[mythtv-users] mpeg2 playback quality captured with PVR-150

[Brian Wood]

Michael T. Dean wrote:
> On 10/05/2007 07:21 PM, John Drescher wrote:
>> On 10/5/07, Chandi Bernier <burni13 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>   
>>> I've got a bad quality when watching stuff recorded from my PVR-150.
>>>
>>> On some channels I've got diagonal lines but that seems to come from my
>>> cable signal which would be too low for the capture card.
>> My guess is the signal is too strong. Too low of a signal you get
>> sniow. To high you get channel crosstalk causing diagonal lines.
> 
> Speaking of which, does anyone on this list know of a good--but not too
> terribly expensive--field strength meter?  (Kind of like walking into a
> hospital and asking if there's a doctor in the building... :)

No, it's a contradiction in terms (good and not expensive).

What you really want is a signal level meter, often mis-called a field
strength meter (which requires a calibrated antenna).

I don't know what you consider "not too terribly expensive" but you
might look at:

http://www.etesters.com/see/Signal_Level_Meters

A lot of them are made for satellite work, but also tune VHF/UHF.

> 
> I'm looking for something I can use to tune my signal from my antenna
> (with powered amp and 4-way splitter).

If you're really handy you can always just put a multimeter on the AGC
line in your TV set. That will give you relative readings, not absolute
readings in Dbmv.

For such a one-time project I'd try to borrow a meter from a local TV
store or cable installer.

beww