Hauppauge Win-TV DCR-2650 in Settings>Devices : 'No' under 'Present' column

[Jim Dale]

Help! I've dug for weeks and cannot find anyone else running into this.
I record & watch all my TV via WMC, but since it is going away (Win10), I need to prepare for using other paths.
I have two Hauppauge Win-TV DCR-2650 that work perfectly under WMC.
NextPVR detects them OK (and even shows the channels before scanning), yet under Settings > Devices I get 'No' under the 'Present' column.
It, of course, cannot connect to them.
I have tried uninstalling & re-installing NextPVR, the Hauppauge WinTV7 & WinTV8 software, etc. in every imaginable order, but nothing works.
I have the latest device drivers, etc.
I also make sure I do not start WMC since the last reboot when attempting this (so as to not lock either device).
If I try to do a Channel-Scan on either of those (Present:'No') tuner devices, the window does nothing and when I try to exit, I get some error-window that I cannot escape w/out shutting NextPVR off via Task Manager.
(Endless loop: Close-error-window>Try-to-exit-scan-window>Error-window-again>Close-error-window>Try-to-exit-... etc. forever)
I've lost track of all the 'fixes' I've seen in forums that just don't work on my problem. (Win7 Pro, kept totally up-to-date)

What am I doing wrong?
Thanks.

[mvallevand]

Since you are scanning are you looking for QAM or ATSC by any chance? I think NextPVR only supports CableCard on these boxes.

Martin

[BrettB]

Did you install the SiliconDust software for the HDHomeRun Prime? (http://download.silicondust.com/hdhomeru...indows.exe)

The Hauppauge Win-TV DCR-2650 is basically a rebranded device actually made by SiliconDust, and NextPVR uses a program from the HDHomeRun software install to communicate with the DCR-2650.

[Jim Dale]

Did you install the SiliconDust software for the HDHomeRun Prime? (http://download.silicondust.com/hdhomeru...indows.exe)

The Hauppauge Win-TV DCR-2650 is basically a rebranded device actually made by SiliconDust, and NextPVR uses a program from the HDHomeRun software install to communicate with the DCR-2650.

Brett, I tried that earlier in the game ... but the HDHomeRun software was just a pink elephant ... can't do anything itself w/out their hardware.
I read the same suggestion somewhere else and felt like a real fool when I learned what HDHomeRun was (for me, redundant hardware that I don't have and don't need because I already have Hauppauge hardware & vast available storage, much of it SSDs, to do all the same things it does).
Actually, I could get it to work as far as video goes ... but it refuses to work audio ... which in my case is HD fet to my 60" TV which is my monitor.
Does their software (w/out the hardware) really serve a purpose on it's own?

Thank you for the info.
I will try it again ... especially since other things are different from when I first tried.
One possibly major thing is I've since added the Hauppauge WinTV7 and now WinTV8 software ... which I never needed with WMC (neither 7 nor 8).
(Oooooh it's a crying loss that they're dropping WMC. It's like discontinuing Ice Cream or Game of Thrones or the Internet or ...)
I wish there was something written up on all these dependencies.
Thanks!

[Jim Dale]

Since you are scanning are you looking for QAM or ATSC by any chance? I think NextPVR only supports CableCard on these boxes.

Martin

Martin, I forget which code is which (QAM vs ATSC), but to answer your question ... I use them with CableCards on Comcast (and they rob me blind for each of those two cards!).
The last time I checked, everything on our Comcast was encoded (so I could no longer use my Hauppauge 2550, which don't work with CableCards).
Both these double-tuners (4 channels total) works great in WMC (Windows Media Center) ... including access to HBO, etc.

I almost never watch TV live ... it's always recordings, so I can skip past the commercials and watch them at my leisure.
I'm super pleased with how WMC automatically knows when to record the shows and even tries again if the signal happened to be bad at the time and it's a show that repeats (like on HBO, etc.).
Thank you for the reply!

[mikeh49]

If Comcast really marks channels as copy never or copy once, rather than copy freely, then NPVR won't be able to see or record these channels. MS has paid the licensing fees for WMC to have the digital copy protection. The fees are prohibitive for a donation-ware like NPVR. Best thing would be to see if someone in your area is successfully using the DCR/HD Homerun cable card tuner on Comcast.

There is a difference between clear QAM and copy protection. Until last year, local broadcast channels were available as clear QAM, i.e., unencrypted. The rules changed, so now that is a thing of the past and you need a cable card to unencrypt. The copy protection is another layer. My cableco has all the channels that I subscribe to copy freely; I don't get HBO, Showtime, etc. I use the HD Homerun Prime with a cable card.

[BrettB]

Brett, I tried that earlier in the game ... but the HDHomeRun software was just a pink elephant ... can't do anything itself w/out their hardware.
I read the same suggestion somewhere else and felt like a real fool when I learned what HDHomeRun was (for me, redundant hardware that I don't have and don't need because I already have Hauppauge hardware & vast available storage, much of it SSDs, to do all the same things it does).
Actually, I could get it to work as far as video goes ... but it refuses to work audio ... which in my case is HD fet to my 60" TV which is my monitor.
Does their software (w/out the hardware) really serve a purpose on it's own?

Yes, their software (with or without their hardware) is required for NextPVR to be able to access and control the Hauppauge DCR-2650! Note: You don't actually run any of their programs. And, as you found, most of their software won't allow access to/list the DCR-2650 devices. But there is one particular program in the software which NextPVR uses and is required.

[JJTraxx]

I have my Hauppauge wintv dcr 2650 working well with nextpvr. You do need the HD home run installed. I just set my system up this week. The wintv is a joint effort with Hauppauge and silicondustsilicon dust.

[Jim Dale]

If Comcast really marks channels as copy never or copy once, rather than copy freely, then NPVR won't be able to see or record these channels. MS has paid the licensing fees for WMC to have the digital copy protection. The fees are prohibitive for a donation-ware like NPVR. Best thing would be to see if someone in your area is successfully using the DCR/HD Homerun cable card tuner on Comcast.

There is a difference between clear QAM and copy protection. Until last year, local broadcast channels were available as clear QAM, i.e., unencrypted. The rules changed, so now that is a thing of the past and you need a cable card to unencrypt. The copy protection is another layer. My cableco has all the channels that I subscribe to copy freely; I don't get HBO, Showtime, etc. I use the HD Homerun Prime with a cable card.

Mikeh49, The problem I'm having is on the Settings>Device screen ... where the column marked 'Present' shows 'No' for both tuners. It cannot or will not connect with the device. The cable service terms for recording, etc. are much further down the road. It's like you can't worry about you gas mileage if your car doesn't yet exist.

On WMC, the HBO channels, for example, have that copy protection, and it reminds me so (with a little note the the side when I look at the pgm info). I can still record them, but I cannot copy those recordings to another machine. For example, I had hundreds of pgms recorded when I installed a new SSD and installed a fresh new Win7 on it (as my old one on an old SSD was getting senile). I keep everything on separate drives (only Windows on the C drive) ... my G: for General applications, D: for Documents, E: for Email, I: for temp Internet files, etc. and a few other larger drives for HD recordings. So ... My new Win7 installation could still reference all my other drives that the old Win7 had used. I could watch almost all the recordings I'd made under the old Win7 ... EXCEPT for those off of HBO, etc. because it recognized that my OS was different from the one that recorded it and so it enforced that copy protection. If I wanted to watch those HBO recordings, I'd have to boot up to the old Win7 from where they were recorded. Likewise, those I'd recorded on the new Win7 OS could only be watched under that OS and not on the older one. Most of the channels, however, have no copy protection so I could watch them on either OS regardless of which one they were recorded on.
Thank you for replying.

[Jim Dale]

I have my Hauppauge wintv dcr 2650 working well with nextpvr. You do need the HD home run installed. I just set my system up this week. The wintv is a joint effort with Hauppauge and silicondustsilicon dust.

JJTraxx, That's what BrettB was saying ... so you both have me convinced that that's what I need to do. If it doesn't work this time ... well, I'll post the results either way. Another odd thing, though, is that the Hauppauge WinTV7 & WinTV8 software will act like the devices are OK in the setup, yet I cannot tune into them. It just says it can't connect. I was able to use WinTV7 years ago (but never needed it, with WMC) but now I can't. I cannot imagine that the Hauppauge WinTV7 and WinTV8 are now also dependent on the SiliconDust software ... especially in the absence of it's intended hardware (the HDHomeRun). I cannot find anything stating that all these dependencies between different companies' devices exist. Dang, I wish they'd just come out and tell us about all these dependencies! Thanks for the reply.

One more question: Do I need a special version (ie Prime) of the HDHomeRun software for this?