UK Freesat scanning, easier way to find viable channels

[Red5ive]

So I have a couple of Hauppague DVBS/S2 cards in my HTPC that I used to use with DVBLogic and Windows Media center.
Problem was they were always a pain to manage, you get loads of duplicate channels with no easy way to know which ones are viable or in the correct region without first adding them and switching to each channel once to check. I hoped NPVR would make the process easier.

When I go to the channel scan screen I can select 0282 / Astra 2E/2F/2G (28.2E) and after I press Scan Channels and a long wait later I get around 130 different channels found but with say 6 Channel 4's and seven ITV's etc.
I see that there are 3 boxes next to the frequency selector dropdown that on my system are set to 9750, 11700 and 10600, are we able to change those figures to only scan withing the ranges we can actually pick up? If so where would I finf the info to scan just the UK freesat channels?

I also have a newer Hauppage quad DBV C/T card. Under it's settings you can select from country/region from a long list. My nearest would be UK, Anglia, Sandy Heath. If I select that I get a much more concise list of channels with no duplicates. Is there a way to implement a similar way for satellite scanning?

I had hoped to just use the freeview DVBT tuners and maybe have the DVBS satellite tuners as backup but my reception is not great and I seem to loose channels or not be able to tune to some previously scanned ones, If I repeat a scan several times it can report back anything from 40 odd channels to 111.
On a related note I see that there are two 'Sandy Heath' listings, one with the date Feb 12 2020 and the other Jul 17 2018. Am I supposed to be using the newer listing or is that only fully active after the Feb date? If I scan with the older listing will I need to re-scan with the new listing after Feb 12?


Steve

[mvallevand]

You posted in the general forum, but scanning is different in Windows and Linux which do you use?

Martin

[Red5ive]

Ah sorry, I'm using windows. (feel free to move this post under there)

[sub]

So I have a couple of Hauppague DVBS/S2 cards in my HTPC that I used to use with DVBLogic and Windows Media center.
Problem was they were always a pain to manage, you get loads of duplicate channels with no easy way to know which ones are viable or in the correct region without first adding them and switching to each channel once to check. I hoped NPVR would make the process easier.

When I go to the channel scan screen I can select 0282 / Astra 2E/2F/2G (28.2E) and after I press Scan Channels and a long wait later I get around 130 different channels found but with say 6 Channel 4's and seven ITV's etc.
I see that there are 3 boxes next to the frequency selector dropdown that on my system are set to 9750, 11700 and 10600, are we able to change those figures to only scan withing the ranges we can actually pick up? If so where would I finf the info to scan just the UK freesat channels?

I also have a newer Hauppage quad DBV C/T card. Under it's settings you can select from country/region from a long list. My nearest would be UK, Anglia, Sandy Heath. If I select that I get a much more concise list of channels with no duplicates. Is there a way to implement a similar way for satellite scanning?

DVB-S is a bit of a pain like that. Ultimately the whole country is under the foot print of the satellite broadcast, so if there is multiple versions of the same channel (often with local adverts, or local news etc), you'll be able to receive all the versions. Unfortunately there is magic setting you can tweak to tell it to only show channels usually used in your part of the country - but you can select which channels you want to keep at the end of the scan (or you can delete them later in the Settings->Channels screen).

With DVB-T, we're only scanning your local transmitters, so you only get channels broadcast in your local area.

On a related note I see that there are two 'Sandy Heath' listings, one with the date Feb 12 2020 and the other Jul 17 2018. Am I supposed to be using the newer listing or is that only fully active after the Feb date? If I scan with the older listing will I need to re-scan with the new listing after Feb 12?

It sounds like your DVB-T frequencies are changing on that date. Rescanning after that date should fix it up.

[Red5ive]

Thanks Sub

How does NextPVR handle recordings, is it by channel name or number or some unique ID?
Will re-scanning the channels at a later date potentially break recordings (especially if their channel number changes)?

Will I be able to transfer scheduled recordings from V4 to V5 or am I best to start afresh?
I will be using emby with its V5 plugin but probably Kodi as the frotn end on my main HTPC.

[sub]

How does NextPVR handle recordings, is it by channel name or number or some unique ID?

It does it using a channel id

Will re-scanning the channels at a later date potentially break recordings (especially if their channel number changes)?

In theory, if it finds the same channel in the rescan, with different tuning parameters, it'll update the existing tuning information for that channel. Recordings should continue to work. ("should" and "in theory" because it really depends what they change the about the channels when they make these moves)

Will I be able to transfer scheduled recordings from V4 to V5 or am I best to start afresh?

I'd start fresh with v5. (there is a 'import recordings' feature you can use, but I'm aware of a bug with it, which I'll fix of the next release.

[jcjefferies]

There is no easy way to handle  Freesat scanning on NextPVR! With a Freesat box you only get the Freesat subset of the channels on 28.2E and with entering your postcode you get the correct regional variation. Things were made a little easier as there was a file on the forum called "0282 FREESAT ONLY (28.2E).ini.zip" so you only scanned about half the around 90 transponders at 28.2E. Unfortunately you still have to select your regional variation by its SID for which you have to use Kingofsat! Luckily the major channels rarely change but occasionally you may have to scan a single transponder to add a new channel or when one moves. I did produce an 28.2E ini file for my area which only contained transponders relevant to my area.

Chris

[Red5ive]

Thank you both for confirming.

@Chris I had a search of the forums for the Freesat only zip file but nothing came up, do you still have a copy, or will it be out of date now?
I'm sure back in the day you could download a 28.2.ini from kingofsat or some other site that was always up to date but cant seem to find it now.

[mvallevand]

It is still there https://en.kingofsat.net/sat-astra2e.php just click on the floppy disk.

Martin

[jcjefferies]

Enclosed is the latest Freesat ini file I have which dates from 2016 which will have some of the newer channels missing. However I notice the current ini files are a slightly different format with extra data about modulation so dont know if the old format still works on V5. Instead it may be worth editing a copy of the 0282E.ini and deleting transponder you dont want from info on Kingofsat.  However dont use Martins link as it only lists channels on Astra 2E so you dont see those on Astra 2F and 2G. The link below lists free to air channels at 28.2E.

https://en.kingofsat.net/freqs.php?&pos=...ltre=Clear

There are currently 465 mostly TV channels that a free to air scan will get you. However rather than edit the existing ini file it may be easier to just do a full scan and delete 100+ channels you dont want. Then with help from Kingofsat delete the unwanted regional variations. If you make a mistake or a new channel appears you never need to do a full scan again as you can just scan the particular transponder frequency. Which ever way you do it it takes time but it only has to be done once!!

Chris