ATI TV Wonder Elite

[SHS]

Uninstall the then install this new set of drivers
http://www.ati.com/online/customerca...ter550pro.html
If you like record at a diff bitrate you can do this but you need do this from GraphEdit
By adding ATI AVStream MPEG2 Multiplexer and rigth on it to get the Filter Properties


Take note that only: 720x480/576 work
All the other list below DO NOT WORK and there are 704x480, 640x480, 544x480, 352x480/576, 352x240/288.
MPEG Max capture rate for MPEG-2 up 15MBites/sec variable bit rates or 9MBites/sec constant bit rate.

[SpHeRe31459]

Using the latest drivers (March 1st package). Watching LiveTV the my CPU utilzation is very high like in the 65%-85% range. Using Hauppauge and Plextor devices the CPU is never more than 45%. Also when I used the Color Calibration the preview used during the setup was lagged, this actualy appears to be the same lag that I see when I preview using AMCap or GraphEdit to mess with the ATI driver settings.

[doncote0]

Hmmm, sounds a lot like a similar problem posted here Performance Increase

See if you have Dxva or Hwmc in your registry and then change them to 1.
You may want to save the keys in case you need to restore them, but you can alwasy do another search and set them back to 0.

Also, check on this information while in that thread...see if you can find something similar to fix any brightness issues...

Auto Brightness Fix

I hope this helps! Please let us know how it goes.

[setherd]

my cpu use was high last night. now today nothing recorded with the 550 card will playback, I have static for sound then the picture freeses at the first second of playback

[setherd]

SHS...can you tell us how do do that?
is that MS graph edit you are using? i have it but reaaly don't know how to use it.

[SHS]

DirectX 9 GraphEdit
After you have copy graphedit.exe, and Help file to (?:\Windows or Windows\system32) make a short cut on the desktop.
Start GraphEdit
On the keyboard push CTRL+F
Scroll down in tell you see “WDM Streaming Capture Devices” and insert the following "ATI AVStream MPEG2 Multiplexer" by dbl click on it then close and rigth click on the "ATI AVStream MPEG2 Multiplexer" to get Filter Properties.
Don't forget you have to change the setting before you start any recording.

[SpHeRe31459]

Originally Posted by doncote0

Hmmm, sounds a lot like a similar problem posted here Performance Increase

See if you have Dxva or Hwmc in your registry and then change them to 1.
You may want to save the keys in case you need to restore them, but you can alwasy do another search and set them back to 0.

Also, check on this information while in that thread...see if you can find something similar to fix any brightness issues...

Auto Brightness Fix

I hope this helps! Please let us know how it goes.

LOL, yeah you guys don't know me around here... I have been working with HTPCs for a long time. I am currently staff on HTPCnews.com and have written a ton of guides and articles on HTPC hardware and software.
No way do I use the mediocre Haup decoder. I use the latest NVIDIA Decoder 1.00.68. The high CPU usage is only with the Theater 550 Pro. I also have a PVR-150MCE in the system. And have previously used the 150 in combination with a PVR-250 (pulled out for the time being while I review the Theater 550 Pro card), and have had a Plextor TV-402U in the mix too. I see reasonable CPU usage with the ATI card using the competition *cough* BTV *cough* which I installed solely for evaluating the T550Pro because Sage didn't support it yet.

EDIT: Just noticed that my CPU utilization is higher with 2.2.7 with the Hauppauge card too. Odd. It is in the 55-60% range when using the PVR-150 to watch LiveTV. That still makes the ATI card higher than the PVR-150.

[setherd]

Originally Posted by SHS

DirectX 9 GraphEdit
After you have copy graphedit.exe, and Help file to (?:\Windows or Windows\system32) make a short cut on the desktop.
Start GraphEdit
On the keyboard push CTRL+F
Scrool down in tell you see “WDM Streaming Capture Devices” and insert the following "ATI AVStream MPEG2 Multiplexer" by dbl click on it that close and rigth click on the "ATI AVStream MPEG2 Multiplexer" to get Filter Properties.
Don't forget you have to change the setting before you start any recording.

Thanks I got that to work buy following your directions.
unfortunately it's only a little better, I'd say overall my system is less stable after adding the ati card.

anyone know a link to configuring sage with 2 tuners?
specifically using one to watch TV and another only for recording?

edit: BTW I had to goto streaming mulitiplxer devices to find the properties you show, WDM Streaming Capture Devices didn't have it.

[thatdude90210]

Originally Posted by setherd

anyone know a link to configuring sage with 2 tuners?
specifically using one to watch TV and another only for recording?

There's a line in the sage.properties file like this:

mmc/encoders/1642691032/encoder_merit=1

The card with lower merit number (0, 1, 2, etc) is the first one used. My 550 pro is the secondary card until some of the issues get fixed. The hangs-when-changing-channel bug makes it impractical to use as primary card.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by setherd

anyone know a link to configuring sage with 2 tuners?
specifically using one to watch TV and another only for recording?

You can set the merit value to set tuner priority (p. 180 in v2.2 manual), but there isn't a way to dedicate a tuner to just live tv. If the tuner can record, SageTV will make use of it.

Originally Posted by thatdude90210

The card with lower merit number (0, 1, 2, etc) is the first one used.

I believe that's backwards - it should be higher merit number means higher priority.

- Andy

[thatdude90210]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I believe that's backwards - it should be higher merit number means higher priority.

Oops, guess I remembered it wrong. I still got mine to work somehow just by luck because I have 3 tuners in my properties file but only 2 in my pc (removed a pvr250).

[setherd]

Take note that only: 720x480/576 work

what does that mean?

thanks opus and thatdude90210 I got my system to use the pvr-250 first (gotta be careful with scifi friday tonight )

my system is working better, using the guide from SHS I set the recording quality to 8mbs instead of 4, quality is better, the sound is in sysc and the channel changing is better.

now when I changed my recorder order of precidence I noticed both my capture cards were set to 0. I wonder if that could have caused soem confusion to sage.

does anyone know what those filters in graphedit do for the 550 card?

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by setherd

now when I changed my recorder order of precidence I noticed both my capture cards were set to 0. I wonder if that could have caused soem confusion to sage.

Shouldn't -- that is just the default value & says that all tuners have equal priority, at least in terms of the merit setting.

- Andy

[SHS]

SpHeRe31459 as for your Performance Increase I think it may have some to do with the way the MPEG file are generated which is showing error in GOP time code from Womble MPEG-VCR

[SpHeRe31459]

Originally Posted by setherd

Take note that only: 720x480/576 work

what does that mean?

That means that only 720x480 or 720x576 (for PAL users) works as a recording resolution. That doesn't really effect SageTV users as that is what it records at (full NTSC or PAL resolution), but hypothetically it should be able to record at few other sizes like SVCD, and VCD. The resolutions are there in the driver.

Originally Posted by setherd

does anyone know what those filters in graphedit do for the 550 card?

These?

Sadly they do absolutely nothing right now.

[wiak]

ATi TV Whouder Elite
Sapphire Theatix
MSI Theater 550 PRO

all uses the ATi Theater 550 PRO Chipset
http://www.ati.com/products/theater550/

the cards are the same! in looks,design, and they all uses the same driver

[justinluck]

How is the progess going to make SageTV compatible with the 550pro chipset?

[stanger89]

Patience grasshopper.

[jcarmony]

patience? this thread was started April yes? It's now June, I only have 13 days left in my trial ... BeyondTV works like a champ with the ATI 550 ... I really do like the Sage better, so far (exception of the tuner not changing channels).


odd, as I write this about 5 minutes after I last tried to change the channel it finally tuned in after sitting blank screen ... wierd ..

[thatdude90210]

Originally Posted by jcarmony

odd, as I write this about 5 minutes after I last tried to change the channel it finally tuned in after sitting blank screen ... wierd ..

Heh, I saw this a few weeks ago. There were approximatedly 5:06 missing in the beginning of a couple of videos, both were the second of back to back recordings. I had a hunch that the likely culprit was Sage's restart video problem with the 550 pro.