Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Tuner

It's not a Tune-ah!

bondcliff — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:34:32 -0800

What would cause my electric guitar’s high E string to fool my tuners? I have a Mexi-Strat that plays pretty well but I can’t get the high-E string to tune properly with a tuner. My ears aren’t that good so I pretty much always use a tuner to tune the thing. All the other strings tune fine, but when the tuner shows the E string as “in tune” it’s actually sharp by maybe a quarter tone when I compare it to the B string. Even with my poor ears it’s obvious to me that it’s way off. The facts:

It’s not the tuner. I’ve tried three different tuners (a POD, a Mac, and a Boss Tuner) and it’s always the same. These same tuners work fine on my acoustics.

Switching pickups doesn’t seem to help, nor does adjusting the volume or tone.

It’s not the B string that’s out of tune. If I compare B to G it’s fine. It’s definitely the E string that is off. The low E string tunes fine.

It’s not the intonation. I’m tuning the string open. I don’t think it’s a matter of it needing a setup.

It’s not a matter of being in tune at the attack and then getting out of tune a second later. It’s out of tune from the get-go and stays there.

New strings or old stings, the problem is the same.

It's not the cables (I've used different ones) and there are no pedals or other devices in the chain. Just guitar, cable, tuner.

All other aspects of the guitar seem fine. It's not damaged, at least externally. It plays well, it sounds good when it is actually in tune.

Really, it seems like it’s not a physical thing at all, but somehow the frequency is getting higher within the electronics, if that makes sense.

Trying to get PC/TV AND PVR functionality to merge onto my 42" lcd

prodevel — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:08:14 -0800

Is there a PC tuner card that can read from my Comcast digi-set-top box that I can control w/a wifi/bluetooth remote from 20-30 ft.? So after getting a graphics card with an hdmi adapter and a 30' cable to my living room, bluetooth keyboard, I'm in heaven - hulu.com 1 second, ReplayTV (Tivo type box) the next. The ATI DVI card and HDMI adapter somehow carry the sound... Well.

So now I want to replace my ReplayTV that I pay $13/mo for with a pctv card that will accept bluetooth/wifi remote signals from the living room. I'd like to use either SageTV or GBPVR for the software, but I'm somewhat open.

Also, If anyone has experience with a mouse that'll do 20/30 ft. reliably, that'd be awesome.

Thanks in advance.

Help me unburden my dream of working for Herzog

notquitemaryann — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:18:45 -0800

How does one go about applying for a film production assistant position? Specifically, to whom do I sell a spare chunk of soul in order to be Herzog's crew's serf on The Piano Tuner? I've never read the novel and don't consider myself to be an especially rabid Herzog fan, but for some reason the combination seems like it could be one of those things which might turn out to be a great deal of fun provided nobody dies. I have no experience, and of course have no chance (although there've been guys with no apparent experience on his productions before), but I was about to begin applying for PA jobs anyway and this seems like a decent enough way to kick that off.

So the first challenge is figuring out where to send a cover letter and resume: googles aren't helping, there's nothing on Herzog's or Mandalay's website, not much crew or other information on IMDB yet, and I couldn't even find the Myanmar Film Council. Surely I don't just message or call the producer's secretary?

The second is figuring out exactly what goes on a cover letter and in a resume for a job that has such a broad description and that can entail doing any/everything. I can sell myself pretty well, but what do they want to hear specifically? I would especially love to hear from anyone who's ever applied for such a position. And if there's anything else I'm missing (apart from a clue) please pile on with that as well.

Best tuner for Windows Media Center 2005?

lattiboy — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:57:34 -0800

What are the best ATSC tuners to use with Windows Media Center 2005? I'm starting over with my media center PC (I have the worst cable company in history) and want to do it right. I've got a rig with a
500GB HD, an Nvidia 7300 with HDMI, a Gyration Media Center remote, the AntennasDirect DB2, and now I just need to decide on tuners.

I had the Hauppage 950 USB tuners before, but performance was nominal at best. I think I want to go with external or PCI tuners this time, but am open to USB. I thought about the HdHomerun, but I'm not going to be using QAM for awhile (till I move) and it lacks an analog tuner.

Please keep in mind I'm looking for 2 ATSC tuners and at least 1 analog tuner to meet MCE requirements.

PS Any extra advice for the setup (besides "Just use MythTV!") would be appreciated.

Thanks!

How do I turn my computer into a TV and is it a good idea?

Andy Harwood — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 06:11:26 -0800

How do I turn my computer into a TV and is it a good idea? I've just moved into halls of residence at university and I've found that I can't tune my TV because I don't have the right remote. I don't have alot of space (I can't fit my keyboard on my desk at the moment) so I thought it might be a good idea to get a tv tuner for my computer instead of buying a new tv. I've just ordered a macbook so I'd prefer to use that but I also have a desktop PC I could use.

Hybrid TV Tuner (ATSC/NTSC)

apple — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:03:37 -0800

How can I get both, ATSC and NTSC on a USB tv tuner, with options to switch between both of them? I plan on buying a TV tuner for my Vista Media Center PC and I want it to play both ATSC (off the air HDTV) and NTSC (my basic cable - no cable box). I bought a Dell Vostro 200 Slim model, so regular PCI tuners won't fit. The only low profile TV tuner I found was a Hauppauge WINTV-PCR 150MCE-LP , but it only had a NTSC tuner. So basically I'm left with only USB tuners and I came across this: Hauppauge winTV HVR 950 . Since my basic cable does not give me HD content on the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc...) I want to have an HD antenna that hooks up to my TV as well as the cable. I want to be able to switch between the two through Vista Media Center. Is this possible with a splitter? a switcher? How exactly should i set it up?

So Basically I want something like this: WinTV-HVR 1600 (which is separate inputs for NTSC and ATSC) on a USB device since I can't fit a regular PCI card.

Windows Media Center Green Screen

Blue Buddha — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:20:02 -0800

TV tuner card and Windows Media Center problem with audio only and green screen instead of video. Why? So I installed my HDTV ATSC/NTSC PCI Tuner Card (from Geniatech), and plugged the coax to the card. I receive all the channels, but can only listen to them. The Windows Media Center screen is green.

I'm using Windows Vista and my graphics card is XFX NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 512 MB PCI-E. I doubt it's a performance issue as my PC is running with 2.8 Ghz dual core and 3 GB ram.

Coax cable plugged into the TV works fine, I get my regular cable channels. But no video plugged into the tuner card. Has anyone run into this issue?

Sorta-Kinda Fast and the Furious Filter: Ideas for tuning my 2001 Toyota Camry XLE?

Cool Papa Bell — Thu, 31 May 2007 13:17:49 -0800

Sorta-Kinda Fast and the Furious Filter: Ideas for tuning my 2001 Toyota Camry XLE? I'm interested in dipping my toes into the water of car modification and tuning. I don't want to actually become the life-my-life-a-quarter-mile-at-a-time guy, but I'm interested in simple modifications I can make that will pay off in overall performance and style.

The car is a 2001 Toyota Camry XLE, automatic transmission. Everything is stock right now.

If you were making suggestions for a tuner car newbie with this car, where would you start? ECU mods? Suspension? Wheels? Exhaust? I have only a B+ level understanding of the mechanics involved, but I am eager to learn.

I just bought a new HDTV. Why am I getting HBO?

mmcg — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 05:57:06 -0800

I just bought a new HDTV. Why am I getting HBO? I bought an Olevia 232v with an integrated tuner. I have it hooked up to basic cable, which is provided by Time Warner along with my cable modem service.

When I hooked it up and did the auto-channel search it found about 46 analog channels along with about 400 digital channels, which seemed odd. I get all of the channels I used to with my old SDTV (Fox, CBS, ABC etc) both as digital signals in the 1.x range and as analog channels in the 2-50 range. About 85% of the digital channels are completely blank. I'm assuming those are for tiers of programming that are not part of my cable package. If I move way up the band however, I start to see some weird stuff, like HBO and Cinemax, as well as the usual end of the dial stuff like the OTB channel and Korean/Japanese/Chinese broadcasts

Here's the thing though: the premium channels are super flaky. They'll tune in and out, and the signal will pause at times only to resume some time later at the same point with no loss in between, exactly like you'd see if you were watching someone operating their DVR. They also fast forward. Also, the programming can slide down the channel. For instance, I've seen a program slip from .5 to .4 to .3.

My question isn't "how can I better view this stuff I'm not paying for;" I'm just looking for an explanation of what is going on because my curiosity is all-consuming. Am I watching someone else's On Demand streams and seeing them manipulate the playback? Is my television subject to a strange voodoo curse? What's the deal?

DVR me?

weaponsgradecarp — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:54:07 -0800

Scenario: the Cable line in my house comes into the living room. My desktop is in my bedroom, on the other side of the house, nowhere near that coaxial line... I'd love my desktop to act as a DVR, recording tv from that cable line. Is there some sort of solution other than running coaxial across the house to get me a cable line in my bedroom? I'd like to NOT have a new cable jack professionally installed, as I don't own the house and the owners are touchy about ANY modifications...

Basically I'm looking for a wireless system that will broadcast raw cable through some walls, to be plugged into a tv tuner card on my computer...

USB TV Tuner

eunoia — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:17:38 -0800

I'm thinking of buying this TV tuner, but I have some questions before I do. I stopped watching TV for 10+ years, but I recently subscribed to digital cable, mostly to take advantage of a deal that gave me a discount if I switched everything (phone, internet, tv) over. But although I pay for cable, I turn my TV on maybe 2 or 3 times a month, mostly because I find it difficult to just sit still and watch TV. I have two monitors and I think that if I buy a TV tuner, I'd be more inclined to use my secondary monitor as a TV (I already use it to watch movies and downloaded TV shows) while I'm doing computer stuff.

My questions are thus:

1. The only cable line going into my bedroom (which is where my computer is) is plugged into my cable modem. On the back of my cable modem, there is also a USB input. Will I need to get a splitter to split the cable line to go into the tuner or can I utilize that USB input in some fashion?
2. Is splitting cable, that I pay, for illegal?
3. Any other recommendations for HD compatible USB TV tuner cards?

why won't my recorded TV shows show up on my external monitor?

sorindome — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:49:06 -0800

I have a laptop with flatscreen plugged into it, making for one large monitor encompassing the laptop and the external monitor. I've recently started recording some TV shows to watch at more convenient times. For some reason when I go to play the recording back, whether it be with windows media player or the InterVideo program that came with the USB tuner, I only get a picture on the laptop monitor. If I try and and move it over to the other (larger) external monitor i still get the sound playing fine, but the picture is just black. I can watch live TV on either monitor, it's only the video playback that has a problem. any thoughts?

tv tuner?

EvilKenji — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 13:55:09 -0800

Watching Tv on the PC, tv tuner choices? I have an ATI All-in-wonder card that i use for watching tv. However i've done some research and discovered the newer ATI cards use a tv tuner that has poorer performance compared with the older ATI cards. As a result, i am considering the purchase of a seperate tv tuner card.

What are some PCI tv tuners available that have good performance (running an AMD sempron 3400+). HDTV is not necessary. I am primarily looking for good performance, and unbulky software. Another secondary concern is that I have dual monitors, and the ATI tv tuner for some reason wont allow tv to display on the secondary monitor.

Best HiFi Magazine?

Mean Mr. Bucket — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 18:37:16 -0800

What are the best hi fi magazine(s) for someone like me? I love music, but I'm somewhat a speaker/hifi novice. I don't want to build my own speakers, I'd just like to be competent to purchase a decent pair at my local audio store. Paradigm? Monitor? etc.

Using a PC LCD Monitor as a TV?

frenchbenj — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 07:42:19 -0800

How can i use a PC LCD monitor as a TV, without using a PC? I found TV Tuners online, but they usually require a computer to be there.. I'm just thinking that, considering lcd tv prices, I might as well buy a bargain basement lcd monitor and hook it up to a tuner. and the cool thing is, the lcd monitor already has enough pixels to display HD!

Guide Plus+ Not Updating

Otis — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:27:59 -0800

Does anyone know if there are problems with the Guide Plus+ TV listings servers? I have an ATI TV Tuner with the Guide Plus+ software and the listings are no longer updating. The past few days I've been getting the following error: "No listings available for your current date, please check your zip code/postal code." I haven't made any changes to the sytem date or zip code and have verified that they are correct. I've also re-installed the software and verified that I have the latest version of the software. An old PC Magazine article talked about changing the listings server URL in the Registry (I'm on XP), but gave no details. Anyone done this successfully?

NYC piano tuner

ny_scotsman — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 18:15:10 -0800

PianoTunerFilter : I'm looking for a recommendation for a good piano tuner in NYC. I have a Yamaha U1 upright that needs a bit of work (regulation, possibly some hammer work) and the last couple of guys I've tried didn't do a great job. If anyone can point me towards a good tuner I (and my wife, who has to listen to me play) would be very grateful. I'm on the Upper East Side if that's significant.

Have you used a low cost ($20-$50) Cold Air Intake on your car?

skyguy14 — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 09:18:08 -0800

Have you used a low cost ($20-$50) Cold Air Intake on your car? I am looking at the numerous cold air intakes for my vehicle for anywhere from $20-$50 on eBay, and I am wondering if they are any good. I am most concerned about the quality of the air filter, as to not allow any contaminants into the engine. I am skeptical of them as name brand intakes from AEM, K&N, and Neuspeed fetch $200 or more. Any opinions or experiences?

HDTV Tuner and Cable

phatboy — Sat, 21 May 2005 15:12:09 -0800

Do standard “QAM” HDTV tuners work over conventional cable? I recently purchased a front projector (Infocus 4805) for watching DVDs in the living room. As a consequence, I have moved the old tube TV out to storage. The problem is, the projector doesn’t have a TV tuner. When looking around at the price of standard TV tuners I found that it is just as cheap to purchase a HDTV tuner, which supposedly also have the ability to decode standard television signals. I also read that they include “QAM” reception, which is supposed to allow the reception of unscrambled HDTV over basic cable without any additional cable boxes or payments to the cable company. In fact Has anyone done this and does it work? I’d like to take a look at HDTV just for kicks, and this looks like a cheap way to do it.

OS-X TV tuner software

kenchie — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 04:30:25 -0800

Anyone know of a decent software soultion for my Hauppauge USB tv card and my new Mac mini please?

Piano Trade-In

softlord — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 05:54:50 -0800

PianoFilter: Help me find somewhere to trade in my baby grand! [Sing us a song, you're the More Inside] I'm in NYC and have a Chickering baby grand from the 1930s. The ivory has warped enough that it is almost unplayable, and its out of tune enough to annoy me, but is otherwise a lovely instrument. From what I've been told, it would cost just as much to replace the ivory keys with plastic and tune it as it would to replace the whole thing with a newer upright.

Does anyone know of a reputable dealer in the NYC area (I'm in the East Village, if that makes a difference) who can 1) let me know whether the previous statement is at all accurate and 2) come appraise the instrument and possibly let me trade it in for something more usable. I have no delusions of a career at Carnegie Hall, but I'd like to be able to rattle out the latest Keane single.

Can anyone recommend a TV tuner for a Mac?

rorycberger — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:18:21 -0800

Can anyone recommend a TV tuner for a Mac? I have an iBook, so it has to be either a firewire or USB model (not a PC card), and i'm hoping to spend under a hundred bucks. I have no real interest in any TVR functions, as my hard drive is maxed out already and I have a TiVo at home. I'm at Dartmouth for a month - which is in the middle of nowhere - so it must be available online to be shipped immediately, preferably with expedited shipping.