Problems viewing some UK Freeview channels?

[speedf]

Hi,

I've just discovered NextPVR and thought I would use it to put an old(ish) laptop and a Pinnacle PCTV72e USB digital receiver to good use.

All goes well, in that all the channels I'd expect are scanned and found, and the EPG is populated for all. Most channels work fine (BBC, ITV, C4, etc), but I cannot get sound/video for some channels; in particular Dave and Pick.

Any thoughts on something I've done wrong/not configured?

Thanks,

[ACTCMS]

What sort of aerial setup are you using?

Maybe try live TV on Dave then compress and post your logs...

Alex

[jcjefferies]

Dave and Pick are on the same Mux and usually at a lower power that the PSB muxes. If you have the same problem with other channels on the same mux it would point to a weak signal problem.

Chris

[Graham]

Most channels work fine (BBC, ITV, C4, etc), but I cannot get sound/video for some channels; in particular Dave and Pick.

It is my understanding that the tuners in computer devices are not as sensitive as the tuners in televisions. A PC tuner might miss something if reception is borderline. Have you tried with all splitters removed so that the full signal goes to the computer?

Plus, some of the config files in NextPVR are a tad elderly and may not be up to date with the latest tuning information for your transmitter. Have you tried a scan using All Countries and All Regions?

[speedf]

Thanks guys, some good thoughts!

With regard to the aerial, I'm using the main house aerial. I'm using the exact same cable that used to plug into a freeview TV (which had no problem receiving all channels). There are no splitters involved. I'm also using a masthead amp (that was set up years ago), so would be surprised if it was a signal strength problem.

I'll try scanning with All Countries and All Regions and let you know how I get on.....

[ACTCMS]

I find the download from this link useful for checking out signal quality problems.

Alex

[martint123]

I find the download from this link useful for checking out signal quality problems.

Alex

Indeed, an invaluable tool for dvb-t monitoring. Not restricted to Hauppague devices.

[speedf]

So, I've been testing some more.....

I don't think it's a TV signal problem. The software that comes with the Pinnacle stick picks up the channels and displays them fine. I've also replaced with an older Hauppage Nova-T USB receiver. Same cables and it's fine. Think there's something particularly odd about NextPVR and this Pinnacle stick...

[gEd]

but I cannot get sound/video for some channels; in particular Dave and Pick.

Might be worth reproducing the problems and then zipping/uploading the logs so we can take a look what what it is trying to do.
Are you trying to watch live tv or record a show? if live tv, have you tried recording a show from dave/pick and playing it back? or playing it back via an external app such as VLC (which has its own build in decoders).

[jcjefferies]

Look in the ndigitalhost-xxx.log file for the problem recordings and look for the line as the recording starts:-
locked=1 present=1 strength =xx quality =xxx

If the tuner reported lower signal strength and lower quality compared with the values for a good recording then it could point to a signal level problem on that mux.