MythTV, Tuner locks signal, but can't get channels

[oncewaslost]

So, as it turns out, we've got a Home Theater PC now which has Dual ATSC tuners, 4DTV (X4 package via S-Video input), and now motorized C Band (soon to be Ku also) FTA......all with guide data, all with PVR and recording, my media library (pics, music, and those great videos we get in emails). Wow. A dream come true!

Glad to hear you are making progress!

I assume that you are using the zap2it for guide info. I went ahead and set up an account.
How does this work for some of the fta channeIs? I see that you can choose a zip code, then choose a carrier such as cable, sat or ota to find the channel listing. How does myth know which channel to assign the listing to?

Today I found that patches are available for myth that will allow multiplex recordings from one transport stream. I was starting to panic, because this was one feature that I really require!

I sure hope this Easy TV Data / Schedules Direct thing comes through since the zap2it will not be available soon.

 

[TheKrell]

I think you're on the right track, but I don't think you're receiver is going to control the switching connected to the output of the twinhan. I'm not an expert on the DVB PCI cards, but with a normal STB, if you connect something to the output jack, it can only do what the first STB is doing.

Good memory. I hooked up a Dish 111 both before and after the Twinhan 1025. Works great in either location, except that I can't control the DP34 from the 111 when it's connected after the 1025.

I also tried DVBdream as Anole suggested, with the same result as Twinhan's own player DigitalTV: zero signal strength on all transponders.

It looks to me like my brand new 1025 is deceased. JustFTA agreed to replace it without hassling me for details of my tests/setup. Makes me wonder if this is a common problem on the 1025.

 

[TheKrell]

I wanted to report that I got my replacement 1025 from JustFTA this afternoon. Unfortunately, the new one does the same thing as the old: zero signal on all transponders. I have de-installed/re-installed both software and hardware several times without affecting the problem.

Got any ideas? I don't see any sort of diagnostics from Twinhan.

 

[colbec]

Unless I am mistaken, I think that my (as noted in a previous post) deceased Digiwave 103G cards are rebranded Twinhans. The cards do not come marked as either Digiwave or Twinhan, just "DVB-Spci Ver 2.20 2005.12.18".

My first 103G did as you are describing, no signal. The video in side worked correctly. The second 103G worked for about 4 days and then locked up completely preventing computers from booting. I think Twinhan has some quality control issues.

Can anyone chip in and report getting a reliable, working 100% Twinhan card recently?

 

[oncewaslost]

Can anyone chip in and report getting a reliable, working 100% Twinhan card recently?

I got my 1025 two weeks ago from the same place that TheKrell did. It works fine in DvbDream, DvbViewer and Knoppmyth. I havn't tried using any diseqc switches. I am using a 2X4 multi switch.

 

[Anole]

extra info, diseqc switches

I havn't tried using any diseqc switches.
I am using a 2X4 multi switch.

Just in case anyone else reads this thread in the future, there is one slightly off-topic thing I should mention.

While I had good results with Twinhan 1025, 102g, and their USB StarBox talking diseqc to a DP34, it's documented that Twinhans have trouble talking to cheap diseqc switches.
A mod to the switches is posted on the MyTheatre forum.
High quality diseqc , and 22khz switches (such as a 4x4), are all okay.
(Your 2x4 is hardly a switch at all. It's voltage controlled.)

The mod consists of adding a tiny surface-mount chip capacitor inside the switch.
Possibly one per channel - I really don't recall.
They've documented several standard switch configurations and brands to make it easy.
You match what you got to the pictures, and proceed.

Just wanted that on the record.

 

[TheKrell]

I got my 1025 two weeks ago from the same place... It works fine in DvbDream, DvbViewer and Knoppmyth.

And you never tried Twinhan's DigitalTV either? Hmmm. Just to make sure, I deinstalled that along with the BDA drivers and reinstalled just the BDA drivers (labeled THBDA). Same deal with DVBdream: zero signal strength on all transponders. I guess I can try one of those other players, but I am not hopeful.

JustFTA claims they've sold over 700 cards with only a handful of defective units. Makes me think that my cards were both fine and I have some bizarre software problem. The only hint I see on Twinhan's FAQ (that I haven't tried already) is to try another PCI slot. Since the card most definitely shows up and is accessible and controllable from software, I have a hard time believing a PCI slot change would do anything.

I'm not running MCE or dual-core hyper-threaded Vista: just a plain W2K Compac.

 

[Anole]

last call

Okay, after all the hand waving, I've lost track of what's happening in this thread.

I have one last thing to mention about taking a signal out of a DP-34 switch.
You must have a long center conductor on your cable connection to the '34.
If it's normal length, it may not be inserted deeply enough to make contact.
That's my last idea.

I can see no other reason (besides shorted or open cable) that DVBdream and MyTheatre would not find a signal.
Both are difficult to set up, of course.
So operator error is a good possibility.
Goodness knows I had my troubles!

Plugging the switch or LNB into the wrong connector on the Twinhan card has been explored, I assume...?
If not, divide and simplify.

Of course, if you hooked the Dish receiver LNB connector to the Twinhan LNB connector, that would not be a good thing.

 

[TheKrell]

I know the card is getting a signal (via LNB IN) because I plugged a Dish network receiver into the LNB OUT jack and I see digital perfection at the same time the 1025 sees zero. (As suggested above, I cannot control the DP34 from the receiver connected serially, but that's another issue.)

I suspect the THBDA drivers. But it could be pilot error. I have tried so many things, I'm surprised nothing worked. Where the h** is a Blind Scanning for Dummies program when you need it?

Anyhow, as oncewaslost mentioned above, even KnoppMyth works with this card. I'm downloading R5F1 right now, and I'll give that a shot to take Windows cruftiness out of the picture, no pun intended. :tux: OK, got it and now burning it to CD. Down we go!

 

[oncewaslost]

and reinstalled just the BDA drivers (labeled THBDA).

Just to be clear, this is the driver I am using:

Twinhan

Other Models 1020/1022/1025/1030/1032
2021/2031/3020/3021/3250/3040
v.1.2.3.8 (2006. 05)

Okay, after all the hand waving, I've lost track of what's happening in this thread.

I apologize for my part in straying

 

[Anole]

I apologize for my part in straying

Not at all... I just hate not being able to resolve something this simple.
Though hooking a Dish receiver (with its generous LNB power) to any part of the Twinhan doesn't seem wise.

 

[TheKrell]

And I apologize for hijacking this thread! (It was about a different problem with the 1025.)

Yes, oncewaslost, those are the drivers I think I am using. At first I tried the ones in the W2K subfolder. But then I read more of the text files in the root folder, and I should have been using the THDBA drivers in the root folder for non-MCE DVB-S. Maybe the W2K drivers are still stuck in here...

I tried KnoppMyth last night, and it requires a whole lot more configuration than I was expecting. I never got it to access the 1025 at all. If you boot off the CD, it comes up and shows a Penguin watching a home theater setup... Then nothing happens! There's a grey bar across the bottom that might allow you to control something, but it did nothing for me. I can right-mouse over the background and select Apps-> Viewers-> VLC for example. But that app has a DVB tab and an Advanced pop-up with about 20 knobs to twist, all of which are filled in by default with zero. At least with the Windows apps, I can select various Echostar satellites and have a reasonable expectation of controlling the hardware appropriately. With KnoppMyth, far more knobs need to be set appropriately. So much for trying out Linux.

 

[TheKrell]

Well wonders never cease. On the DVBDream forum, I noticed another 1025 owner with similar symptoms. DVBDream didn't show us squat. But that other owner claimed MyTheater worked. And so it does for me as well.
Seems my card was not defective after all. It sure would be more convenient if Twinhan's app, DigitalTV, could handle their own hardware!

Of course I've screwed up my switch setting completely. Looks like what I thought was 119 was actually 61.5. And now I'm listening to some CD music when I thought I had 110 selected. Aha, now I've got it approximately right. It helps to select Echostar 7 when you've got the switch on 119.

 

[Anole]

Well, congratulations !

Let's not look back and dwell on our mistakes.
Let's pat ourselves on the back for finding the solution and look to the future.


... and I'm sure I ran DVBdream on the card, but . . .
I knew there was some reason I replaced it with the 102g...
Perhaps that was a contributing factor.
That was last November, and I'm no longer responsible for acts performed outside of this calendar year.

The Twinhan USB Starbox wasn't supported under DVBdream, but I got it cookin' with MyTheatre.
I just didn't like MyTheatre, due to stability problems.

 

[TheKrell]

I just didn't like MyTheatre, due to stability problems.

Hey it ran long enough for my "Aha" experience. I could see I was getting only the "vertical" transponders, and when it tried to switch the LNB (which didn't happen) to "horizontal", it found the same "channels" over again. So do you suppose I left it at that, getting only half my transponders? Nooooooo! I broke it completely by selecting (SW pulldown) DishPro, followed by the Apply button. Now I get zero signal strength once again, and changing the SW pulldown back doesn't fix it.

OK, now I've gotten it working again by resetting LOF1, SW back to 0 instead of DishPro, and LOF2. But it's still not handling the bandstacking: no horizontal transponders. What are correct values for LOF1 and 2? IMHO these DVB programs ought to be able to set these values appropriately when you select your satellite.

 

[TheKrell]

I am now making modest progress with DVBdream. I can get it to scan in the channels on the lowest frequency transponder, "vertical" polarization only. All the rest still show "no signal". I got that far by selecting Options --> Diseqc --> Add Satellite --> LNB Type "NA Bandstacked DP Ku-Hi (DBS)". It does not appear that any of the other options apply to my DP setup with 119/110/61.5. Lof-1 is filled in with 11250000 and Lof-2 is filled in with 14350000.

And forgive this newbie question... It's not in the FAQ on this forum. I can Google LOF and guess it stands for Loss Of Frame (Synchronization). But I also see references made to Local Oscillator Frequency. Which is it, and what are the proper settings for these knobs?

 

[TheKrell]

Results of more experimentation on my !025

I can get it to scan in the channels on the lowest frequency transponder, "vertical" polarization only. All the rest still show "no signal". I got that far by selecting Options --> Diseqc --> Add Satellite --> LNB Type "NA Bandstacked DP Ku-Hi (DBS)". It does not appear that any of the other options apply to my DP setup with 119/110/61.5. Lof-1 is filled in with 11250000 and Lof-2 is filled in with 14350000.

In configuring DVBdream, the correct bandstacked lof-1 and lof-2 numbers are filled in automatically when you select the LNB type as above. But it does not see any of the "horizontal" transponder frequencies. This appears to be a bug.

If I enter the DVBDream lof configuration info into MyTheatre (which does NOT correctly fill in those lof numbers when you select DishPro for the SW setting), it works! MyTheatre can see all polarization states on all (living) transponders, proving conclusively that my 1025 works. What DVBDream's problem is, I do not know.

 

[TheKrell]

It's not in the FAQ on this forum. I can Google LOF and guess it stands for Loss Of Frame (Synchronization). But I also see references made to Local Oscillator Frequency. Which is it, and what are the proper settings for these knobs?

I see on a MyTheatre forum that the relationship between LOF-1 and LOF-2 is as follows for circular LNBs: 25600 minus "horizontal" frequency = band stacked "vertical" frequency. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this implies that "LOF" stands for Local Oscillator Frequency, and not Loss Of Frame (sync).

 

[Anole]

LOF this !

Yes, LOF = Local Oscillator Frequency.

As I recall with MyTheatre, you had to have a custom .INI file with the transponders in it, to do bandstacked.
I don't (offhand) recall needing to set the LOF values to queer numbers.

Again, as I recall, DVBdream didn't need LOF to be set out of the ordinary, nor a custom .INI file, but it did BandStacked just fine on its own.

Seems like 11.250 ghz was all you had to know for DBS band...

Oh, you know what? One other thing is lurking in the back of my mind.
I believe there is a difference in the format for the LOF between the two programs.
You may have incorrectly assumed they used the same frequency format.
Double check the docs for each. I thought one used: 11250 and the other 11250000
Like I say, it's been a long time, and it was more for a quickie test, not my life's work.

I'm really surprised other users haven't chimed in.
Aren't that many on DVB users on SatGuys?

 

[TheKrell]

Both look to be in kHz these days. Do you recall whether the 22kHz tab should be set to on, off, or Controlled by LOF-SW?

Another result: I just tried using the formula above for the lowest "horizontal" frequency and doing a manual scan... It works! Looks like DVBdream (like MyTheatre) needs to have custom ini files for bandstacked LNBs.