Skybox F3: PVR Compatible USB Sticks

[Lazarus]

Good point.

I suppose enabling Programme Stream recording might counterbalance some of the memory usage - Transport Stream Recording includes lots of potentially unnecessary elements as far as I understand it.

 

[hexah]

I use a class 10 SDHC card in a usb card reader, the veho vsd-001, in my Comag SL40HD and have no problems recording anything including 1080i.

I got a 32GB card for around £20 and the card reader was £3.50.

The card can be used in the camera but it is higher capacity than I need so it usually stays plugged into the Comag.

 

[hairybadger]

I use a Verbatim 49065 64GB PinStripe USB Drive with an Openbox S10. I *thought* it worked fine until the other day when I tried recording HD for the first time (from ZDF Neo HD). It was basically OK but every few minutes it would pause momentarily with the message "media not fast enough for playback" (or something like that).

 

[Lazarus]

Yes, that's what I got before finding the one I now use: And beware that message as it can either simply glitch momentarily or totally bomb out your recording.

Is it a USB 2 stick, or USB 3 ?? The latter generally seem to work whereas the former can be very fickle.

 

[hairybadger]

I suppose enabling Programme Stream recording might counterbalance some of the memory usage - Transport Stream Recording includes lots of potentially unnecessary elements as far as I understand it.

ah ha! That's the difference. My Openbox gives the choice of recording TS or PS and I never understood the difference until now.... Thanks!

 

[hairybadger]

Yes, that's what I got before finding the one I now use: And beware that message as it can either simply glitch momentarily or totally bomb out your recording.

Is it a USB 2 stick, or USB 3 ?? The latter generally seem to work whereas the former can be very fickle.

hmmm - not sure. The Amazon info pages claims *minimum* 10MB/s read, so presumably USB 2.0 . Not sure if the Openbox supports 3.0, anyway. I should have tried watching the recording on a computer before deleting it to see if the recording itself was faulty.

 

[PaulR]

Not sure if the Openbox supports 3.0, anyway.

That may not be the point. If the USB stick is manufactured to the higher USB 3 standard then the thought is that it might perform better at USB 2. Tivu's experience seems to bear htis out.

 

[hairybadger]

That may not be the point. If the USB stick is manufactured to the higher USB 3 standard then the thought is that it might perform better at USB 2. Tivu's experience seems to bear htis out.

OK, understood - I'll see what I have lying around and test. I'm not too fussed anyway because I can always just record the SD stream, and I'll probably move to a heavier-duty receiver + external disk combination in the nearish future.

 

[Lazarus]

Yes, PaulR is right.

It is indeed the Read & Write Speeds that are vital, not necessarily whether it's USB 2 or 3, but USB 3 sticks seem generally to be fast enough, de facto, that worrying about an individual devices spec. is likely not to be an issue with them.

Then again, it's very difficult to get (meaningful) data on Read & Write speeds so for USB 2 devices it is a bit of a lottery finding one that works reliably in PVR mode.

ALSO: Stick the USB drive in a PC, right-click and check the Advanced tabs under Properties >> You can assign a "role" to the device which includes General, Video etc. Mine is set to the latter. Don't ask me what characteristic it modifies or optimises, though!

 

[hairybadger]

ALSO: Stick the USB drive in a PC, right-click and check the Advanced tabs under Properties >> You can assign a "role" to the device which includes General, Video etc. Mine is set to the latter. Don't ask me what characteristic it modifies or optimises, though!

I've tried this - doesn't seem to make a difference. I've poked around a bit and I don't understand what this is supposed to do, either.

However: I've noticed that my recording (is only 720p, btw) is split into TS files of about 1GB in size, roughly equivalent to 10 minutes of play time. The "device too slow" message appears roughly at the transition points between files, for example the first segment is 10:23 long and lo and behold that's where I see the pause.

I'm going to try reformatting the key with a different cluster size and see if that makes a difference.

Note: when I set the channel in question ZDF Neo HD to record it tells me "H264 only support(sic) TS record", so PS isn't an option.

 

[Lazarus]

If you are getting loads of small .ts files, I think that's to do with whether you're using FAT or NTFS: Can't recall the details, but I think the multiple file business is to do with FAT file size limits. But it shouldn't matter as the PVR system copes with it by generating new files as required and they are "seamless".

I think.

 

[hairybadger]

If you are getting loads of small .ts files, I think that's to do with whether you're using FAT or NTFS: Can't recall the details, but I think the multiple file business is to do with FAT file size limits. But it shouldn't matter as the PVR system copes with it by generating new files as required and they are "seamless".

Yes - FAT32 limits. I agree it *should* be seamless but I observe different behaviour My Windows 7 box refused to format the USB drive as anything other than exFAT or NTFS - the Openbox didn't seem to like (or even see....) the exFAT so I've reformatted as NTFS using the maximum cluster size available. I recorded something last night but haven't had a chance to check it out this morning (am not the only person with claims on the television....). Given that the Openbox wasn't responding to the remote control this morning and was still displaying "record", requiring a hard power-cycle am not too hopeful. It's only supposed to record 2 hours at a time with its current settings.

 

[Lazarus]

You can exceed two hours by repeatedly pressing the Rec. button.

As for all the Formatting stuff, I recall spending a fair bit of time finding a bullet-proof set of parameters and circumstance but the details are lost in the midst of time!

Not massively user-friendly or plug-and -play, but I got there in the end!

Of course, you could just use an External HDD ..........................

 

[hairybadger]

Yes - FAT32 limits. I agree it *should* be seamless but I observe different behaviour My Windows 7 box refused to format the USB drive as anything other than exFAT or NTFS - the Openbox didn't seem to like (or even see....) the exFAT so I've reformatted as NTFS using the maximum cluster size available. I recorded something last night but haven't had a chance to check it out this morning (am not the only person with claims on the television....). Given that the Openbox wasn't responding to the remote control this morning and was still displaying "record", requiring a hard power-cycle am not too hopeful. It's only supposed to record 2 hours at a time with its current settings.

I recorded about 90 minutes of BBC 1 HD (1080i) last night on the same USB key, formatted with NTFS. Bitrate is about 7Mbps. As for FAT32, it's created files of 1GB. I noticed two *minor* glitches but couldn't reproduce them at the same points, and in any case they weren't at the transition point between files and I didn't get the "device too slow" message. I've also checked out a new recording of ZDF Neo HD - 720p, framerate of 50, recording bit rate of about 15Mbps and I didn't notice a glitch at the transition.

So: in my case, with the limited testing I've done, NTFS with a large cluster size appears to perform better with my USB key and an Openbox S10. I'll report back if I notice any different behaviour.

 

[Ghostleader]

Add TDK usb 2 USB sticks to the working list people, at the same time I tried a Seagate 320 Gig USB powered drive and the HD recordings had "dead spots" in the sound every 20 seconds for about a second.

 

[Lazarus]

Interesting (and thankyou) - maybe we need a "Compatible HDD" Thread too!

(There are various success reported, but in equally various Threads)

 

[hairybadger]

Add TDK usb 2 USB sticks to the working list people, at the same time I tried a Seagate 320 Gig USB powered drive and the HD recordings had "dead spots" in the sound every 20 seconds for about a second.

Just to be complete, do you have a model number for the drive? Thanks!

 

[Ghostleader]

Just to be complete, do you have a model number for the drive? Thanks!

The TDK USB stick you mean? I shall post back with the actual model, I'm waiting on a Cnm 64 Gig "Spaceloop" that my father has the 16Gig version of and works spot on in his Vu+ Solo coming from Amazon for less than £18! I shall post back on its compatibility asap also.

 

[hairybadger]

The TDK USB stick you mean? I shall post back with the actual model, I'm waiting on a Cnm 64 Gig "Spaceloop" that my father has the 16Gig version of and works spot on in his Vu+ Solo coming from Amazon for less than £18! I shall post back on its compatibility asap also.

I meant the Seagate drive, but yes the model of the TDK stick would be good as well

 

[zumtotal]

I have an M3 (same chip and firmware as the F3). Recording to a USB flash drive is proving temperamental, to say the least! It doesn't just depend on speed, either - I tried a 16GB USB 3.0 Busbi Bolt which has a decent write up in this review of USB sticks:
USB 3.0 Flash Drives: 30 Best Speed Tests & Reviews @WhoRatesIt?
It's not particularly fast for USB 3.0, but much faster than USB 2.0. Anyway, it locked up on an overnight (50 minute) recording - didn't go into standby at end of timer and no recording on stick. It also has a very annoying, bright blue LED which lights up a dark room!

Also had no luck with a 4GB generic USB 2.0 stick - no surprise there.

Currently trying a Color Turn E902, 32GB USB 2.0 from Amazon - will report back.

Generally I've had more luck formatting with NTFS compared with FAT32.