Question about the strength of the received signal

[antdude]

Sometimes I see high numbers like 90%-100% in my DVBViewer Technisat Edition v4.3.2.1208's status bar (the strength of the received signal). I assume that is good. However, I still get pauses and freezes in DVBViewer. I find it confusing that even at 70%-80%, I have no problems. I am using rabbit ear antennae since I have not found a better one yet. Will a stronger antenna (maybe a bowtie type) will fix this?

 

Am I misunderstanding how this works?

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited January 3, 2006 by antdude

[jerrytaff]

Sometimes I see high numbers like 90%-100% in my DVBViewer v4.3.2.1208's status bar (the strength of the received signal). I assume that is good. However, I still get pauses and freezes in DVBViewer. I find it confusing that even at 70%-80%, I have no problems. I am using rabbit ear antennae since I have not found a better one yet. Will a stronger antenna (maybe a bowtie type) will fix this?

 

Am I misunderstanding how this works?

 

Thank you in advance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I'm a newbie to DVBViewer but I have played with digital tv for some time.

It isn't just an issue of Signal Level. Just as multipath can cause ghosting on analogue signals, it can cause problems with digital. Sometimes the solution, believe it or not, is a lower gain antenna!

 

However, the symptoms of a poor signal are usually short lived audio disturbances and visual blocks in the image. Are you sure your problems aren't due to loading on your PC? Windows is hardly an ideal realtime operating system, and you have little control over what it decides to do and when. Even a high spec machine can stumble from time to time. However, there are some things you can try. If you are using XP you can try modifying the PCI latency. Look at http://www.audiotrak.net/support_faq.htm for details. You can also try changing the priority of DVBViewer by right clicking it in the processes tab of windows task manager.

 

Good luck,

 

Jeremy

[antdude]

Sometimes I see high numbers like 90%-100% in my DVBViewer v4.3.2.1208's status bar (the strength of the received signal). I assume that is good. However, I still get pauses and freezes in DVBViewer. I find it confusing that even at 70%-80%, I have no problems. I am using rabbit ear antennae since I have not found a better one yet. Will a stronger antenna (maybe a bowtie type) will fix this?

 

Am I misunderstanding how this works?

 

Thank you in advance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I'm a newbie to DVBViewer but I have played with digital tv for some time.

It isn't just an issue of Signal Level. Just as multipath can cause ghosting on analogue signals, it can cause problems with digital. Sometimes the solution, believe it or not, is a lower gain antenna!

 

However, the symptoms of a poor signal are usually short lived audio disturbances and visual blocks in the image. Are you sure your problems aren't due to loading on your PC? Windows is hardly an ideal realtime operating system, and you have little control over what it decides to do and when. Even a high spec machine can stumble from time to time. However, there are some things you can try. If you are using XP you can try modifying the PCI latency. Look at http://www.audiotrak.net/support_faq.htm for details. You can also try changing the priority of DVBViewer by right clicking it in the processes tab of windows task manager.

Well, the last few days have been very bad. On one of the channels, it was at 30% (red!) and I got nothing! Other channels were fine. I think the heavy clouds and rain is causing this. Also, I got a new antennae (bowtie type that can go up to 30 miles). It helped A LOT now. I did notice video skip/pauses, missing audio, etc. on these problematic stations.

 

I will try the high priority. Are you saying Linux doesn't have this problem even if I multitiask (e.g., browse online)?

Edited January 1, 2006 by antdude

[jerrytaff]

Sometimes I see high numbers like 90%-100% in my DVBViewer v4.3.2.1208's status bar (the strength of the received signal). I assume that is good. However, I still get pauses and freezes in DVBViewer. I find it confusing that even at 70%-80%, I have no problems. I am using rabbit ear antennae since I have not found a better one yet. Will a stronger antenna (maybe a bowtie type) will fix this?

 

Am I misunderstanding how this works?

 

Thank you in advance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I'm a newbie to DVBViewer but I have played with digital tv for some time.

It isn't just an issue of Signal Level. Just as multipath can cause ghosting on analogue signals, it can cause problems with digital. Sometimes the solution, believe it or not, is a lower gain antenna!

 

 

However, the symptoms of a poor signal are usually short lived audio disturbances and visual blocks in the image. Are you sure your problems aren't due to loading on your PC? Windows is hardly an ideal realtime operating system, and you have little control over what it decides to do and when. Even a high spec machine can stumble from time to time. However, there are some things you can try. If you are using XP you can try modifying the PCI latency. Look at http://www.audiotrak.net/support_faq.htm for details. You can also try changing the priority of DVBViewer by right clicking it in the processes tab of windows task manager.

Well, the last few days have been very bad. On one of the channels, it was at 30% (red!) and I got nothing! Other channels were fine. I think the heavy clouds and rain is causing this. Also, I got a new antennae (bowtie type that can go up to 30 miles). It helped A LOT now. I did notice video skip/pauses, missing audio, etc. on these problematic stations.

 

I will try the high priority. Are you saying Linux doesn't have this problem even if I multitiask (e.g., browse online)?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Out of the box, Linux also has problems; especially the more bloated distributions . However, there are "real-time" variants and I know of customised linux systems used for real time control of complex hardware. I understand that the latest kernel versions make it easier to make it "real time". I believe that the real time aspects are one of the reasons it was used in the tivo pvrs.

I haven't found any linux drivers for my dvbt card yet, so I haven't been able to experiment

[twinmania]

I am having problems while the signal strength is high (98%), too. Not only video but also audio has errors once in a while and I must also rebuild the graph many times. Just like antdude I have no problems with lower quality (89-91%). I have also digibox and with it there is no problems.

 

I am using Twinhan DVB-T with latest drivers (v2.608) and latest DVBViewer Pro (v3.2.6). DVBViewer's priority is set to high. Has anybody an idea what is going on?

[antdude]

Annoying. I left my computer and DVBViewer to record the Rose Bowl game tonight. I come home and found out it wasn't recording! It seems have to frozed. I had a signal strength of 60%! I had to kill DVBViewer and restart.

 

Are a lot of you having this problem?

[jerrytaff]

Annoying. I left my computer and DVBViewer to record the Rose Bowl game tonight. I come home and found out it wasn't recording! It seems have to frozed. I had a signal strength of 60%! I had to kill DVBViewer and restart.

 

Are a lot of you having this problem?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I've been getting some freezes but as DVBViewer does not display the signal strengths for me, I can't say if its related to low or high signal levels. However, it does seem that for me, the DVBViewer GE version gives faster response and fewer lockups - at least on playback and channel switching than the standard version. It is there on the members download page, and I recommend you give it a try. Also, reading other threads, freezes might be due to using the wrong filters. I use the ffdshow video and audio decoders. The video gives good deinterlaced images, but I don't know if it is the most stable results.

 

I'm not sure about the record side using the GE version though. I scheduled a recording from EPG using the that version and logged off. Before the recording had finished, I logged back on and found the tv window annoying, so I minimised it. Having done that, the programme was not visible on task manager, but the DVBViewer was visible as a process; using 8% CPU instead of the usual 30% or so. However, the recording I ended up was unusable, it had so many dropped frames - up to 10 seconds at a time. I don't know if that was anything to do with the way I'd run it, reception, other jobs hogging CPU.... I shall continue experimenting and let you know what I conclude.

[antdude]

Annoying. I left my computer and DVBViewer to record the Rose Bowl game tonight. I come home and found out it wasn't recording! It seems have to frozed. I had a signal strength of 60%! I had to kill DVBViewer and restart.

 

Are a lot of you having this problem?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I've been getting some freezes but as DVBViewer does not display the signal strengths for me, I can't say if its related to low or high signal levels. However, it does seem that for me, the DVBViewer GE version gives faster response and fewer lockups - at least on playback and channel switching than the standard version. It is there on the members download page, and I recommend you give it a try. Also, reading other threads, freezes might be due to using the wrong filters. I use the ffdshow video and audio decoders. The video gives good deinterlaced images, but I don't know if it is the most stable results.

 

I'm not sure about the record side using the GE version though. I scheduled a recording from EPG using the that version and logged off. Before the recording had finished, I logged back on and found the tv window annoying, so I minimised it. Having done that, the programme was not visible on task manager, but the DVBViewer was visible as a process; using 8% CPU instead of the usual 30% or so. However, the recording I ended up was unusable, it had so many dropped frames - up to 10 seconds at a time. I don't know if that was anything to do with the way I'd run it, reception, other jobs hogging CPU.... I shall continue experimenting and let you know what I conclude.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Assuming this is the same as Technisat Edition, turn off XP skin if you want to see the signal strength. I don't know why the XP skin doesn't show the signal strength.

[gibman]

Hi !

 

I am also having probs with bad reception.

It's a shame that there are no indication visible within DVBViewer windowed and OSD mode. I might be wrong though ? Anyhoo I cant find it.

 

 

As an alternative look in this folder & run the EXE (if u have technisat ss2 card);

C:\Program files\TechniSat DVB\bin\SkyDSL_Status.exe

 

It gives you the status you are looking for.

No go out and allign that Dish heh.

 

I get "out of lock" when I get below 25% quality

I have 4 LNBs on a wavefrontier 55cm dish.

 

/Elo

[Guest Lars_MQ]

Try OSD Menu -> htpc -> Systeminfo.

 

Or click onto the progressbar in the statusbar of the DVBViewer window.

[gibman]

In my setup I use the DVBserver app.

 

Apparently the signal quality status bar is not working when you use the streaming facilities.

 

It shows 100% green, when infact it's only 23%.

 

When I in DVBViewer change the DVB source from "unicast client" to "skystar2" then it works like you describe it.

 

/Elo

[Guest Lars_MQ]

Well of course it doesn't show a reception strength in streaming mode. What should it display? the reception quality of your LAN??

[gibman]

Well yes, that would be nice hehe.

 

No. But why not ? It's not like it would be impossible. This way it would be fully transparent. The user would not feel or see the difference between running as a streaming client or running as a DVB card client (as most ppl do).

 

Isn't it just a question of adding a few more variables to your streaming protocol containing the current reception status ?

 

/Elo