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WatchHDTV Version 1.8 - Page 5

post #121 of 1734
10/26/05 at 2:55pm
Great software with my Fusion 5 Lite!

D-Train where can I get just the ATI MPG Multiplexor for your converter? The converter doesn't work for me because I don't have an ATI HDWonder. Also would it be possible to make the converter also convert to TS files, so quick commercial editing could be done with HDTVtoMPEG2?
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post #122 of 1734
10/26/05 at 3:32pm
I figured out why it was crashing on me when I went to record or timeshift. This may solve other peoples crashing problem as well.

The "timeshift folder" and "Record folder" directories specified did not exist. In my case they were pointing to c:\\watchHDTV1.6 which I later renamed to C:\\watchHDTV.

You can change this by loading WatchHDTV and clicking the "SCHED" button. Once the dialog is presented click on the "Timeshift/Record Setup" tab and confirm that the Timeshift folder and Record folder exist.

And as a note for the developer. Perhaps you can do a FileSystemInfo.Exists(strDIR) and if the target directories (Timeshift folder and record folder) don't exist either prompt the user or default to the application path root directory.
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post #123 of 1734
10/26/05 at 3:37pm
@BenCJedi

Unfortunately I'm sure sure how to get this filter outside of the ATI decoder software. I've been thinking about updating the converter to work with other mux filters. Do you know how to use Graphedit? Maybe the Fusion comes with a mux filter that will work. If so I can update the program to work with it. I've actually been thinking about allowing the mux filter to be configurable. I experimented with a filter that comes with the Elecard XMuxer Pro software and it seemed to work but that software is pricey (comes with 21-day evaluation). Warning: don't install XMuxer Pro without "ghosting" your system partition because it will change your filter preferences in a way that uninstalling will not reverse.

Let me know if you'd like to investigate what filters are available w/ the fusion software and I can possibly work with you to make sure the converter works with it.

Same goes with TS - If someone finds a filter combination that can convert to TS I may be able to incorporate it into the converter. I haven't found any DirectShow filters on my system that can convert to transport streams though.

@hdtval21

Let me know if you'd like me to take the converter discussion elsewhere. The main reason I've kept it here is that I only made this program so far to work with the WatchHDTV dvr-ms files. The converter will probably choke on dvr-ms files that are DRM'd or have different pin configurations than what is produced by WatchHDTV.
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post #124 of 1734
10/26/05 at 6:21pm
I just installed WatchHDTV 1.83a hoping it would work with my new FusionHDTV5 USB. Alas, it doesn't on my system. The WatchHDTV.exe application aborts immediately after displaying the WatchHDTV splash screen.

This is likely a bug in WatchHDTV albeit perhaps only occuring on a bad install. I'm thinking I must be missing something on the install process. Perhaps I haven't registered plugins correctly? Not knowing what to do, I installed ATI Remote software and registered the two WatchHDTV plugins. Am I suppose to do that? Am I suppose to do something with any config files such as decoders.txt?
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post #125 of 1734
10/26/05 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobSalita View Post

I just installed WatchHDTV 1.83a hoping it would work with my new FusionHDTV5 USB. Alas, it doesn't on my system. The WatchHDTV.exe application aborts immediately after displaying the WatchHDTV splash screen.

Same here with my new FusionHDTV5 USB, same result.

I downloaded from the author's site, unzipped everything into one folder, and ran the WatchHDTV main application with the Fusion plugged in. I don't know if there's anything else I'm supposed to do. The WatchHDTVPlay application worked fine, but that's, of course, just to play stuff, not to use the Fusion with.
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post #126 of 1734
10/26/05 at 6:58pm
Well, I have run in to a problem. On a couple of silent recordings, WatchHDTV has crashed. The last time I was here and saw what was going on. It appears WatchHDTV starts using an excessive amount of memory and eventually crashes. It doesn't do this every time though.

Anyone else seen this happen? This only seems to happen for timed recordings. I've been using silent each time also.

Dave G.
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post #127 of 1734
10/26/05 at 9:28pm
Dave G.,
The only problem I have with WatchHDTV is with the occasional Record - Silent crash that you describe. Everything else is perfect. I'm using an ATI HDTV Wonder card. Hdtval21 knows that a very few of us have this problem but he has not able to reproduce it. The workaround for maximum reliability is to Schedule using Record - Live instead. I'm using these drivers which I believe are the latest versions:
HDTV_Wonder_Drivers_6-9-05
DTV_Decoder_5-17-05

Someday I plan to try different versions of the the above 2 drivers any maybe the Record - Silent problem will go away.

creakndale
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post #128 of 1734
10/26/05 at 11:01pm
Thread Starter 
mynym- that would be a problem! I mentioned in the readme making sure you setup the folder locations first, right? I guess I should mention that you need to make sure your folder locations always match up with what's been setup. There is always room for better error correction, it's just I tried to do things as quickly as possible, and assume that for the most part people here are computer savvy enough to figure things out- like you.

D-Train- it's alright for now!(j/k) I have no problem keeping it here. It might be better if you have a separate thread though so it could keep things separate(!)- but it would help here since it can be mainly used here, and people wouldn't have to look in different places. Whatever you want. I'd say keep it here for now so at least people don't have to look too far for it.

Inundated- you've got a PM. I guess you'll be the only thing holding up Fusion 5 USB support!??!!

A few have mentioned Media Portal- I haven't looked into it, and don't plan on it for now. Friendly competition is always good, isn't it?

Thanks again everyone for the comments.
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post #129 of 1734
10/27/05 at 2:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by creakndale View Post

Dave G.,
The only problem I have with WatchHDTV is with the occasional Record - Silent crash that you describe. Everything else is perfect. I'm using an ATI HDTV Wonder card. Hdtval21 knows that a very few of us have this problem but he has not able to reproduce it. The workaround for maximum reliability is to Schedule using Record - Live instead. I'm using these drivers which I believe are the latest versions:
HDTV_Wonder_Drivers_6-9-05
DTV_Decoder_5-17-05

Someday I plan to try different versions of the the above 2 drivers any maybe the Record - Silent problem will go away.

creakndale

Thanks creakndale,

Here's what I found the last time it had problems (I was sitting at the computer when WatchHDTV started the silent record):

1. Silent record started, no apparent problem.
2. Within about a minute my computer starts thrashing on the hardrive.
3. I pull up task manager and see that the total mem usage has shot up a lot (about 900 meg total)
4. Task manager does not show WatchHDTV using 700+ meg, but when I kill WatchHDTV, everything returns to normal.

I don't know if that's helpful or not, but I feel certain this is happening each time it crashes on my machine. My machine only has 512meg ram right now, so I may try simply adding another 512 to see if a possible workaround is to simply have enough available memory to keep the crash from happening. Probably won't work, but worth a try. I'll report back with what I find.

Dave G.
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post #130 of 1734
10/27/05 at 6:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdtval21 View Post

Inundated- you've got a PM. I guess you'll be the only thing holding up Fusion 5 USB support!??!!

Hah, that's a lot of pressure!

I've already replied, and E-Mailed. I hope I can get you the information you need.

This is in another thread - does it make any sense to you?

Quote:
Originally Posted by TPeterson View Post

From a comment in the ver 3.11 thread about updates in 3.12, I gather that MCE doesn't work with the DVB-USB model (in 3.11 anyway). This suggests that the 3.11 BDA driver for the DVB (and F5?) USB is buggy. Perhaps WatchHDTV will work with the 3.12 sw.
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post #131 of 1734
10/27/05 at 8:30pm
Fusion5 USB folk - I've given the author the information he needed, and hopefully we'll see an update in a few days that'll work with the USB Fusion5.
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post #132 of 1734
10/28/05 at 5:53am
Any chance of native ts recording? It'd make editing more direct.
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post #133 of 1734
10/28/05 at 7:40am
Do you have to do anything to get the RemoteWonder to work with WatchHDTV or should it just work??
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post #134 of 1734
10/28/05 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
As I think I might have said before(if not, here it is)- the reason why I went with DVR-MS first is because it was the easiest to do and it's already built-in for everyone. Now, since I have pretty much everything working, I may add support for .TS or MPEG. There is a tool provided here though that will convert the DVR-MS to MPEG, so MPEG isn't as needed now as .TS. There is better support for DVR-MS files now than before, so editing isn't as big an issue as before. So for now, all you get is DVR-MS.

ttriplett- I've included Remote Wonder plugins for WatchHDTV and WatchHDTV Play. Read the readme to set them up if you don't know how.

Andrew Hornfeck- sorry for not answering earlier- I just overlooked things. (THIS IS FOR EVERYONE ELSE AS WELL) You can record for any amount of time by clicking the "OFF" above the record button and selecting "RECORD...". Clicking "OFF" brings up other recording options for those that don't know. For DVR-MS playback- you could change the file settings for DVR-MS so that the default app is WatchHDTV Play, but I'm not sure if they will open and start playing or not. I've thought about file associating DVR-MS with WatchHDTV Play, but haven't looked into it yet. Sound acceleration- I tried looking at it myself and my setting always stays the same. I think it may be a decoder issue, but I'm not doing anything on purpose to change it to full acceleration. PSIP- from what I've read previously, it's not the easiest thing to do. I remember some saying it seemed like it was rocket science or something(I may be mixing up what I read about that). For stations that have been transmitting for a while, I think most of them got their PSIP issues fixed by now. But for those still relatively early in HD, PSIP problems still exist. Subchannel issues I believe is one effect related to PSIP. Thanks for the comments.

If I've overlooked, missed, or haven't answered your questions, ask again. I'll try to answer as much as I can.

Now sort of off topic- but does anyone else get "tired" or "bored" the way forums work and look? I know most formats have been around a while now, and sort have become "standard", but I guess maybe I'm just getting to used to the way things are and having the same thing over and over is getting tiring. That's why sometimes I'll miss things because I would have to read back all the previous posts, try to find certain people, etc. Maybe I'm the only one... that wouldn't surprise me.

Thanks.
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post #135 of 1734
10/28/05 at 5:33pm
FWIW, another request for .ts support please.

And yeah, forums can get monotonus, but what else is there to do while you are sitting at work?

-Suntan
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post #136 of 1734
10/28/05 at 7:02pm
I've seen some forums alternate the background for each post. And I've found that easier to read than here, where each post background is teh same color, and a border between each post, albeit a fairly colorful and thick border.

Guess people, if they want to stand out, can post in color, but it has to be a good color and not compete with the background or be too obnoxious.
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post #137 of 1734
10/28/05 at 11:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdtval21 View Post


ttriplett- I've included Remote Wonder plugins for WatchHDTV and WatchHDTV Play. Read the readme to set them up if you don't know how.

Anything else you need to do after you import the .DLL's?
My Remote Wonder doesn't seem to want to work although it is/was
working fine with the ATI software.

GREAT PROGRAM. I was about ready to give up on the Wonder because
of the constant stuttering.
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post #138 of 1734
10/29/05 at 8:48am
Good news for Fusion5USB owners - it appears the software is working, and it'll likely be released on his site sometime this weekend.

I even managed to figure out how to get it working up here on the laptop, with the non-DVxA encoding.

I can't guarantee anything due to the flaky nature of the Fusion drivers, but my experience testing it has generally been blue screen free, even on the laptop. So far, at least.

Thanks to the author for allowing me to test it out!
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post #139 of 1734
10/29/05 at 10:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inundated View Post

Good news for Fusion5USB owners - it appears the software is working, and it'll likely be released on his site sometime this weekend.

I even managed to figure out how to get it working up here on the laptop, with the non-DVxA encoding.

I can't guarantee anything due to the flaky nature of the Fusion drivers, but my experience testing it has generally been blue screen free, even on the laptop. So far, at least.

Thanks to the author for allowing me to test it out!

hey, nice job if this works as well as the version for the pci cards.
i'm still waiting for my f5usb to be delivered by ups(it's re-scheduled for monday delivery), they had some sort of problem getting the package across country!!! but as i originally said in the f5usb thread, i expect a lot of the "kinks" will have been found and discussed before mine arrives.
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post #140 of 1734
10/29/05 at 10:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KAXKID View Post

hey, nice job if this works as well as the version for the pci cards.
i'm still waiting for mu f5usb to be delivered by ups(it's re-scheduled for monday delivery), they had some sort of problem getting the package across country!!! but as i originally said in the f5usb thread, i expect a lot of the "kinks" will have been found and discussed before mine arrives.

I hope at least some of 'em will be!

As far as I can see, WatchHDTV 1.8.4 will work fine with the USB unit. It's been doing well for me up here on the laptop. Keep watching the page, for our author here is likely to put it up sometime this weekend.

FYI, on my laptop, since it doesn't have a DVxA video card, I had to manually add the decoders.txt file. It contains the following entries for my system:

Zulu HDTV Video Decoder(BDA)
Dvico AC3 Decoder

To create it, open up Notepad, add these entries EXACTLY as written (you can just copy and paste it from here) and save the Notepad file as "decoders.txt" in the WatchHDTV directory. Before I did that, it was having video decoding problems, as it was trying to use the DVxA decoders my system does not support.

You have to have that audio decoder (Dvico AC3 Decoder) as well.

If your system has a DVxA-capable card, you probably won't have to do the text file above.
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post #141 of 1734
10/29/05 at 6:03pm
Thread Starter 
aiwnow- sorry for not answering- if you get a gray box with the channel, you probably are getting it with the vol also? Those shouldn't be there- might you have changed some windows visual settings or something? Timeshifting will go on forever- I didn't implement any type of buffer yet- I know some may be low on space so a buffer would help, but I'm not sure if I will fix this or not.


I've just posted version 1.84 to add support for the Fusion5 USB. That and a minor change for Fusion users are the only changes. If you use a Fusion and setup your decoders to use the Fusion DXVA one and a non-Fusion audio one, you should download this(as you might actually need it for things to work reliably).

Thanks.
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post #142 of 1734
10/29/05 at 7:54pm
See above for how I set it up on a non-DVxA system. It's my understanding that WatchHDTV comes up looking for the DVxA driver, so I had to add that decoders.txt file as above.

Thanks, hdtval, for adding this!
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post #143 of 1734
10/29/05 at 7:58pm
Does anyone have any fixes for the silent-record issue? Its not a major big deal as record-live seems to work well.

I don't think it is a memory problem as I have 2G installed...

Even without the silent-record feature, this program is excellent!
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post #144 of 1734
10/29/05 at 8:04pm
hdtval,

I could not find anything in the documentation about this, but have you implemented command line switches into WatchHDTV? I think it would be great to be able to control initial startup conditions (screen size, channel, volume, etc.). I think this would be useful for launching from a media center environment.

Thanks

P.S. Could you do for the REMOTE WONDER what you did for the HDTV WONDER...give us something that just works with no B.S. I've tried everything to get mine working and have given up on it.
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post #145 of 1734
10/29/05 at 9:52pm
Channel changing via the form's buttons isn't working for me. The on screen channel indicator is always correct but the actual channel displayed is seemingly randomly chosen. I've repeatedly tried erasing channels.txt, re-adding, editing by hand, nothing seems to make it sync up displayed channel with on screen channel.
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post #146 of 1734
10/30/05 at 12:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobSalita View Post

Channel changing via the form's buttons isn't working for me. The on screen channel indicator is always correct but the actual channel displayed is seemingly randomly chosen. I've repeatedly tried erasing channels.txt, re-adding, editing by hand, nothing seems to make it sync up displayed channel with on screen channel.

Can you click on the channel number indicator, and choose the channel correctly from the menu that pops up? (I didn't even know it HAD that until I stumbled on it!)

Or, when you change, does the channel seem "locked"?

If you get that, exit WatchHDTV, unplug the H5USB box and plug it back in again, waiting until it lights up before rerunning WatchHDTV. As near as I can figure, if the F5's drivers get funky, it can "lock" on a channel. In the regular Fusion software, this well could cause a BSOD or a software crash. (This is just a guess on my part, with no actual evidence to back it up...)
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post #147 of 1734
10/30/05 at 5:30am
Inundated, I was skeptical but you were absolutely right on perhaps three counts.

First, I didn't know that clicking in the channel indicator box would popup a channel menu.

Second, your suggestion of unplugging/plugging in the box fixed the problem with locking/choosing wrong display channel even though the OSD channel was correct.

Third, I think the unplug/plug idea may have fixed the program abort in FusionHDTVUSB application too. It no longer aborts when I select channel 11 WTTW 1080i.
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post #148 of 1734
10/30/05 at 5:31am
hdtval21,

If the USB box isn't plugged in when WatchHDTV app is opened, the program aborts. An error check is missing.
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post #149 of 1734
10/30/05 at 5:33am
hdtval21, any chance we can get an open source code or at least an API spec for WatchHDTV? I'd like to integrate the core functionality with my own GUI or HTPC app.
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post #150 of 1734
10/30/05 at 7:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobSalita View Post

Inundated, I was skeptical but you were absolutely right on perhaps three counts.

Trust me, I've banged on this thing for some time...

Quote:
First, I didn't know that clicking in the channel indicator box would popup a channel menu.

Yeah, and that's even in the documentation. I was too busy plugging in the box and hoping the software would work, to go digging in the documentation.

Quote:
Second, your suggestion of unplugging/plugging in the box fixed the problem with locking/choosing wrong display channel even though the OSD channel was correct.

Alternatively, you could also reset the box. There's a small hole next to the S-Video input just for that purpose. You'll hear the Windows remove USB device sound, the light will go off, then it'll come back on and you'll hear the sound going on.

Quote:
Third, I think the unplug/plug idea may have fixed the program abort in FusionHDTVUSB application too. It no longer aborts when I select channel 11 WTTW 1080i.

Here's my guess (only a guess at this point): When the WatchHDTV program acts funny like that (locking on channel, aborting prematurely), it's because there's some sort of error condition in the box itself (i.e. the low-level drivers). I'm *guessing* that similar problems are among those which cause the Fusion tuner software to error or do a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death, which forces a reboot of the entire computer). If that's indeed the case, I'm very, very glad that WatchHDTV reacts like that, because it's fairly trivial to kill a hung software app, and reload it, than to reboot the entire computer.

One problem I ran into today is probably not directly related to WatchHDTV per se, even though it only happened in it: It kept locking up trying to decode FOX this morning ("FOX News Sunday"). I think I know why - FOX News Sunday, a widescreen program upconverted to 720p, has DD 5.1 sound. When the local FOX affiliate went to local programming (infomercials, ugh) at 10 AM, WatchHDTV had no problem, and even did it OK a couple of times earlier.

I don't remember if I had this problem on FOX prime time yet, but I have manually included the DVICO AC3 audio decoder in that decoders.txt file. And I wonder if that's why you'd hear FOX for about 3 seconds, and the WatchHDTV app would lock up. I'm gonna play with it for a while, maybe swap out another audio decoder during FOX 5.1 programming and see if that works. I also suspect that the non-modified WatchHDTV install downstairs on the faster, DVxA-equipped PC won't have this same problem.

It's the ONE instance where the Fusion tuner software had a leg up on WatchHDTV.
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