HD200 - No LATM HE-AAC sound ?

[oaamaas]

I received really great news from support:
"This is already fixed for the next firmware update on the HD200. Should be out sometime this week I'd expect."


I guess I have to count the days! Should the problem not get resolved by the coming fix I am ready to try a workaround - the FireDTV Viewer is all but impressive... One would think that if SageTV recorded in *.ts then SageTV would also will be able to play back the result - as with the imported files. Question is - how do I configure SageTV to do that?

[voidpt]

Originally Posted by oaamaas

Question is - how do I configure SageTV to do that?

Pretty sure you change this setting from 'true' to 'false' in Sage.properties:

mmc/encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false

But everything I've read about it says that SageTV recommends PS instead of TS. Probably because how they have optimized things. Although just for testing couldn't hurt much.

Thanks for the info though. I'll wait for the new release and test again then.

[JREkiwi]

Originally Posted by voidpt

Pretty sure you change this setting from 'true' to 'false' in Sage.properties:

mmc/encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false

There's also a setting for each encoder.

Originally Posted by voidpt

But everything I've read about it says that SageTV recommends PS instead of TS. Probably because how they have optimized things. Although just for testing couldn't hurt much.

I believe that's primarily to fix problems associated with the way "local" stations insert content/commercials into the transport streams in the US. If you are receiving a signal direct then it shouldn't be an issue for you.

I've not seen any issue changing to TS and to top it off, the donator version of Comskip works with LATM HE-AAC on TS but not PS.

John

[alland]

John

Just tried the ts file option for the DVB-T in New Zealand. I can see the file building in my recorded TV folder, but watching live TV on my HD200, I still get no audio and the "stutter".

I have been successfully viewing satellite ts files for some time so don't seem to have any big issues with ts vs mpg files.

Allan

[JREkiwi]

Allan, what's listed as the "Format" on the recording detail screen?

John

[alland]

well that's interesting.

The file is .ts but the format is mpeg2-ps[h.264 576i,AAC/7Kbps@24kHz Stereo]

Allan

[JREkiwi]

Originally Posted by alland

well that's interesting.

The file is .ts but the format is mpeg2-ps[h.264 576i,AAC/7Kbps@24kHz Stereo]

That caught me out too.

You need to have both
mmc/encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false

and for the correct encoder

mmc/encoders/xxxxxxxx/100/0/encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=false

One of them seems to set the file extension to .ts and the other actually does the format to MPEG2-TS. Can't remember which one does which.

John

[alland]

Well done that man Finally solved a long running problem.

I'll upgrade the rest of my extenders tomorrow and do some more extensive testing.

Cheers
Allan

[JREkiwi]

Allan, glad to hear it's working for you. The next HD200 firmware should fix the MPEG2-PS problem. Just need to hang out for all those updates to appear in an HD100 firmware update.

John

[oaamaas]

Thanks, John!

I'm quite eager to find out if I can cancel my cable TV subscription without getting into serious WAF issues. Fingers crossed, I'll test this out tonight and then test the beta when it arrives later this week.

[oaamaas]

For a moment I was really worried as John's solution did not seem to work for me at all. After some more investigation it turned out that my PCI-E Firewire controller had stopped working. Lucky for me I had a PCI controller available, out with the PVR500 for a new test. And it worked!

Thanks to the SageTV team. My analogue cable TV subscription will be cancelled tomorrow. Life is good!

[alland]

It works but further testing on my HD200's reveals some sporadic pixelation of images, usually 8-20 seconds apart. Its affecting HD and SD channels.

The Server CPU is < 5% utilised and its on a gigabit LAN. There is over 600GB free on the sage TV directory.

I don't have this issue on other MPEG2 non-AAC sources. I'm wondering if there is any additional overhead in the TS format relative to the PS format.

Allan

[JREkiwi]

I've not seen a problem.

The first thing I'd look at is whether it is related to a particular tuner and what your signal strength is like.

Also, there are new drivers available for the HVR-4000 and some drivers that came out in Feb for the HVR-2200
http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/site/supp...rt_hybrid.html

John

[alland]

John

You may be correct about the antenna. My standalone DVB-T set top box has no problem with the antenna, but the Hauppauge card looks like it needs a stronger signal. TV3/C4 keep getting missed in the scans even when I manually add them to the .frq file.

Allan

[Narflex]

New beta firmware is out that fixes the bug with MPEG2-PS and HE-AAC/LATM audio.

[oaamaas]

Quick follow up since it is nice to have postings with no loose ends:

I upgraded extenders to beta firmware "20090313 2", and for orders sake also the server to 6.5.12 beta. Finally I reverted to the original settings of the Sage.properties:
...encode_digital_tv_as_program_stream=true

There is no more need for temp settings. Everything just works. Norwegian SageTV users can watch DVB-T, just plug in Digital Everywhere card, run the "add new source" wizard to set up the tuner, power on a HD200, play and enjoy. No tweaks, no codecs, no need to fine tune or troubleshoot. It is just great !

[voidpt]

Doesn't hurt with a double confirmation. Did a quick test install of SageTV Server 6.5.12beta with a Terratec Cinergy XS USB (DVB-T) stick i have. Same result as oaamaas above. Now DVB-T/RiksTV here in Norway works through the HD200