Freezing on certain clear qam channels

[jman11]

Problem: All clear Comcast qam channels work well for me (over 50) except for channels in the 78 range (i.e. 78.1, 78.2, etc.). The video will be fine for 3 seconds, then freeze for 10-15 seconds, then work again for 3 seconds, and so forth. Everything in the 77 range works and in the 79 range.

Ideas?

My setup:
Hauppauge 1600
Latest version of GBPVR
Nvidia video and sound codecs (tried intervideo, too)
Intel Duo Core
Nvidia 256mb video card
Comcast digital cable

[sub]

I dont know. Maybe poor reception on that frequency? Do recordings from that channel have the same problem (including played in external player like vlc)?

[jman11]

Recordings have problems too, but seem to vary speeds (sometimes to slow, sometimes to fast) and freeze.

I thought it might be the signal, but when the cable is plugged into my digital tv, the stations play fine.

Several weeks ago, I had no problems. I then reloaded the computer with a clean operating system install this week, and now have this problem. I know Comcast continually plays around with the frequencies, so perhaps this has something to do with it....

[sub]

Recordings have problems too, but seem to vary speeds (sometimes to slow, sometimes to fast) and freeze.

That also sounds like reception problems, since you will get these sped changes when chunks of the data werent received.

I thought it might be the signal, but when the cable is plugged into my digital tv, the stations play fine.

Unfortunately all tuners arent created equal when it comes to sensitivity, so this doesnt rule out reception problems. You TV's tuner could be coping better with a weak signal.

[jman11]

Do you think a signal booster would help? Shortening the cable?

Thanks for your help!

[sub]

Maybe.

If you've got splitters in your cable, you could try temporarily try removing those splitters to see if it helps.

[jman11]

Thanks again for your help - I realize this isn't a gbpvr problem per se, but I find the best answers on this forum :-)

So I did a direct connect with the cable (no splitters) and installed the hauppauge signal monitor. What I found is that for the channels in the 78 range, the signal bounces back and forth from 31 (good) to zero - with a bunch of "unconnectable errors". Strangely, channels that show a lower signal strength come in fine. Maybe a bad card....

[jman11]

Update: I was able to get the channels in the 78 range (78.1, 78,2, etc.) to work for a few hours, than they went haywire again. I didn't do anything specific, so I'm wondering if it has something to do with other TVs hooked up to the cable. Have to do some testing.

[dennit]

Update: I was able to get the channels in the 78 range (78.1, 78,2, etc.) to work for a few hours, than they went haywire again. I didn't do anything specific, so I'm wondering if it has something to do with other TVs hooked up to the cable. Have to do some testing.

There are lots of posts here about QAM and the HVR1600. It is very sensitive to signal level. I found my high frequency signals would not work correctly until I tweaked things. For me, the solution was better cables and splitters. For someone else, it was to call the cable company and have his signal level improved, for another, it was "I give up with the 1600!" I tried multiple amplifiers, none helped, and almost all hurt the signal. Like you, my TV worked great, even with a pretty low signal level, but the 1600 had problems. Once I got it tweaked, though, it ahs worked great for several years and I am happy with it.

You should start with no splitters and a signal straight from the wall - see if that works, then put splitters in one at a time. My configuration has a single splitter feeding the 1600, then splitting at the 1600 for both analog and QAM, with the rest of the house being fed off the first splitter.

Good Luck.

[jman11]

Thanks dennit.

So I went straight from the wall and found I have the same issue. I noticed outside that the coax is connected to another coax with a small adapter, and there is also a splitter that divides the cable between two units in our condo complex. Can't work around this, however due to its location :-(

Any computer/software related tweaks I might use? Or should I try a different card?