Hauppauge HD-PVR beta driver v1.5.6

[sleonard]

No, not possible to get anything but stereo from the analog connection. AC3filter is probably "faking it".

S

[limiter]

Originally Posted by sleonard

No, not possible to get anything but stereo from the analog connection. AC3filter is probably "faking it".

Wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surroun...specifications

Up to 4.0 Channel surround sound over a special encoded stereo mix (Dolby Pro Logic).

[Evil_Attorney]

Originally Posted by limiter

Wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surroun...specifications

Up to 4.0 Channel surround sound over a special encoded stereo mix (Dolby Pro Logic).

Doesn't that page say up to 5.1 for analog? Can the HD-PVR handle Dolby over analog? Wouldn't the re-encoding process mess this up?

From the wiki:
"5.1 Channel Surround (3-2 Stereo) (analog matrixed: Dolby Pro Logic II)"

[limiter]

Originally Posted by Evil_Attorney

Doesn't that page say up to 5.1 for analog? Can the HD-PVR handle Dolby over analog? Wouldn't the re-encoding process mess this up?

From the wiki:
"5.1 Channel Surround (3-2 Stereo) (analog matrixed: Dolby Pro Logic II)"

Yeah, I stopped reading at 4.0. Oops. They say this on another wiki page about Pro Logic:

Dolby Surround/Pro Logic is based on basic matrix technology. When a Dolby Surround soundtrack is created, four channels of sound are matrix-encoded into an ordinary stereo (two channel) sound track. The centre channel is encoded by placing it equally in the left and right channels; the rear channel is encoded using phase shift techniques. A Pro Logic decoder/processor "unfolds" the sound into the original 4.0 surround—left and right, center, and a single limited frequency-range mono rear channel—while systems lacking the decoder play back the audio as standard Stereo.

I'm not an audio engineer, but it seems like re-encoding the stereo input might not break the surround sound based on the explanation above.

[sleonard]

I asked Hauppauge about the Prologic and their reply was that any PL encoding in the source will be lost when it is encoded to AAC by the HD-PVR.

Of course the tech that replied back might not understand ProLogic (I know I don't) and could be wrong. I guess the only way to find out for sure is to use a source that we know has a ProLogic encoded audio track and put it thru the HD-PVR. AC3Filter should be able to tell if the prologic survived the trip.

S

[OldPCGUY]

I have been using these drivers since they came out last March and the AC3 issue was solved.

I have a DISH VIP 622 and HDPVR Rev E with 1.5.6 Driver.

For the first few 2 months everything was great. the HDPVR would only lock up maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks.

As I began updated different Sage TV Versions this reliability went away.
Now I am using the latest Sage TV version and my HDPVR locks up once every day or two. But SAGE now will issue 40-50 resets and to the device and it never recovers. The only way to fix this is to unplug/replug the USB or power cycle the HDPVR.

Going back to the previous version of Sage that worked well did not fix the problem. So Sage is not the cause.

I am running Windows XP SP3 and Sage Server. I have 2 HD200 Boxes.

So my best guess is that the USB port to the HD PVR is getting Hung by the XP OS but I need to verify this by writing my own Python USB driver to unconnect and recconnect the port. If the Sage Software is sending resets to the HDPVR but the USB PORT is hung then the HDPVR would never see the reset.

I am also thinking about doing a CLEAN XP install.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

[Evil_Attorney]

Are you using SPDIF cables into the HDPVR? I was having "reset" issues where sage would send tons of resets requests to one of the HDPVRs and discovered that one of SPDIF cables wasn't seated well in one of jacks. For some reason, the cable tends to slide out of the HDPVR jack easily. I ended up using some tape to ensure that it stays in place.

Are both HDPVR units getting sent reset requests?

[jerryt]

Originally Posted by OldPCGUY

I need to verify this by writing my own Python USB driver to unconnect and recconnect the port. If the Sage Software is sending resets to the HDPVR but the USB PORT is hung then the HDPVR would never see the reset.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Could you try a Devcon batch file?

Here is a sample batch file for resetting the USB UIRT, but it would be easy to modify for the HD-PVR;

From http://65.36.202.170/phpBB2/viewtopi...2aadf4892513bb
Copy the following to a text file and rename to a batch file USBUIRTRestart.bat. Follow the instructions after the "REM's"

REM =========================================================================
REM DOWNLOAD DEVCON FROM MICROSOFT See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311272
REM
REM Put the extracted (unzipped!) file devcon from either i386 or ia64 in C:\Windows\System32
REM
REM Open a cmd window and Use devcon.exe find usb\* to check the ID is the same as mine.
REM
REM Alternatively using devcon.exe find usb\* ->out.txt will make a nice text
REM
REM file for you so do not have to open a cmd window.
REM
REM Mine is e.g. USB\VID_0403&PID_F850\6&2CF6D41A&0&1 : USB-UIRT Device
REM
REM =========================================================================

devcon.exe restart USB\VID_0403*

Other suggestion would be roll back to the 1.0.5.301 drivers.
Seems like once you have 1.5.6 installed and then revert back to 1.0.5.301, lockup are history. That should be a great clue to where the problem is...

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by OldPCGUY

For the first few 2 months everything was great. the HDPVR would only lock up maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks.

These two sentences do not make sense to me. If something is locking up every 2 or 3 weeks, there's a problem, which is simply hiding until the right circumstances reappear. When they occur again after you make a change, the change may have made the existing problem more prevalent, but the original problem persists.

I am also thinking about doing a CLEAN XP install.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Reinstalling Windows may not be a bad idea. There may be other OS issues (codecs, video players, etc) playing a role in the problems. It probably would be more productive to go back to basics and focus exclusively on getting the HD-PVR working on a fresh install, before you go installing any unrelated software.

[eric3a]

Other suggestion would be roll back to the 1.0.5.301 drivers.
Seems like once you have 1.5.6 installed and then revert back to 1.0.5.301, lockup are history. That should be a great clue to where the problem is...

Exactly my experience...

Should we start recommending upgrading to 1.5.6 then downgrade to 1.0.5.301 as a solution to lock-ups?

Eric

[mistergq]

when you go back to 1.0.5.301, are you doing an update driver in the device manager?

[eric3a]

I ran hwclear, reboot and then the install program from the drivers.
Eric

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by eric3a

I ran hwclear, reboot and then the install program from the drivers.
Eric

The only reason I was asking is because of the firmware update to the HD PVR. I would think doing the HWClear and install would change the firmware to a lower firmware.

I may do it this later this week.

[btrcp2000]

Is there any way to verify what firmware you're currently on?

[OldPCGUY]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

These two sentences do not make sense to me. If something is locking up every 2 or 3 weeks, there's a problem, which is simply hiding until the right circumstances reappear. When they occur again after you make a change, the change may have made the existing problem more prevalent, but the original problem persists.



Reinstalling Windows may not be a bad idea. There may be other OS issues (codecs, video players, etc) playing a role in the problems. It probably would be more productive to go back to basics and focus exclusively on getting the HD-PVR working on a fresh install, before you go installing any unrelated software.

It turns out that you were correct sir!!!

MY USB cable was simply too long!!!

My problem was using 2 USB Cables (10 feet each) and exceeding the max usb 2.0 cable length. After I figured this out I put a 5 Foot Cable with a 15 Foot USB Active Repeater Cable.

Viola!! Now my HDPVR has not locked up since Dec 15.

Someone had mentioned adding ferrites to a USB cable. Ferrites will add amplitude but will not fix a round trip delay problem. But this forced me to look at my cable setup and look for the max specifications on the web.

Below is the reference I found on the USB 2.0 max cable length and why it is 16.4 feet. It is a delay specification issue not an amplitude loss issue.

If you want to go longer than 16.4 feet you have to use an active repeater cable.

USB 2.0 Max Cable Length = 16.4 Ft

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus


"The maximum length of a standard USB cable (for USB 2.0 or earlier) is 5.0 metres (16.4 ft). The primary reason for this limit is the maximum allowed round-trip delay of about 1,500 ns. If USB host commands are unanswered by the USB device within the allowed time, the host considers the command lost. When adding USB device response time, delays from the maximum number of hubs added to the delays from connecting cables, the maximum acceptable delay per cable amounts to be 26 ns.[27] The USB 2.0 specification requires cable delay to be less than 5.2 ns per meter (192,000 km/s, which is close to the maximum achievable speed for standard copper cable).[28] This allows for a 5 meter cable. The USB 3.0 standard does not directly specify a maximum cable length, requiring only that all cables meet an electrical specification. For copper wire cabling, some calculations have suggested a maximum length of perhaps 3m. No fiber optic cable designs are known to be under development, but they would be likely to have a much longer maximum allowable length, and more complex construction."

[Skirge01]

FANTASTIC! Very glad to hear that. As a result of this, I decided to add that cable length tid-bit to my server blog. While I didn't experience the issue, it definitely needs to be written down to remind people about the USB specs.