initial support for Hauppuage HD-PVR (2 Viewers)

[microwav]

Just an update in case anyone was wondering. I was just about to give up all together and return the unit. So I contacted Hauppauge customer support and had this to say:

"Sounds like an older hardware issue with the device itself. Have you tried, or do you have the option to try the device on another machine. If you get the same effect then the device would probably need to be sent in for replacement with a new device. "

I tried on another computer with same results. I am having an RMA done and I'll update here and let you kids know how things are going.

 

[WileECoyote]

I finally broke down and installed Windows 7 on my server this weekend along with MP 1.1. I had a driver issue with my usb to serial cable and SQL Server 2008 express needs a few firewall tweeks, but otherwise the install went great.

The only outstanding issues are the mptraymod doesnt work with Windows 7 and the new Theatre 0.8 skin is not fully 1.1 compliant I am hoping updates to both will come soon Im also having a problem finding the right codec to get DD on my DVD's.

All in all, MP 1.1 is very stable. The HD-PVR code seems to work fine 'out of the box' with no mods needed. The tuners have been working flawlessly since Friday night. Thanks to Ixian with his new SchedulesDirect plugin the guide was up and running in no time.

Unfortuantely Dolby Digital still eludes us. I have the HD-PVR's connected to my Directv boxes via component and optical cables. If I turn DD on the STB the picture will be 'jittery', but as soon as I turn it off everything returns to normal. I tried many, many, many different combinations to get it to work properly, but coudnt find the magic combination. I have PowerDVD 8 & Arcsoft H.264 codecs installed as well as their respective Audio codecs. With Windows 7 there is also a Microsoft H.264 codec as well as audio codec. I tried each and every combination along with setting the audio device from Default Audio Device to SPDIF to no avail....

 

[chesh]

So, are your codecs still setup how we discussed earlier in the thread, or are you now going with a slightly different setup? And, did the code changes that sjeffery did to the tvlibrary.dll for DD get implemented into 1.1? May be worth a look of recompiling that patch and see if it gives ya any better results. Keep us posted with what ya find.

 

[sjeffrey]

I never submitted the patch because I never really got feedback.
If some people can report if the patch helped or not perhaps we could contact the devs.

I haven't compiled a version for 1.1 so I'll do that sometime this week and attach it to this thread.
So far though pause/play fixed the DD issue everytime.

As for codecs, I'm on Win7 64bit and I haven't installed Arcsoft. I just installed the filedump.ax.
I'm using SAF unlocked (the version before FFmpeg audio) with AC3filter instead of MPA.

 

[WileECoyote]

I never submitted the patch because I never really got feedback.
If some people can report if the patch helped or not perhaps we could contact the devs.

I haven't compiled a version for 1.1 so I'll do that sometime this week and attach it to this thread.
So far though pause/play fixed the DD issue everytime.

As for codecs, I'm on Win7 64bit and I haven't installed Arcsoft. I just installed the filedump.ax.
I'm using SAF unlocked (the version before FFmpeg audio) with AC3filter instead of MPA.

Hmmm, maybe AC3Filter is the key. I will download that tonight and give it a try to see if it improves the jitters.

As far as your patch goes, didnt it increase the start and/or channel changing times? Not that I dont appreciate your work (We all do!), but personally I would rather do without DD in exchange for shorter start/change times.

So, are your codecs still setup how we discussed earlier in the thread, or are you now going with a slightly different setup? And, did the code changes that sjeffery did to the tvlibrary.dll for DD get implemented into 1.1? May be worth a look of recompiling that patch and see if it gives ya any better results. Keep us posted with what ya find.

Hey Chesh,
Yes, I am almost sure my codecs have changed on Windows 7 from my earlier setup. I would have to go back and compare the differences, but off the top of my head I would say they differ.

I never tried sjeffery's changes due to the increased times. As I mentioned above, I would rather not have DD and have the shorter start/change times (I have folks in my household that are VERY click happy. If nothing happens the INSTANT they click the button they think something is wrong...)

 

[sjeffrey]

I understand no one wantes longer channel changing times. I was mostly experimenting to see if there was a way around the DD issue. It's not a huge deal for me as we hardly ever watch live tv. Gotta love 4TR + comskip

 

[WileECoyote]

I understand no one wantes longer channel changing times. I was mostly experimenting to see if there was a way around the DD issue. It's not a huge deal for me as we hardly ever watch live tv. Gotta love 4TR + comskip

Have you by any chance tried the AC3Filter codec without your patch? Is there another underlying issue?

I tried almost every combination possible, and ended up sticking with the PowerDVD 8 H.264 codec and the Microsoft DTV/DVD audio codec (with DD turned off.) Those provide the best combination I found that starts the graph quickly and the audio is perfectly in sync with the video. I have this exact combination on my server and the other client I converted to Windows 7. I still have two machines on Vista & MP 1.0.2.

 

[sjeffrey]

Have you by any chance tried the AC3Filter codec without your patch? Is there another underlying issue?

That's what I'm using now, 1.1 SVN from early August with AC3Filter SPDIF.
I think the issue is with the HD-PVR switching "it's" graph on the fly between regular audio and DD.
You can actually the "bling" led turn off and back on after a channel change which probably screws up the timeshift.
That's why I was hoping that pausing the timeshift for a few seconds to allow the HD-PVR to re-detect the audio stream would fix the issue.

 

[WileECoyote]

Have you by any chance tried the AC3Filter codec without your patch? Is there another underlying issue?

That's what I'm using now, 1.1 SVN from early August with AC3Filter SPDIF.
I think the issue is with the HD-PVR switching "it's" graph on the fly between regular audio and DD.
You can actually the "bling" led turn off and back on after a channel change which probably screws up the timeshift.
That's why I was hoping that pausing the timeshift for a few seconds to allow the HD-PVR to re-detect the audio stream would fix the issue.

I was actually happy with the Audio, it was just the jittery video that annoyed me. The audio would switch fine, I could see my receiver going from DD to 2 channel and back to DD with no issue. Just for some reason I could not get the video to be smooth. And the jittery video was probably due to what you are saying about the graph stop and start...

Also, the jittery video would be there from the start, not just changing channels. So I will try AC3Filter tonight and let you know the results...

I would be interested in trying your patch when you have it done...

 

[sjeffrey]

Do we know if the svn is now up to date?
I was going to rebuild the patch when 1.1 alpha was out but the svn was severily outdated.