Latest Ceton InfiniTV 4 Info Thread - Page 77

My situation is difficult because the run to my TV is VERY long. Since the RG6 drop at 200Mhz is 2.8db per 100ft and at 700Mhz 5.6db it is difficult to balance (I estimate my run from POE is ~150ft - tall two story with runs from first floor to attic and back down). I am currently running a bit hot in the lowest freqs - ~+12db. At the highest freqs I am at about -1.5db.

Good chart here:
http://www.w4rp.com/ref/coax.html

xnappo

Interesting. I also have FIOS, and mine definitely isn't too hot. My WMC box is in a rack in the basement a short distance from the FIOS box. Since I've got 2 InfiniTV 4's, I've got a 2 way splitter just before them. So there's roughly a 10-15 foot cable running from the FIOS box to the splitter and then a few feet of cable to each tuner. My signal strength as reported in the Ceton diagnostic page (IIRC) is typically around -4db.

What are "good" values for Signal Strength and SNR. I used to have Low Signal Issues last week (in recording only) Here are some sample values I saw
SNR: 36-37
Signal Strength: 5-7 mvDB

You need one of these

http://www.amazon.com/ChannelPlus-TC.../dp/B000VMBS58

Thank you sir! Did not know such a thing existed!

xnappo

[EDIT] After reading up on the problem - first I am going to try changing from series to parallel on my TA config. The Cisco tuning adapter has an internal amp to compensate for the insertion loss, but from what I am reading that makes this 'tilt' issue worse when you have multiple amps in the line.

A passive tilt compensator will likely attenuate your return path also. That could cause tuning adapters to not function properly!

True - if I go that route I will put it right on the Ceton. Probably an extreme measure though - the +12db does not seem to be causing any problems.

[knock - wood]

xnappo

Anyone?

We recommend that signal strength be between -12dBmV and +15dBmV. As far as SNR, it depends. Higher is better, but stuff will usually work to around 34dB. 28dB is the lowest theoretical level data can be recovered at (nothing actually works at this level)

Speaking of low SNR level. Tuner 2 on my Ceton is around 23dB while all the others are in the low to mid 30's. I can tune a channel on tuner 2 and get ~23dB and then immediately tune to the same channel on one of the other tuners and get low to mid 30's. This causes a lot of missed recordings and no signal errors. I'm pretty sure it's a problem with the card and not my cabling. Any suggestions?

I would open a ticket with Ceton on that one. Mine are definitely different from one another, but not to that degree.

xnappo

My HTPC will also act as a server so I have to make sure all my recordingz stay in the HTPC. Could you suggest how I can make it record in the HTPC?

Sorry if this gets asked a lot. Can the ceton go into a PCIE x16 slot. Or does that depend on the mobo? I have an Asrock USB3 H55 board.

Latest beta is good ...

I'm half tempted to say it solves the piexelization issue. Been watching premiums for the past hour and haven't spotted it.

Edit: nope.

Who here has time warner? I only neeed one Cisco TA for a ceton right? It handled 3 tuners with my prime.

The Cisco TA can manage 6 tuners, as of firmware version STA1.0.0_1520_LR_F.1402

TWC should be using firmware STA1.0.0_1520_LR_F.1501 or STA1.0.0_1520_LR_F.1601

WideNine, I have 2 ceton cards in one of my htpcs that has network sharing enabled. The tuners are shared amongst 3 htpcs and an Xbox 360. On one of the htpcs, I get flickering on every premium movie channel but no other channels. I can't reproduce this on any of the other units though. Ceton diagnostics show a good signal/SNR. I am using nvidia based on board video with the latest drivers from the nvidia site installed. With your premium channel problems, did you notice them on multiple pcs?

What does "nope" mean? You did or did not see the horizontal line pixelation?

What version of FW do you have? And PCIe or USB InfiniTV?

Thanks Eric.

Are you on FiOS? If so, you may need a Low Pass Filter in line with the Ceton.

As a PCIe x1 card, the InfiniTV can be placed in any PCIe (x1, x4, x8 or x16) slot. However, a few motherboards with onboard video will erroneously assume that any card inserted in the PCIe x16 slot is a video card and disable onboard video.

Is this a known issue with fios? Do you have any filter recs?

I have FiOS and the Ceton-recommended filter I bought did nothing to fix the pixelation issue for me. In fact, I didn't see that it made any difference at all. Mine was working just fine (except for the pixelation of course) without it.

FYI, The private beta that was discussed a few pages back is now in public beta.

http://cetoncorp.com/infinitv_suppor...rmware-update/

If you are having issues with previous betas please update. If you are on the public firmware and do not have issues, please do not update.

Any feedback is welcome via the support site at http://www.cetoncorp.com/support/.

Regards,

Michael Welter (aka Mikinho)

If by flickering you mean flashing light across the entire screen (not the single band of pixelation reported by others) I had the same issue with the last 2 versions of the nVidia drivers and a GeForce 210. Initially had the problem with version 285.62, found a thread that I can't seem to locate right now that indicated setting Digital Color Format under Adjust Desktop Color Settings in the nVidia Control Panel to YCbCr444 from RGB resolved it for them. I did this and the flashing was gone.

Installed 295.73 and had the flashing problem even after the RGB change, but not on every channel. Ditto for 296.10. Reverting back to 285.62 with the RGB change resolved it on every channel.

Call tech support and tell them you are getting bad pixelization on specific channels. Ask them to send a tech...the techs all have low pass filters in their trucks. I had bad pixelization on a few channels and it cleaned it right up.

It has to go on the input to the Ceton Card if you also have Internet...otherwise it blocks your Internet traffic.

EDIT: It used to be in their installation and downloads section...was there for a LONG time. Gone now, interesting. I wonder if that means it is no longer needed with the new hardware versions of the tuner.

Sadly the NVIDIA drivers lately have had lots of issues with Media Center in the last 3 months. Its tough to pinpoint as well as different drivers have been affecting different SKUs.

So far, I have almost 10 days uptime with 1.1.6.9! Memory utilization is staying low as well.


I still see occasional pixelization but not the line across the screen that I had been seeing with previous firmware.

Yep, and I have no intention of changing the drivers again at this point. I had "upgraded" to 295.73 based on something I had seen related to another person with an InfiniTV USB. Didn't expect it to resolve any problems I was having, but figured it was worth a shot.

This HTPC is meant to be an appliance. Once I have the Ceton issues resolved there will be no other changes, unless a new issue arises. As the old adage goes, "If it ain't broke..."