Help: Channel 9 stutters - all other channels fine though

[mogadore]

Hi

finally spent some time getting the HTPC going over the weekend.

The problem is that channel nine SD and HD stutter - all other channels are fine. Does anyone know what this could be?

Specs are:
x2 3600+
2 Gigs 667
M2NVM HDMI
2600xt
Digitalnow Hybrid S2
Vista Ultimate

[TheRob]

More than likely it is a signal strength or quality issue. You may need to have your antenna system checked out.

[mogadore]

Originally Posted by TheRob

More than likely it is a signal strength or quality issue. You may need to have your antenna system checked out.

thanks TheRob, that was the problem. Had a cheap splitter in the wall and one cable going to the Bravia and one to the HTPC, when I directly connect the HTPC to to the wall plug it works fine.

Will a better quality splitter help with this or is it time to call the TV antenna guy?

[Tex Zero]

What sort of cables are you running between the splitter and HTPC/TV? If they are the generic TV leads you can pick up at K-mart sort of thing you might want to change them.

I fixed my 7HD and 10HD stutter issues by making up my own cables. I used decent quality cable, screw on connectors and kept all the cables to the shortest possible length.

[mogadore]

Originally Posted by Tex Zero

What sort of cables are you running between the splitter and HTPC/TV? If they are the generic TV leads you can pick up at K-mart sort of thing you might want to change them.

I fixed my 7HD and 10HD stutter issues by making up my own cables. I used decent quality cable, screw on connectors and kept all the cables to the shortest possible length.

Tex

they are the cheapies, will look to try something better when I get a chance.

[TheRob]

Originally Posted by mogadore

Will a better quality splitter help with this or is it time to call the TV antenna guy?

Depends on exactly what the problem is. If it's simply that the poor quality splitter is causing signal degradation, then yes. But it could be more complicated if the problem is at the antenna end.

First thing I'd do is make sure that you have good quality shielded fly leads going from your wall socket and splitter to the PC and TV. Next you could try a different splitter. Either a simple passive splitter (usually cost around $7) or an amplified splitter. Dick Smith sell a Kingray 2-way amplified splitter for about $50 which is very good. This can help in some situations, but it can also make the problem worse, depending on what's happening exactly. Dick Smith have a good return policy, so you should be able to get a refund if the splitter doesn't work for you.

The other thing you could check is the wall socket. Sometimes the wiring behind these can come loose or corrode, causing signal problems.

If you can't get a reliable signal after doing all of this, then it's probably time to look at the antenna. Unless you know what you're doing, it's probably better to get a professional in. They should be able to diagnose the problem pretty swiftly. Just make sure you get someone who specialises in digital stuff. There'a a lot of good info over on the DTV forums that you can tap into.

[mogadore]

Thanks I will try some better leads. I dont think its the aerial as the HTPC upstairs and the LCD downstairs tune fine. We shall see.

On another note I notice you have a x1250 mobo and a Digitalnow Hybrid tuner - how have you got around the green screen on HD channels? Or has this problem been fixed now?

Originally Posted by TheRob

Depends on exactly what the problem is. If it's simply that the poor quality splitter is causing signal degradation, then yes. But it could be more complicated if the problem is at the antenna end.

First thing I'd do is make sure that you have good quality shielded fly leads going from your wall socket and splitter to the PC and TV. Next you could try a different splitter. Either a simple passive splitter (usually cost around $7) or an amplified splitter. Dick Smith sell a Kingray 2-way amplified splitter for about $50 which is very good. This can help in some situations, but it can also make the problem worse, depending on what's happening exactly. Dick Smith have a good return policy, so you should be able to get a refund if the splitter doesn't work for you.

The other thing you could check is the wall socket. Sometimes the wiring behind these can come loose or corrode, causing signal problems.

If you can't get a reliable signal after doing all of this, then it's probably time to look at the antenna. Unless you know what you're doing, it's probably better to get a professional in. They should be able to diagnose the problem pretty swiftly. Just make sure you get someone who specialises in digital stuff. There'a a lot of good info over on the DTV forums that you can tap into.

[TheRob]

Originally Posted by mogadore

On another note I notice you have a x1250 mobo and a Digitalnow Hybrid tuner - how have you got around the green screen on HD channels? Or has this problem been fixed now?

There was a hotfix issued by Microsoft to fix it. If you've got SP1 installed then the fix was included in this.

The fix did cause an issue with the Catalyst drivers of the time (can't remember the version), so make sure you update to a recent driver version. I've found the current 8.4 drivers to be pretty good (I had problems with 8.3 though).

HD channels are now working well. I do have a minor problem with a message popping up occasionally with 'done' & 'resume' buttons when I switch to a hd channel, but I just ignore it and the channel comes up like normal. Slightly annoying, but doesn't affect anything really.

[mogadore]

Originally Posted by TheRob

There was a hotfix issued by Microsoft to fix it. If you've got SP1 installed then the fix was included in this.

Great, I have a 2600xt in there at the moment, would like to be using the integrated graphics if possible though.

Will have a try later.