HD PVR issues with SPDIF and other questsions

[madpoet]

Hooked up my new HD PVR today. If I change the input on either the preview screen outside of Sage or within Sage itself to Component + SPDIF I lose my video. The second I change it back to RCA stereo I get it back. I'm just using the drivers that it shipped with so is this something fixed in newer drivers? And if so do I need to uninstall Sage before upgrading (based on the HD PVR + Sage guide, that says always install Sage after).

Second question, I've seen referenced a couple times some quality changes that should be made in the Sage config to improve the video quality. Where would I find this and what should I set it to?

Thanks,
Paul

[stanger89]

Try the 1.0.5.301 drivers (a search should find them).

[Spectrum]

I've had better luck with the 1.5.7 drivers, but YMMV. Lot's of people have had the 301's running stable. Also I have always uninstalled Sage, made HDPVR updates, then reinstalled per Sic's guide.

Check this post for some info on recording @ 13.5 Mbps.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Spectrum

I've had better luck with the 1.5.7 drivers, but YMMV. Lot's of people have had the 301's running stable. Also I have always uninstalled Sage, made HDPVR updates, then reinstalled per Sic's guide.

I've never had to do that, but I've never even bothered trying the built-in IR blaster.

[madpoet]

Thanks guys. I do use the IR, so I'll go it the hard way

[stanger89]

I'd buy yourself a USB-UIRT, it will pay for itself in the (lack of) therapy bills

[madpoet]

I actually have a very, very old one. Don't know if it's even supported anymore

[stanger89]

Don't know why it wouldn't be.

[appelm]

Originally Posted by madpoet

Hooked up my new HD PVR today. If I change the input on either the preview screen outside of Sage or within Sage itself to Component + SPDIF I lose my video. The second I change it back to RCA stereo I get it back. I'm just using the drivers that it shipped with so is this something fixed in newer drivers? And if so do I need to uninstall Sage before upgrading (based on the HD PVR + Sage guide, that says always install Sage after).

Second question, I've seen referenced a couple times some quality changes that should be made in the Sage config to improve the video quality. Where would I find this and what should I set it to?

Thanks,
Paul

I have two HD-PVRs... one of them is working fine with SPDIF sound.. the second one has the same problem mentioned above. I'm using the 1.5.7.0 drivers from their website... haven't tried 1.0.5.301.

[madpoet]

Crap. It's such a bizzare thing... why would it lose video??? Ah well, trying the drivers tonight.

[Striker:WG]

weirdest thing, but the HD PVR will not display video if you are using SPDIF sound and it is not receiving anything on the SPDIF input.

Double check your cabling and make sure it is firmly seated on both the HDPVR and the STB you are connecting to.

Double check your STB settings and ensure that you are outputting over the SPDIF line. You may need to disconnect your L/R audio cables for this to function properly.

-Striker-

[madpoet]

Ahhhh... ok. Interesting. I've got a Motorolla 6200 cable box so I need to figure out how to make sure it is definately using the SPDIF.

[darcilicious]

I've got the QIP 6200 from Motorola and if I recall correctly, you may need to go into the "hidden" setup menu... (though check the regular STB "Menu" first )

With your TV and STB powered on, hit "Power, Select, Menu" quickly in sequence from the front panel. (It may not work from the remote).

You should see a white screen with black block text. You can use the (channel?) up/down and I think select buttons on the STB to navigate the menu. You want to find the sound settings and set them to... something. Not at home just now and I can't recall it's been more than a year since I did this, maybe someone else knows more?

To exit the menu, hit "Power" to turn off the STB. The next power up will be back to normal.

[madpoet]

THanks, I looked through the regular menu and didn't see anything specific. I'll check out the hidden menu to see what I can find

[madpoet]

Hrm... still having issues. Can't find anything that explicitly states on the 6200 to turn optical on or off.

[madpoet]

User error... I feel like a complete moron. I had the optical from the box going to the Out rather than In.

That said while I was poking around I found a surprising number of channels that seemed to potentially not be 5c flagged. Since I wasn't using the firewire port to do it though I wasn't sure if they really weren't or just weren't until active. Is there a scripted way to scan 5c channels in Windows? Mythtv had a nice method here:

http://www.mythtv.org/pipermail/myth...ry/116745.html

I don't know enough to make a similar Windows script.

[Yooper]

Ha! I did the same thing a couple months ago - put the optical into the output port! Took me a day to figure it out - with a lot of effort in between.

[Spectrum]

Originally Posted by darcilicious

With your TV and STB powered on, hit "Power, Select, Menu" quickly in sequence from the front panel. (It may not work from the remote).

Wooh thanks for posting that! It let me lock my STB to 720p for everything on my DCH3200. No way to do it in the normal (Comcast) menus. I could set the HD channels to 720p but SD would still come out at 420p.

[darcilicious]

Glad it helped! It hasn't been all that long since the Vz IMG software moved the video settings into the regular/menu settings area

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by madpoet

User error... I feel like a complete moron. I had the optical from the box going to the Out rather than In.

That said while I was poking around I found a surprising number of channels that seemed to potentially not be 5c flagged. Since I wasn't using the firewire port to do it though I wasn't sure if they really weren't or just weren't until active. Is there a scripted way to scan 5c channels in Windows? Mythtv had a nice method here:

http://www.mythtv.org/pipermail/myth...ry/116745.html

I don't know enough to make a similar Windows script.

You could always try running that in a Linux live CD, maybe mythbuntu or something.