Dongle.bin and Other Questions

[Jim]

Hi All,

I'm a new user of GB-PVR, with a MediaMVP and a Hauppause 350. Things work pretty good, except that the MVP seems to crash too much. Certainly too much for my taste. I think this is related to the dongle.bin file of the MediaMVP, and NOT an issue with GB-PVR because I don't have any such problems when using GB-PVR on my PC.

Symptons: These crashes seem to occur when doing different things, but always end up with the MVP changing to "Contacting Server..." and hanging there. It's only resolved after I restart the GB-PVR service, sometimes twice. As far as I can remember, these problems occur when hitting the "Back" button on the remote after watching part of a movie (consistent), when skipping or FF/RWing (intermittent), and several other situations which escape me at the moment.

Any answers to the following questions would be greatly appreciated.

1) Can I even replace dongle.bin, or does GB-PVR require a certain version to work right? I don't care about the volume bars or stop buttons that apparently disappeared in more recent dongle.bin's (so I hear). I just want it stable.

2) How do I "install" new/different dongle.bin files for use with GB-PVR? Can I just take that one file out of the self-installing MVP .exe files and put it in GB-PVR's dongle directory (after renaming the old file)? Or are any other files from those Hauppauge Media MVP releases necessary for GB-PVR?

3) How do I find out what MediaMVP "version" I have? Like D1a or D3 or whatever?

4) Could this also be a problem with the renderer (ie. VMR9, VMR7, or Overlay) or mpeg decoder, or would I then experience problems when using GB-PVR on my PC too?

5) Any other possible causes for these crashes that I might be overlooking?


Oh, a separate issue... some of my recordings are screwed up (on both the PC AND over the MVP)... the picture rolls a bit, like the vertical sync is off for a traditional signal. Could this have something to do with the computer being too overworked at the time of the recording?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Jim

[sub]

1) Can I even replace dongle.bin, or does GB-PVR require a certain version to work right? I don't care about the volume bars or stop buttons that apparently disappeared in more recent dongle.bin's (so I hear). I just want it stable.

Yes. Any dongle.bin from the last year should be ok. Only the last 5 month or so support the 'fully transparent OSD' option.

2) How do I "install" new/different dongle.bin files for use with GB-PVR? Can I just take that one file out of the self-installing MVP .exe files and put it in GB-PVR's dongle directory (after renaming the old file)? Or are any other files from those Hauppauge Media MVP releases necessary for GB-PVR?

just copy the dongle.bin into the gbpvr dongle directory

3) How do I find out what MediaMVP "version" I have? Like D1a or D3 or whatever?

its on the label on the bottom of the device

4) Could this also be a problem with the renderer (ie. VMR9, VMR7, or Overlay) or mpeg decoder, or would I then experience problems when using GB-PVR on my PC too?

No it wont be related to your renderer or mpeg decoder. If you're problems are with playing avi files, then it'll likely be related to other decoders installed on your machine.

5) Any other possible causes for these crashes that I might be overlooking?

Crashes could be caused by lots of things. You best bet is find reliable ways to reproduce the problems you're having, then let me know. If I can reproduce it, I can fix it.

Oh, a separate issue... some of my recordings are screwed up (on either the PC or over the MVP)... the picture rolls a bit, like the vertical sync is off for a traditional signal.

Bad reception?

Could this have something to do with the computer being too overworked at the time of the recording?

I doubt it.

[Jim]

its on the label on the bottom of the device

Doh! I looked through the software, but didn't think to look on the actual device!

No it wont be related to your renderer or mpeg decoder. If you're problems are with playing avi files, then it'll likely be related to other decoders installed on your machine.

Actually, this problem occurs (also) with files I've recorded with GB-PVR (therefore mpeg-2s, right?), not just AVIs. With the few AVIs I've tried, it occurred much MORE, I think. But I don't have many AVIs, and there were aspect ratio, letterboxing, and audio synching problems, so I just gave up on those, at least until I get basic record/playback working reliably. So does the fact that it happens with mpegs change the answer any? Should I experiment with renderer/decoder settings?

Crashes could be caused by lots of things. You best bet is find reliable ways to reproduce the problems you're having, then let me know. If I can reproduce it, I can fix it.

Well, I don't fully understand how everything works together, but I don't think there is anything for you to fix... it's not GB-PVR that's broken. Right now too many crashes occur too irregularly. If it was a software problem rather than a problem with my setup, then more people would have problems, and I've read the boards a bit looking. I'll let you know after I play with my dongle tonight

Thanks a lot, Sub, for the quick, helpful replies, and the great software

Jim

[sub]

So does the fact that it happens with mpegs change the answer any?

No. If you're playing MPEG2 files, it definitely wont be related to the renderer/decoder settings. All MPEG2 decoding is done in hardware on the MVP itself.

[Jim]

That's a great bit of info. I thought GB-PVR (with Codec) was deconding it, and then serving it up to the Media MVP in some more simple raw format.

<sigh> I wish I they would just sell a long long s-video cable that I could haul through my attic to the TV and use the 350's output, and not mess with the media mvp


Thanks again!

Jim

[soccerdad]

Hang in there Jim. As you can see, there are many users that really like the MVP. I just picked up my second one. It seems like the new dongle is not quite as stable. I think I will go back and try a different one myself. Once set up, you will rarely have a problem. Remember that this is all pre-release 1.0. It is getting close and that is the fun. (at least for me). Keep posting what you find and we will all work to get it over the last bumps.

[jksmurf]

I was updating the WIKI with some MVP Troubleshooting Tips yesterday (http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FAQ/MVP#toc2 ) and I just want to confirm something about the behaviour of GBPVR and the dongle.bin as a few folks have had success reverting older versions of the dongle.bin file.

The two Q's are:

1. Which version of dongle.bin does GBVR currently use? The latest info I can make out is that it is the 2.4.23104 build as per this thread http://forums.gbpvr.com/showpost.php?p=3...ostcount=2, but I do 1/2 remember Sub mentioning he was beta testing the latest dongle.bin build from SHSPVR.com in one thread, although I can't locate that right now.

2. My understanding is that you do NOT need to install Hauppage Software for the MVP at all and the reasons are as follows:

i.e. It is a nice idea to install it once to just to see if the MVP is working, but at the end of the day, GBPVR HAS a dongle.bin, from Hauppauge in the C:\Program Files\devnz\GBPVR\Dongle folder which it uploads to the MVP, so you can actually uninstall the Hauppauge software PROVIDED you have a DHCP Server installed.

HOWEVER, and correct me if I'm wrong here, IF you installed Hauppauge software (either from the CD or from http://www.shspvr.com MVP forums latest beta, it installs the NEW dongle.bin and uses THAT, UNTIL you pull the power plug on the MPV, at which point (because you disabled the Two Services, or you un-installed the Software completely) it uploads (tftp's) the GBPVR version in the C:\Program Files\devnz\GBPVR\Dongle folder (provided you have DHCP Server installed)

Are the above details completely correct?

Relevant earlier threads are:
http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...dongle.bin Early thread on the Dongle.bin versions supplied with GBPVR
http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...dongle.bin Jim's original Question about replacing dongle.bin
http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...dongle.bin Jim's Solution to replace dongle.bin

Suggested Dongle.bin Replacement Procedure (paraphrased from and credit to Jim et al.) is now in the WIKI as follows:

The MPV unit is basically a dumb-box, it has a basic bios to get it started and then just runs the software (i.e. the dongle.bin) that is uploaded to it from the server. There is never any need to re-flash it, it just runs what is sent to it.

The general sequence of events when powering up the MVP is as following.

1) Try to get IP address from DHCP server
2) If no DHCP server found, try to get IP address from DCHP server which is built into hauppauge software but listening on a non-standard port.
3) Do a UDP broadcast to find machine with Hauppauge MVP software. Machine will respond with IP address of server, and port numbers for various services the MVP can user.
4) Bootp/tftp used to download dongle.bin from your machine
5) Start the dongle.bin image and applications contained within it. (probably says "starting application" here)
6) Connect to machine get image of menu (probably says "contacting servers" here).
7) Menu shown. Start up is now complete.

• One way to know whether you have an old dongle.bin was that you get the volume indication (the 10 little boxes at the bottom of the screen) back when you change the MediaMVP volume. Later versions get rid of that.

• Installing this in the normal fashion (with Hauppauge Installer) doesn't do much if you're using GB-PVR, because you need the MediaMVP services turned off, so the installed dongle.bin is never actually used.

• What you need to do is just open the file with WinZip (or was it WinRAR?), and extract JUST the dongle.bin file. Put that in your C:\Program Files\devnz\GBPVR\Dongle folder, after renaming the dongle.bin file that is there (it's the ONLY file in this directory, btw).

• Unplug, pause, then plug in your MVP, and it should be served up this new dongle.bin. This is the file which controls the fundamental operation of the MVP. If you change the volume and see that volume-bar overlay, then you're in business. There is still a longish delay (10-30 seconds) while contacting servers sometimes, usually after watching a recording, but it should connect.

• So in summary, just swap out dongle.bin files and unplug/replug the MVP. If you do not place the dongle.bin you want use in the gbpvr directory, the next time your MVP lost power, it would revert to whatever version gbpvr hands it.

• Note that you STILL need a DHCP server, if you are not running the Hauppage Software. GB-PVR doesn't contain a DHCP server, but the original Hauppauge software does. If you don't have a DHCP server elsewhere on the network, then GB-PVR won't be able to boot the MVP from power up. This may be the reason why some folks have found that starting the MVPService, then Starting GBPVR, then stopping the service, finds their MVP. Suggested solution, check your DHCP Server or Router settings.

If you pull the Plug on your MPV and you do NOT have the MVPServices running when you put it back in, when GBPVR starts (provided you have a DHCP Server) it will load GBPVR's dongle.bin, not the one you loaded with the Haupppauge sofwtare. So IF the behaviour is different after a Power Failure or one of your two-year-olds pulled the plug, this is the probable reason why.

k.

Please feel free to agree or disagree with the content, as most of this is cut and paste stuff and I am not a network guru (LOL) but I felt there should be a central area (WIKI) where folks could see what was needed to get the MVP out of this error and what was happening when they did. Like all documentation, the WIKI can be updated dynamically as Sub produces his magic or changes something.

[Jim]

JKSmurf,

Your post seems correct, as far as I understand things, and in fact clears up some things I did NOT understand. The only thing I could suggest, if you add that to the Wiki, is that you have the links on the Wiki start from the other end. What I mean is that if you title this link something like "Dongle.bin Problems", then people who need it might not find it. "MVP Hangs at 'Contacting Servers...'" would be better, I think. This advice comes from recent experience searching everywhere for a fix

Cheers, Jim

[jksmurf]

Cheers Jim....

Ahh but did you see what I wrote in the WIKI ? :-)

http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FAQ/MVP#toc2 ?

k.

[bluesxman]

2. My understanding is that you do NOT need to install Hauppage Software for the MVP at all and the reasons are as follows:

Only for transcoding AVIs, though this looks like it is customisable with the latest release.

HOWEVER, and correct me if I'm wrong here, IF you installed Hauppauge software (either from the CD or from http://www.shspvr.com MVP forums latest beta, it installs the NEW dongle.bin and uses THAT, UNTIL you pull the power plug on the MPV, at which point (because you disabled the Two Services, or you un-installed the Software completely) it uploads (tftp's) the GBPVR version in the C:\Program Files\devnz\GBPVR\Dongle folder (provided you have DHCP Server installed)

Only if you unplugged the MVP before installing Hauppague software. Picky I know!