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

[Michael T. Dean]

On 10/07/2007 12:05 AM, R. G. Newbury wrote:
> Brian Wood wrote:
>> But aiming an antenna, which is what the question was about, should be a
>> one-time thing, unless the transmitters move or a major windstorm moves
>> your antenna.
>>
>> In fact, if you know your own location (perhaps using GPS), and also
>> know where the transmitters are, you should be able to aim a VHF/UHF
>> antenna well enough without a SLM (also the subject of the question).
> Both the CRTC and the FCC have web pages which list all TV (and radio) 
> station positions by latitude and longitude. If you cannot get your 
> exact home position lat and long with a GPS, you can use google earth to 
> place a bookmark on your house and get the exact lat long from the 
> properties of the bookmark.
>
> Then google 'great circle javascript' and you will find a number of web 
> pages which will calculate the course and distance between any to positions.

Also, antennaweb.org will show location of transmitters with the
direction (in degrees) from the address you enter (i.e. your home).  I
actually used this approach to find the transmitters and used a compass
to point my antenna and am sure my antenna is pointed in the right
direction (all the transmitters are within 8 degrees of each other, so I
pointed the antenna as close to the middle of that range as I could).

What I don't know is whether I'm passing in too much signal or not
enough signal...  On analog, there are telltale signs--as many of you
all have described in various threads on the list--that tend to point to
one direction or the other.  However, I /only/ have digital reception
(my analog reception falls under the FCC's "class B reception"
guidelines (= useless), but thanks to the digital cliff phenomenon, the
same low-quality reception won't work for digital, so I actually get
good reception of all my local digital channels).  I occasionally get
errors in the stream and have tried increasing the amplification on my
powered amp, but have seen the same issues.

Any hints on determining proper amplification levels when using
digital?  The signal monitor's % doesn't seem to change regardless of
the setting I use for the amplifier, so I'm looking for other ideas.  I
guess if nothing else I could try decreasing amplification and see if
that helps...  I'm just not a fan of the long, drawn-out trial and error
process (and, it seems that the issues only started occurring this
summer and are becoming less frequent as the fall approaches, so I'm
trying to fix it before it disappears for the winter so I'll be good
next year, too).

Thanks,
Mike