initial support for Hauppuage HD-PVR (3 Viewers)

[ajp8164]

Couple things:

First, is there a particular reason you're using the svn? You should be on 1.01 with the rest of us. The HD-PVR is fully supported in the latest release version and in fact several issues with it are fixed (not to mention with the TV Server). 1.01 is many builds ahead of 3.26 so I advise doing a clean uninstall and then installing it.

Second you will make your life 1000x easier, as a US TV viewer, if you use Schedules Direct (Schedules Direct). It's $15 a year and worth every cent.

If you use it you can use the Schedules Direct plugin, I rebuilt the last version of it, it works fine. It's located in the plugin section.

Hi - Thanks for your quick response!

I have (previously) downloaded and installed MP and TVS 1.01 (doing a clean all uninstall prior). When I launched the TV server config utility it did not list my HDPVR under the TV Servers entry in the tree.

Also, I had installed the SD plugin but for some reason it didn't work either (don't recall the problem).

I'll try both again and report back the results. BTW - I am downloading 1.01 package starting from the MP home page (both are bundled together). I assume this is the correct distribution.

Thanks again,

-Andy

 

[ajp8164]

Okay, I installed v1.0.1 of MP and TVS. I have installed the SD plugin (posted in the forum) and got it working. I setup the ServerBlaster plugin (posted in the forum with Hauppage support) after setting up the Happauge blaster with blastcfg. All seem to be working fine; I have a TV guide in MP and I can change channels on my STB through the guide. The last problem I have is that when I turn on the TV in MP, MP freezes and I have to kill it. When I turn on the TV I see that the blaster is commanding the STB to change channels (which works fine) but then nothing happens.

I have attached all of the logs created by both MP and TVS. Looking through the logs doesn't provide any clues (there are obvious errors) but hopefully someone will have some experience in knowing what is going on under the covers. The last thing that appears in the TVS log is a loop on waiting for PMT (which times out); don't know what this means.

I can view the stream fine from TME. I followed previous instructions posted in this thread that suggested we start up TME and then startup the TVS and use the manual controls to timeshift and record. When I tried that the record button was not selectable (grayed out). When I clicked timeshift the STB did receive a command to change channels (worked fine) but the stream playing in TME subsequently froze. This was all followed by a small dialog presented by TVS stating that some "Unknown error has occurred", no dialog title or anything, just an OK button. Perhaps this is related to the overall problem.

Any help would be very valuable! I think I am very close...

Thanks,

-Andy

 

[sjeffrey]

I have to say, to me it looks like ServerBlaster is locking up your PVR.
You can confirm this easily by launching blastercfg after it freeze. If it says hardware not found then that's your problem. Powercycle the PVR and restart TVServer will bring things back. Another you can confirm this is by using rcTVCap. You'll have to google it as I'm at work and don't have a link. When you get rcTVCap recording you'll either have a working TS file or a zero byte TS file. Obviously when it's zero byte it means your PVR is locked up.

I gave up on ServerBlaster and ordered USB-UIRT. It's now in Canadian customs, can't wait to get it

 

[ajp8164]

I have to say, to me it looks like ServerBlaster is locking up your PVR.
You can confirm this easily by launching blastercfg after it freeze. If it says hardware not found then that's your problem. Powercycle the PVR and restart TVServer will bring things back. Another you can confirm this is by using rcTVCap. You'll have to google it as I'm at work and don't have a link. When you get rcTVCap recording you'll either have a working TS file or a zero byte TS file. Obviously when it's zero byte it means your PVR is locked up.

I gave up on ServerBlaster and ordered USB-UIRT. It's now in Canadian customs, can't wait to get it

Thanks for the quick response! (this forum is awesome).

My HTPC is controlled using an MCE IR remote and receiver. The receiver has 2 ir blasters. Do you think if I switch to using the MCE ir blaster I'll have better luck?

-Andy

 

[sjeffrey]

I know a few people with the MCE IR blaster and they are having good results.
Only complaint I heard is it's not the quickest blaster.
Actually, ixian a few posts earlier compared USB-UIRT and MCE blaster. The MCE is a bit slower but cheaper, the USB-UIRT is the Cadillac.

You'll want to use IR Server Suite with your MCE blaster, I don't know if MP supports it out of the box, but IRSS is supposed to be the best for IR blasting/receiving

 

[ixian]

MCE Blaster is fine. I was on the way to using it when I found my old USB-UIRT in a box.

The UIRT is hands down the best channel blaster, if you can get one. The MCE eHome receiver is pretty decent as well, if you use it with IR Server Suite (which you should be using anyway, it's far better than the built in MP remote plugin(s) ). Both are far better than the blaster built in the HD-PVR.

I wouldn't doubt it's locking your unit either, because that used to happen to me all the time. It went away when I switched to a different blaster.

 

[PABeaver]

Ok, ya must tell me jbf154, how in the hell did ya get firewire working?!?!?! I tried for at least 2 weeks to no avail. Do you use a Comcast/Time Warner STB or are you digital cable? What plugin are you using to launch the firewire.exe file for changing channels??? I've been able to change channels from a command line, but could never get it to work with IRSS or anything else. Please, PLEASE, shed some light on this, as firewire is way faster the Hauppauge blaster

I got firewire working with the IRSS TV3 blaster plugin. It also took me several weeks to figure it out. My STB is the Motorola QIP-7100 from Verizon Fios. I had to use the drivers from ExDeus and add the 7100 myself by copying the code related to the 6200. If you already had it working from the command line then you are most of the way there.

The trick is in the IRSS TV3 plugin. When I first configured it, I set the external program to run on each of the numbers using first using "-f 2 %2" then trying "-f 2 %1" The problem was that either it would send the command 10 times or that it for some reason would not send the zero. This was the mistake and if you did this you have to go back and delete it in "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IR Server Suite\TV3 Blaster Plugin\ExternalChannelConfig3.xml" (substitute ExternalChannelConfig3.xml with whichever one you setup). Here is what you should do (from the beginning):

1. Configure TV3 Blaster for IR Server in TV Server Configuration
2. Select STB Setup
3. Select the tab that corresponds to the tuner you are using for firewire
4. Click on "Select" in the large white box titled Commands
5. Hit the "Set" button next to Run Program
6. In Program put C:\Program Files\Timmmoore\MCE 2005 STB Controller\channel.exe
7. In Parameters put -f 2 %2 and press OK
8. CHECK THE BOX THAT SAYS "Send Select Command"

You should be able to put a number into the test box, hit test and see it work. If not, reboot the machine (I had to do this as for some reason it kept using my long deleted old settings). It should work now. I guess the idea is that for each of those things listed in the Commands box it will send an individual command, so instead of putting a command with each item in the list just choose the Select command and it should work. Using the Pre-Command option might work instead of Select but once I got it working I didn't mess with it any more. Hope this helps.

 

[ajp8164]

Don't think blaster is causing the problem with TVS

MCE Blaster is fine. I was on the way to using it when I found my old USB-UIRT in a box.

The UIRT is hands down the best channel blaster, if you can get one. The MCE eHome receiver is pretty decent as well, if you use it with IR Server Suite (which you should be using anyway, it's far better than the built in MP remote plugin(s) ). Both are far better than the blaster built in the HD-PVR.

I wouldn't doubt it's locking your unit either, because that used to happen to me all the time. It went away when I switched to a different blaster.

I removed the blaster plugin from the TVS config and find that the TV stream still does not come in from the HD PVR. Anyone know what the pmt wait loop is at the bottom of my TVS log? (see previous post for logs). Also (I may have not previously said this) I did have a TV stream from the HD PVR in a previous install of MP/TVS (the SVN build, 3/23) - so I know the problem is in TVS or MP someplace....

BTW - still trying to get the eHome blaster working with my DirecTV H21 (any ideas -- I posted in the IRSS thread).

All ideas welcome! Thanks for your help, looking forward to getting this thing up and running!

-Andy

 

[ixian]

Have you tried the TVServer dll WileECoyote posted a page or two back for 1.01? If you use that and change your PMT wait time from 10 seconds to 2 or 3 in settings you may find your problem fixed; you'll also find TV starts much faster

 

[sjeffrey]

I removed the blaster plugin from the TVS config and find that the TV stream still does not come in from the HD PVR. Anyone know what the pmt wait loop is at the bottom of my TVS log? (see previous post for logs). Also (I may have not previously said this) I did have a TV stream from the HD PVR in a previous install of MP/TVS (the SVN build, 3/23) - so I know the problem is in TVS or MP someplace....

BTW - still trying to get the eHome blaster working with my DirecTV H21 (any ideas -- I posted in the IRSS thread).

All ideas welcome! Thanks for your help, looking forward to getting this thing up and running!

-Andy

Make sure that when you are testing you are testing from fresh reboot and that you have power cycled your PVR.
Each time you turn off/on the PVR you should restart the TV Service as well.