GrafCorder

[team2step]

Fonceur,

I'm hoping you can help me. I have been trying six ways from Sunday to get GrafCorder to work but am at a loss. I can't get the program to start. Everytime I try to, I get an "Application failed to initialize" error. I was able to get the firewire drivers successfully loaded for my SA 8300HD per Exdeus' instructions. CapDVHS recognizes the STB as does TSReaderLite, and I know the firewire is active because I was able to capture in Mac OSX using AVCVideoCap (beautiful stream, but just enough artifacting to be annoying). I followed your wiki to set up the .GRF file with GraphEdit after installing the dump filter. All of that seemed to go fine. One mystery is about proppage.dll. From what I can gather, it's supposed to be in the GraphEdit package, but it wasn't in mine, and it's not anywhere on the drive. So I obviously couldn't perform the regsvr proppage.dll command as you recommend. And when I tried to look at the properties of the Tuner card box in GraphEdit, I got the dreaded BSOD. However, it connected the Tuner Card filter to the dump filter fine, and outputted the MyGraf.grf file, which I moved to the directory where I had extracted Grafcorder to. Then after opening the Command prompt and cd'ing to the Grafcorder directory, I ran the following line (following the wiki):

Grafcorder "mygraf.grf" 5 "C:\VIDEO\test.ts"

I tried this with and without quotation marks, with and without the modifiers, and every time the same "Application failed to initialize" error. I put the test.ts file in the Grafcorder directory as well. Same error. Rebooting didn't help. As I said, i'm at a loss.

I'm running XP SP2 with DirectX 9 natively through Bootcamp on a MacBook Pro with a dualcore 2.5 GHz processor.

Any help is appreciated.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by team2step

Everytime I try to, I get an "Application failed to initialize" error.

Able to provide more of the error?

CapDVHS recognizes the STB as does TSReaderLite, and I know the firewire is active because I was able to capture in Mac OSX using AVCVideoCap

OK, but was CapDVHS actually able to capture anything? Even though the driver installed on a Mac, I don't know how compatible that option really is...

I followed your wiki to set up the .GRF file with GraphEdit after installing the dump filter. All of that seemed to go fine.

And if you hit "play" in GraphEdit, did it actually record?

one mystery is about proppage.dll. From what I can gather, it's supposed to be in the GraphEdit package, but it wasn't in mine, and it's not anywhere on the drive.

It is included in some, but not all, you might need to get the full package from MicroSoft for that...

[team2step]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

Able to provide more of the error?

Yes. "Application failed to initialize (0xc0000135) Click on OK to terminate application".

OK, but was CapDVHS actually able to capture anything? Even though the driver installed on a Mac, I don't know how compatible that option really is...

No, it didn't. CapDVHS crashed almost immediately whenever I tried to record. TSReader didn't record either. I didn't see any video in any of these apps. So you think the Macbook Pro architecture won't actually support the firestb drivers?

And if you hit "play" in GraphEdit, did it actually record?

Again, no. Pressing play doesn't seem to do anything, even though it does act like it's recording ("Play" button grays out, "Stop" button becomes available).

It is included in some, but not all, you might need to get the full package from MicroSoft for that...

Will look into that. I've gotten several blue screens in graphedit, usually when I look for more info.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by team2step

So you think the Macbook Pro architecture won't actually support the firestb drivers?

That's what it looks to me... If GraphEdit itself chokes on it, it's doubtful that GrafCorder wouldn't be affected. While GrafCorder is not as sensitive as VLC or CapDVHS, it can't do miracles...

[team2step]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

That's what it looks to me... If GraphEdit itself chokes on it, it's doubtful that GrafCorder wouldn't be affected. While GrafCorder is not as sensitive as VLC or CapDVHS, it can't do miracles...

You are probably right. I did get Grafcorder to run on my PC laptop, but with a lot of artifacting. However, when I tried Play in GraphEdit, it did the exact same thing it did on the Mac. Maybe I'm just not understanding how GraphEdit works. I've got the SA38000HD Tuner filter connected to the HDTVdump filter and that's it. On both machines, press Play, and it just sits there. Any suggestions?

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by team2step

You are probably right. I did get Grafcorder to run on my PC laptop, but with a lot of artifacting.

Try using VideoReDo quickstream fix on the resulting file, some of those Firewire streams have a lot of errors or null packets...

On both machines, press Play, and it just sits there. Any suggestions?

If the file isn't growing, there isn't much else to do but hope for a firmware update of the SA38000HD to clean up the Firewire stream...

[jimz06]

Wish I'd seen this post earlier. I've been baffled at the inconsistency of my firewire recordings using Grafcorder + Externinator. I'll get a few good ones in a row and then a dud. For example for the same show and channel, first recording:

[2009/4/11 13:02:48] Library Manager added Task SnapStream File Tagger - F:\shows\Commanders at War-(Singapore)-2009-04-11-1.tp
[2009/4/11 13:02:49] Tagging of F:\shows\Commanders at War-(Singapore)-2009-04-11-1.tp completed

and then the next recording a couple days later

[2009/4/13 01:00:53] administrator added Task SnapStream SmartChapter Generator - F:\shows\Commanders at War-(Midway)-2009-04-13-1.tp
[2009/4/13 01:00:53] ChapterGenerator::AnalyzeVideo - Failed to build decode graph.
[2009/4/13 01:00:53] SmartChapter Generator - AnalyzeVideo failed.

The failed recording had a length of 0 minutes. I've configured Externinator with fairly long delays to avoid issues with the box changing from SD to HD channels. Is there some logging I can do to determine whether I'm recording a bad stream or otherwise track down the problem?

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by jimz06

Wish I'd seen this post earlier. I've been baffled at the inconsistency of my firewire recordings using Grafcorder + Externinator.

One of the reason why I like to monitor a real capture device (PVR-500 through s-video), this way I have a backup if something goes wrong.

The failed recording had a length of 0 minutes. I've configured Externinator with fairly long delays to avoid issues with the box changing from SD to HD channels. Is there some logging I can do to determine whether I'm recording a bad stream or otherwise track down the problem?

A size 0 is a hardware problem, things like the cable box thinking the copy protection is switched on or such. You probably need to reboot the cable box to get the firewire port back in working conditions.

[1bru1]

STB: Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HDC

Okay, I've been lurking and searching this forum and others for a long time now. I finally decided to give this a shot, and got pretty far (I think), but now it's my turn to ask for help.

I have seen many, many threads about the problems capturing from my STB, but I may have got past them, as I do get what seem to be successful capture files (CapDVHS didn't work for me, so I went to GrafCorder). The problem is I can't seem to play them in VLC, or get them into HDTV2DVD for conversion. This is what I've done:

1. Created a SA8300HDC.GRF file using GraphEdit. There were actually 2 filters for my STB: Scientific-Atlanta AV/C Panel Device, Scientific-Atlanta AV/C Tuner Device. I only inserted the Tuner one in addition to the DVBPortal one. (Is that a problem? Do I need the Panel one as well, or instead?)
2. I initially created the GRF file in my GraphEdit folder, but than moved it to my GrafCorder folder for ease of use at the command line. (Is that a problem? Can I just cut-paste the GRF file at will?)
3. Ran GrafCorder (4 times) and got what I thought was successful 5 min captures:
   1. out.mpg from an HD signal (691,557 KB)
   2. out.ts from an SD signal (88,108 KB)
   3. mytile.tp from an SD signal (93,654 KB)
   4. Test.TP from an SD signal
4. Capture #4 was interesting, as for that one I moved the GRF file back to the GraphEdit folder. It didn't create the file with the name I specified at the command line, but rather the original Test.TP file seemed to grow in size. For captures #1-3 Test.TP always remained at 0 KB I believe.
5. In all cases GrafCorder just disappeared after the 5 min. (Is that expected behavior, or should I get some kind of success notification?)
6. I tried to play each file in VLC, but for #2-4 nothing seems to happen after it thinks for a second, and for #1 I get an error: "VLC can't recognize the input's format: The Format of out.mpg cannot be detected."
7. So I tried to convert the files in HDTV2DVD, but dragging them to the Assets tab does nothing after it thinks for a second.

Annoying, since I think I have good output files, but something is just not right.

Any help would be appreciated. The GrafCorder log for the first 2 runs is below:

Defining the output file...
Analyzing...
Analyzing the filters...
Dump filter...
The output file is: out.mpg
Tuner filter...
Done analyzing the filters...
Creating the inprogress file...
4/15/2009 8:20:39 PM reached normal stopping time
Form closing, wrote 670
4/15/2009 8:31:03 PM Starting GrafCorder SA8300HDC.GRF 5 out.ts
Defining the file...
Defining the window's title...
Defining the output file...
Analyzing...
Analyzing the filters...
Dump filter...
The output file is: out.ts
Tuner filter...
Done analyzing the filters...
Creating the inprogress file...
4/15/2009 8:36:03 PM reached normal stopping time
Form closing, wrote 85

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by 1bru1

CapDVHS didn't work for me

Then it's possible that copy protection is enabled, which would explain why you can't play back the files...

so I went to GrafCorder). The problem is I can't seem to play them in VLC, or get them into HDTV2DVD for conversion.

Try to see if VideoReDo's quickstream fix is of any help...

Do I need the Panel one as well, or instead?

The panel is used to change channel, if you need to...

I initially created the GRF file in my GraphEdit folder, but than moved it to my GrafCorder folder for ease of use at the command line. (Is that a problem? Can I just cut-paste the GRF file at will?)

Should be fine, as long the dump file uses the full path and not a relative one.

In all cases GrafCorder just disappeared after the 5 min. (Is that expected behavior, or should I get some kind of success notification?)

Yes, once it's done, it's done...

[1bru1]

Thanks for the quick reply Fonceur. If you have time, here are a couple more questions:

Is there a way to verify the copy protection is active?

Is copy protection channel by channel, or something activated on the STB?

What do you make out of my #4? Have you seen Test.TP used in this way before?

Can you clarify a bit about the dump file using a "full path"? I didn't do anything with the dump file, other than insert it when I built the graph. I did not realize that the path to the GRF was being stored somewhere, so I thought moving it around would be no problem. Where can I set the path of the GRF file in the dump file?

Looks like VideoRedo is $50-75. I'm hoping to avoid that. :-(

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by 1bru1

Is there a way to verify the copy protection is active?

Well, typically not getting CapDVHS to show things like the resolution during a recording is a pretty good indication...

Is copy protection channel by channel, or something activated on the STB?

It is by channel/program and some receivers have it enabled for all too...

What do you make out of my #4? Have you seen Test.TP used in this way before?

Well, if you enable the "Analyze", to see the resolution, it will start recording to that default dump file for a short period, and then switch to the provided filename. I'm not sure why it would keep using it in your case though...

Can you clarify a bit about the dump file using a "full path"?

I just meant that if the dump file is defined using the full path, like C:\temp\file.tp you are safe, but if you used a relative path like ..\tv\file.tp and then move the .grf file, that path might not be valid...

Looks like VideoRedo is $50-75. I'm hoping to avoid that. :-(

There is a free 30 days trial or such, and it's just to take a look at your existing files for now...

[1bru1]

Okay, last set of questions, then I'll leave you alone.

When specifying Test.TP when prompted by GraphEdit, is that name case sensitive? Could I specify test.tp instead?

Also, if I want .mpg or .ts output files from GrafCorder, do I need to create 2 other totally separate .grf files supplying test.mpg and test.ts when prompted by GraphEdit?

Thanks again!

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by 1bru1

When specifying Test.TP when prompted by GraphEdit, is that name case sensitive?

No, this is not Unix...

Also, if I want .mpg or .ts output files from GrafCorder, do I need to create 2 other totally separate .grf files supplying test.mpg and test.ts when prompted by GraphEdit?

You can use any extensions you want when launching GrafCorder, it's only dumping the stream to it...

[sitlet]

im having problems recording from my Pace 778 dvr box. i used to have a motorola box and could record perfectly with capdvhs. now with this pace box, i could record sd with that but hd would crash the program immediately. i tried vlc and same thing, except i could record hd without crashing but the resulting file was very pixelated.

so ive been trying graphedit and grafcorder. they both work fine with sd, but the same thing happens with hd, the file is very pixelated every few seconds. when i play the file with vlc, the time code shows 00:00/00:00 and there is no audio. when i play with media player, the audio is there but the picture is still way to messed up. i tried videoredo and mpeg2repair, videoredo made a 1kb file, mpeg2repair worked fine but the file was still messed up.

could this be a problem with my pace box? i have a very good cable provider and they do not encrypt any channels, so i know thats not a problem