MP htpc worked great - until rescan (1 Viewer)

[cewillis]

MediaPortal Version: 1.1.0.0
MediaPortal Skin: Blue3
Windows Version: Xp Sp3
CPU Type: Intel Core I3
HDD: WD 1 TB
Memory: 4 GB
Motherboard: Intel DH57DD
Video Card: none -- on chip
Video Card Driver:
Sound Card: on MB
Sound Card AC3:
Sound Card Driver:
1. TV Card: Hauppauge HVR 2250
1. TV Card Type: Dual Hybrid
1. TV Card Driver:
2. TV Card:
2. TV Card Type:
2. TV Card Driver:
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:
MPEG2 Audio Codec:
h.264 Video Codec:
Satelite/CableTV Provider: Western Broadband
HTPC Case: nMedia 1080P
Cooling:
Power Supply: Antec 450 (old spare)
Remote: HAMA clone
TV: Sony 46 LCD
TV - HTPC Connection: HDMI

My MP HTPC was working perfectly until my cable company changed the transmission frequencies of two QAM channels.
So not seeing any other way, I deleted the 8 QAM channels that I get, and rescanned for just the QAM channels -- all of which were found fine.
Now, I can view all the channels just fine in MP. But trying to record any of them produce seemingly random errors; such as, connection to TVserver lost, a recorded file still showing the record-in-progress icon long after recording has stopped, MP not responding (in task manager) and all black screen, recordings not delete-able in MP (only by using Windows Explorer and manually deleting the files.

Then I deleted the mappings and the 2 hybrid cards definitions, and reinstalled them.
No improvement - might actually be worse.

What did I forget, or do wrong?

 

[cewillis]

update -- would appreciate a little help here

Started over:
1. deleted all QAM channels, including mappings to tuners
2. deleted hybrid tuner definitions
3. reinstalled hybrid tuner definitions
4. rescanned for QAM channels -- found 176, only 8 of which are not encrypted (is there a way to skip encrypted, and if not WHY NOT?)
5. 'preview' and 'uncheck encrypted' DO NOT WORK on the channel scan screen
6. laboriously used MP to go though QAM channels until I found the ones I wanted -- manually deleted the rest.
7. reset the QAM channel mappings to both QAM tuners
8. Tried numerous different TV recordings.

This is what happens:
1. all channels can be tuned and viewed without problem
2. any single analog or QAM recording works fine
3. simultaneous or back-to-back analog recordings work fine
4. any attempted QAM recording that starts immediately after any other recording fails:
(note that this 2nd recording SHOULD use the other hybrid tuner - pre-record and post-record are both 2 minutes)
4a. the recording starts, but is heavily pixelated, torn, and/or distorted
4b. within a few seconds - 'Connection to TVserver lost', and TVserver terminates, per task manager.

What the heck has gone wrong ?????

 

[cewillis]

more info

Just for fun, I reloaded the Hauppauge driver, and reloaded dvbfix. No change.

I can manually start ANY TWO combinations of recordings, one right after the other, and they work fine.
But, as above, scheduling any QAM recording to start right after any other recording fails miserably. (actually, the 2nd recording should start 4 minutes before the 1st completes, because of 2 minute pre and post record)

HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT THAN MANUALLY STARTING TWO RECORDINGS?????

 

[Andrew H]

I don't have cable so I don't do QAM... I'd suggest getting current with at least MP 1.1.3.0 Release or even the 1.2.0.0 Beta that I'm running. There are some settings in the TV-Server like FTA that you might need to check - actually, the FTA flag is in TVChannels when you select a single channel, double click it and another popup opens, there the FTA flag should be set. Another way to visualize it the color of the dot in the TVChannels tab - green is FTA.

You should do a proper posting of your logs using the Debug option... this is probably why no answers are here. While I can't address why scheduled back-to-back doesn't work, issues are being tweaked as the versions are developed... if your older version isn't all you want it to be then don't stick with it - upgrade to the latest! then see how it's working... you won;t get much (if any) support for an old version.

 

[cewillis]

Thanks -- but this thread changed to https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/general-support-51/qam-record-problem-logs-help-please-96972/ where much support was forthcoming.

What is FTA? Something new in 1.1.3?

 

[Andrew H]

Free To Air and no, it's not new. Apparently a channel is either Free or encrypted. For the US using ATSC for Off The Air (OTA) they're all Free but cable and satellite receivers use a thing MP refers to as CAM to let MP know how many simultaneous encrypted channels to tune... since I have only OTA it matters not to me. Although, if you have FTA channels (as your QAM ones are) then having the flag set as FREE may be an advantage while tuning

 

[cewillis]

Boy, I thought I had looked everything over EXCEEDINGLY closely, but I don't remember that? I will certainly look again. Maybe it doesn't show up if the QAM (instead of ATSC) option is selected?
I am only subscribed to unencrypted QAM, and analog on my cable system. However, in addition to those channels, my Hauppauge 2250 finds a hundred or more encrypted channels that I do NOT want -- and I don't see an easy way -that works!- to not find them or delete them once found. TVserver has an option something like Delete Encrypted, but it doesn't do anything.

 

[Andrew H]

I think we're speaking past one another -- this FTA flag is a parameter OF each channel your scan finds. Just like the frequency, PID channels, etc it's a bit. I don't think it would assist your scan, or help you delete untunable channels the QAM tuner detected... instead I'm saying you would want every FTA channel you tune to have this flag set. Look in your TV-Server/TV Channels and see what color the "dot" is beside each channel - it should be Green.

 

[mm1352000]

Hi again cewillis

There was a bug in versions before 1.2.0a (or maybe 1.2.0b) that meant that ATSC and QAM channels were scanned in as the *opposite* of what they should be. Free channels were saved as encrypted, and encrypted channels were saved as free. Free channels should normally have a green icon while encrypted channels will have a red icon. Resolving this might help with your initial channel mess issues, but it won't make a shred of difference to the issues that we uncovered in the other thread...

I would *not* recommend updating to 1.2.0b at this stage - there is a new issue in 1.2.0b for ATSC/QAM that means some channels that used to be picked up are no longer picked up. It came as a result of some experimentation that didn't go quite as well as we planned...

mm

 

[cewillis]

Thanks mm,

experimentation that didn't go quite as well as we planned...

I am well acquainted with that process!

I'll check the FTA flag situation today.

btw, I asked Hauppauge for an opinion about the tuning problem. NO RESPONSE for more than a week. Thanks a bunch, Hauppauge.