Channel playback issue (1 Viewer)

[toku3211]

Hi folks, any advice here would be appreciated. I switched to win10 from win7 back in January with the insider program not really thinking about the ramifications of losing WMC. However as football season rolls around I've been trying to get my pc set back up to watch and record tv. Eventually I stumbled upon MP and was excited that the software supported my tuner (Ceton InfiniTV 4). I was able to go through the set up and got the program running and eventually went through and set up the webEPG. Boy, was that a hassle to enter each channel manually, but I digress. Anyway I am able to watch tv now however not all channels will play. In particular a channel that is important to me is the BIG10 channel. When I try to watch it either the program gets stuck on the tv guide or if I try to tune to the channel after watching another, I will see a still of the previous channel. Most other channels I have tried seem to work fine, I can watch ABC, ESPN, TNT, even showtime, however not HBO. Is there any to fix this?

Some additional info, even when I ran WMC in win7 I had some issues with the BTN. I live in NYC in a decently sized building. In the past I had noticed that if I split the coaxial from the wall to my router and pc the signal was not strong enough to play BTN, however if I connected my pc directly to the wall I was able to receive the channel though some frames would lose info and I would get large green bars across the screen. I did try connecting my pc directly to the wall, but was still not able to watch BTN that way. Could this just be an issue of my signal not being strong enough?

 

[mm1352000]

Hello and welcome

Boy, was that a hassle to enter each channel manually, but I digress.

Yeah, WebEPG is free... but that doesn't mean it's the best choice.

In particular a channel that is important to me is the BIG10 channel. When I try to watch it either the program gets stuck on the tv guide or if I try to tune to the channel after watching another, I will see a still of the previous channel.

Your description suggests the channel may be digital-rights-management (DRM) protected (i.e. "copy once" as opposed to "copy freely"). You should be able to check that in the tuner's web page/interface.

MediaPortal doesn't support DRM-protected channels. As open source software, the chances that we could comply with the certification requirements are basically zero. It's a bit of a moot point though, because we can't afford the tens/hundreds of thousands of dollars in certification costs anyway.

Most other channels I have tried seem to work fine, I can watch ABC, ESPN, TNT, even showtime, however not HBO. Is there any to fix this?

I'm surprised ShowTime works. Consider yourself very fortunate. That channel is usually considered "premium", and therefore DRM is applied. HBO is the same, so I'm not surprised you can't get that.
In answer to your question: as above, check the status of the channel in the tuner's web page thing. If you can't make any sense of that, post your log files. Watchdog option 3 ("export...") to collect the logs, then attach the zip file here in this thread ("upload a file"):
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/16_Support/3_Forums/2_Log_Files

Could this just be an issue of my signal not being strong enough?

Possibly. Again, you'd know this from checking the tuner's web page.

 

[toku3211]

Thanks for the quick reply! Seems the DRM is the issue as BTN and HBO are both listed as copy once. Showtime was listed as copy free, at least the main channel, didn't check the rest. I guess the obvious next question is what are my options from here? Are there any programs free or paid that support DRM in win10 or do I basically have to go back to win7 at this point? What about in the future, win7 support stops in 2020 or 2025 I believe. Will that basically mean HTPCs are dead? Though I'd like to think some sort of solution will be found by then. Also could the DRM be the cause of the green bars in my previous recordings or is that still a signal issue?

For reference signal strengths:
BTN -5.3 dBmV
ESPN -8.8 dBmV
ShowTime -11.4 dBmV
ABC -8.3 dBmV

I'm assuming the highest absolute values are best? If so at which point is signal strength considered poor enough to cause the disturbances described above? Is this something I can talk to fios about to get them to bump the signal strength?

 

[mm1352000]

Thanks for the quick reply!

No problem, that's what we're here for.

Seems the DRM is the issue as BTN and HBO are both listed as copy once.

Ahhh, gutted. Sorry.

I guess the obvious next question is what are my options from here? Are there any programs free or paid that support DRM in win10 or do I basically have to go back to win7 at this point?

I'm based in New Zealand (where there's no such thing as CableCARDs), so I wouldn't consider myself particularly knowledgeable about "the scene".
I know that WMC supports copy once channels... but obviously that's a no-go for W10.
Silicondust are working on a solution:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1275320038/hdhomerun-dvr-the-dvr-re-imagined

My understanding (haven't followed closely, so could be wrong) is that you'd have to pay a subscription... but it isn't ready/released yet.

There could be other options, but I'm not aware of them, sorry.

What about in the future, win7 support stops in 2020 or 2025 I believe. Will that basically mean HTPCs are dead?

I doubt it.
For a start, CableCARD is a US-only thing. The rest of the world has different challenges and solutions when it comes to accessing TV content on a PC. HTPC usage may die in the US but carry on elsewhere.
Then there's also the fact that you can get WMC for W8/8.1.
In general I think that the cable and internet streaming industries are in a state of flux right now. Nobody can predict exactly what will happen. I hope there will be better and consumer-friendly solutions in 2020. Such solutions may only be a twinkle in the eyes of their inventors for now.

Also could the DRM be the cause of the green bars in my previous recordings?

If you can see any of the picture then I would say the answer is no. It seems more likely to be a signal strength/quality, overheating or video decoding (GPU, codec) issue.

 

[mm1352000]

Picking up on your edit...

I'm assuming the highest absolute values are best? If so at which point is signal strength considered poor enough to cause the disturbances described above? Is this something I can talk to fios about to get them to bump the signal strength?

I'm not the best with this, but I think "standard" signal strength is 0 dB. Your cable company would have a margin of error above and below that which they'd consider acceptable. AFAIK -15 dB is about the level where you could be justified in starting to have concerns. Again, I'm not the best with this, so I could be wrong.

One thing to keep in mind: if your building contains a bunch of apartments, it may well have some kind of central splitter and/or distribution unit. My understanding is that the cable company would be responsible for the connection to that splitter, and the building owner/manager would be responsible for the connections from the splitter to the various outlets. You may have to go through the building owner to get the cable company to come out and check anything.