Dual Twinhan DVB-C No Channels found on second card.

[JudgeFredd]

I Previously posted this in TV server support forum, date:2008-07-15 18:18 number:42302? didn't say anything in the rules about that so i hope it's ok?


I Have installed two DVB-C cards in TV-Server V. 1.0.0.0 RC1 Twinhan/Azurewave AD-CP300 and AD-CP400 (have also tried with two identical cards CP300) When i scan for channels no channels are found on the second card although the signal indicator goes up to 98%, the first card finds all available channels.

I Have two subscriber cards with almost the same subscriptions (one has subscription for 4 more channels) in both the CI Cam readers, one for each tuner.

I have tried a complete reinstall of Windows and with a "clean" Portal/Server install, and with some different SVN builds, starting from 19311, up to the current RC2 release, doing a complete uninstall every time.

When scanning the "faulty card" it says "nothing found" NOT no signal, so the signal cable is ok.

I have also tried removing one card at a time, and each time,the remaining card finds all available channels.

I'm pretty sure the first time i installed the second card, i was able to find some channels, but then i tried changing the prioritys on the "servers/cards" and that made it stop working, and after that i havent been able to make it work again, i even tried installing different drivers for each card (Mantis 300, 400 and 600) but that didn't solve anything either.

The two cards ca work together well enough in other programs, and do pip/pop and such..

I Have added the log files from the scan folder, hopefully someone wiser than me, could take a look at them, it seems so me that the message "subch:0 RunGraph: already running" could be part of the solution, but what doi know.. I'm only a computer repair guy..

Since adding the files below i have tried the followin things aswell in an attempt to solve the problem:
Changing the Mothernoard to a new one (same model) changing the CPU to an E7200, switching both tuners to new ones, reinstalling Windows with/to Vista Enterprise Ed. (complete reinstall formating harddrive).

One thing i have to say is that the automatic update of a danish Windows does not include SP1 that can however be found and installed manually, which i had done when posting this originally, however this time i havent done it since i read in a newsletter that MS was waiting to include it in automatic update due to some problems with specifik HP motherboards (Which i dont have), just so that you know that currently i've not installed SP1.

If the log files indicate anything of the sort, i can easily change some of the hardware, since i'm a computer resseller/repairshop, so it can all go back to the shop if nessesarry..

UPDATE!! I am in contact with a technical developer/supporter at Digitalrise/Marel Data, he was the one who sendt me the unreleased driver version 1.1.0.600, which i have also testet with no luck.
Today i was informed that this "setup" does NOT support a CI modul in the second card, the channel scan should work fine anyway, you just won't be able to use the secon CI modul.. just an information to anyone reading this thread, since this probably also means that this "setup" will only be able to descramble one channel at the time, which will make it much less atractive, obviously you should still be able to watch one "free" program while recording one scrambled and the other way around.

MY SYSTEM:

TV-Server Version: Almost always latest release
MediaPortal Version: V 1.0.0.0 RC1
MediaPortal Skin: standard Wide
Windows Version: Vista Home Premium SP1 DK
CPU Type: Intel Core Dual Core E2180
HDD: RAID 0 320GB(2 drives)
Memory: 4GB PC800 DDR2
Motherboard: Intel DP35DP
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 8600GT
Video Card Driver: Most recent WHQL certified
Sound Card: Onboard HD Audio
Sound Card AC3: analog 5.1 speaker output
Sound Card Driver: Most recent WHQL certified
1. TV Card: Twinhan AD-CP400 CI ( 2040)
1. TV Card Type: DVB-C with CI
1. TV Card Driver: Mantis BDA 1.1.0.400
2. TV Card: Twinhan AD-CP300 CI (2033)
2. TV Card Type: DVB-C
2. TV Card Driver: Mantis BDA 1.1.0.400
3. TV Card:
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card:
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: Have several optional, Cyberlink, FFdshow ++
MPEG2 Audio Codec: Have several optional, Cyberlink, FFdshow ++
h.264 Video Codec: Cyberlink
Satelite/CableTV Provider: Yousee/TDC
HTPC Case: OEM (Std. Desktop Case)
Cooling: OEM (Various low-noise coolers)
Power Supply: NorthQ 400W
Remote: IMON/Soundgraph With frontpanel
TV: Samsung 42" Plasma
TV - HTPC Connection: All except HDMI, currently using VGA (sub-D)


TV-Server Version: Almost always latest release
MediaPortal Version: V 1.0.0.0 RC1
MediaPortal Skin: standard Wide
Windows Version: Vista Home Premium SP1 DK
CPU Type: Intel Core Dual Core E2180
HDD: RAID 0 320GB(2 drives)
Memory: 4GB PC800 DDR2
Motherboard: Intel DP35DP
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 8600GT
Video Card Driver: Most recent WHQL certified
Sound Card: Onboard HD Audio
Sound Card AC3: analog 5.1 speaker output
Sound Card Driver: Most recent WHQL certified
1. TV Card: Twinhan AD-CP400 CI ( 2033)
1. TV Card Type: DVB-C with CI
1. TV Card Driver: Mantis BDA 1.1.0.400
2. TV Card: Twinhan AD-CP300 CI (2033)
2. TV Card Type: DVB-C
2. TV Card Driver: Mantis BDA 1.1.0.400
3. TV Card:
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card:
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: Have several optional, Cyberlink, FFdshow ++
MPEG2 Audio Codec: Have several optional, Cyberlink, FFdshow ++
h.264 Video Codec: Cyberlink
Satelite/CableTV Provider: Yousee/TDC
HTPC Case: OEM (Std. Desktop Case)
Cooling: OEM (Various low-noise coolers)
Power Supply: NorthQ 400W
Remote: IMON/Soundgraph With frontpanel
TV: Samsung 42" Plasma
TV - HTPC Connection: All except HDMI, currently using VGA (sub-D)

[JudgeFredd]

Problem solved!!

Unfortunately i had to buy another card a Terratec Cinergi C PCI, which is VERY similar to my other cards, so much that my windows even installed it with the same driver as the twinhan/azurewave used, however after installing the Terratec driver for (duh!) the terratec card and the twinhan driver for the twinhan card, it all works!!

Had to mess about with some different codecs before i could get it to simultaneasly record one scrambled channel while i watched another scrambled channel, but now it all works, and im happy as a little kid on christmas eve.

[infinityloop]

thats the reason why i stoped to buy anything from twinhan, TT, etc.
the madness with the drivers killed me

[JBravo]

Hi,

I will open up this thread again. I got exactly the same problem as described by JudgeFredd in the first post.

However, in the TV server I have one Twinhan DVB-S (1020A), and two Twinhan DVB-T (3030) cards. The DVB-T cards using Mantis BDA 1.1.0.400 driver.

I'm not convinced that this only a driver issue since the Terratec Cinergy C PCI uses the same driver, that is MtsBDA.sys.

The DVB-T 3030 cards are inserted in PCI#4 and PCI#5 and are installed ok in windows. To differentiate the two cards in windows, I did a search and replace in the *.inf file of the Twinhan driver and replaced the the name "Mantis" with"Mentos". Now got one DVB-T Mantis device and one DVB-T Mentos device installed, both are of course using the same MtsBDA.sys driver.

The second DVB-T card, that is the DVB-T Mentos, is not able to find any channels when scanning, the cards tunes and locks to a frequency but no channels are found.

As I'm a software developer myself, unfortunately not for PC and Windows but for embedded systems, I like reading logs :-)

When reading the tv.log, the TV server scans for a BDA receiver, and finds --DTV-DVB Mantis DVBT Capture BDA Receiver. I think here's a problem, the TV server should find and use the -DTV-DVB Mentos DVBT Capture BDA Receiver instead.

If one should trust the logs it looks like we are scanning on the DVB-T Mentos (2nd) card, but receiving on the DVB-T Mantis (1st) card. Consequently no channels are found.

I will do some more testing and post some logs to strenghten my theory.

[tourettes]

Originally Posted by JBravo

The DVB-T 3030 cards are inserted in PCI#4 and PCI#5 and are installed ok in windows. To differentiate the two cards in windows, I did a search and replace in the *.inf file of the Twinhan driver and replaced the the name "Mantis" with"Mentos". Now got one DVB-T Mantis device and one DVB-T Mentos device installed, both are of course using the same MtsBDA.sys driver.

Unfortunately its not possible to add multiple device support such easily into device drivers. The driver code itself needs to support multiple devices properly.

With such hack there is no any guarantee what will happen. Drivers mosts likely will install nicely, but the actual results will depend on the driver code.

[JBravo]

Thanks for your answer, the intention with my "hack" was only to differ between the two different cards since they were listed with the same name in the Device Manager and in the TV server configuration.

Since the orignal poster got things working with a Twinhan and a Terratec card, which actually uses the same driver, that is, MtsBDA.sys. I suppose the driver is relased as a reference driver from the chipset manufacturer. I assumed that the driver actually supports multiple devices.

If we take a look at the tv.log above, we'll try to find a Capture BDA Receiver.

2008-07-15 23:47:04.145033 [13]: dvb:AddAndConnectBDABoardFilters
2008-07-15 23:47:04.145033 [13]: dvb: find bda tuner
2008-07-15 23:47:04.145033 [13]: dvb: -DTV-DVB Mantis DVBC BDA Receiver
2008-07-15 23:47:04.145033 [13]: dvb: -DTV-DVB Mantis DVBC BDA Receiver
2008-07-15 23:47:04.160658 [13]: dvb: Render [Network provider]->[Tuner] OK
2008-07-15 23:47:04.176283 [13]: dvb: Find BDA receiver
2008-07-15 23:47:04.176283 [13]: dvb: -DTV-DVB Mantis DVBC Capture BDA Receiver
2008-07-15 23:47:04.191908 [13]: dvb: Render [Tuner]->[Capture] AOK
2008-07-15 23:47:04.191908 [13]: dvb: WinTv CI module not detected.
2008-07-15 23:47:04.191908 [13]: dvb: Render [capture]->[inftee]
2008-07-15 23:47:04.191908 [13]: dvb: OK

I assume there will be a corresponding Capture BDA receiver for every BDA receiver. In my case, first my DVB-S Capture BDA Receiver is checked, and then the 1st DVB-T Capture BDA Receiver. It looks like we will always get a hit on the 1st DVB-T Capture BDA Receiver even though we are using the 2nd DVB-T card.

Another example is if card1 is timeshifting and a scan is started on card2, I'll get an unable to start graph in the logs. I guess that is due to the fact that card1 is not idle.

[JBravo]

Here comes some logs.

First of all, I did reinstall the drivers for the Twinhan DVB-T 3030 cards and did a clean install of the TV server (SVN Rev20143).

I have the following TV cards listed in the TV Server:
Card1) DVB-S DTV-DVBS 878 Digital Tuner Filter, Prio 4 (Twinhan BDA Driver 1.2.3.8)
Card2) DVB-T DTV-DVB Mantis1 DVBT BDA Receiver, Prio 3 (Mantis BDA Driver 1.1.0.400)
Card3) DVB-T DTV-DVB Mantis2 DVBT BDA Receiver, Prio 2 (Mantis BDA Driver 1.1.0.400)

All tests are done from within the TV Server configuration, I will try to describe what I did step by step.

1) Scan for channels on Card3. The cards tunes to the different transponders but the result is "Nothing found".

2) Scan for channels on Card2. Channels are found ok.

3a) Manual Control -> Start timeshifting on a channel. Card2 starts timeshifting ok.
3b) Scan for channels on Card3. The cards tunes to the different transponders but the result is "No signal" this time.
3c) Stop timeshifting

4) Map all channels found in step 2 to Card3. Remove one channel (TV4 in this case) from Card2.

5) Start timeshifting a channel on transponder not containing the channel in step 4 (SVT1 in this case). Card2 starts timeshifting ok.

6) Start timeshifting on the channel removed from Card2 in step 4. According to the logs Card3 is chosen correctly, but the result is unknown error.

I checked in GraphEdit for the different filter and it seems that different BDA filters are present both for Card2 and Card3. But with different device id's.

Please take a closer look at the selection algorithm for selection the BDA capture device.

[JBravo]

Ok, just for the fun I installed MediaPortal 0.2.3.0 RC2 without the TV Server.

I then added my DVB-T Mantis 3030 to the CaptureCardDefinitions.XML and added both cards in the TV setup in MediaPortal Configuration.

The result:
Scanning works without problems for both cards.
I can tune to one channel and record another one (channels on different transponders).

Conclusion; The Twinhan drivers actually supports multiple devices but there are some flaws in the TV server

I have attached the capturecard defintion and the graphs used.

[JBravo]

Looks like I'm talking to myself in this thread...

Anyway, I did some more testing with Graphedit. It's possible to connect the BDA Source Filter of Card2 to the BDA Reveiver Component of Card1. One could arguee if this a driver bug or driver feature.

If we looking at the TV server, when the correct BDA Source Filter is found, all BDA Receiver Comonents are received and tested in the received order. This will cause BDA Source Filter of Card2 to be connected to the BDA Receiver Component of Card1. The graph will be ok, but it will not work.

So I changed some parts of the graphbuilding in the file TVCardDvbBase.cs. The algorithm no first checks if a BDA Receiver Component on the same device as the BDA Source Filter can be found.

This fixed my problems

The files are based on SVN Rev20227. Perhaps the expertise can take a closer look at this.

[vertiger]

had the same problem with my 7162 tuner cards (Pinnacle 7010iX and BGT 3540)

2008-09-20 19:38:36.069699 [8]: Detecting Cards
2008-09-20 19:38:36.384699 [8]: Detected DVB-C card:cinergy 1200 dvb-c tuner (bda)
2008-09-20 19:38:36.398699 [8]: Detected DVB-T card:7162 bda dvbt tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.409699 [8]: Detected DVB-T card:7162 bda dvbt tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.443699 [8]: Detected DVB-S card:7162 bda dvbs tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.478699 [8]: Detected DVB-S card:7162 bda dvbs tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.489699 [8]: Detected DVB-T card:7162 bda dvbt tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.505699 [8]: Detected DVB-T card:7162 bda dvbt tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.543699 [8]: Detected DVB-S card:7162 bda dvbs tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.580699 [8]: Detected DVB-S card:7162 bda dvbs tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.593699 [8]: Detected DVB-T card:hauppauge wintv 88x dvb-t tuner/demod
2008-09-20 19:38:36.630699 [8]: Detected DVB-S card:hauppauge wintv 88x dvb-s/s2 tuner/demod
2008-09-20 19:38:36.650699 [8]: Detected analog card:7162 bda analog tv tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.654699 [8]: Detected analog card:7162 bda analog tv tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.657699 [8]: Detected analog card:7162 bda analog tv tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.666699 [8]: Detected analog card:7162 bda analog tv tuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.669699 [8]: Detected analog card:hauppauge wintv pvr pci ii tvtuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.671699 [8]: Detected analog card:hauppauge wintv pvr pci ii tvtuner
2008-09-20 19:38:36.674699 [8]: Detected analog card:hauppauge wintv 88x tuner

tested your patch - it works now

thanks a lot

hopefully this patch goes into the svn