[ivtv-users] Captions on TV but not PVR-150

[Jim Stichnoth]

On Sat, May 2, 2009 at 9:16 AM, Jim Stichnoth <stichnot at gmail.com> wrote:
> I am switching from DirecTV to DISH and started integrating the
> receiver into my MythTV setup.  I have the VIP211 STB, and I use its
> s-video output into the PVR-150.  (Eventually I'll use the component
> output into an HD-PVR.)
>
> Strangely, I'm getting no closed captions in MythTV, but if I connect
> the STB analog output directly to the TV (Vizio VW32L), the captions
> display properly.  I have disabled the STB's rendering of captions.
> PVR-150 captions were just fine from the DirecTV STB.
>
> Any suggestions on what might be wrong, or how to diagnose the
> problem?  For now I'm just letting the STB render the captions, so
> they get "burned in" to the recording.

Let me provide some more details.

My old DirecTV STB delivered good captions over the S-Video connector,
and my PVR-150 was able to decode them, and MythTV was able to display
them.

My new DISH Network STB (VIP211), connected to the same PVR-150 over
S-Video, does not deliver captions to MythTV.  I'm hoping to figure
out why.

If I connect the STB directly to the TV via S-Video, the TV displays
the captions properly.  Note that I have to disable the VIP211's
direct rendering of captions, and enable CC1 captions on the TV.  When
captions are present, the TV is also able to tell me the rating of the
program (e.g., age 7 for SpongeBob and age 13 for Meet the Parents).
I guess that information is also sent in the VBI.

So, if the TV is able to see the captions over S-Video, then why
doesn't the PVR-150 see them?  Are there any tools that would help me
diagnose what VBI information the PVR-150 is seeing?  I don't like
having to force captions to be burned into the video file.

Jim