Mailing List Archive: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV

Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV

Oct 16, 2016, 1:55 AM

Post #1 of 14 (3757 views)

Hi,

We are in Ranui Auckland and I am having lots of problems with intermittent
pixelation.

It started a few months back and since then we have had the aerial guy in at
least 3 times. First time he tweaked the position which was a bit off, next
he added a masthead amp and lastly he added a filter and replaced the
balun/element.

It was a bit confusing because we also had really bad problems with the TV
even though the signal was good. Turned out the TV problem was Chromecast -
when it was plugged in terrestrial picture was terrible.

I am running, an admittedly old 0.25 Myth server with 2 x HDHomeRun - only
using one at a time currently. The original HDHR I got from Hadley in 2013
the second I got a few months ago from TradeMe for $50. Both are similar
serial numbers and same model.

Far as I can tell now there isn't any pixelation with the TV, but to be fair
we don't use it much. But with Myth it can get quite bad but most of the
time it is ok, so maybe every 10 minutes it plays up - all depends. Given
what we have done aerial wise I tried everything I could with Myth, changed
the storage from local to NAS, restarted everything and the network is
gigabit with no issues - all wired not wifi. Both HDHRs exhibit the same
problem. The HDHRs are reporting 100% for signal strength, signal quality
and symbol quality.

I spoke to the guys at Alkris Signal Solutions, who are close and they are
suggesting a PA2 and I am also thinking of replacing the coax so it's 100%
clean.

Before I go out and spend even more money, given I have spent over $300 on
aerial stuff so far, I just thought I would ask if a PA2 sounded like a good
idea. Alkris know the area and thought that should work a treat.

Cheers

Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

stephen_agent at jsw

Oct 16, 2016, 5:10 AM

Post #2 of 14 (3742 views)

Permalink

On Sun, 16 Oct 2016 21:55:55 +1300, you wrote:

>Hi,
>
>
>
>We are in Ranui Auckland and I am having lots of problems with intermittent
>pixelation.
>
>
>
>It started a few months back and since then we have had the aerial guy in at
>least 3 times. First time he tweaked the position which was a bit off, next
>he added a masthead amp and lastly he added a filter and replaced the
>balun/element.
>
>
>
>It was a bit confusing because we also had really bad problems with the TV
>even though the signal was good. Turned out the TV problem was Chromecast -
>when it was plugged in terrestrial picture was terrible.
>
>
>
>I am running, an admittedly old 0.25 Myth server with 2 x HDHomeRun - only
>using one at a time currently. The original HDHR I got from Hadley in 2013
>the second I got a few months ago from TradeMe for $50. Both are similar
>serial numbers and same model.
>
>
>
>Far as I can tell now there isn't any pixelation with the TV, but to be fair
>we don't use it much. But with Myth it can get quite bad but most of the
>time it is ok, so maybe every 10 minutes it plays up - all depends. Given
>what we have done aerial wise I tried everything I could with Myth, changed
>the storage from local to NAS, restarted everything and the network is
>gigabit with no issues - all wired not wifi. Both HDHRs exhibit the same
>problem. The HDHRs are reporting 100% for signal strength, signal quality
>and symbol quality.
>
>
>
>I spoke to the guys at Alkris Signal Solutions, who are close and they are
>suggesting a PA2 and I am also thinking of replacing the coax so it's 100%
>clean.
>
>
>
>Before I go out and spend even more money, given I have spent over $300 on
>aerial stuff so far, I just thought I would ask if a PA2 sounded like a good
>idea. Alkris know the area and thought that should work a treat.
>
>
>
>Cheers

If you watch TV directly from the HDHRs (on a tablet, for example), do
you see the same problems? Trying that should tell you whether the
problem is in MythTV or the PC hardware, or somewhere else.

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Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

sultanoswing at gmail

Oct 16, 2016, 11:21 AM

Post #3 of 14 (3739 views)

Permalink

On 17 Oct 2016 01:11, "Stephen Worthington" <stephen_agent@jsw.gen.nz>
wrote:
>
> On Sun, 16 Oct 2016 21:55:55 +1300, you wrote:
>
> >Hi,
> >
> >
> >
> >We are in Ranui Auckland and I am having lots of problems with
intermittent
> >pixelation.
> >
> >
> >
> >It started a few months back and since then we have had the aerial guy
in at
> >least 3 times. First time he tweaked the position which was a bit off,
next
> >he added a masthead amp and lastly he added a filter and replaced the
> >balun/element.
> >
> >
> >
> >It was a bit confusing because we also had really bad problems with the
TV
> >even though the signal was good. Turned out the TV problem was
Chromecast -
> >when it was plugged in terrestrial picture was terrible.
> >
> >
> >
> >I am running, an admittedly old 0.25 Myth server with 2 x HDHomeRun -
only
> >using one at a time currently. The original HDHR I got from Hadley in
2013
> >the second I got a few months ago from TradeMe for $50. Both are similar
> >serial numbers and same model.
> >
> >
> >
> >Far as I can tell now there isn't any pixelation with the TV, but to be
fair
> >we don't use it much. But with Myth it can get quite bad but most of the
> >time it is ok, so maybe every 10 minutes it plays up - all depends. Given
> >what we have done aerial wise I tried everything I could with Myth,
changed
> >the storage from local to NAS, restarted everything and the network is
> >gigabit with no issues - all wired not wifi. Both HDHRs exhibit the same
> >problem. The HDHRs are reporting 100% for signal strength, signal quality
> >and symbol quality.
> >
> >
> >
> >I spoke to the guys at Alkris Signal Solutions, who are close and they
are
> >suggesting a PA2 and I am also thinking of replacing the coax so it's
100%
> >clean.
> >
> >
> >
> >Before I go out and spend even more money, given I have spent over $300
on
> >aerial stuff so far, I just thought I would ask if a PA2 sounded like a
good
> >idea. Alkris know the area and thought that should work a treat.
> >
> >
> >
> >Cheers
>
> If you watch TV directly from the HDHRs (on a tablet, for example), do
> you see the same problems? Trying that should tell you whether the
> problem is in MythTV or the PC hardware, or somewhere else.
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtvnz mailing list
> mythtvnz@lists.linuxnut.co.nz
> http://lists.ourshack.com/mailman/listinfo/mythtvnz
> Archives http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/mythtvnz/

I had *very* similar symptoms a few years ago. After doing a lot of what
you've tried, it turned out to be missing firmware in the OS.

I appreciate it's the same hardware on the same OS, but there can be subtle
hardware changes which mean the firmware isn't loading on boot. Check your
logs.

Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

pkendall64 at gmail

Oct 16, 2016, 11:28 AM

Post #4 of 14 (3740 views)

Permalink

On Sun, Oct 16, 2016 at 9:56 PM <ajp@cantabrian.co.nz> wrote:

> Hi,
>
>
>
> We are in Ranui Auckland and I am having lots of problems with
> intermittent pixelation.
>
>
>
> It started a few months back and since then we have had the aerial guy in
> at least 3 times. First time he tweaked the position which was a bit off,
> next he added a masthead amp and lastly he added a filter and replaced the
> balun/element.
>
>
>
> It was a bit confusing because we also had really bad problems with the TV
> even though the signal was good. Turned out the TV problem was Chromecast â€“
> when it was plugged in terrestrial picture was terrible.
>
>
>
> I am running, an admittedly old 0.25 Myth server with 2 x HDHomeRun â€“ only
> using one at a time currently. The original HDHR I got from Hadley in 2013
> the second I got a few months ago from TradeMe for $50. Both are similar
> serial numbers and same model.
>
>
>
> Far as I can tell now there isnâ€™t any pixelation with the TV, but to be
> fair we donâ€™t use it much. But with Myth it can get quite bad but most of
> the time it is ok, so maybe every 10 minutes it plays up â€“ all depends.
> Given what we have done aerial wise I tried everything I could with Myth,
> changed the storage from local to NAS, restarted everything and the network
> is gigabit with no issues â€“ all wired not wifi. Both HDHRs exhibit the same
> problem. The HDHRs are reporting 100% for signal strength, signal quality
> and symbol quality.
>
>
>
> I spoke to the guys at Alkris Signal Solutions, who are close and they are
> suggesting a PA2 and I am also thinking of replacing the coax so itâ€™s 100%
> clean.
>
>
>
> Before I go out and spend even more money, given I have spent over $300 on
> aerial stuff so far, I just thought I would ask if a PA2 sounded like a
> good idea. Alkris know the area and thought that should work a treat.
>
>
>
> Cheers
>
> I had very similar problems a few years ago and it was because the signal
was too strong. I have to put on some 10db attenuators going to the HVR
cards in the server. After that I have had no problems since.

Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

paulgir at gmail

Oct 16, 2016, 2:00 PM

Post #5 of 14 (3739 views)

Permalink

>
> If you watch TV directly from the HDHRs (on a tablet, for example), do
> you see the same problems? Trying that should tell you whether the
> problem is in MythTV or the PC hardware, or somewhere else.
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtvnz mailing list
> mythtvnz@lists.linuxnut.co.nz
> http://lists.ourshack.com/mailman/listinfo/mythtvnz
> Archives http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/mythtvnz/
>
> I had *very* similar symptoms a few years ago. After doing a lot of what
> you've tried, it turned out to be missing firmware in the OS.
>
> I appreciate it's the same hardware on the same OS, but there can be
> subtle hardware changes which mean the firmware isn't loading on >boot.
> Check your logs.

I had that problem,too.It applies to some Haupage tuners,not HDHR tuners.

Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

jonathan.hoskin at gmail

Oct 16, 2016, 2:12 PM

Post #6 of 14 (3743 views)

Permalink

On Mon, Oct 17, 2016 at 7:28 AM, Paul Kendall <pkendall64@gmail.com> wrote:
> I had very similar problems a few years ago and it was because the signal
> was too strong. I have to put on some 10db attenuators going to the HVR
> cards in the server. After that I have had no problems since.

Yep, like Paul K said, you could well have too much signal.

Jaycar sell a variable 20dB attenuator for $13, might be worth giving
it a stab: https://www.jaycar.co.nz/variable-attenuator/p/LT3050

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Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

robert at fisher

Oct 16, 2016, 2:26 PM

Post #7 of 14 (3738 views)

Permalink

On 17 October 2016 at 10:12, Jonathan Hoskin <jonathan.hoskin@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Yep, like Paul K said, you could well have too much signal.
>
> Jaycar sell a variable 20dB attenuator for $13, might be worth giving
> it a stab: https://www.jaycar.co.nz/variable-attenuator/p/LT305
> <https://www.jaycar.co.nz/variable-attenuator/p/LT3050>

Rather than attenuating the already amplified signal, why not try without
the amplifier first?

--
Robert Fisher

Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

criggie at criggie

Oct 16, 2016, 3:07 PM

Post #8 of 14 (3738 views)

Permalink

Robert Fisher wrote:
> On 17 October 2016 at 10:12, Jonathan Hoskin <jonathan.hoskin@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> Yep, like Paul K said, you could well have too much signal.
>> Jaycar sell a variable 20dB attenuator for $13, might be worth giving
>> it a stab: https://www.jaycar.co.nz/variable-attenuator/p/LT305
>> <https://www.jaycar.co.nz/variable-attenuator/p/LT3050>
>
> Rather than attenuating the already amplified signal, why not try without
> the amplifier first?

Just fold a couple of right angle bends into your aerial cable... that'll
slow down the signal because it has to negotiate the corner!

--
Criggie

http://criggie.org.nz/

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Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

paulgir at gmail

Oct 16, 2016, 3:13 PM

Post #9 of 14 (3739 views)

Permalink

On Mon, 17 Oct 2016 10:26:43 +1300, Robert Fisher <robert@fisher.net.nz>
wrote:

>
>
> On 17 October 2016 at 10:12, Jonathan Hoskin <jonathan.hoskin@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> Yep, like Paul K said, you could well have too much signal.
>>
>> Jaycar sell a variable 20dB attenuator for $13, might be worth giving
>> it a stab: https://www.jaycar.co.nz/variable-attenuator/p/LT305
>
> Rather than attenuating the already amplified signal, why not try
> without the amplifier first?
>--Robert Fisher

The masthead amp may be adjustable.

Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

skooobie at gmail

Oct 16, 2016, 7:43 PM

Post #10 of 14 (3739 views)

Permalink

If you play the recorded file (even the live ones) into say VLC do you see
the pixelation? If not then it is your Myth causing the issue. You can then
change the Front-End setup video selection and choose something like VDPAU
Normal or Slim. Or even just Normal. If you do see pixelation with VLC then
it is recorded that way and the problem is then most likely with the OS or
hardware. You can try the options the guys above listed.

On 17 October 2016 at 11:13, Paulgir <paulgir@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Mon, 17 Oct 2016 10:26:43 +1300, Robert Fisher <robert@fisher.net.nz>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> On 17 October 2016 at 10:12, Jonathan Hoskin <jonathan.hoskin@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Yep, like Paul K said, you could well have too much signal.
>>
>> Jaycar sell a variable 20dB attenuator for $13, might be worth giving
>> it a stab: https://www.jaycar.co.nz/variable-attenuator/p/LT305
>> <https://www.jaycar.co.nz/variable-attenuator/p/LT3050>
>
>
> Rather than attenuating the already amplified signal, why not try without
> the amplifier first?
>
> --
> Robert Fisher
>
>
> The masthead amp may be adjustable.
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtvnz mailing list
> mythtvnz@lists.linuxnut.co.nz
> http://lists.ourshack.com/mailman/listinfo/mythtvnz
> Archives http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/mythtvnz/
>
>

Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

stephen_agent at jsw

Oct 16, 2016, 8:24 PM

Post #11 of 14 (3729 views)

Permalink

On Sun, 16 Oct 2016 21:55:55 +1300, you wrote:

>Hi,
>
>
>
>We are in Ranui Auckland and I am having lots of problems with intermittent
>pixelation.
>
>
>
>It started a few months back and since then we have had the aerial guy in at
>least 3 times. First time he tweaked the position which was a bit off, next
>he added a masthead amp and lastly he added a filter and replaced the
>balun/element.
>
>
>
>It was a bit confusing because we also had really bad problems with the TV
>even though the signal was good. Turned out the TV problem was Chromecast -
>when it was plugged in terrestrial picture was terrible.
>
>
>
>I am running, an admittedly old 0.25 Myth server with 2 x HDHomeRun - only
>using one at a time currently. The original HDHR I got from Hadley in 2013
>the second I got a few months ago from TradeMe for $50. Both are similar
>serial numbers and same model.
>
>
>
>Far as I can tell now there isn't any pixelation with the TV, but to be fair
>we don't use it much. But with Myth it can get quite bad but most of the
>time it is ok, so maybe every 10 minutes it plays up - all depends. Given
>what we have done aerial wise I tried everything I could with Myth, changed
>the storage from local to NAS, restarted everything and the network is
>gigabit with no issues - all wired not wifi. Both HDHRs exhibit the same
>problem. The HDHRs are reporting 100% for signal strength, signal quality
>and symbol quality.
>
>
>
>I spoke to the guys at Alkris Signal Solutions, who are close and they are
>suggesting a PA2 and I am also thinking of replacing the coax so it's 100%
>clean.
>
>
>
>Before I go out and spend even more money, given I have spent over $300 on
>aerial stuff so far, I just thought I would ask if a PA2 sounded like a good
>idea. Alkris know the area and thought that should work a treat.
>
>
>
>Cheers

I have never used an HDHR, but the reports about the US versions say
that the usual cause of problems is the wall wart going bad - that
typically causes massive ripple on the power supplied to the HDHR,
which can cause all sorts of symptoms, including pixelation just as
you are reporting. However, I do not know if that applies to the NZ
HDHRs - does anyone know if their power packs go bad too? In any
case, if you have another power pack with the right ratings you can
try, that is something that you can easily test.

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Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

rob at webworxshop

Oct 16, 2016, 8:51 PM

Post #12 of 14 (3728 views)

Permalink

On , Stephen Worthington wrote:
> On Sun, 16 Oct 2016 21:55:55 +1300, you wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>>
>>
>> We are in Ranui Auckland and I am having lots of problems with
>> intermittent
>> pixelation.
>>
>>
>>
>> It started a few months back and since then we have had the aerial guy
>> in at
>> least 3 times. First time he tweaked the position which was a bit off,
>> next
>> he added a masthead amp and lastly he added a filter and replaced the
>> balun/element.
>>
>>
>>
>> It was a bit confusing because we also had really bad problems with
>> the TV
>> even though the signal was good. Turned out the TV problem was
>> Chromecast -
>> when it was plugged in terrestrial picture was terrible.
>>
>>
>>
>> I am running, an admittedly old 0.25 Myth server with 2 x HDHomeRun -
>> only
>> using one at a time currently. The original HDHR I got from Hadley in
>> 2013
>> the second I got a few months ago from TradeMe for $50. Both are
>> similar
>> serial numbers and same model.
>>
>>
>>
>> Far as I can tell now there isn't any pixelation with the TV, but to
>> be fair
>> we don't use it much. But with Myth it can get quite bad but most of
>> the
>> time it is ok, so maybe every 10 minutes it plays up - all depends.
>> Given
>> what we have done aerial wise I tried everything I could with Myth,
>> changed
>> the storage from local to NAS, restarted everything and the network is
>> gigabit with no issues - all wired not wifi. Both HDHRs exhibit the
>> same
>> problem. The HDHRs are reporting 100% for signal strength, signal
>> quality
>> and symbol quality.
>>
>>
>>
>> I spoke to the guys at Alkris Signal Solutions, who are close and they
>> are
>> suggesting a PA2 and I am also thinking of replacing the coax so it's
>> 100%
>> clean.
>>
>>
>>
>> Before I go out and spend even more money, given I have spent over
>> $300 on
>> aerial stuff so far, I just thought I would ask if a PA2 sounded like
>> a good
>> idea. Alkris know the area and thought that should work a treat.
>>
>>
>>
>> Cheers
>
> I have never used an HDHR, but the reports about the US versions say
> that the usual cause of problems is the wall wart going bad - that
> typically causes massive ripple on the power supplied to the HDHR,
> which can cause all sorts of symptoms, including pixelation just as
> you are reporting. However, I do not know if that applies to the NZ
> HDHRs - does anyone know if their power packs go bad too? In any
> case, if you have another power pack with the right ratings you can
> try, that is something that you can easily test.
>
> _______________________________________________

I had vary similar issues with my HDHR and even got a replacement from
SD, which didn't fix the problem. I finally tracked it down by tracing
the cabling underneath the house to find a cable join that consisted of
an old wall mounted antenna jack plate with another cable plugged in to
it. The interior of the jack was completely rusted up. Replacing the
dodgy join with $14 worth of connectors from Bunnings worked a treat at
its been almost flawless since.

Cheers,

Rob

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Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

hads at nice

Oct 16, 2016, 9:14 PM

Post #13 of 14 (3728 views)

Permalink

On 17/10/16 16:24, Stephen Worthington wrote:
> I have never used an HDHR, but the reports about the US versions say
> that the usual cause of problems is the wall wart going bad - that
> typically causes massive ripple on the power supplied to the HDHR,
> which can cause all sorts of symptoms, including pixelation just as
> you are reporting. However, I do not know if that applies to the NZ
> HDHRs - does anyone know if their power packs go bad too? In any
> case, if you have another power pack with the right ratings you can
> try, that is something that you can easily test.

From memory they are a 5V/1A supply on a 2.1mm jack.

It's always possible that the power supply is the issue in this case,
however out of hundreds I think we've had one bad power supply (which
was DoA just the other day). I don't believe it's a concern for the
NZ/AU power supplies.

The HDHomerun in general has proven to be extremely reliable, we've sold
loads since 2013 and we've had one return in that time which was faulty,
I think it may have been a firmware issue.

Hadley
--
http://nice.net.nz

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Re: Almost out of ideas - occasional pixelation only on MythTV [ In reply to ]

ajp at cantabrian

Oct 17, 2016, 1:54 AM

Post #14 of 14 (3726 views)

Permalink

Thanks everyone for your replies they were very helpful if not humours - put
a kink in the cable to slow it down :-)

Worth noting I have two HDHRs so I don't it's the power adaptor otherwise it
would be happening to both of them.

It's in the actual recording because if I use VLC and play something
straight from the file system, ignoring Myth, I still get pixelation.

It was interesting that no-one really suggested any server or Myth software
related possibilities. I struggled to think of any computer
hardware/networking issues that might cause this problem but not cause other
obvious problems. For example I don't really think it is a HDD problem or my
server would be unreliable.

I had thought of too much signal and may go down that path.

If anyone has experience with the PA or PA2 aerials I would be interested in
their experiences too

Cheers and thanks again

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