Recorded shows have static

[JoanneM]

Ok...I give up. I've been using GB-PVR for two years now and have managed to get all my problems solved without having to post. Searching the archives and reading the wiki have always done it for me. Here goes...it's been a rough two days.

First of all..my system.
2.4GHZ Pentium 4
768 MB Ram
300GB HDD dedicated to video
2 Media MVPs connected via WAP to my router, above system acting as the file server
1 PVR150
1 PVR150MCE

I had been having trouble recording some shows on FoodTV (Channel 45), the recordings would come out static-ey. I could hear the audio mostly fine (some static-ey noise) and see part of the picture. However, other channels would record fine.

Here's a list of the things (in order that I've done them) in the past two days.
(1) Delete the capture sources and empty out the channel list. - no change
(2) Upgrade from 95.xx to 1.0.16 (I know..BIG jump, when things are working I don't like to upgrade! )
(2.25) Installed Windows Media Player 11 when GBPVR.exe was crashing with an exception that listed WMP. Clicked on PVRX2.exe by mistake and everything worked fine. So, I started using that from then on.
(2.5) Re-install the Nvida video drivers with the latest from the website
(2.75) Install the GPL Mpeg decoder (also insert various attempts at different combinations of Video Decoders and Video Renderer here)
(3) Re-install the Hauppauge Drivers with the latest from the website
---At this point I could watch LiveTV just fine, but when I tried to record I got the static-ey video
(4) Run the Tuning Assistant (video shows fine and all the channels are detected)
(5) Run WinTV2000 (video shows fine) and manually add the channels at the frequencies detected by Tuning Assistant. [Well, the first 5 or so....]
(6) Run Freq-Copy to copy the hardcoded frequencies to the registry.
---After I did that...I get a black screen for LiveTV (audio is fine) and my recordings are static-ey and audio is fine
(7) Deleted the newly created registry entries in a futile attempt to get it to run
(8) Ran another test, zipped up the logs and posted this note!

So, I'm guilty of not being scientific with my Video Decoder/Renderer choices. I can't really tell you the combination that worked.

SO, I guess I'm at my wits end. What can you tell me about the differences between "Watching" a program from the TVGuide and choosing "Quick Rec" from the TVGuide?? At one point, I was able to "Watch" a program, but "Quick Rec" would become all static-ey.

I went through the error logs that I posted below. I was Watching Channel 7. In the log I saw a getChannelFrequency (I think) returns xxxxxx. The value that it returns matches the frequency value that I got when running Tuning Assistant (where the channel looked fine). Hmmmmm.....that kinda blew the whole "I'm tuning to the wrong frequency" theory that I had been operating under. Maybe I just don't understand how the whole tuning thing works....

Thanks for any help anyone can supply!!

Joanne M. - chicks build PVRs too!

[sub]

I had been having trouble recording some shows on FoodTV (Channel 45), the recordings would come out static-ey. I could hear the audio mostly fine (some static-ey noise) and see part of the picture. However, other channels would record fine.

The only recordings I could see in the logs were for channel 7, not channel 45, so could you possibly reproduce this problem then post another set of logs for me to look at?

SO, I guess I'm at my wits end. What can you tell me about the differences between "Watching" a program from the TVGuide and choosing "Quick Rec" from the TVGuide?? At one point, I was able to "Watch" a program, but "Quick Rec" would become all static-ey

Do you have more than one capture source defined? "Watch" would use the last capture source, while "Quick Rec" would use the first available capture source to schedule the recording. Given you post indicates you've got a PVR150 and a PVR150MCE, this may indicate the problem is only with one of the two devices (whichever one has its capture source last in the list).

5) Run WinTV2000 (video shows fine) and manually add the channels at the frequencies detected by Tuning Assistant. [Well, the first 5 or so....]
(6) Run Freq-Copy to copy the hardcoded frequencies to the registry.

I dont know if this is part of your problem or not, but it worries me a little. For the most part, US users should never have to tweak the frequency override registry settings (which is what freqcopy does). In the US all the defaults should be fine. Tweaking these settings can make the tuning less predictable.

[JoanneM]

Thanks for the reply sub. Sorry I wasn't clear in my first post. The problem originally was just on Channel 45, now ALL my channels are static-ey. Indeed, the experiment that I did last night (and attached the logs from) was on Channel 7.

I too, thought that it might be related to the card (I originally thought cable issue). But, by scheduling a recording and watching live TV at the same time, I've been able to confirm that the problem happens on both cards. I could pull one of the 150s out and try that. But, oy, the cabling mess I have. (plus two little kids running around!) But, yes, I have two capture sources defined. I'm able to open the Tray app and see which tuner is being used while I do this experiment.

I'm at work right now, but I'll do another example tonight and post clear steps of what I did to get it to happen along with the logs.

When I installed 1.0.16 I installed it over top of my VERY old version. I may just rename my gppvr directory and try a fresh install too....

After determining that the tuning registry entries didn't work, I did delete them. Hopefully that undid any of the damage I may have done...

Thanks so much...

Joanne M.

[sub]

I suspect your might have to try the PVR150 cards one at a time.

[JoanneM]

ARRRRGHHHH!!! It was a STUPID cable!!!! I had myself CONVINCED that I could get the problem to shift from one tuner to the other. I did a fresh install of 1.0.16 and added the cards one-by-one. The first one...FINE. I got excited. The second one...static. I switched cables, the problem shifted to the other tuner. AH HA! I took the cable off of the splitter and discovered that the center conductor in the coax cable had broken off! After some aggravation with a pair of needle nose pliers, I have clear recordings!! And a brand spanking new install of GBPVR!

Now if only I could get Yahoo to update my EPG I'd be in business!

Thanks so much for all you do sub....

Joanne M.

[sub]

Great, that gets me off the hook