PVR-350 and the heat issue

[Hector]

Until just recently I have been suffering with the Pvr-350 OSD lock up problem. Under 2.0 it seemed to happen every few days, under 2.1 it happened several times a day. To be clear, this is the bug which causes the OSD to disappear and the video to lock up. You could usually restore things by playing a different video and then disabling and then reenabling the 350's UI output in Setup. A real pain because you had to get to the desktop to do it.

From the beginning I tried everything I read. I tried every driver version I could find and eventually swapped out my Intel/Pentium based board for a AMD/Nforce expecting the lockups to go away. If anything it was worse.

Then when 2.1 beta showed up it got really bad. This caused me to revisit everything one more time. Installed the newest drivers and started using the stock STV just to be on the safe side.

As we know this lockup usually happens with a lot of FF/REW. I started wondering what was going on here and via task manager I noticed that if (and only if) you have the 350's OSD enabled when you use the transport controls CPU usage goes through the roof. 3-4 FF/REW and my AMD 2800 jumps to 90% usage until I stop. Who knew transport with the OSD enabled would be so CPU intensive? Of course this much stressing of the CPU got me thinking about the posts on temperature I'd read some time back. At the time I saw that my case and cpu temps were good so I just glossed right over that. Yes 30 years in computers, still ignoring hard data, heh.

So when I finally got around to checking the PVR-350's vid chip it was unbelievably hot. Even tho everything else was very cool the PVR-350's chip was a scary 'how the heck is this thing still working kind' of hot.

I put a fan on this nearly blistered chip and I haven't had an OSD lock up in weeks. I still have the end of file bug but the OSD lock up is completely gone.

If you've not been plagued by this frequent problem you're probably wondering what the big deal is. But for me it was so bad it rendered my Sage system unusable for anyone not willing to go through hoops to keep it running. Now it's a lot more like the PVR appliance than pain in the neck pc.

BTW, big THANKS to Mikejaner for originally identifying this problem/solution. I sure wish I would have listened when I read it the first time. If you're having problems with the pvr-350's OSD I highly recommend you try cooling your card. I went for 6 months absolutely certain that I didn't have heat issues either.

I run Sage 2.1 on WinXP SP2. My system is an AMD 2800/512meg/Asus motherboard. Driver version is 1.18.21.22168.

peace . . .

[bmadgett]

Originally Posted by Hector

I put a fan on this nearly blistered chip and I haven't had an OSD lock up in weeks. I still have the end of file bug but the OSD lock up is completely gone.

Hector, I had the end of file bug; I've solved that by making sure "Hardware Decoding Only" is DISABLED. (ie the gfx card decodes as well as the 350). Since I set it to disabled, I've not had a lockup at the end of a file. When I had it enabled, it locked up 95% of the time. Just worth a try!

I do have OSD locks however so might give the cooling tip a try - I think I have some old gfx card fans knocking around the place somewhere.

Cheers

Barnaby

[Crashless]

I just put a slot cooler next to my 350 and it really made a world of a difference. Though simply laying off multiple ff/rew before sage can catch up also reduces that risk.

As far as turning H/W Dec Only Off, to me, that totally defeats the reason to have the 350, which is to take that load off the CPU. Though I may be forced to do this now, it's nice to know that works.

I'm still fighting for a fix though, shouldn't knowing that it doesn't happen with H/W only off help in the bug hunt?

[RobDMB]

Can anyone specify what kind of cooler you are using for this card. I have one on the way and would be willing to buy a cooler if needed.

[Crashless]

Sorry, I totally missed the notification email on this thread:

http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?SKU=161089

I can't remember exactly which manufacture made mine, but this looks identical. It's a little louder than I'd like it to be, so I might try to find a voltage reducer to slow it down some. Sleeve bearings are quieter than ball bearings, but they don't last as long. But at 30k hrs, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Karen0302]

I use a gizmo called the Card Cooler from www.thecardcooler.com. Works like a dream.

Karen

[jmiddleton]

Like others, my PVR-350 ran incredibly hot with Sage-TV resulting in frequent lock-ups. I installed a Vantec slot fan (http://www.vantecusa.com/p_fancard.html) which has done a good job of solving the problem. Even with a pair of 70mm fans blowing directly on the card the heat sink gets pretty warm.

Vantec products are widely distributed and should be available locally if you live in a city of any size. If you can't find the product locally or simply prefer to order on-line, they are stocked by TigerDirect.

Fan cards represent a good solution to this problem since mounting a cooler on the card itself may void your warranty.

[RobDMB]

I think I am going to go ahead and purchase one of those slot coolers to see if it can increase my stability. Just so I get it right does the cooler go above or below the pvr 350?

[Karen0302]

I use The Card Cooler and it attaches above the cards and blows down into them thereby cooling several cards at once.

Karen

[RobDMB]

I'm wondering if an exhaust type fan like the antec cylcone or the Vantec Spectrum which seems to blow hot on the card would be better?

[Hector]

My approach was much more simplistic than most. Mine is in a tower case so I put the card in a slot that set it off the bottom of the case a few inches and then affixed a little muffin fan ($7) to the bottom of the case. Problem solved.

peace . . .

Originally Posted by RobDMB

I'm wondering if an exhaust type fan like the antec cylcone or the Vantec Spectrum which seems to blow hot on the card would be better?

[jmiddleton]

Last week, encouraged by a web article on how to configure Windows Server 2003 as a workstation (http://www.msfn.org/win2k3/), I decided to consolidate the mish-mash of computer hardware I've been using down to one good machine that can run both SageTV and my web server. It worked and I enjoyed an unexpected bonus - relocated in an Antec chassis with Server 2003, my PVR-350 runs cool as a cucumber and Sage is ROCK SOLID even displaying UI on the 350. I'm still using my Vantec fan card but have turned it down to it's lowest speed. I'm not sure how much credit Server 2003 deserves for improving stability but the Antec chassis & power supply is only change that can explain the cool running PVR-350.

Bottom line: Chassis and power supply are the last place to cut corners when building a computer. If you're having overheating problems with your PVR-350 this might be the reason.

Interested in trying Server 2003 but dismayed by the cost? Do you do any computer consulting i.e. advice to family & friends? Consider joining the Microsoft partner program and order an Action Pack subscription. $299.00US buys a 10 user license for just about every piece of business software Microsoft makes.

[bizarro]

jmiddleton, how does one go about joining the Microsoft partner program?

[jmiddleton]

go to http://www.microsoft.com/partner/default.aspx in the USA or http://www.microsoft.com/canada/partner/default.aspx in Canada. You will be given a chance to register or login (you will need a Microsoft Passport). You may need a business number - I already had one so I didn't try bypassing this field on the registration form. Where I live, in Nova Scotia, I was able to register a business in my own name on-line and free of charge. It only costs money if I want to limit liability or do business under a different name. The rules are probably different where you live.

[byopvr]

Originally Posted by jmiddleton

Interested in trying Server 2003 but dismayed by the cost? Do you do any computer consulting i.e. advice to family & friends? Consider joining the Microsoft partner program and order an Action Pack subscription. $299.00US buys a 10 user license for just about every piece of business software Microsoft makes.

FYI, you are NOT buying a 10 user license... you are buying a subscription where they give you not for resale licenses to a bunch of stuff... and oh yeah, if you don't renew your subscription you are expected to delete the programs and destroy the media.

more on topic--> so, are the extra cooling on the pvr350 folks still stable and happy? anyone else try it?

rampy