Hauppauge Tweak Tool: Configuring Multiple Tuners

[webserverdude]

I really appreciate the detailed post, thank you! I think the biggest problem in my current setup is the use of cheap splitters. I really did not know they had that much of an effect on the signal until I actually tried connecting the PVR-150 to the cable running into the office directly. The picture is amazing! And that is with the 5-way splitter between the house and the PVR.

The 3-way splitter doesn't really have the drop listed on the sticker, so there wouldn't be a way for me to find out the drop for each output, right? Nevertheless, I will definitely be buying a quality brand splitter.

The 5-way splitter doesn't have the drop rating listed on the sticker as well. It is an Archer brand splitter, probably installed by our cable company.

I think a good solution would be to scrap the Trisonic 3-way and get a quality brand 2 way splitter, one that leads into an amplifier and another one that leads into another TV I have. The amplifier would then amplify the signal, then I would split the signal again to go into my two PVR-150s. Does that sound like a feasible solution?

By the way, another thing I noticed is that the picture looked a little softer without the three-way splitter. Is there any way to adjust that using the Hauppauge Tweak Tool?

Again, I appreciate all the help in this board.

[SLR_65]

Archer is a Radio Shack brand and the cable cos do not use them. I really like Channel Vision and usually you can get them off fleaBay, etc. pretty cheap. Also, places that sell satellite installation equipment usually have good splitters.

Without having the db drop listed on the splitter the only way to know which legs have the better signal would be to find the weakest channel you have on your system and then move your feed around to the various ports and see when one gives the best picture. They may all have the same drop, there are designs that do that but they aren't as common (usually with those designs you'll have 5 that have a high drop as compared to 3 with not so bad drops and 2 with high drops, so most will opt for the more common design)

The amplifier would be best placed BEFORE any splitters. You need to look at it as signal and noise. As you lose signal you gain noise, i.e. the signal you want gets quieter and fades back into the background noise and it gets hard to discern the signal from the noise. Amplifying the signal after it's faded will amplify the signal but it also amplifies the noise, if you amplify the signal BEFORE it's lost strength then you keep this signal to noise ratio at a better level and end up with a better picture.

You can overdrive your tuners so it's best not to use any larger amplifier than you need.

With your large amount of drops though I would think a 15 db amp would be just fine for you.

I would add an amp and replace both splitters. What to replace the splitters with, etc. all depends upon your setup - i.e. can you run the cable drops to one central spot? If so then use one large splitter. If not then you need to carefully plan what you need where.

This is getting off topic for GBPVR, suffice to say you've discovered it's not the PVR-150 settings causing most of your problems, it's your signal level and lets move this conversation off the forum so we don't take up Sub's bandwidth and bore others.

Drop me a private email and we'll try to sort this out and get things working a bit better for ya.

Take Care,

Steve

[stustunz]

no keep it coming
this will help people in the future so they dont blame the pvr150 or gbpvr
this is helpful info

[SLR_65]

no keep it coming
this will help people in the future so they dont blame the pvr150 or gbpvr
this is helpful info

Okey dokey, as long as Sub doesn't mind!

Years and years ago I used to do some satellite master antenna installs. It's been a while, and some things such as cabling specs and stuff have changed, but I think I can muddle through and help him out.

*) How many tuners are you feeding (tvs, vcrs, etc.)
*) Can you run the feeds back to one central spot, or would a couple spots be better?
*) How long are the cabling runs?
*) What kind of cable do you currently have?

That'll give us a starting point . . .

[martint123]

Can you get amplifying splitters in your part of the world? They are common here.
I have one in the shack and the incoming aerial feed gets amplified to feed a further 5 outputs. The gain is variable. Your first splitter certainly would be better as an amplified one because once you have lost some signal and brought in noise, there is no way to get it back.

[SLR_65]

Hi Martin,

Yes, amplified splitters are available here and are a good option too. I kinda prefer discreet components though as it seems these systems are always getting revamped a few times and having the splitters and amps separate gives the most flexibility.

[zehd]

Yeah, that's a bad picture. I fixed mine like that with an amp.

But in ref to the haupauge tweak tool:

I know that the current tool doesn't get all features of the 150 with newer drivers, so I have a different way to tweak settings: Graphedit...

After viewing live tv, I open lastgraph.grp from the gbpvr folder. I can change settings on the capture and encoder portions...

In gbpvr config, under the channel lists I disable a channel on 'the other' cards list. That way when I view that channel, GB-[PVR is forced to look at the card I want to tweak. Then I open lastgraph and tweak again.

It's neat because Graphedit has the preview screen which is pretty much what GB-PVR would show, so you don't have to fly around too much

[mikeh49]

Zehd, that's a great idea. Can you confirm that the settings made in Graphedit "stick" and are used by GBPVR after a reboot? There was considerable discussion in the past, both here and elsewhere, about Hauppauge registry settings not withstanding a reboot.

[zehd]

Zehd, that's a great idea. Can you confirm that the settings made in Graphedit "stick" and are used by GBPVR after a reboot? There was considerable discussion in the past, both here and elsewhere, about Hauppauge registry settings not withstanding a reboot.

Yes I'm aware. Unfortunately, I was unable to get involved without saying something like "If it ain't sticking, you ain't doing it right" without sounding nasty...

Yes, it sticks. I've only spent time on it for myself once and can't remember all of it, but I remember there were global settings, and card specific settings.

Some of the settings only took effect AFTER a reboot, so that made reboots moot...

I had a pair of mismatched 150's. I added a video amp, and then tweaked saturation and other settings till I was happy.

I actually got real cocky and did this:

I played with the channel lists until I had two lastgrahs, one for each card (yeah, I renamed)

I was then able to open both at the same time, and have two preview windows open so I could compare the tuners side by side...

Now I have a 1600 and a 150, and they are slightly mismatched again. I'm planning on running through the proceedure again and keep notes (maybe write a page).

But it won't be for a few weeks...

[martint123]

Yes, amplified splitters are available here and are a good option too. I kinda prefer discreet components though as it seems these systems are always getting revamped a few times and having the splitters and amps separate gives the most flexibility.

We'll have to agree to disagree here :eek: I prefer the gain to be part of the splitter so that things like the OP's problem shouldn't occur. Keeping the output level similar to the input level makes life much easier.