Custom channel lineups

[bmac.to]

Everyone,
A couple of nagging issues remain with custom channel lineups (I am seeing some strange behaviour when changing channels and I would like to cleanup what I created)

.is it possible to delete a channel from the lineup? (not just remove the "green light" but delete it completely)
.when adding channels, why does it not ask for a Station ID everytime? It seems that if Sage recognizes the call sign, it doesnt ask for a Station ID - is this true?
.Is there a way to create a lineup that starts empty? I currently have to pick a default lineup and then make a number of changes to it.
.What is the purpose of the FRQ file? If I fill it out completely, will Sage be able to change channels more quickly? Please note that it is tough to get a complete FRQ file created automatically by Sage because I have to rotate the antenna to get all the channels.
.I have remapped all my digital ATSC channels to the 3 number format - this format apparently ignores the FRQ file. Perhaps that is why channel changes are so slow.

Thanks.
________
Mazda cosmo specifications

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by bmac.to

.is it possible to delete a channel from the lineup? (not just remove the "green light" but delete it completely)
.when adding channels, why does it not ask for a Station ID everytime? It seems that if Sage recognizes the call sign, it doesnt ask for a Station ID - is this true?

See the PDF manual's Channel Setup section, starting on p. 160 of the v6.4-C manual. P. 161 has the answers to the above questions. (You can only remove a channel that was addded; not one that came with the lineup.)

.Is there a way to create a lineup that starts empty? I currently have to pick a default lineup and then make a number of changes to it.

Choose "Do Not Use Programming Guide Data" when configuring a tuner.

- Andy

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by bmac.to

.What is the purpose of the FRQ file?

.frq files are used as 'translation/look_up tables'. While one type of .frq file may contain ALL the known possible Channel-to-Tuning_frequencies for a specific tuner (used to aid or speed up the SageTV SCAN function), another tuner-specific .frq file contains just the channels detected in the SCAN. In this second type of file each line contains the 'Physical Channel' info used by SageTV REMAP along with whatever information the tuner actually requires to receive the signal.

If I fill it out completely, will Sage be able to change channels more quickly? Please note that it is tough to get a complete FRQ file created automatically by Sage because I have to rotate the antenna to get all the channels.

No. I don't believe the channel change 'speed' is affected by having incomplete/complete .frq data files. It's just a list of what channels are possible, or what channels have been detected as active.

When reception requires manually adjusting something, like an antenna, it really causes problems with the automated channel detection process; you can partially overcome this by doing multiple scans, renaming each scan and later merge them into one working .frq file -- While this will give you all your working channel info, it will not help if a scheduled recording fires off and your required manual adjustment (antenna direction) isn't in place.

Some people have attempted to overcome this issue by either having multiple antennas (a tuner for each antenna), or somehow diplexing multiple antennas into a single wire to feed into their tuner(s).

.I have remapped all my digital ATSC channels to the 3 number format - this format apparently ignores the FRQ file. Perhaps that is why channel changes are so slow.

We'd have to know more about the tuner you are using.
One test would be to temporarily rename that .frq file to .frq.tmp and start SageTV and attempt to change channels. You would know very quickly if that .frq file was utilized for tuning. Don't forget to close SageTV and rename the file back to .frq

[bmac.to]

To Opus4 ...

If I choose "Do Not Use Programming Guide Data" when configuring a tuner, will I be able to add channels with Station IDs that Sage will link to zap2it? What will the channel lineup be called? (so I can use the lineup with multiple tuners)

To Conejo ...

I am using the HVR-2250 tuner. I think I am going to try removing the remapping I added (the 3 number one) for the channels that actually appear in the frq file and then compare how long it takes to change the channel. Note that the channel changes are reasonable (3-4 seconds) when I use any video renderer except Overlay. However, Overlay is the only renderer that results in stutter free video.

Thanks.
________
First-generation mustang

[Conejo]

The speed of a channel change is dependent on how fast/efficient your software/hardware can: send_tune_info; tune_signal; encode or pass PS; write_to_new_file; read_from_file; decode; render

The resolution and compression also comes into play. The more or complex data will delay rendering the new picture.

I haven't run into a situation where the format of a REMAP number had an affect on channel change speed.

QUESTION: What codec are you using for MPEG4 decoder?
[ EDIT: Sorry, meant to ask what type of MPEG2 decoder, which you later answer is PowerDVD7. ]

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by bmac.to

If I choose "Do Not Use Programming Guide Data" when configuring a tuner, will I be able to add channels with Station IDs that Sage will link to zap2it? What will the channel lineup be called? (so I can use the lineup with multiple tuners)

The lineup will have the name of the tuner -- the lineup is shown on the Source Wizard Summary or Source Details menus. And, you can add channels like with any other lineup, or just map channels to existing stations.

- Andy

[bmac.to]

To Conejo ...

I am just using the default MPEG4 codec whatever that happens to be on my system. As far as I know, everything I am running is MPEG2 - for MPEG2 I am using the PowerDVD7 codec.

To Opus4 ...

I tried creating channels without a lineup last night with mixed results. Adding the channels went fine but the guide data would not update for most of the channels (even though I am using the same station id's I used when I added channels to an existing lineup). Any ideas? (I tried all the stuff in the FAQ with no improvements)

Thanks.
________
BMW N45