71 replies to this topic

[joeybloggs]

Please search and read the forum before posting.

PLEASE SUPPLY THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WHEN INITIALLY ASKING FOR HELP IN THE FORUM

Hardware:
Q01. Motherboard Manf ? Model ?
Q02. CPU Manf ? Speed ?
Q03. Video Card Manf ? Model ?
Q04. Disk Drives Manf ? Model ? Connection Type ?
Q05. DVB-T Card / Device Manf ? Model ?
Q06. Wireless Lan installed ?
Q07. Bluetooth Devices installed ?
Q08. Are you Overclocking ?

Drivers:
Q10. Video Card Driver Version ?
Q11. DVB-T Card / Device Driver Type ? Version ?

Software:
Q20. Operating System ?
Q21. Service Packs installed ?
Q22. DirectX version installed ?
Q23. PowerDVD installed ? If so version ?
Q24. WinDVD installed ? If so version ?

Q25. DTV Application installed ? Version ?

Signal Environment:
Q30. What Country ? Region ? Transmission Site ? are you trying to receive from.
Q31. Indoor or Outdoor antenna ?
Q32. Do other DTV devices, STB's etc work from the same antenna ?
Q33. Do you have Quad Shielded RG6 cabling installed end to end.
Q34. Do you have a Masthead amplifer, a Distribution Amp, a Passive or Powered Splitter installed ?

[ajm]

I like the idea - love it in fact but I fear it would be a complete waste getting this thing pinned.  Most don't even bother to search let alone read pinned threads.  If it's not among the first three threads (and sometimes even if it is) then the people who dive in wanting individualised tech support and shopping services will make a new thread.

I'd love to be proved wrong on this though so fwiw I vote 'yes' make this a sticky.

[alanh]

joeybloggs,
Your section on signal environment is inadequate.
Have you read my sticky to get posters to go to the Geographic Forums. I am always redirecting.
I suggest you read your region. This is because the reduction of pixellation and sound plops requires the antenna to be designed for the viewers' channels in their area.

AlanH

[sold]

alanh, on Jun 9 2006, 06:00 PM, said:

joeybloggs,
Your section on signal environment is inadequate.
Have you read my sticky to get posters to go to the Geographic Forums. I am always redirecting.
I suggest you read your region. This is because the reduction of pixellation and sound plops requires the antenna to be designed for the viewers' channels in their area.

AlanH

Maybe, but it gives you a rough idea of whether they even have a remote chance of getting a decent signal or if they are running a 10 year old indoor antenna with a six way passive splitter out in the middle of nowhere. This gives you a way of knowing whether or not their problem is likely to be signal related or not.

[Ian Norman]

Alanh

  Forgive me for asking but did you really say the following

"This is because the reduction of pixellation and sound plops requires the antenna to be designed for the viewers' channels in their area."

  Are you serious or is this an injoke that I'm not aware of ???

  Perhaps your statement is part of a more involved discussion on that topic and I'm taking it out of context.

  In isolation that statement is rather odd

Cheers

[sold]

Makes sense to me. Basic translation - 'for good reception you need an antenna designed for your area', hence needing to read the appropriate forum for your region.

[Ian Norman]

OK - It's just me then ( must take more medication ) - Sorry Alan !!!

[joeybloggs]

Yup all of that, this is intended to be from a PC DTV card / device POV, we can point them elsewhere as required. There is already quite a lot of information required. I wouldn't be in a hurry to add more ~

[Ian Norman]

I agree with Joey completely.

While I didn't mean to seem disrespectful to Alanh, Having the correct antenna for your area does not guarantee perfect reception.
There are many other areas of the antenna system that cause problems - Cable - Splitters - mastheads etc.

This is, as Joey pointed out, the PC DTV card section and there are many issues with DTV cards that can cause problems which sometimes can seem like antenna issues but are not.

There are always "grey" areas - No such thing as Black and White when it comes to TV Reception.

IMO - Joeys "Signal Environment" is perfectly adequate for it's intended purpose.

Cheers

[alanh]

Ian,

You have a PC card which cannot find a station(s).
Picture pixellates and has plops and or silence in the sound
Picture is frozen with no sound

How do you solve these problems?

I would provide a known good antenna signal and try another scan. If this still does not work it is usually a driver fault or an inadequate PC. If you try and solve this problem with an inadequate antenna signal you will never solve the problem because fixing the computer will not solve the problem of an inadequate signal!

The most common source of problems with reception are antennas and their cabling and there is a strand for that. Antenna & Distribution Systems strand. In this strand I have also pinned Read This First! - Localised Transmission Coverage. Go to the Geographic Viewers’ Forum, which is near the bottom of the main forum’s home page. Select your region and read the pinned post “Get the Best Reception”. Please post any further correspondence in this strand for all in your region to see. I will see it anyway. You could also search your location in that strand for others in your area. If you go to all the associated links, it covers every thing from basics to amplifiers to detecting sources of interference

In capital cities most existing antennas are designed for channel 1 to 10 or 12 + UHF. A lot of problems are caused by interference picked up on the parts of the antenna designed for channels below channel 6. Typically channel 2 and FM. This is why there are no digital channels below channel 6. There will not be any allocations in these lower channels.

I suggest you read
Antenna Design Basics + Amplification, Terms and comparison of types

Some times the problem is that cards and STBs when scanning for channels find a signal on a low channel number and there is a repeater on a much higher channel number. The software does not always store the good signal on the correct Logical Channel Number and instead gives it a number between 350 and 399.

I do not have a problem with the other questions but providing an adequate antenna signal is the first priority

Lastly digital has no grey, it is either "perfect" or non existent. The small signal strength range between these is called the digital cliff. So for good reception the Bit Error Rate must be less than 1 in 10 000. This is only achieved with an adequate signal strength with any delayed signals with in a time tolerance. The problem is that unless you measure the signal with a digital field strength meter you do not know if you are near the cliff until you fall over it. Signal strength meters on receivers are not accurate enough for this as too little or too much signal produces the same effect, either no signal or pixellation/sound plops.

So Joey perhaps I should refer those with PC cards back here from the Geographic Viewers' Forums?
After all PC tuner cards are still receivers just like STBs and TVs.

AlanH

[sold]

alanh, on Jun 10 2006, 01:27 AM, said:

You have a PC card which cannot find a station(s).
Picture pixellates and has plops and or silence in the sound
Picture is frozen with no sound

How do you solve these problems?

I would provide a known good antenna signal and try another scan. If this still does not work it is usually a driver fault or an inadequate PC. If you try and solve this problem with an inadequate antenna signal you will never solve the problem because fixing the computer will not solve the problem of an inadequate signal

IMO this is best done the other way around.

One issue with doing it that way is getting the a know good antenna source. This will mean for most people getting someone in to check their digital reception and if it isn't adequate install a new antenna or similar. This will cost money.

On the other hand these problems could be caused by a number of other things such as incorrect/old driver/software installation, IRQ conflicts, video decoders not working properly, etc. These things can all be fixed without having to spend anything and if they solve the problem then you've saved you self probably a few hundred dollars. If they don't then go an see someone about the reception.

[joeybloggs]

alanh, on Jun 10 2006, 01:57 AM, said:

I do not have a problem with the other questions but providing an adequate antenna signal is the first priority

So Joey perhaps I should refer those with PC cards back here from the Geographic Viewers' Forums?
After all PC tuner cards are still receivers just like STBs and TVs.

Alan, there are a wide range of potential issues with PC DTV Tuner cards / devices, not all of which are signal related. They are not a known working black box like a STB or TV. This question set enables us to determine whether reception is likely to be part of the problem. I agree with your sentiment but the reality is that most people are only going to go out and spend hundreds of dollars testing / upgrading their antenna system as a last resort after trying everything else

[alanh]

Joey,
There are lots of computer people who think that TV signals are just like signals which are like ADSL "perfect". The reality is that they have an indoor antenna next to a computer which is radiating interference. I have a computer with an inbuilt DTV receiver. The antenna supplied is a joke, and is useless except when sitting under a band 5 transmitter!


Perhaps the answer is to get an STB for under $100 and use it on another TV in the house. You can then use it to test the antenna signal. It may then enable the any band 1 & 2 antenna to be removed.

If you can get the computer to put up the installation menu and the search is carried out then you may get an approximate reading of signal strenght and quality. The problem with these on screen meters is that they are not accurate and cannot show impulse interference. So you go chasing processor speed, memory etc to no avail. The card instructions should tell you what computer performance is required and a driver for Australian conditions should work.

AlanH

[joeybloggs]

Can we get this pinned now

[ajm]

joey,

I admire your persistence but I think you're pushing for a solution that no one will take the slightest bit of notice of.

The people who take the time to read stickies can usually sort their own problems out or at least have the wherewithall to provide the info needed.

The rest don't and won't take the slightest bit of notice.

[50MXE20]

joeybloggs, on Jun 18 2006, 06:24 PM, said:

Can we get this pinned now

The correct way to get something pinned is to PM the moderators. They will say "Yes" or "No".  Posting that you want something pinned will get you nowhere.

[joeybloggs]

Right, I'm trying to build a consensys. But perhaps that's a little too ambitious   I'll just PM the moderators as you say.

Quote

The people who take the time to read stickies can usually sort their own problems out or at least have the wherewithall to provide the info needed.

The rest don't and won't take the slightest bit of notice.

I totally agree but that's not really an excuse for not doing it ~

[Austen]

To all the others who have put their $0.02 in, let me add mine.

Joey, Thanks for trying to get this running, it's a really great idea.

To some of the others, may I respectfully suggest that you haven't read Joeys FIRST POST in this thread ......

PLEASE SUPPLY THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WHEN INITIALLY ASKING FOR HELP IN THE FORUM.................

I'm failing to see what the problem is here guys, Joey has simply come up with a list of questions that a trouble-shooter might like to know when trying to assist someone with problems.

If you think Joey has left an appropiate question out, simply tell us what you believe the missing question(s) to be.

Suggestion.....

Joey, Many problems are caused by inadequate powers supplies. Do you think this is a relevant question to add to your list ?

Kudos to you Joey !!

Austen.

[joeybloggs]

As I've stated previously this is intended to be an initial set of questions. There are already a reasonable number of questions and adding more may be counter productive ~ You can always ask follow up questions.

Most of the existing questions can be answered by running DeviceManager, DxDiag etc ie they don't necessitate powering the machine down, removing the covers and in most cases probably removing the power supply just to identify it. And even then it's not often going to establish the quality of the supply or how close to its limits it is. So I'm not sure it's all that viable... ~ ???

[dsharpe]

How do I get to post a new question/topic?

[Rob_D]

Try the "New Topic" button.  RHS towards the top.

[50MXE20]

Rob_D, on Nov 23 2006, 10:29 AM, said:

Try the "New Topic" button. RHS towards the top.

AND bottom right.

[Seanslife]

I agree, this is a good guide for posting problems in fact I will put all the info in my signature block

[Leon Bradley]

I own a DVB-T USB (For the PC), However i cannot pick up Ch9 or Ch10 in high definition properly. I have filled out as much info as i know off my head to assist. Program i use to view with is 'K-World DVB-Plus'

Q02. CPU Manf ? AMD Athlon 64 Processor 4000+
Q03. Video Card Manf ? RAEDON X550
Q04. Disk Drives Manf ? Model ? Connection Type ?
Q05. DVB-T Card / Device Manf ? DVB-T USB / K-World
Q06. Wireless Lan installed? Yes
Q08. Are you Overclocking ? No

Software:
Q20. Operating System ? Windows XP
Q21. Service Packs installed ? Yes, Version 2
Q23. PowerDVD installed ? If so version ? No
Q24. WinDVD installed ? If so version ? No

Signal Environment:
Q30. What Country ? Region ? Transmission Site ? are you trying to receive from. Australia, Sydney
Q31. Indoor or Outdoor antenna ? Outdoor
Q32. Do other DTV devices, STB's etc work from the same antenna ? No
Q33. Do you have Quad Shielded RG6 cabling installed end to end. No
Q34. Do you have a Masthead amplifer, a Distribution Amp, a Passive or Powered Splitter installed ? No