Remap feature help

[electrofex]

Can some one re explain to me the Remap feature? I read the User Guide and I still don’t get it.
I got some digital network channels (ABC, CBS…) they have “no data” and I want then to follow my cable HD equivalents. I don’t get the differences between Logical /Physical Names and what ever that other option is. I seem to just loose channels when I try to change something.

Thanks

[ghostlobster]

Originally Posted by electrofex

Can some one re explain to me the Remap feature? I read the User Guide and I still don’t get it.
I got some digital network channels (ABC, CBS…) they have “no data” and I want then to follow my cable HD equivalents. I don’t get the differences between Logical /Physical Names and what ever that other option is. I seem to just loose channels when I try to change something.

Thanks

What TV tuners are you using and what version of SageTV?

[electrofex]

I just loaded the beta and I am using 2x HVR1600

[Opus4]

The Logical & Physical channel numbers are explained on p. 162 of the v6.4-B PDF manual. I'm not sure what else to say about them.

Normally, you will be leaving the physical channel number as-is.

After scanning for OTA or QAM channels, you will most likely need to use the "Map Different Station to this Physical Channel" option to map a channel to its actual station that has EPG data. It will pop up a list of channels available on all your lineups & you choose the one that matches the channel. For example: in my area, there may be an OTA channel WABC-DT, but in SageTV, it would have to be mapped to WABCDT, which is the name of the station from the Zap2it EPG data that SageTV uses.

You can check the Zap2it site to see a list of the channels on your llineup taht you can map channels to.

- Andy

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by electrofex

Can some one re explain to me the Remap feature? I read the User Guide and I still don’t get it.
I got some digital network channels (ABC, CBS…) they have “no data” and I want then to follow my cable HD equivalents. I don’t get the differences between Logical /Physical Names and what ever that other option is. I seem to just loose channels when I try to change something.

Thanks

Hopefully you found what you needed from the .pdf user's manual.

There are three functions that the SageTV REMAP is used for:
1. Assigning/resetting_to_default the Logical Channel (think Remote Control channel number).
2. Assigning/resetting_to_default the Physical Channel (what's required to 'tune' the station/stream; 12, 12.1, 12-0-1, etc.)
3. Reassign a 'scanned' channel entry to its correct StationID in the current lineup so that it will have working EPG Data.

I think you're looking for #3. IF a channel discovered during the SCAN process isn't automatically linked to its corresponding StationID in your lineup then you can use this option to pair them (leaving only one entry).
Alternatively, you could also make note of the Physical Channel data and in the correct StationID entry use REMAP to assign that info.

[bjp999]

I have done a channel scan and found that NONE of the channels are correctly linked to their correct names. For example, when I view the SPEED channel I see the PBS channel in HD.

Correcting this is going to take quite a while. Is this normal? I have tried upgrading to the latest beta but this behavior is the same. There are 2 "Comcast" lineups linked to my zip code, one does not include the digital channels and the other does. Neither results in any correct mappings.

Would it be better to not link it to a lineup and do it all by hand?

Any suggestions most appreciated.

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by bjp999

I have done a channel scan and found that NONE of the channels are correctly linked to their correct names. For example, when I view the SPEED channel I see the PBS channel in HD.

Correcting this is going to take quite a while. Is this normal? I have tried upgrading to the latest beta but this behavior is the same. There are 2 "Comcast" lineups linked to my zip code, one does not include the digital channels and the other does. Neither results in any correct mappings.

Would it be better to not link it to a lineup and do it all by hand?

Any suggestions most appreciated.

I see from your unanswered post on 7/27 that you have an HVR-1600. Performing a 'Scan for Additional Channels' is the most efficient method for populating the correct 'Physical Channels' into your remap.

You'll want to select the 'Digital' version of your cable lineup and, since QAM channels don't normally report the Call_Letters/Station_Name, you may need to use the REMAP function in Sage to assign the found QAM channel to the correct Station in your Lineup (Remap: Map different station to this Physical Channel).

EDIT:
Cable COs use QAM to deliver digital programing AND Video-on-demand; so while most of the channels detected will be stations from the cable lineup others will be 'temporary use' broadcasts created and killed by STB users as they waste their money. Usually we don't recommend enabling the VOD channels since their use is unpredictable.

[bjp999]

Originally Posted by Conejo

I see from your unanswered post on 7/27 that you have an HVR-1600. Performing a 'Scan for Additional Channels' is the most efficient method for populating the correct 'Physical Channels' into your remap.

I added the digital lineup and it populated the physical channels. It asked if I wanted it to scan for available channels, and it did (took about 1/2 hour on the HVR-1600).

In addition to the normal looking physical channel lineup, I see a bunch of unlabeled channels like:

104-1 - DTV104.2 - [104-0-1] ........................ [View] [Remap]
DTV104.2

You'll want to select the 'Digital' version of your cable lineup and, since QAM channels don't normally report the Call_Letters/Station_Name, you may need to use the REMAP function in Sage to assign the found QAM channel to the correct Station in your Lineup (Remap: Map different station to this Physical Channel).

I selected the digitial version of the Comcast lineup. It did its scan as described above. If I go to channel 2 (labeled VERSUS) and click [View], the video I see is actually WCVEDT which should be linked to channel 220. (I know because this video image happens to have a logo in the lower right corner). When I go to channel 220 it is labeled WCVEDT, but when I click [View], I get a black screen. So I want the video I see for channel 2 to show up when I click [View] next to channel 220. Channel 2 should stay where it is, waiting for me to find the video that goes with the VERSUS network. Right?

Okay, so from channel 220 I click the [Remap] button. I select "Map Different Station to this Physical Channel." I scroll down to VERSUS (2) and click on it. I now get another line added to the lineup called "220-VERSUS" right under the "220-WCVEDT" (2 stations on the same number?). Clicking [View] on either of them shows the black screen. I can now not find the video for the real WCVEDT station! The row for channel 2-VERSUS is gone. I tried to go to "220-VERSUS" and reset the remap, but it seems to have no effect, except that the next time that option is gone. I don't know what else to do but start over.

I must be doing something totally bass ackwards.

EDIT:
Cable COs use QAM to deliver digital programing AND Video-on-demand; so while most of the channels detected will be stations from the cable lineup others will be 'temporary use' broadcasts created and killed by STB users as they waste their money. Usually we don't recommend enabling the VOD channels since their use is unpredictable.

Understood. It's just very hard to tell what things are what without having a second TV sitting next to my TV hooked up to the cable box. Is that the expectation in order to do the remapping?

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by bjp999

Understood. It's just very hard to tell what things are what without having a second TV sitting next to my TV hooked up to the cable box. Is that the expectation in order to do the remapping?

That's just about what it takes to manually do all the QAM remapping for most QAM tuners.

Didn't you say you also have an HDHR? If so, set it up first. You'll then have .scn and .frq files for that tuner. Make a note of the .frq file SageTV has created for the 1600. Mkae a backup copy of it. Now, make a copy of the .scn file from one of the HDHR QAM tuners & rename it to match <the 1600's file name>.scn. You could then either do the scan in SageTV when setting up the 1600 or copy the .frq file too & then simply assign the HDHR's lineup to the 1600's tuner w/o doing a scan.

SiliconDust is trying to keep track of QAM channels & makes an attempt to name them appropriately in their channel editor, so that simplifies mapping the channels while setting up the tuners in SageTV.

If you don't have an HDHR, then you have to manually do all the logical channel number and station remapping yourself.

- Andy

[bjp999]

Originally Posted by Opus4

That's just about what it takes to manually do all the QAM remapping for most QAM tuners.

I still have a fundamental question about the mechanics of doing the remapping. If I can get the other way to work with the HDHR, maybe that question can wait.

Didn't you say you also have an HDHR? If so, set it up first. You'll then have .scn and .frq files for that tuner. Make a note of the .frq file SageTV has created for the 1600. Mkae a backup copy of it. Now, make a copy of the .scn file from one of the HDHR QAM tuners & rename it to match <the 1600's file name>.scn. You could then either do the scan in SageTV when setting up the 1600 or copy the .frq file too & then simply assign the HDHR's lineup to the 1600's tuner w/o doing a scan.

Yes, I have an HDHR. I will try going down this route.

There are actually 2 different .frq files. Here are their names and a few sample lines from the files:

Hauppauge WinTV 418 TS Capture-0-QAM.frq
CH:1 major:23 minor:3 prog:3 phy:20 frq:157250000 mod:11 inv:0 #:WCVE-D3
CH:2 major:23 minor:1 prog:1 phy:20 frq:157250000 mod:11 inv:0 #:WCVE-HD
CH:3 major:0 minor:1 prog:901 phy:42 frq:331250000 mod:11 inv:0 #:DTV42.901
CH:4 major:0 minor:1 prog:1401 phy:51 frq:385250000 mod:11 inv:0 #:DTV51.1401

QAMScan-Hauppauge WinTV 418 TS Capture-0.frq
CH:1 frq:75000000
CH:2 frq:55250000
CH:3 frq:63000000
CH:4 frq:69000000

Which is the .frq that I will overwrite?

SiliconDust is trying to keep track of QAM channels & makes an attempt to name them appropriately in their channel editor, so that simplifies mapping the channels while setting up the tuners in SageTV.

If you don't have an HDHR, then you have to manually do all the logical channel number and station remapping yourself.

- Andy

[Opus4]

From:

Originally Posted by bjp999

Hauppauge WinTV 418 TS Capture-0-QAM.frq

You'll use the 'Hauppauge WinTV 418 TS Capture-0-QAM' base filename to end up with Hauppauge WinTV 418 TS Capture-0-QAM.scn and Hauppauge WinTV 418 TS Capture-0-QAM.frq.

- Andy

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by bjp999

Okay, so from channel 220 I click the [Remap] button. I select "Map Different Station to this Physical Channel." I scroll down to VERSUS (2) and click on it. I now get another line added to the lineup called "220-VERSUS" right under the "220-WCVEDT" (2 stations on the same number?). [...]
I must be doing something totally bass ackwards.

Interesting that a SageTV scan with your HVR-1600 is associated with station Call Letters. I would expect it to be unassociated, display just the Physical tuning along with similar Logical channel numbering where you'd then need to remap.

I normally point out this post: SETUP WinTV HVR-1600 with QAM which also included remap instructions in the second post.

And, yes, you were backwards. Go to the working channel and use "Map Different Station to this Physical Channel" and pick the one displaying the correct Call Sign.

If you try Andy's suggestion of repurposing a copy of the HDHR QAM.scn and HDHR QAM.frq It would probably go a lot easier. I believe Andy is saying (I don't always get him right) that you *could* copy and properly rename the two files AND tell the Hauppauge WinTV 418 TS Capture device to use an EXISTING LINEUP and select the one used by your HDHR. This way, since they're looking at the same digital source, any change you make to one will be made to the others.

Just make sure that if you setup your 1600 analog tuner that it uses it's own (non-digital) lineup.

[bjp999]

Opus4 and Conejo - Thanks SO much for your help!

I succcessfully created my lineup with the HDHR. It took quite a while to transcribe the channel numbers from the Zap2It website, but not so bad. Comcast has encrypted a few HD channels since the last time I played with it. Too bad. Scary moment when I added the HDHR tuner the first time. The channel guide looked okay, but none of the channels were viewable. I decided to delete both the HDHR source and the Haup 1600 digital source, shut down SageTV, and then re-add the HDHR. Voila! It worked. I've been playing around with SageTV and settings and haven't tried to make the 1600 digital source work. I will check out that link about the 1600 tomorrow.

I've noticed that a number of my non-HD digital sources are not filling the screen. It's showing letterbox within a 4x3 frame. So I have black bars on top, bottom, left and right (except during commercials). Stretching to 16x9 doesn't clip the black off the top and bottom and looks bad. My TV has some zoom modes, but since the signal is a 1920x1080 computer signal, I can't use them.

I have a ton of other questions but will try and answer them myself before asking here. I'll post back with results from adding the 1600 tuner, trying to share the lineup with the HDHR.

Thanks again!

[sic0048]

OK I have a related question.

I have 1 channel that has never gotten EPG data. From reading the forums, it sounds like SageTV may not receive this information from Zap2it. The channel in question is a North Carolina HD PBS station that is only broadcasting for about 5 hours a day. I do get EPG information for the other 4 sub channels from this PBS station.

The station in question is not available via my local cable company (we are in SC so they have the SC HD PBS station - not the NC PBS station). However, the station is available via cable (clear QAM) in several NC markets nearby.

So how can I modify my setup to tune to the local OTA HD PBS station, but pull EPG data from an out of market cable company channel that matches the local OTA station?

I'm using a HDHR and all the lastest Betas (for both SageTV and the HDHR). I just reinstalled my OS over the weekend and reloaded everything, so I know it is the latest versions (at least as of 8/2/08).

I'm did try searching the forums, but was overwhelmed by the number of posts and could not find exactly what I was looking for. So I figured I would post here and see what everyone suggested.

Thanks,

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by sic0048

So how can I modify my setup to tune to the local OTA HD PBS station, but pull EPG data from an out of market cable company channel that matches the local OTA station?

1. Go to Zap2it and find a cable lineup that contains the channel with EPG data
2. Click on the Channel. In the URL line of your browser, locate the stnNum
3. In SageTV Channel Setup, add a channel to your lineup, provide the Call Letters of the 'out-of-market' station, the Logical Channel (think remote control channel) where you want it to appear, and the Zap2it stnNum for the Station ID.
4. Select DONE and FINISH, then quit SageTV (and service if applicable)
5. Start Sage. It may take a few of minutes for SageTV to request the EPG Data for the new channel.
6. If the data shows up THEN select the QAM channel with the Video/Audio feed and use remap > "Map Different Station to this Physical Channel" and select the new station with the working EPG.

** IF the data doesn't show up after 24 hours: On my HDHR setup I temporarily changed my cable lineup to the "out of market" lineup, verified the data showed up, then changed the cable lineup back. This seemed to have updated my sage.properties file to pull the correct data for the added channels.