Struggling with Schedules Direct

[Remo]

I've posted several messages but I'm still not getting anywhere.

I'm on Win 7, clean install of Sage v9, fresh scan for channels, pulled data from SD, Hauppauge 2250, provider is Click!Network, zip 98407.

Most of the lower channels have data but above about channel 20 only a handful have data and I don't know how to fix it. I've tried everything I can think of, get it completely screwed up, delete the source and start fresh. I've done that several times now.

At this moment I have the data from SD and have made no changes. Here's an example of what I'm trying to sort out:

- Channel 70 should be MSNBC
- Zap2it shows channel 70 as MSNBC with an ID of 16300
- On SD's site I previewed the lineup and it agrees with Zap2it

In Sage Channel Setup I see this:

70 MSNBC, Disabled. Logical #70, ID 16300

70-1 MNBH_HC [41-70-1], Enabled, Logical #70-1, Physical 41-70-1, ID 290

70-2-MNBC_CL [53-70-2], Enabled, Logical #70-2, Physical 53-70-2, ID 255

The problem is that the one with the correct ID, Channel 70, that matches SD and Zap2it, is disabled and when previewed it tunes to AMC, which according to SD/Zap2it is channel 78.

The other two, 70-1/2, both tune to MSNBC but have no program data because the ID doesn't match SD/Zap2it. Their IDs, 290 and 255 aren't in the SD data, which has all IDs as 5 digit numbers.

If I need to remap the channel how, exactly, step by step, do I do that? I've tried and end up with the two that do work going to AMC.

I submitted an example like this to SD, "Report Lineup Problems", back on about 6/29 and have heard nothing.

This worked perfectly under Sage v7 using the same tuner, the 2250.

[Redhawk56]

My Cable provider publishes a list of the Channel names and their corresponding physical channel numbers. I always have to remap about half the channels so that hey match that list. They never seem to provide the correct information to any schedule providers. This isn't new with SD by the way.

If you think about it, they don't have much incentive to make this easy on us. Most people will give up at some point and just pay them for another DVR.

[Remo]

Can you give me a quick step by step on how you'd remap the channel in the example I gave? I always seem to end up with the mapping going the wrong way and the 70-1/2 channels end up tuning to the wrong channel.

I wish there was a way to just change the ID on the good channels so they'd pick up the program data.

[Redhawk56]

I am not the right person to give you a step by step. My experience has always been trial and error in remapping things. Maybe someone else can help.

[Remo]

It's certainly been a trial...with many errors

What's frustrating is once mapped there doesn't seem to be any way to unmap it without clearing everything.

[Monedeath]

From what it looks like, I presume you're trying to map SD data to cable channels off of a QAM tuner feed?

QAM channel lineups almost never match up with the "Logical Channel" number that the cable companies use for their provided equipment. If you're lucky either the second or third grouping in the physical channel # will match the logical channel # and you just match "like with like" and done. Short of that, it's trial and error trying to figure out which channel is what and mapping accordingly. If you're really unlucky, your cable company will randomly shift some "Logical channels" onto different physical channels from time to time.

If your QAM tuner is a HDHomeRun, and you have a Cable Card being managed by OpenDCT, I seem to recall that it can pull the logical channel mapings from the cable card and use it to map the QAM channels for you(so all Sage would need to know about is the logical channel #). But OpenDCT will need to be the "tuner" for Sage rather than going straight to the HomeRun.

[Remo]

I think I finally have it as far as channel mapping. I verified the channels that are important to me are what they should be, the rest I just mapped based on the second number in the physical channel. So 41-70-1 mapped to logical 70, same for all the others I didn't verify.

I told the wife that if she finds a channel that's not what it should be to let me know.

I'd forgot how irritating watching TV live is with the commercials. I'd preview the channel then wait through commercial after commercial after commercial after.............until the show finally came on and I could determine which channel it actually was.

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by Monedeath

If your QAM tuner is a HDHomeRun, and you have a Cable Card being managed by OpenDCT, I seem to recall that it can pull the logical channel mapings from the cable card and use it to map the QAM channels for you(so all Sage would need to know about is the logical channel #). But OpenDCT will need to be the "tuner" for Sage rather than going straight to the HomeRun.

Correct. The ClearQAM features also extend to InfiniTV devices that don't have a CableCARD. I have an InfiniTV 4 running in ClearQAM mode.

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by Remo

I'd forgot how irritating watching TV live is with the commercials. I'd preview the channel then wait through commercial after commercial after commercial after.............until the show finally came on and I could determine which channel it actually was.

I used to do this, but I found it easier to have an STB next to me. I would try to match up the content I was seeing on the channel I'm trying to map with a channel from the STB instead of trying to make out what station it was. It's even easier if you have OpenDCT do the mapping for you, but a tuner with a CableCARD is required for it to be able to do that.

[Fuzzy]

clearQAM will always be a pretty manual process to set up, simply because the cableco can and will move channels around all the time, because their 'real' customers who use the cablecard based stb's get the channel relocations dealt with transparently in the cablecard's sync'd lineup.

[Remo]

No cable card, just a Happauge 2250 PCI card. My cable's provided by a municipal system, so I don't have to deal with Comcast and the like. The lower channels, under 100, aren't encrypted so I don't need the card. I only have what they call "Extended Basic", SD channels only. No On-Demand, premium or HD.

However, given the trouble I've had, something like the HDHomerun or InfiniTVs that would make this easier is tempting. Hopefully, now that I've got it configured, I won't have to muck with it again for years. The last time I did this was when V7 first came out. I remember banging my head against the wall then too.

[stanger89]

I always just do a scan, and Sage will find the physical numbers, and then go through the found channels with my provider's mapping that they provide on their website, and remap them to the correct station/virtual channel.

Of course my provider really made things nice a while back when they broadcast on virtual channels that match the "correct" lineup channels. For example they put Discovery on virtual 800-1 when it's normally 800 in the guide, makes the remapping much easier now .