Scanning QAM Channels

[steveum]

I am trying to setup NPVR for the first time. I am a long time GBPVR user. Normally, when I scan the QAM channels, my local network channels all are named. I have a lot of other channels that the name is unknown too. For example, my local CBS HD channel is called WRAL HD. This channel is at QAM channel 85.1.

When the NPVR QAM scan completes it seems to have found all my physical channels, but it has incorrectly aligned the channel names with the physical channels. For example, it associates some of these names to the encrypted channels. Others, it just associates with the wrong channel. It makes things very confusing when I go to map the channels to the EPG channel.

Is this a known problem? Am I missing a patch? I am using a hauppauge 2250.

[sub]

I am trying to setup NPVR for the first time. I am a long time GBPVR user. Normally, when I scan the QAM channels, my local network channels all are named. I have a lot of other channels that the name is unknown too.

This is normal. Cable operators usually dont transmit channel names, so you only end up with valid names for local ATSC channels they're retransmitting.

When the NPVR QAM scan completes it seems to have found all my physical channels, but it has incorrectly aligned the channel names with the physical channels. For example, it associates some of these names to the encrypted channels. Others, it just associates with the wrong channel. It makes things very confusing when I go to map the channels to the EPG channel.

Do a scan and post the logs, and some examples of channels that are wrong and I'll see if anything stands out.

Is this a known problem? Am I missing a patch? I am using a hauppauge 2250.

I'm not aware of any other reports of this, so I'm not convinced at this stage.

[longjohn119]

This will help you sort out what's what, Just enter your zip code and then your cable provider and it will show you the physical number (example: 51.1, 51.7, etc) and the 'virtual channel' it is mapped to for an EPG as well as tell you what station it is. EVERYONE"S QAM scan sucks because US cable providers don't include any information in the feed like over the air stations and the rest of the world's DVB-T DVB-C or DVB-S standards. (Anything to save a couple of pennies or as I like to call it, Penny wise and Dollar foolish) The easiest setup I've found so far is Vista Media Center using a 3rd party app and it's still takes a lot of hand editing. I have 99 Clear QAM channels available and have gotten pretty good at it after setting up 8 or 9 different programs. What QAM tuning really is is a DVB-C tuner but scanned using ATSC channel frequencies and not really an ATSC tuner like the ones used for over the air HD broadcasting. Fortunately most tuner IC's have both 'front ends' built in and you just select the one you need. Basically path 0 is usually the ATSC front end and path 1 is the DVB-c front end.

[steveum]

I've attached my logs from doing two scans. The first scan was done on a virgin database. After the first scan was completed, I rescanned a second time.

After the first scan I see the most of my ASTC channel names showing up on encrypted channels, with a couple placed incorrectly on unencrypted channels. After i hit the OK button the encrypted channels are pretty much gone since its looks like all the encrypted channels are discarded. After the second scan I no longer see most of the ASTC channel names in the list at all, but I do see them showing during the scan. They just seem to disappear by the end of the scan.

The example I can give of specific numbers is for the following channels.

WRAL HD is at frequency 85.2.
WUNC HD is at frequency 79.2

After the scan is complete, it says that WUNC HD is at 85.2. After the first scan, it did have WRAL HD associated with one of the encrypted channels, but is not listed at all after the second scan.

I do think the actual physical unencrypted channels are all of the correct channels. If I channel surf through the channels from the TV GUIDE menu, all of the physical channels are correct. The only real issue I see is that the names are incorrectly placed.