Did RetroTV go bye bye?

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Karma works, eventually, but I'd rather rely on actions that address such ignorant and/or deceiptive bussiness practices. The very least I would do is make a comment to the local BBB on their behalf and then tell them I did so.
You RTN issue is the same that many have been having. I have as well occasionally.The real problem is that RTN is in one of the crummiest places to be in the grand scheme of satellite channels. It is too close to a neighboring signal that is much stronger, and that signal is taking over your receiver, blocking out the RTN transmission.
Solutions have been to move the target channel parameters (freq and symbol rate) away from the intruding signal's values.
From a users perspective the receiving side of this mode of transmission is not absolute. In an analog (NTSC, your am/fm radio etc) you select channel xyz you will get xyz if it is there, or nothing if it is not. Not the case here. When you input the RTNs data, you are telling the receiver, (your dvb computer card) "I want to see a signal at around 11735mhz with a symbol rate of about 4444". The receiver begins hunting for such a signal withing a few units of what you told it. It must receive enough error free data to id it as a valid signal before it will 'lock on to' and display what it finds. If a neighboring broadcast signal is within the few units of "capture range", and the receiver gets sufficient valid data to id it as a valid signal first, it calculates that this is the on you actually want, locks to it and ignores the weaker signal, even though the ignored signal was actually closer to the 'desired' freq data you entered.
It's just the nature of the beast. This issue reflects very poor engineering and transponder utilization AFAIC. Even switching the uplink to the opposite polarity would yield quite a bit of isolation, probably enough to eliminate the issue.
For now the best workaround has been to input values that are further from the undesired freq/sr and still within capture range of the desired one.
I use 11739 and 4500 and get a lock most of the time. It may be slow to act as well, as it is looking for enough error free data to id as a valid transmission. If your still cant get it with those values, by all means experiment with others.
Something else I've noticed is that the consistancy of the offending signal varies at different points during the day and night.
 
Oh my folks bought a new tv that's gets the new digital channels and they hate it.
My dad says it either comes in great or not at all.
And stations in distant cities they used to get are gone now.
They used to get PBS from Houston and a station from Lake Charles and those are gone now. And they have an antenna up 30' high and no trees or buildings at all in the way.

Dad says they cut the power on the signals way down and that the digital is either on or off. With the old tv you could get tv from far off maybe a little fuzzy but better than not at all. And bad weather really knocks it out.

So they lost stations after this new tv stuff.
And, there are only 3-4 channels now and they are "BS" as my dad puts it.

I showed them some of the stuff on the retrotv website and now they want a satellite dish. And dad wants ME to help with it. LOL. Sure dad, I'm an expert. LOL.

Maybe I can go out of town for a few months till they get over that idea.
 
Well, you already said he instilled in you the motivation and means to be self sufficient. Now it's time for him to be rewarded for instilling that character trait. :rolleyes:
I'll bet when you send the grands over for a visit they come back rotten too. Fill 'em full of candy, caffiene, and buy 'em anything they want, that's my motto. Karma, revenge, it's all pretty much the same thing isnt it? :eek:
 
Some larger cities get 30+ OTA stations, and transmit a lot of same stuff, you get for free on sat. I get "This" and RTV on OTA with high quality, while RTV on sat is in fringe at best.

god I wish our local stations would show more on subchannels. Here in Minneapolis they have a SD counterpart subchannel (boo!) or a 24/7 channel of NEWS RERUNS. If I didnt watch the morning news at 6:00AM why would I want to watch it at 10:30 in the morning? The only subchannels we have in Minneapolis are on PBS
What sucks is the ABC is owned by Hubbard (the same folks who started USSB for you old school Directv folks) and on another Hubbard owned station (ABC in Duluth, MN) they have RTN On the -2 channel
 
Well, you already said he instilled in you the motivation and means to be self sufficient. Now it's time for him to be rewarded for instilling that character trait. :rolleyes:
I'll bet when you send the grands over for a visit they come back rotten too. Fill 'em full of candy, caffiene, and buy 'em anything they want, that's my motto. Karma, revenge, it's all pretty much the same thing isnt it? :eek:

Hehe. We got through all that like years ago. My kids are grown up and have their own now. I'm a grandmother two times now. And to be sure, a few more times.
Now my kids are getting their karma returns. :D

I'm siding with my mom on the dish for them. She's not warming to the idea. But if she finds out there's Rockford files, Quincy and especially McMillan & wife, well, guess who mom will be calling up to go sweat and toil for her ? LOL.
 
Hehe. We got through all that like years ago. My kids are grown up and have their own now. I'm a grandmother two times now. And to be sure, a few more times.
Now my kids are getting their karma returns. :D

I'm siding with my mom on the dish for them. She's not warming to the idea. But if she finds out there's Rockford files, Quincy and especially McMillan & wife, well, guess who mom will be calling up to go sweat and toil for her ? LOL.
I have wrestled with the idea of setting my dad up with a motorized Ku system. I think he would enjoy it and it would keep his mind busy, but I'd be the one doing the physical maintenance, and I've not determined the overall reliability of these motorized setups to be maintenance free. Maybe they are better than I've read because usually people post problems, not how trouble free and reliable they experience is. There is a degree of maint required to participate in this hobby, I dont expect 100% trouble free operation, but I dont want to make the 40+ mi round trip every time there is a glitch in the system....lol
Things like the RTN issue and add'l equipment to connect and operate for AC3 only stations have also kept me from doing it as well.
If it's not about the 'tinker factor' for your dad, why not burn a few 6hrs sets of RTN programming to DVD for them to play at will as a "delayed broadcast". It's not like it's current programming or something.
I do the same for the grands when they are here for Qubo ( and Nogin when I had a sub to it) etc. when I want to so something else with the sat system. I have about a dozen 6 hr DVDs for just such occasions. Put it in the dvd player and they dont even know it's not live.....lol
 
god I wish our local stations would show more on subchannels. Here in Minneapolis they have a SD counterpart subchannel (boo!) or a 24/7 channel of NEWS RERUNS
I guess Buffalo & Toronto Area is one of the havens in terms of OTA, including 1080 HD stuff. But there're other similar havens for sure. :) What is special about this area is that propaganda machine from both countries fuels more stations and channels with national content to show up, and multiple transmission towers on both border (or Lake) sides are in full capacity irradiating neighboring and own lands. :D
 
As of last night I have to say the OTA CW out of Houston is the best of the three I looked at last night when watching The Thomas Crown Affair
The OTA was full screen and nicely sharp. The CW feed on 91 was noticeably cropped before it reached my tv. The CW channel out of PR was not cropped, but was very 'washed out'. So my question is Where is the master (HD?) feed and is it available with the proper STB.
I see there is a CS 8000 for a buy it now of $175 on Fleabay right now......
 
oh gosh. Well I sure don't want one of those. Or for my folks either.
What would be a good *safe* satellite tuner for them to get, one that's definitely not illegal? I was thinking that ebay would be a good place to shop but now I'm not so sure that's such a good idea.

I mean like, a brand that's going to be around for a long time so if it has problems dad can send it in for repair? He quit working on stuff years ago.
Not some fly by night operation, someone reputable and legal.

Thank you! :)
 
I think, AZBox might be an interesting choice allowing your whole extended family to continue FTA learning journey for a-long-while, adding a new interesting hobby in life. However, most reputable FTA boxes would do, if not over-upgraded with some odd stuff.
 
oh gosh. Well I sure don't want one of those. Or for my folks either.
What would be a good *safe* satellite tuner for them to get, one that's definitely not illegal? I was thinking that ebay would be a good place to shop but now I'm not so sure that's such a good idea.

I mean like, a brand that's going to be around for a long time so if it has problems dad can send it in for repair? He quit working on stuff years ago.
Not some fly by night operation, someone reputable and legal.

Thank you! :)
Viewsats are not as good as some, better than others, but not "fly by night" any more than any of the rest. They are not inherently illegal, it what the end user uses to program them to receive subscription material that is illegal. The same could have been done with your computer card as well.
As for a long term investment and service, for the most part they are like vcr's, dvd players, computers, cell/cordless phones or any other "low cost" household appliance. If you get 2-3 years service out of them, and they die it's not worth repairing, just replace it. Chances are the new technology will get you more features for less investment. It is sad, but it is "our way" in this disposable society.
 
I think, AZBox might be an interesting choice allowing your whole extended family to continue FTA learning journey for a-long-while. However, most reputable FTA boxes would do, if not over-upgraded with some odd stuff.

Ok thank you!

My dad is fanatical about things like tech support and warranty support and stuff like that. I remember he used to always make sure that every thing he bought came with all the repair manuals and drawings and stuff so he could work on it if it broke. He'll make a point of it on the satellite stuff too, to be sure.

I probably should get one too, this computer stuff is big and noisy and makes a lot of heat. Plus uses electricity a lot I'll bet. It wouldn't have been my first choice but the ex thought it was the kitten's mittens. Why, I don't know..
All I see is it's a lot of work and trouble. I'll bet the little tuner boxes are easier than this stuff. But, here it is so I'm trying to figure it out.

I don't know why my dad thinks I can help him, that's funny. All I've done here is move stuff around that someone else put up. He's talking about putting up a brand new one and I've never done that. And really, it took me WEEKS to find those stupid satellites. It is NOT easy at all.

I just wish they would make everything easier and like "One size fits all" so you don't have to have 27 crazy looking dishes sprouting up from your yard or roof and the stupid things to be like A-B-C, 1-2-3 all nice and neat in order and in something normal people can understand. All that crazy lingo is sooooo deeply confusing and complicated.

Don't take this the wrong way but, is it like a "guy thing" to make everything so darned complicated? ;)

Thank you! :)
 
..........

Don't take this the wrong way but, is it like a "guy thing" to make everything so darned complicated? ;)

Thank you! :)

ROFLOL
We cant help it, it's how our minds work.........like a steel trap
Old, rusty, and illegal in most states!:eek:
I've been trying to define my acronyms and abbreviations as I go, did you ever get that spirial and pen I suggested????? I'll bet .....nooooooo
Didnt I post a link to a page full of sat terms and such?
Just like a woman...selective hearing AND vision.....lol
ooops here come my CFO....boss key, boss key which one is the boss key.....
 
couple of ideas:

I had to skim over the most recent posts, as this thread seems to have really taken off lately. :)

But, back to the converter boxes...
If your Dad/Mom live near you, I guess you already have the answer as to how many digital OTA TV stations you can get.
But, if you are located nearer a large city than them, you may have the luck I do.
When the cut over came, I had my LCD TV do a rescan, and came up with 70 subchannels total.
Your mileage may vary. :)

As to motorizing your 1.0m Primestar dish, let me recommend the DG-380 from Sadoun.
It's the most robust motor I've seen, and will do the job reliably.
 
ROFLOL
We cant help it, it's how our minds work.........like a steel trap
Old, rusty, and illegal in most states!:eek:
I've been trying to define my acronyms and abbreviations as I go, did you ever get that spirial and pen I suggested????? I'll bet .....nooooooo
Didnt I post a link to a page full of sat terms and such?
Just like a woman...selective hearing AND vision.....lol
ooops here come my CFO....boss key, boss key which one is the boss key.....


Spiral and pen? Link? Oh gosh. I better go back and read through stuff.

But really, the best example of the complex nature of the male mind?
The highway system. Look at the roads in any major city. Houston for example.
A tangled mess of spaghetti, missing signs, endless destruction and construction. Just please untangle all the roads and color code all the lanes, please? So simple, just follow the lane painted green to get to one part of town or yellow to another part.

I mean really. You guys have at least color coded the stuff on computers now, that was good thinking, and thank you very much!

Anyway... I shouldn't get started on the roads, that's one thing I love to complain about.. :rolleyes:
 
I had to skim over the most recent posts, as this thread seems to have really taken off lately. :)

But, back to the converter boxes...
If your Dad/Mom live near you, I guess you already have the answer as to how many digital OTA TV stations you can get.
But, if you are located nearer a large city than them, you may have the luck I do.
When the cut over came, I had my LCD TV do a rescan, and came up with 70 subchannels total.
Your mileage may vary. :)

As to motorizing your 1.0m Primestar dish, let me recommend the DG-380 from Sadoun.
It's the most robust motor I've seen, and will do the job reliably.


Well according to my dad there are only about 4-5 channels here in this area and that's using a very tall and very large antenna. He has it on a motor too so they can turn it from inside the house. They totally lost Houston and Lake Charles, my mom was really unhappy to lose KUHT PBS out of Houston.
And my dad despises the cable company, he would rather die than give them a penny. He's holding a grudge against them from waaaaaaay back. Maybe when he passes on Mom will get cable. But not Dad. Oh no.. Not happening.
 
god I wish our local stations would show more on subchannels. Here in Minneapolis they have a SD counterpart subchannel (boo!) or a 24/7 channel of NEWS RERUNS. If I didnt watch the morning news at 6:00AM why would I want to watch it at 10:30 in the morning? The only subchannels we have in Minneapolis are on PBS
What sucks is the ABC is owned by Hubbard (the same folks who started USSB for you old school Directv folks) and on another Hubbard owned station (ABC in Duluth, MN) they have RTN On the -2 channel

That's makes me feel even luckier that here in Seattle we get Accuweather, Universal Sports, THIS TV, Create, Qubo and the Retro Television Network. Though KONG 6 has an SD subchannel, and the CW and My Network TV channels haven't done anything with their subchannels.
 
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