PVR 500, closed captioning

[hirscr]

I realze that this has been posted before. but my searches (after restarting my computer) are not coming up with the same posts as before. I am sorry. Perhaps a nice synopsis can be posted here?

I have a PVR500. I updated both my nvidia drivers and the PVR500 drivers (to26xxx, from the original 23xxx). I have read (in these forums somewhere) that updating these drivers allows the pvr500 to transmit CC to sageTV.

I changed the cc_option-enabled to be true (lower case). Note: There seemed to be 2 properties files. If it didnt do it in both then it kept getting reset back to false.

I have set video overlay to disabled and the video renderer to default
im using trhe sageTV MPEG2 decoder

I now see the Captioning option but it says CAPTIONING(OFF) and It will not let me press the button to change it to (ON).

Any thoughts on getting it to work?

[gplasky]

Set video renderer to vmr9. You need to completely quit Sage-not sleep. And/or stop the SageTV service before editing those files.


Gerry

[hirscr]

I tried this.... but all it did was make the menus laggy and the video jumpy and I still couldnt get the closed captioning. However when I made this change I reloaded the media player (i think that is what the button said). I did not turn the whole thing on and off (I am recording something now). Is it necessary to do that?

Any other thoughts?


On the properties editing, I DID have SageTV off... I still needed to modify both files.

[ke6guj]

OK, if you see the Captioning option in the options menu, then you ahve modded the .properties file ok. You can change video renderer and decoders while in Sage without having to shut down Sage. Just reload the media player like you did. If you need to actually mod the .properties file, like when adding in the CC switch, then you have to shuto down Sage before modding the file.

You need to try a different video decoder, Sage's MPEG decoder doesn't do CC. Try the nVidia decoder, its real good, and only $10, IIRC. Or, if you already have a DVD software package installed on your PC, you can usually use a decoder that that they have installed.

edit:

A summary of what needs to happen for you to get CC on Sage with a PVR-500 tuner.

First, you need to have installed the PVR-500 driver version 24201 or newer. Modify the sage.properties and sageclient.properties and insert/modify this line. cc_option_enabled=true. Make sure that Sage is recording in a DVD-compliant format. Use a MPEG decoder that can display CC. If using Overlay, then disable "Overlay Color Keying"

[hirscr]

well its an improvement. I now get the choice of CC1 or CC2 etc. but alas still no captioning (my wife, who is not american and relies on it is not overly impressed so far! LOL!).

I am using the PowerDVD MPEG decoders from my old DVD player software. How do I get those nvidia drivers? Where do I put them?

Could you link me and tell me where to save them on my hard drive so that sagetv see them?

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by hirscr

well its an improvement. I now get the choice of CC1 or CC2 etc. but alas still no captioning (my wife, who is not american and relies on it is not overly impressed so far! LOL!).

OK, that sounds like you are getting closer. At this point I'd check to make sure that you are actually capturing the CC into the mpeg files. If they aren't in the file, then Sage won't be able to play them.

Are you sure that your PVR-500 driver is 24201 or higher? Checked it in device manager? That "23xxx" is the listing for the PVR-500, whereas 26xxxx is for the PVR-150 in device manager. That is the model version, not the driver version. If you are sure that you have a 24201+ driver, then I'd run a recorded mpeg through mpg2srt to see if it can output any CC to a text file. If no CC in the file, then it didn't record. IF there is CC in the file, then the driver and recording settings are correct, and you need to work on the display side. mpg2srt is a dos file and needs to be run in a DOS prompt.

I am using the PowerDVD MPEG decoders from my old DVD player software. How do I get those nvidia drivers? Where do I put them?

Could you link me and tell me where to save them on my hard drive so that sagetv see them?

http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html . I was mistaken, it is $19.95, not $10 for the bronze decoder. But since you have the powerDVD decoders, you may not need it.

[geogecko]

Where do you get version 24201?

Is it from SHSPVR?

[ke6guj]

I got 24205 from a snapstream thread when I was troubleshooting the PVR-500 type-b tuner problem. I haven't seen 24201 in public, just that it is the first version that had the CCinDVD feature we need. It's mentioned in the driver release notes. 24227 and 24258 have been posted on SHSPVR. This the newest thread there, http://www.shspvr.com/smf/index.php?topic=10652.0 , driver version is 24258.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by hirscr

well its an improvement. I now get the choice of CC1 or CC2 etc. but alas still no captioning (my wife, who is not american and relies on it is not overly impressed so far! LOL!).

I am using the PowerDVD MPEG decoders from my old DVD player software. How do I get those nvidia drivers? Where do I put them?

Could you link me and tell me where to save them on my hard drive so that sagetv see them?

If you're this far make sure you're watching a channel that indeed has cc. Not all channels broadcast that AFAIK.


Gerry

[geogecko]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

I got 24205 from a snapstream thread when I was troubleshooting the PVR-500 type-b tuner problem. I haven't seen 24201 in public, just that it is the first version that had the CCinDVD feature we need. It's mentioned in the driver release notes. 24227 and 24258 have been posted on SHSPVR. This the newest thread there, http://www.shspvr.com/smf/index.php?topic=10652.0 , driver version is 24258.

Thanks Jack. When I get some time, I may upgrade these. I haven't upgraded the drivers for about a year now.

[Mysticeti]

Well I'll bite.

I've got the CC menu working fine. VMR9: Check. nVidia decoder: Check. Driver version for PVR-500: 2.0.48.24205.

Still no CC on screen though.

I'm using an older version of Sage (2.2.6) -- perhaps that's my problem?

[ke6guj]

Sounds like you got the right settings for displaying any captured CC, so I'd test a couple recordings to see if they have CC imbedded in the files by running the recordings through the mp2srt file posted above to see if it can extract CC info.

If not, then you need to work on the recording settings. 24205 will take care of the driver, make sure you are recording in a DVD format. Is cc_option_enabled=true enabled in sage.properties on the server, not just a sageclient.properties file on the server or a client? If used in server/client or service mode, I think you need CC enabled in both. First in sage.properties so it will record CC, then in sageclient.properties (if used) to be able to bring up the CC options.

I dunno if 2.2.6 would be any issues, since CC support showed up around 2.1

[Mysticeti]

Thanks for the help.

I definitely have CC set to true in both sage and sage client properties files.

My mpg2srt trials don't look promising. For the two files I tried (both shows had the CC logo on screen at their beginnings) mpg2srt spit out a nearly empty SMIL file and an empty SRT file.

Anything else I could try to narrow it down?

Thanks again.

Edit: forgot to mention -- my default recording mode is "DVD Long Play".

[ke6guj]

Something must be wrong on the recording side.

The first thing I'd try is make absolute sure that the installed driver is 24201+ by going into device manager. Don't rely on the fact that you ran the install program. If you do have 24205 installed, maybe try a newer one.

I'd also try some different recording modes to see if anything changes. Its been a while since I messed with Sage V2, but are ther recording mode settings listed in sage.properties? If so, see if it has the outputstreamtype set to a DVD setting. http://www.freytechnologies.com/2_papers/HPquality.txt

On the recording side, for the PVR-500 and PVR-150, Sage only needs the 24201+ driver, the CC options enabled in sage.properties, and a DVD recording mode, no regedits needed.

If you still can't get it to work, I'd do the FREE upgrade to V5 and try again. There may be some CC updates in the newer versions that are needed for the PVR-150/500 to do CC that haven't been posted as 150/500 needed.

[SHS]

You need make sure your using outputstreamtype 10 for DVD compliant stream

[Mysticeti]

DVD Long Play is setup to use outputstreamtype 10.

I went through the Control Panel/System/Hardware tab/Device Manager to see what the driver version was for the PVR-500's tuners. It's 24205.

I may try upgrading Sage but I was wondering if someone might have a short MPG clip with CC data that they could share with me so I could pin down whether it's a recording or playback problem?

Cheers.

[ke6guj]

I uploaded a small clip of friends that has CC in it. Works fine on my system.


http://www.jackofsometrades.com/video/Friends.mpg Just DL it and put it in your imported video folder.

[Mysticeti]

Alrighty. A recording problem it is. "Friends" played back and displayed CC splendidly.

Maybe I botched the driver install somehow? (grasping at straws). Should I have run the HWCLEAR first? I don't recall doing that. For that matter I don't recall where I got the driver either. Perhaps I should grab the latest ones off of Hauppauge's site?

http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/suppo...vr150.html#drv

[ke6guj]

At this point it wouldn't hurt to blow out the hauppauge drivers and software and try it again. So go ahead and run the HWCLEAR and try the latest driver at Hauppauge's site. From the readme, they are 24227.

And if that doesn't work, then the only thing I can think of is to try a newer version of Sage.

[hirscr]

well i'm back on to this project again. Wife is still sad.

I have the same driver you have (24227)

I ran mpg2srt... the CC text IS in fact being recorded. YAY!

I'm thinking I'm missing something really dumb at this point.

when I am watching a show, and I hit OK, a menu comes up. One of the buttons on that menu says "Captioning (off)". I try to press that button and nothing. It wont change to (on).....

argh

what am I missing?