[andyhurley]

I know this has been mentioned before but I am not sure if anyone found the definative answer.

I don't have HD in my area yet so I can't test streaming HD from the 3view to a PC but I have tried it the other way with the following findings:

Recordings made by my video camera in 720p (MP4 files) play just fine on the 3view.

Avi files containing DiVx video at about 320p and 480p play fine on the 3view.

Avi files containing DiVx video at 720p play with no sound.

I don't know yet what audio codec these files are all using and I suspect the problem lies there but I understand others have had similar problems with HD going the other way too.

Does anybody have any more info on this?

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by andyhurley

IAvi files containing DiVx video at 720p play with no sound.

I happened to try a 720p MKV file last night (which causes my Humax to reboot!) and got no sound either...

[larkim]

Will they have AC3 audio in them (dolby digital?)? Haven't tested that, but on the 3view site they show AC3 as being supported but "only in video files". That's obviously no reason why they shouldn't work, but might indicate some sort of difference. Possible that the AC3 is only outputted through the SPDIF?

(As an aside, I have digital audio out turned off in the menus. I don't have a surround sound amp to send it to, so worked on the basis that if I reduce the complexity that the box is required to do then I might reap some benefits. Perhaps something else to try for those with stability issues?)

Matt

[andyhurley]

Originally Posted by larkim

Will they have AC3 audio in them (dolby digital?)

I did some checks last night and found the following:

Files that play ok

MP4 my video camera:
Video: MPEG4 Video 1280x720 [Output 1 (eng)]
Audio: AAC 48000Hz stereo 128Kbps [Output 2 (eng)]

AVI SD downloaded file:
Video: XVID 624x352 23.98fps [Stream 00]
Audio: MPEG Audio Layer 3 48000Hz stereo 128Kbps [Stream 01]


No audio on playback
MKV HD downloaded file:
Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280x720 23.98fps [Video]
Audio: Dolby AC3 48000Hz 6ch [Audio]

So from that evidence I would say that MPEG4,H264 and XVID all work for video, AAC and MP3 work for audio but AC3 audio does not work.

Hopefully this can be fixed as I am sure a lot of people will be wanting to play files containg AC3.

Hmm, I don't have a surround amp either so maybe I should try turning off digital out and seeing if that helps at all.

[larkim]

It would make some sense that a 6ch DD audio output was sent only to the digital audio out, rather than via the HDMI / Scart, by default anyway.

And then you'd assume that turning off the digital audio output would force the audio back through the more traditional routes......

(assume nothing!!!)

Matt

[andyhurley]

Originally Posted by larkim

It would make some sense that a 6ch DD audio output was sent only to the digital audio out, rather than via the HDMI / Scart, by default anyway.

And then you'd assume that turning off the digital audio output would force the audio back through the more traditional routes......

(assume nothing!!!)

Matt

We'll see. I'll have another play this weekend and I have put a support query in about this too...

Hmm, I had a reply from support but I'm not sure if it really relates to the question I asked:

Hi AndyWe have found a problem in the mechanism used at the factory to install the Dolby licence in to the CPU. We have a patch for this and we will be able to install this licence in the next upgrade build.

Maybe it is right though and it should be transcoding the AC3 before output. We'll see.

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by larkim

And then you'd assume that turning off the digital audio output would force the audio back through the more traditional routes......

I did try that with my MKV file but it made no difference to the audio or my stability issues unfortunately...

[andyhurley]

Originally Posted by sceptic

I did try that with my MKV file but it made no difference to the audio or my stability issues unfortunately...

Possibly it needs transcoding and this Dolby license will fix it. I am not clear why that would be problematic for people playing back 3view recorded HD over the nework though or have I got it wrong that that is a problem? I won't be able to test that until some time next year.

[digitl]

I was in touch with Ed about this some time ago and he thought it was a codec problem. Finding a suitable one is on his 'to do' list. However, if he's spotted a licence problem, the codec issue may be a red herring.

[digitl]

I've got this working. Details on my 'News' page at www.3viewpvr.info.

To help with progressing this, is anyone able to explain how I can check which codecs are loaded when I load VLC?

[larkim]

Any chance of an RSS feed for your excellent site, digitl? I have to admit I keep forgetting to check it, and being able to link it into google reader would be nice!

Matt

[digitl]

Originally Posted by larkim

Any chance of an RSS feed for your excellent site, digitl? I have to admit I keep forgetting to check it, and being able to link it into google reader would be nice!

Matt

Tell me how, and I'll see what I can do.

And thanks for the compliment!

[larkim]

Ah, I thought you might say that!!

I could point you at docs which show you how to manually create RSS feeds, but having one which automatically updates I think would depend on the tool that you use to update your side.

If there isn't a button you can "flick" to turn on an RSS feed, I think I'll just create one myself with page2rss.com which seems to work OK.

Cheers!

Matt

[Awaymag]

ive got windows 7 running on vmware on an imac and I am try to find my recordings on the 3view box on WMP but dont see them anywhere. Should this just appear and if so where - video or recorded tv

[digitl]

Originally Posted by Awaymag

ive got windows 7 running on vmware on an imac and I am try to find my recordings on the 3view box on WMP but dont see them anywhere. Should this just appear and if so where - video or recorded tv

Go to www.3viewpvr.info, click on the 'The Manual' and then click on the 'Viewing recordings on a PC' link. Works on a native Windows 7 box...

[digitl]

Originally Posted by larkim

Any chance of an RSS feed for your excellent site, digitl?

Your wish etc etc.

Top right at www.3viewpvr.info.

Hopefully, it will work.

[larkim]

Perfect! Seems to work, I'll let you know if there are any issues.

Thanks!

Matt

[gcpete]

Originally Posted by Awaymag

ive got windows 7 running on vmware on an imac and I am try to find my recordings on the 3view box on WMP but dont see them anywhere. Should this just appear and if so where - video or recorded tv

Its possible that your not seeing anything because of the way networking is passed through your mac box to the v box and then to the windows instance. Never used this combination but seen similar things with windows running on virtual box running on ubuntu.
If thats the case I would look at firewall settings in osX and the network device in your virtual machine, maybe look for something like bridge....

Peter

ps If you just want to watch videos install boxee for mac its free and works well.

[samiam]

Originally Posted by gcpete

Its possible that your not seeing anything because of the way networking is passed through your mac box to the v box and then to the windows instance. Never used this combination but seen similar things with windows running on virtual box running on ubuntu.
If thats the case I would look at firewall settings in osX and the network device in your virtual machine, maybe look for something like bridge....

Peter

ps If you just want to watch videos install boxee for mac its free and works well.

I've got Vista and Boxee works well with the Box,

Sam.

[digitl]

Originally Posted by larkim

Perfect! Seems to work, I'll let you know if there are any issues.

Thanks for the confirmation. I've added news and hints updates just now, so if someone can confirm their appearance I can (hopefully) assume I've understood the rss process.

[mbanbrook]

Originally Posted by andyhurley

No audio on playback
MKV HD downloaded file[Audio]

Exactly the same for me too. I've also found that you can't FF or REW through the file either. Have submitted a support ticket.

[andyhurley]

Originally Posted by mbanbrook

Exactly the same for me too. I've also found that you can't FF or REW through the file either. Have submitted a support ticket.

Interestingly boxee lets me FF and MWP lets me jump to any point but neither let me do both. I doubt this is a 3view issue though.

[Awaymag]

gave up try to see the 3view contents via win7 using VMware. Downloaded xbmc for mac (its free). Found the 3view box straight away and the xbmc user interface just blew me away. I tell you what - I am so happy I stuck with this box. The more I play the more I like. When iplayer launches I think this box could fly!
AM

[Grannygrunt]

Originally Posted by Awaymag

gave up try to see the 3view contents via win7 using VMware. Downloaded xbmc for mac (its free). Found the 3view box straight away and the xbmc user interface just blew me away. I tell you what - I am so happy I stuck with this box. The more I play the more I like. When iplayer launches I think this box could fly!
AM

So do I! Looks like the BBC iPlayer picture quality is also going to be fantastic from the 3View unit. Good job they used a really good HDMI connection and upscaler.

GG