USB tuner options?

[Islander]

I am currently using a Haup WinTV-PVR USB2 but I find that it is stopping and having recording issues more often that I would like. I have seen the other thread with people having more issues recently with this sort of things with a variety of tuners and so I am not entirely sure that the PVR is the sole cause but it is an old unit and I want to eliminate that out of the equation.

Besides the newer Haup USB version of the above, are there any better / more reliable USB models? For the time being I have no HD needs.

Thanks for your advice in advance.

[Owen Brent]

I am using the WinTV-HVR-950Q and have had no issues. So far I have just plugged it in and it has worked.

[dcardellini]

Have four HVR-950's connected to Sagetv for past 1.5 years 24/7 with no problems. Small, no heat, low power. Always wonder why there is still a market for PCI/PCIe cards, or the Silicon Dust external ethernet unit.

[MrFusion]

Originally Posted by Islander

...that it is stopping and having recording issues more often that I would like...

What version of Java are you running?

I found that, when I upgraded to 1.6.0_17, the number of recording stops and fail-to-tunes went through the roof.

Going back to 1.6.0_15 fixed that -- zero stops etc for the last month and half.

[Islander]

The latest one _18 I think got updated today. As a coincidence, the number of these failures increased about the time that my trial expired and I bought Sage. Just a coincidence I am sure but I put it down to maybe a Win update or some other sort of update, perhaps Java as you suggest.

Owen and dc; I had a quick look at the unit on Amazon but I only see a coaxial in for connection. According to the manual for my DishNetwork box (dual tuner non HD) the coaxial out only provides "mono (non stereo) sound. Isn't that a huge drawback versus say the other Haup units that provide for other inputs besides coax, i.e. the updated version to mine?

By the response so far it seems that Haup is the company to go with, now it is just a matter of deciding which model. Thanks.

[Owen Brent]

The Haup 950Q has a coax in, no coax out. The USB port is the only output from the tuner. Some cables also come with it. svideo, Left and right audio, and analog video. They may be inputs however. As far as outputs, I use the computer's video card. see:http://www.hauppauge.com/site/produc...a_hvr950q.html

[Islander]

Thanks, that is what I meant. The only input (i.e. from the box to the Haup) that I could see was the coaxial cable. If that was the only connection available then I would only get mono.

Thanks for the link to the more detailed picture. I see the AV cable but I am having difficulty seeing how they connect into the Haup, mostly because on the picture I cannot determine the type of connector at the other end. I am assuming that the connector on the other end if a cox male and you just screw it into the Haup. If that is the case I will order a few, may even replace my current one as I am using and UIRT for the IR signals anyways.

[MrFusion]

Originally Posted by Islander

The latest one _18 I think got updated today. As a coincidence...

Hmmm -- suggest you try uninstalling _18 and installing _15 (pretty quick and easy to do).

[CollinR]

I think it's only mono to the second room on the 322, if you plan on using that you will also need a TV2IR setup to control it. You can get those from dishstore.net. If it's TV1 I'm pretty sure you get stereo. Also as you pointed out you can pull from the baseband outputs too.

[Owen Brent]

The inputs for the Haup 950Q do not connect to the coax, they plug into the side of the unit. I have not used it yet, but I plan on trying to copy a few old vhs tapes with it:Below is a link to the quick install manual.

http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/manua...vr_950q_qi.pdf

[Islander]

Owen thanks for the link, yes now I can clearly see where it plugs. I ended up ordering one unit this morning to test it out.

Collin, do you mean because the second remote uses UHF (hope i got that right) and I will not be able to control it with an UBIRT? I will have to check through the menus if that is the case and see if there is a way to change it.

Thanks again.

[CollinR]

Also the model 322 you cannot disable inactivity standby, I suggest seeing if you are elgible for a dishnitup upgrade to the 222. Then you can do as you want now and you can upgrade to HD in the future.

The model number on the 322 is on the front lower left corner. The inactivity standby is a much much bigger problem however it can be resolved.

Doesn't matter the Duo reciever if you want to control TV2, you must get the TV2IR kit to control it with SageTV. Well unless you want to go your own or something.

[Islander]

Thanks yes, I found the item on that website that you linked and I will probably order one tomorrow.

On the standby issue; I was going to use the keep awake utility but in the end I simply used UBIRT and told Sage to use "Select" (after learning it) as a prefix before sending the channel changes. Works like a charm, and in the two months that I have been using that solution not once have i been greeted by the standby screen in a recording.

Thanks for all the info. I will look into the 222. (I had a quick look, so the 222 does not use UHF to control TV2?)

[Islander]

Thanks for all the initial information and assistance.

I received the TV IR kit and the 950Q a few weeks back and installed them.

I have a couple of questions:

1. The max quality that I see as available under the 950q sagetv setup is the dvd one not the mpg2 (max one) that I am using with the the USB-PVR (older tuner). I am connecting using the regular AV cables as that is the only connection available out of tv2. Is the connection type determining the max quality or am I missing something. I did find where the max and default quality for each tuner is listed in sage properties file but I am not sure if I should force change it to max, whether that will have any effect or even whether it will "stick" after SageTv starts up. Ideas?

2. I had a very hard time setting up the TV2 IR following the instructions to the letter. I finally found a way to work around the setup and get the two remotes (and the DISH tuners) on a different setting. Now, I ended up with TV2 on #6 and TV1 on #1. Somewhere I read that TV2 has to be on #1 but using the remotes as is with TV2 on #6 does not show any issues at all. That is each DISH tuner responds only to the matching remote. Is TV2 at #6 an issue?

3. I am experienced some weirdness in the way in which Sagetv is controlling the tuners. In short, the 950q connected to TV2 always seems to properly change the channel, but the USB-PVR connected to TV1 is hit and miss, where before I installed the second tuner (950Q) it was not a problem using the same remote setting with it (#1). I made a list of the scheduled recordings in parallel view over a period of 24 hours to see if I can spot a trend, but has anyone ran into a similar problem?

4. When two recordings are going on at the same time they seem to stutter a little now and then. Am I asking too much from the Atom 330 (1.6mghz oc to 2.0mghz and 3gb of memory) I am using as a SageTv server? The recording reside on an hp487 which is not formatted to 64 clusters or whatever the term is but this was never an issue with one turner. Everything that would affect the SageTv box is connected at 1gib network speed (Atom 330, Switch, Hp487).

Thanks.