0x01 and CCI=0x02, so it's definitely not an across-the-board thing.

Anybody else notice any changes to their RC Flags or CCIs?

The cable head-end has to explicitly forward PMT descriptors and PSIP packets from the received ATSC stream into their QAM stream. It's done with programmable hardware, so anything is possible.

Here in the SF Bay Area, it's a mix. Some channels have everything forwarded (CBS and FOX) and some don't (ABC).

Ron
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