Hauppauge HD-PVR support

[Bill1426]

Just look for "error:"

[Terminal]

Originally Posted by Bill1426

Just look for "error:"

That wouldn't work, because if any of my tuners failed it would cause my HDPVR to be reset. Also when my lineup changes I get an error '51' so if I searched for just error that would reset it as well. I did find some cases where my USB PVR1 failed and it also listed error '42'. So I replaced error '42' with no data was received from HD PVR for 30 seconds. I placed a log in my directory with a HDPVR failure and it reset it.


While I was typing the above out I just realized I have another problem. Once I get an error in the file, each time I check it after that I will reset my HDPVR. I think I can fix that but it's late, I will work on it tomorrow.

[Bill1426]

I think if you get an error 51, (channel added), it would still be ok to do a reboot.. same thing with error 42.. If the tuner failed, a reboot might fix it..

As for having the error in the file after a reboot. Just delete the log file on startup..

[Terminal]

No, I don't think a reboot of my HDPVR would be OK on other errors. It might not be a problem but it might be while I am recording something. I moved all my old logs into a separate directory and left only the current log file. I am now looking in the SS log directory directly. As long as no HDPVR errors occur it does nothing. If it gets a HDPVR error it moves the current log to an alternate directory on my drive. I will need to manually move out the old log files from time to time, I could make another task that does that every week or so. I will let this go for awhile and see what happens.



@echo off
date /t;
time /t
findstr /c:"no data was received from HD PVR for 30 seconds" "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\SnapStream\Beyond TV\log\*.log"
if %errorlevel%==0 (
uu.w32.exe IPaddress:port username:password 2pulse
move /y "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\SnapStream\Beyond TV\log\*.log" "c:\BTV logs"
echo Reset HDPVR
)
echo *****************************************

[Cal]

My Tale of my install.
This is an XP box and using the CD that came with the units. (I'll update later)

I just bought 2 HDPVRs yesterday, I've read the threads I'm aware of heat issues and so forth, I figured I'd make it work by playing with it. Today I attempted to hook one up. Its working but getting it running was very frustrating and the process I used was not straight forward. I figured the frustrating part would be later. Not right off the bat with the base install.

Forget about BTV for now. I'm talking about just getting the drivers installed and making it work with its own stuff.

I try to install the drivers and it refuses because I have not yet plugged in the unit. OK. fine some devices are are like that. I plug it in and cancel the windows auto install like the instructions say. I install the drivers and they say they are installed. Windows then says its an "unkown usb device". All 3 lights on the front go on. I had no idea what this ment or if it was bad at the time (I suspected it was bad and it was).

I unplug and so forth. Every time I reboot the device or my computer windows keeps saying "unknown usb device". The device drivers told me they installed ok. The software told me it installed ok. But I can't find the software that came with it. Yes, turns out it failed but told me it was fine, I figured that out later.

I can't see anything in device manager. BTV can't see it as a source. I don't even see the software that came with it.

I try to reinstall. No go. The drivers say it can't find the HDPVR and says I don't have valid hardware. What???

Fearing the first unit is a dud I open the second unit and try that. I get all the exact same results so I figure its got to be some conflict in windows.

OK. lets run the wipe utility and try again. This wipes out both my PVR250 cards but at least it will let me install the drivers again. AGAIN it did its thing and then lied and said both drivers and software are installed. Windows complains about "unknown usb device" again.

After several times of doing this. I notice that windows does not complain about "unknown usb device" until after the first reboot. (the one the instructions told me to do). So with this in mind I install the TME software directly from the TME dir on the CD instead of the auto-run part. Hey, there is something I have not seen yet. Its actually installed something. I see new software called “Total Media Extreme” I can open the software. It can't find the HDPVR of course.... Device manager at least now lists it for the first time. As a device that could not be started. After one last reboot the device manager says its valid. No more 3 lights on the front and no more “unknown usb device” error. The Total Medea Extreme software can see it and it will record from my Sat box. I can play it back in VLC and it looks good. OK. now for BTV. Turns out BTV detected it fine this time. The hard part was getting windows to see it. Now that windows can see it I was able to add the it as a source in BTV as per the normal process.



So in brief.

I have no idea if I needed to wipe the drivers for my PVR250 cards. I'll try and put them back tomorrow.

Steps that seemed to have worked.

Boot windows. Plug in unit, cancel windows auto attempt to install.
Install the drivers. Don't reboot like it wants.
run the TME software directly from the CD and not from the autorun install program.
OK now you can reboot. Now the device manager should see it. The TME stuff should see it. and BTV will even see it.

I'm not sure if I read these steps here and forgot about it or if this was unique to me. But that seems to have gotten me started.

This was all in the last couple hours. I'll look at installing the second one tomorrow as well as putting back my two PVR250 cards.

BTV seems to be using it fine. I've switched to lots of different channels and it worked. Its recording now for the next couple hours and Hopefully it works. Time will tell if I get the same lockup issues others are having and play the power cycle game.

I have not taped the IR port or opened the case for extra cooling. I'll see if that is needed over the next couple days.

Jut thought I'd chime in with my experiences now that I have a couple of these units.

Oh yeah. And the picture looks great.
I may be cursing it tomorrow but for tonight I'm going to just go watch some TV.

[tim_d_wagner]

Originally Posted by Terminal

The problem is the log file name changes everyday. I could delete all files after every check, but I like to keep the log data, you never know when it might come in handy. So that's why I did it the way I did. Your idea of using XXCopy would save a step but this works without any additional files other than the base XP OS.

[edit]I guess that's not completely true, it does require downloading the Web Switch exe file, but other than that.....[/edit]

What about moving the log rather then coping it. That would alow you to retain it, but only have one file to work with.

[Terminal]

Well it works, I have been recording lots of HDPVR content over the last couple of days trying to get the thing to fail. It took a while, but I finally got it to today. I saw there was a movie on SYFY that was 4 hours long, I had recorded a couple of other shows just prior, the HDPVR bombed out about 2 hours in. It died at 1:59 and when my schedule task went off at 2:05 it cycled the power on the HDPVR. My log file showed that it did and I went and checked the log the web switch keeps in memory and it showed a web cycle to outlet two. So it doesn't fix the problem but at least when it does bomb if I am not around to reset, it will do it itself.

[ijourneaux]

Originally Posted by Terminal

Well it works, I have been recording lots of HDPVR content over the last couple of days trying to get the thing to fail. It took a while, but I finally got it to today. I saw there was a movie on SYFY that was 4 hours long, I had recorded a couple of other shows just prior, the HDPVR bombed out about 2 hours in. It died at 1:59 and when my schedule task went off at 2:05 it cycled the power on the HDPVR. My log file showed that it did and I went and checked the log the web switch keeps in memory and it showed a web cycle to outlet two. So it doesn't fix the problem but at least when it does bomb if I am not around to reset, it will do it itself.

I wished that web switch wasn't so expensive or I'd follow your approach. Instead, I am going to try and use your log file scanning approach and send on event to EventGhost and have it transmit a IR code to a IR controlled power switch. The IR power switch was about $6

[ijourneaux]

When I have been reinstalling the HD PVR drivers, I have not been installing the TME software at all and using steps someone else identified.

Here is the link

"How To" set up the Hauppauge HD-PVR with blaster (Instructions Inside) - SageTV Community

The only difference for me is I install my PVR-150 after the HD-PVR as moveing the IRBlaster to the PVR-150 from the HD-PVR was the only thing that seemed to make a difference regaring reliability. I am not a good benchmark on reliability though. I am still failing about once per day. The longest I have gone without having to power cycle my HD-PVR is about 40hours.

I have tried almost everything recommended to improve reliability but still not good enough.

All of my faield recording seem to generate a "12" error in the BTV log. Others seems to be getting other error codes ("42", etc). I wonder if that might be a clue to the problem.

A couple of questions for the more experienced BTV users. If you uninstall BTV and want to reinstall what files/folders do you need to copy? I don't want to do the BTV backup/restore as I would like the installation to be as virgin as possible.

[Terminal]

Originally Posted by ijourneaux

All of my faield recording seem to generate a "12" error in the BTV log. Others seems to be getting other error codes ("42", etc). I wonder if that might be a clue to the problem.

I get the following line about 20 or so times before I get the HD-PVR restart line in my log.

[2010/4/9 13:59:39] COHauppaugeHDPVRCardBuilder::ConfigureFilter - Failed to configure video bitrate. err = 0x80004005

Do others see somethign different?

I think just using the backup/restore option is probably the best way to go. It only does a backup/restore on your configuration files. You need to uninstall and re-install the BTV app.

[bigasssuperstar]

I get an assortment of errors.

I get the 42 in the errors/warnings.

I get the bitrate kerfuffle, sometimes three log entries per second for up to an hour.

I think I've seen the 12.

I get hang/restarts of btvscheduler.

I get a 'no signal for 30 seconds...retrying' message that never resolves.

So far I've determined no cause-effect relationship. I've taken the usual measures. The failures don't come with any predictability -- long string of success, occasional failure...or frequent failure...midshow failure, start-of-show failure...live TV start or recording start.

Some of the situations are resolved by cycling power on the HDPVR. Some, like the btvscheduler loop, only get solved when I reboot the system -- even shutting down BTV from the system tray doesn't work it.

Maybe a group effort to catalog the flavours of fail would help somehow?
Symptom = Error #/Log entry = solution

[tim_d_wagner]

Originally Posted by Terminal

Well it works, I have been recording lots of HDPVR content over the last couple of days trying to get the thing to fail. It took a while, but I finally got it to today. I saw there was a movie on SYFY that was 4 hours long, I had recorded a couple of other shows just prior, the HDPVR bombed out about 2 hours in. It died at 1:59 and when my schedule task went off at 2:05 it cycled the power on the HDPVR. My log file showed that it did and I went and checked the log the web switch keeps in memory and it showed a web cycle to outlet two. So it doesn't fix the problem but at least when it does bomb if I am not around to reset, it will do it itself.

Great work! That might be all the modivation I need to finaly grab one.

[Terminal]

Just as a followup, my HD-PVR recordings set for tonight have went off fine. So I had a lockup and with no intervention on my part it reset itself and was able to record the next program. So I may still lose a recording from time to time, but at least it won't lock it up for all recordings.

Also I should add, I don't know if it was the recent daily reset I added or the updates on the drivers I did recently but my HD-PVR has been doing very well over the last month or so.

[ijourneaux]

Here is the breakdown of errors for my BeyondTV setup and the Hauppauge HD PVR since Feb 1, 2010 (~2.5 months)

Error Code / Number of times
2.................. 2
4.................. 2
10 ............... 3
11 ............... 22
12................ 41
13................ 7
42 ............... 44
47 ............... 7

These are all of the errors. The 12 and 42 errors require that I power cycle the HD-PVR to allow new recordings. Is there ameaning to the error codes?

[Bill1426]

51 or 52, I believe is new channels added... Nothing major...