Poor performance hvr-1600 and 6.3

[menace]

First my specs:

p4 3ghz
1gb ram
pvr 250
nvidia 6600gt outputing at 720p
hvr-1600
sage 6.3 (15 day trial) using vmr9, purevideo decoder no FSE

So I recently added the hvr-1600 and due to poor performance (stuttering etc) I upgraded and that solved some of the issues. Now what i'm faced with is poor performance of a different nature from the hvr-1600. Specifically it does a poor job during livetv with all sorts of pixellation during moderate and higher movements. My question is is this a hardware issue (i.e. insufficient system specs) or is it the hvr-1600 driver/card?

I've searched around and lots are using this card so I'm wondering what is the weak link in my system that I can't get decent service from this card???

[blade]

I had two 1600s that I tried to use for QAM and both were garbage. A lot of pixelation and they couldn't tune but a third of the channels that my other tuners could.

[menace]

I too can only tune in about 4 channels but I am just using a lowly indoor antenna so not jumping to any conclusions just yet--I'm wondering if this card has hobbled hardware encoding (whereas my 4 yr old 250 does it pretty decently) or if sage isn't communicating very well with it? I'm hoping to hear from others on this and build a consensus as to its true performance and maybe any optimizations i can do...

[Ryokurin]

This card just blows for QAM streams. Its fine on over the air things. I stuck it out for a few months when it was new but eventually went back to over the air where its basically is flawless.

[OttoNP]

When I went to HD I had a two tuner hauppauge 500 card, I wanted at least 2 HD tuners and 1 analog tuner. So my choice was 1 HDHR to give me 2 HD on it and 2 analog on the 500 card or get 2 hvr-1600 to give me same capability. Right them the hvr-1600 went on sale at circuit city for like $40 each with rebates, so I went that route as it was cheaper tha HDHR and I thought maybe PCI cards would be better.

Now, almost 1 year later, I wish I got the HDHR. It appears to be much better at tuning both OTA and QAM, and I feel I got a better picture with the 500 card. It could be the number of splits I now have. I used to split cable with a 2 way splitter and I now use a 3 way splitter.

If I had down the HDHR, I would split OTA with a 3 way, and then cable with a 2 way. I know split both 3 ways, which I think costs me some quality on the analog stations.

[menace]

Right now my big beef is just through s-video from a STB--fast motion gets pixelly than goes normal when the action stops--if there is sustained action it looks like hell. This doesn't happen with the 250 card so I'm wondering if its the drivers for the hvr-1600. I think I have the latest but not 100% sure.

[stevenkd]

I had the same problem when I first installed the HVR-1600. I can't remember everything I did to fix it, but one thing is to use the Intervideo NCSS video and audio decoders for Hauppauge in the detailed setup menu. This helped decreased my memory usage a lot also.

[menace]

How was the video quality after that? After a bunch of experimenting (previous to this) I found the nvideo purevideo to be about the best.

[stevenkd]

but I am not that fussy. It is clear and does not stutter, sound is in sync.

[briankeys]

I have two HVR-1600s recording from two DirecTV receivers via S-Video. Video quality is excellent but I do have some audio glitches. Every ten minutes or so the audio stumbles or drops out for a split second then continues normally. It's not too distracting but it bugs me every time it happens.

System is a dedicated HTPC running XP on a Foxconn mobo with 2G ram and an Athlon X2 4000 I'm using two 500GB drives in non raid configuration. Audio out is handled by the Realtek chipset while my video out uses a Nvidia 8200GS

The audio glitchs occur in the same positions when the file is played back through media player so it seems to be a problem with the HVR - 1600s?

Has anyone encountered this?

[Destro]

I'm trying to decide whether to keep my 1600 card or return it. I am trying to use it alongside my PVR-350 card for QAM channels.

Mine can pick up channels OK, but I'm not sure how to set up my channel lineup so the two cards work together. I've read several other posts about this, but it's confusing. I'm also concerned about performance; my PC is a 2.4 Ghz P4 with 1 GB RAM.

Can someone tell me the simplest way to set up my channels in this setup, before I return the 1600 out of frustration? It seems like Sage could make this process easier...

[jemora]

Originally Posted by briankeys

I have two HVR-1600s recording from two DirecTV receivers via S-Video. Video quality is excellent but I do have some audio glitches. Every ten minutes or so the audio stumbles or drops out for a split second then continues normally. It's not too distracting but it bugs me every time it happens.

System is a dedicated HTPC running XP on a Foxconn mobo with 2G ram and an Athlon X2 4000 I'm using two 500GB drives in non raid configuration. Audio out is handled by the Realtek chipset while my video out uses a Nvidia 8200GS

The audio glitchs occur in the same positions when the file is played back through media player so it seems to be a problem with the HVR - 1600s?

Has anyone encountered this?

Are your hard drives running at 64k? Only in Sata Raid 0 is the only way you get the performance needed for sage to perform correctly, also use the svideo to red,green,blue, adapter that came with your nvidia card on the input to the HVR-1600, also switch to a soundblaster fatlity with digital I/O module it has a digital in, connect your HD DVR/receiver optical out to the optical in on X-fi card.
Happy viewing, you have to run a dual core processor. I run MSI Nforce4,2g ram, AMD X2-939-4200+, 2-250 sata2 in raid 0, Evga 7950gt KO 512m, Nvidia PureVideo Platinum decoder. Also I Use Nvidia decoder for Video and Audio with my default audio renderer Soundblaster X-fi, do the same for DVD settings, full acceleration,VRM9

[blade]

Originally Posted by jemora

Are your hard drives running at 64k? Only in Sata Raid 0 is the only way you get the performance needed for sage to perform correctly, also use the svideo to red,green,blue, adapter that came with your nvidia card on the input to the HVR-1600, also switch to a soundblaster fatlity with digital I/O module it has a digital in, connect your HD DVR/receiver optical out to the optical in on X-fi card.
Happy viewing, you have to run a dual core processor. I run MSI Nforce4,2g ram, AMD X2-939-4200+, 2-250 sata2 in raid 0, Evga 7950gt KO 512m, Nvidia PureVideo Platinum decoder. Also I Use Nvidia decoder for Video and Audio with my default audio renderer Soundblaster X-fi, do the same for DVD settings, full acceleration,VRM9

Wow that is a lot of misinformation.

[OldPCGUY]

Originally Posted by menace

First my specs:

p4 3ghz
1gb ram
pvr 250
nvidia 6600gt outputing at 720p
hvr-1600
sage 6.3 (15 day trial) using vmr9, purevideo decoder no FSE

So I recently added the hvr-1600 and due to poor performance (stuttering etc) I upgraded and that solved some of the issues. Now what i'm faced with is poor performance of a different nature from the hvr-1600. Specifically it does a poor job during livetv with all sorts of pixellation during moderate and higher movements. My question is is this a hardware issue (i.e. insufficient system specs) or is it the hvr-1600 driver/card?

I've searched around and lots are using this card so I'm wondering what is the weak link in my system that I can't get decent service from this card???

Hello Menace,

I had a similar pixal problem on TWO TVs both with QAM and my 1800 new board would not receive any channels. I added an amplifier at the cable outlet on the wall and then fanned it out to the three devices. This cleaned up all the channels and the 1800 Board was able to autofind 60 QAM channels and tune in clearly.

I think it is most important to validate that you get QAM in a TV first before you hook up the QAM card. Of course if you don't have a QAM capable TV then this will not be possible. You could buy a small one with a 30 day return policy and then bring it back when youa re done testing.

Kind Regards

[stewart710]

I would agree that the Hauppauge cards need a drop amp to tune all the channels. I bought one off Ebay, an Electroline for around $20, now everything works perfectly. I have a HVR-1600 that tunes all of my Clear QAM stutter free using Comcast.

[menace]

Just curious what are the specs on your drop amp? I have some paypal funds cooling in my account that could be spent on this venture !

[Steverino]

I had a problem with most of the drops in my house having noisy SDTV and poor QAM, for the longest time I thought our 20 year old coax in the walls was the source of the trouble.

But I discovered that my CATV company had used about 4 splitters in order to split the lines up to all the rooms.

I bought a CableTronix CTHDA-1P distribution amplifier with 15db gain. I inserted this after the splitter that feeds our cable Internet modem, and BAM good QAM and much improved SD channels, even on the drop furthest away (the TV room where I have SageTV).

I'm very satisfied with the results.