Help setting up an HVR-1800

[steveum]

I seem to be in a similar situation as this thread author. I have just added a 1800 to my system. I already have a 1600 in the system with QAM working great. WinTv 6 seems to find QAM channels on both cards. I say seem because i really get confused when using the WinTv suite manager, but when I do the scan i get two sets of QAM channels. I assume a set for each card.

I have the latest channel scan patch from the survival guide. I am running 1.3.11. I ran the bat for re-register the AX files. I have run the QAM.INI manager and tried several different variations. I have connected the COAX cable that had been connected to my 1600 directly to my 1800 with no new splitters. I am using the latest driver from the haupauge site. I was seeing the scan crash when I used the driver from 4.8a CD, but that seems to go away with the driver in hcw85bda_27176.zip.

I have attached my log files. I had just made several different scan attempts with various QAM.INI files.

[soccerdad]

If you have good scans on the 1600 card, and the 1800 seems to work and your only problem is the scan, then you should be able to copy the scan-x.cache file from your 1600 over to the 1800. Just change the file name to match your tuner number. For instance, if your 1600 QAM is tuner 1, and your 1800 is tuner 3 (the third one that shows up in your config file) then copy the scan-1.cache file and rename it scan-3.cache. This should allow you to go to config and map your channels to that scan.

I have done something similar before, but not exactly like this, but I think it should work. It does not fix your problem, but it is a good work around.

[johnsonx42]

all your scans are reporting absolutely no signal on any channel. The scan crash with the old driver was probably a better sign (ie, at least it was getting something to crash on!). I'd try going back to the 4.8a CD driver, and then copy the scan.cache from the 1600.

[steveum]

Thanks for both suggestions. I made a copy of my scan-1.cache as scan-4.cache. This allowed me map my channels. I then tried to make a recording with this tuner by scheduling two HD recordings at the same time. This resulted in a zero length ts file for the 1800 tuner. I then reverted back to the drivers from the 4.8a CD. Same result.

I am now questioning whether wintv6 is really finding qam channels. I started poking around in the hcwchandb_5.mdb file that wintv uses. The database just shows 0 and -1 as the actual qam frequency for all the QAM channels. If I run javawiz's query from the QAM.ini manager thread, I only get two rows from his query (0, -1).

Does anyone know how to isolate a tuner for channel scan in Wintv6? As far as I can tell, it seems like it just scans all tuners. I find the interface to their suite manager very confusing and I have been able to find any useful instructions.

I am thinking about trying out wintv7 to see if is any better.

[soccerdad]

In GBPVR config, when you are mapping the channels for the new tuner, you should be able to preview a channel in the preview window by clicking on a channel from the list on the right side (under the preview window). If that card is working correctly, you should see the channel play in the preview window. This should isolate your tuners to find out what is working. Wintv is a PITA.

[steveum]

The preview window is always blank for me with the 1800, even after trying to use the scan cache from the 1600.

I installed wintv7. During the setup, it is very clear about which card it using for the scan. It finds 244 services (as wintv calls them) on the 1600 and finds 255 on the 1800. Only about 30 of these are unencrypted though.

When GBPVR makes the qam channel scan on the 1800, it appears to me it happens way too quickly. It scans all the QAM channels in about 4 minutes and never finds anything.

[soccerdad]

Well you have now run out of road in my brain. Can you actually view programs in Wintv7 off the 1800? If so, then maybe someone else can find something in your logs. I don't know if it makes a difference, but which 1800 do you have and what are you selecting for it? Are you checking the box that says only show me the tuners I have available in config, and are you picking one of those?

[steveum]

I am currently trying to validate that I can view programs with the 1800. It seems to default to using the 1600. I have posted a question on the SHS forum regarding this issue. When I first ran the wintv7 setup wizard, I let it scan all my tuners. I think I should of just let it see the 1800. From poking around the wintv channels database, I suspect the other tuners can be disabled.

In regards to GBPVR source configuration, I have tried checking that box to see what tuners it shows. The one I have selected does show up (Hauppauge HVR-1800MCE QAM) along with several other Hauppauge models. Technically, it is not the MCE model though, but this seems like the closest match.

[soccerdad]

You might want to pull out the 1600 card for a few minutes of testing. It should not mess up your 1600 config when you replace it. That is the only help I can offer at this point.

[steveum]

That was good advice. I pulled the 1600, then ran wintv v7 again. The QAM scan on the 1800 comes back with no channels (just like GBPVR).

I am going to return/exchange/rma it once I figure out my options. I bought it as new from an ebay store (GLBargain), so I assume they should accept it the return.

One conclusion to draw here is that wintv does not handle multiple cards very well. I suspect when they reported they were scanning on the 1800, they were actually just scanning on the 1600.