can anyone get all the uk freeview channels with a usb tuner?

[matterofrecord]

UPDATED BELOW CONTRARY TO MY ORIGINAL POST BOTH THESE TUNERS ARE CAPABLE OF RECIEVING ALL THE FREEVIEW CHANNELS WITHOUT EXCEPTION

PLEASE READ FINAL POST




Hi

I'm trying to find a decent usb freeview tuner but so far I've had really bad luck.

I bought an MSI Digivox Duo for £30 yet it can't get film4 virgin1 ukhistory tmf 4music ITV2+1 ( if that seems like a long list it is infact only one multiplex ) (the same channels are missing with the bundled freeware and vista media center)

I then bought a hauppauge nova-td dual diversity usb tuner(£50). That didn't get sky3 sky news, dave or e4+1. ( same story with vista media center)

I'm not far short of giving my computer a flying lesson. So if anyone has got a USB tuner working with sage that gets all the freeview channels then I'd very much like to know what your using. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[doc]

I think it all comes down to the time of the day that you do your scan.

Some channels only transmit at certain times of the day, and if you scan before they transmit you wont pick them up. I find the best time to scan is after 7pm.

UKTVHistory I think is encrypted, so you wont get that anyway.

Virgin1 - I only get that in the evenings. I don't know if anyone else gets that in the day.

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by matterofrecord

I then bought a hauppauge nova-td dual diversity usb tuner(£50). That didn't get sky3 sky news, dave or e4+1. ( same story with vista media center)

If it doesnt work using other software are you sure you have a good enough signal to recieve these channels? Have you tried using a normal freeveiw tv to see if your signal is good?

As Doc said you wont get all the channels with one scan, only the channels that are broadcasting at the time of the scan.

[matterofrecord]

Originally Posted by doc

I think it all comes down to the time of the day that you do your scan.

yeah time of day matters but there is a way around it. I found that if I scan during the day I get uktvhistory unencrypted (after 6pm uktvhistory is encrypted ) . I then take a copy of the frq table for that tuner and place it somewhere safe. After 7pm (when get virgin one and bbc 3 and 4 come online) I do another scan. Only this time UKtvhistory is now encrypted and has a different entry in the frq table. To fix this I take the old frq entry for uktvhistory and paste it over new encrypted UKtvhistory frq table entry. This way I can get uktv history from 6am to 6pm and still get the fun channels in the evening. You have to do this for every tuner but it works. If this sounds complicated then it's my fault because it's really easy. You just use notepad to copy and paste a few entries in the sagetv files. The frq files should be the same name as the tuner it works for.

Originally Posted by jaminben

Have you tried using a normal freeveiw tv to see if your signal is good?

Sorry I probably should have mentioned I'm already using 2 hauppauge nova t-500 and terratec 2400i. They can all get sky, dave and e4+1. I was wondering jaminben can you get any of sky3 dave e4+1 on your nova-TD's?

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by matterofrecord

I was wondering jaminben can you get any of sky3 dave e4+1 on your nova-TD's?

Yes I get all freeview channels on all three of my NovaTD's.

[matterofrecord]

Originally Posted by jaminben

Yes I get all freeview channels on all three of my NovaTD's.

Thanks for that. I'll give it another try, perhaps I'll try different cables. I'll post how I got on.

[matterofrecord]

NOVA-TD NOW WORKING AS DUAL TUNER

Thanks for your help jaminben. I finally got my nova-td's up and working. I probably wouldn't have persevered if it hadn't been for your help.

The problem seems to be the signal amplifier/splitter I am using. If both of the nova-td's inputs come from the amplifier/splitter I don't get sky, dave etc. If either one or none of the inputs to the nova-td comes from the amplifier/splitter I get all the channels sky3 & dave included.

They work very well being at least as sensative as the nova-t-500 pci cards.

thanks for everyones input on this.

I also found out a little more about the digivox duo.

If I use an amplified input I don't get film4, skyvirgin1 ukhistory tmf 4music. If I don't use the amplified input I don't get sky, dave or e4+1. I just find that confusing really but that is how it works out.
Thanks

[jaminben]

Thats good news I really like those USB tuners and not too expensive which is always nice.

[matterofrecord]

Man do I feel stupid. Both tuners now work fine. Although the earlier reported faults were consistent and repeated mulitple times. I am having no trouble today. I am getting a full strength signal on the hauppauge nova td with all channels (including the sky3 and film4 groups). With the MSI I am also getting a nearly full strength signal whilst getting all channels.

I don't know what caused the previous rather bizarre problems especially as I am using the same aerial leads and splitter/amplifier as before. The only possible explanation is that I live in a tower block and the communal aerial must be subject to high winds that could have caused problems. Today happens to be a still wind-free day and the tuners are recieving all channels.

If I have adversly effected anyones buying decisions I can only appologies.

If you are considering purchasing either of these two tuners then my personnal preferance is for the hauppage nova-td. The nova-td recieve a slightly stronger signal than the MSI ( 80 - 90% on the msi with weaker channels such as sky3 and film4 versus 100% with the same channels on the hauppauge with the same aerial leads). The hauppage nova-td requires two aerial fly leads to operate in dual tuner mode. The MSI requires only one aerial lead to operate as a dual tuner. The MSI has no diversity mode yet is £20 cheaper .

In case anyone is wondering I already had three other tuners. 2 X hauppauge win-tv-500's (pci) and 1 X terratec 2400i(pci-e). They have always been able to recieve all the channels well and without difficulty. If you are just looking for any tuner then I would recommend geting pci or pci-e tuner as they have been the least hassle for me.


My appologies again to anyone that read this and were put off either of the usb tuners I mentioned.
Both brands work fine under the right circumstances.