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AutumnWave / OnAir USB HDTV Tuners - Page 3

post #61 of 2947
7/31/06 at 8:26am
Thread Starter 
abb,
I am looking into whether our driver even supports resuming from Standby. (I am not sure that it does, but I will let you know when I find out.)

mad62,
With your Sasem, you should try recording with the option called 'VBR (Variable Bit Rate)" to see if smooth playback returns. (VBR is more adapted to increase the bitrate on scenes where the view changes drastically.) Also, could you tell me if the "Cut by fixed size" option is checked/configured?

Regarding your experience with the GT quality, I will follow-up on this. Please try capturing more than 10 minutes and see if the problem persists.

Technically you should be able to capture from both devices without frame drop. You may be asking your USB port on your computer to do too much work. If you have seperate USB controllers, you may want to try plugging them in there. (For instance, plug 1 into the front USB (if applicable) and the other into a back USB port, or your NEC PCI card.)

Additionally, ensure that your chipset (USB) drivers are up-to-date.

Thanks,
- Ryan Pertusio
AutumnWave Technical Support
OnAir Solution North America
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post #62 of 2947
8/2/06 at 2:56pm
Ryan,

I just bought the GT, but I'm having trouble with the software. First I installed the driver and program that came on the cd, and when that didn't work I uninstalled everything and then installed the updated driver and program that I downloaded from the website. Nvidia purevideo decoder was also installed. When I run the program, it says the channel list is empty and asks if I want to scan. I choose yes and then click start, and from that point on the program just freezes. It also freezes when I start the program if I try to use any of the other functions. Once it freezes, I can't close it, even from the task manager, so I have to restart the computer.

I have a Dell Latitude D600 laptop with 1.4 GHz and 512 MB ram and an ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (with omega drivers) running on XP Professional SP2. Any idea what the problem could be?

Thanks for the help.
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post #63 of 2947
8/2/06 at 3:34pm
Sounds like what happened to when I downloaded the Creator driver and application instead of the GT software. I didn't install from the CD, however, just from the website. Can you verify that you're downloading the GT software from the web?
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post #64 of 2947
8/2/06 at 4:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgriffin View Post

Sounds like what happened to when I downloaded the Creator driver and application instead of the GT software. I didn't install from the CD, however, just from the website. Can you verify that you're downloading the GT software from the web?

yeah I'm definitely downloading the GT software from the web. and it didn't work with the software on the cd either. it just keeps freezing and I have no idea why. I guess it has to be something with my computer since no one else is having a problem with the downloaded software. any other ideas? thanks.
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post #65 of 2947
8/2/06 at 4:13pm
Thread Starter 
Hi MAC12383,
I can take a look at your system configuration, and see if anything stands out.
  1. Start menu >> Run... >> msinfo32
  2. File >> Save...
(Send me the resulting .NFO file to AutumnWave Technical Support: tech@autumnwave.com)

Thanks,
- Ryan Pertusio
AutumnWave Technical Support
OnAir Solution North America
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post #66 of 2947
8/2/06 at 4:34pm
Ryan, I emailed it to you. Thanks.
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post #67 of 2947
8/3/06 at 4:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MAC12383 View Post

Ryan,
I have a Dell Latitude D600 laptop with 1.4 GHz and 512 MB ram and an ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (with omega drivers) running on XP Professional SP2. Any idea what the problem could be?

Thanks for the help.

MAC,

I have the exact same notebook, Win XP/sp2, and the GT (and the Creator, and the original USB-HDTV) and it has worked flawlessly with the current OnAir program/drivers.

Try uninstalling the omega drivers and install the Dell OEM ATI drivers, BIOS update (if any) and see if that helps. There is a note in the Omega faq re: crashes during video playback with omega drivers and certain BIOS'es.
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post #68 of 2947
8/4/06 at 1:51pm
I just moved to an area with QAM cable (Adelphia in Imperial Valley, CA), and when I try to scan for channels, the Channel Manager hangs after finding a bunch of channels (and leaving it alone for several minutes). The only way to quit the application is to "kill it" in the Windows Task Manager. After restarting the application, no channels are listed.

I've downloaded the latest version of the drivers and application. The analog channels are working fine. Any clues?
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post #69 of 2947
8/5/06 at 12:35pm
I let it sit overnight and it finished the scanning. I only get 1 real HD channel (Fox), 3 SD channels (Discovery, Per-Per-View Preview, and MTV Espanol), and the rest are scambled. I also get about 20 music channels. I used to get 15+ channels of HD/SD in the San Francisco Bay Area OTA. Oh well, maybe things will change.

The USB HDTV box has worked really well, but nothing compared to the solutions I used to have in Australia 4 years ago!
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post #70 of 2947
8/6/06 at 5:18am
Thanks for the response Ryan.

Quote:


With your Sasem, you should try recording with the option called 'VBR (Variable Bit Rate)" to see if smooth playback returns. (VBR is more adapted to increase the bitrate on scenes where the view changes drastically.) Also, could you tell me if the "Cut by fixed size" option is checked/configured?

The "Cut by fixed size" option is unchecked and I had been capturing thru S-Video with the VBR option checked. I found the solution to the jerkiness and dropped frames in my S-Video captures by enabling Timeshifting in analog TV. Voila! Smooth recordings - but will probably invest in a Nvidia DualTV MCE card
Quote:


Technically you should be able to capture from both devices without frame drop. You may be asking your USB port on your computer to do too much work. If you have seperate USB controllers, you may want to try plugging them in there. (For instance, plug 1 into the front USB (if applicable) and the other into a back USB port, or your NEC PCI card.)

With no other USB and FIREWIRE devices running, and with the Sasem connected to the separate NEC USB controller, I was able to view and capture from both devices without any horrible stuttering. Overall CPU usage was 55-75% when capturing from two 1080i broadcasts.

I'll try to play with the GT more this weekend.
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post #71 of 2947
8/6/06 at 8:40pm
Newbie to this area...this GT sounds really tempting! Wonder if the little antenna will work here 30 miles from the towers, or whether I'll have to jack into the big attic antenna...

What is the approximate range of file sizes per hour of OTA HDTV recording? I know it's different depending on the show/sport, but still would be helpful to know. My laptop only has about 8GB total free space... plus it's a little lightweight for this anyway.

Ryan, my notebook meets the specs but are you pretty sure this would handle the load? IBM ThinkPad Pentium M 1.7Ghz, 1.5GB RAM, 1400x1050 native resolution, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600, only 64MB video RAM, only 8GB free space on the hard drive.

Also - I couldn't find a return policy on the AutumnWave web site... what happens if it's DOA, or doesn't work well enough in a particular area?

Thanks in advance.
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post #72 of 2947
8/7/06 at 6:49am
rpertusio,

I see you live in Philly. What part of this lovely city are you residing in? I just purchased a HP DV8000 and considering purchasing the GT HDTV Tuner card.
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post #73 of 2947
8/7/06 at 3:23pm
Thread Starter 
FYI, MAC12383 solved his problem by re-installing Windows. (I'll let him explain further if necessary.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by TallGuy View Post

Wonder if the little antenna will work here 30 miles from the towers, or whether I'll have to jack into the big attic antenna...

30 miles is a large distance for any antenna. You may have varied success depending on the actual environment you live in. The best place to check is AntennaWeb.org.

Quote:


What is the approximate range of file sizes per hour of OTA HDTV recording?

An hour of Full HDTV recording can be from 5-9Gb! (Sometimes less, depending on whether the resolution is only 'Standard Definition' or not.) You may not be able to record very much, with the amount of free space! (Have you considered investing in a FireWire hard drive?)

Quote:


my notebook meets the specs but are you pretty sure this would handle the load?

Your notebook is above the minimum requirements. (I only assume you have a USB 2.0 port on your IBM notebook... and that your drivers are fairly up-to-date.)

Quote:


I couldn't find a return policy on the AutumnWave web site... what happens if it's DOA, or doesn't work well enough in a particular area?

If it is DOA, we will test it and fix/replace it under warranty for the 1st year. If you decide to return it, send it back to us with restocking fee (20% currently.)

You also have the option to purchase from our resellers (buy.com, walmart.com, and more) which may have different return/replacement policies.

Curtis, Your DV8000 should work very well with our HDTV GT. It meets/exceeds minimum system requirements. (I have tested an HP/Compaq with similar specs, and found the GT works quite well.) Note: I'm no longer living in Philadelphia, but I used to live in University City area.)

Thanks,
- Ryan Pertusio
AutumnWave Technical Support
OnAir Solution North America
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post #74 of 2947
8/7/06 at 4:22pm
Thanks Ryan. Yeah, when my 60GB drive crashed in January, the techs at work had to replace with a stupid 40GB drive we already had...bummer... Apparently the ThinkPad drives are really expensive to buy replacements of, or something. A new firewire drive (actually a USB 2.0 drive) would be tempting, but would also reduce the portability of watching HDTV on the go, somewhat. My USB 2.0 ports and drivers should be OK.

Can you record at variable bit rate (downconverted a little) if you wanted to due to drive space? - I suppose that would take too much processing on the fly.

Thanks for the answers - think I'll take the plunge!
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post #75 of 2947
8/8/06 at 8:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeekFunk View Post

Whereas Walmart adds Shipping and taxes to its price, Autumwave includes shipping at neat price (free shipping). Saved me about ten bucks.

Looks like the free shipping is gone now $12.48 for UPS Ground...

Ryan, can you bring it back for an hour?
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post #76 of 2947
8/8/06 at 8:22am
Update: buy.com has free shipping on this
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post #77 of 2947
8/8/06 at 2:13pm
the cupric rectanguloid (aka copperbox.com) has, and always had, free shipping on all OnAir products, $174.22 for the 'GT too.
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post #78 of 2947
8/9/06 at 8:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TallGuy View Post

Can you record at variable bit rate (downconverted a little) if you wanted to due to drive space? - I suppose that would take too much processing on the fly.

Your hard drive must be just completely packed with all kinds of other stuff! The Digital TV cannot be downconverted, without using 3rd party utilities. That is because the Digital signal is already 'encoded' as it comes across the air/cable. You can use encoding options (like VBR) for Analog TV, though.

A popular program to convert HDTV to MPEG2 is simply called: HDTVtoMPEG2 which is also supported here in the AVS forum.

Thanks,
- Ryan Pertusio
AutumnWave Technical Support
OnAir Solution North America
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post #79 of 2947
8/9/06 at 9:06am
Actually, Ryan, HDTVtoMPEG2 does not convert HDTV files to lower resolution. In fact, despite its misleading name, its main purpose is simply to edit TS (.tp, .ts, .trp) files to remove commercials and null packets. The best (free) option for converting HDTV to lower resolution (standard DVD .vob) is called HDTV2DVD.
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post #80 of 2947
8/9/06 at 9:26am
Thread Starter 
TPeterson,
Thanks for the clarification! You are right! I have added a link to HDTV2DVD in AutumnWave's FAQ section

Thanks,
- Ryan Pertusio
AutumnWave Technical Support
OnAir Solution North America
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post #81 of 2947
8/9/06 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by skycat View Post

Hi Ryan,

I am experiencing audio problem in MCE2005. At first, I couldn't even able get the Media Center in MCE2005 to detect the TV tuner. After I launch Windows Update, and manally selected and installed two software updates for MCE2005 from Microsoft and restarted my laptop, Media Center is able to detect the tuner and I am able to watch analog OTA channels.
However, I got no sound from any channels. Media Center can play my other videos fine with sound. I tried changing the setting in Media Center TV->Audio option from stereo to SAP, still no sound.
Do you have any idea? Thank you.

The issue is resolved now. I followed Ryan's suggestion to uninstall all the codec packs I had.
Thanks to Ryan again
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post #82 of 2947
8/11/06 at 10:45am
FYI, the HDTV podcast reviewed the GT this week... I haven't listened to the podcast yet but you can read the short version of their review at http://www.htguys.com/. Hopefully this generates more customers for you guys!
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post #83 of 2947
8/11/06 at 10:50am
Thread Starter 
Thanks TallGuy! I listened to the Podcast earlier this morning.

Their review can be found on August 11th's Podcast #96 starting at about 29 minutes and 30 seconds into the clip.

- Ryan Pertusio
AutumnWave Technical Support
OnAir Solution North America
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post #84 of 2947
8/11/06 at 1:40pm
I've been demo'ing the OnAir-GT the past couple of days (our station purchased one for mapping our digital signal via a laptop, without having to use our spectrum analyzer).

Anyway, the one fault I can find is that you can't simply tune to a specific OTA digital channel without either doing a scan or manually adding the channel first. Hopefully they'll add this feature in a future software release.

Other than that, I'm definately buying one for my laptop (next month). Works great with TSReader also (besides the signal strength not working with TSReader).
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post #85 of 2947
8/14/06 at 10:35am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rpertusio View Post

abb,
I am looking into whether our driver even supports resuming from Standby. (I am not sure that it does, but I will let you know when I find out.)

abb,
Our software/driver does not currently support resuming from Standby. However, we are contemplating adding such a feature in future versions of our software.


taz291819,
Tuning an Analog channel 'manually' isn't a hard feat to accomplish. However, for digital channels, it becomes a bit tricky. As you are probably aware, Digital Channels have both a Physical and Virtual channel. (For example... Physical channel 33 may have virtual channesl 23-1, 23-2, 3-1)

This is where things can get tricky. If you try to tune by physical channel (if you type in 33)... our software won't know which of the 3 subchannels you want. If you try to tune by virtual channel (3-1), our software has no way of identifying which Physical channel it is associated with.

If you have a specific example or idea of how tuning a digital channel might work, I'd be happy to pass it along to our software engineers.

Thanks,
- Ryan Pertusio
AutumnWave Technical Support
OnAir Solution North America
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post #86 of 2947
8/14/06 at 6:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rpertusio View Post

abb,
taz291819,
If you try to tune by physical channel (if you type in 33)... our software won't know which of the 3 subchannels you want. If you try to tune by virtual channel (3-1), our software has no way of identifying which Physical channel it is associated with.

If you have a specific example or idea of how tuning a digital channel might work, I'd be happy to pass it along to our software engineers.

I have used several set top boxes and a Mits TV and the way the more useful ones work seems to be as follows. When I select a channel like 3 that is saved as a programmed analog or the result of a remapped digital like 3.2 it will go to the expected physical channel and sub subchannel. If I select one that is not one of the above like 33, (that was the physical channel for 3.2 or one that the receiver has no previous knowledge of) it scans that channel and if digital saves the remapping information. It then displays the primary channel, which would be the lowest channel number or have the lowest video PID.
John
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post #87 of 2947
8/14/06 at 6:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rpertusio View Post

taz291819,
Tuning an Analog channel 'manually' isn't a hard feat to accomplish. However, for digital channels, it becomes a bit tricky. As you are probably aware, Digital Channels have both a Physical and Virtual channel. (For example... Physical channel 33 may have virtual channesl 23-1, 23-2, 3-1)

This is where things can get tricky. If you try to tune by physical channel (if you type in 33)... our software won't know which of the 3 subchannels you want. If you try to tune by virtual channel (3-1), our software has no way of identifying which Physical channel it is associated with.

If you have a specific example or idea of how tuning a digital channel might work, I'd be happy to pass it along to our software engineers.

Thanks,
- Ryan Pertusio
AutumnWave Technical Support
OnAir Solution North America

Thanks for the response. I totally understand about the subchannels. Ideally, we'd love to see it work like the MyHD, meaning, you simply try and tune to the physical channel, and it tunes to the -1, ala main channel.

I guess you could implement a feature (sorry, but like the MyHD) to choose between physical channel and virtual channel. Or, simply have it tune to the -1 channel, but not add it to the channel list.

Of course, this feature wouldn't mean anything for consumer use, but it helps a lot for testing purposes. Also, it would help for people that travel a lot, not having to screw up their channel list for back home.
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post #88 of 2947
8/14/06 at 10:03pm
Yeah, I was wondering if you could save your home channel list so that you could access different stations when traveling and easily go back to your customized home list. Not possible yet?

I still need to read the manual as my pause button during live digital TV doesn't work yet.
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post #89 of 2947
8/14/06 at 11:19pm
If anyone wants WatchHDTV support, let me know. I think I have the information I need for the GT and if someone can confirm it for me with graphedit or similar tool-

tuner- "USB HDTV-GT BDA Tuner (ATSC)"
capture- "USB HDTV-GT AVStream TS Capture"

You can find these under BDA Receiver Component(capture) and BDA Source Filter(tuner) categories. If those names are correct for the tuner and transport stream capture, then that's all I need.

I'm going to update for other tuners as well so I can do them all at the same time.

If you can help, send me a PM with an email where I can send it to you test first.


Thanks.
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post #90 of 2947
8/15/06 at 4:46am
[quote=rpertusio]abb,
Our software/driver does not currently support resuming from Standby. However, we are contemplating adding such a feature in future versions of our software.

OK, that would be a *very* useful feature, thanks. Another one would be TitanTV support. Currently, to schedule the recording of a pgm, I search TitanTV, manually enter the information into the OnAir scheduler, and then create a corresponding task in Microsoft's scheduler that wakes the system 30sec prior to the scheduled recording time. Although the process works, it's rather arduous and prone to error (I missed a pgm because I specified AM rather than PM in MS's scheduler). Being able to click on a pgm entry in TitanTV and have the info automatically transferred to OnAir's scheduler -- without having to create a separate MS scheduler task -- would greatly simplify the recording process while eliminating programming errors.

Also, any info on the ETA for the Creator BDA driver?

--abb
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