PVR250 Scheduler probs

[mats.hogberg]

OK, Got my Hauppage PVR250 working quite nicely, but for one thing: When I use the Scheduler, WinTV2000 starts when its supposed to, but hangs at the splash screen - It just sits there, doing nothing more! If I check with the task manager, it's process is listed, and is "Running" (not "Not responding") but the only thing I can do is to stop it. Any bright ideas? Like alternative schedulers, or where I can tweak some scheduler settings, or...
Before anyone suggests updates, I've already got the latest versions of every related Hauppage software downloaded and installed.
One thing that might affect matters, is that the WinTV software is installed in "c:\program\" but I've then moved "default programs dir" to "d:\program". Didn't try the scheduler before I made this change, so I can't tell if this is the source of my problems.

TIA!

/Mats

[hudsonf]

I have a Hauppage PVR250 on my system but only ran WinTV2000 long enough to try it . I use BeyondTV 3 and get great results. It has a trial version. You can also try SageTV. Moving the default program directory may be the reason WinTV2000 is not working. Have you tried uninstalling it and reinstalling it to your D drive?

[mats.hogberg]

No, haven't tried that, but that will be the next step. It isn't that WinTV2000 doesn't work - it does if I start it by hand. It's just when the scheduler starts it that WinTV2000 stops at the splash screen.

Thanks!
/Mats

[julio]

hi mate had the same problem with my pvr 350 ,go to prgrams win tv there you should find (primary)select this and set to 'allow overlay'mine works great now ,what a superb card im really pleased especially after the pinnacle crap i had before,enjoy

[hudsonf]

I agree, these are superb cards. I still like and use my ATI Card but not as much as I use to. With my Hauppage PVR250 card I can capture and use my computer at the same time and I don't have to worry about dropped frames.

[mats.hogberg]

find (primary)select this and set to 'allow overlay'mine works great now

So you mean it wouldnt work using as Hauppage recommends - hold, I'll try, first using the new install dir and "allow VMR":
Nope no go.
Switching to "allow overlay": YES! It works! Why wasn't that documented in a Hauppage FAQ?
But where is the captured file!?!
Ah, got to check the "Save to file" box too!

Thanks mate, you saved my day!

/Mats

[diven]

I like my PVR250, but I've had some strange problems with the scheduler and WinTV as well. For me, sometimes the mute option would not work (which scared my wife once when it kicked on in the middle of the night), and a similar splash-screen lockup like the one you describe, but only if the screensaver was on when the scheduler kicked off WinTV (even with overlay turned on). And the application doesn't quit when the show is over, which I find annoying. It is also a bit of a CPU hog due to the software decoding of the MPEG stream for display.

I'm glad the overlay option worked for you, however you may want to consider switching to WinTVCap http://wintvcap.sourceforge.net/.

This free third-party application will record from the PVR250/350 without creating a window - it just copies the MPEG stream to your hard drive. And since it doesn't display the video, it doesn't take up nearly as much CPU resources. The only notification you'll get that it is running is an icon in your system tray.

The setup could be easier (you have to edit INI files to choose the directory and MPEG type), but since it accepts the same command line options as the WinTV application, it can be used with the Hauppauge scheduler. Just replace your wintv.exe with this file and use the scheduler as normal. It even works with record button in the TitanTV program listings.

Of course if you plan on watching the show as it is recorded, it won't be much help. I kept the original wintv.exe file around under a different name for the times I want to watch TV instead of record.

You can find some additional information about this and other software for the 250/350 in the WinTV PVR forum here http://www.shspvr.com/forum/index.php

diven.

[mats.hogberg]

Thanks for the info, diven! I'm sure gonna add wintvcap to my ever growing tool kit! Like you say, it's just to rename original WinTV exe - but then again, the IR app won't work, will it? Or maybe it can be tweaked too, to start something with another name (or create a .bat file that launces original WinTV if there are no command line params and WinTVCap if there is!)

/Mats

[diven]

Mats,

Sorry, I don't use the IR app, so I never considered what would happen. Seems like your batch file idea might work though. If it is a problem, you could not replace WinTV with WinTVCap and instead use an alternate scheduler like WinTVCapStart. The interface isn't as nice as the Hauppague scheduler, but it might work well for you.

Everyone's situation is different. For me, the priority was to get rid of the overhead of WinTV when recording, allow recording with a screensaver, and to get it to work with TitanTV (so my wife could easily schedule things). But at least now you have a couple new tools to customize things to your liking.

Good luck!

diven.