no playback of recordings made post-Win7 install

[sub]

I don't even know what the GB-PVR Flow Status filter does... nothing seems different playing back without it.

It performs to tasks:
1) lets the application know what the source aspect ratio is in the stream, and update the application each time it changes, which is ultimately used to do the 'auto' aspect ratio.
2) lets the application know how much data is flowing to the video decoder, which is tied in with the 'no signal' popup.

[johnsonx42]

If what I'm thinking is correct, the "Microsoft DTV-DVD Video Decoder" was used when playing back using "System default". This means that either ffdshow is not connecting to the new DVR-MS demuxer properly (MS may have changed the pin information) or there is some DRM that prevents any decoder other than the MS one from being used.

No, sorry, we're mixing up the two scenarios.

The main HTPC runs Win7RC and GB-PVR 1.4.7, the first post is entirely about that. The only decoders it has are Microsoft DTV-DVD and ATI Mpeg-2. It doesn't matter which decoder I have selected in config, playing back a DVR-MS file recorded with Win7 yields a black screen and no audio. Only selecting System Default allows such files to play (and as you can see from the log snippets, the graph is built a little differently).

The latter long post is about a rarely used GB-PVR client on a notebook running XP Home SP3 and GB-PVR 1.3.11. The only decoders it has are the Microsoft MPEG decoder (as supplied with XP Home) and some flavor of ffdshow. Yet it behaves exactly the same way as the HTPC - when playing a DVR-MS file recorded with Win7, it won't play them unless I set the decoders to System Default.

[whurlston]

Ah, yeah, I was confused.

[sub]

Do .dvr-ms recording made prior to upgrade Win7 play ok in GB-PVR now on Win7?

[johnsonx42]

It performs to tasks:
1) lets the application know what the source aspect ratio is in the stream, and update the application each time it changes, which is ultimately used to do the 'auto' aspect ratio.
2) lets the application know how much data is flowing to the video decoder, which is tied in with the 'no signal' popup.

Ah, I see, and yes the Auo Aspect Ratio doesn't work right now with the decoders set to System Default. I knew it wouldn't, but a small price to pay for having video playback work (I have F7 mapped to a convenient remote button, so it's mostly a non-issue).

So I see how it works: if a decoder is set in config, GB-PVR builds a graph that includes the desired decoder and the GB-PVR Flow Status filter. If that graph fails, or the decoder is not set in config, then GB-PVR lets DirectShow build the graph on it's own, which of course won't include the GB-PVR Flow Status filter.

I have a little test in mind to possibly prove it's the GB-PVR Flow Status filter ... stay tuned for results

[johnsonx42]

Do .dvr-ms recording made prior to upgrade Win7 play ok in GB-PVR now on Win7?

Yes, those play just fine... it's only the recordings made with Win7 have the problem.

[johnsonx42]

TEST RESULTS!

I manually unregistered the GB-PVR Flow Status filter, and then set the decoders in config. Now a file just recorded plays fine:

Code:

2009-09-14 13:19:36.541    VERBOSE    FindFilterByName failed to locate filter: GB-PVR Flow Status
2009-09-14 13:19:36.542    VERBOSE    getSetting(ListGraphFilters)
2009-09-14 13:19:36.542    VERBOSE    Graph contains the following filters:
2009-09-14 13:19:36.542    VERBOSE     - Default DirectSound Device
2009-09-14 13:19:36.542    VERBOSE     - MPEG Audio Decoder
2009-09-14 13:19:36.542    VERBOSE     - Video Renderer
2009-09-14 13:19:36.542    VERBOSE     - AC3Filter
2009-09-14 13:19:36.542    VERBOSE     - Microsoft DTV-DVD Video Decoder
2009-09-14 13:19:36.542    VERBOSE     - F:\Recordings\Zula Patrol\Zula Patrol_20090914_11001130.dvr-ms

And with ATI Mpeg-2 Decoder:

Code:

2009-09-14 13:24:21.538    VERBOSE    FindFilterByName failed to locate filter: GB-PVR Flow Status
2009-09-14 13:24:21.540    VERBOSE    getSetting(ListGraphFilters)
2009-09-14 13:24:21.540    VERBOSE    Graph contains the following filters:
2009-09-14 13:24:21.540    VERBOSE     - Default DirectSound Device
2009-09-14 13:24:21.540    VERBOSE     - MPEG Audio Decoder
2009-09-14 13:24:21.540    VERBOSE     - Video Renderer
2009-09-14 13:24:21.540    VERBOSE     - AC3Filter
2009-09-14 13:24:21.540    VERBOSE     - ATI MPEG Video Decoder
2009-09-14 13:24:21.540    VERBOSE     - F:\Recordings\Zula Patrol\Zula Patrol_20090914_11001130.dvr-ms

Both of the above played fine. And I am 100% sure it did really play with the ATI Mpeg decoder, not only because the log said it did but because the ATI decoder shows a bunch of large green blocks as playback starts (or on channel-change) that the Microsoft DTV-DVD decoder doesn't.

Finally, just a quick sanity check, I re-registered the GB-PVR Flow Status filter and played the same file one more time... black screen, no audio:

Code:

2009-09-14 13:30:05.711    VERBOSE    Graph contains the following filters:
2009-09-14 13:30:05.712    VERBOSE     - Default DirectSound Device
2009-09-14 13:30:05.712    VERBOSE     - MPEG Audio Decoder
2009-09-14 13:30:05.712    VERBOSE     - Video Renderer
2009-09-14 13:30:05.712    VERBOSE     - AC3Filter
2009-09-14 13:30:05.712    VERBOSE     - ATI MPEG Video Decoder
2009-09-14 13:30:05.712    VERBOSE     - GB-PVR Flow Status
2009-09-14 13:30:05.712    VERBOSE     - F:\Recordings\Zula Patrol\Zula Patrol_20090914_11001130.dvr-ms

EDIT: it should be noted that the file still appears to play in the sense that the progress bar shows, the counter increments, the play-postion moves, skipping works... just nothing actually appears on the screen. So it's not that Windows is rejecting the graph, it's just that the actual video/audio data doesn't make it through the graph to the renderer.

So methinks we have to blame the GB-PVR Flow Status filter.

[sub]

I'm still wondering if they're setting some protected flag by default now.

Can you make the same graph in GraphEdit? Does it allow you to put the 'Infinite Tee' filter in the place of where the GB-PVR Flow Status filter normally goes?

[johnsonx42]

Can you make the same graph in GraphEdit? Does it allow you to put the 'Infinite Tee' filter in the place of where the GB-PVR Flow Status filter normally goes?

I've not yet fiddled with GraphEdit, nor even downloaded it. But I will give it a shot... no time like the present for learning a new trick.

[johnsonx42]

Yes, it plays fine with the "Infinite Pin Tee Filter" in place of the GB-PVR Flow Status filter.

I set <SaveGraphFiles> to True in config, played the same file again in PVRX2. Then I loaded the lastgraph into GraphEdit and tried playing it there - blank screen. Then I deleted the GB-PVR Flow Status filter, and played the file - played fine. Finally I added the "Infinite Pin Tee Filter" where the Flow Status filter had been, and again the file played fine.

I've attached my modified lastgraph.grf.

edit: here's a screen shot of my resulting graph, to save the trouble of loading graphedit to see it