VisionPlus VisionDTV USB-Ter - mixed results

Having just bought a TwinHan VisionPlus VisionDTV USB-Ter
digital terrestrial receiver, I'm having problems.

Up to last week, I was using a Hauppauge DEC2000-T, the set-top
box which also has USB output and playback (with updated software
from Hauppauge's Web site). I'd used it longer as a plain set-top
box than as a PC accessory - and then it suddenly stopped working
either way. It has about nine months on the clock, but I can't find
the receipt (yet). So...

Here are my impressions of the little VisionPlus USB adapter.
When I get to something disappointing, I'm hoping someone can
advise on how to fix it.

By the way, I'm using it in Blantyre, Scotland, receiving as far
as I know from the Blackhill television transmitter, and my PC
is an Acer laptop with Windows XP Tablet Edition, about 1.6 GHz,
USB 2.0 (and Firewire, or whatever it's called on PCs). That
also includes DirectX 9.0b. I bought the USB-Ter, which demands
DirectX 8.1, from Maplin in East Kilbride.

The quick-start guide tells you to read the manual, which is encoded
on the CD, and to plug in the device into USB as usual. So I do.
Windows prompts for drivers, and I find the relevant drivers on the
CD and let them install. Then I find the manual, and it says to
cancel installing the drivers, the setup program on disk will do it.
Ugh.

So I run the setup programme, tune in the TV, ... picture window
comes up... black. Also, no sound. When I change channels, the
window changes size to suit, and displays text in green saying
what size it is, but then it goes black again. No sound.

There's a record button. I record a few seconds of a channel.
This yields a file which I can play back in Cyberlink PowerDVD 5.0
- this is included, but I had it already installed with my DVD
drive. The file is adequate. But the actual TV software won't
show me it - just goes through the motions.

Out of the box, I have software version 2.421. From www.twinhan.com
I obtain 2.422's installer. The first time I run this, it uninstalls
version 2.421 and stops. I run it again and I get version 2.422.
I can't tell the difference. No TV sound or picture.

It says something about "MPEG2 DxVA acceleration". The manual
says that if you switch this on, then you have to remove and
re-install the software to get rid of it. I may have done this,
but it wasn't done to start with.

Selecting a radio channel comes up tricky, too. It would appear
that I have to open the configuration window for a list of channels,
click a "radiobutton" to get a list of radio channels instead of
TV stations, and double-click any one of them. And when I do,
I can hear.

I can also record. Nice.

I can play back the recording.

I notice there's a Favorites list and Favorites button, which doesn't
appear to do anything.

I notice I can use the recording schedule dialog box to choose to
record programmes only from channels in the Favorites list - not
other channels. Hmm.

I notice that about half of my audio time-shift recordings from
the DEC2000-T which refused to play in Windows Media Player and in
several other media player programs (in Cyberlink PowerDVD, they did),
now play perfectly well.

I notice, however, that if I pull one of these files into the USB-Ter
software, it crashes, and won't run again until I log out and log
in again. Well, I never did find out what the DEC2000-T was doing.
There are other ways to make the USB-Ter software crash, but I forget
what they all are.

Video recording quality seems to start with hiccups and dropped
moments in at least the first several seconds of a recording. This
is over USB 2.0, and I didn't have that issue with the DEC2000-T.
Oh, well. I mostly wanted to use radio, anyway.

Radio recording is not necessarily much better at this. And it
seems not to start just where you click the Record button or to
stop just where you click Stop, which is a bit of a nuisance.

I think that's most of where I am. No television picture or sound,
and one or more ways to make the thing crash. I've also lost PC
sound a few times until a reboot, but that might be the PC itself,
I'm not sure.

Oh, and VisionPlus's "capture tool", downloaded, doesn't appear
to like this product, yet.

Can anyone else who owns this device, or one of its cousins, see
what mistakes I'm making with it? I presume I'm making mistakes.

Robert Carnegie
Blantyre, Scotland

In message
(Robert Carnegie) wrote:

Having just bought a TwinHan VisionPlus VisionDTV USB-Ter
digital terrestrial receiver, I'm having problems.

By the way, I'm using it in Blantyre, Scotland, receiving as far
as I know from the Blackhill television transmitter, and my PC
is an Acer laptop with Windows XP Tablet Edition, about 1.6 GHz,
USB 2.0 (and Firewire, or whatever it's called on PCs).

Could be relevant, laptop graphics systems generally not being a capable
(whatever that means !) as desktop machines.

Do you have a desktop machine you could try it on ?

The file is adequate. But the actual TV software won't show me it
- just goes through the motions.

Does sounds like a clash with the laptop rather than faulty box.

Out of the box, I have software version 2.421. From www.twinhan.com
I obtain 2.422's installer. The first time I run this, it uninstalls
version 2.421 and stops. I run it again and I get version 2.422.
I can't tell the difference. No TV sound or picture.

There are differences, e.g. IIRC (switched off ATM) you get more
recording slots and...


It says something about "MPEG2 DxVA acceleration". The manual says
that if you switch this on, then you have to remove and re-install the
software to get rid of it. I may have done this, but it wasn't done
to start with.

This can be switched on/off at will with version 2.422 - one of the tabs
from the "spanner".

Selecting a radio channel comes up tricky, too. It would appear
that I have to open the configuration window for a list of channels,
click a "radiobutton" to get a list of radio channels instead of
TV stations, and double-click any one of them.

I haven't but I presume you can add radio station to favourites, then
choose from "heart".


I notice there's a Favorites list and Favorites button, which doesn't
appear to do anything.

You need to set up a favourites list, not obvious but IIRC

Spanner-Program-Add to Favourites

but you need to press "Stop" first - AFAICT you can't setvfavourites
whilst it is playing.

I notice I can use the recording schedule dialog box to choose to
record programmes only from channels in the Favorites list - not
other channels. Hmm.

That's what I want, I don't want to have to wade through all channels
(shopping/new/hols etc) when setting a recording.

the DEC2000-T which refused to play in Windows Media Player and in
several other media player programs (in Cyberlink PowerDVD, they did),
now play perfectly well.

Sounds like Vision plus has installed a codec which is now being used by
Media Player.

Radio recording is not necessarily much better at this. And it
seems not to start just where you click the Record button or to
stop just where you click Stop, which is a bit of a nuisance.

Haven't tried (beyond quick testing) recording via the button, I do all
recording via scheduler.


I think that's most of where I am. No television picture or sound,
and one or more ways to make the thing crash. I've also lost PC
sound a few times until a reboot, but that might be the PC itself,
I'm not sure.

All I can say is the one I have does work, though it is no where near as
user friendly as the Nebula PCI card I have - but that's twice the
price.


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