DVB-T Aerial Question

[kandiman]

hey guys, ok this might be a dumb question, i was wondering if your aerial signal looks poor on your tv would your dvb capture file look poor as well?
(i'm from australia btw )

i just want to know because i am about to buy a dvb-t card which is this one
http://www.eyo.com.au/details_D-Ulite.html

because i read the ultraview is the same as the dvico just rebadged ?

[bunyip]

Well digital appears to be a bit different, if your signal strength is weak you don't get a poor picture, you get no picture at all on some channels while others continually freeze on you (audio continues but the picture freezes).

It is recommeded for good performance that you have a signal strength of not less than 80%, and even that is a bit touchy, ideally you want 90%+.

I'm testing a DVICO card at present and my outdoor aerial is a shared one (home units) and has never given a good reception for analogue. When I connected the cable to it the best I got was 70% and I could only pick up 3 digital channels (there are about 30 assorted digital channels here at present).

So I tried just dangling the end of the cable out the window and with that I get 87-95% strength and I can pick up all 30 channels, so it seems the aerial is not necessarily an important issue, as long as you are in an area of good reception.

Now I'll probably get flamed by the purists, but it works for me.

[kandiman]

hmm it sounds pretty good....signal strength that is, i hope i don't need to buy a new aerial heheh

how is the DVICO like? i wanna know before i buy it, is the capture quality nice and do you use the supplied software for your captures?

[bunyip]

I've been testing for several days now and I can easily recommend it. The picture quality is excellent and the capture quality is equally of high quality.
I use the DVICO software to capture - very easy to use but I use third party software to process and edit the capture files.
You can capture in TP format or MPEG but the TP capture contains 2 audio streams, MP2 and AC3 so I prefer this for the choice.

See my comments in this thread for more details..
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=239434

[kandiman]

thanx bunyip man u realli helped me out alot

i'm new to this dvb game, i'm used to the old skool analogue style lol

another question after u demux the TP file using PVAStrumento, do u use tmpg to join the files back up or does PVAStrumento do that for u?

[bunyip]

No, PVAStrumento is used only to demux the TP stream to usable Mpeg streams, but there are several options for muxing.

If I'm authoring to DVD I can leave the files demuxed and let the authoring program mux them.

Or I can have the editing program "Mpeg2Schnitt" mux the results as it is clipping out the ads.

Or if I need to re-encode (which I do if the program is 4:3 ratio) I let the encoder mux the results.

Or as you suggest I can mux independently using TMPGenc.

All options produce good results - although Mpeg2Schnitt has options for fixing any audio sync problems if they exist.

Many choices.

[kandiman]

hey bunyip i just bought my UltraView card

are all aussie tv programs broadcast in 16:9?

do you always capture in 16:9?

[bunyip]

Welcome to the digital experience.

Well through this card everthing is 16:9 however if a program is only 4:3 then you end up with the black bars on either side.

With the DVICO you don't get the option to clip this during capture so that's why I have to re-encode the captured file to 4:3 and remove the borders. Re-encoding is often required anyway since the default capture has a peak of 15000 Kbps and is not DVD compliant and the file size is usually too big for a DVD.

I assume that all digital broadcast is 16:9 because what you find is the program you are watching might be 4:3 but the ads are 16:9.

[kandiman]

just tested my card, it works great and it beats analogue hands down lol

damn it i can only pick up 2 digital channels...channel 7 and 9 that realli sux

[bunyip]

Yep, that's what I found when I first connected the card to the outside aerial - I could only get weak signals on 2, 7 & 9.

But by not connecting to the aerial and just running the cable-end near a window I get perfect reception on all channels, did you try this?

The type of cable I'm using becomes a mini-aerial in itself (see pisture), you may have more luck if you try the same, I presume you may also have more luck using an indoor aerial instead.

The broadcast signals are in fact strong, it just seems that our old outdoor aerials can't deal with them.

[kandiman]

wow thats amazing, you can pick up all channels with that!

yeah i'm going to buy an indoor aerial and see how it works

[kandiman]

hey bunyip, i just plugged an indoor aerial and i did not pick up one channel

hmmm where did you get your cable from? i think i need more length

[bunyip]

I think it's a combination of length and the RF converter at the end. I did some tests with short cables with no luck. I also tested a long coax-only cable and could get only a few channels with a strength of only 65%.

From memory I think I got it from Kmart about a year ago but you just get a converter (balun) and slip it on the end of a longer coax cable. (Dick Smith has a selection - see their website catalogue under 'baluns').

Your indoor aerial should be doing the same job though - it may be just a matter of finding the right spot for it.

I hope you're not in a Digital no-go zone.

Let us know how you go.

[RabidDog]

I would be interested in knowing more details of that cable as I would like to get freeview but caN only have an indoor aerial. Tech specs please or a Uk supplier ??
or a link ..thanx..

[bunyip]

Here is an update to this thread...

kandiman & I continued to communicate off-line, what we determined was I could get this little cable (which turns out to be just a substitute for an indoor aerial) to work because I am located in an area that enjoys unhindered digital reception, largely because I am on the top of a hill with clear access to the tranmissions.

This solution did not work for kandiman, neither did an ordinary indoor aerial, he had to upgrade his exterior aerial to get good reception.

My advice is if you can't get good reception with an indoor aerial then the cable is unlikely to work either.

[RabidDog]

no dvb-t for me then

[zzyzzx]

Can we even get DVB-T in the us that's not HDTB?