HTPC recording TV/HDTV unable to do it period

2-7 MCE 2005 with Avermedia AV180 (no QAM) instead of Fusion (fusion has QAM)


1. If you use the Nvidia codecs and a 6 or 7 series NVIDIA video card you will get better quality then you are going to get with your setup. Your setup is also pretty Jerry rigged and won't be stable in any kind of long term sense. If this was for you and you alone I'd say yeah do it, but this way isn't going to be easy for your parents to figure out.


You are adding too many variables to your system. For stability and ease of use just remember one phrase "less is more." Everything you want can be done quite easily. I know because my box does them all and has since the day I built it. Mine is:


AMD 64 3000+

MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum

MSI NX6600GT AGP

2GB RAM (running dual channel)

Plextor 712SA DVD

Avermedia AV180

Hauppauge PVR-500

4xSATA HD

2xIDE HD

Zalman Cooling

Antec PS

MCE Remote and IR receiver

MCE 2005

Nvidia purevideo dvd decoder

Hauppauge tweaker

MCE menu editor


That's it. That's everything in it and installed on it. I just run MCE setup and voila it works, and does everything you want except zoomplayer which isn't needed in my setup because I can match it (IMO beat it) with what I have with less software and tweaking.

Did finally get sagetv to display a HDTV channel, (though its signel streight was about 20% lower than DIVCO's application shows). The problem I then encountered is that it seems to have issues with audio (crupts the audio sub-system in windows, so that it beeps at me constantly), this has occured with Windvd, Nvidia, and Decaler codecs, however these codecs all work with other programs including zoomplayer.

Secondly I can not get xlobby to located files within directories in a search so say the directory contains 26 episdodes (1 full seasion of an anime show), it starts playing from what every file is first, but will not list the indevidual files.

Thirdly I have seen no way to call zoomplayer from sagetv


I do not mind playing for a peice of software, but it would have to work correctly, so far the only one that does is meedio, but I can not use dual capture cards and there is no eta on support for them.


By the way the system I'm working with is:

AMD x2 4600+, clocked at 2.6GHZ

Abit AN8 Motherboard

2GB of RAM at 451MHZ cas 2,3,3,7

ATI x1800XL, component output to HDTV, DVI output to secondary lcd monitor

[Had Geforce 7800 GT, but could not deal with exclusive renderless mode in ZP]

logitech cordless keyboard and mouse

USIRT, connected to girder 4.0

DIVCO Fusion HDTV 3 Gold

Hauppauge 250pvr

DVD NEC 3550 +RW dual layer

Prodigy 7.1 audio card

theather master mx3000 remote

software at startup: samurize, systool, uguru, windowblinds, rightclick, iconpacker, anydvd, grider, zonealarm




ERIC GANDT

Quote:
After rereading what you are trying to do I suppose my answer doesn't help much because you are trying to accomplish simplicity for others that appears to be a very difficult challenge. Since I thought about it a while and composed an answer will post it anyway.


Rephrasing your 1 to 7 - but just a general comment - you appear to have gone a route with a lower cost card compared with something like a MyHD that would have cost slightly more in the beginning. Perhaps the MyHD's time has passed with everyone going to Media center and wanting to get fed MS software and DRM and 3rd party viewing software: but you didn't need a phd nor a scaler nor an expensive video card for stable, great playback - just a different choice of hardware and software. So don't generalize your experience with the whole HTPC experience. Some of your 1 to 7 would still be problemmatic even with a MyHD approach but your A to E don't follow universally


1. playback all video in Zoomplayer (all other players backly suck as they will not allow me to control codecs and post processing, read resize).


playback is a snap with the MyHD software and hardware -ZP not needed for digital


2. Record all OTA Digital programs on the Fusion HDTV

MyHD records flawlessly OTA or cable ( but not analog)


3. Record all OTA Analog programs on the Hauppauge

same


4. Record all Dish, VCR, or Digital Cable programing using the Svideo in on the hauppauge


same - but why obsess with analog sources with an HDTV


5. Use a single interface to record from all three sources, ie a single guide (the user should not need to understand what card is doing what).


too complicated and I will grant separate from a MyHD approach to the digital


6. Make it simple enough that even my parents can figure it out.


the native MyHD software is simple enough. Combining and integrating your other features such as analog recording and playback would be very difficult as you note


7. Control everything using Grider 4 (seems possible except that many programs do not support messages and keyboard input is not reliable enough to let others use it).


above is just too complicated but:


Basicly my experiences wit HTPC's is that its great if you:


A. do not wish to record using it


MyHd records digital OTA and unencrypted QAM fine


B. have a monitor and keyboard connected

True - but the MyHD remote is all you have to use for watching/playback digital and watching analog. For setting up recording you would need a keyboard/mouse and optimally a web interface


C. only allow people with PHDs to use it.

MyHD software is a simple intuitive interface.


D. Can produce far better video than striaght from the source on a HDTV, but only with post processing.


the MyHD will upscale DVDs with its own hardware and ANYDVD


E. The only thing I have any good words for in my experience with HTPC's is that zoomplayer is great and that FFDSHOW has gotten much better ovr the last 2 years.


Only need these for analog source - why bother if it is too complicated?

Quote:
SageTV can do all of the above, natively (including windows messages: http://www.sage-community.org/index.cgi/wiki/Girder )

Quote:
SageTV automatically integrates all sources into a single coherent guide.


As for not detecting the signal, do you have the latest drivers installed? Sage needs BDA drivers to use the Fusion. Might want to post in the SageTV forums if you can't get a signal, I haven't heard of that issue though.