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| Hardware Support Discussions related to using various hardware setups with SageTV products. Anything relating to capture cards, remotes, infrared receivers/transmitters, system compatibility or other hardware related problems or suggestions should be posted here. |
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#1
03-12-2010, 10:26 AM
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FWChannelProxy2 Firewire Channel Changing
I am having an issue getting firewire channel changing to work. I do not need to capture video as I have the HD-PVR for that. But since I have two of them the Hauppauge IRBlaster will not work.
XP sp3 Sage w/ service enabled 2- HD-PVR 2- Comcast Motorola DCT-6412 I have tried both EXEMultiTunerPlugin and FWChannelProxy2. I read all of the information regarding firewire on these forums (including the EXTREMELY long and erratic Firewire thread; frustrating to say the least) and have not found a solution so far. I have gotten the firewire channel changing working perfectly outside of sage; it is working with Tim Moore's channel.exe and channelw.exe and with babgvant's TunerStubTest.exe . However, when I change channel from within Sage nothing happens. I enabled the logs for both EXEMultiTunerPlugin.dll and FWChannelProxy2.dll (as I mentioned, I tried both methods) and get this in both logs: DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH I cannot understand why Sage cannot tune firewire on my system when it works so perfectly outside of Sage. Does anyone have any ideas? I really would like to get the firewire tuning to work! 
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#2
03-13-2010, 11:13 AM
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I have to admit the FWChannelProxy install directions are pretty vague, but I didn't have any issues getting it working with an HDPVR (although I do have some other issues). The things that comes to mind are
(1) you didn't rename the .dll to refect the AVC panel you are trying to address. You should have 2 DLLs, one for each STB, in your SageTV/Common directory, **probably** FWChannelProxy2,dll and FWChannelProxy4.dll (as determined by the channel -v command) (2) When you setup the tuner you didn't select to tune a cable box or didn't set it to use the FWChannelProxyX to change channels. (3) If you have UAC enabled and copied the FWChannelProxy to Program Files/SageTV/Common, the FWChannelProxy files got "virtualized" are not physically in this location. UAC caused all kinds of headaches for me. Most disable it, I elected to leave it but install Sage outside of the Program Files directory (specifically in C:\SageTV). This has worked well for me.
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#4
03-26-2010, 08:12 PM
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I hope this isn't hijacking the thread, but I'm having the same problem and wondering if it's caused by not being able to add command line parameters? I can use the standalone cmd "channel -a6 -f 2 xxx" where xxx is the channel number - it works perfectly. But, by looking at the log, the only parameter passed is -f. Any way to add the -a6, and might it work? I should mention this is Win7, 32bit, UAC disabled, tried exemultituner - also fails to change channels.
Here's a log of 2 attempted channel changes which failed: DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH CanMacroTune CanMacroTune MacroTune 42 LoadLibrary 1352466432 -f 2 42 HR = 1 CanMacroTune CanMacroTune MacroTune 142 LoadLibrary 1400766464 -f 2 142 HR = 1 Thanks! Rob
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#5
03-27-2010, 01:32 PM
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Never mind! I read andy vt's blog and tried the various reg changes to add parameters to FWChannelProxy and now it works *perfectly* . Thank you babqvant! I had to do a little digging to find the fix, but it was well worth it.
Rob
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#7
04-15-2010, 06:20 AM
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sflamm- did you load the FW drivers from http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/ , and can you see two (or more) devices in Device Manager?
Under "Imaging Devices" you should see an "AV/C Panel Device with your STB name" and an "AV/C Tuner Device" ? After you install those devices, run "channel -v" in the proper folder (follow "andy vt's blog" at http://babgvant.com/files/folders/sa...ntry11740.aspx ) where you have FWChannelProxy files and there will be a number 1, 2, 3, etc. assigned to the device (STB) Let us know if you get that far - gotta go to an appointment - will be back later. Rob
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#8
04-15-2010, 08:39 AM
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Yes - I loaded the Exdeus drivers. Both devices (Panel and Tuner) are in the device manager.
I can setup the template graph and record to the "dump.ts" successfully. I can also change channels successfully using "channel.exe" from the command line. I copied the dll's from vt's blog (naming them after the STB number). If I set UseExeTuner=0 then no channel is changed: [ExeTuner]If I set UseEXETuner=1 then it appears to change the channel using "channelw.exe" The other problem I have is that once the stream starts recording it creates a file "recordedshow.ts" in the recorded tv directory, but continues to write to the "dump.ts" file instead. It does create a "recordingName.ts" file, but it is of 0KB length. The "dump.ts" file continues to grow. When I stop the recording the "recordingName.ts" file is removed and only the "dump.ts" remains. The show was recorded correctly to "dump.ts" only. The SgraphRecorder log shows: Quote:
Quote:
I've attached most of the relevant config files. Let me know what other info I can provide. Last edited by sflamm; 04-15-2010 at 08:47 AM.
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#9
04-15-2010, 09:37 AM
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I figured out why the graph was not recording correctly.
For anyone who has the same problem: 1. propage.dll was not not registered correctly 2. The graph was subsequently not build correctly To solve: 1. regsvr32 propage.dll 2. rebuild graph. Now I am only left with the problem with FWChannelProxy. Can someone please send me their working SGraphRender.ini and sagetv.properties files so I can identify what I am doing wrong?
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#11
04-15-2010, 11:06 AM
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Go back up to robk's post above and respond to his steps - that's what we'll need to make sure you've done what's necessary and what results require troubleshooting for FWChannelProxy.
__________________
You can find me at Missing Remote. Or playing FF XIV. For XLobby users: XLobby MC
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#12
04-15-2010, 12:54 PM
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My particular STB (Cisco 4640HDC) required command line parameters with channel.exe. I found the easiest way was to use one of the reg files on andy's blog. It uses the -f (force, I think it's automatic, but doesn't hurt), the command -a6 (needed for my STB) , 2 (the number of the PANEL device). I ran the reg file and that got it working. But, you say you can manually use "channel" to change?
Here's the line in Sage.properties I use: mmc/encoders/-431556906/90/0/tuning_plugin=C\:\\Program Files\\SageTV\\Common\\FWChannelProxy2.dll (Obviously, your numbers will differ) Then the corresponding reg file is: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\babgVant\FWChannelProxy2] "SendMin"=dword:00000064 "SendA"=dword:00000006 "SendKey"=dword:ffffffff Try that, after backing up properties and reg. You may have to change the "Send A", and of course the path to the dll. Hope that helps a little. Rob
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#13
04-15-2010, 01:36 PM
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Hi Rob,
Thanks for the response. My entry into the sage.properties is similar (in bold here): Quote:
Quote:
What happens is that under "Video Sources" if I click on "Firewire Tuner 1" is has "FWChannelProxy2" under channel changing but it doesnt seem to change channels. My box is the Motorola DCT6200. I can successfully and repeatedly change channels with the command: Quote:
I did not make any registry entries. I read the blog but it wasnt clear to me what entries to make or what the values mean. Are these registry entries necessary? (I see they mirror what your command lines are ). I read from the blog this excerpt about "send": Quote:
http://babgvant.com/forums/storage/3...nnelProxy2.zip The one in the main download like is dated 01-21-2009 and this one in the blog is 08-10-2009 ! Which one are you using? Are you able to change the channel and record over Firewire using the combination of SGraphRecorder and FWChannelProxy? I've also found that if I leave the entry: Quote:
However, I find sometimes it appears to get confused inside SageTV. This is especially true if I change channels by "channel up" or "channel down". If I change through the on-screen guide it is much more reliable (not sure why). When it gets confused the cable box will show that the channel has changed but one of the following happens: 1. "No Signal" message 2. BSOD I'm trying to just get a stable solution - hopefully without a HD-PVR if possible (would like to save a few bucks). But if the best solution is with HD-PVR then I will go that route. I assume that I should/need to get FWChannelProxy to work for this case as well. Last edited by sflamm; 04-15-2010 at 02:08 PM.
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#14
04-15-2010, 02:13 PM
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It's getting a little over my head as I don't use FW for video capture, but let me keep looking for an answer.
One question - why are you using "channelw" (the windows executable) instead of "channel"? Let me read over it again to see what I can find. Rob
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#15
04-15-2010, 03:06 PM
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I really appreciate any help I can get.
the only reason to use channelw.exe over channel.exe ithat I know is that channelw.exe does not produce an output dialog. Other than that my understanding is that they are identical windows executables functionality-wise. My hope was/is to use FWChannelProxy instead. (when I get home I will try the latest version which I hope may make a difference). Even though changing channels works currently with channelw.exe -- I am very concerned about the fact that SGraphRecorder doesnt seem to reliably record and occasionaly BSODs. Do you use HD-PVRs for video capture? If so can you tell me about your configuration and send me your configuration files? I am very interested in hearing about any setup you have that is stable. Last edited by sflamm; 04-15-2010 at 03:10 PM.
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#16
04-15-2010, 07:30 PM
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I tried the latest version of FWChannelProxy.
When I use the TunerStubTest.exe inside the SageTV/Common directory it changes channels fine. Inside SageTV it does work at all.... The FWChannelProxy2.log contains: DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH MacroTune 2 LoadLibrary 13238272 sendKey -1 sendMin 100 sendA 2 -f -a2 2 2 HR = 0 Any ideas? Last edited by sflamm; 04-15-2010 at 09:51 PM.
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#17
04-15-2010, 09:51 PM
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I tried to setup EXEMultiTunerPlugin as an alternative and I was met with the same results.
I edited the registry entry to call "Notepad" instead, to see if SageTV was even calling the command. It does NOT even call the command!! I am running SageTV, not in service mode. It appears that SageTV is not seeing/using "tuning_plugin=" parameter correctly I manually put in to the sagetv.properties for the firewire capture device. This seems to be the common problem between both FWChannelProxy2 and EXEMultiTunerPlugin. The paths to the plugin dlls is correct. All instructions have been followed. I can tune from the command line. But nothing within SageTV. Help!! please...
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#18
04-16-2010, 01:34 PM
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Hmm...was the device originally configure as "No tuning required"? Maybe that's why just manually adding the line didn't work vs.. having the network encoder already configured with some generic channel changer and then going in and editing the line...it's been so long since I used SGraphRecorder...
__________________
You can find me at Missing Remote. Or playing FF XIV. For XLobby users: XLobby MC
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#19
04-16-2010, 02:14 PM
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I used a fresh install to experiment with.
The way the tuner was added was by manually copying the "mmc/encoders/12346/" (see above post for the section I created) entries to the sagetv.properties file and providing the correct values. When I originally ran the "setup" I specified that I had "no remote"... but other than than it was pretty standard. When it got to the point to setup video sources -- it had none available. So I had to add the entries manually. Then I went and manually ran setup video sources and the video source appears. When I setup the video source "Firewire Tuner 1" it never asks to specify a "channel tuner". It asks whether I will be using an "external STB" or "Do not configure now" and I select "External STB". It moves on immediately to select the cable provider and guide selection then completes the setup. When it is done I can in fact record video. I then have to stop SageTV and configure sagetv.properties to specify the "channel plugin" to be either "FWChannelProxy" or "EXEMultiTunerPlugin" (full path to dll of course) After restarting SageTV if I look at the video source it will list either either "FWChannelProxy" or "EXEMultiTunerPlugin" as the "channel plugin" However, when I change channels -- SageTV does not appear the "channel plugin" at all. Video records - but it is of course whatever channel the STB happened to be on... Any ideas? Last edited by sflamm; 04-16-2010 at 02:55 PM.
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#20
04-16-2010, 04:59 PM
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Here's my Sage.properties...but I am only using it for channel changing with the HDPVR, not recording.
__________________
You can find me at Missing Remote. Or playing FF XIV. For XLobby users: XLobby MC
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