Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dtv

Can't watch a specific channel on my computer!

mhz — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:17:06 -0800

Why can't my USB TV tuner find channel 11? I have a Hauppauge USB TV tuber (950Q, I think), and I can't get WPIX in New York. I have no idea if it's ever worked, as I've never tried it before. I've scanned repeatedly, but still nothing. This is using EyeTV, on the Mac, and I'm in Brooklyn. All other over-the-air networks work perfectly.

A couple of notes:

It's not an antenna issue; the same antenna finds 11 just fine when connected to the cheap DTV converter I have.

I tried adding it manually with the frequencies I found online, and nothing.

I've tried using a file I downloaded from TitanTV with the frequency, and nothing.

My brother just called me, and he's using Windows (Vista or 7, I'm not sure) with Media Center, and an ATI USB TV Wonder, and he's having the same problem. Neither of us ever noticed this before, because the Giants weren't on WPIX before.

Any suggestions? Again, this issue does not appear to be the antenna, and it's appearing with two different brands of USB tuners, on two different operating systems.

Is there a radio to receive DTV audio?

ThyroidBob — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:49:45 -0800

Posting for a friend:

"I own a Sony ICF-C113V bedside clock-radio that receives television signals from the soon to be obsolete VHF channels (2-13). Does anyone know if there is a clock-radio solution on the market yet that receives the audio portion of the DTV television signals in a clock-radio footprint? I have an iHome which I use as my primary clock-radio for alarms and music (iPod), but would still like the option to listen to television periodically."

Is it broken?

notned — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:58:43 -0800

Does the DTV box need to be returned? We've got the DTV converter box. We've got channels that have switched and channels that have not. So the DTV box gets turned on and off. Here's the thing, when switching on it is taking 4 or 5 times of off/on sequences before it finally goes.

Standalone or vendor lock-in?

Liver — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:36:08 -0800

What's the deal with DVRs in America in 2009? Can I buy one off the shelf and take it home and hook it to the cable and use it successfully like a digital VCR or am I "supposed" to get one from my cable provider and get billed a monthly fee for some program-guide service I do not want? Asking for an acquaintance, but I'm interested in the answer myself. My friend apparently is dead-set against getting a DVR from his cable provider. All he wants is the ability to record TV and watch it later, like a classic VCR but using a harddrive instead of video tapes. He's not interested in paying extra for any other services like easy recording of an entire season or a browsable program schedule.

Caveat: Building one out of a PC is not an option for him.

Also, how will the DTV transition affect him (I say it won't since he gets his signal from cable already but maybe I'm mistaken) with regard to his desire for an unencumbered DVR?

Cheap DTV

grouse — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:16:48 -0800

Where can I get the cheapest possible DTV converter box? I got my $40 TV converter box coupons. But apparently the boxes cost a little more than that. Since I pretty much use the TV exclusively to screen DVDs (I watched over-the-air programming once in the four months I have had it), and might get a new one someday, maybe I shouldn't use them at all. But I would do it if I could get a new box for only a few bucks cash expenditure. So where's the cheapest one I can get with my coupon? I'd prefer to order off the internet, but I could get one from a store in Seattle if it were convenient.

Am I going to need an antenna too? I don't have one of any sort.

Can I get a coupon for a digital tv converter box?

RikiTikiTavi — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:30:55 -0800

I applied for 2 of the digital converter box coupons the US government was handing out. I never received them. They have my info and know that I applied for the max and can't apply for more. I would like to have a coupon to subsidize a converter purchase. Am I out of luck?

DTV Conversion and VCRs

cmm — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:52:51 -0800

Help me help my wife's parents make this DTV conversion work with their VCR So my wife's parents live out in the country where cable is not available. They watch TV OTA off an antenna. They use their ancient VCR reasonably much.

They got a converter box coupon and have the box.

Am I right in thinking that they'll have to:
1) Ditch the old remote and use one that controls the converter
2) For the VCR, have another box and manually control the "recording" channel and if you want to record something at 7 on NBC and then 8 on CBS while you're out that night, you can't anymore.

Is there any better way to fix this? A newer VCR that can tune digitial things? Will a newer TiVo work over the air for them?

I assume that building a Windows Media Center or some other computer solution will be too much for them (and too much of a long distance maintenance nightmare for me).

It seems like this problem would be all over the place, but maybe cable is that pervasive now. Are people just sucking it up and dealing with two converter boxes and losing the ability to program the VCR for stations?

Should I bother getting a digital TV converter?

oaf — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:18:06 -0800

We get little to no analog TV reception. Is switching to digital going to improve things? Even on the best of days, with the strongest of stations, and with an antenna, our TV reception is so fuzzy it's almost unusable. Is digital TV going to be any better? I'd rather not buy one of those converter boxes if it's not going to make any difference (or make things worse).

We don't watch TV that much, but it's pretty good for live events.

I need my Rare Visions fix...in HD?

piedmont — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:46:06 -0800

Keep me entertained on my new 20" widescreen. How small can I encode my DVDs and what's the most cost-effective way to get broadcast TV on it? I bit the bullet and purchased a new widescreen monitor to replace my TV. How can I keep DVDs encoded at a relatively small filesize without sacrificing too much quality? I know it's always a tradeoff, but I figure that at 20" I can get a little leeway. And are the cheaper DTV tuners a total rip? Will the cheapo converter box I got with my voucher look OK with an analog TV tuner, or will the difference in quality be noticable enough to warrant buying a new tuner? Any suggestions or cautions on Digital USB tuners? Are there converter boxes with DVI out since the monitor doesn't have RGB? Just over the air, and no PVR function necessary. I'm running XP pro with a Pentium 2.0ghz Dual Core and 2gb of RAM if that helps.

Why the DTV lag?

middleclasstool — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:04:43 -0800

Why does a tv station's digital signal lag behind its analog signal? We're one of those annoying families that refuses to pay for TV. We forked over the cash for an HDTV with a digital tuner, and absolutely love the results -- more channels, better quality, total freeness.

But we've noticed a weird thing. Our other two TVs are still on rabbit ears. One of them, in the kitchen, is well within earshot of the HDTV in the living room. Yet if we have the same show on both TV sets, there is a distinct lag, not more than maybe two or three seconds, between the two shows.

This happens on all networks, so I know it's not a channel-specific thing. I haven't timed it, but I'm positive the lag is precisely the same length regardless of the channel, too.

Is there a technical reason for this lag to occur? I know the DTV signal is actually being transmitted on a totally separate frequency (channel 2's digital channels, 2.1-2.4, are actually broadcasting on channel 5's frequency, for instance), so what could be the reason for the delay?

DirecTV technical help needed

crapmatic — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:02:09 -0800

Somewhat technical question about DirecTV equipment. Any DirecTV aficionados in the house? I have ONE DirecTV box (this model). We just moved to another state, so I uprooted my DirecTV simple round dish and installed it at the new location (I decided not to do the movers connection as I figured they'd yoke me to a contract). This dish used to get my DirecTV programming the Dallas local channels just fine, but after I "registered" the new location with DirecTV, I lost all my local channels except for something called "Ion" on 62. I worked with a DirecTV representative, and not only will the box fail to get the new channels; we found the DirecTV signal meter cannot even be scrolled out of any satellite except 101.

So the agent says I will need a 3 LNB unit. He said it would be free and they'd send an installer over. So the installer shows up. The installer wants $75 for a pole mount. No, I'm not paying $75 for a pole when there's a perfectly good oak stump outside that I'm using, and I don't want a dish stuck to the house. I asked him to just leave the equipment, and he said no, he's responsible for it. Sigh. I declined the install, and he left. So I'm going to finish the job or give up.

Anyway I want to clarify a couple of issues:

* How does hooking up ONE DirecTV box to an oval 3 LNB unit instead of a round 1 LNB improve my reception? Would this actually give me access to other local channel spot beams? I thought 3 LNBs were designed for 3 receivers in a house.

* Should I just order a 3 LNB off eBay? Do these require any kind of complicated adjustments like polarity, etc, or is it just point and go?

Digital TV Follies

gimonca — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 16:06:53 -0800

Why are there intermittent dropouts in over-the-air digital TV signals? I'm curious as to why digital TV signals would vary so much from hour to hour, or from day to day.

TV set has a channel-tuning option that lets you view "bars" on each channel to get a rough estimate of signal strength. Why does the signal vary so much from day to day? One day it's fine, another day it's crap, without being touched or adjusted in the interim.

And why would the signal seem to waver so much? The variation in bars can go like this from second to second:

8 9 8 8 8 9 9 8 8 0 1 0 9 8 8 9 9 9 8

Why would that little glitch pop in for a second, when the signal appears to be so strong otherwise? Or is this just an illusion from the way the "channel strength" is being displayed on my set?

I'm getting digital cable anyway...just curious about this. Tales of weather, multipath, migrating flocks of geese, whatever, are welcome.

(Me: about 6 miles from monster antenna farm, relatively flat terrain between here and there, UHF antenna mounted in window.)