HDPVR (blaster vs firestb)

[philly_phenom]

After 2 RMA's I have a unit that's been working well for a few weeks now.

I had been using Tim Moore's firestb to change the channels on my Moto DCT6200 with only a couple of quirks. Twice I noticed that the channel failed to change when a recording started - somehow PC lost track of the Panel Device - unplugging Firewire cable & re-inserting resolved it.

After the second time, I decided to use the HaupBlast command (although the firewire channel changes were smoother, I was hoping for reliability). No sooner had I switched to using the blaster, I got an all audio recording - something I hadn't experienced since I switched to firestb.

1) Has anyone else noticed they have to re-insert their firewire cable on occasion
2) Has anyone else noticed a connection between HaupBlast & failed/bad recordings on their HDPVR?

I've switched back to firewire & have just made a habit of periodically issuing a channel command (assuming nothing is recording) to make sure my PC still sees the box. Not a huge issue, but just wanted to know if anyone else noticed these things.

[wtg]

I too have noticed the firewire connection occasionally gets screwed up. No solution though.

[philly_phenom]

I switched back to firewire since the channel changes are much smoother & faster than with the blaster - plust it seems like the HDPVR doesn't record as well for some reason when I use the blaster - audio only recordings and jittery pixelating recordings.

I'm wondering if it's not the blaster per say, but the rougher channel change on my cable box that throws something off in the capture.

I just check occasionally to make sure it's working - especially if something I want to make sure it records is coming on.

[carpeVideo]

Sometimes you can fix firewire issues by:
a) getting a better firewire cable (shielding), I had a cable that was for laptops with minimal shielding and when I switched most of these issues went away
b) if your STB has two ports try the other
c) changing the structure/timing of the firewire command

For losing the panel driver you can also force a restart of the driver using a script that disables and re-enables the firewire device, I used to do this upon wake but haven't needed to since the cable switch.

Of course my issue most of the time was the SO turning the STB off rather than the TV - I fixed this with severe beatings, or perhaps I disabled the STB power on/off on the universal remote - I can't seem to remember which

[philly_phenom]

Sometimes you can fix firewire issues by:
a) getting a better firewire cable (shielding), I had a cable that was for laptops with minimal shielding and when I switched most of these issues went away
b) if your STB has two ports try the other
c) changing the structure/timing of the firewire command

For losing the panel driver you can also force a restart of the driver using a script that disables and re-enables the firewire device, I used to do this upon wake but haven't needed to since the cable switch.

Of course my issue most of the time was the SO turning the STB off rather than the TV - I fixed this with severe beatings, or perhaps I disabled the STB power on/off on the universal remote - I can't seem to remember which

Thanks - the cable I purchased wasn't a particularly expensive one - however, I'll try the other port next time it quits on me - if that doesn't fix it, I'll try another cable.

[wtg]

I switched back to firewire since the channel changes are much smoother & faster than with the blaster - plust it seems like the HDPVR doesn't record as well for some reason when I use the blaster - audio only recordings and jittery pixelating recordings.

I'm wondering if it's not the blaster per say, but the rougher channel change on my cable box that throws something off in the capture.

That's an interesting hypothesis. It's possible that the device is trying to lock onto the channel and determine the picture resolution, etc. before the channel change completes. I imagine you could create a batch file the slowed the channel change process down a bit, maybe calling HaupBlast.exe twice. The STBs I've used usually ignore a channel change request when it's to the same station and then perhaps the STB output will have settled down before the HD-PVR tries to lock onto it.

Personally I've not run into that problem myself but I've been using firewire from the beginning.

[philly_phenom]

I really think that is the issue.

I've noticed that while the firewire channel change is seemless, when I use the blaster, the screen goes blank a second, the red light on the HD-PVR goes off & then comes back on again - like it starts, stops & starts again.

[4zm4r3d02]

Could it be that the usb blaster driver is screwing up the usb capture device? I used to have a usb ir receiver on my old pc, and its driver played hell with an external usb hard drive.