Digital Tuner NZ

[stustunz]

my set top box is more forgiving than my 2 digital tuners (1xpci,1usb) it seems like tuner cards you need a better signal for computer tuners
so i disagree with the argument that it will be ok cause you can see the hill
i can see the sky aswell doesnt mean i always get a good signal it drops out and causes all sort of crap recordings
the only way i have been able to get a good recording is to use dvrms (which means they are not mpegs and cant stream )
so dont go asumming its going to solve all your problems may be just that you get them replaced with more annoying ones
ill be keeping my analog tuners going as long as i can

dont get me wrong im still looking for the perfect digital solution i just havent found it yet
the hauppuage digital cards may be better that is my next purchase

[psycik]

the only way i have been able to get a good recording is to use dvrms (which means they are not mpegs and cant stream )
so dont go asumming its going to solve all your problems may be just that you get them replaced with more annoying ones
ill be keeping my analog tuners going as long as i can

dont get me wrong im still looking for the perfect digital solution i just havent found it yet
the hauppuage digital cards may be better that is my next purchase

Sure that's not just a crappy mux you're using?? I had similar issues before going to the ATI mux, now the only "problems" I guess are a bit of FF/RW problems on an mvp - when you go backwards sometimes it goes forwards. Not a big problem

[stustunz]

nah i tried the 1307 mux etc as soon as the signal got a bit weak or what ever i got bits missed etc
it would go fine about 85% of the time but that 15% is enough to f#$@ you off

the digital picture is nice though i like it when its going good sort of a love hate thing going on with digital

[JonnyCam]

OK, so I got a HD ready set for xmas (1080i), now I am using VGA to get this to the panel at 1360x768 (native)

When TVNZ start broadcasting in HD on the terrestrial platform, what will I need to have in order to view this?
Any DVB-T card / usb stick would be OK?

I see they have said that it will be 80% TV2 on HD, and 50% on TVONE.

[sub]

When TVNZ start broadcasting in HD on the terrestrial platform, what will I need to have in order to view this?
Any DVB-T card / usb stick would be OK?

They've been running some trials in Wellinton. They're just running a some test loops with a few minutes of the Sopranos, CSI, netball and some other stuff, but we should see some real content in the near future.

I've received it on a few different devices, including HVR-1300, HVR-4000 and HVR-900 (USB stick), and all seem to do a good job. You need to have the Cyberlink H.264 decoder installed to use this Freeview DVB-T service with GB-PVR.

These H.264 signals are pretty hard on your machine, so you either need a very grunty dual core machine, or a setup with video card that can do H.264 hardware decode acceleration.

I'm not kidding when I say these H.264 signals are on your machine. My AMD X2 4400+ dual core machine with nvidia 7600GS couldnt play they broadcasts smoothly. 95-100% CPU across both cores, stuttering when most of the screen was updated, like panning etc.

My Vista machine with E6550 + ATI HD 2600Pro + Vista + EVR on the other hand only uses 5% CPU playing these streams. This is smooth as, but a couple of stability problems thanks to ATI.

[JonnyCam]

These H.264 signals are pretty hard on your machine, so you either need a very grunty dual core machine, or a setup with video card that can do H.264 hardware decode acceleration.

Ahh, I see - looks like no HD for me until I upgrade the HTPC (no PCi-16 slot, and I doubt that my Radeon 9600 & Celeron 3ghz will keep up with the streams)

Would it be possible for you to provide a small sample clip of the H.264 transmission so I can check it out?

[stustunz]

its not 3D so who cares
when they get 3D sorted then ill upgrade

jonnycam im sure if you got ati 2600 it comes agp doesnt it

[sub]

Would it be possible for you to provide a small sample clip of the H.264 transmission so I can check it out?

In about 15 minutes you'll be able to download http://www.gbpvr.com/TV3_20071218120000.zip

Its a 57MB file containing a short .ts recording I did of one of the channels recently. You'd need to have a H.264 decoder installed to play it, and an Transport Stream source filter like haali media splitter.

[JonnyCam]

its not 3D so who cares
when they get 3D sorted then ill upgrade

meh, just wait till VR is in place.

I know it's a small thing - but I want to use this TV for something remotely HD (no PS3 / 360 in my house) which would be such a change from the terrible telstra box output. (well, most channels)

I know I am defintely not upgrading anytime soon, the missus would be v. unhappy as we are getting married in Feb next year. (purchase = death!)

Thanks for the clip Sub.

[Lindsay]

The more I look into this, the more problematic it gets. To get HD TV it looks like I will need to buy a HD DTT decoder box for starters. This will connect to another AV channel. So, now we have two AV channels to select between, with channel changing complications, for SKY/HD Freeview! Great, just what my wife needs to further complicate her technologically challenged mind. How the hell are ordinary folks going to cope?

And then we have the PVR. Best get a fast core 2 duo machine for starters. And if you are having any problems streaming SD, forget HD? And if the cards are not good as per stu's post, even more disappointment....

Then there is the HDCP copy protection issue. Can we forget saving HD to disk?

My brain hurts - think I will wait till someone tells me I have it all wrong and that there really is a simple solution. Wonder why I bothered with a HD TV set?

Going back to waiting and watching mode......