SageTV Beta for Windows: DShowCapture.dll and TSSplitter.ax

[Opus4]

SageTV beta updates for Windows are available for the DShowCapture.dll and TSSplitter.ax files. Download the zipped files here:

DShowCapture.zip
TSSplitter.zip


Installation:

Make backup copies of your existing files before unzipping these files.

Exit SageTV and stop the service, if using service mode.

DShowCapture.zip: Unzip to <SageTV install path>\SageTV

TSSplitter.zip: Unzip to <SageTV install path>\Common


Changes:

• SiliconDust HDHomeRun: When used with HDHR software version 20081002 or later, reduces network traffic by filtering so that only the channel being recorded is sent from the HDHR to the PC. (Previously, the filtering was done on the PC.) Notes: This reduces the network traffic, not the recorded file size. This filtering fix is for Windows; Linux & Mac solutions are not available for testing yet.
  
  
• Hauppauge HVR-2250: fixes analog tuner issues.
  You must also set this property in sage.properties:
  seeker/fast_mux_switch=false

Submit any bug reports here please:
http://sagetv.com/bugs.html

- Andy

Updates:

2008-11-12: Updated DShowCapture.zip for HDHR tuning issue.

Feb 18, 2009
TSSplitter.ax: version 2.0.1.25
Fixes:
1. recording a TS stream with DTS audio

[Clift]

I was not as fortunate with the update. I am still seeing 40% usage after updating my HDHR firmware to hdhomerun_atsc_firmware_20081002 and replacing these 2 files. Any ideas what i may be doing wrong?

[Opus4]

Did you replace ths files while SageTV was not running?

Originally Posted by Clift

...after updating my HDHR firmware to hdhomerun_atsc_firmware_20081002

Did you only update the firmware? You should install this update: hdhomerun_windows_20081002.exe.

- Andy

[jlmdxtv]

Andy,

Works like a champ!

I tested recording 4 HDHR streams at about 160Mbps. I shutdown Sage, installed the two new files and the load was reduced to about 40Mbps recording the same 4 programs a few minutes later.

I did need to reboot the PC because the first tuner wouldn't startup its recording. Since then, everything tested fine.

Thanks for the update, john

[Clift]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Did you replace ths files while SageTV was not running?


Did you only update the firmware? You should install this update: hdhomerun_windows_20081002.exe.

- Andy

Okay I only updated the firmware. I'll update the drivers tonight when i get home. Thanks

[hemicuda]

I'm still running firmware from over a month ago and mine seems to be working ok.

[Conejo]

The DShowCapture and TSSplitter files were previously mentioned in this thread: Try this fix for the HDHR on 100Mb network

I'd downloaded those files and applied them. Filtered streams worked great. Thought the .zip files mentioned here were updates and applied those. I didn't notice they were the same version, but for whatever reason SageTV had major issues using the HDHR tuner (black channels, wouldn't change channels).

Going into the "HDHomeRun Setup" application and under the "Support" tab selecting to Reinstall the BDA Drivers immediately corrected my problem.

Just thought I'd mention it.

[Crunch]

I finally got round to doing a clean new install after being away for some time. A nightmare is the result. I have had numerous 'no signal’ issues both with the install of Sage 6.4.8 and HDHR 20081002

Tried these latest files and same issues. I had to do numerous 'remove/replace tuners' to get things going and have fallen back on 6.4.8 and 20081002. Even with that I had to do remove and install of HDHR tuners a couple of times to get system running.

Here is my log files if someone can tell me what’s going wrong.
I can view channels fine in VLC player so it seems to be a Sage issue.

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by Crunch

Here is my log files if someone can tell me what’s going wrong.
I can view channels fine in VLC player so it seems to be a Sage issue.

The Native log shows you have TWO HDHR boxes and did a channel scan on one of the tuners to create a 10131BFD-0-0-QAM.frq file. I'm assuming you also did a channel scan on the other three tuners or otherwise duplicated the .frq for them.

What issues are you still having?

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Crunch

I finally got round to doing a clean new install after being away for some time. A nightmare is the result. I have had numerous 'no signal’ issues both with the install of Sage 6.4.8 and HDHR 20081002

In case you didn't see the sticky pointing to this, be sure to follow these instructions:

HDHR setup for Windows

- Andy

[stanger89]

Hey, will this have any effect if you're using OTA? I've seen reports that this drops network traffic from ~40 to ~20Mbps, which seems like the it's splitting one channel out of a QAM stream.

Guess what I'm asking is if this just causes the HDHR to dup half a QAM stream or if it really causes it to just send the desired subchannel (ie maybe a 1Mbps stream for an SD sub)?

[HelenWeathers]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Hey, will this have any effect if you're using OTA?

Should we, do we need to install these updates if we are using OTA ATSC?

[Crunch]

Opus4
Andy,
I thought I had followed the new instructions to the 'T' but...
Can you clarify this

Use an Existing Channel Lineup with this Source -- Use this option if you have already configured one tuner and you want to use the same channel lineup for the current tuner being configured. If you have multiple digital QAM/OTA tuners, this can save the scanning time. Note: This option should not be used for digital tuners, unless you are doing advanced setups with multiples of the same types of tuners and have copied/renamed the appropriate .scn and .frq files. See the tips area, below.


In Channel Setup, perform a channel scan to make sure the scn file gets converted to the frq file for the tuner. The channel scan should be performed fairly quickly, mapping only those channels found and configured in the HDHR's Channel Editor. After scanning for channels, most, if not all, channels should be properly mapped to their correct channel names and numbers. Go through the resulting list of channels to verify that they are mapped appropriately. The physical channel numbers (used to actually tune a channel on the tuner) and channel names should all be mapped correctly, but you may want to remap some logical channel numbers (those shown on the Program Guide) and/or choose which channels to enable/disable.


Done. Configure any additional tuners. Each HDHR tuner must run its own channel scan.

Does this mean as I have 2 HDHR (4 tuners) I have to do a channel scan on each tuner? I only did it on my first tuner. Then I added my second tuner with 'add tunner' where I selected the "Use an Existing Channel Lineup with this Source" then hit finished with channel lineup and went on to add next tuner.
Do I have to do scan and rename files for all 4 tuners??

As for the rest of the setup. Yes I did a scan using HDHR software and Zap2it to name number channels.

Problem is I have to remove and add tuners to overcome the 'no Signal' issue. My tuners show 98-100% on signal strength and quality. Also if I open the HDHR setup and view the channels they are fine.

Kevin

[stanger89]

Well to answer my own question, looks like it does. I swapped the above files out on my server, and when I tune/view an SD subchannel the network traffic into my server is only about 3Mbps, so it's definitely works for OTA as well.

It looks like it saves some CPU usage on the server too, my server CPU usage was about nil with the new files. Unfortunately I don't a really robust benchmark from before, but it looks like while I was watching some ATSC earlier today, before switching, there was measurable CPU usage then, while there wasn't just now when I tried.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Hey, will this have any effect if you're using OTA? I've seen reports that this drops network traffic from ~40 to ~20Mbps, which seems like the it's splitting one channel out of a QAM stream.

It looks like you answered your own question, but I was going to say that I figure it would help for both OTA and QAM because as far as I know, they both send multiple channels in a single stream. Using the new HDHR driver & these SageTV files, the desired channel is filtered in the HDHR before being sent over the netowk instead of sending the entire stream over the network & filtering on the PC.

Originally Posted by Crunch

Does this mean as I have 2 HDHR (4 tuners) I have to do a channel scan on each tuner? I only did it on my first tuner.

Yes: you have to scan all tuners in the HDHR software (long time to scan) and you have to scan all tuners in SageTV (fast scan).

The HDHR scan creates the .scn files with the info for the channels that were found during its actual scan. SageTV reads the .scn files during its own pseudo-scan & creates the .frq files. If the .scn files do not exist, then SageTV will try to do its own actual scan and may not/probably won't be able to find the correct channels.

The only way to skip some of the scans are to know how to copy & rename the .scn & .frq files... but you have to know how to do that and it is not a topic for this thread. If you want to know more about that, post a question in the hardware forum, proabbly in the HDHR setup instruction thread.

Problem is I have to remove and add tuners to overcome the 'no Signal' issue. My tuners show 98-100% on signal strength and quality. Also if I open the HDHR setup and view the channels they are fine.

This is probably because the scans weren't done properly.

- Andy

[Crunch]

Useing older files (see Sig) Sage finds channels fine.
Install the two new files after shutting down sagetv and restarting sagetv only found one of 4 channels I tunned to. The other 3 gave me 'no signal'. Switched back to the old DShowCapture.dll and TSSplitter.ax files and all 4 channel changes found the channels... see logs attached.

Kevin

[phelme]

So I installed these files on my server a couple of days ago. the following day I noticed that my network encoder tuner would disappear from the list of available devices (even after restarting the service a bunch of times). I assume this is because I had not installed the two files on my network encoder computer too? I've since installed the beta files and the tuner is still active so I hope this fixed it.

[tomfisk]

I don't know if anybody else has noticed, but it appears to me that the audio is slightly out of sync with programs recorded from the HDHR. Anybody else notice this?

[Wheemer]

Crunch, I think I am seeing your problem too...

[Crunch]

Originally Posted by Wheemer

Crunch, I think I am seeing your problem too...

Qian sent me a PM asking for my FRQ files today. I have sent them and waiting to see outcome.

Kevin