A begginer disappointed with Freeview

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camo786

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#34647 26-May-2009 22:04

Did i Miss something or is this technology just immature or over engineered

Tried 2 terestial receivers, both have annoying problems, ie sound not match picture, blank screens between channel changes EPG doesnt work, PVR doesnt work

Most annoying is we get 90% signal quality for all channels except TV2 (usually about 35%) which makes is pixelate or totally unwatchable

At our holiday home we have satellite Freeview with Hills receiver, generally quite good, but receiver regularly locks up and resets itself - WTF

Anyway just venting some frustating at something that should just work!!

I recall growing up in the early 70's with black and white TV- and it just worked!!!!!

Regs

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Snowflake

#218172 26-May-2009 23:21

interesting... i'm using a completely unsupported and reputably unstable computer as satellite freeview reciever and it pretty much runs perfectly :-)

I would have thought that retail receivers should be like you imagine - they should 'just work'

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tonyhughes

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#218174 26-May-2009 23:25

If you have faulty product from a retailer, you should take it back.

I got a professional installer to put a new aerial up for me, and I got a Zinwell HD STB. Everythings perfect except the remote sucks asphalt.

openmedia

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#218175 26-May-2009 23:30

Welcome to digital TV.

Ever used a Sky STB? Slow channel changing is normal as it might take a second or more to get enough information to display a picture.

Your issues with Freeview DTH are quite common if you have a bad cable somewhere. You will have great signal strength but occasional errors in the bitstream.

STB issues can vary from box to box. In general integrated TVs are quite reliable, but STBs can vary quite a lot.

Analogue works as it is quite simple. Digital is doing a lot of smarts to try and make it to your home

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Regs

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Snowflake

#218176 26-May-2009 23:32

camo786: Tried 2 terestial receivers, both have annoying problems, ie sound not match picture, blank screens between channel changes EPG doesnt work, PVR doesnt work

out of interest, were these both "Freeview Approved" receivers?

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camo786

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#218206 27-May-2009 07:38

UHF Aerial installed by a Pro installer

1 x Strong receiver (unsupported) - pixelates on TV2 - this one I got from computer dynamics because I have an account. - done one firmware upgrade too

1 x Summit receiver (supported, but makes TV screen go blue when changing channels and voice does not match picture when using HDMI, ok when using RCA) - this one supplied by the installer

Why would TV2 be only 35% signal when the others are 90%

Brunzy

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#218214 27-May-2009 08:15

camo786: UHF Aerial installed by a Pro installer

1 x Strong receiver (unsupported) - pixelates on TV2 - this one I got from computer dynamics because I have an account. - done one firmware upgrade too

1 x Summit receiver (supported, but makes TV screen go blue when changing channels and voice does not match picture when using HDMI, ok when using RCA) - this one supplied by the installer

Why would TV2 be only 35% signal when the others are 90%

If you have signal issues,all the TVNZ mux will be 35%.
In that case the antenna /installation needs looking at.
If it is only TV2,I would reboot,rescan,restore to default etc.
If that doesnt cure it take the box back.

Regs

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Snowflake

#218249 27-May-2009 10:20

camo786: makes TV screen go blue when changing channels and voice does not match picture when using HDMI, ok when using RCA

are you putting both video and sound through a plasma/lcd screen, or do you have sound going out via an external amp?

if you send in a picture to a screen in a format other than its native format then the screen will do post-processing on the picture which will introduce delay. if the sound is also going through the screen then the screen will typically add an appropriate delay to the sound channel. If the sound goes direct to an external amp then this isnt possible -you need to config a delay on the amp if it supports it. The best way to make sure sound and picture stay in sync is to send the optimal signal to the screen so that it does not have to do any scaling/processing. You might not see this on the RCA as the screen may not bother trying to scale/process the picture to the same extent given the lower quality source.

of course the problem could also be completely unrelated to all of this too and just a bug with the STB!

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Jaxson

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#218304 27-May-2009 13:20

Summit receiver making screen go blue is probably due to resolution changes between channels. Is the summit output resolution set to auto? If so, try changing it to the resolution of your tv (either 720 or 1080) and this might help with this.

Audio delays often when used with an external amp as Regs mentions above.
Also lately I've had this on some TVNZ channels, but then I have a ET box, so who know's where the problem lies!

On the whole though, I think you're correct in that there is more to go wrong with digital TV than the older analogue style.

jpollock

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#218407 27-May-2009 18:48

Just one snarky point...

By the 70's, Black and White TV had been available commercially for 40 years, it had even been available in
New Zealand for 20+ years.

To have the same number of revisions, try a Freeview set in 2030-2040. :)

---
http://blog.jason.pollock.ca

Regs

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Snowflake

#218434 27-May-2009 20:43

jpollock:
try a Freeview set in 2030-2040. :)

by then we will probably be having issues with the synchronisation of additional senses to the holographic picture.... we'll smell the farts and feel the wind shifts before we see or hear them ;)

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grant_k

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#218441 27-May-2009 21:00

openmedia: Welcome to digital TV.

Ever used a Sky STB? Slow channel changing is normal as it might take a second or more to get enough information to display a picture.

This was true in the days of the older large-sized black PACE decoders Sky installed back then. However, the more recent small silver-coloured decoders have pretty much instant channel changing as does MySky.

camo786: Did i Miss something or is this technology just immature or over engineered

Tried 2 terestial receivers, both have annoying problems, ie sound not match picture, blank screens between channel changes EPG doesnt work, PVR doesnt work
...
Anyway just venting some frustating at something that should just work!!

I recall growing up in the early 70's with black and white TV- and it just worked!!!!!

If you want something that "just works" and don't mind paying $50 or so per month for a great selection of channels, Sky is the way to go.

Alternatively, if you are prepared to faff around a lot and don't have a Wife or GF who demands something that "just works" and are prepared to put up with a very limited channel selection, then by all means save the $50 and go for FreeView.

It's your choice!

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#219945 30-May-2009 20:55

Alternatively, if you are prepared to faff around a lot and don't have a Wife or GF who demands something that "just works" and are prepared to put up with a very limited channel selection, then by all means save the $50 and go for FreeView.

It's your choice!

My wife is hearing great things from her friends about their MYSky boxes. "Its so easy to use" they say.
Is there a reasonably priced simular product for Freeview. i.e. EPG integration, tri-tuner (Record 2 watch 3rd channel)?

I have a Sony HDD recorder and it is just a pain. Use teletext to get the times then enter them in, edit the program name. Setup to record every week etc etc. Then select the correct input on the TV. Recording stops and tv goes off because TV was on recorder channel.......................

Don't get me started on how the Freeview STB look......

Ad

camo786

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#220134 31-May-2009 15:05

hmmm with the money I have spent on Aerials, and STB's it would have covered at least 1 year on MySky :(

sbiddle

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#220135 31-May-2009 15:08

ad: My wife is hearing great things from her friends about their MYSky boxes. "Its so easy to use" they say.
Is there a reasonably priced simular product for Freeview. i.e. EPG integration, tri-tuner (Record 2 watch 3rd channel)?

There really is only 1 option - that's the Zinwell Freeview PVR.

browned

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#220728 2-Jun-2009 10:05

ad:

Alternatively, if you are prepared to faff around a lot and don't have a Wife or GF who demands something that "just works" and are prepared to put up with a very limited channel selection, then by all means save the $50 and go for FreeView.

It's your choice!

My wife is hearing great things from her friends about their MYSky boxes. "Its so easy to use" they say.
Is there a reasonably priced simular product for Freeview. i.e. EPG integration, tri-tuner (Record 2 watch 3rd channel)?

I have a Sony HDD recorder and it is just a pain. Use teletext to get the times then enter them in, edit the program name. Setup to record every week etc etc. Then select the correct input on the TV. Recording stops and tv goes off because TV was on recorder channel.......................

Don't get me started on how the Freeview STB look......

Ad

I am using Windows 7 RC1 with Freeview only TV dual tuner can add more tuners but no need, with Sony HD Freeview enabled LCD. The WAF is great and she finds it dead simple to play music, TV, movies, DVD's, CD's, Blu-Ray, and even browse the internet if she gets the wireless keyboard out. It is an all in one solution that once setup costs nothing but power.

Most of the hardware is over 4 years old, so it has saved a fortune over mySky Subscription. Channel choice...well thats really up to you, TV1, TV2, and TV3 are the most popular channels so channel choice is a non-arguement if you watch these channels most of the time. Computer is HD as well and has been for a long time. I have been renting only bluray movies for over a year.

Windows 7 setup is dead easy, EPG is downloaded via reven xmltvnz tool and processed via Big Screen EPG. I haven't had to set anything up on this PC since the RC1 install. If you are just going to do DVB-T freeview then your faffing about will take all of 30 minutes to get up and running after a windows 7 install and thats it.

I would suggest you can build a Media Center computer for less than $1k easy and it will last a very long time if you put the money into the right parts. Also as Windows is in RC1 it is free to download and use till next year so no costs involved with windows licenses at the moment.

Hardware List
Get Dual Core CPU
2GB Ram
Motherboard with builtin HD capable video card or Nvidia 8500GT. (maybe other options), 7.1 sound, DVI-D or HDMI output (most should have one of these options).
Large hard drive for storing Media.
Nice Media Center case and remote for using Media Center when setup.
Speakers if you don't have x.1 system already.

Software
XMLTVNZ from reven.co.nz for 8 day EPG
BigScreenEPG from http://bigscreenglobal.com/defaultbg.aspx - to import EPG into Windows 7
Windows 7 RC1 from Microsoft (free to download)
Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 for playing Blu-ray disks, integrates into Windows Media Center.
MKV Codec for playing HD MKV files.

cheers
db
p.s. $50 a month for a base sub for MySky still has a limited channel selection. No movies or sport. Just TVNZ, MediaWorks and other rubbish no one watches. My personal opinion.

Home Server: AMD Threadripper 1950X, 64GB, 56TB HDD, Define R6 Case, 10GbE, ESXi 6.7, UNRAID, NextPVR, Emby Server, Plex Server.
Lounge Media Center: NVIDIA Shield TV 16GB: Kodi18 with Titan MOD, Emby.
Kids Media Center: NVIDIA Shield TV 16GB: Kodi18 with Titan MOD, Emby.
Main PC: Ryzen 7 2700, 16GB RAM, RX 570, 2 x 24"