New beta firmware candidate for InfiniTV tuners available

[soapdishbandit]

It doesn't look like I've ever mentioned this, there's a new feature in this firmware release. While we aren't aware of any issues with it (and I'm watching TV using it right now), you should consider this feature experimental/unsupported with minimal testing done. Additionally, multicast traffic can be complex for a number of reasons - this is not an officially supported feature at this time. If you're looking to use (many) InfiniTV tuners in a commercial environment, please ping me about a potential support agreement for this/other features.

Multicast video streaming
The InfiniTV now supports multicast video streaming. This can allow multiple PCs (or other devices) to watch the same channel, using an application such as VLC, using a single tuner.

CAVEATS:
Channel must be Copy Freely or ClearQAM with no CGMS, APS or RC - there is no support for any type of protected (Copy Once) content.
Some switches either do not properly support multcast, or require configuration to support it

INSTRUCTIONS:
I will assume the InfiniTV's IP address is 192.168.200.1 and 224.1.1.1:8000 is an unused multicast IP/port combination on your network. Replace them with the appropriate settings for your network if necessary.

1. Go to http://192.168.200.1 in your web browser (InfiniTV's web page)
2. Click on a tuner ("One")
3. Click on the "Tuner" tab
4. Under Streaming Setup, set Destination IP to 224.1.1.1 , Destination Port to 8000 and Start to Started, then press the Save Streaming Settings button.
5. On the same page, enter a channel number and press Set Channel
6. Note the "Program Number" for use later. NOTE: Depending on how fast your PC/network is, you may see 0 here - if so, press F5 to refresh the page.
7. Start VLC
8. Go to the Media Menu and select Open Network Stream
9. Enter the URL of rtp://224.1.1.1:8000 and press Play
10. From the Playback menu, select Program, then select the program number you noted in step (6)

If everything is working, video should appear in VLC

Just a quick question on the multicast streaming: I followed the guide on here to the T and was unable to get it to work. Do I need to enable port forwarding on my router? Nothing was showing up on either my Galaxy S3 or Samsung Tab 3 10.1 using VLC Beta. Thanks!

[erkotz]

Does it work on a hard-wired PC?

[soapdishbandit]

Does it work on a hard-wired PC?

I tried on my main PC. No go using VLC. Is there a setting/port forwarding I am missing? In theory, with wireless n 5Ghz, would this work on mobile devices (i.e. Galaxy S3, Galaxy Tab 3)? Thanks for all your help!

[erkotz]

Does it work on a hard-wired PC?

I tried on my main PC. No go using VLC. Is there a setting/port forwarding I am missing? In theory, with wireless n 5Ghz, would this work on mobile devices (i.e. Galaxy S3, Galaxy Tab 3)? Thanks for all your help!

Most Android/iOS devices can't decode MPEG2, so it's unlikely this will work on a tablet. On your PC, does the same channel work in WMC? What is the CCI of this channel?

[Mpgrimm2]

Same boat here. The first year of using my iTv4 PCIe was great until the switch to sdv, then the tuning errors started so I started updating FW. After about 4 fw updates over next 2 years of owning my iTv4 it would no longer accept FW updates, (a year ago) it started to not recognize the CableCard/no tuner available and 2 weeks ago stopped recognizing it altogether, so its back in the box. Dead.

Figured I was SOL so I timidly ordered the iTV6 ETH (with free Echo combo) last weekend despite my wife's misgivings and just hooked it up at my home's 42" media panel (Phone/LAN/Cable. All Gigabit/CAT6/RG6) which improved SNR etc. vs PCIe version at TV/PC. One of the first things the directions ask is to do a FW update which has me nervous ( Now on 14.4.6.21 Stable ? but shows as beta on Ceton Diag WebPage UI). Got the new CC paired and the MTR700 TA that I used previously showing up in the diagnostic web page (plugged into the iTV6 ETH).

Everything runs great...when it works (Tuners 1-4 on main Win7 PC/3.2Ghz Phenom x4/16gb ram/Gigabyte MB; Tuner 6 on Master BR pc (HP m7350n Win7 2.8Ghz Pent D/4Gb DDR2); Tuner 5 on my laptop (HP DV6-1030us Win7 3.1Ghz Core2Duo/8Gb DDR2/Wifi N for testing only... pixilation expected), 1 Echo in guest BR; 1 Xbox 360/extender in son's room). No lag, pixelation, etc. Channel change times are reasonable, even with everything running. Don't have network tuner drivers loaded either.
Previously on the iTV4 PCIe, whenever I had a power outage/blip (10-20 times a year) or Windows Update reboots main PC (always on/no sleep, etc), I have problems where I either have "no available tuner", can't recognize cablecard, some TA issue or Media Center is asking to "Setup the cablecard" again. When this happens, the only way to get things working seems to be to wipe out/rediscover the tuner configuration via Ceton app and go through the MCE TV setup again (hoping it sees more than 1 tuner).
Yesterday, 2 days into using the iTV6 ETH, I had a power blip/reboot and had to re-setup the tuner on the main PC again, which sucks. Other than buying a couple of UPS's, any thoughts here?
Motherboard drivers are as up to date as the Gigabyte site has (2011) or on a windows update driver version and the iTV6 ETH is on latest "stable" FW.

Currently tuned to NBC HD. Signal Level: 3.1 dBmV, Signal To Noise Level: 37.6 dB (typ.)

MainPc Specs (Built Aug2010):
- Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H v2.0 fw: FF
- AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1Ghz AM3 CPU (Unlocked Cores 3 & 4 = X4 B50)
- Corsair Hydro H50 CPU Liquid Cooler
- OCZ 16GB DDR3 PC10666 1333MHZ (4 X 4GB) p/n: OCZ3G1333LV8GK CL 9-9-9-20 1.65v
- Visiontek Radeon HD 5670 1GB DDR5 PCIe (Catalyst 14-4)
- ASUS 8X Blu Ray/DVD Combo Drive SATA
- Ceton InfiniTv6 ETH Fw: 14.4.6.21
(replaced iTV4 PCIe on 7/12/14 due to can't see CableCard/fw fail)
- Seagate 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (OS)
- Seagate 1TB Serial ATA HD 7200/32MB/SATA-3G
- Seagate 1.5TB FreeAgent Portable on USB (for DVD rips in MCE)
- Cooler Master Gladiator 600 ATX Case
- OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular Power Suppy
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1
- HP USB eHome IR Receiver for Media Center (for Harmony 700)
- LG 60in Plasma 60PS60 (HDMI-1)

Alright. Starting to get problems regularly with the main PC dropping tuners from the iTV6 ETH, No Tuner Available, etc, just by turning TV/AV Receiver OFF/ON, or just randomly dropping out in the early morning while at work (wife sends me a text).

Sometimes when I loose tuners 1-4 on the Main PC (Living Room), I will go check Tuner 5 (laptop) and Tuner 6 (Bedrm PC) and they will be out as well (No Tuner Available) or will work until I try to change the channel and then I will get the no tuner message. Other times it seems like the Main PC (Liv Rm) is the only one with issues and no amount of rebooting PC or power cycling the iTV 6 and TA in the media closet will work causing me to use the Ceton App to Clear Tuner Config, Rediscover Tuners, and then re-setup TV Signal and Guide all over again in Media Center ( I have not had to Clear Tuner Config. on the other 2 pc's with tuner 5,6 yet).

Note:
- MainPC and Laptop have Norton Internet Security, Bedroom PC on has MS Security Essentials.
- Network: Cat6 Cable/Patch Panel, DLink DIR-655 RevA Gigabit Router FW 1.35NA (Lan IP & PW changed from default), Dlink DGS-2208 Gigabit Sw

On the chance, that it is related to my home built PC, I have decided to reformat and reload Win7 x64 Home from scratch... SP1 done, still getting updates. Will make a restore point and load up enough basics for a working TV before heading to bed this morning (Also set up bios/drivers with AHCI SATA vs RAID SATA drivers for MB).

Software plan for mainPC...
- MS Security Essentials (Prefer Norton Internet Security, but give this a shot): done
- Adobe Reader/Flash Player
- Ceton iTV6 Drivers/Diag app Fw: 14.4.6.21
- My Movies for windows 5.00 Build 6
- DvdFab 9
- Netflix for Media Center/Silverlight
- TotalMediaTheatre 6.7.1.xxx (Need for BluRays but not needed immediately. Will wait and see)
- Nero11 (Not needed immediately. Will wait and see)
- Office 2010 (Not needed immediately. Will wait and see)

If this doesn't work, next step will be a support ticket I guess.

Mpgrimm2

[mldenison]

I've been fighting the loss of tuners, prompts for setting up a 'newly detected CableCard', etc with my two ETH's. I've been back and forth with Ceton support since May.

A couple of weeks ago, they told me to disable Sleep. Since my HTPC has been constant on, I've not lost a tuner. The PC is actually set to Windows Away Mode but is always on, apparently, any way.

I'm not happy about it with the PC on for 8+ hours a day for no reason. And WOL from my Echo's is moot.

I have no idea why this is necessary, but it is what it is.

The ETH's are the only networked items that are affected by Sleep.

[Mpgrimm2]

That's something I have done for a long time...
Power Plan = High Performance, Sleep = Never, HDD/Monitor power down = Never, USB Suspend = Disabled
(Would probably save some $$ if I let it sleep/standby, but gave up on trying to work that out when I first set up Media Center and would miss parts of recordings coming out of sleep or not waking up at all)

[cybrsage]

That's something I have done for a long time...
Power Plan = High Performance, Sleep = Never, HDD/Monitor power down = Never, USB Suspend = Disabled
(Would probably save some $$ if I let it sleep/standby, but gave up on trying to work that out when I first set up Media Center and would miss parts of recordings coming out of sleep or not waking up at all)

I agree - the few dollars a year you might save is not worth the pain and headaches!

[JTScribe]

Did the beta firmware get coded as release? When I checked for updates the latest stable version and the latest beta had the same version numbers. Upgraded and everything is working great so far.

[blueiedgod]

Developed an interesting problem with ETH.

Tuners work for a few days, and then I get "there is no signal or it may be off the air" I reboot the PC not the tuner, and problem goes away.

This was never present with Verizon FiOS, but developed after switching to Time Warner Cable (with tuning adapter).

When TV is working, the signal levels are between -3 and 0, and noise is about 36 or 38.

I want to think it is TWC related issue, since we never had it with FiOS (signal levels were much higher, about 3 to 5). The fact the rebooting PC seems to resolve it is just more puzzling, since I think the need to reboot the tuner would have been an indication of TWC signal related culprit.

[JohnW248]

Next time try this:

1. Just power cycle the TA, it is responsible for getting the command form the tuner and returning a frequency that is used by the tuner to get the channel.

2. If that doesn't solve it, then on the next instance stop and restart the ehrecvr service (close media center before stopping and starting the service).

If TWC is working on "rebuilding" your area to total digital and removing NTSC and bringing in their "MAXX" internet service, you might be a victim to some of the TWC rebuild issues. We are in the midst of the rebuild in my area and I have a page full of problems created by TWC such as not locking OOB signals to TAs locking up (even though they return proper diagnostics) and not returning data to the tuners. If you have the new "national line-up" then you've passed through the rebuild, if you haven't gotten it yet, there is no telling what part of the rebuild you're in. NY and CA were the first on the list and they were successful in San Diego but we've had nothing but delays and problems in Los Angeles.

[blueiedgod]

Next time try this:

1. Just power cycle the TA, it is responsible for getting the command form the tuner and returning a frequency that is used by the tuner to get the channel.

2. If that doesn't solve it, then on the next instance stop and restart the ehrecvr service (close media center before stopping and starting the service).

If TWC is working on "rebuilding" your area to total digital and removing NTSC and bringing in their "MAXX" internet service, you might be a victim to some of the TWC rebuild issues. We are in the midst of the rebuild in my area and I have a page full of problems created by TWC such as not locking OOB signals to TAs locking up (even though they return proper diagnostics) and not returning data to the tuners. If you have the new "national line-up" then you've passed through the rebuild, if you haven't gotten it yet, there is no telling what part of the rebuild you're in. NY and CA were the first on the list and they were successful in San Diego but we've had nothing but delays and problems in Los Angeles.

I am not certain it is the TA. Cycling the PC seems to solve the issue. The TA and the Tuner are in the basement, and are not power cycled.

I keep telling my self, "we only need to stay with them for 60 days!" Then back to Verizon. Going from 25/25 internet to 3/0.650 internet for the same price was brutal. But, it needed to be done since Verizon raised our rates almost double once we were out of contract, from $65/month for triple play to $124/month.

Luckily, we already received "welcome back" offer for the same package we had before at $50/month, or Quantum speeds for $60/month...

[barnabas1969]

God, I wish I had competing cable companies in my area.

[Mpgrimm2]

Same boat here. The first year of using my iTv4 PCIe was great until the switch to sdv, then the tuning errors started so I started updating FW. After about 4 fw updates over next 2 years of owning my iTv4 it would no longer accept FW updates, (a year ago) it started to not recognize the CableCard/no tuner available and 2 weeks ago stopped recognizing it altogether, so its back in the box. Dead.

Figured I was SOL so I timidly ordered the iTV6 ETH (with free Echo combo) last weekend despite my wife's misgivings and just hooked it up at my home's 42" media panel (Phone/LAN/Cable. All Gigabit/CAT6/RG6) which improved SNR etc. vs PCIe version at TV/PC. One of the first things the directions ask is to do a FW update which has me nervous ( Now on 14.4.6.21 Stable ? but shows as beta on Ceton Diag WebPage UI). Got the new CC paired and the MTR700 TA that I used previously showing up in the diagnostic web page (plugged into the iTV6 ETH).

Everything runs great...when it works (Tuners 1-4 on main Win7 PC/3.2Ghz Phenom x4/16gb ram/Gigabyte MB; Tuner 6 on Master BR PC (HP m7350n Win7 2.8Ghz Pent D/4Gb DDR2); Tuner 5 on my laptop (HP DV6-1030us Win7 3.1Ghz Core2Duo/8Gb DDR2/Wifi N for testing only... pixilation expected), 1 Echo in guest BR; 1 Xbox 360/extender in son's room). No lag, pixelation, etc. Channel change times are reasonable, even with everything running. Don't have network tuner drivers loaded either.
Previously on the iTV4 PCIe, whenever I had a power outage/blip (10-20 times a year) or Windows Update reboots main PC (always on/no sleep, etc), I have problems where I either have "no available tuner", can't recognize cablecard, some TA issue or Media Center is asking to "Setup the cablecard" again. When this happens, the only way to get things working seems to be to wipe out/rediscover the tuner configuration via Ceton app and go through the MCE TV setup again (hoping it sees more than 1 tuner).
Yesterday, 2 days into using the iTV6 ETH, I had a power blip/reboot and had to re-setup the tuner on the main PC again, which sucks. Other than buying a couple of UPS's, any thoughts here?
Motherboard drivers are as up to date as the Gigabyte site has (2011) or on a windows update driver version and the iTV6 ETH is on latest "stable" FW.

Currently tuned to NBC HD. Signal Level: 3.1 dBmV, Signal To Noise Level: 37.6 dB (typ.)

MainPc Specs (Built Aug2010):
- Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H v2.0 fw: FF
- AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1Ghz AM3 CPU (Unlocked Cores 3 & 4 = X4 B50)
- Corsair Hydro H50 CPU Liquid Cooler
- OCZ 16GB DDR3 PC10666 1333MHZ (4 X 4GB) p/n: OCZ3G1333LV8GK CL 9-9-9-20 1.65v
- Visiontek Radeon HD 5670 1GB DDR5 PCIe (Catalyst 14-4)
- ASUS 8X Blu Ray/DVD Combo Drive SATA
- Ceton InfiniTv6 ETH Fw: 14.4.6.21
(replaced iTV4 PCIe on 7/12/14 due to can't see CableCard/fw fail)
- Seagate 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (OS)
- Seagate 1TB Serial ATA HD 7200/32MB/SATA-3G
- Seagate 1.5TB FreeAgent Portable on USB (for DVD rips in MCE)
- Cooler Master Gladiator 600 ATX Case
- OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular Power Suppy
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1
- HP USB eHome IR Receiver for Media Center (for Harmony 700)
- LG 60in Plasma 60PS60 (HDMI-1)

7/20/14 Update:
Alright. Starting to get problems regularly with the main PC dropping tuners from the iTV6 ETH, No Tuner Available, etc, just by turning TV/AV Receiver OFF/ON, or just randomly dropping out in the early morning while at work (wife sends me a text).

Sometimes when I loose tuners 1-4 on the Main PC (Living Room), I will go check Tuner 5 (laptop) and Tuner 6 (Bedrm PC) and they will be out as well (No Tuner Available) or will work until I try to change the channel and then I will get the no tuner message. Other times it seems like the Main PC (Liv Rm) is the only one with issues and no amount of rebooting PC or power cycling the iTV 6 and TA in the media closet will work causing me to use the Ceton App to Clear Tuner Config, Rediscover Tuners, and then re-setup TV Signal and Guide all over again in Media Center ( I have not had to Clear Tuner Config. on the other 2 PC's with tuner 5,6 yet).

Note:
- MainPC and Laptop have Norton Internet Security, Bedroom PC on has MS Security Essentials.
- Network: Cat6 Cable/Patch Panel, DLink DIR-655 RevA Gigabit Router FW 1.35NA (Lan IP & PW changed from default), Dlink DGS-2208 Gigabit Sw

On the chance, that it is related to my home built PC, I have decided to reformat and reload Win7 x64 Home from scratch... SP1 done, still getting updates. Will make a restore point and load up enough basics for a working TV before heading to bed this morning (Also set up bios/drivers with AHCI SATA vs RAID SATA drivers for MB).

Software plan for mainPC...
- MS Security Essentials (Prefer Norton Internet Security, but give this a shot): done
- Adobe Reader/Flash Player
- Ceton iTV6 Drivers/Diag app Fw: 14.4.6.21
- My Movies for windows 5.00 Build 6
- DvdFab 9
- Netflix for Media Center/Silverlight
- TotalMediaTheatre 6.7.1.xxx (Need for BluRays but not needed immediately. Will wait and see)
- Nero11 (Not needed immediately. Will wait and see)
- Office 2010 (Not needed immediately. Will wait and see)

If this doesn't work, next step will be a support ticket I guess.

Mpgrimm2

7-24-14 Update (See attached):
- Still having weird loss of Tuner issues that go away by cycling power on the iTV6/TA and restarting the MCE app.

- Only have a basic load of Win7/Ceton/Netflix/Adobe Reader/MS Security Essentials.

- Currently I have traced part of the issue to my DLink DIR655 RevA3 Router (FW 1.35NA) which reboots itself periodically and dumps my entire network. Apparently the Ceton iTV6 ETH can't re-establish communication to my media center pc's once it gets it's assigned Static IP back after the router reboots randomly.

- Yesterday I updated the DIR655 to FW 1.37NA, but it just rebooted (24hrs later). I am going to go pull the router out of my media panel and put it on the shelf outside to see if it is a heat issue before I spend another $120 - $200 on an A/C Router and enrage my wife further with my recent spending!
(Note: iTV6 and TA are not in my media panel)

Q: Would the router/LAN dropout have affected the previous iTV4 PCIe that was dedicated to only the mainPC in the Living room?

[erkotz]

What program did you use to draw up your wiring diagram? I've been looking for something inexpensive to do that at home (my home wiring has gotten insanely complex).

WMC tends to not like it if a tuner "disappears" and usually needs ehrecvr bounced (or a whole PC restart) to re-discover the tuner.

[Mpgrimm2]

Even though I have some experience from prior jobs with EasyCad and Cadence's OrCad, I didn't use a program. I actually downloaded the Leviton Structured Media data/product sheets for the items I was installing when building my house (4yrs ago) and used MS Paint/MS Snipping Tool to cut and paste the diagram together.

There are a couple of other possiblilites from arduino land that may be useful, but I haven't got around to trying them yet...
DigiKey's SchemeIt: http://www.digikey.com/en/resources/scheme-it
Fritzing's Schematic Tool: http://fritzing.org/home/

[tzr916]

....Currently tuned to NBC HD. Signal Level: 3.1 dBmV, Signal To Noise Level: 37.6 dB (typ.)....

- Currently I have traced part of the issue to my DLink DIR655 RevA3 Router (FW 1.35NA) which reboots itself periodically and dumps my entire network. Apparently the Ceton iTV6 ETH can't re-establish communication to my media center PC's once it gets it's assigned Static IP back after the router reboots randomly...

If I were setting up your system, I would plug the ETH, the WMC PC, and the extenders, all into one SWITCH (move other things around if needed). Not one into the switch and another into the router. This eliminates one more "hop" and when you have static IP's on the ETH and the WMC PC, then router rebooting won't affect them...

If/when the next time you get WMC errors about no tuners, bring up the tuner webpage and check each of the Signal Levels (look for wonky Signal Levels like -56 dBmV - means that tuner locked up). Also look for very low Uptime - means the tuner just rebooted on it's own. Also, what are your tuner temps when at least 3-4 tuners in use (shoot for under 45C - use a fan)?

[Mpgrimm2]

I think I may have misspoken.
The ETH, main PC, and my NAS are all directly on the router (ports 1-3) with Auto DHCP, and my Router sets assigned DHCP reservations for all my hardwired devices including those on the unmanaged switch (router port 4).
Thanks for the suggestions, I will keep them in mind as I try to isolate some of these issues since I really would prefer to work things out with the iTV6 ETH.

[Tester]

I thought I report back now that I have been on this new beta firmware for a while.
Everything continues to work very well, most stable best working firmware yet. I sleep/wake my htpc several times a day just like any TV and the tuner is found %100 of the time.

Can we now suggest improvements ? If so:
* Initial wake initialization ( or whatever it is called, the spinning circle ), can this happen faster ?
* Faster channel surfing

Thanks
Tester

[CoteRotie]

I still don't see the update available in the diagnostics tool.

I'm on Win 8.1
Driver Package Version 13.6.3.1088
Diagnostic tool version 13.6.3.1088
InfiniTV PCIe driver version 1.0.2.4 (I have the PCIe InfiniTV 4)
InfiniTV Firmware version 13.5.6.132
InfiniTV Hardware Version 6212

I of course have "Include beta updates" checked. I reinstalled the Diagnostic tool and drivers from the download on Ceton's site.

Not a huge deal as everything is working well for me, it would be nice though to know why my setup is behaving differently. I can always grab the firmware from the link provided and install it manually, but I'm wondering why it doesn't seem to show up for me.

I know others in this thread were having a similar problem but Ceton seems to have done something to resolve it. Anybody still having this issue?

Any ideas?

Thanks,

John