Hi All,
I'm new to the PVR thing: just bought a HVR-1600 and installed GB-PVR following the wiki quick start. At first I was really disappointed because I installed the Hauppauge drivers, then WinTV, but it could not find any channels using 'scan'. I installed GBPVR and right away I could view live tv! (I stumbled through the setup a first since the website was down earlier this week and have corrected the configuration following the wiki since then).
My question: I cannot record anything, or pause/record live tv. I have tried Manual recording, TV Guide recording, live tv pause, to no avail. GBPVR creates a folder for the show I try to record (i.e. Jurassic Park) but there is no file in it! GBPVR recognizes that I'm trying to record because it shows "pending" recordings, and won't let me view another station while it is recording a show - but nothing gets recorded.
I have tried turning off "live preview" but that didn't work. I tried changing recordings directories. I'm using Schedules Direct (trial) for my EPG. I have searched the forums and wiki but found nothing that would help. I have struggled with this for the last 3 days and I'm almost ready to give up - any ideas/configs to try is really appreciated.
I was curious if there was any conversion software with plugins or utilz for GBPVR to save our favorite shows in an avi or mpg. that is smaller. I know it would reduce quality abit. but instead of having my "House MD" episodes wasting a way 1.8 gigs... I rather them waste 350 megs...
And I have the comskip and it works quite well...
so my next question... if there is a conversion utility. would it incorporate comskip to just eliminate the commercials for my final save... curious. thanks.
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Sorry if this has already been discussed somewhere else. the minor searches I did, didn't see anything. but then again. I might have not tried as hard as I could've.
More a plug-in question than a support one so thought I'd post here for a change!
Does anyone know how to create a custom menu option that would run PowerDVD? Currently I'm having to exit GBPVR and then have mapped a remote button to run PowerDVD but reckon it would be pretty neat to do it seamlessly within GBPVR!
I just got back to using GBPVR after a break and got the new version. Is there some way to change the GOP length from the default of 15 frames to something else? I seem to recall that ability in the old version I was using, but can't seem to find it now.
I'm looking for this because when I do my editing, I like to edit on the GOP to avoid re-encoding and 15 frames just doesn't provide enough granularity (for lack of a better word).
I have just installed GB-PVR and have the client/server box working fine...
I have tried to get another pc working with a client setup - I have access to the \\server\gbpvr share and have ticked the act as client and filled in the server name and gbpvr path...
in the frontend on the client when I try to go to the tv guide I get a list of channels, but no program data... when I go to recorded tv I see the recordings, but if I try to play them I get a blank screen, and same with live tv...
The client just freezes and does not respond.
Have I missed something simple? Anything to help track down the problem?
Is it possible to modify GBPVR so that it can include an overspill directory or directories for recordings if the primary directory located at "C:\Temp\" or wherever else gets full or there is less than 4 GB of space remaining or when using an external drive to set that as the default drive but for GBPVR to switch to a fixed drive if the external drive is not connected?
I get a log comment about a renderer ( I think, and I can hear the show bit not see it (on the Computer)? I have EVR selected in config. Does EVR work with AVI's? Am I missing a codec or renderer?
Really been enjoying the program. Still having issues with Comcast moving things around on us, so have to re-scan. Re-scanning has its issues too. I'll list a few issues, and then some possible approaches that might make life easier. My last scan is attached (log files). These are all with digital side of Aver 780 card, QAM programming, mix of HD and SD.
Issues:
1. Comcast moves the audio, video and PID numbers around. Sometimes the name of the channel is sent (see 82.5, KRQE-DT), sometimes it is not. However, it is VERY RARE that they move the physical channel or program number. KRQE-DT will always (or almost always) be channel 82.5.
2. They do not always name the channels. Look at channel 122, program 909. This is always WGN, but never has a name. Note the name you give it is 122.2 (000(AC3)) #2. However, the pull-down selection to assign channels does not seem to "see" the 122.2 in front, so it only sees the (000(AC3)) #2. Since there may be prior channels in the list that have such a name, the earliest one is selected by the pull-down (and by the preview just after scanning). (Note: in this case, 122.0 has the same name, as does 123.0 and 124.0).
3. When I re-scan, the pull-down keeps prior scans as well, instead of clearing out and only listing hits from the latest scan.
4. Channel 94, program 3 does not show up in the list. I beleive they have screwed up the ID's somehow. My TV scanner still finds it. I used TSlite and got numbers to plug in, and now gbpvr finds it. This may be beyond GBPVR, as it appears Comcast has really messed that one up. I see teh video as you are scanning, but it does not get assigned. I think the audio channel showed up as an unidentified stream in TSlite.
Workarounds:
Right now, after a scan I open the cache file. I then find the correct tuning and cut and paste into each slot, knowing from past experience what is what (and using silicondust listing of channel/program). This is cumbersome at best. I also often set up a QAM.ini with one channel when I know only one is bad. So, my thoughts on things that would help:
1. Best of all, but we have talked before and it is probably not likely, would be to base the tuning on channel and program, when the current video and audio ID's will not work. I beleive my TV is able to do this.
2. Please, if at all possible, make so a re-scan will clear out the existing pull-down. Then, if I scan just one channel, the correct un-named finds can be selected based on the displayed program number.
3. Please allow from config the option of scanning a single channel. Rather than making a new QAM.ini each time, exit config, come back in, scan, etc, allow the user to "manually" scan one channel by entering the channel number. If this is not possible, then perhaps allowing the user to select a different QAM.ini from within config. I could then have a number of different QAM.ini files, names such as QAM-82.ini.
4. Review the "unique" naming capabilities, and re-vamp so that during a single scan of multiple channels that may not have names, teh names are truely unique (from the point of view of the pull-down and setting the tuning parameters).
5. This is a long shot, one step shy of #1. If we have to re-scan all of the channels, we could have a default mapping list. Thus, I could have a scan nightly (perhaps even automated at some time), producing the list like I have attached (or the cache file). Then GBPVR would look at the map that I previously created, and map in the new tuning parameters. For example, channel 13.1, KRQU-DT, would automatically get re-tuned to whatever the scan found on channel 82.5. Not quite as automated as #2 above, but it would prevent loss of recordings of shows when Comcast messes around.
There is probably nothing we can do to prevent Comcast from scrambling things, as often as weekly. However, the workarounds I suggest might make life far easier. Right now, this is a highly manual operation, with a dozen or so cut-and-pastes from the cache file to the config routine. It is not something I have taught my wife how to do when I am gone and she wants to watch her favorite show.
Hi sub - wondering if this could be added to your list of features.
An option when manually transcoding to delete the source file and update the DB with the dest filename.
I occasionally use the trancode when getting a bit low on space with recorded movies and it's be nice if it cleaned up after itself and updated the otherwise you have to remember to go through the video library to find your files.
