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

Gary Buhrmaster gary.buhrmaster at gmail.com
Wed Sep 7 01:28:22 UTC 2011


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.


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