Topic: Hauppauge Colossus tv card (Read 31134 times)

crawfofd · « **on:** September 17, 2014, 05:07:00 pm »

I have a colossus tv card in my system and have output from my comcast hdmi port going to it. It works perfectly with WinTv 7 and sagetv, but can not get it to work with JRiver Media Center. I get no video or audio. When I select a station it goes out and transmits a ir signal, it does not change the channel but that is because it is sending to many codes.
MC sees my card. It lets me configure it. It even learns my ir codes using usb-uirt. It does a channel scan no problem.
Ive looked on the forum and I have tried I think all that I can find that pertains to the colossus card. I have tried all the settings in the Crossbar setting. It seems that should be a hdmi input but I do not see it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yaobing · « **Reply #1 on:** September 18, 2014, 10:54:12 am »

Have you tried to play the device's input channel directly in MC? Find a "channel" like "YRYBY Hauppauge ...", or "Composite Hauppauge ...", etc., and try play it. The exact text depends on your device (as I do not remember exactly what they are for the Colossus), as well as on the input connection you use. Then independently change channel on the set-top-box. Do you still get nothing on screen this way?

crawfofd · « **Reply #2 on:** September 18, 2014, 11:06:55 am »

I will try that right now and let you know, Thanks for reply.

mojave · « **Reply #3 on:** September 18, 2014, 11:10:19 am »

You can't use the IR Blaster that comes with the Colossus. It took me a while to figure that out. You need to use an MCE compatible USB IR transmitter.

The HDMI input on the Colossus shows up as SerialDigital or something like that in JRiver.

crawfofd · « **Reply #4 on:** September 18, 2014, 11:30:35 am »

I played the file coming from the colossus and it works fine. So thats working. It is just when I use the guide it seems to not work.

crawfofd · « **Reply #5 on:** September 18, 2014, 11:31:37 am »

Thanks, mojave I'll try that after I get the video working.

Yaobing · « **Reply #6 on:** September 18, 2014, 12:52:31 pm »

Quote from: crawfofd on September 18, 2014, 11:30:35 am

I played the file coming from the colossus and it works fine. So thats working. It is just when I use the guide it seems to not work.

Are you saying that you are able to play "SerialDigital Hauppauge Colossus..." channel and see the video that feeds into the Colossus from your STB?

crawfofd · « **Reply #7 on:** September 18, 2014, 06:44:45 pm »

[Solved]
Yaobing, Thanks for your reply.

[Are you saying that you are able to play "SerialDigital Hauppauge Colossus..." channel and see the video that feeds into the Colossus from your STB?]
Yes you were correct.

The problem has been solved. I decided to remove and reload mc20. I dont know if that had anything to do with it but when I set up the tv portion I first configured the colossus card and then the ceton infinitv 4 card. Everything seems to be working properly now. The only problem I have is that the remote will not change the channels correctly. It is sending 11155552222 for 152, most of the time. Sometimes it sends 1115552222. It is not consistant, but it never is correct. I am using a USB-UIRT device.

I haven't tried configuring the ATSC OTA from the Hdhomerun yet. I want to get the other two completely configured. Any help on the remote would be appreciated.

Yaobing · « **Reply #8 on:** September 18, 2014, 07:05:04 pm »

I will have to test the IR blaster myself. I ordered an USB-UIRT device and have not received it yet. Once I receive it I will look into why it is not blasting the right code.

crawfofd · « **Reply #9 on:** September 18, 2014, 09:09:41 pm »

Is there a way to manually put the ir codes in? Are they stored in the database to?

Yaobing · « **Reply #10 on:** September 18, 2014, 09:24:42 pm »

They are stored in the registry, but not easy to edit.

RoderickGI · « **Reply #11 on:** September 19, 2014, 12:58:37 am »

Quote from: crawfofd on September 18, 2014, 06:44:45 pm

It is sending 11155552222 for 152, most of the time. Sometimes it sends 1115552222. It is not consistant, but it never is correct. I am using a USB-UIRT device.

That just looks like the repeat time for the remote isn't working right. Have you tried different settings in Options > Remote Control > Devices & Options > Anti-repeat time (ms)?

It could be the blaster repeat. I haven't used one so don't know if there is a setting for repeat on it.

crawfofd · « **Reply #12 on:** September 21, 2014, 08:29:47 am »

I have tried to change the repeat time out but it does not do any good. It seems like the codes are being randomly generated.

crawfofd · « **Reply #13 on:** September 30, 2014, 09:27:01 pm »

Yaobing,
Any update to the usb-uirt problem yet?
Also you never answered me about the global itach flex, is it possible to have MC send to the set top box using the flex??

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Yaobing · « **Reply #14 on:** October 01, 2014, 09:20:17 am »

Sorry, no I have no update yet. I am bogged down by other issues.

crawfofd · « **Reply #15 on:** October 01, 2014, 09:29:39 am »

Thanks for you post.

Yaobing · « **Reply #16 on:** October 09, 2014, 05:47:35 pm »

I made a change today (will appear in a new build in the next few days) so MC will use a different data format for USB-UIRT IR emitter data learned and fired. It is supposed to be more reliable.

That said, I actually found out why I was having trouble getting MC to learn the codes. I spent half a day a couple of days ago trying to get MC to learn IR code without success, until I replaced the batteries in the remote control. The lesson learned: IR code learning requires strong signal from the remote control. Even if the remote control can control your set top box with a set of weak batteries, you should make sure you have good batteries when you attempt IR code learning.

Regarding the issue of the code being repeated multiple times when it is blasted, I could not find anything that we did wrong. I communicated with Jon Rhees (the maker of the device) via email about the developer API. Everything seems to be straight forward. After the codes were learned successfully with a new set of batteries, the issue is rarely seen. On very rare occasions, I got repeated blast when the emitter is placed too close to the receiver window of the STB. So my guess is maybe the signal gets reflected back from the receiver and then reflected again by the emitter toward the receiver. Another possibility is that weak signal during learning caused the incorrect code to be recorded.

So here are my suggestions:

Make sure you use a new set of batteries. When doing learning, place the remote control 1 to 4 inches from the device receiver window.
Make sure you do not put the emitter too close after all codes are learned - it should be at least a foot away, and there are not other objects that may act as reflectors in the area. And experiment with positioning of the emitter.

RoderickGI · « **Reply #17 on:** October 09, 2014, 06:50:21 pm »

Quote from: Yaobing on October 09, 2014, 05:47:35 pm

Make sure you use a new set of batteries. When doing learning, place the remote control 1 to 4 inches from the device receiver window.

Harmony recommend 2 to 4 inches separation between sending device and receiving device when learning commands. I always found it worked better at 4 inches. Too close is just as bad as too far away.

But yes, fresh batteries always helps!

crawfofd · « **Reply #18 on:** October 09, 2014, 07:35:56 pm »

I will try it with fresh batteries and try it at different locations. I do have to say thought I have two other programs that learn the codes with no problems.

Would it be possible to have the learning process learn it once and then do it again and have it check against the first one to verify that it is good. Also I think some remotes cycle through two separate codes. Just throwing some thoughts out there.

RoderickGI · « **Reply #19 on:** October 10, 2014, 06:34:56 am »

Again, with Harmony they recommend holding the button on the sending device so that the code is repeated. While in learning mode the receiving device, being the Harmony, looks for the repeated cycle and works out from that what the single button press code is, only reporting success when it has a unique code repeated some number of times.

The code is both read and verified at the same time when this method is used, as an identical code must be received multiple times before the new code is accepted.

crawfofd · « **Reply #20 on:** October 14, 2014, 11:17:36 am »

Ok still not working, I've tried everyway to get the remote to work with usb-uirt but no joy. New batteries, every 1,2 3,4 5 inches away from device. It repeatedly adds numbers ( 2 is 2222). This is a consistant behavior. Again I have two other programs that have no problem learning the codes from my remote to the usb-uirt. Does anyone have a solution. It pretty much makes my set top box useless if I can not change the channel.

Yaobing · « **Reply #21 on:** October 14, 2014, 12:24:11 pm »

Quote from: crawfofd on October 14, 2014, 11:17:36 am

Ok still not working, I've tried everyway to get the remote to work with usb-uirt but no joy. New batteries, every 1,2 3,4 5 inches away from device. It repeatedly adds numbers ( 2 is 2222). This is a consistant behavior. Again I have two other programs that have no problem learning the codes from my remote to the usb-uirt. Does anyone have a solution. It pretty much makes my set top box useless if I can not change the channel.

Do you use the emitter from the main device window, or an external one plugged into the jack?
How far do you place the emitter from your STB?

crawfofd · « **Reply #22 on:** October 14, 2014, 01:26:18 pm »

Ive used the main device window and the external, neither works. As I keep repeating myself I have two other programs that work fine with the same settings. It should not matter if your blasting the code at the device or selectively putting an emiter on it. Is there some kind of log to look at. How can we find out what is being learned and what is being sent. There must be some kind of tool or something to use to troubleshoot?

Yaobing · « **Reply #23 on:** October 14, 2014, 01:40:33 pm »

Please wait for the next release of MC.

crawfofd · « **Reply #24 on:** October 15, 2014, 12:28:10 pm »

Tried the new version of MC. (20.0.25). Usb-uirt still not working properly. It does seem to be better. It seems to be more consistent with only creating double of the number. ( 2 = 22, 5=55, 152=115522). Also xfinity(comcast) requires a return at the end of inputting numbers, there is no option to add that.

All and all getting closer, but still not working. ( Want you to know I am very appreciative of your efforts. )

Yaobing · « **Reply #25 on:** October 15, 2014, 02:47:49 pm »

Code for each button is saved in the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 20\Plugins\RemoteControl\AVLink\USB-UUIRT port 1

(or port 2, or port 3, depending on which port you use). In this key there are 15 entries, some of which are not relevant. If you double click an entry, and then press Ctrl+C, you can copy the content. It should look like the following:

Code: [Select]

<JRAVLINK version="1.0">
<Item Name="Protocol">MC IRBlast</Item>
<Item Name="Name">Set-top Box Number 4</Item>
<Item Name="Description"/>
<Item Name="Function">Set-top Box Number 4</Item>
<Item Name="IsDiscrete">0</Item>
<Item Name="Data">&lt;JRIR version="1.0"&gt;
&lt;Item Name="RemotePlugin"/&gt;
&lt;Item Name="IRData"&gt;0000 006B 0012 0012 0008 0023 0008 0044 0008 001E 0008 006F 0008 0033 0008 0033 0008 002E 0008 0069 0008 01FA 0008 0023 0008 0059 0008 001E 0008 001E 0008 001E 0008 0033 0008 001E 0008 001E 0008 0C6D 0008 0023 0008 0044 0008 001E 0008 006F 0008 0034 0008 0034 0008 002E 0008 0069 0008 01FA 0008 0023 0008 002E 0008 0049 0008 001E 0008 001E 0008 0034 0008 001E 0008 001E 0008 0C6D&lt;/Item&gt;
&lt;Item Name="PortIndex"&gt;-1&lt;/Item&gt;
&lt;Item Name="CarrierFrequency"&gt;-1&lt;/Item&gt;
&lt;Item Name="BlastCommandName"/&gt;
&lt;/JRIR&gt;</Item>
<Item Name="DataSource">Learning</Item>
</JRAVLINK>

The IRData part is what has been learned and saved. I can not tell what those numbers mean. Everything is supposed to be shielded within the driver. Whatever the driver gives during the learning process is what we save in the registry.

Yaobing · « **Reply #26 on:** October 15, 2014, 02:50:12 pm »

My Comcast STBs never require pressing Enter key to change channels

, it is only optional.

I will add the enter key as part of the learning wizard, and add an option to fire it after the channel number.

Yaobing · « **Reply #27 on:** October 15, 2014, 04:02:38 pm »

crawfofd, how do you generally access a TV channel inside MC? By choosing a program and click Watch? By directly double-clicking an entry in the channels list in Standard view? By using a remote control to enter a channel number?

crawfofd · « **Reply #28 on:** October 15, 2014, 04:11:47 pm »

Thanks Yaobing for the info. I used your process and my ir code looks nothing like yours.

Code: [Select]

<JRAVLINK version="1.0">
<Item Name="Protocol">MC IRBlast</Item>
<Item Name="Name">Set-top Box Number 0</Item>
<Item Name="Description"/>
<Item Name="Function">Set-top Box Number 0</Item>
<Item Name="IsDiscrete">0</Item>
<Item Name="Data">&lt;JRIR version="1.0"&gt;
&lt;Item Name="RemotePlugin"/&gt;
&lt;Item Name="IRData"&gt;0000 006D 0000 0000&lt;/Item&gt;
&lt;Item Name="PortIndex"&gt;-1&lt;/Item&gt;
&lt;Item Name="CarrierFrequency"&gt;-1&lt;/Item&gt;
&lt;Item Name="BlastCommandName"/&gt;
&lt;/JRIR&gt;</Item>
<Item Name="DataSource">Learning</Item>
</JRAVLINK>

I will try some other remotes and see how they look. Do you know it the code is pronto or hex?

My STB is for the xfinity system and what happens is it does a search as you press the numbers so it does not know when you are done it justs waits for you to hit enter to let it know your done.

I will do some more testing on the remotes and compare the outputs then re-post. Thanks again for your quick response.

crawfofd · « **Reply #29 on:** October 15, 2014, 04:18:25 pm »

Yaobing, I am currently in the setup stage. I am not actively using MC other then testing. I am in the process of converting from sagetv to MC, but until I get it stable I will still use SageTV.

To answer your question, The only thing I use the STB for is encrypted recording/viewing. I would normally just select it from within the guide. Most of the time it will be scheduled ahead and just recorded. I have a ceton infinity 4 and hdhomerun dual that I use for normal unencrypted stations. Those both work great and I just use gizmo or eos as a remote. ( I like eos for viewing live tv)

Hope that answers your question.

Yaobing · « **Reply #30 on:** October 15, 2014, 04:46:33 pm »

The code is pronto.

crawfofd · « **Reply #31 on:** October 15, 2014, 06:15:34 pm »

Yaobing,

Okay here is the testing that I have done. I have a program 'lrnhelper' which reads codes from the remote, then transmits it through the usb-uirt. Using my remote I have successfully learned and transmitted codes to my STB using this process. I found out that once I held the key long enough the codes in regedit seem to be correct. I copied these codes from the registry to lrnhelp then transmitted them and it worked perfectly.

So it looks like the learning process is working properly. The problem is in the transmission. I thinking it might be the delay between sent codes. I have tried to set it differently in the Anti-repeat time under 'Devices & Options', but it always stays at Automatic. Could this be the problem or does it always default to Automatic when you go to 'Devices & Options' under remotes.

Let me know

Yaobing · « **Reply #32 on:** October 15, 2014, 06:55:20 pm »

The settings there is not used when you watch TV.

Tomorrow I will make a build so the values can be changed by changing it in the registry. You can then do some more testing.

crawfofd · « **Reply #33 on:** October 16, 2014, 07:31:56 am »

Thanks Yaobing, I'll be looking for it.

Yaobing · « **Reply #34 on:** October 16, 2014, 01:20:49 pm »

Here we go -

Download this zip file:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/il5u1za41woxhv4/Media%20Center%2020%20Plus%20RC.zip?dl=0

Unzip it and copy -

Media Center 20.exe to MC20 installation folder;
rc_main.dll to Plugins subfolder.

Run MC20 and play an STB channel once.

Now open registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 20\TV Settings\Shared
and find "STB IR Blast Repeat Count" and "STB Number IR Delay MS".

Try changing either or both values (independently). In your case you probably want to reduce them.

crawfofd · « **Reply #35 on:** October 16, 2014, 05:25:36 pm »

Yaobing, your a genius. It worked perfectly. All I had to do was change one parameter.

Changed 'STB IR Blast Repeat Count' from 'a' to 5.
I tried using various numbers, under 4 does not work at all. '6' doubles (115522), 'a' quads (111155552222). So that variable definately works. Now the only problem is I couldn't actually change the channel with out a 'enter' or in my case with the xr2 remote 'ok'.

So what is the plan now. will this be a feature in the setup?

Again great work. Let me know about the 'Enter' key.......

Thanks

Yaobing · « **Reply #36 on:** October 16, 2014, 07:55:18 pm »

I will add these two numbers as part of IR emitter configuration. They have to be on per emitter basis (because it is the STB that dictates the values).

I will also add Enter/Select/OK, whatever it is called.

crawfofd · « **Reply #37 on:** October 16, 2014, 08:52:19 pm »

Thanks Yaobing. Will test it when it becomes available.

crawfofd · « **Reply #38 on:** October 17, 2014, 02:16:19 pm »

Yaobing, updated to 20.0.26. Unless there is something I'm missing or doing wrong it is broken again. It is back to doing doubles (152 is 115522) and so on.

Went to 'Setup IR Emitter for STB channels' and re-learned codes. Then went to Television -> Advanced -> Edit channel list and made sure all STB channels were pointing to right port on usb-uirt.

Also tried the regedit and changing values, but that did nothing at all. I assume it was disabled with the new update.

Anyway no joy on 20.0.26 update.

Will await further instructions/help.

crawfofd · « **Reply #39 on:** October 17, 2014, 02:17:56 pm »

Yaobing, just want to mention that there was no 'enter/select/ok' to configure. Didn't know if it had been put in yet so thought I would remind just in case.

Yaobing · « **Reply #40 on:** October 17, 2014, 06:05:59 pm »

Quote from: crawfofd on October 17, 2014, 02:17:56 pm

Yaobing, just want to mention that there was no 'enter/select/ok' to configure. Didn't know if it had been put in yet so thought I would remind just in case.

You are right. I was not fast enough to get it in build 26.

Yaobing · « **Reply #41 on:** October 17, 2014, 07:19:32 pm »

Please try this again:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/il5u1za41woxhv4/Media%20Center%2020%20Plus%20RC.zip?dl=0

crawfofd · « **Reply #42 on:** October 17, 2014, 10:18:31 pm »

Yaobing, Just a quick post to let you know I loaded the two files and everything seems to be working great.
Your IR setup now covers everything needed to perform any task. I have just done some simple testing so I will do more tomorrow, but wanted you to know that it looks good so far.

Thanks for all the hard work getting this going.

imeric · « **Reply #43 on:** December 07, 2014, 04:07:03 pm »

Every now and then I play around the TV features in MC to see if I can consider abandoning Sage...I definitely see a lot of improvements are being made this is great!!!

A few I noticed:

1. Now showing the program title & description on the Onscreen Display
2. Ability to have favorite channels for specific cards. Very nice but in my case what I would require is ALSO the opposite where you can tell some cards not to try to access certain channels as ATSC cards are not all made equal. (Some are more sensitive and pickup more channels, some others don't) This option for me is a must to do the switch.... Unless MC does it automatically after a scan per card? Yaobbing last time I checked and asked you said this was not possible and they were all taking the same pool of channels except for the Colossus..)
3. IR Blaster config is a whole lot better thx for that!
3. My Colossus card no longer seems to work I get the following error message: No Television Tuner is available to fulfill your request...I tried a reboot, Sage TV server is Off and I know the card is not being used by other programs. Does it now get confused with my 3 other ATSC cards? (Same setup worked fine with MC19 a few months back......) I don't want to go through re installing MC to see if this would fix it..Not worth it for me at this stage...

Thanks for the help!!

It's getting closer and closer but Sage TV is still my preferred choice for TV watching and recording. I would love to use JRiver for all my needs eventually...

Yaobing · « **Reply #44 on:** December 08, 2014, 11:54:16 am »

Quote from: imeric on December 07, 2014, 04:07:03 pm

3. My Colossus card no longer seems to work I get the following error message: No Television Tuner is available to fulfill your request...I tried a reboot, Sage TV server is Off and I know the card is not being used by other programs. Does it now get confused with my 3 other ATSC cards? (Same setup worked fine with MC19 a few months back......) I don't want to go through re installing MC to see if this would fix it..Not worth it for me at this stage...

What do you use the Colossus for? Do you see it in the list of devices at Tools > Options > Television > Devices?

A recent change required some channels be rescanned. These channels have device names embedded in the channel parameters. The channels affected include STB channels and the device input channels (component, composite, SVideo, etc.) both of which can be associated with the Colossus. You need to delete those channels and redo scanning.

imeric · « **Reply #45 on:** December 10, 2014, 10:54:32 am »

Yes I see it.
I use it with a Satellite Box using the Component In.
I'll start first by trying to find these channels and delete them.
Do I really need a scan with a satellite box that has about 1000 channels?

I'll report back when I try this thx!

Yaobing · « **Reply #46 on:** December 10, 2014, 02:04:35 pm »

With STB, channel "scanning" does not really scan the receiver for channels. MC uses Guide data to populate channels. You have to redo the procedure because we added an extra identifier to the device name, in order to distinguish identical devices on the same machine.

imeric · « **Reply #47 on:** December 11, 2014, 09:04:27 am »

Got it. I'll try this tonight and report back.

Yaobing does it also mean that if I do a scan for my 3 ATSC cards, MC will know which cards can't tune in some channels and ignore them? (My point 2. in my previous post?)

Thx!!

Yaobing · « **Reply #48 on:** December 11, 2014, 10:09:27 am »

No. For ATSC channels, all tuners are treated the same, except that we follow the custom ordering of the tuners, and we try to use preferred tuner if available.

imeric · « **Reply #49 on:** December 11, 2014, 02:52:33 pm »

Any workarounds then for my point 2 above?
Here it is again:
2. Ability to have favorite channels for specific cards. Very nice but in my case what I would require is ALSO the opposite where you can tell some cards not to try to access certain channels as ATSC cards are not all made equal. (Some are more sensitive and pickup more channels, some others don't) This option for me is a must to do the switch.... Unless MC does it automatically after a scan per card? Yaobbing last time I checked and asked you said this was not possible and they were all taking the same pool of channels except for the Colossus..)

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Author Topic: Hauppauge Colossus tv card (Read 31134 times)