Using the AccessDTV HDTV Card w/ SageTV

[Rob]

Originally posted by dkardatzke
riekl,

...We hope to revisit possible formal support after the release of v2.

AWSOME!

[mangriotis]

Not sure if it's directly related to the AccessDTV card but I am having a problem...

I have SAGE1 (the AccessDTV card) as my first source. The only channel in the current lineup is ABC (WLS-DT), since it's the only one that works reliably for me.

SAGE2 is the PVR-250, which has 2 sources on it. #2 is the DirecTV lineup, which has TechTV and all the HBO's on it. Source #3 is my local comcast cable...

The problem is this: When I choose to record something on HBO manually (i.e. search for it, and press record (yellow outline)), Sage chooses to record it on SAGE1 (accessDTV) but it's actually broadcasted on HBO, which is my source #2 and should be SAGE2... to put it another way, Sage records incorrectly.

I am not sure why this happens. Any ideas?

[carlgar]

Originally posted by mangriotis

The problem is this: When I choose to record something on HBO manually (i.e. search for it, and press record (yellow outline)), Sage chooses to record it on SAGE1 (accessDTV) but it's actually broadcasted on HBO, which is my source #2 and should be SAGE2... to put it another way, Sage records incorrectly.

I am not sure why this happens. Any ideas?

Do you have an updated Sage.jar file? If not you may want to review the thread Recording prob w/ dual 250's

[AJ Bertelson]

I am thinking about picking one of these cards up, what is the overall experience with the card?

[Rob]

I'm very happy with mine. Especially with the significant software and driver improvements that have been made recently by the AVS Forum team. I use it for all my DTV and HDTV viewing on a 64" RPTV and it looks and works great for me. I am very much looking forward to when Sage fully supports it. I'll finally have the analog and digital PVR that I've been working toward for a year and a half. I can't wait...

[chrisc16]

My overall experience with the card has been mostly good. While I feel that the AccessDTV 3.0 software is among the best of all the HD tuners available, the integration with SageTV at this moment leaves something to be desired. It records perfectly, and the timeshifting in Sage even works great, but the playback is useless to me, since on all but one channel Sage plays the wrong subchannel. This means that I get either a weather feed, spanish audio, or a still frame. The one channel that does work is a PBS that doesn't transmit any HD at this point.

But once the .ts playback in Sage is perfected, I think it will be a great combo.

Just my $.02
-Chris

[AJ Bertelson]

So does it record the HD signals in HD then?

[JJarmoc]

So does it record the HD signals in HD then?

It sure does. It records the entire .ts stream. As other posters have mentioned, sage currently lacks subchannel support which can screw things up a bit.

[Llamas]

I've got an AccessDTV card, but cannot receive OTA signals. I have a sister-in-law that can see the antennae from her apartment.

If I park a machine in a corner of her apartment, and record HD from there, will I be able to play back the .ts files, through SageTV, at home?

What isn't clear to me, from the reading I've done, is whether it's Sage that's saving AccessDTV recordings in .ts format, or if the latest AccessDTV software will do this, too.

Since would be a temporary solution, until Comcast finally rolls out the Mot 6208, I'd like to do the bare minimum to get this to happen.

Thanks,

--Mike

[JJarmoc]

The AccessDTV software will also save .ts files, but it's interface is really poor when it comes to scheduling recordings.

[stanger89]

What's the current status of HD playback in Sage? Has it gotten better? Every time I watch something on network TV I can't help but feel let down that I could be watching it in HD.

[JJarmoc]

Stranger -
Still no subchannel tuning, and sage still freezes if the HD signal drops out. IMO, it's not quite useable yet. I've got the ADTV, but I still watch things in standard def if I'm using Sage. I'll occasionally watch something HD with ADTV's software, but that means real time, no commercial skip, etc..

[AJ Bertelson]

Originally posted by JJarmoc
It sure does. It records the entire .ts stream. As other posters have mentioned, sage currently lacks subchannel support which can screw things up a bit.

I searched the thread and I couldn't locate this problem. Could you explain more about what is going wrong?

[JJarmoc]

AJ -
DJG's post of 12/5/03 mentions the issue briefly;

This works fine for me but there are some issues with subchannels that Sage cannot address.

Rob's post of 11/24 also mentions it;

Regarding the sage problems you refer to. I experience the same thing. Only 2 channels playback properly. Some channels tune to the wrong subchannel and some playback very jerky. I think the Sage guys are aware of these and hopefully when they get a breather from Sage2, they will get this worked out.

It's also been mentioned in a few other threads, since it's a playback issue and is not related to the ADTV directly;

xlurkr posted about the issue on 09/08/03 in this thread and there's a little bit of follow up with others reporting the same problem.

Narflex addressed the issue
here There's another thread about it here and you'll see that I sent Narflex examples of a few files that were exhibiting the problem on 09-05-03.

At any rate, it may not be an issue for you if subchannels aren't used in your area, and it's really not the biggest problem I see with Sage's HD support so far. The AccessDTV support has been advertised as 'early' and 'alpha.' and that's about what it is. If you want to play with it, jump in! If you're looking for a complete, full featured HD-PVR solution, I'd recommend waiting.

I knew it wasn't going to be in working condition when I started tinkering with it, but month's later there's been no progress really.. It's disappointing but I can accept it if it means Sage2 is close. Hopefully they'll revisit some of these issues after Sage2 releases. If not, HD support will be coming soon to Tivo and other PVRs.

*** Edit to fix incorrect link

[HookedOnTV]

The recent release of a new version of the software for the Accessdtv software is a pretty big step towards a fully function pvr with all the trick play. Doesn't really offer any advancement on the Sage side, which I'm sure will come, but does help in the meantime. Being able to pause live tv and let it sit for 15 minutes or so while you occupy yourself with something else then come back and watch your show, jumping through the commercials is a biggie for me.

Info on the release: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=357583

[JJarmoc]

Yah, the new 2004 ADTV software is pretty good, but I still can't use it without swapping my transcoder's connection over to the ADTV's video out (at least if I want full screen) and it's still a hassle to have a seperate application with no remote control (unless I spend some time setting up girder). Without remote control, it's a hassle to do anything as when I'm full screen, I can't see the navigation display. I imagine girder would fix a lot of this, but for the amount of stuff that's in HD it's an awful lot of trouble. Sage supporting the ADTV card would be ohhh soo much better.

[mangriotis]

Obviously, the primary reason for using this card is for HD capability. However, due to the fact there is little (if any) actual usability of this card in Sage, has anyone attempted using the NTSC tuner through Sage? I was wondering if I could use this as an additional cable tv tuner...

[stanger89]

Sage requires a hardware encoder for NTSC which the ADTV doesn't have, so no the ADTV will not work as an SD recorder/tuner in Sage.

[mangriotis]

duh... I didn't even think about that (i.e. the basics). Saves me some trouble trying to get that to work then...

[manic_tool]

Has anyone tried this in 2.x yet? I ordered an AcessDTV card today but I'm already on 2.0.13. Will I have to go back to 1.4 or is there hope?