Should we be getting excited about FreeSat HD?

[Whitey]

Originally Posted by jaminben

Thats exactly what I get "No Signal" But if you record the channel for a while then play it back via recorded tv you will be able to see ITV HD in all its glory. The PQ does look good and is proberly just as good as BBC HD its just a shame theirs nothing to watch except the recorded loop of Crystal palace and a country house somewhere.

With my setup I get a decoder error with live TV and recordings. I have only tried with powerdvd 7 though, not coreavc.

I agree with the picture quality (viewed with DVBViewer) even though it running at around 11Mps where as BBC HD is more like 16Mps

Whitey

[motobarsteward]

Originally Posted by cactusbob

I can't imagine it launching without C4 or Five. I think C4 are under some contractual obligation to Sky until the Autumn, but I don't think this stops them from broadcasting elsewhere as well. Couldnt care less whether it launches with Five or not

FreeSat has now launched. Their web site lists the channels. C4 is there and C5 is promised later this year.

[doc]

Originally Posted by motobarsteward

FreeSat has now launched. Their web site lists the channels. C4 is there and C5 is promised later this year.

You're right, C4 is now listed. It wasn't there when I did a scan last weekend, but the channels listed here seem to be changing quite frequently. I'm going to start writing them down so that I can see whats new.

It would be nice if they had a list of channels with their added dates, a bit like here for sky channels.

[John@TunerUK]

Well, I've had a good read of this thread, and it seems to have gone around the block a bit. Did anyone discover whether it's actually possible to get freesat through sage? Has it been tested yet? And if it's available, how do I go about getting it?

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by John@TunerUK

Well, I've had a good read of this thread, and it seems to have gone around the block a bit. Did anyone discover whether it's actually possible to get freesat through sage? Has it been tested yet? And if it's available, how do I go about getting it?

Yes you can get Freesat using Sage, you will need a DVB-S card of some sort and obviously a sat dish. Its then just a matter of scanning the sat channels like you would for terestrial tv.
I personnaly use 2 x DVB-S2 cards and havent run into any major problems except for a few channels which dont seem to tune correctly but I have the same problem with other PC programmes as well so its proberly down to my dish not being aligned properly.

You really want to get a DVB-S2 card rather than DVB-S as this should then future proof the system for all those HD channels we should be getting in the next 5 years (BBC HD looks stunning via an HD100 extender)

I currently have about 10 extra channels tuned via Freesat so its not a massive advantage over Freeview.

You could also wait until the end of 2009 when their should be four HD channels being broadcast over the terestiral freeveiw system.

[starfire]

Hi,

Can you receive ITV HD via your card (its a red button service via Freesat)?

If so I will be interested in getting one, I have Sky HD but of course ITV HD will not be on it in the short term

Looks like they will be launching for Euro 2008:-

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitalt...euro-2008.html

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by starfire

Can you receive ITV HD via your card (its a red button service via Freesat)?

The answer is yes and no, it works if I record the channel but doesnt work if I watch it live. ITV HD also doesnt work with the HD extender even if I record it.

[starfire]

Ah OK, that's a pity - stupid ITV HD.

I may hang fire on a DVB-S2 card then. Waiting for my HD100 to clear customs at the moment... think I will be receiving a letter with a code I need so I can phone them up and pay.

Cheers for the info.

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by starfire

Waiting for my HD100 to clear customs at the moment... think I will be receiving a letter with a code I need so I can phone them up and pay.

How long have you been waiting? Mines been stuck at customs for 2 working days It doesnt look like I'll be getting it this weekend which means I've been waiting for over two weeks now, not a happy bunny

[Whitey]

I'm sure if we send some test samples of ITVHD to sage support they will be able to get it to work on clients and on the HD-100.

BTW 2 weeks for a HD-100 delivery? I ordered one yesterday so I've got to wait 2 more weeks?

Whitey

[starfire]

Originally Posted by jaminben

How long have you been waiting? Mines been stuck at customs for 2 working days It doesnt look like I'll be getting it this weekend which means I've been waiting for over two weeks now, not a happy bunny

This is how it looks on the parcelforce website, I ordered in on the 26th:-

02-06-2008 20:16 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGING
02-06-2008 20:16 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGES
02-06-2008 20:09 International Hub Arrived in destination country
31-05-2008 22:33 Delivery Agent - LOS ANGELES AMU Left origin country
29-05-2008 21:42 Delivery Agent - UNITED STATES AMERICA Collected from cus

[starfire]

Originally Posted by Whitey

I'm sure if we send some test samples of ITVHD to sage support they will be able to get it to work on clients and on the HD-100.

I'm not sure, I thought I read somewhere its a H264 stream but then wrapped inside something else (presumably to stop you manually tuning it in on a Sky HD box or other Satellite HD STB)

[doc]

Originally Posted by starfire

This is how it looks on the parcelforce website, I ordered in on the 26th:-

02-06-2008 20:16 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGING
02-06-2008 20:16 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGES
02-06-2008 20:09 International Hub Arrived in destination country
31-05-2008 22:33 Delivery Agent - LOS ANGELES AMU Left origin country
29-05-2008 21:42 Delivery Agent - UNITED STATES AMERICA Collected from cus

I got away lightly then, no customs fee (shush)

[Whitey]

Originally Posted by starfire

I'm not sure, I thought I read somewhere its a H264 stream but then wrapped inside something else (presumably to stop you manually tuning it in on a Sky HD box or other Satellite HD STB)

True but by manually entering the video PID I can watch ITV HD with DVBViewer. Sage just can't decode the .ts stream

Whitey

[starfire]

In that case maybe try logging a call with them to see if they can help?

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by Whitey

? I ordered one yesterday so I've got to wait 2 more weeks?

My first one arrived within 5 working days and I also never had any customs charges. I think I've just been unlucky with my second unit, Sage wasnt that quick off the mark in getting the unit out (4+ days from order) and now its getting stuck in customs.

My parcel tracking more or less says the same as yours Starfire.

02-06-2008 20:12 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGING
02-06-2008 20:12 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGES
02-06-2008 20:04 International Hub Arrived in destination country
31-05-2008 22:45 Delivery Agent - LOS ANGELES AMU Left origin country
30-05-2008 01:38 Delivery Agent - UNITED STATES AMERICA Collected from customer

Originally Posted by Whitey

I'm sure if we send some test samples of ITVHD to sage support they will be able to get it to work on clients and on the HD-100.

If I knew of a programme which could make a small sample file I would send my recording off. I've tried allok_vsplitter & VirtualDubMod. Anyone have another sugestion.

[Whitey]

Originally Posted by starfire

In that case maybe try logging a call with them to see if they can help?

I will log a support requested and send them a sample stream from DVBViewer

Whitey

[jaminben]

The recording I did of ITVHD using Sage resulted in an .mpeg file of some sort, I used mediainfo to get the stream info if thats any good to anyone.

Format                           : MPEG-PS
File size                        : 2.20 GiB
Duration                         : 27mn 53s
Overal bit rate                  : 11.3 Mbps

Video
Format                           : AVC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                   : Main@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC           : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames        : 4
Duration                         : 27mn 52s
Bit rate                         : 9761 Kbps
Width                            : 1440 pixels
Height                           : 1080 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 16/9
Frame rate                       : 25.000 fps
Colorimetry                      : 4:2:0
Scan type                        : Interlaced
Scan order                       : Top Field First

Audio #1
Format                           : AC-3
Format/Info                      : Audio Coding 3
Duration                         : 27mn 53s
Bit rate mode                    : CBR
Bit rate                         : 384 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 2 channels
Channel positions                : L R
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Video delay                      : -1s 653ms

Audio #2
Format                           : AC-3
Format/Info                      : Audio Coding 3
Duration                         : 27mn 47s
Bit rate mode                    : CBR
Bit rate                         : 384 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 2 channels
Channel positions                : L R
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Video delay                      : 1s 771ms

Edit:

I've just copied the recording into my movies folder and the extender plays the file just fine, so its not that the extender cant play the file its the Sage sever not letting the extender play the tv show live or recorded.

[jaminben]

My HD extender is still in customs Does anyone know if there is any way to speed things up i.e phoning them or an email address. I've sent parcel force an email but they say there is nothing they can do.
Its been 3 days now how long can it take to process a parcel, whats the longest anyone else has had items stuck in customs.

[starfire]

From my googling it seems it can be stuck for up to 5 days while customs decide if they want to charge you or not, and even after that it can take a couple of days for Parcelforce to then pick it up from customs once they've released it

ps. mine's still stuck as well