Daily Frustrations when being a HTPC enthusiast

[mikinho]

[url=http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5203&Itemid=260]Original Article Link[/url]

What type of splitter \ op-amp are you using?  What does your coaxial wiring diagram look like?

It sounds like you simply had too many splits or reverse path noise.

[Meester.Rip]

I wonder if he could go into the guide and set the source for the one bad channel to use the CETON tuner only. It didn’t sound like a signal issue, more of a driver issue or because both tuners have the ability to be shared like a netwrok device maybe there was a conflict there.

I would turn on debugging on the HDHR and send Silicondust a log. And the logs from the event viewer.

[SikSlayer]

That sounds very likely, but you’d think if that was the case, then more people would have the same issue. the HDHR is a popular device, there’s gotta be more than one Ceton owner who also has an HDHR. Oddly enough, there’s likely a large number of those who got rid of/removed the HDHR when they got the Ceton.

[captain_video]

The one thing that jumped out at me was that he “added” the Ceton card to an existing configuration.  When I installed my Ceton card it was on a fresh install of Win 7.  I had both USB ATSC tuners (four HP models) and a HDHomeRun.  I opted not to use the HDHR in my setup and things went smoothly.  I did run into a few issues but it turned out to be bad drivers or some other such thing that I eventually worked out.  I’m sure I have way too much crap installed on my HTPC but so far things are running relatively well.

I had to laugh about the wife comment because I went through the same thing with my wife in an attempt to replace her cable box with a media extender.  Needless to say I gave up and hooked the STB back up to her TV and she’s been (relatively) happy ever since.  I still hear occasional gripes when the TV in the family room has issues (these are usually resolved by resetting the extender or switching inputs on the TV).

If anyone can be called a tuner whore it has to be me.  Besides the four Ceton tuners I also have four ATSC tuners connected to my HTPC.  However, when you consider that the tuners are shared between the HTPC and three extenders it really isn’t all that many.

[mikinho]

I currently have two Ceton InfiniTV4, two ATI DCT, three HDHomeRuns, an AVerMedia Duet, an AVerMedia AVerTV USB HD PVR and a Hauppauge HD-PVR connected to my primary HTPC [i]for testing[/i] and have not seen any conflicts between them.

The only time I’ve had issues with pixelation andor freezing is when I tested lower quality op-amps and passive splitters.

When you had issues did you go into the tuner debug screen (4-1-1) to see what tuner was having issues?

Update: Forgot about the two ATI DCTs…

[mikinho]

The reason I ask about your hardware is that you have introduced [i]at least[/i] 1 additional four-way split when adding the InfiniTV4 due to the internal splitter. 

If your signal is already on the low-end but worked fine before you could run into issues.

[bjdraw]

When I tested the InfiniTV 4 I added it to my MC with existing HDHR and didn’t experience any of the issues you describe.

[autoboy]

I used to have the same problems.  Constant issues with SageTV and constant issues with my PC clients.  I switched to WMC and it was even worse and I couldn’t do half the stuff SageTV could do.  I switched back and got it working ok, but no matter what I did there was always something that I couldn’t get to work.  DTS, or smooth playback, or MKVs.  It was a mess.  That all went away when I switched from PC clients to the HD100 and HD200 extenders.  Since then, 95% of my problems are the bad HD-PVR I have.  It fails every 2 weeks or so, but I’m too cheap to replace it and I have my hopes up for CableCard on SageTV. 

Now I’m building a system for my brother in Sacramento.  125 miles away.  I hope I’m not getting myself into a support nightmare…

[robinhoody]

@Autoboy teamviewer will be your best friend 🙂

[mikinho]

[quote=”autoboy”]
Now I’m building a system for my brother in Sacramento.  125 miles away.  I hope I’m not getting myself into a support nightmare…
[/quote]

Definitely find a board w/ IPMI! (Note: Though I am serious it isn’t an easy thing to find on mediadesktop boards.  The few that have them are in the upper end)

[autoboy]

He’s already using his HP WHS.  He’s keeping his Dish DVRs in parallel for now until he gets comfortable and stable.  SageTV can be very stable if you can just quit fiddling with it.

[SikSlayer]

[quote=”autoboy”]SageTV can be very stable if you can just quit fiddling with it.[/quote]

The same can be said of any HTPC app.

[mikinho]

But what fun would that be?

[phoneguyinpgh]

@ Mikinho…  When can we expect  PART II???

[Aaron Ledger]

Josh,

You’ve got to isolate the issue. I’d start where Mikinho suggests and that is with your cabling as that is the most likely cause. Remove any unnecessary splits and terminate any unused splitter ports. Check all of your cabling. Make sure every coax connection is tight. Tug on each cable while holding the end to ensure the connectors are snug on the cable. Ensure that no center leads have been accidentiallyh smashed in such a way as to not make good contact. Check for RG-59 cable and replace with RG-6 cable. Quad-shielded RG-6 is best in general home use. RG-59 has too much signal attenuation.

Other signal related troubleshooting might include disabling any possible sources of interference like cell phones, wireless devices, routers, phones, etc. All of which while not necessarily in the sub-1MHz band, can generate signal harmonics that possibly could interfere with certain frequencies in the sub-1MHz cable domain.

If you’ve got a really long run of cable with a lot of splits, it might be necessary to use a signal amp. If so, get a good one and place it as close to the cable drop as feasible. Err on the side of not using any amps first though as they can also introduce problems and a lot of times are used unnecessarily.

Well, there’s your first homework assignment!

[Author]

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