Ceton InfiniTV 4 - Owner's Thread

[KScott]

No sleep issues. Sleep actually helped with the memory leak issue Ceton had for along time. Every sleep cycle reset the memory usage since the card was powered down for sleep.

Make sure you disable Pcie Link state power management. But I am sure Ceton would have told you that.

I disabled the Pcie Link state power management, same issue.
Everything works flawlessly except the Infinitv's aren't detected on resume from sleep, this occurs almost every time after resume.
Everything else (all hardware, etc) works properly after resume.
As I previously mentioned, Windows sees them but the Ceton software does not.
They are detected after reboot.

I've seen numerous other posts about the same issue.
I realize not everyone has the problem but there are many that do.
Ceton needs to fix this.

[erkotz]

Hello everyone!
Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I assembled my media pc about a year ago.
Win 7 sp1 x64/ Intel Q6600/ 6 gb ram/ EVGA GT430/ 2: pcie Ceton Infinitv.
My cable tv system requires no tuning adapters.
All works practically flawless except for 3 or 4 times a week when it resumes from sleep, there are no tuners found.
I mean even the Ceton diagnostics software sees no tuners.
They are visible in Windows device manager and shown to be working properly.
A reboot is required for them to be detected and all is then ok, until the next time it happens.
The WAF is now damaged!
I have no other issues with sleep or resuming.
I'm using Cetons latest firmware and drivers.
I submitted a ticket to Ceton along with the Ceton diagnostic log file.
Their answer was to not use sleep but instead use away mode.
I don't use extenders or stream to anywhere else in my home.
I would prefer to use sleep to lower my utility bill.

Since the only sleep issue is with the Ceton tuners, I tend to believe the problem is with their hardware, firmware, or drivers.
Anyone with any ideas or opinions?
A couple of SD HDHR Primes as replacements is looking better all the time.
I'm waiting for a deal like we saw a month or so ago.
I missed that window hoping myself or Ceton could correct the problem.

Please PM me your ticket #. I would like to look into this.

[KScott]

Hello everyone!
Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I assembled my media pc about a year ago.
Win 7 sp1 x64/ Intel Q6600/ 6 gb ram/ EVGA GT430/ 2: pcie Ceton Infinitv.
My cable tv system requires no tuning adapters.
All works practically flawless except for 3 or 4 times a week when it resumes from sleep, there are no tuners found.
I mean even the Ceton diagnostics software sees no tuners.
They are visible in Windows device manager and shown to be working properly.
A reboot is required for them to be detected and all is then ok, until the next time it happens.
The WAF is now damaged!
I have no other issues with sleep or resuming.
I'm using Cetons latest firmware and drivers.
I submitted a ticket to Ceton along with the Ceton diagnostic log file.
Their answer was to not use sleep but instead use away mode.
I don't use extenders or stream to anywhere else in my home.
I would prefer to use sleep to lower my utility bill.

Since the only sleep issue is with the Ceton tuners, I tend to believe the problem is with their hardware, firmware, or drivers.
Anyone with any ideas or opinions?
A couple of SD HDHR Primes as replacements is looking better all the time.
I'm waiting for a deal like we saw a month or so ago.
I missed that window hoping myself or Ceton could correct the problem.

Please PM me your ticket #. I would like to look into this.

Ticket PM'd:)

[WhatHappend]

@KScott, I have had 4 Ceton InfinitTV4 tuners to sample over time and one of them wouldn't work after sleep cycles that were over 30min or so (I don't remember the exact minimum sleep time frame and I can't access the old Ceton ticket system for details). Doing another sleep wake cycle would always fix it (didn't need a reboot). Ceton didn't see how it was the tuner because these issues are typically computer related. But since I had other Ceton tuners that worked fine, I knew it was the tuner.

For me if I disabled and re-enabled the card in device manager it would fix the issue (have you ever tried that?) or the the card didn't show up in the device manager a scan for new HW changes would fix it. So what I did was write a script that I had run on every resume to check for the Ceton device with and error <>0 and if it had and error it would disable and enable the ceton card or if the card didn't exist it would scan for new HW changes. Then scheduled this script for resume event (I recommended at the time that Ceton upgrade the driver to add this fix too) . This got me by for 3 months until Ceton RMA'd the card.

The script also logged messages in the event log so I could track how often the Ceton tuners needed to be restarted.

I will share the script here for you and others to improve your WAF (Ceton feel free to add this to your driver):

Code: Select all

' Tuner Missing or in error state on resume FIX
'
' Script intended to run on Computer resume from Task Scheduler
' use command line arg "eventlog" to use the windows  event log for logging (good for using from task scheduler).
'
' Author WhatHappend of thegreenbutton.tv
'  Date  03/27/2010
'
'* Wait 2 seconds before Running
wscript.sleep 2000
'
' Function for logging messages
Function LogMsg( level, message )
 If WScript.Arguments.Count > 0 Then
    If WScript.Arguments(0) = "eventlog" Then
       WshShell.LogEvent level, message
    Else
      Wscript.Echo message
    End If
 Else
   Wscript.Echo message
 End If
End Function
'
'
'*** Setup variables
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Dim found_tuner
found_tuner = false
strComputer = "."
' Get Card Ven ID from Device manager Device Details tab this is a pattern match, so just the beggine before "&"
cardVenID = "PCI\VEN_1B7C" 
likeCardCenID = "'" & Replace(cardVenID,"\", "\\") & "%'"
' Path to Devcon quoted.
devconPath = """E:\Devcon\Devcon.exe"""
'
'*** Locate Tuner PNP Driver
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
Set colItems = objWMIService.ExecQuery("Select * from Win32_PnPEntity WHERE PNPDeviceID LIKE " & likeCardCenID )
'
If colItems.Count > 0 Then
  '*** Found Tuner
  Set objItem = colItems.ItemIndex(0)
  '*** Mark that a tuner was found 
  found_tuner = True
  '*** See the tuner that was found has a error code (<>0) and needs to be restarted
  If objItem.ConfigManagerErrorCode <> 0 Then
    WshShell.Exec(devconPath & " disable "& cardVenID)
'   WScript.Echo "Disable Done"
    wscript.sleep 500
    WshShell.Exec(devconPath & " enable "& cardVenID)
'   WScript.Echo "Enable Done"
    '*** Log that tuner was found with error on resume
    LogMsg 1, "Tuner Found Not Working on Resume -- Error Code: "&objItem.ConfigManagerErrorCode
  Else
    
    '*** Log tuner was found working after resume.
    LogMsg 0, "Tuner Found Working on Resume -- Error Code: "&objItem.ConfigManagerErrorCode
  End If
Else
   '*** If no tuner is Found do a rescan for Pnp Hardware
   WshShell.Exec(devconPath & " rescan")
   'WScript.Echo "Rescan Done"
   '*** Log that tuner was missing on resume
   LogMsg 1, "Tuner Missing on Resume"
End If

[andino]

I'm on week 4 of the install with Charter.

So far they have screwed up my other cableCARD and now both tuners are not functioning.

I get no subscription channels at all and on clear channels it takes 30+ seconds to tune where it used to take about 2.

They also screwed up my internet somehow and I'm using my iPhone as a hot spot for the house.

Ive had 2 supervisors out and 7 service calls to the house and 40 calls to charter corporate and 1888getcharter.

Still not fixed.

Gotta love Charter.

[KScott]

@KScott, I have had 4 Ceton InfinitTV4 tuners to sample over time and one of them wouldn't work after sleep cycles that were over 30min or so (I don't remember the exact minimum sleep time frame and I can't access the old Ceton ticket system for details). Doing another sleep wake cycle would always fix it (didn't need a reboot). Ceton didn't see how it was the tuner because these issues are typically computer related. But since I had other Ceton tuners that worked fine, I knew it was the tuner.

For me if I disabled and re-enabled the card in device manager it would fix the issue (have you ever tried that?) or the the card didn't show up in the device manager a scan for new HW changes would fix it. So what I did was write a script that I had run on every resume to check for the Ceton device with and error <>0 and if it had and error it would disable and enable the ceton card or if the card didn't exist it would scan for new HW changes. Then scheduled this script for resume event (I recommended at the time that Ceton upgrade the driver to add this fix too) . This got me by for 3 months until Ceton RMA'd the card.

The script also logged messages in the event log so I could track how often the Ceton tuners needed to be restarted.

I will share the script here for you and others to improve your WAF (Ceton feel free to add this to your driver):

[/code]

Thank you very much for your help, WH!
I'll share my results after doing some traveling for a week or so..

[Joeh2056]

Need help It has been a long time since I was away from this forum. I have rejoined in the hopes you guys can help me decide. I want to know which one do I choose, the InfiniTV 4 or the HD Homerun Prime. I like the Infinity for the 4 tuners but I hear complaints that it is slow in tuning channels. The HD Homerun Prime is faster in tuning but only has 3 tuners. I like the 4 tuners but don't want to sacrifice the WAF. I used to own the Infinity 4 before but I sold all my gear because of all the issues I had with my setup. I am now getting back in because I am trying to lower my cable bill. I currently have four STBs in my house including a DVR. It gets very expensive. Any help in making my decision would be helpful. I know i am posting in the Infinity 4 thread so there might be bias.

[barnabas1969]

From your post, it sounds like you've already read my posts about the subject. My setup is stable, and the WAF is 100%.

I'll leave it at that.

[STC]

I have to now point the other side of the fence.- From my posts, you should also know that I and many other InfiniTV owners have a stable setup.
My WAF has always been 100% from day one.

Most issues have proven to be with the users setup, with rarer issues having been fixed with firmware updates.
I recall barnabas telling of similar issues he had using an Infini, that he also had using the HD when he received it. These have now been resolved (including some TA signal problems) so I wonder if going back to the Infini, that he would also have no more problems(?)

[barnabas1969]

I have to now point the other side of the fence.- From my posts, you should also know that I and many other InfiniTV owners have a stable setup.
My WAF has always been 100% from day one.

Most issues have proven to be with the users setup, with rarer issues having been fixed with firmware updates.
I recall barnabas telling of similar issues he had using an Infini, that he also had using the HD when he received it. These have now been resolved (including some TA signal problems) so I wonder if going back to the Infini, that he would also have no more problems(?)

True, my major complaint was not the fault of the InfiniTV. However, the faster tuning alone is worth the price of admission. Also, I no longer get "new cablecard tuner detected" messages... and those messages disappeared immediately after switching to the HD HomeRun Prime.

Another big benefit to the HDHR Prime is that I no longer get the "spinning circle" when the PC resumes from standby. Ceton blamed Microsoft for this delay, but I can attest that it no longer happens with the HDHR Prime tuner. What this means is that the HTPC is more appliance-like. It resumes from standby, and you can start watching TV immediately... no waiting for the spinning circle.

I also like the fact that I can put the HDHR Prime in a closet, along with my Tuning Adapter. With the Ceton, the TA needs to be near the PC. With the Prime, the TA is located with the tuner. I have two HDHR Primes now, and so have two TA's stacked in my wiring closet. My living room equipment now consists of a wall-mounted flat panel TV, an HTPC, and an AVR. No other equipment can be seen.

Those are my main reasons for liking the HDHR Prime over the Ceton. It's also pretty cool to watch TV on my laptop with no setup required except installing the driver and configuring the tuners in Media Center on the laptop.

[Joeh2056]

I have to now point the other side of the fence.- From my posts, you should also know that I and many other InfiniTV owners have a stable setup.
My WAF has always been 100% from day one.

Most issues have proven to be with the users setup, with rarer issues having been fixed with firmware updates.
I recall barnabas telling of similar issues he had using an Infini, that he also had using the HD when he received it. These have now been resolved (including some TA signal problems) so I wonder if going back to the Infini, that he would also have no more problems(?)

So let get this stright you are saying the slow tuning issue has benn resolved or are you saying the slow tuning dosent matter.When i used to oun the Infinity 4 before and i used to try to flip through channels really fast it would say tuner cannot be found. I read about the sleep problem a long time ago so what i used to do is leave the HTPC on all the time without putting it to sleep. but one of the painful problem i used to have. I would just turn off the TV only but alot of time when i turn it back on to watch some tv i used to get blank screen or tuner cannot be found. Now thinking of it the blank screen might be a hardware driver issue but now i have a new setup and new hardware havent tried it yet but i will.

[STC]

I do not suffer from slow tuning, so I can't comment on that one sorry.

[barnabas1969]

I do not suffer from slow tuning, so I can't comment on that one sorry.

It depends on your definition of slow. I thought the tuning speed of the Ceton was satisfactory... until I got the HDHR Prime.

[STC]

I wait about three seconds between channels. Pretty much the same time my TiVo HD takes. More then satisfactory for my house.

[barnabas1969]

I wait about three seconds between channels. Pretty much the same time my TiVo HD takes. More then satisfactory for my house.

That's about the same that I experienced with the Ceton. The HDHR Prime is usually less than 1 second, and never more than 2. What really amazed me about the HDHR Prime was that it tunes just as fast with SDV channels as it does with non-SDV channels. The Ceton took much longer to tune a SDV channel (up to 5 seconds), and I blamed it on the Tuning Adapter. But now I know better... it wasn't the TA that was causing the delay.

[STC]

Ceton power down tuners that are not in use. I can certainly live with another second or two for a channel change. I don't think I'd lose sleep over that. I don't channel surf either. Nothing to see here. Not a selling point for a HD. Give me four tuners any day.

[barnabas1969]

Ceton power down tuners that are not in use. I can certainly live with another second or two for a channel change. I don't think I'd lose sleep over that. I don't channel surf either. Nothing to see here. Not a selling point for a HD. Give me four tuners any day.

The HDHR Prime powers down tuners that are not in use too. I don't channel surf much either. Most of my TV watching is recorded TV. I think I've said this before... the big things for me were the lack of the "spinning circle" at resume from standby, and the lack of "new cablecard tuner detected", and "no TV signal" messages that would appear occasionally... sometimes four messages at a time. Those messages were easy enough for me to deal with, but they appeared simultaneously on all TV's in the house... so the kids and the wife would complain about them.

[Wolfshadw]

Well, I don't know if cost is an issue, but I just noticed Newegg has the SD HDHomeRun Prime 3CC on sale for $150
4th of July Sale

Also not sure how heat affects the SD HDHomeRun Prime, but my Ceton card actually over heated last night (having some cooling issues in my apartment). List channel signals in the middle of watching the channel.

-Wolf sends

[barnabas1969]

Well, I don't know if cost is an issue, but I just noticed Newegg has the SD HDHomeRun Prime 3CC on sale for $150
4th of July Sale

Also not sure how heat affects the SD HDHomeRun Prime, but my Ceton card actually over heated last night (having some cooling issues in my apartment). List channel signals in the middle of watching the channel.

-Wolf sends

My wiring closet is usually between 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit, and my two HDHR Primes have no problem with that.

[STC]

...not sure how heat affects the SD HDHomeRun Prime...

It would probably be fair to compare the InfiniTV USB to the Prime in this instance.