HVR 1600: Poor Image Quality On Some Analog Cable Channels

[ph349397]

I just got a Hauppauge HVR 1600 and I only use the analog cable tuner. The quality of the picture for many of the channels I recieve is quite poor. It seems that if the picture quality on a certain channel is already good coming in (meaning it would look fine on a stardard cable-ready tv), then there is no issue. However, if the picture quality is poor coming in, the card makes it even worse. Here is what I understand about how the card works in conjunction with the computer:


(analogue cable signal) -> (hardware mpeg2 encoder, a.k.a. the card) -> (sofware mpeg2 decoder, a.k.a. the computer/cpu/graphics card) -> (display)

In my case, the display is simply my computer monitor. I've read that for the Hauppauge PVR 150, there are some apps I can download that will actually allow me to tweak the hardware encoding settings on the card. I've gotten the impression that the 1600 is not yet supported by these apps. Therefore I'm thinking that I have two options to improve the picture quality:

1. Mess with the decoders I have installed on my computer.

2. Get a cable signal booster.

Am I on the right track here?

[sub]

1. Mess with the decoders I have installed on my computer.

2. Get a cable signal booster.

Yeah, pretty much, though they each address a different sort of problem. ie, if you probably relates to weak signal lock, then changing the decoder isnt going to help. You could be seeing a combination of both though.

You probably want to remember not to look too closely. NTSC is never going look great viewed at two feet from a computer monitor.

[ph349397]

Thanks. Is my little flow chart somewhat accurate?

What is the best way to figure out what codecs I have installed and which ones are being used for various file types?

[sub]

Is my little flow chart somewhat accurate?

For live preview tv, yes.

What is the best way to figure out what codecs I have installed and which ones are being used for various file types?

When you're recording/watching analog TV, its requires an MPEG2 decoder. Easiest check is to see what decoders are listed as options on the playback tab of the config app. Hopefully you've got something other than 'system default' listed.

If you need to see what files were used for a specific type of file or live tv etc, then you can look in the gbpvr.exe-native.log after you perform the activity. It'll list all the directshow components used.

[qam1600]

I also get very poor analog quality with recordings from the HVR1600. Some channels are watchable, but some are totally unwatchable. Recordings from my PVR350 are much better. Looks like this card is useless for analog unless you have a very strong signal.