Miglia TVmini HD clear QAM issues

It could be a signal weakness problem. Try moving your setup closer to the original source cable.

I once had the same problem when i split the signal too much.

I might be wrong, but I had seen somewhere that Miglia's hardware decoder requires digital cable.

I have the miglia TVmini HD with the basic cable package and I have all the major networks in HD via clear QAM.

To the OP, when you dont have the miglia hooked up, how are you getting the HD? Direct to a TV or through a cable box?

It can do QAM as well as ATSC, Ryan, so the only question for jforeman is whether Comcast in his area passes those channels in the clear with a limited basic analog cable subscription--and almost all regional Comcast systems do. Best to find out in your local Boston HDTV discussion thread where they are, how many you are supposed to get via QAM, then after you do a scan you'll know which MHz channels to click on and try to tune in.

You could also rent one of their STBs for a month, then go in to the diagnostic menu and find out the exact MHz assignments that way as well, but on the big Boston Comcast thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=793008

someone should know. EyeTV doesn't magically identify them, you'll have to assign them yourself even after you run a scan. But while you're within the channel category, you'll be able to doubleclick on any frequency and if it's in the clear, a live tv window will open. Leave those boxes checked.

There's a good description here:

http://www.miglia.com/Support/tvminihd/line_epg.html

and here:

http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/am...glia/tvminihd/

just so you can check that you're doing it right.

I recently bought the tvmini HD. Did anybody notice that on demand shows are NOT encrypted! So when someone near you orders a show it is available to you with this gadget. You have to find it, but all the ondemand channels are in the 400's on the miglia software. within an hour of using it. I disvovered people near me were watching superman lives, entourage, food on demand and some amateur porno. That's right for about 15 mins I was able to watch someone on demand porno. too bad it was a lame one. but afterward I was curious who ordered that lives near me and how far this gadget picks up someone un encrypted PPV?

Ahhh, that explains something. I recently connected my TV directly to the cable feed to check out the QAM situation. I received a good number of channels (I'm in DOT on Comcast for you other Bostoners). I also noticed a number of on demand movies also available: Superman, Miami Vice and Snakes on a Plane. I thought it was some kind of promotional deal. Good to know.

I have a new Miglia TVMiniHD on NYC TWC cable. I can receive the networks HDTV, but IU cannot receive nearlyu as many clear QAM stations as my Sony TV tuner picks up (without cablecard). I went to diagnostic mode on the TWC STB and saw that I seem to receive channels where program numbers are low (1-13+) but not where they are high. For example, TBS is broadcast in the clear on analog channel 8 and digital frequency 777.000 program number 450. These high program numbers seem to trip up my Miglia tuner. What am I missing?

jforeman,
I'm in Southie and I'm having the same problem as you.
It's not a question of signal weakness, the pole is in my back yard and it's a direct shot to my cellar. The Miglia shows 125 channels when I start to scan, but I end up with nothing. It also automatically sets up for Comcast in Boston.
I can't figure it out.

ilpostini, jforeman, you could look and see what your signal strength and quality are in EyeTV's preferences, Devices, Signal, when you autotune. Ideally you need numbers like 100% and 75% in order to get good reception - still if you're using a cable line, it should work without issue. The problems we've seen have been where coax line is really aged badly - the insulation cracks and it just doesn't work well. I've replaced 20 year old lines that worked fine with analog, but could not work with digital, and that has made all the difference.

I check here from time to time, but you may want to start a support case as well.

All the wiring is new. I also tried it at my mother's house in Weymouth , Ma, but everthing was encoded.

I'm in Chestnut Hill at the border of Brookline/West Roxbury and my Eyetv Hybrid is getting no clear Qam channels either. I can get the local channels with analog tuning but nothing in terms of clear Qam. I have a comcast HD dvr box downstairs and it is picking up all the digital and HD channels just fine. All my wiring is new too.

Somehow I missed this thread earlier...anyway, I'm in Cambridge with Comcast's $8 service, and I get all the broadcast networks in HD. I also get a ton of presumably analog SD feeds, but they are almost all local access and HSN-type channels. (Notable exceptions include the History channel and BET (!?), and it was a nice surprise to see the Sox on CN8 the other night when the Bruins playoff game was on NESN, but I digress.)

Are you using the "Exhaustive Scan" option when you scan for channels? It will scan about 800 channels, rather than 125. I haven't had much luck with the non-exhaustive scan. You'll have to manually wade through lots of encrypted and SD network feeds before you find the good stuff. Not 800, but a lot. I've had to rescan a couple times and it takes 30-45 minutes (not including the scan) to browse through each channel and either disable it or associate it with the correct EPG channel. It may take a couple seconds for EyeTV to decide if it can tune the channel or not, so be patient. It is a pain, but once you have it set up, you'll be good to go. At least until Comcast decides to remap the channels again.

Also, I've seen TBS and ESPN in the clear a few times. Don't get excited...they'll disappear sooner rather than later.

(I'm using an EyeTV 500, not the Miglia, so YMMV.)

I've actually tried the exhaustive scan several times to no avail. It picks up about 50 analog stations (most of which are either local access or unwatchable) and nothing on scanning the 812 clear qam channels. Is there a way for me to see what is happening on the "screen"(window) when it is scanning the clear qam channels? I want to know if anything is registering at all. Also, can we manually scan or set the channels? At the bare minimum, I should be able to get the local channels in hd unencrypted. If the channels are unencrypted in Cambridge, I assume they should likewise be unencrypted in Brookline.

That doesn't tell you anything.

What you want to check is what your HDTV can get without using a cable box/dvr--just plug the coax cable in, and see what your TV tuner picks up, assuming it has a built-in QAM tuner. That'll tell you what you're getting "in the clear" and help you define the problem you're having with the Hybrid: if you are getting x QAM channels with your TV, then you should be able to receive the same channels with your Hybrid. At this point, you don't know which QAM channels you should be getting...most cablecos do pass through the main national networks in HD, but some don't.


Only if both areas are served by the exact same provider--if there's a "Comcast-Brookline" and a "Comcast-Cambridge," all bets are off. If you don't have an HDTV with a built-in ATSC/QAM tuner, then check with a neighbor or your local HD discussion thread.

How old is your Hybrid? The reason I ask is the older version doesn't have a QAM tuner, just analog and ATSC, so if you're trying to get unencrypted locals through cable on a pre-january-2008 manufacturerd Hybrid, you'll only get analog via cable. If you recently bought it directly from El Gato, you're covered--otherwise, you might have purhased an older version.

Unfortunately, I don't have a qam tuner on my TV. As for the Hybrid, I believe it is the version that is able to tune qam (at least that's what it says on the box). But is comcast not required to send at least the local stations in the clear? or is it the case that they just encrypt everything in some areas?

Sure, they have to carry the local channels, they're just not required to send a high def version. A common misperception of the rule. Historically, Comcast's corporate policy has been pretty good on this--they say they'll pass the locals in HD unencrypted.


Unfortunately, that is precisely the case as some providers have gone all digital--more often they'll pass an SD version instead of HD.

Since you're a Comcast customer, that means it's more likely human error, a hardware problem, a signal strength issue or that you still haven't figured the software out yet as to why you're not getting at least a few HD locals. And again, troubleshooting-wise, your best bet is to swap in another device which has a QAM tuner and run a scan or check with a neighbor with Comcast or a local HDTV discussion to see if there's something uniquely local going on. You need to find out which QAM channels you should be getting first--plug your zip code into this:

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

and start by finding out which QAM channels you should be getting. Then work backward.

Thanks! I plugged in my zip and got listings for 02462 and 02465 but I live in 02467. Either they don't have any info on my zip code or I probably share the same qam programming with those zip codes. If the latter is true, then there are more than a few unencrypted qam channels that I can receive. Based on this assumption, I'm going to have try to access the qam programming with another device capable of receiving and tuning qam programming.

Off hand, the only television tuning device I have laying around is a Tivo Series 2 that I have laying around. Is this device capable of tuning qam? I have a sharp aquos TV that I bought almost five years ago and I've since lost the manual on it. I don't believe it tunes qam but I can be wrong...