HDHomeRun (HDHR) Prime + SageDCT

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by doncote0

I am not using PDBA. For me the 2.1.7 X64 was rock solid. I thought I had kept the extract and deleted the zip file, but I had obviously deleted the extract earlier. Before anyone asks, when I say deleted, I mean permanently deleted.

I will try again tonight, but I messed with it for a couple hours last night and couldn't get a reliable and consistent setup. I will try again tonight and replace the coax from my high-end amp.

If it is working well for you, run with it. I am not sure why it would change for me, since most of the settings say PDBA only. I don't know if any of the PDBA settings still affect the performance of the prime when not using PDBA.

For non-PBDA capture there were no differences b/w 2.1.7 and 2.1.8.

[doncote0]

Originally Posted by babgvant

For non-PBDA capture there were no differences b/w 2.1.7 and 2.1.8.

So if I had changed any of the default settings that say PDBA only that will have absolutely no effect on the Primes stability or performance?

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by doncote0

So if I had changed any of the default settings that say PDBA only that will have absolutely no effect on the Primes stability or performance?

SageDCT has no affect on the PRIME's stability or performance.

If you changed PBDA only settings they will not affect the direct UPnP/RTP capture method.

[doncote0]

Originally Posted by babgvant

SageDCT has no affect on the PRIME's stability or performance.

Perhaps I should have said "SageTV's stability or performance using the HDHR Prime as a A/V capture device VIA SageDCT."

I did not intend any disrespect. Sorry if I offended anyone.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by doncote0

I did not intend any disrespect. Sorry if I offended anyone.

None taken. I just don't think rolling back a rev will change anything since nothing changed for how you're using it.

I refactored a lot to enable a cleaner implementation when adding PBDA so it's likely that I broke something. If there's a problem with direct UPnP/RTP in 2.1.8 there's a good chance it was there in 2.1.7 and the previous revs as well. When there's an issue, my preference is to get a verbose log so I can see what's going on and hopefully fix it.

[doncote0]

Originally Posted by babgvant

When there's an issue, my preference is to get a verbose log so I can see what's going on and hopefully fix it.

Cool. It will be a few hours, until I can provide that.

(I haven't been able to get RC to work reliably, but Placeshifter has no problem.)

BTW, an NFL Thursday night game is on tonight, too.

[doncote0]

Got home. I had left the system setup with the Prime setup with only the #2 stream being used in Sage. The other streams (0 and 1) had kept failing.

No matter what I did previously (and after several reboots) I couldn't get streams 0 and 1 to be reliable.

So just as Andy wanted, I turned on the verbose logging for the SageDCT. I setup streams 0 and 1 in Sage...and then could not get them to fail.

Geez...I do not know why it failed consistently before or why it is rock solid now, but nothing has changed apart for a couple of reboots and a day has past. Maybe the prime caches setup info and I should have done an extra reset or two.

Whatever, I am happy and crossing my fingers.

[fresnoboy]

Originally Posted by babgvant

SageDCT has no affect on the PRIME's stability or performance.

If you changed PBDA only settings they will not affect the direct UPnP/RTP capture method.

Bob, can you give me some help in understanding how SageDCT configuration is supposed to work? I had it working at one point, but after a reboot it didn't and I have been pulling my hair out to try and figure out what I broke. If there is a setup document that explains things that I have missed, please point me to that...

Sop here are my questions:

If I run ConfigureSageDCT, the settings seem to be saved from the last use, but the discovery part isn't set. Do I have to run discovery every time I do anything with SageDCT?

Why are the port numbers generated not in sequence for the tuners, and do they ever change? Under what circumstances do I need to go in and change the config file that I copy into sage properties?

Is there a way to tell if Sage is connecting to a tuner using configDCT? My R5000-HD network encoder tells me when Sage is connected and what file Sage told it to record to. Is there someway to see this?

I understand there are two ways to talk to the prime, using PBDA and using RTP. Why have two? Is there something that is broken with one or the other?

What is the meaning of the static tuners check box? And I I turn on debug data receive, where is that logged?

Thanks!
Mike

[gplasky]

My HD-PVR has bit the dust. It's not the power supply and I can smell death from the mb. So what better excuse than to go get a SiliconDust Prime and a cable card. After 15 minutes of activating the card with Comcast and another call and 15 minutes why I wasn't getting my HD package. (It was because the account only had a digital box and this was the first card on the account.) I got it to work with Windows Media Center on Win 7.

After installing SageDCT on my WHS Sage TV server, opening the necessary firewall ports, copying in the tuners into the .properties file and rebooting a couple of times it just works. And works very sweetly I might add. Channels changes take 1-3 seconds. Channel up or down works instantly. I love it. Thanks Andy. I get all of my Comcast channels (no premiums like HBO.)

Gerry

[voorhees]

For the most part everything is going great with the HDHR Prime and SageDCT, however about once a week I get a halt in the recording. It seems most of the time it happens if I am watching a different show than is recording and the recording halts for a minute or so and then picks back up. I have turned on verbose logging this morning, so I do not have a verbose log yet of the issue. But, I do have the important level log when it happened last night at about 10:14pm. It looks like I get a few "ProcessPackets: No data recieved" and then the tuner resets. I am running SageDCT 2.1.7 and Prime version 20111025. I will get a verbose log out once I get the halt again. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

Bob, can you give me some help in understanding how SageDCT configuration is supposed to work? I had it working at one point, but after a reboot it didn't and I have been pulling my hair out to try and figure out what I broke. If there is a setup document that explains things that I have missed, please point me to that...

Most of the setting have a tool tip. Most of the important stuff is documented on the download page.

Who is Bob?

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

If I run ConfigureSageDCT, the settings seem to be saved from the last use, but the discovery part isn't set. Do I have to run discovery every time I do anything with SageDCT?

Discovery isn't a setting. You only need to do it when generating/assigning DCT tuners to SageDCT network encoder instances.

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

Why are the port numbers generated not in sequence for the tuners, and do they ever change?

They are sequential, but if you've performed multiple generations it might not seem like it (not that it matters unless there's a collision).

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

Under what circumstances do I need to go in and change the config file that I copy into sage properties?

Never. The config file generated by the config tool is just for your convenience. If you change a port # in the settings you will have to change the same port in the sage.properties file though.

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

Is there a way to tell if Sage is connecting to a tuner using configDCT? My R5000-HD network encoder tells me when Sage is connected and what file Sage told it to record to. Is there someway to see this?

Not sure I understand what you're asking for. SageTV indicates if it can talk to the tuner in its UI and if you enable verbose logging each time SageTV "pings" the tuner the dialog is logged.

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

I understand there are two ways to talk to the prime, using PBDA and using RTP. Why have two? Is there something that is broken with one or the other?

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...&postcount=346

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

What is the meaning of the static tuners check box?

Did you check the tool tip? The only reason this is optional is because SageDCT didn't always work this way.

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

And I I turn on debug data receive, where is that logged?

%ProgramData%\SageDCT\SageDCT_###.log (### is the process id)).

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by voorhees

It looks like I get a few "ProcessPackets: No data recieved" and then the tuner resets.

It's hard to comment w/o the verbose log, but it's possible that you're seeing the same race condition that was previously observed. You could try changing the "RTP Delay" setting to "100" and see if that affects anything.

[fresnoboy]

Originally Posted by babgvant

Most of the setting have a tool tip. Most of the important stuff is documented on the download page.

Who is Bob?



Discovery isn't a setting. You only need to do it when generating/assigning DCT tuners to SageDCT network encoder instances.



They are sequential, but if you've performed multiple generations it might not seem like it (not that it matters unless there's a collision).



Never. The config file generated by the config tool is just for your convenience. If you change a port # in the settings you will have to change the same port in the sage.properties file though.



Not sure I understand what you're asking for. SageTV indicates if it can talk to the tuner in its UI and if you enable verbose logging each time SageTV "pings" the tuner the dialog is logged.



http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...&postcount=346



Did you check the tool tip? The only reason this is optional is because SageDCT didn't always work this way.



%ProgramData%\SageDCT\SageDCT_###.log (### is the process id)).

Andy (sorry for calling you Bob - we have a new baby at home and the lack of sleep is causing the mind to be hosed), that debugging log location was super helpful (I never saw that referenced anywhere). Looks like the service doesn't have permission to write to the NAS volume, which is funny since Sage Service can do that and runs under the exact same account.

For debugging, it might be great if you had a tab on the config utility that spit out all the log messages, as that would make it easier to see what was going on during interactive debugging. The R5000-HD DVR app shows the tuner state and file IO including bitrates and such in realtime, so if it can't write you see it right away.

Also, when I did a test of trying to do a START and writing to that NAS location, config DCT said "OK", even though the error was clear in the log file. I realize now it just meant "OK, I told the service what you told me to tell it", and not that it worked ok.

Thx!

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

I never saw that referenced anywhere

It's documented on the download page.

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

For debugging, it might be great if you had a tab on the config utility that spit out all the log messages, as that would make it easier to see what was going on during interactive debugging. The R5000-HD DVR app shows the tuner state and file IO including bitrates and such in realtime, so if it can't write you see it right away.

That would be cool, but more effort than it's worth IMO.

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

Also, when I did a test of trying to do a START and writing to that NAS location, config DCT said "OK", even though the error was clear in the log file. I realize now it just meant "OK, I told the service what you told me to tell it", and not that it worked ok.

OK should indicate success. If it's not in this case please send me a verbose log.

andyvt@babgvant.com

[fresnoboy]

Well, logging the info in a place that is not normally accessible without changing folder views to show hidden files is not the most straightforward way to see what's going on. It'd be easier to create a log directory in the program files dir and store it there, though that has issues if you are using UAC.

I can send you a log file of the test behavior, but I wanted to make sure you understood what happened. I told configdct to start recording channel 702 to //server/sagetv/recordings. It came back and said OK, but the log file indicated it couldn't access that directory and so no recording happened.

Thx
FB

Originally Posted by babgvant

It's documented on the download page.



That would be cool, but more effort than it's worth IMO.



OK should indicate success. If it's not in this case please send me a verbose log.

andyvt@babgvant.com

[Kirby]

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

Well, logging the info in a place that is not normally accessible without changing folder views to show hidden files is not the most straightforward way to see what's going on. It'd be easier to create a log directory in the program files dir and store it there, though that has issues if you are using UAC.

Except that \ProgramData is the default location per MS for all application data, like program settings, user data, etc. I would assume that's why Andy put his logging info there.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

Well, logging the info in a place that is not normally accessible without changing folder views to show hidden files is not the most straightforward way to see what's going on. It'd be easier to create a log directory in the program files dir and store it there, though that has issues if you are using UAC.

%programdata% is where programs should store data on Vista+, there might be more intuitive locations for people familiar with previous operating systems but since this application 1) is targeted at 7+ 2) reuses code from other applications that run in UAC constrained environments; playing to historical considerations wasn't high on the requirements list and indulging broken paradigms of "straightforward" is not something I'm going to build in unless there is a compelling use case - which in this case there is not.

The log location is documented. Anyone who took the time to read the documentation would see this and act accordingly. Also, since the full path is provided in the documentation there is no need to make it visible in Explorer (the location is "accessible" regardless of whether you can see it conveniently); entering the path provided will take you there irrespective of your settings.

Originally Posted by fresnoboy

I can send you a log file of the test behavior, but I wanted to make sure you understood what happened. I told configdct to start recording channel 702 to //server/sagetv/recordings. It came back and said OK, but the log file indicated it couldn't access that directory and so no recording happened.

Please do.

[voorhees]

Originally Posted by babgvant

It's hard to comment w/o the verbose log, but it's possible that you're seeing the same race condition that was previously observed. You could try changing the "RTP Delay" setting to "100" and see if that affects anything.

babgvant, thanks so much for the replay. Well, I thought I was on v2.1.7, but I was on v2.1 so I upgraded to v2.1.8. I have a verbose log going and will give the "RTP Delay" setting at "100" a go and see if both of these help my intermittent halts. Thanks again.

[grauchy]

I'm hooking up my HDHR Prime. I got it working outside SageTV already...
As a Digital Tuner only so far. The cable guy is coming tomorrow between 9am-11am to deliver my CableCARD.

Originally Posted by SageDCT Instructions

After adding the network encoders, you must add a lineup. Go to the config screen for the device and select the right lineup for your cable provider. Note that channel scanning and preview will not work.

Do they mean the "Setup Wizard" screen in SageTV for selecting a channel lineup from the following options?

• Use US, Canada, or XMLTV Guide Data with this Source
• Use tvtv Services Guide Data with this Source
• Do Not Use Program Guide Data with this Source
• Use or Copy an Existing Channel Lineup for this Source

I tried picking one and using a guide I know works for another tuner. I just can't get it to show any video. I don't think the channels are lining up or something.

Plus under "Functioning" it says false, so I'm not sure what to make of that.

FYI, I'm on FiOS TV. Windows 7, SageTV 7.1.9, QuadCore Machine, and Windows Firewall completely disabled.

[voorhees]

Originally Posted by babgvant

It's hard to comment w/o the verbose log, but it's possible that you're seeing the same race condition that was previously observed. You could try changing the "RTP Delay" setting to "100" and see if that affects anything.

babgvant, I had two halts in recordings tonight (2011/11/17). One at 8:02pm and one at 9:18pm (time of halt warnings in SageTV). Both happened while I was watching a recording that was recording (NFL Football). The first was a different recording one another Prime tuner that was recording at the same time and the second was of the recording I was watching. Attached is the verbose log. I left the "RTP Delay" at the default value after upgrading to v2.1.8, so it was at 0. I have changed the "RTP Delay" to 100 and restarted to see if that helps. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.