Clear QAM Issues

[mets3145]

Well cross your fingers and hope my problems are solved. If they are, I think me and you should clean this thread up and move it as a sticky because as more and more areas transition, this can be a bit of a guide for any problems people might come across.

Instead of another person thinking it's a hardware/software/god knows what issue, when their tuner loses QAM channels during this transition, they can come here and read this thread and realize their solution is....

TO BE PATIENT (hopefully)...

Lets hope together that I post a happy solution sometime next week...

Just to let you know I am sticking with the 4 splitter to 3 splitter to 2 splitter setup. I don't want to risk losing NBC HD right now with the office 3 hours away from being on.

[bnh]

yeah, i'm thinking all of us, at least the 1600 users, will have to go through this exercise over the coming months, multiple times. The end game is Comcast will have all analogs switched to QAM digital. At that point, my guess is the rate structure will change, and as been posted before on this and other forums, everyone will be required to have an analog->digital converter box for extended cable lineups. I've held out on leasing the digital settop devices, since i don't want the premium channels. I may just opt to go to only OTA ATSC if that happens. I've lived without ESPN, CNN, etc for awhile before all this digital nonsense started. i'm thinking the cost won't justify the entertainment value.

At least Sage offers the possibility of centralizing and recording the feed, so i can watch the content from any connected Sage client. That may make it worth any added expense....when the time comes.

[mets3145]

Originally Posted by bnh

yeah, i'm thinking all of us, at least the 1600 users, will have to go through this exercise over the coming months, multiple times. The end game is Comcast will have all analogs switched to QAM digital. At that point, my guess is the rate structure will change, and as been posted before on this and other forums, everyone will be required to have an analog->digital converter box for extended cable lineups. I've held out on leasing the digital settop devices, since i don't want the premium channels. I may just opt to go to only OTA ATSC if that happens. I've lived without ESPN, CNN, etc for awhile before all this digital nonsense started. i'm thinking the cost won't justify the entertainment value.

At least Sage offers the possibility of centralizing and recording the feed, so i can watch the content from any connected Sage client. That may make it worth any added expense....when the time comes.

Well my TV and 1600 both are picking up the DTV SD signal for all the channels 31-82 (ESPN, TBS, TNT, etc.)

Basically, as I stated earlier in my thread, the 1600 is only picking up the DTV SD signals for the local channels (93-1 thru 93-10) as opposed to the HD feeds that my TV is getting. The 1600 should be able to get the channels your analog tuner loses. I personally hope that's the case.

[reggie14]

Not that I have any reason to think this would help, but do you know what version of the Hauppauge drivers you're running? I don't know of a good way to figure it out other than to remember what you installed originally.

[mets3145]

Originally Posted by reggie14

Not that I have any reason to think this would help, but do you know what version of the Hauppauge drivers you're running? I don't know of a good way to figure it out other than to remember what you installed originally.

I updated it to the most recent 4.6... even though windows xp dated my drivers as jan. 8, 2008

I've pretty much concluded that this is not a hardware or software issue, but a comcast issue.

The comcast digital transition is happening in the California Bay Area this week, so if anyone is from the area, I'd love to hear how you are affected, and if you ran into the same problems as me.

[bnh]

Originally Posted by reggie14

Not that I have any reason to think this would help, but do you know what version of the Hauppauge drivers you're running? I don't know of a good way to figure it out other than to remember what you installed originally.

for me, i went into device manager and printed the attached for comparison.

[mets3145]

Originally Posted by bnh

for me, i went into device manager and printed the attached for comparison.

Just to confirm... that's what I got... too lazy to take a screenshot. GJ bnh.

[reggie14]

Yeah, I know you can do it that way. But, I don't really know how those numbers correspond to the driver CD versions that Hauppauge posts on its web site. Those are typically numbered 4.6, 4.6a, 4.7, etc.

SHS is really the expert when it comes to Hauppauge drivers (and tuners, for that matter). Maybe he'll see this thread and have an idea.

[Ender]

Originally Posted by mets3145

Well cross your fingers and hope my problems are solved. If they are, I think me and you should clean this thread up and move it as a sticky because as more and more areas transition, this can be a bit of a guide for any problems people might come across.

Instead of another person thinking it's a hardware/software/god knows what issue, when their tuner loses QAM channels during this transition, they can come here and read this thread and realize their solution is....

TO BE PATIENT (hopefully)...

Lets hope together that I post a happy solution sometime next week...

Just to let you know I am sticking with the 4 splitter to 3 splitter to 2 splitter setup. I don't want to risk losing NBC HD right now with the office 3 hours away from being on.

Sorry I didn't get back quicker, it has been a fun day. It seems you did figure out the splitter idea I was trying to get at, only suggested it if you had extras lying about as I do. As for something more elegant an attenuator pads such as these, or these is what I was thinking to get.

It seems as if you are on the right track, I remember when Time Warner changed the channel frequencies, they changed them to one set one day, then on to another the next. Fortunately they have not changed in almost a month.

[mets3145]

Originally Posted by Ender

Sorry I didn't get back quicker, it has been a fun day. It seems you did figure out the splitter idea I was trying to get at, only suggested it if you had extras lying about as I do. As for something more elegant an attenuator pads such as these, or these is what I was thinking to get.

It seems as if you are on the right track, I remember when Time Warner changed the channel frequencies, they changed them to one set one day, then on to another the next. Fortunately they have not changed in almost a month.

These attenuator pads... can I get them from Radio Shack? I'm a little hesitant to get something that might not work off an online store.

[Ender]

Originally Posted by mets3145

These attenuator pads... can I get them from Radio Shack? I'm a little hesitant to get something that might not work off an online store.

I am not sure, I did a quick scan, and did not come up with any hits from their web search.

Maybe you could find them at a local independent electronics store, it would not hurt to ask around.

[mets3145]

Do you still use your attenuator pads a month later? I have a weird feeling all these problems will go away once the transition is complete.

I got back KRON HD and NBC HD (NBC was down for like 7 hours)... also to note, CW HD had zero problems, and was always available... weird huh? I guess Comcast is a fan of Smallville and Gossip Girl.

[mets3145]

Originally Posted by mets3145

Do you still use your attenuator pads a month later? I have a weird feeling all these problems will go away once the transition is complete.

I got back KRON HD and NBC HD (NBC was down for like 7 hours)... also to note, CW HD had zero problems, and was always available... weird huh? I guess Comcast is a fan of Smallville and Gossip Girl.

Took a step back today... KRON HD is gone. Installed a 900MHz 4 way splitter so my setup right now is wall - 4 way splitter - 4 way splitter - 3 way splitter - 2 way splitter - HVR-1600

Still no luck getting back my local HD channels.

I made an interesting observation today - I uninstalled my splitters except for 1 4 way splitter to go to the TV, 2 analog tuners, 1 digital tuners; and I discovered that NBC HD's signal strength stayed between 85%-88%. The splitters did not impact the signal strength at all!

Are those attenuator pads guaranteed to lower my signal strength? It appears splitters had zero impact with the 1600

[Ender]

Originally Posted by mets3145

Took a step back today... KRON HD is gone. Installed a 900MHz 4 way splitter so my setup right now is wall - 4 way splitter - 4 way splitter - 3 way splitter - 2 way splitter - HVR-1600

Still no luck getting back my local HD channels.

I made an interesting observation today - I uninstalled my splitters except for 1 4 way splitter to go to the TV, 2 analog tuners, 1 digital tuners; and I discovered that NBC HD's signal strength stayed between 85%-88%. The splitters did not impact the signal strength at all!

Are those attenuator pads guaranteed to lower my signal strength? It appears splitters had zero impact with the 1600

The attenuators will lower signal strength, but as with everything else, I cannot guarantee that it will fix your problem.

[mets3145]

Originally Posted by Ender

The attenuators will lower signal strength, but as with everything else, I cannot guarantee that it will fix your problem.

Can you think of why my splitters did not affect signal strength?

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by mets3145

Can you think of why my splitters did not affect signal strength?

AGC. (Automatic Gain Control) All turners since the '70 have had them.

Question, On your "standard" setup, are all the outputs of your splitter hooked to something? QAM has problems with reflections, as it assumes a perfect signal. You relley shouldn't have any splitter outputs that don't have something (empties should have F-Terminators: http://www.cabletvamps.com/accessories.htm on them)

[mets3145]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

AGC. (Automatic Gain Control) All turners since the '70 have had them.

Question, On your "standard" setup, are all the outputs of your splitter hooked to something? QAM has problems with reflections, as it assumes a perfect signal. You relley shouldn't have any splitter outputs that don't have something (empties should have F-Terminators: http://www.cabletvamps.com/accessories.htm on them)

oooooooooooohhhhhhh , yeah, I thought a splitter with empty spots would still work. I'll try the F-terminators then.

I feel like one of those NBC's "The More You Know" cases.


F-terminators lowered the signal strength of NBC HD from 85%-88% to 73%-76%. I then proceeded to run a channel scan to try to get back the QAM HD channels I lost... results are... SUCCESS!!!!

My 1600 is now fully operational. At the end of the day I have from the wall to a 4 way splitter (2 analog tuners, 3 way splitter, 1 TV), from the 3 way splitter i have 2 F-terminators, 2 way splitter, 1 F-termintor then the 1600.

THANK YOU EVERYONE... It only took 7 days, numerous splitter combos, the thought of buying attenuator pads (which I did not know even existed), and finally... purchasing 6 f-terminators.

I'll update this thread if I have more problems with Comcast's digital transition. Who knows, maybe tomorrow... all my channels will be down (crossing fingers and praying that does not happen)