[mythtv-users] Hauppauge WinTV-HVR2250 vs SiliconDust HDHomeRun HDHR-US

[Randy Evans]

On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 8:28 PM, Gary Buhrmaster
<gary.buhrmaster at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 00:54, Randy Evans <revans42 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I have been using a HDHomeRun with MythTV for about two years.  At
>> various intervals, I had one HD channel which would suddenly start
>> pixilating (sp?) to the point of being unwatchable.  This channel
>> would stay that way for several months, then suddenly start working
>> again.  This channel again went bad a couple of weeks ago and I
>> decided to connect the antenna directly to the TV to test it and it
>> came in just fine.  Note I connected the same coax cable to the tv as
>> is used with the HDHomeRun box.
>>
>> I ordered a  WinTV-HVR2250 and just tried it in my backup MythTV box
>> and the problem channel came in fine but not on the MythTV box still
>> using the HDHomeRun.
>>
>> The HDHomeRun box is running the latest firmware and I have no
>> explanation for why it would cycle between working/not working over a
>> period of months but it does.
>
> As I mentioned in another thread, RF sensitivity of any two devices
> will vary.  It is entirely possible your TV is better than your HDHR,
> and if you are close to the edge of reception on the HDHR, it may
> still work fine in the TV.  Weak signals (or multipath distortion) which
> cannot be properly interpreted/decoded will result in pixalation in
> digital (rather than ghosting or snow in the analog world).
>
> Working/not working could be the result of seasonal vegetation changes
> (trees).  It can also be weather related (warmer/colder, rain/snow).
> It is not always obvious what changes in the environment.
>
> In some worlds, one has one of those expensive digital services
> meters with all the bells and whistles that can tell you exactly
> what you are receiving, and what the problem is.  And while
> most do not have one of those expensive tools, I seem to
> recall that the HDHR had the ability to display a couple of values
> that are important.  Signal Strength, Signal Quality, and Symbol
> Quality.  You want a high Signal Quality and a Symbol Quality
> of 100%.  From memory (i.e. probably wrong), the command is
> something like:
>    hdhomerun_config <deviceid> get /tuner0/status
> I believe SD has some documentation on their site to interpret
> the values returned.
> _______________________________________________

I have looked at the Signal info available and when it is "not
working" it shows a high Signal Strength but Signal Quality would move
from 0 to 80 and back to 0, changing about once every second or so.