USB recording from Amiko set top box

[fuge]

Greetings all.

Could somebody please suggest a possible explanation for signal breakdown on a USB satellite recording from an Amiko set top box while the same programme being watched live via the same Amiko set top box did not have any signal breakdown.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Best regards

[netmask56]

Transmission interference - use TS Doctor to fix it.

[fuge]

Thank you for your response.

Do you know if there is a Linux version of TS Doctor? The closest that I have found is https://alternativeto.net/software/tsmuxer/about/

Also, what could be the source of the recorded signal quality problems?

Best regards

[Subtitles]

Thank you for your response.

Do you know if there is a Linux version of TS Doctor? The closest that I have found is https://alternativeto.net/software/tsmuxer/about/

Also, what could be the source of the recorded signal quality problems?

Best regards

I have been using TS Doctor for years and it is an excellent application.
The source of the recorded signal quality problem can be anything. Starting from the USB recording device. Is is HDD, Flash Disk or SSD?
The dish size and weather condition can make a corrupted short recording which is not noticeable to the eyes during live viewing.
TS Doctor will make a full report when you run and this will shed more light as to what happened.
If you can't use TS Doctor, Upload the raw file and PM me the download link and I will send you back the full report and the "fixed" file.

[fuge]

Thank you for your response.

The USB that was used for the recording is a Kingston 64GB flash drive, see link below

https://www.kingston.com/en/usb-flash-drives/datatraveler-exodia-m-moving-usb-3-2-usb-flash-drive

I will try TS Doctor and post the results.

Best regards.

[Subtitles]

Flash drives are not a good choice they get very hot especially during the Summer both during recording and play. Now I am using 120GB SSD housed in an SSD enclosure. In the past I used 4TB MyBook HDD and that was good but changed to SSD and I am happy with it.

[fuge]

Thank you for your latest response.

I have opened the video file with TS Doctor and attached a screenshot along with some logfiles.

During TS Doctor installation and video file loading I accepted any defaults.

I have not used TS Doctor before now and am not really sure how best to interpret these results.

Any comments appreciated.

Best regards

[lollo]

I have not used TS Doctor before now and am not really sure how best to interpret these results.

Your recording is bad. Fix the alignement of the satellite dish first, the distribution of the signal, the cables and all the hardware involved in the capture.

[october262]

Thank you for your response.

The USB that was used for the recording is a Kingston 64GB flash drive, see link below

https://www.kingston.com/en/usb-flash-drives/datatraveler-exodia-m-moving-usb-3-2-usb-flash-drive

I will try TS Doctor and post the results.

Best regards.

does the unit not have an internal HDD ??

[Subtitles]

Thank you for your latest response.

I have opened the video file with TS Doctor and attached a screenshot along with some logfiles.

During TS Doctor installation and video file loading I accepted any defaults.

I have not used TS Doctor before now and am not really sure how best to interpret these results.

Any comments appreciated.

Best regards

Too many errors. Creating a "fixed" file will not help.
Did you have this problem before?
Can you record to HDD drive instead of the flash disk?
You mentioned you were able to watch it on TV without noticing anything which means the the dish is aligned. You might need to align it to best position later on if nothing else helps.

[lollo]

You mentioned you were able to watch it on TV without noticing anything which means the the dish is aligned

For watching without notice of the glitches maybe (but is not common anyhow), but not for a proper recording without errors and missed packets.

You might need to align it to best position later on if nothing else helps.

Actually this should be the first action, alignement and fix of the dish with an adequate instrumentation. If this does not help, consider the rest, one element at the time.

[fuge]

Thank you all for your responses and please note my replies below.

lollo

Your recording is bad. Fix the alignment of the satellite dish first, the distribution of the signal, the cables and all the hardware involved in the capture.

It seems to me that the disk is aligned correctly as it has recently been moved and realigned by the original installer using whatever instrument is used for such purposes. Also watching live does not seem to generate any problems.

october262

does the unit not have an internal HDD ??

No, the set top box does not have an internal HDD. The unit is an Amiko Mini Combo 3, see link below:
https://www.amikostb.com/product/505-MiniCombo3


Subtitles

Did you have this problem before?
Can you record to HDD drive instead of the flash disk?

There has been a problem for quite some time, initially the audio and video were not synchronised, then the signals started to break up and were completely lost eventually. The source of the problem seemed to be that some trees were in line with the dish. Moving the dish caused the signal to return with no problems viewing live but with the recording problems being discussed. Also, audio and video are now correctly synchronised.
The set top box does not have a HDD but I could get a flash drive next week.

lollo

For watching without notice of the glitches maybe (but is not common anyhow), but not for a proper recording without errors and missed packets.

Is it possible that glitches could become apparent in a recording that would not have been obvious when viewing live?

Could the problem be due to electrical noise from the other devices adjacent to the set top box? These are a Sony Bravia TV, a Sony video recorder and two speakers.

[Subtitles]

Thanks for the update @fuge.
Your receiver is quite small and it can get quite hot especially during Summer. Can you check how hot does it feel by touching it with your hand, especially the Flash Disk during recording?
It would be a good idea to cool it with a small USB fan blowing air over it.
In the meantime do some recordings and check with TS Doctor. Perfect recordings will give you zero errors and zero warnings.

[lollo]

Is it possible that glitches could become apparent in a recording that would not have been obvious when viewing live?

Yes, but only for small loss of packets in the transport stream. If a major error occurs, it is also visible in live viewing.

T
Could the problem be due to electrical noise from the other devices adjacent to the set top box? These are a Sony Bravia TV, a Sony video recorder and two speakers.

In general no, except for cordless telephones, interfering with the demodulated DVB-S frequencies. But who knows...

I also experimented in the past trobles with a later model of the Transcend 64GB TS64GJF620 while the model TS64GJF600 was perfectly fine (it could be a bad unit or who know what).
Did you properly formatted the usb key (ext3 or ext4)?
If you have USB port on the receiver with higher current capability (1A instead of 0.5A) use that.
Do you find the same errors while recording channels on different transponders? (the quality reception may be marginal on some of them, they are not all the same).

[fuge]

Thank you all for your responses.

As suggested I will do some experimenting and post the results.

[fuge]

I have finally managed to get a video recording that does not have errors that become obvious during playback. The recording device used was an ancient external USB hard drive, a Freecom Classic SL with 160GB of storage and separate DC power supply, see link below:

https://docs.rs-online.com/baeb/0900766b8072b055.pdf

This unit, which lists Windows 98 SE under software requirements, was used after several modern USB flash drives all failed to record without numerous errors and picture breakdown.

It seems to me that the problem could have been due to some power supply issue or inadequate noise protection within the flash drives.

Any comments much appreciated.

[Subtitles]

Try recording with 2.5" SSD enclosed in a 2.5" enclosure like from Ugreen.

[fuge]

Thank you for your suggestion.

Before replacing the external hard drive with an SSD I will try to get a few more successful recordings with the hard drive. If everything still seems to be ok I will try an external SSD to give me a second option.

Thanks again for your help.

Best regards

[noemi7]

If you want a reliable PC tuner there is no better option that to buy one from TBS.

[fuge]

Thank you for your suggestion of a PC tuner. If the current set top box and external USB drive proves to be unreliable I will investigate the PC tuner as an alternative. A further option could be a TV with a built in satellite tuner.

[Subtitles]

Thank you for your suggestion of a PC tuner. If the current set top box and external USB drive proves to be unreliable I will investigate the PC tuner as an alternative. A further option could be a TV with a built in satellite tuner.

A TV with a satellite tuner is not a good option. Usually the recordings are encrypted and you need to play using the TV.
A better option is a satellite receiver with Enigma 2. Something like Octagon SF8008 with two tuners or a combo with 1 satellite tuner and a terrestrial tuner.

Edit: Correct model number

[fuge]

Thank you for your response and for pointing out the encryption problem.

This sounds like it is similar to our current Sony Bravia TV where any recordings made to an attached USB drive are encrypted and can only be viewed on that specific TV.

I will investigate the Octagon SF8000.

Best regards

[Subtitles]

Sorry I made a mistake in the model number
It is Octagon SF8008 and it is a 4K receiver.
The advantage of Enigma 2 receivers is that you can install different images like OpenPli, OpenATV and others.
The learning curve can take some time, but it is well worth the effort.
I bought mine from Amazon Germany but I am sure that you can find in your location.

[lollo]

I recommend a Vu+ or a Dreambox set top box. Worth the price!

[fuge]

Thanks to you both for your further responses.

It seems that there are far more possibilities than I ever knew existed. For now however, I will try to come to a conclusion about our existing Amiko set top box and the external USB hard disk, by making some more recordings, before opting for a new system.

Best regards.

[Subtitles]

It is worth cooling your set top box using a small USB fan. Your receiver is relatively small and it can get hot especially during Summer.

[fuge]

Thank you for your response and suggestion about a cooling fan.

Your concerns about overheating seem to be quite valid as a crude measurement that I made while a recording was being played gave a temperature of about 36C. This does not feel very hot but it is not all that far from the maximum working temperature of 45C given in the manual, see attached.

Also, a second recording made on the external hard drive mentioned previously gave a recording without any obvious signal breakdown.

Unfortunately there may a further problem, when the recording was being played the audio and video were not synchronised towards the end of the recording. Could this be due to some playback issue or possibly some problem with the TV?

Best regards.

[october262]

Thank you for your response and suggestion about a cooling fan.

Your concerns about overheating seem to be quite valid as a crude measurement that I made while a recording was being played gave a temperature of about 36C. This does not feel very hot but it is not all that far from the maximum working temperature of 45C given in the manual, see attached.

Also, a second recording made on the external hard drive mentioned previously gave a recording without any obvious signal breakdown.

Unfortunately there may a further problem, when the recording was being played the audio and video were not synchronised towards the end of the recording. Could this be due to some playback issue or possibly some problem with the TV?

Best regards.

have you updated the software / firmware on your set top box ??

Amiko set top box - recordings out of sync
The Amiko Mini Combo set top box is a popular digital decoder for satellite TV, but users have reported issues with recordings being out of sync. Here are some possible solutions to help you resolve this problem:

Check the Audio Delay Settings

Press the “Menu” button on your Amiko Mini Combo remote control.
Go to the “Settings” or “Audio” section.
Find the option for “Audio Delay” or “AV Sync”.
Adjust the setting to ensure that the audio and video are in sync.
Check the Recording Settings

Make sure that the recording settings are set to the correct format and resolution.
Check if the recording is set to a different aspect ratio than the original broadcast.
Ensure that the recording is set to the correct audio format.
Check the Connection

Verify that all cables are securely connected to the Amiko Mini Combo and the recording device.
Check if the HDMI connection is set to the correct input.
Check the Recording Device

If you are using an external hard drive or USB device for recording, try using a different device to rule out any issues with the current device.
Check the recording device’s settings to ensure that it is set to record in the correct format and resolution.
Reset the Amiko Mini Combo

If none of the above steps resolve the issue, try resetting the Amiko Mini Combo to its default settings.
Press the “Menu” button on your Amiko Mini Combo remote control.
Go to the “Settings” section.
Select “Reset” and follow the on-screen instructions.

[fuge]

Thank you for your comprehensive reply and please note my response below.

The set top box software has been updated.

Check the Audio Delay Settings
There are no settings that relate specifically to AV Sync or AV Delay. The available AV settings are video resolution, aspect ratio, volume set, HDMI audio, SPDIF, HDMI colour space and HDMI deep colour. The aspect ratio is 16:9 and HDMI audio is set to PCM as the TV uses this setting.

Check the Recording Settings
There are no settings that relate specifically to recording.

Check the Connection
All of the power and signal connections are correct and secure.

Check the Recording Device
The current external USB hard drive has given the best results apart from the synchronisation problem.

For the next recording I will first establish the transmission AV format and resolution to ensure that the local settings match. Unfortunately the synchronisation problem does seem to be somewhat intermittent which adds to the difficulty of finding a solution.

[october262]

Thank you for your comprehensive reply and please note my response below.

The set top box software has been updated.

Check the Audio Delay Settings
There are no settings that relate specifically to AV Sync or AV Delay. The available AV settings are video resolution, aspect ratio, volume set, HDMI audio, SPDIF, HDMI colour space and HDMI deep colour. The aspect ratio is 16:9 and HDMI audio is set to PCM as the TV uses this setting.

Check the Recording Settings
There are no settings that relate specifically to recording.

Check the Connection
All of the power and signal connections are correct and secure.

Check the Recording Device
The current external USB hard drive has given the best results apart from the synchronisation problem.

For the next recording I will first establish the transmission AV format and resolution to ensure that the local settings match. Unfortunately the synchronisation problem does seem to be somewhat intermittent which adds to the difficulty of finding a solution.

can you install any plugins on that set top box ?? - https://www.techkings.org/threads/audio-heavily-out-of-sync-on-some-channels.152203/
see if there's one for "audio sync"