Issues with Radio and LiveTV

[fb_de]

Hello,

I have two issues for which I really need advice now:
(EPIA SP8000E, Hauppauge PVR 350)

LiveTV:

1 - when selecting this menu option the Live TV starts fine on the TV out. However, once I switch channel using up/down arrows, it switches to an "empty" channel and after a short while the whole computer freezes.
2 - I don't seem to get the channel assignments right. In config.exe, I have assigned the right channels to the broadcasting station names in the channels tab, however if I go to the TVGuide in gbpvr, select any current show and choose "watch", it displays the wrong channel (on TVout). I have used the tuning assistant to figure out which channel numbers the stations have, and have used the same channel numbers in config.exe.

FM Radio:
- I have no option in the radio plugin to "scan". I can add a FM channel manually, but when i select it and choose "play" it says "unable to communicate with recording service". Altough the gbpvr is freshly started and I haven't selected to watch tv, nor is any tv recording going on. I'm especially puzzled about the fact that there's no scan option, although the hauppage 350 has a FM port which is connected to the FM cable (the hauppauge radio application works).

Any hints on where to look next, any things I should check? Driver I should have? Options I should have selected/deselected?

Thanks a lot,
Frank

[sub]

1 - when selecting this menu option the Live TV starts fine on the TV out. However, once I switch channel using up/down arrows, it switches to an "empty" channel and after a short while the whole computer freezes.

This is a known problem for many users. The PVR350 decoder drivers dont play nicely with the some computers. This is a pretty serious problem, with no real work around. You could try some different PVR350 driver, or maybe chipset drivers for you VIA board, but most people that have had this have had to change their motherboard to solve the problem - sorry. These days I recommend people just dont try to use the hardware decoder on the PVR350, its just not worth the hassle.

FM Radio:
- I have no option in the radio plugin to "scan". I can add a FM channel manually, but when i select it and choose "play" it says "unable to communicate with recording service".

You were probably missing the LAME encoder, which needs to be installed to use the radio when the PVR350 tv out is used (or MVP or XCard). You can get it from http://www.elecard.com/ftp/pub/directsho..._dshow.zip

Save the enclosed file into a directory, then run 'regsvr32 c:\path\to\lame.ax'

If you disable the tv out on the PVR350, you'll notice a 'scan' button appears...but it depends on the model of the tuner on the board as to whether the scan will successfully stop on stations during the scan. Hauppauge have only implemented the required directshow SignalPresent() for some models.

[fb_de]

How funny things turn out to be sometimes. Reading your posting (thanks!), I felt quite disappointed. You buy an expensive tv tuner and it turn out to be buggy in a way you haven't expected it.

OK, here it comes: I have unplugged the tvout connector and set the mpeg playback decoder to "software". Then it occured to me, that powerdvd is capable of leveraging the built-in mpeg decoder of the epia board, so i tried the pick the cyberlink decoders that are installed on my machine. You need to know that if I use a software decoder (for example the wintv2000), my cpu runs at 100% all the time. With the cyberlink decoders, it is still high, but down to 70%. This is why I assume the chosen cyberlink drivers continue to use the built-in mpeg decoder of the epia board! Oh, and as a side-effect, the system doesn't freeze anymore when changing channels (also it's much faster changing channels)
The only things that annoy a bit are:
- there's a ~0.3 seconds lag between audio and video. Any chance to improve that?
- any overlay menu eats the remainders of my free cpu time and makes the whole experience rather clumsy (slow, stutter)

Also, by removing the tvout connector alone, I was able to hear FM radio. but as you said, my hauppauge 350 is unable to detect a station - what a crap...
Has anyone ever tried to voice their opinion on the quality of their products against hauppauge? If not, it's about time I'd say!

One last thing. how would I be able to schedule and record Fm Audio from within GB-PVR?


Thank you once again for the help!

Frank

[sub]

How funny things turn out to be sometimes. Reading your posting (thanks!), I felt quite disappointed. You buy an expensive tv tuner and it turn out to be buggy in a way you haven't expected it.

Sorry, I hate to give answers like this, but please remember that many of these things are entirely out the control of GB-PVR.

- there's a ~0.3 seconds lag between audio and video. Any chance to improve that?

Maybe try setting the deinterlacing setting to 'encoder pass-through' as this seems to do the best job of synchronizing things.

- any overlay menu eats the remainders of my free cpu time and makes the whole experience rather clumsy (slow, stutter)

The menus etc should perform ok on a PIII class CPU of 1Ghz or higher, which is the recommended minimum. I'm guessing you machine is slower than this? Unfortunately some the libraries I use (GDI+ etc) are not really designed with slow machines in mind, which is why I dont recommend running on a slower machine.

Also, by removing the tvout connector alone, I was able to hear FM radio. but as you said, my hauppauge 350 is unable to detect a station - what a crap...

Its a pain in the butt, but isnt really a huge problem. Most people one scan for channels once anyway, so it just means you need manually add the channels once.

One last thing. how would I be able to schedule and record Fm Audio from within GB-PVR?

This isnt currently possible.

[fb_de]

Sorry, I hate to give answers like this, but please remember that many of these things are entirely out the control of GB-PVR.

Yes, I know.

Maybe try setting the deinterlacing setting to 'encoder pass-through' as this seems to do the best job of synchronizing things.

I have that setting. There's a lag still. Not too important though, as I am running my htpc on the DVI interface of my TV, and I the TV is doing a great job with, well, supporting watching TV :-)
The recorder funcionality is more important to me.

The menus etc should perform ok on a PIII class CPU of 1Ghz or higher, which is the recommended minimum. I'm guessing you machine is slower than this? Unfortunately some the libraries I use (GDI+ etc) are not really designed with slow machines in mind, which is why I dont recommend running on a slower machine.

I am aware that this is the minimum requirement for the hardware. However it's a pity that at least the menus aren't a bit faster. If that helps: media portal isn't faster at all...

Its a pain in the butt, but isnt really a huge problem. Most people one scan for channels once anyway, so it just means you need manually add the channels once.

This isnt currently possible.

Is recording from FM in the plans? I am very interested in this. In Germany at least, there's a very varietyful and interesting FM Radio Station landscape. They run the most interesting shows mostly during the day, when working people have no chance to listen in.
A combination with a radio EPG would (for me) double the value rating of gbpvr fo certain! Although, the price/performance is near infinite anyway with a free great product like this. Thank You indeed!
If I'll be able to configure it to my satisfaction and continue to use it, I will make a donation for sure.

Cheers,
Frank

[sub]

The menus etc should perform ok on a PIII class CPU of 1Ghz or higher, which is the recommended minimum. I'm guessing you machine is slower than this? Unfortunately some the libraries I use (GDI+ etc) are not really designed with slow machines in mind, which is why I dont recommend running on a slower machine.

I am aware that this is the minimum requirement for the hardware. However it's a pity that at least the menus aren't a bit faster. If that helps: media portal isn't faster at all...

As I mentioned above, they menus a fine on your typical machines these days, but can be painful on slow machines. This because I chose to use the .net GDI+ graphics library, which is reknowned for being very capable but a bit of pig in terms of CPU requirements. Unfortunately all GB-PVR and all the plugins are built around this, so we wont be changing it now.

The menus are actually really fast and responsive on most machines. You only really start to notice any slow down on really slow CPUs (like the VIA EPIAs).