Low Sky dish signal

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allstarnz

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#15569 29-Aug-2007 12:42

I've just changed my HTPC about a bit, and i'm finding it's running like a dog. It's now on a system that should be plenty fast enough.

However i'm finding that the recordings are getting a lot of errors in them (possibly low signal).

The Sky box and HTPC are running off a Hills splitter (1 passive and 1 powered output - HTPC passive, Sky powered), there is about 1m of cable running of each of the splitter. The Sky box works ok, but the signal level is down to about 58 usually. I wonder if there's some sort of built in error correction in teh Sky box that my HTPC doesn't have.

My HTPC is running a Hauppauge HVR3000. That itself is running like a dog, with very choppy picture.

I'm wondering basically, is 58 bordering on too low? Do I need to put a low powered booster in perhaps?

There's a 2nd Sky box running of this dish, in another part of the house, so the cable run is not all that short, but not overly long either. 50m total at a guess

cyril7

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#84295 29-Aug-2007 16:21

Signal level is not normally the issue, quality (that is a gas gauge figure or BER and C/N) is the important one. The HVR3000 will have the major transport stream components of a normal STB, this will include the viterbi FEC decoder, so I would doubt that is an issue if everything is working alright.

Can you get a qualtiy figure out of the HVR's interface, BER or C/N would be more useful.

Signal strenght reporting of STBs and domestic decoders is not very accurate, however the Sky Motorola and Zenith boxs give reasonably accurate signal levels, anything over 40 is enough, so if the 58 you report is correct then it should be fine.

Swap the sky box and the HVR around to check the signal and BER/Quality when the Sky box is on the normal feed the HVR is on.

Cyril

presidentnz

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#84352 29-Aug-2007 21:37

I have a similar problem but with Sky rather than the PC.

I've noticed over the past week or two (since the switch to H-POL) that the channels on 12645 (ESPN, Movies 2, Nickelodeon, TV3, C4 and presumably a Box Office channel, KTV2 and CTV6) sometimes break up. It doesn't happen with any regularity, and the problem disappears when I unplug the PC (WinTV Nova-S - can't remember which model). Split three ways with a passive splitter, the third node is a Hyundai HSS-760A.

Still waiting for the problem to surface again so I can check signal quality with the "good" readings I took today. Obviously the PCI card is drowning out the Sky box but I wonder if the dish may be out of kilter or the Sky box is a little too sensitive (it's a Zenith dating back to 1999 - I think). And then it will be a call to Sky.

Has anyone else noticed those channels dropping out? Not so bad as to get a rainfade message, just choppy.

allstarnz

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#84370 29-Aug-2007 23:01

well, i still have no idea. Have spent a considerable time chasing this about this evening.

I have put a bullet through windows and am reinstalling. Will try different video drivers and a couple of other things.

Taking the splitter out of the loop didn't seem to make any difference.

Next thing to try if that fails is to put the card in my main PC to see if it likes it there.

presidentnz - haven't come across that. Sometimes heavy rain will affect the signal.

allstarnz

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#84436 30-Aug-2007 12:57

hmmm, still have no issues. It seems my passive link doesn't want to play ball any more.

When I get home, i'll carry on.

It seems there is no software which will give BER and C/N readings for DVB-S

allstarnz

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#84642 31-Aug-2007 11:02

further to this, I now have it up and running, but it runs like bollocks. Is very choppy, can't seem to work out why. Maybe it's a setting.

Here's what the TS recording looks like, very perplexing.

As I stated, i don't think it's the dish, as the Sky is running beautifully