black screen/freeze Vu+ 4k Uno

pbigen

Vu+ Newbie
hello,
I have bought recently a Vu+ 4k uno in order to record DVB-T signal. I live in France with external USB DVB-T dual tuner (Terratec Cinergy T stick dual) and external USB HDD. At first, I managed to record 2 or 3 TV shows. I upgraded to Black Hole 3.0.8, and installed OpenWebIf on the PC, network connexion with a Gigabit switch.
But in the last 2 weeks, it has stopped working as expected. The recordings have not succeeded, the TV set screen (HDMI connected) has turned black, the Vu+ doesnot obey the remote orders and even hard reset does not succeed at first try. The Vu+ seems warm but not hot on sleep. Should I use a powered USB hub? Have you other suggestions before I dismantle the box? Could the CPU/GPU be unsufficiently cooled? Best regards
 

AlexWilMac

Moderator
You MUST use a powered USB!!! Do you know that USB hubs are not multiplier of anything? They are divisor, instead.
And, what is worse, you want to use two very demading (in terms of power required) devices like a TV adapter and a USB HDD???
I would already surprised if they worked even if connected to a powered hub, imagine to a poor, passive one.
And, also, not only a USB hub divides the power to the attached devices (and to itself) but also divides the band.
 

pbigen

Vu+ Newbie
dear Alexwilmac,
Up to now, I didnot use a hub on the Uno 4K box since I had 2 USB3 ports for my 2 devices . I don't know about the internals but it is not sure they share the USB 3 bandwidth. At the moment, recording a HD DVB-T demands about 1 MB/s (3.6GB/hour) and we can assume the input flux is about the same. So I don't think the bandwidth limit is a problem, even for a USB2 limited to 60MB/s at its peak value. You may be right about the power limitation on a passive USB hub or for a hungry device directly connected to the USB port but up to now, this external (5400rpm) 2.5 USB HDD has never met power problems, be it connected to a laptop, to a HYUNDAI MS450 or to a basic CGV Etimo PVR box. Regards, Pierre
 

AlexWilMac

Moderator
Every device has its own caharacteristic. Even, also the O.S. has its role: imagine that Windows installed on a MacBook did not manage to power a USB device I had, whilst, on the same computer, OsX did!
And, by the way: USB ports are always in couple. When you have 3 ports on a computer, for instance, it is because one is made of a real USB port plus the webcam.
 
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