Complete confusion re. the psisdecd.dll/mpeg2data.ax fix

[NeBlackCat]

I have a vanilla XP/SP3 installation (slipstreamed) for the purpose of evaluating media centres with an installed Nebula PCI card with BDA drivers, which work fine.

First up, I installed GB-PVR and ran it for a few days with no problems. All Aussie DVB-T channels tuned and displayed fine.

Then I thought I'd try MediaPortal 1 RC. The first time I ran the TVServer config it whinged about my psisdecd.dll being buggy, so I installed the psisdecd.dll/mpeg2data.ax fix as per all of the advice here (though I thought it curious that GB-PVR didnt need that).

That stopped the whinging. But I then couldn't get it to find anything other than Channel 7 when scanning for the available channels. In fact the six Channel 7 channels were scanned in on every frequency used in Australia (which are of course for other stations too)!

A lot of blind alley chasing then ensued. Bottom line - there was nothing wrong with my physical setup, and other DVB software like DigitalWatch also had problems scanning. GB-PVR had also lost the ability to display anything other than the Channel 7 channels.

As a last resort I restored psisdecd.dll/mpeg2data.ax to the vanilla SP3 versions.

Everything then worked fine again. MediaPortal was able to scan and display all Aussie channels, and everything else worked fine too.

All of which leaves me scratching my head. It's stated repeatedly on here that you need the psisdecd.dll/mpeg2data.ax fix even with SP3.

So, if that's the case, how is the above explained?

[Taipan]

Originally Posted by NeBlackCat

So, if that's the case, how is the above explained?

Hmm - good question ...

It is my understanding that the updated psisdecd.dll/mpeg2data.ax is ONLY required for users with 2 or more DVB-T tuners AND they are using the in-built TV engine (TVE2).

In your case, the updated psisdecd.dll/mpeg2data.ax is NOT required, as you only have one DVB-T tuner and you are using the TV server (TVE3).

If my understanding is correct, then the install script needs to be updated to reflect those conditions ... to save other users going through the same unnecessary hoops?

[Marcusb]

Actually, if using the TV server (you said you wanted to watch TV on more than one PC or wnated to watch HDTV when running setup) then you do need the new dll.
The reason for this is that it uses MS components and the standard DLL is faulty. MS have fixed the fault, but only distribute it in MCE and not XP.
GBPVR probably doesn't use that component. To put it a bit too simply, it's like saying why does MP need .Net and some other TV programs don't.

the new dll is needed for all installs that use the TV Server, whether analog or single DTV card. I'm not sure why you had issues when you ran that.
I'm in Australia and running the DVBFix solved all the reliability issues I had. Then I installed XP SP3 and the problems all came back. Luckilly MP then warned me that I had an old version again (SP3 restores the faulty version) so I ran the fix again and all was good again.

The only thing I can think of is maybe you didn't apply the fix correctly? I've never heard of the symptoms you outline.

[NeBlackCat]

Originally Posted by Taipan

Hmm - good question ...

It is my understanding that the updated psisdecd.dll/mpeg2data.ax is ONLY required for users with 2 or more DVB-T tuners AND they are using the in-built TV engine (TVE2).

In your case, the updated psisdecd.dll/mpeg2data.ax is NOT required, as you only have one DVB-T tuner and you are using the TV server (TVE3).

If my understanding is correct, then the install script needs to be updated to reflect those conditions ... to save other users going through the same unnecessary hoops?

After doing a lot of reading, I'm still not clear if the fix is also needed to scan the right frequencies in Australia (as well as to support multiple tuners) - it certainly was once the case, it isn't clear to me whether it still is. But if I apply it, I can't even get one tuner to work unless all I want to watch is Channel 7.

I forgot to mention that, after applying the fix, GB-PVR would only play the Channel 7 channels - the others gave no sound or picture. That was also fixed when I restored the original dll/ax files.

So I guess the questions are:

1) how come GB-PVR worked fine without the fix?
2) why did the fix cause the bizarre scanning/playing behavior (for all BDA players, not just MP)?
3) how come MP worked fine when the fix was removed?

I'm baffled!

Originally Posted by Marcusb

Actually, if using the TV server (you said you wanted to watch TV on more than one PC or wnated to watch HDTV when running setup) then you do need the new dll.
The reason for this is that it uses MS components and the standard DLL is faulty. MS have fixed the fault, but only distribute it in MCE and not XP.
GBPVR probably doesn't use that component. To put it a bit too simply, it's like saying why does MP need .Net and some other TV programs don't.

the new dll is needed for all installs that use the TV Server, whether analog or single DTV card. I'm not sure why you had issues when you ran that.
I'm in Australia and running the DVBFix solved all the reliability issues I had. Then I installed XP SP3 and the problems all came back. Luckilly MP then warned me that I had an old version again (SP3 restores the faulty version) so I ran the fix again and all was good again.

The only thing I can think of is maybe you didn't apply the fix correctly? I've never heard of the symptoms you outline.

Yep that's how I see it. I applied the fix by booting in safe mode and just copying the dll/ax files over the old ones, which were only in SYSTEM32. I checked after rebooting normally that they were still there (ie. not WFP-ed) and they were.

I didn't re-register them, as (afaik) it shouldn't be necessary, but I'll try that and see if it makes any difference.

One thing though - if GB-PVR doesn't use those files, how come changing them broke it, in exactly the same way as it broke MP?

[Paranoid Delusion]

You cannot run MP\GB-PVR on the same pc, they will conflict (or have them installed).

That may well be the problem you are seeing.