n1ck Posted June 3, 2008 Posted June 3, 2008 Hi Colin and guys, Im back! Well, I've seemed to get the transferring to work by connecting the HDD to my laptop, but for some reason, I cant find a program that efficiently works in converting the larger .ts files to .avi... preferable divx or xvid. any suggestions? are there any programs that are very simple to use? i dont know a whole lot about video and audio conversions / muxing (whatever that is!). cheers guys! nick
Colin 2905 Posted June 3, 2008 Posted June 3, 2008 n1ck said: Well, I've seemed to get the transferring to work by connecting the HDD to my laptop, but for some reason, I cant find a program that efficiently works in converting the larger .ts files to .avi... preferable divx or xvid.any suggestions? are there any programs that are very simple to use? i dont know a whole lot about video and audio conversions / muxing (whatever that is!). My method for .ts to XviD: ProjectX to remove unwanted bits, then demux Imago MPEG-Muxer to remux SUPER to convert to XviD (can batch, if so desired) MPEG4Modifier to patch Aspect Ratio (because I encode at 720x576, using FFmpeg)
Colin 2905 Posted June 3, 2008 Posted June 3, 2008 n1ck said: Cheers colin... what is demux / remux? Demux = Demultiplex, ie; extract the video and audio components from the transport stream. Remux = Re-multiplex, ie; combine the video and audio components into an MPEG-2 file in this case.
n1ck Posted June 3, 2008 Posted June 3, 2008 Ah ok... I have no idea how to do that or what the involves lol... in the programs ive seen there are so many audio and video options to choose that I have no idea!
Colin 2905 Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 n1ck said: Ah ok... I have no idea how to do that or what the involves lol... in the programs ive seen there are so many audio and video options to choose that I have no idea! Just download each of those utilities that I mentioned, and have a go, using a short .ts test file until you get the hang of it. ProjectX might look daunting at first, but just go with the default settings and you should be OK. Imago should be self-explanatory. In SUPER, I'd suggest using FFmpeg instead of MEncoder (since it's a lot faster), and what settings you should use are largely dictated by the intended display device and/or the desired file size. As an example, to comfortably fit eight episodes of Mythbusters (sans ads) on a single layer DVD-R, I XviD encode at the original 720x576 x 25fps, with a video bitrate of 1200Kbps and leave the audio as-is.
Stephen S Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 Software to produce an EPG you can use instead of Ice TV Guide has been updated. http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?s=&...st&p=556101
zjonn Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 After about 18 months with a Topfield PVR5000, the damned thing broke down. I loved that machine, excellent remote layout, the whole thing easy to use, but as with anything electrical once it is broken, not worth getting fixed so I was in the market for a new one. This time I would be wiser, I would pay for the extra warranty and get at least my five years use out of it. Topfield, in May this year, easier said than done. For some reason they just aren't available from anyone. New distributor, retailers don't feel comfortable with them, don't know if it is true or not, the simple fact was that I would have to get something else. After a lot of looking about, sadly not so much at this forum though I did know about it, I ended up buying a Dgtec HD250 PVR for $455 plus $100 for an extra 3 year extended warranty (total of 5 yrs as the machine comes with a standard 2 years). Everything about the machine looked good, One of the required functions (from my point of view) included was standard EPG and ICETV was available, not that I wanted or had ever used ICETV, I certainly had made regular use of the standard EPG. There was technical support by phone 7 days a week, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM AEST for the machine in case something went wrong, what can go wrong with one of these things in this day and age, electronics and their reliability have come a long way over the last 20 or so years, it all should be good. I unpacked the thing, installed it, all quite simple really, totally different style remote to the Topfield, something different, we'll get used to it. As it went through its life cycle and powered it up, it wanted to be reformatted, strange, I would have thought this would have happened at the factory but let it go, about an hour later, having completed that little task, the stations had already been identified, we thought no more of it and we set the machine to the task for which it had been designed. We discovered a few little quirks which we liked, one of them being that, with two tuners, we could record two shows (the occasional time when free to air actually has two shows worth watching to record) and we could watch one of the other 'same frequency' channels at the same time. This meant that we could record say, ABC1 and NINE at a given time and watch ABC2 at the same time. Neat, something which wasn't there before, good stuff. So what went wrong with the good news story, well, the standard EPG guide does not function, according to Dgtec support, well, it hasn't been enabled. When asked why, as the guide says that it has, well it hasn't. When asked how to enable it, I was told that it hasn't been enabled. It was like talking to a recording. So I try ICETV, there is a three month free subscription with the purchase so I decide to give it a go. ICETV's end worked fine, as we all know, schedules are hard to keep for free to air television, especially for imported TV show as they have a habit of running overtime unbeknownst to the networks program schedulers so you need a bit of padding to get the whole show which you want to record, should be easy enough, except with this machine, as soon as you open the file to edit it, it loses all the info and you have to start again, this time manually. So much for the benefit of ICETV, with this machine, there ain't any. Than we have the 'skip' function, it almost works, except that if you are too quick or push the function too often, it can skip 15 or 20 minutes instead of 30 seconds. When this happens, you have to fish for the point which you actually want to reach and this becomes very frustrating, indeed, annoying. At this point I will comment on the remote. It is old technology. To get it to work, you have to point it directly at the PVR, within a fairly close proximity, there can be no obstruction, else it will not work. The key pad requires pushing hard on the buttons, not the touch type, hard push, else it won't work. As I say, old, cheap technology, I would hate to think what the life cycle of this remote will be, I certainly can't imagine it will last for very long. So far, the above are more annoyances and concerns of what may happen with the ancillary equipment like the remote, still, to be held in consideration. This Saturday (28th June 2008), we had placed the machine on standby overnight, we turned it back on in the early afternoon and it wanted to reformat the disk. First for me, though my brother, who normally turns the machine on, informs me that it happens regularly. So I enable to reformat and it starts churning away. Only minutes and its on 1% and we decide to let the thing prattle away and do its thing. 250GB it a lot of disk space so it should take a while. About half an hour later I check the machine's status and it is still on 1%, perhaps there is a problem, hey, with 7 days a week service only a phone call away, I decide to give them a call. I found the response rather confusing, 'please call back during business hours'. 7 days a week help or technical phone service and somehow this doesn't include Saturdays or Sundays as stated in their user manual on the second page, comforting words in case of a problem, unfortunately slightly overstated. I checked the machine about an hour later, still only at 1% so I had little alternative than to power it down, left it off for about 20 minutes and than rebooted the machine. It told me that it wanted to reformat as it had a problem, I did not allow it at that point, but after the system was fully functioning, I performed a format, this time it completed as expected. The only problem being that, put the machine on standby, re-initiate it and it wants to reformat each time. The only option available at the moment is to leave the thing on as, the function is supposed to exist to revive from standby to record a program, though it has never worked. I phone technical support on their 7 days a week service (excepting weekends) and after 7 minutes on hold, was transferred to a voice mail inbox having been told to leave a detailed message, along with my details and they will endeavor to call me back within 24 hours, so now, we have the situation where a seven days a week service which doesn't operate on weekends becomes an eight day service as, according to the electronic operator, there is no one to talk there to talk to, so they might get back to me sometime. If you are considering this machine for your home, I strongly suggest you re-consider it.
tonymy01 Posted June 30, 2008 Posted June 30, 2008 zjonn said: After about 18 months with a Topfield PVR5000, the damned thing broke down. I loved that machine, excellent remote layout, the whole thing easy to use, but as with anything electrical once it is broken, not worth getting fixed It is probably about a $3 fix in parts, if it is the capacitor drying out issue that has been plaguing them. Very easy to fix too, see the topfield forums here for example: http://www.topfield-australia.com.au/phpbb...p=132172#132172 Quote After a lot of looking about, sadly not so much at this forum though I did know about it, I ended up buying a Dgtec HD250 PVR They didn't get the name "Dodgytec" on these forums for no good reason, mind you, that was the non PVR HD box and their first PVR attempt, most people have learnt to steer clear from then. Quote We discovered a few little quirks which we liked, one of them being that, with two tuners, we could record two shows (the occasional time when free to air actually has two shows worth watching to record) and we could watch one of the other 'same frequency' channels at the same time. This meant that we could record say, ABC1 and NINE at a given time and watch ABC2 at the same time. Neat, something which wasn't there before, good stuff. The Topfield 5K can do this too, in fact, most dual tuner PVRs can do this.If you have the $ and like a box with potential, the Beyonwiz DP-P1 is a very good HD PVR with media playing capabilities, with the ability to set timers with ICE (and with 3rd party solutions like Wizremote, which will be enhanced in the next couple of days to support Topfield TED/S like functionality with a Beyonwiz variant of PerlTGD). Regards
Colin 2905 Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 (edited) zjonn said: so you need a bit of padding to get the whole show which you want to record, should be easy enough, except with this machine, as soon as you open the file to edit it, it loses all the info and you have to start again, this time manually. By default it pads +/- 10 minutes. The trick to editing a timer entry is not to arrow down past a certain field. To get to the fields at the bottom, arrow UP from the first field and it'll wrap around to the bottom field. Quote Than we have the 'skip' function, it almost works, except that if you are too quick or push the function too often, it can skip 15 or 20 minutes instead of 30 seconds. When this happens, you have to fish for the point which you actually want to reach and this becomes very frustrating, indeed, annoying. I like that feature, and don't have a problem with it. But I'm using Logitech Harmony 525 remotes with both of my DG-HD160PVR's. Quote we had placed the machine on standby overnight, we turned it back on in the early afternoon and it wanted to reformat the disk. I get that perhaps once or twice a fortnight. If I turn them off then back on again they almost always come back up like they should. ie; The drive error message is BS - it doesn't need reformatting. Quote 'please call back during business hours'. 7 days a week help or technical phone service and somehow this doesn't include Saturdays or Sundays as stated in their user manual on the second page, comforting words in case of a problem, unfortunately slightly overstated. The documentation is way out of date. DGTEC's staffing hours didn't include weekends when I bought my first DG-HD160PVR, which was around October last year. And in case you haven't heard, they've since been bought out by Hills. Quote The only problem being that, put the machine on standby, re-initiate it and it wants to reformat each time. Sounds as though yours needs to go back for repair / replacement / refund / whatever. Quote The only option available at the moment is to leave the thing on as, the function is supposed to exist to revive from standby to record a program, though it has never worked. That's the biggest gripe that I have with these units. If they come out of standby in that state (which mine only do occasionally, as I mentioned earlier), they won't record. So I make a point of checking on them before any scheduled recordings if I'm around, or leaving them on if I'm not around. I've also had an instance or two of them not recording, because they thought the hard drive was full when it clearly wasn't, in reality. (I try to keep mine below 75%.) Quote If you are considering this machine for your home, I strongly suggest you re-consider it. My version would be: If you are considering this machine (or the YESS or Diginet equivalents).... a) Read this thread first. If you still want one, then.... Don't pay too much. c) Update the firmware, if it's not already at the latest. (This can be a major exercise in itself.) Even with all their quirks, I'm still happy with mine. But then, I didn't pay what you paid for yours (although yours is the 250GB version). Now to add something new (I think.... after 35 pages, I can't remember it all), I was mucking around with my USB keys recently, trying out some software for checking flash devices. They both tested OK, then I reformatted them ready for re-use. The next time that I tried to do the ICE guide update, neither of my DGTEC's would see them as valid USB devices. To cut a long story short, I did a low level initialisation using Check Flash 1.05, then reformatted it using GParted, and it's all OK again. Edited July 1, 2008 by Colin 2905
kasdave Posted July 4, 2008 Posted July 4, 2008 My machine has been a bloody ripper, in fact if i could find another in a store i would probably grab it to use with our other tv... Keeping in mind i paid around $260 for my ex-demo model... Mine has not wanted to reformat as yet.....and has not missed a beat. I don not switch it off when its not in use. Looking for something to replace the vcr on our other set, just went in to JB and checked out the Panasonic DMR-XW300 twin HD tuners dvdrecorder and 250GB HD..... real nice but $1200 is a bit out of the budget.
zjonn Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 Just an update on my previous post. As suggested my Tonymy01, I had a closer look at my Topfield, found that the HD had given up the ghost, I happened to have an old 80GB disk at home after a PC upgrade, hooked it in, while at it, updated the firmware and it is now good as gold. With regards the Dgtec HD250, after many attempts, finally got hold of Dgtec "support" who wanted the box returned to Victoria (at their expense) from Perth, for repair, but were unwilling or unable to give me a time frame as to how long it would be away, ("would it be one month, or two, or three", their response, "yeah about that", "what does that mean, one, two or three months?", "well I can't say, something like that".) Excellent incisive service, not. To cut a long story short, I contacted Consumers Affairs, asked them what the best option would be, they strongly suggested not dealing with the manufacturer/importer, my contract was with the retailer, as long as it is covered by warranty, take it up with them. I took it back to the retailer who, initially tried to convince me to deal through Dgtec, I refused, reminding them that I did the deal with them, not DGtec so I held them accountable for the machine's defects. When they realised that I wouldn't budge from that principle they refunded the sale. So ends my nightmare of owning a Dgtec HD250 pvr. Once again, thank you to those people who were kind enough to make comment and suggestions, you have been most helpful.
21C Posted July 21, 2008 Posted July 21, 2008 Another DGTEC clone on sale for $299 plus about $12 for delivery from catchoftheday.com. It is an Arista branded machine but looks identical to the DGTEC HD160. http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/smallfish_...roducts_id=1527
Colin 2905 Posted July 21, 2008 Posted July 21, 2008 21C said: It is an Arista branded machine but looks identical to the DGTEC HD160. It even has the same Reft and Light audio output designations.
marks2048 Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 Hi Guys, After initial woes with my DGTEC HD160PVR, I upgraded the firmware a few months back, since then it has been performing quite well indeed - touch wood! Today though, I found that my remote seems to have died completely! Before I even go down the no doubt soul-destroying path of contacting Hills "support", I'd be interested to know if anybody out there has had a remote die before, and if so how they solved the problem? Cheers, Mark.
Colin 2905 Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 marks2048 said: Today though, I found that my remote seems to have died completely! If you can't get the remote replaced or repaired (is it still under warranty?), then you'll find that a Logitech Harmony 525 does a nice job of driving them. ($77, though.) Ironically, I had to drag my original remote out last night, as Mrs 2905 has misplaced the 525 that lives in the bedroom. At least it still works.
dilligafocau Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 marks2048 said: Hi Guys,After initial woes with my DGTEC HD160PVR, I upgraded the firmware a few months back, since then it has been performing quite well indeed - touch wood! Today though, I found that my remote seems to have died completely! Before I even go down the no doubt soul-destroying path of contacting Hills "support", I'd be interested to know if anybody out there has had a remote die before, and if so how they solved the problem? Cheers, Mark. Have you tested the remote by looking at the business end through a video camera or camera on a mobile phone? This makes the transmitted light visible. I had a similar problem with a pvr, the cure ended up being that the pvr needed a power down.
marks2048 Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 dilligafocau said: Have you tested the remote by looking at the business end through a video camera or camera on a mobile phone? This makes the transmitted light visible. I had a similar problem with a pvr, the cure ended up being that the pvr needed a power down. I forgot to mention that I already tried the power cycle of the PVR, but thanks for the hints about the digital camera - I was trying to think of some way to check that the infr-red LED was working.
englfc Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 marks2048 said: Hi Guys,After initial woes with my DGTEC HD160PVR, I upgraded the firmware a few months back, since then it has been performing quite well indeed - touch wood! Today though, I found that my remote seems to have died completely! Before I even go down the no doubt soul-destroying path of contacting Hills "support", I'd be interested to know if anybody out there has had a remote die before, and if so how they solved the problem? Cheers, Mark. \ Hi Mark, Can I ask where you got the firmware from please? Thanks
marks2048 Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 englfc said: \Hi Mark, Can I ask where you got the firmware from please? Thanks If you search back through this topic using the keyword "firmware", you should find information on how to get it. There is a trick to loading it: you must use a 128MB USB flash disk. There are also two different styles of machine, front USB and rear USB. They have different firmware images. By the way, for anyone else interested, I checked my suspect remote with a digital camera, and its LED is not pulsing, unlike several other remotes I also tested. So, looks like I'm going to have to replace the remote somehow. I could get one of those 3in1/4in1/5in1 programmable ones, but I think they need the original remote for programming - anybody have experience with such things? Thanks, Mark.
goldgxl Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 marks2048 said: Hi Guys,After initial woes with my DGTEC HD160PVR, I upgraded the firmware a few months back, since then it has been performing quite well indeed - touch wood! Today though, I found that my remote seems to have died completely! Before I even go down the no doubt soul-destroying path of contacting Hills "support", I'd be interested to know if anybody out there has had a remote die before, and if so how they solved the problem? Cheers, Mark. I had one that did not work out of the box. Contacted support, they sent me one within a week. It also did not work, it had leaking batteries in it. They finally sent me a second one, which worked fine. No remote for a little over 2 weeks after buying a new machine...
Colin 2905 Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 marks2048 said: So, looks like I'm going to have to replace the remote somehow. I could get one of those 3in1/4in1/5in1 programmable ones, but I think they need the original remote for programming - anybody have experience with such things? If you have the patience, I'd still contact Hills to see if they'll replace it (assuming that it's still under warranty). As for the x-in-1 remotes, the very basic ones just have a code list, which is usually OK for simple things like TV's, but it's unlikely that you'd find one that knows about this particular PVR. Then there are the basic learning remotes, which have a code list, but can also learn from your existing remote..... if it's still working, of course. And then there's remotes like the Logitech Harmony which take a different approach. In day-to-day use, they're "activity" focused rather than device focused. They have a large and continually growing database of devices that they know about, but they can learn from an existing (but working) remote also, if need be. (I can't remember if I'm using the database 100% for my DGTEC's, though.... I'll check tonight.) Once you've used one of these for a while, you'll never want to go back to a collection of individual remote controls. The Logitech Harmony 525's were still $77 from DSE last time I looked, and if you don't like it for some reason, you can always take it back within the return period.
marks2048 Posted August 6, 2008 Posted August 6, 2008 Colin 2905 said: If you have the patience, I'd still contact Hills to see if they'll replace it (assuming that it's still under warranty).As for the x-in-1 remotes, the very basic ones just have a code list, which is usually OK for simple things like TV's, but it's unlikely that you'd find one that knows about this particular PVR. Then there are the basic learning remotes, which have a code list, but can also learn from your existing remote..... if it's still working, of course. And then there's remotes like the Logitech Harmony which take a different approach. In day-to-day use, they're "activity" focused rather than device focused. They have a large and continually growing database of devices that they know about, but they can learn from an existing (but working) remote also, if need be. (I can't remember if I'm using the database 100% for my DGTEC's, though.... I'll check tonight.) Once you've used one of these for a while, you'll never want to go back to a collection of individual remote controls. The Logitech Harmony 525's were still $77 from DSE last time I looked, and if you don't like it for some reason, you can always take it back within the return period. Yes I was thinking about getting one of those, we have remote overload! I'm still within the 2 year warranty period, but if you could let me know about the Harmony compatibility, that would be great, thanks.
englfc Posted August 6, 2008 Posted August 6, 2008 marks2048 said: If you search back through this topic using the keyword "firmware", you should find information on how to get it. There is a trick to loading it: you must use a 128MB USB flash disk. There are also two different styles of machine, front USB and rear USB. They have different firmware images.By the way, for anyone else interested, I checked my suspect remote with a digital camera, and its LED is not pulsing, unlike several other remotes I also tested. So, looks like I'm going to have to replace the remote somehow. I could get one of those 3in1/4in1/5in1 programmable ones, but I think they need the original remote for programming - anybody have experience with such things? Thanks, Mark. Thanks a lot
Colin 2905 Posted August 6, 2008 Posted August 6, 2008 marks2048 said: but if you could let me know about the Harmony compatibility Confirmed: My '525 is using the database for all the buttons used on the DGTEC remote.
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