Encoder Initialization Bug?

[KryptoNyte]

Are the HDPVR2's hooked up to an uninterruptible power supply? I was also concerned the issue might be the USB on the server, so a different computer might quickly rule out some hardware issue.

My troubleshooting methods aren't very scientific I'm afraid.

[Evil_Attorney]

They are plugged in to a battery backup. I would be surprised if it was a USB issue since my original HDPVR 1212 models were completely stable at least 10 years until one of them completely died (with the exception of needing new power adapters on occasion).

[Evil_Attorney]

On the 26th I made two changes. I uninstalled the Hauppauge capture program and device central program, and I set the Sage delay_to_wait_after_tuning property to 2 seconds. I have been testing as much as I can since then and have not had any difficulties starting the HDPVRs.

KryptoNyte, do you have those two programs installed on your server and do you know what your delay after tuning is set to? Assuming this streak holds up, my hunch is the tuning delay may be the issue.

I had initially set the delay after tuning to 8 seconds, which I think was suggested elsewhere and previously tried setting it as high as 10 seconds, thinking that resolution changes between channels could be an issue. I think Sage defaults to 6 seconds but I don't recall if I tried that.

I noticed that as soon as you start to record a show, the blue light on the HDPVR2 turns a slightly different shade of blue until the time it gets the command to start recording (e.g., 8 seconds later), then it turns yellow briefly, and then the entire middle lights up bright blue all the way around. But when the Hauppauge capture software records, the HDPVR2 lights basically immediately entirely light up in the bright blue all the way around.

In other words, Sage seems to immediately tell the HDPVR2 that it is about to record, but waits several seconds until it actually pulls the trigger on that. My thought was that by waiting so long to start, it sometimes times out or causes other issues.

[KryptoNyte]

I have just the Hauppauge Capture (V1.0.34236) software installed on the server (Win 7 64 bit), but I also have ArcSoft ShowBiz installed. I believe that I used an older version of ShowBiz to setup my HDPVR2's, because it gave better results (more reliable) with the optical cable.

I don't know what "device central" is, and I don't see anything like that installed. Sage.properties delay to wait after tuning is 8000, I've had it set to that for quite a while.

[Evil_Attorney]

It sounds like Device Central is the problem. It was the only other change I made and not present on your system. I also set my delay_to_wait back to 8 seconds and still was not able to reproduce any failures to start recording today.

This Device Central installs with the latest install files from the Hauppauge website and is apparently a service that constantly runs to monitor the "record" button on the HDPVR2. So, it seems reasonable that it might be interfering with Sage sometimes.

I will try reinstalling that program to see if I can reproduce the issues again, just to confirm.