Little Rock, AR - HDTV - Page 411

I bought a Sony BDP-S390 for $78 instead. It plays everything on my server, has all sorts of internet TV channels, and replaces the PS3's blue ray player. Ill just keep using SageTv for the live OTA recordings.
Thanks for the input.

Well, I guess as long as it does exactly what you want. I've never been a real fan of Sony's X-bar thingy. Just kinda weird. I guess this device isn't any more locked down than a WMCE device would be.

Where did you find it for $78? Everywhere I saw it was for $88+. That seems like a pretty good deal.

And, since you have the HDHomeRun's (you didn't mention if they were Primes or not), you *might* be able to watch video via DLNA to the new Sony box. I don't know if it works on the old two tuner HomeRun's, but the new firmware for the HomeRun Prime's will let you stream live TV via DLNA. It doesn't have any guide data, but it is real nice just to stream video pretty easily...especially if you wanna move the Sony around. Works pretty well on the PS3. It won't do Premium channels, though. It doesn't have the stuff necessary. I think they might be building it into future firmware revisions for the Primes.

Anyway, let us know how it works out.

It was $78 at the Sherwood Walmart when I went last night. Was expecting to pay $99. Ill check out the DLNA streaming as soon as I get the software installed on the server.

well this weekend I finally did my taxes. Damn lets make it bigger next year it only took 3000 hours lol
ok it seemed like it was that long.
I tried nextpvr software and told it to scan for channels, it found 18 channels. Funny thing was 49.1 was the right channel and it worked but no guide.
25.1 and 26.1 were channel and guide.
it didn't know what 16.2 was but I had a guide of it but no picture. They are off the air right now aren't they?
38.1 no picture but it did show it.

I am going home to look this evening but I could have sworn when it scanned for channels it said that 49.1 was KMYA -CD.
its so strange that in wmc I manually added 20.2 the first time I tried and had a channel but low quality pic and no guide.
After redoing it all I tried what dave said about 16 and its the right channel and a better pic but no guide.
OTA has guide and knows the correct channel, so how bad can you make a hight tech tuner and software that can't do what a tv can.

===========================
had a buddy build a new htpc last month, after spending $800 for hw and software he is ready to throw his out the door. His wife refuses to use it and says it a pos.
5+ seconds to change a channel, no guide or very short guide, overall just like she said a pos.
He is now hoping to sell it and get a tivo
Edited by etrin - 2/11/13 at 5:05am

16.2 and the other .2 channel are gone forever. I saw a message about it somewhere else. I think they gave up on it.

As far as not having guide data for channels in WMC, do you know how to manually assign guide data to a channel? It is pretty easy, just hidden. If you don't know how, I will be glad to walk you through the steps. Would only take you like 2 minutes, tops.




As far as your buddy and the HTPC goes, it is probably really simple and just something he did wrong. I'll give him $50 for it. LOL (Hey, better than just throwing it out the door, right? LOL)

I have mapped the guide data that I have but with 49.1 metv I have found that channel on 20.2 it shows low power poor picture and no guide data and mapping channel 16 its a clear picture but again no guide data.
I don't have anything with the guide data to map to it.

The reason my buddy is getting a tivo is because when he changes channels it takes 5 or 6 seconds before he has sound, and about every 10 minutes it breaks up on the bottom of the screen and the sound drops out for 4 or 5 seconds.

its a new system, asus micro board, ssd and sata 6 2tb hd and I3 something I don't remember its the fastest one with 4000 graphics. He was so proud of it until it worked like crap. People have told him everything from get a dedicated sound card to getting a new dedicated video card. All I heard was this doesn't make since its just like everyone elses. Then they told him you are using winders8 stupid ass. I think that is what made him say F it and I am getting a tivo.

@etrin. What zip code are you using for your guide data? Where are you getting it? Schedules Direct? WMC?

dmatch

I am getting it from WMC. I tried my zipcode of 72227 and then I tired 72204 because that is the most recognized in little rock area.
Neither got any guide data for metv.

one thing on my buddy getting rid of his, he gave me his logitec Dinovo wireless keyboard....wow that is nice I was going to get a logitec 400 I think his is a lot better.
I asked Jim if he got guide data for it, he is way out in west little rock and he said his doesn't either.

No mystery there. Here's why you don't see it:

http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?method=decideFwdForLineup&zipcode=72227&setMyPreference=false&lineupId=PC:72227

They (Tribune -->Zap2It --> WMC) don't have the guide data. The above shows all you can get with 72227 or probably anywhere in Little Rock.

dmatch

Having run both on board graphics, and plug in board graphics (at the suggestion of Steveken), I have to say, that ever a CHEAP NVidia based card with HD graphics will blow the socks off any onboard graphics chip. A card will do all the graphics decoding onboard, rather than relying on the computer CPU to do it. I bought a cheap Nvidia 8500 card (so cheap, it uses a heat sink and not a fan), and solved my HTPC problems. I am using a 3 GHZ dual core AMD CPU with an Asus motherboard. That would be the first and cheapest suggested upgrade. THen run the Windows Experience benchmark on it (assuming win8 still has that) and see if there are any other slowdowns.

The SSD is great for booting, but if using a standard hard drive for the video storage, it would be best to disable the "green" features if using as a DVR, as you dont want the drive slowing down, or going to sleep. Makes it that much more wait time when its needed for it to spin back up. Using an AV rated drive also reduces slowdowns, and it doesnt retry errors on read as many times as a standard data drive, although Ive never used an AV drive on any of my stuff.

well zap shows it.
20.2 KKYKCD2 is me tv in little rock

that is what I could not understand with nexpvr it shows it as 49.1 KKYK CD and it has not picture or listing

winders found 20.2 with no pic or guide or call sign.
At first I mapped it and had a weak signal but no guide. Dave said try 16 and its a good picture but again no guide.

But its like 16.1 and 38.1 that were cancelled. I have a nice guide for them ROFL
its just a bunch of crap in LR and nothing in Arkansas is going to make a difference to the companies doing this.
Edited by etrin - 2/16/13 at 8:05pm

etrin, if you have an extra graphics card laying around that would work in your buddies machine, or if you know where to get one that you can try in it, I would go ahead and put it in your buddies machine to see if that solves the issues you were describing on his new HTPC. While the newer Intel chips with the 4000 graphics on them are supposedly pretty good, I have no idea how well they would work with WMC or anything other than basic computer work or basic basic games. That would be what I would do first before giving up on it completely. I mean, it's just silly to wanna ditch it over using stock graphics on the chip. Those are never good for anything besides Office apps.

You know, after thinking about it, I bet your buddy is trying to run the display through the TV at 1080p and 5.1 audio or something like that. That might be where the bottleneck for the system is. If nothing else, have him drop the resolution down to 720p at the extreme most and give it a shot then. If it works better, then, bam, there's your problem. If it doesn't completely, but is mildly better, have him bring it down a little more maybe. Just take it in steps. If reducing the resolution at all solves any of the problems, he would just have to drop about another $40 or $50 on a low end card to offload it off the CPU and he'll be good to go.

@etrin:

Well, I got mc2xml and downloaded the xml file for Little Rock area TV. First Channel in file was METV listings. It was designated as KKYKCA.

channel id="I20.28458615.microsoft.com"
display-name>20 KKYKCA

You can tell by the programs listed for that channel id that it is METV programming.:

programme start="20130215183000 -0600" stop="20130215190000 -0600" channel="I20.28458615.microsoft.com"
title lang="en">M*A*S*H

So....If you can get listings using mc2xml and figure out the mapping in NextPVR it should be possible to get decent guide data for this channel.

I haven't tried NextPVR. I did try GBPVR which I think was what it used to be called and it had quite a steep learning curve.

dmatch

Wow, no one posts for 2 weeks. I wonder if etrin managed to help his friend out with the video issues.

Looks like another channel in LR bite the dust. That would be [over the air] channel 36.1 which was Daystar (don't remember the call letters). It was a religion channel, so won't be missed

I just wonder why 16-2 38 and 36 are gone. Is it a market thing or will they all eventually go away?

No Jim got rid of his HTPC and got a tivo and is super happy.
I got his wireless keyboard

His problems was signal strength, I put a 10db in line and it cleared it up.
BUT with all the other stuff he just gave up saying F this is the worst thing I have ever done.

Well, I guess signal strength would cause the delay in sound while it was struggling to get it locked in completely. Like you found, a simple amp would have fixed that easy.

In any case, a dedicated video card, even one 3 or 4 years old, will ALWAYS be better than an Intel integrated video on the processor. Especially on a Core i3. Those things are kinda weak in the first place. I suppose it was okay for an HTPC setup, but I still would have gone with an i5. Not too much more money and much better results. There is absolutely no need anymore for anyone to need a separate audio card either. Well, not unless you are an audio engineer anyway. The demands by an on the motherboard sound card are relatively low unless you are trying to pass through TruHD or Master Audio or straight PCM audio. It's amazing how quickly people are willing to throw stuff away like that. It is well worth the money to get the problems he was having resolved as compared to paying the monthly service fees from TiVo or the lifetime.

I still say all of his problems were pretty easy to resolve more than likely. It's a shame he gave up on it as quickly as he did. He could have been completely happy with it if he had given it some time or at least come on here and asked for help. I would have been more than happy to help him out with it. I have screwed around with this kinda stuff long enough that I am pretty familiar with how to make it work right. Given the amount of information that you were able to provide us, however, I couldn't offer any definitive solutions.

Incidentally, what did he actually end up doing with that machine? Did he literally throw it away or is he trying to sell it or what? If he is trying to sell it, I might be interested in talking to him about it.

I told him that maybe he should upgrade the video. His statement and I mean very firm was I am not putting another cent into this pos.
I had an old 4350 ati card and a 460 nvidea card he could use. NO I am thru with it, he sold it to someone I am not sure for how much. I was afraid to mention it again.
He and his wife are both pleased with the tivo, and I did not say anything else.

I will agree that a 4000 video chip won't do tv without breakup there is a big problem somewhere.

No offense to your friend, but he sounds like a real goober. You don't spend all that time and money on something just to say to hell with it. It is only a pos if you want it to be a pos. Oh well, saves him from wasting massive amounts of money at the Rip Off Squad....errr, Geek Squad window at the Nice Try....errr, Best Buy. Maybe he is better off going with a pre-packaged consumer product like the TiVo. Who cares if it costs triple the amount the computer would have cost him in the long run. Just kinda irks me when people give up so easily on something like this. Wait, quick question, how old is he?? LOL I bet he is over 50. Older folks (not meaning that in a derogatory manner) tend to give up way too quickly when it comes to technology and troubles associated with it. I guess when you get older, you just don't wanna screw with stuff that is going to take a little longer to fix. It's easier just to go with pre-made, known working things. For those over 50 who actually work at it to learn it and get it working right, kudos to you! I congratulate you on learning and expanding.

Oh, and to be open, I will admit that I do have two TiVo's in my house. Both have lifetime...well, one will in a month or so when my 1-year obligation is up and the lifetime fee goes through. I started getting them before I realized how easy CableCard devices for my computer would be. Maybe, at some point a long long time from now after we have gotten our moneys worth from the TiVo's, I will sell what we have and build custom machines for TV. Probably not, though, unless the wife lets me cut the cord on cable completely. I think I might be able to get every thing we want to watch one way or another. It just won't be as convenient. Would still have to have the rip-off that is cable Internet for a lot of it.

Oh, that's another point, I don't know how many folks here use Comcast for their Internet, but it appears they have bumped up our speeds yet again. I am getting a pretty regular 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up. Seems kinda nice, but the risk of using "too much data" looms even bigger when you have a pipe that big.

That would be me!

I'm well over 50 but one of the things that keeps me agile (and occasionally frustrated) is that I'm a Linux user and developer. In fact, my day-to-day operating platform is based loosely on Linux from Scratch, which means I compile all of the software on my system -- from the kernel on down to userland applications. Even at my advanced age, that has naturally led to an ongoing fascination with broadcast television, especially OTA. When I worked at KAAY almost 40 years ago, I was intrigued by the Little Rock facilities up on Shinall (where our FM was co-located with KARK-TV) and, of course, with the massive KATV-TV (RIP) plant down at Redfield. I would hazard to say that I keep some of my youth by staying interested in both computers and broadcasting. Rather than being intimidated by technology, I take it as a fun challenge to overcome the inevitable obstacles.

Although this is from out of the market, Little Rock forum participants may enjoy the signal charts of my D/FW reception from my site north of Dallas:

http://kb8u.ham-radio-op.net/nelson

Scroll through the listing on the right hand side to choose a station and then click Signal strength graphs to see a timeline of the raw power and SNR. Since the weather is warming up, tropo is pouring in and DX can be seen at these links:

http://kb8u.ham-radio-op.net/signal_graph/101A67C8/tuner0/KETK
http://kb8u.ham-radio-op.net/signal_graph/101A67C8/tuner0/KXXV
http://kb8u.ham-radio-op.net/signal_graph/101A67C8/tuner0/KWTX

The data are collated on a Linux box running a Perl script 24/7 to compile the readings in XML form, then digested by another Linux computer (located in Michigan) that renders the raw numeric data into graphical form.
Edited by re_nelson - 3/19/13 at 10:49am

Wow, yeah, someone who is solely a Linux user is definitely beyond even me. I tried that route a LONG time ago and gave up on it. Just too difficult to get what I wanted done. Of course, a lot of that has probably changed by now....at least I hope it would have. LOL While I did learn a bit of programming in college, I haven't had enough use for it in my real world uses, so I think I have probably forgotten quite a bit of it. It's a shame, too. I really wanted to keep programming, I just couldn't find any projects that I wanted to do that I thought I could handle on my own. Maybe one day.

Over 50? Come on. I started buying more tech when I hit 50 than I ever did.

Hopefully not from local pharmacy

COZI TV now airing on Ch. 30-1 and 30-2. ID's as KKYK-CD. Physical channel 16.

http://www.cozitv.com/

I had been seeing Cozi TV listed for the Little Rock DMA on TitanTV for a few weeks now and have been looking for it. Thought it must be a mistake on TitanTV's part, but I can't get RF 16 here so that explains why I wasn't seeing it.

Guess I'll just keep watching it on the satellite BUD (Big Ugly Dish - or - Big Useful Dish).

dmatch

Thanks for info

Re-scaned my TV (over the air) and those two channels coming on 30-1 and 30-2. The signal strenght quality is around medium.

Since both channels are the same, I wonder if 30-2 will be carrying different channel in the future.

Wow...getting kind of slow around here. No one getting any skip? Nothing going on?

I am just waiting for unbundling so I can go cable LOL

OK DAVE HERE YOU GO, SOMETHING NEW !!!!
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I have an old sd tv with a channel master cm-7000 on it in my back room.
Last week it lost channel 16, scans and everything will not show 16 any more.
All other channels are fine on this set and, channel 16 is fine on my other sets.

any ideas?



Cozitv to me is a waste of a channel like most of what we have locally.
And they had to take 2 channels to do it

Hope Boddy is right and they use the other one for something good, maybe move the old 16-2 up there and put it back on the air, doubt that, it had some good movies.

I see dave has a TiVo Premiere XL4
my buddy that got rid of his htpc and got a tivo got one but his must be small HD or something, he sent it to weaknees to get it upgraded to a bigger HD.
Edited by etrin - 5/7/13 at 6:50am

Tivo 4 comes with a 1TB drive. I copied mine to a 2TB drive the day I got it, before I even used it. Weakness is a rip off.
I have no idea why channel 16 would quit coming in on that one set.

With the news from a few weeks ago about KMYA changing to Soul of the South Network, has anyone heard if the MeTV programming will be kept on a subchannel anywhere or is it gone for good in Central Arkansas?