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Hauppauge HD-PVR Support

Beyond TV 4.9 introduces "beta" level support for the HD-PVR. At release time, we are still experiencing issues with the device and playback of its files that prevent us from fully supporting it.
The issues fall in three major categories:

1. Hardware reliability: over weeks of testing, in-house data suggests the HD-PVR hardware randomly will stall and require a reset. We are providing data to Hauppauge to assist with identifying and fixing the problem.


2. Video Playback: The Transport Stream h.264 video output by the HD-PVR is a new file type that not all decoders correctly support. There are issues with seeking (like fast forward and skipping), resolution switching and channel changing. We suggest trying both the included SnapStream h.264 Video Decoder along with the ArcSoft decoder from Total Media Extreme, which is included on HD-PVR device driver CD. This setting is accessible in the Beyond TV ViewScape under Settings - Playback Settings - Preferred h.264 Decoder. Also, Placeshifting of HD-PVR recordings at this moment is not supported.


3. Video Post Processing: ShowSqueeze and SmartChapters will not run automatically against HD-PVR created files in 4.9. Testing shows these files will almost certainly hang while processing. You may execute jobs manually through the Viewscape and Web admin. In order to turn the automatic processing back on, modify these settings in the Settings.xml file located in :
   
   
   • Windows XP - c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SnapStream\Beyond TV\
   
   
   • Windows Vista - c:\ProgramData\SnapStream\Beyond TV\
   
   In order to make these changes, please make sure Beyond TV is completely shut down. Right click on the Beyond TV icon in the system tray by the clock and then choose Exit. Once Beyond TV is completely shut down, open the Settings.xml file with an XML Editor and then modify these settings.
   
   
   • 'EnableHDPVRAutoSmartChapter' - default '0' ; option is '1'
     
     Once this setting is enabled, Beyond TV will attempt to run SmartSkip automatically on the HD-PVR recordings.
   
   
   • 'EnableHDPVRAutoShowSqueeze' - default '0' ; option is '1'
     
     Once this setting is enabled, Beyond TV will attempt to automatically ShowSqueeze the HD-PVR recordings. Remember, the HD-PVR recordings are h.264 inside a Transport Stream container, therefore if you are ShowSqueezing to h.264 to archive, there isn't a point to do that. ShowSqueezeing to h.264 is probably only useful if you were to ShowSqueeze the recording for an iPod device.
   
   
   • 'UseArcSoftForHDPVR' - default '1' ; option is '0'
     
     Enabled by default, Beyond TV's post processing tasks uses the 'ArcSoft h.264 Video Decoder' to perform all the post processing tasks on HD-PVR recordings. When you disable this setting, it will use the default SnapStream Decoder to perform the post processing tasks.

Note: In Beyond TV 4.9.3, the HD-PVR has to be setup via the Web Admin, there is a current issue that will lock the setup wizard when you are selecting the audio source for the HD-PVR. Please look at this article on how to setup the HD-PVR in Beyond TV 4.9.3.

As soon as more information becomes available about the Hauppauge HD-PVR, this article will be updated. In order to keep apprised of the updates to Beyond TV, we recommend that you sign up for the newsletter by completing the form at:

http://www.snapstream.com/Community/newsL_Sign_Up.asp

If you have any further questions or need assistance, please submit a ticket to technical support here.