Hauppauge HD-PVR & Colossus Support (3 Viewers)

[sjevtic]

Sasha...thank you very much for all the inputs/insights. In my setup I have Cyberlink Video decoder (PDVD10), and Cyberlink Audio Decoder (PDVD10), then, Monogram AAC, ffdshow Audio for LATM, and, Default DirectSound Device for Audio Renderer. This is on TV Codecs. For Video Cidecs I have the same (do these matter for Colossus?)

The settings on the TV Codecs tab are used for playing live TV as well as the playback of .ts files, which are typically the result of recording TV. So, the entries on the Video Codecs tab really don't have much to do with anything related to watching TV in MediaPortal.

So after I get everything working I can just use MP, and, no need for me to run WinTV7 or ShowBiz?

Neither are actually necessary at any point. I had WinTV installed for about 30 minutes and was sufficiently disgusted that I removed it. ShowBiz is pretty unobtrusive though, and is useful when you need to quickly verify that your Colossus is doing the right thing. There aren't any services associated with it either, so you don't have to worry what it might be up to behind your back once you've closed the desktop application.

Where can I get the PDVD11 codecs?

SAF v6 Unlocked. See the SAF thread (https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/threads/saf-v6-based-on-lavf.95635/) for a download link and some nice suggestions regarding codec settings. SAF also includes some other useful goodies like GraphStudioNext and Filmerit. GraphStudioNext is especially useful--it lets you examine and modify the DirectShow graphs that MediaPortal and other players create, both helping you understand how DirectShow works, and allowing you to verify that MediaPortal is or is not doing what you think it is doing.

I know there are lots of purists out here in the forum that are against the use of codec packs, but I've had pretty good luck with SAF. Your mileage may vary.

I have read through many threads and posts and there is mention of a MP Codecs Guide, yet, I have not found it. Do you know about it? Thanks!

Note: did find the Codec Guide area. Please disregard this question. Thx!

Sounds like you found what you needed. It's worth noting that here are lots of neat codec-related things you can do in MediaPortal. For example, even if you don't use the ffdshow video decoder, you can use ffdshow as a post-processor to apply various effects, such as sharpening or saturation enhancements. I haven't spent a lot of time working on this yet, but with a bit of tweaking, it will be possible to enhance video so it really just pops.

The primary issue that I am having now is that the DVI-to-HDMI device shuts down the video feed to the Colossus bd. However, I do not think it is the device, it must be how the Colossus bd is pulling the video feed in and does not like it, thus shutting down. This is really weird since I did have it working before and now it is not --- the changes that I had made since we around the proper Codecs and not any input changes.. I uninstalled WinTV7 and ShowBiz yet the problem remains. And, now, I can not get into MP TV because it still thinks it is going to the last channel visited which was with Colossus (on an HD channel). Anyway, I will keep trying to debug. If you have any ideas on this just let me know. Also, can I reset MP so it starts in my satellite and not the cable/stb box which is the one using Colossus? Thanks!

Generally speaking, if you can communicate with the Colossus from MediaPortal, it's probably not WinTV or ShowBiz getting in your way, as they typically lock the card for exclusive access, which would prevent MediaPortal from being able to use it at all.

I don't know off hand how to control what channel MediaPortal starts on when you first fire up the TV plugin. One thing that comes to mind as a workaround for your testing though is to just temporarily disable the Colossus card in the TV-Server Configuration app. Also if you go into the channel guide and select something to watch without first using the TV On button, you should start with the channel containing the program you selected.

By the way, the Colossus contains a hardware H.264 encoder IC, and accordingly, recording performance of the card will not be affected by any codec or encoder settings you change anywhere in MediaPortal; the only exception is the recording quality preferences associated with the Colossus card configuration. The TV codec selections will, however, affect the *appearance* of live TV and the playback of your recordings--they just don't affect the Colossus or the recordings themselves.

Sorry I can't be of more help on this.

Sasha

 

[ltpr]

Sasha, let me start by saying that you have been of tremendous help to me. You are extremely knowledgeable and you sharing such knowledge with me has made me even want to learn more. This is pretty exciting stuff. Thanks so much for all the detailed explanations. As I debugged my unit today, I now have it working pretty good. I did reinstall WinTV and ShowBiz because after I uninstalled both yesterday MediaPortal was not recognizing anything from Colossus. I wonder if the uninstall rips out all bd drivers and I know it took out the IR blaster and other items such as "clearing the channel db". So I should be able to uninstall WinTV and still make it work w/MP, correct? FOr some reason, that was not the case for me. Now I go into PM and use the TV just fine, yet, WinTV launches at the same time in the background with no picture since the video is coming to MP.

Thanks for the lead on the CODECS, I will check these out.

 

[ltpr]

Quick question Sasha....If I do not have the WinTV7 installed, how do I get the channels into MP? After my uninstall changes, my satellite channels are still available, yet, my candles show as no data/no channels available. What is the process to get the channels into MP if you do not have the rest of the software? For the satellites I just do a scan for sats/channels. WHat about for cable? Thanks!

 

[sjevtic]

Sasha, let me start by saying that you have been of tremendous help to me. You are extremely knowledgeable and you sharing such knowledge with me has made me even want to learn more. This is pretty exciting stuff. Thanks so much for all the detailed explanations. As I debugged my unit today, I now have it working pretty good. I did reinstall WinTV and ShowBiz because after I uninstalled both yesterday MediaPortal was not recognizing anything from Colossus. I wonder if the uninstall rips out all bd drivers and I know it took out the IR blaster and other items such as "clearing the channel db". So I should be able to uninstall WinTV and still make it work w/MP, correct? FOr some reason, that was not the case for me. Now I go into PM and use the TV just fine, yet, WinTV launches at the same time in the background with no picture since the video is coming to MP.

Thanks for the lead on the CODECS, I will check these out.

Glad to hear that you're making progress. You're definitely scraping the depths of my MP knowledge though--I haven't been at this for very long. Have you gotten HDMI capture working reliably, and if so, does it support resolution switching on-the-fly now?

I don't recall any Colossus drivers being missing after uninstalling WinTV7, and I never installed it at all on my current TV-Server machine, which has 3 Colossus cards that are running great. Speaking of Colossus drivers, are you running the latest? The ones that came with the board on the CD were pretty stale and issue-laden for me, so you definitely want to download the current ones if you haven't already (http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_colossus.html).

By the way, you can confirm that your Colossus and its drivers are installed by looking in Device Manager under "Sound, video and game controllers." The current driver version should show up as 1.3.29361.0.

Quick question Sasha....If I do not have the WinTV7 installed, how do I get the channels into MP? After my uninstall changes, my satellite channels are still available, yet, my candles show as no data/no channels available. What is the process to get the channels into MP if you do not have the rest of the software? For the satellites I just do a scan for sats/channels. WHat about for cable? Thanks!

As you suggest, you can't really scan for channels on a STB attached to a Colossus. I'm using SchedulesDirect and the associated MediaPortal plugin for it. In addition to (reliably) providing EPG data, it also populated my channels database with the channel lineup that is associated with the provider I selected when setting up my SchedulesDirect account. I'm sure there are other ways though--this is just the way I did it.

Sasha

 

[ltpr]

Have you gotten HDMI capture working reliably, and if so, does it support resolution switching on-the-fly now?

What exactly do you mean by this? What test process can I follow to best answer your question?

(1) HDMI capture working reliably, and, (2) does it support resolution switching on-the-fly now.

Speaking of Colossus drivers, are you running the latest? The ones that came with the board on the CD were pretty stale and issue-laden for me, so you definitely want to download the current ones if you haven't already (http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_colossus.html).

By the way, you can confirm that your Colossus and its drivers are installed by looking in Device Manager under "Sound, video and game controllers." The current driver version should show up as 1.3.29361.0.

Yes, I did downloaded the latest drivers during my setup by going to the Hauppauge web and downloading such. However, I am not sure if by reinstalling they get overwritten o older drivers?? Just confirmed via Device Manager (thanks for the reminder!) and I have three selections under the "Sound, video and game controllers." for Colossus. One for Colossus Capture Device and another for Colossus Encoder Device, and, both of these have the driver version at 1.2.29291.0. Then, I have Hauppauge HD PVR Tuner Driver Device with same revision. OK, I just uploaded again latest (1.3.29361.0) and confirmed on Device Manager. Thanks for helping me catch this!

As you suggest, you can't really scan for channels on a STB attached to a Colossus. I'm using SchedulesDirect and the associated MediaPortal plugin for it. In addition to (reliably) providing EPG data, it also populated my channels database with the channel lineup that is associated with the provider I selected when setting up my SchedulesDirect account. I'm sure there are other ways though--this is just the way I did it.

I also use Schedules Direct, however, just starting this past week using them. I also have the plugin setup within MP. I have my Schedules Direct account setup for my Satellite and Cable provider. Initially I thought that the channel data (name, number, etc..) was actually coming from WinTV7's channel local database! So, it actually comes from Schedules Direct when you "force" a download from them and get both the channel data, plus the epg for the number of days you request! I was thinking one would set the channels somehow then Schedules Direct would provide the epg based on your channel list! Anyway, yesterday my list of channels/epg was blank in MP. Today I do have the channels inside of TV Config, yet, had to map (under TV Channel/mapping area) them to the Hauppauge analog card 0. Does one of to perform this mapping every time? And, for satellite I always do a time shift under the Manual Control. DO I need to perform such for the cable/Colossus solution? If so, what channel is picked to start such? Thanks!

Note: FOr my Satellites I do a channel preview in TV Config/Channels area and works fine I can hear audio, yet, for cable channels (Colossus) only once before. Gives me a "NoPortFound" error. Not sure if it is the mapping or do I need to perform time shifting.

Again, thank you so much! I keep learning.

Regards,
Luis

 

[ltpr]

Sasha, I forgot to ask....Do you know what the built-in (default) decoders [video/audio] are for WinTV7? Thanks!

 

[ltpr]

OK, I found out that my channels were reset somehow to Audio as "automatic" versus staying with the setting I had changed via the query to reset all channels video and audio. The video stayed correct, yet, my audio settings were reset from "SPDIF#2" to "automatic. I will rerun the script. However, I will need to know why and when (under which circumstances) does this occur.

 

[ltpr]

Note: For my Satellites I do a channel preview in TV Config/Channels area and works fine I can hear audio, yet, for cable channels (Colossus) only once before. Gives me a "NoPortFound" error. Not sure if it is the mapping or do I need to perform time shifting.

I can visibly see if the port is open or not via the DVI-to-HDMI device (light turns on or off). So when this error is given, the light is OFF. When I tun WinTV7, then, the light goes ON. So, how can I get Colossus to open the port when MP runs [without the need to launch WinTV7 as well]? Thanks!

 

[sjevtic]

Have you gotten HDMI capture working reliably, and if so, does it support resolution switching on-the-fly now?

What exactly do you mean by this? What test process can I follow to best answer your question?

(1) HDMI capture working reliably, and, (2) does it support resolution switching on-the-fly now.

Basically, I'm asking if your video stream comes up whenever it should. I had a lot of problems when I was trying to capture from HDMI, and one of the biggest culprits was resolution switching, most commonly a consequence of changing between SD and HD channels.

As a first test, using HDMI input, try to get the preview window in ShowBiz to display HD content, and notice how it shows a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Then, change to a SD channel (you can use your remote, if you want) without touching anything in ShowBiz, and see if you get still get video, and if the resolution is accurately changed to 720 x 480 in the ShowBiz window. Go back and forth a few times, and see if everything still works. If everything works fine in this test, then close ShowBiz and move to MediaPortal. Try switching between HD and SD channels using the MP interface. For good measure, occasionally turn TV off and then back on in the TV plugin as well.

Yes, I did downloaded the latest drivers during my setup by going to the Hauppauge web and downloading such. However, I am not sure if by reinstalling they get overwritten o older drivers?? Just confirmed via Device Manager (thanks for the reminder!) and I have three selections under the "Sound, video and game controllers." for Colossus. One for Colossus Capture Device and another for Colossus Encoder Device, and, both of these have the driver version at 1.2.29291.0. Then, I have Hauppauge HD PVR Tuner Driver Device with same revision. OK, I just uploaded again latest (1.3.29361.0) and confirmed on Device Manager. Thanks for helping me catch this!

Also, in case you didn't notice, new HD-PVR drivers were released a few days ago. I don't have any HD-PVRs anymore, so I really can't comment on them, but you might want to check them out.

I also use Schedules Direct, however, just starting this past week using them. I also have the plugin setup within MP. I have my Schedules Direct account setup for my Satellite and Cable provider. Initially I thought that the channel data (name, number, etc..) was actually coming from WinTV7's channel local database! So, it actually comes from Schedules Direct when you "force" a download from them and get both the channel data, plus the epg for the number of days you request! I was thinking one would set the channels somehow then Schedules Direct would provide the epg based on your channel list! Anyway, yesterday my list of channels/epg was blank in MP. Today I do have the channels inside of TV Config, yet, had to map (under TV Channel/mapping area) them to the Hauppauge analog card 0. Does one of to perform this mapping every time? And, for satellite I always do a time shift under the Manual Control. DO I need to perform such for the cable/Colossus solution? If so, what channel is picked to start such? Thanks!

MP and WinTV really don't talk to each ether. I was a bit perplexed about the phenomenon you were describing earlier, but it's clear now that the Schedules Direct plugin was quietly busy in the background. Your channel to card mappings should last as long as your channels remain intact in your database. If you are doing things that cause Schedules Direct to recreate your channel lineup for you, then your mappings, and all other channel-associated parameters (e.g., audioSource) won't be good anymore.

Note: FOr my Satellites I do a channel preview in TV Config/Channels area and works fine I can hear audio, yet, for cable channels (Colossus) only once before. Gives me a "NoPortFound" error. Not sure if it is the mapping or do I need to perform time shifting.

As you have pointed out, the lack of audio is due to incorrect audioSource values in your database. You never *need* to start timeshifting from the TV-Server Configuration application--it's mostly there for testing purposes. TV-Server clients, such as MediaPortal itself, will start and stop timeshifting as necessary to accommodate your TV watching.

Sasha, I forgot to ask....Do you know what the built-in (default) decoders [video/audio] are for WinTV7? Thanks!

No, I don't know, but GraphStudioNext can answer that question, assuming that WinTV renders content using DirectShow, and it is possible that it does not.

OK, I found out that my channels were reset somehow to Audio as "automatic" versus staying with the setting I had changed via the query to reset all channels video and audio. The video stayed correct, yet, my audio settings were reset from "SPDIF#2" to "automatic. I will rerun the script. However, I will need to know why and when (under which circumstances) does this occur.

Again, that is almost certainly a side effect of your channel lineup being rebuilt, which was probably a consequence of changes made to the configuration of the Schedules Direct plugin. To that end, I'm sure it happens right after you are forced to remap the channels to cards. The only time anything similar has happened to me was when I migrated TV-Server to another machine and tried to import all my channels from the original machine.

I can visibly see if the port is open or not via the DVI-to-HDMI device (light turns on or off). So when this error is given, the light is OFF. When I tun WinTV7, then, the light goes ON. So, how can I get Colossus to open the port when MP runs [without the need to launch WinTV7 as well]? Thanks!

I don't know a lot about WinTV, but if it is in any way opening the Colossus card, it is likely getting in the way of TV-Server. TV-Server generally only opens a card when it needs to in order to accommodate a live viewing/timeshifting or recording request, and promptly closes it when the request is fulfilled. I'd strongly suggest uninstalling WinTV, as it really won't help you with MediaPortal, but offers plenty of opportunity to get in the way.

Sasha

 

[ltpr]

Thank you Sasha! I will certainly follow your advice on the areas highlighted above. I now have a lot better understanding of how Colossus along work together, due to your inputs/insights which I really appreciated. I am absorbing all this valuable knowledge. Let me do a little testing today & tomorrow and report back my findings.