[ale] Results of my digital TV converter research

[krwatson at cc.gatech.edu]

Charles,

Thanks for the props. I got my coupons Friday (1/3/2009) and promptly went to the Microcenter in Duluth (the same store you went to). I searched around and was unable to find the converters on my own so I asked someone in the TV department and he directed me to the graphics card aisle in the build it your self section of the store.

The Microcenter web page said they had 13 in stock. I bought two of the Tivax STB-T8s so they are now down to 11. The register clerk knew how to redeem the coupons which look like credit cards but aren't. There was no problem redeeming them but the process took between 5 and 10 minutes. They have to log into a web site and submit the coupons and then process each transaction separately.

I got home and set up the converter using a UHF bowtie antenna. When the unit powered up it immediately prompted me to start a scan. The scan took between 5 and 10 minutes and found 18 channels (including sub channels). The only setting I had to change was the time zone.

With some web searches and antenna waving I was able to manually tune in another 5 channels (including sub channels). I was even able to get channel 14 and all its sub channels, which is nothing short of amazing for a bowtie antenna.

I've been testing the converter every day at various times and weather conditions. With analog reception I normally have to adjust the antenna quite a bit for a number of channels and have ghosting on several of them (I have rabbit ears and a bowtie). During the summer when there are leaves on the trees and a lot of wind, watching analog TV can be a challenge. CW is particularly problematic.

The built in signal quality meter works very well. Using it I found that only minor adjustment of the bowtie was necessary to get a good signal on most channels. Even without adjustment the signal quality was normal to good. The exceptions are the distant stations such as channel 14 and 57. They take a bit of antenna alchemy to come in but once I get it positioned the picture is generally stable.

I've seen very little pixelization or signal drop out on the main Atlanta channels. Usually a minor tweak of the antenna eliminates it completely. The performance of the Tivax STB-T8 has been nothing short of exceptional.

I can see that a better antenna will improve usability. I've been researching antennas and am close to being able pick or build one (one of the antennas I'm considering is under GPL).

One thing that puzzled me for a bit was the channel assignments. With analog TV each channel number corresponds to a specific broadcast frequency. This is not the case with digital TV. They realized that the channel number is a branding issue so they made it possible for the broadcast channel (carrier frequency) to be independent of the channel number displayed on the converter.

Here is what I have found so far:

Digital  Frequency  Programming  Call
Channel  Channel    Method       Sign     Network
-------  ---------  -----------  -------  -------
2-1      39-1       Auto         WSB-DT   ABC
2-2      39-2       Auto         WSB-DT   ABC
5-1      27-1       Auto         WAGA-HD  Fox
5-2      27-2       Auto         WAGA-SD  Fox
11-1     10-1       Auto         WXIA-DT  NBC
11-2     10-2       Auto         WXIA-SD  NBC
14-1     51-1       Manual       WPXA     ION
14-2     51-2       Manual       WPXA     Qubo
14-3     51-3       Manual       WPXA     IONLife
14-4     51-4       Manual       WPXA     Worship
17-1     20-1       Auto         WPCH-DT  Peachtree TV
30-1     21-2       Auto         WPBA-DT  PBS
34-1     48-1       Auto         WUVG-DT  Univision
34-2     48-2       Auto         WUVG-DT  Univision
36-1     25-1       Auto         WATL-DT  MyATL TV
46-1     19-1       Auto         WGCL-HD  CBS
57-1     41-2       Manual       WATC-DT  Independent
63-1     44-1       Auto         WHSG     TBN
63-2     44-2       Auto         WHSG     TBN - Church
63-3     44-3       Auto         WHSG     TBN - JCTV
63-4     44-4       Auto         WHSG     TBN - Enlace
63-5     44-5       Auto         WHSG     TBN - Smile
69-1     43-1       Auto         WUPA-DT  CW

Channel 8 caused a bit of consternation as I was unable to tune it in no matter what I did. With some judicious Googling I was able to figure out that channel 8's digital broadcast is at super low power until the cutover to digital in February so I will have to wait until then to tune it in.

WGTV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGTV

I also discovered that stations may be changing the frequency they broadcast on after the cutover. I don't know yet which Atlanta stations this might affect. Worst case is I will have to reprogram a few of the stations.

I found this site to be useful in getting information on all the Atlanta stations.

Template:Atlanta TV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Atlanta_TV

My next hack will be to figure out how the serial interface works (Charles, I got your other email saying you were thinking of doing the same thing). Here are a few links to get you started:

What is the serial connector for
https://shop.tivax.com/faq/index.php?action=artikel&cat=1&id=42&artlang=en


What are the codes used by the T9 Remote
https://shop.tivax.com/faq/index.php?action=artikel&cat=2&id=19&artlang=en


keith

--

Keith R. Watson                        Georgia Institute of Technology
Systems Support Specialist IV          College of Computing
keith.watson at cc.gatech.edu             801 Atlantic Drive NW
(404) 385-7401                         Atlanta, GA 30332-0280

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Charles Shapiro [mailto:hooterpincher at gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 11:02
> To: Watson, Keith; Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
> Subject: Re: Results of my digital TV converter research
>
> The magic coupons arrived last weekend and Saturday I went up to Micro
> Center on Pleasant Hill Road to redeem them. We staggered around a bit in
> the TV section before being directed to the East wall, where there was a
> pile of different brands of digital converters. The guy tried to sell us a
> cheaper one, but I held out for the Tivax; they still had a good-sized
> pile of 'em on the shelf as of Saturday.   Using the coupon turned out to
> be a minor-major hassle; the sales clerks acted like they had never seen
> one, and it took about three of them before we were able to pay the $18
> difference between the coupon and the cost of the unit.
>
>  The instruction book makes installing it look easy; one wire goes to your
> antenna, the other to your TV's 3-RCA-plug video input.   You change
> channels on the DTV converter with the included remote, which (mercifully)
> has a mute button included.
>
> Thanks Keith, I think I owe you a  home-brew on this one.
>
> -- CHS