Help with nPVR & Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 900H

[sooby]

Howdy guys,

I have a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 900H USB DVB-T tuner and I'm trying to get it going with nPVR software.

I've gone thru the nPVR setup, and it seems to have picked up all the channels (even more than our Tivo!) and the program guide OK, but it won't display anything visually - only a black screen. If anyone could take a look at the settings in the link below & point me in the right direction I'd be much obliged!

http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoser...64069_full.jpg

I've gone to the nPVR website and they recommend the following:

Minimum System Requirements

Pentium 4 or AMD 1.4 GHz CPU.
512MB RAM or greater.
A modern video card.
Large Hard Drive for recorded shows and other media.

(optional)

Tuner Card.
Remote control.
IR blaster.

A faster machine may be preferable if you wish to have several processes running at the same time, for example, recording one show while watching another, and then transcoding or running commercial detection processes in the background.
Software Requirements

Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003.
Microsoft .NET Runtime v2.0.
Windows Installer v3.1 or later.
DirectX 9.0c runtimes.
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Runtimes.
Windows Media Player v9 (if running Windows 2000 or some editions of Windows Server).

Most of these support files are kept updated via Windows Update.

The machine I have has the following specs:

Dell Dimension DM061
Intel core 2 cpu
4300 @ 1.8Ghz
1.79GHz, 3.00GB of RAM
Physical Address extension

[KarameaDave]

Well that is 1 page of settings but there are several more, do they gel with the settings in your Hauppauge manual?
Does the pvr software support that device?
Tried other software?
Hauppauge might have their own one.

[sooby]

Cheers KarameaDave,

I bought the Hauppauge tuner second hand without the installation CD, so am not using the winTV software (Hauppauge's bundled software), this is why I'm trying to use the nPVR software instead.

Will check the settings in the Hauppauge manual as a starting point. Will also check the nPVR website to ensure device is supported.

At a glance, can you tell me if the computer specs I have listed meet or exceed the minimum system requirements? To me they do, altho I'm very much a novice so may have missed something important!

[linw]

Firstly, I am puzzled why you haven't registered on the NPVR forums and posted there. Surely, that forum is where the greatest number of experts are.

You will need the MONOGRAM AAC Decoder for the NZ HE-AAC sound. google for the download. The file is mmaacd.ax and needs to be in the GBPVR program folder. I have it in my System32 folder as well.

Your Renderers are same as mine but the Decoders are not. My decoders are:-
MPEG2 Video Microsoft DTV-DVD Video Decoder
H.264 Video "
MPEG1 Audio "
AC3 Audio Disabled
E-AC3 Audio Disabled
AAC Audio Disabled
HE-AAC Audio MONOGRAM AAC Decoder

Your PC specs are fine and that tuner is OK as well.

But, again, use the NPVR forum and their wiki for the most comprehensive info.

[sooby]

Thanks linw,

To be honest, I thought it would be a simple error in my settings that would be easy to pick up on this forum, before needing to sign up to NPVR forums. I've been caught out before with a previous winfast tuner & spent days emailing back & forth to Malaysia/Singapore for tech support, when the fix was simply one setting tweak that a user here posted within minutes! The delay dealing with tech support in another timezone + English isn't their fist language, made coming here first without those problems a no-brainer.

I guess I'll download all the codecs listed in the first post and see if that works, failing that I'll head to the NPVR forums.

[dugimodo]

Yeah almost certainly a codec issue, under windows XP I used to use DVB-player (I think that's the name it's been a while, it was in most early guides when freeview first came out) and had to install Power DVD ultra to get the video working at the time. The symptoms you describe sound exactly like what happened when I didn't have a compatible codec installed.

These days under windows 7 it's easier just to use media centre, it works really well and installs it's own codecs.

Edit; it was DVB Viewer http://www.dvbviewer.com/en/index.php, I even paid for a licence and it worked really well but I don't bother anymore since upgrading to windows 7

[linw]

@dugimodo. Yes, 'fraid I hardly use npvr now as I find the MySky box does the recording and Windows Media Centre is great for the rest. But nPVR sure is a great suite, especially as it is free.

[Agent_24]

When I first started using GB-PVR (before nPVR) I had to do a lot of tweaking with codecs too.

[sooby]

Ok, I found a program thru the nPVR forum that goes thru & updates all relevant decoders. Still getting the black screen tho!

Before I head over to the nPVR forum, hopefully someone here can determine which setting I should be using, as currently I'm just flicking switches randomly with no great result.

Below is my settings tab and the options I have:

RENDERERS:

video renderer:
-EVR
-VMR9
-VMR9 custom
-VMR9 FSE
-VMR7
-Overlay

video renderer:
-Default (recommended)
-SigmaTel audio
-Default DirectSound Device
-Default WaveOut Device
-DirectSound: Modem #0 Line playback (emulated)
-DirectSound: SigmaTel audio
-Modem #0 Line playback

Music renderer:
-Default (recommended)
-SigmaTel audio
-Default DirectSound Device
-Default WaveOut Device
-DirectSound: Modem #0 Line playback (emulated)
-DirectSound: SigmaTel audio
-Modem #0 Line playback


DECODERS:

MPEG2 video:
-disabled
-ffdshow video decoder
-sonic cm(r) ds videodecoder 4.0
-LAV video decoder

H.264 video:
-disabled
-ffdshow DXVA video decoder
-ffdshow video decoder
-LAV video decoder
-emuzed H264 video decoder-filter

MPEG1 audio:
-disabled
-LAV audio decoder
-ffdshow audio decoder
-sonic cinemaster MCE audio decoder
-monogram aac decoder

AC3 audio:
-disabled
-LAV audio decoder
-ffdshow audio decoder
-sonic cinemaster MCE audio decoder

E-AC3 audio:
-disabled
-LAV audio decoder
-ffdshow audio decoder

AAC audio:
-disabled
-LAV audio decoder
-ffdshow audio decoder
-monogram aac decoder
-mpc real audio decoder

HE-AAC audio:
-disabled
-ffdshow audio decoder
-LAV audio decoder
-monogram aac decoder

There is a check box thats ticked below these options that says: Only mapped audio decoders during .ts playback

I also get an error message when I try to change channels of:

Unhandled exception has occured in a component in your application. If you click CONTINUE, the application will ignore this error and attempt to continue. Method not found: 'Boolean NUtility.IPluginHelper.PlayLiveTVPIP [NUtility.Channel]

then it only gives options of details & continue.