MPEG4 tests - Not a Public Service

Zaphod

[The trial on two sites ended in 2008. There are now only engineering tests: Watty]

Seeing as how the MPEG4 trials have now begun in earnest, I thought it might be useful if we had a list of TV models, STB/DVB-T receivers, or MPEG4 CAM combinations which have been confirmed to work with the Irish DTT system.

So if you can view the MPEG4 channels, post your model of TV/STB/CAM here. It would be also useful if you can see any EPG info, stating whether it's just "Now or Next" or extended 7-Day EPG. Thirdly, any MHEG5 interactive services or teletext that can be viewed. For example:

Model: Sony Bravia W4000
EPG: Only "now and next"
Teletext: None

If you want to include a screengrab of the epg, all the better. Obviously, it might be sometime before actual EPG data or teletext services are transmitted.

If the thread is to be of any use, please only post confirmed reports - no chat or "can my tv view the channels?" questions. No point in posting reception reports with PCI cards or USB sticks either as these are too dependent on your software setup - there are already a number of existing threads.

If someone has previously posted that your model of tv/stb/cam works, then it is pointless making a duplicate post.

Can we please keep all questions/issues regarding MPEG4 reception, stb/tv availability to this thread.

P.S. Thanks to all who have posted reception reports so far!

Del3D

Model: Clarke-Tech HD 5000 C
[HD Satellite & Terrestrial Combo Receiver (PVR Ready)]
EPG: Not even "now and next"
Teletext: None
Notes: Also worked with the RTE High-definition trial channel with latest update. Confirmed 4 channels today (H.264 576i) in Meath. Works with BBC-HD Satellite Channel also.

The_Conductor

Model: Sony Bravia 32S1020 with Neotion CAM
EPG: Only "now and next"
Teletext: None
Signal Strength: 88% (I averaged 60% from DCMNR trials)

Note: Momentary jitter when switching channel (0.12 second) when screen display switches from "Digital" to "HD". There was no momentary jitter on the DCMNR trial. Picture quality does appear to be far superior to the DCMNR trials- which would often freeze and pixilate.

yellabelly

Also I have a ClarkeTech 5000C picking up the Three Rock mpeg4 channels from Meath. Signal strength only 33% but the picture is stable. Great receiver - I have made my own mix of channels from Freesat and DTT in a group for easy switching.

cormacl

Had some retuning issues at first.. but sorted now. Can receive the national 4 on DTT from 3-Rock on my Dreambox 7025 using a DVB-T tuner.

As I already knew, it cannot display the MPEG4 video (audio only) but can record them and they playback on a PC... a perfect work around for now until the elusive DM8000 becomes available.

renshai

Panasonic HD TV model TH-42PZ81B is clearing the whole fta RTE tv stations and radio from Claremont Carn, sound and vision today

watty

Technisat DVB-t MPEG2 receiver.
Neotion Pocket Duo, MPEG4 ->MPEG2 re-encoder in Pay TV CI slot. (PCMCIA/CAM sized module with SIM card sized reader and ethernet port).
ThreeRock. Using outdoor Quad "bowtie" (Like "Colourking") on 10' pole clamped to balcony rail, north Blanchardstown. No useful indoor Analogue signal. Analogue pictures from same aerial slightly noisy.

joe25

Working Here in tramore on Super Darkbox Combo
(HD Satellite & Terrestrial Combo Receiver)
EPG: Not even "now and next"
Teletext: None

Also works with satellite with BBC HD,ITV HD and Channel4 HD(With Card)

byte

MOD NOTE: This thread has been stickied, and some posts have been moved to here...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=56824896

I'd appreciate if the thread can be kept on topic.

Thanks.

The_Conductor

I'm not sure if they have changed the output from the mux or something- but my signal strength is down to between 35%-45%, experiencing severe pixilation on RTE1 and TG4 (less severe on RTE2 and TV3). Have tried different aerial polarities to no avail. Big difference from last night. Location: Lucan village

macronot

Model: Technomate 6900 HD
[HD Satellite & Terrestrial Combo Receiver]
EPG: "now and next" not available as of 6th Aug
Teletext: None

Geemac

Working near Forkhill on a Sony KDLW2000 with a Neotion CAM. Locks picture OK but lipsync is ok for a minute or two and then experiences a delay of a couple of seconds on RTE1

Mayo Exile

RTE 1/2, TV3, TG4 plus 4 RTE radio stations, FTA from Claremont Carn on channel 53 via a Sony Bravia W 4000 series TV. TV can take a CAM if necessary.

EPG: "No event information". Teletext: none. (TV is MHEG5 capable, must select UK, not Ireland as country in initial setup for this though).

drogs_1

Model: Sony w4000 series

Picking up 4 tv & 4 radio at the moment in Drogheda. However pic quality is not as good since moving to Mpeg4. During trial pic was perfect with no interuptions. Now pic seems to break down a lot more into pixels with signal qual still up at 92%.

Joe Bangle

A MacBook [OS 10.5.4] with Elgato EyeTV hardware and EyeTV 3.03 Software.

Getting great reception from Three Rock -- the four TV stations and the four radio stations reported.

Hardware: (1) a two-year old EyeTV Hybrid (DTT+Analog), (2) a two-year old EyeTV DTT Stick and (3) a new EyeTV Diversity -- all Elgato USB Sticks and all using short indoor aerials in Booterstown, Co Dublin.

Also picking up the four radio stations on another Elgato DTT Stick on a Linksys NSLU2 running Debian Linux.

yellabelly

Moved the aerial to a new location in the loft and also replaced old coaxial cable. Signal strength has gone up from 33% to 91%.

This morning I have a 6 day EPG on the ClarkeTech 5000C. Same EPG that I had with the previous mpeg2 trial.

Satfinder

Transmitter: | Three Rock
Receiver Location: |Meath
Aerial used: |Loft Aerial - High-gain Yagi (probably way OTT)
Receiver Model: |PC with XP SP3
Tuner Card: |PCI HVR-4000
PVR Software: |Mediaportal (freeware) - version 1.0.0 RC2 (with TV-Server)

EPG: |None but see below
Teletext: |None but didn't try
Radio Stations rxed: |didn't try but do you care?
TV Channels rxed: |All four SIMULTANEOUSLY



Notes:
1) Used XMLTV with radio_times_uk grabber to pull in EPG from web so haven't tried to pull in DVB EPG recently. Couldn't last week, but I hear RTE have since started TXing an EPG.

2) Mediaportal will pull in ALL stations on a multiplex simultaneously so in principle you could record all four at once whilst watching one of them. Impressive.

3) I CAN record all four at once, but CANNOT watch them live. This may be due to a conflict between my codec suite and Mediaportal - your mileage may differ. I'll update you on this if I sort it out, unless someone beats me to it in getting full MediaPortal functionality in processing the RTE streams.

4) I recorded programmes as Transport Stream (.ts) files. These could be played back (with the latest version of the freeware ffdshow codec installed) in Windows Media Player (v9, v11), Media Player Classic (v6.4.9.0), and (only if renamed to foo.mpg) Winamp 5.41. They could NOT be played back in VLC or (surprisingly) Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra. I think the latter two bypass the DirectShow filter chain and config their own codecs.

5) As far as I can tell, the following PVR software does NOT pull in the video signal correctly:
Cyberlink PowerCinema, GBPVR, DVBviewer, WinTV.
The first three CAN pull in BBC HD via satellite.

Caveat: Because of the wonderful way Microsoft's DirectShow architecture works, whether any video source will display in a given application depends on what codecs you have installed and their assigned merit values in the Windows Registry. So what worked for me may not for you, and v.v.

Apology: I know the first post on this thread says it's not for PC-related posts but I've no home to go to...

alz

CAM module Turbosat MPEG-4 Conax Cam does not work with TV Phillips 47PFL5522D, but works fine with Samsung LE32R88BD.

deecom

In Dublin this weekend, have just fired up my Elgato Eye TV Hybird, on a Mac Book Pro, in Dublin 2. Using the latest software, Eye TV 3, I can get all 4 Irish channels and 4 radio channels. Not bad at all, signal strength is about 64%

Now if only the weather here was a bit better, i'd move back!

In Slovenia they are at about the same stage as we are they are also going mpeg 4, so it seems to be the way to go.

Peddyr

Model: Humax HDCI-2000T
EPG: 7 day but "info" only available on "now and next" programmes
Teletext: None
Location: Cregneash, Isle of Mann
Signal 50 - 60%
Quality 40 - 70%
TX: Three Rock Ch54
Nothing from CC Ch53 - still being shielded from north & east?

Signal & quality appears to be weeker than MPEG-2 trial. Hope it improves come official launch.

Peddyr

Peddyr wrote: »

Model: Humax HDCI-2000T
EPG: 7 day but "info" only available on "now and next" programmes
Teletext: None
Location: Cregneash, Isle of Mann
Signal 50 - 60%
Quality 40 - 70%
TX: Three Rock Ch54
Nothing from CC Ch53 - still being shielded from north & east?

Signal & quality appears to be weeker than MPEG-2 trial. Hope it improves come official launch.

UPDATE

The last few days the reception in the Isle of Mann has been very low making viewing unwatchable for most of the time. Signal strength has dropped to between 48 - 52%, signal quality between 0 - 10%

I've had to resort back to the snowy analgoue tx! It looks as if RTE are txing on low power for some reason, although my location is 86 miles from Three Rock, MPEG-2 txs were a lot stronger and watchable for 99% of the time over the last two years. Does MPEG-4 need more power than MPEG-2 perhaps??

Anyone else experiencing similar problems?

The_Conductor

Lucan village with a clear line of site to 3Rock.
Severe pixilation and picture freezes on all 4 MPEG4 channels.
Curiously- analogue is better than I have seen it in a long time.

tsue921i8wljb3

For anyone with an LG tv I tried the Viaccess CAM in a 26LC55 and it did not work. Hope this helps.

Daithi Lacha

Tried Viaccess CAM in Panasonic TX32LXD700 TV and it did not work :-(

DVB was working beautifully during Trial to end July. No picture since then.

The_Conductor

I tried a Viaccess CAM in an S Series Bravia and it didn't work (which I thought strange as a Conax CAM works fine). I tried it in a W Series and it doesn't work there either- so I've sent it back as defective (it wasn't even getting warm- and the Conax CAM is hot-hot-hot, so obviously its dead as a dodo).

Peddyr

Daniela Large Yokel wrote: »

For anyone with an LG tv I tried the Viaccess CAM in a 26LC55 and it did not work. Hope this helps.

I also have the Viaccess cam which works in Sanyo, dodgy in Samsung keeps getting very hot and picture freezing. Did not work in Humax pvr9200TB.

weehamster

Looks like LG/Philips are makes to stay away regarding MPEG4 CAM conversions. I just tried a Turbosat MPEG-4 Conax Cam in my MPEG2 LG and I get nothing as well. Typical. Well at least I have my Humax HDCI-2000T.

rmcdowell

Has anyone had success with an MPEG4 CAM in this machine?

Peddyr

rmcdowell wrote: »

Has anyone had success with an MPEG4 CAM in this machine?

Afraid not! Phoned Humax in Newtonards and was told that this model is not designed to support MPEG4 cams. Thinking of selling mine as no good now.

ecodub

Daithi Lacha wrote: »

Tried Viaccess CAM in Panasonic TX32LXD700 TV and it did not work :-(

DVB was working beautifully during Trial to end July. No picture since then.

I also got the Viaccess CAM and it would not work in the Sharp LC 37XD1E

Could a software update in the TV solve the problem? Does anyone know.

Would appreciate any help on the matter.

STB

That would seem to be the main issue with compatibility. In some cases the software may have to be adapted. How you do that for a TV however I do not know.

Most certainly the Humax 9200T I would have thought would be compatible. And if not surely someone over on the hummy site might tweak the firmware to work with it in the CI slot.

It would seem whilst DVB-Ci is meant to a standard (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization EN 50221) some issues still arise.

The forthcoming DVB-CI+ standard will probably sort out these problems.

Mayo Exile

Did a rescan this evening on my Sony Bravia W4000 Series TV. Now getting EPG info on both TV and radio stations which I didn't get before. (Ch 53, CC).

The_Conductor

Mayo Exile wrote: »

Did a rescan this evening on my Sony Bravia W4000 Series TV. Now getting EPG info on both TV and radio stations which I didn't get before. (Ch 53, CC).

Signal strength from 3 Rock seems to have been lowered drastically in the past few days? Severe pixilation on MPEG4, on analogue only RTE1 viewable, I've lost TV3 altogether? Location: Lucan Village (without a clear line of sight to 3Rock)

Think I'll be getting a directional antenna at lunch.......

In the old days

DTT Reception on Technomate TM6900 Combo from three rock is good in Terenure (I'd guess 8/10 miles as crow flies from transmitter??)-First day I've got up and running.:D Large tree in the way but otherwise line-of-sight of transmitter so aiming small outdoor aerial to side of it, using 26dB UHF masthead pre-amplifier (probably overkill but is intended for analogue). Panasonic Plasma displays the following:576i, ,738MHz,VPID 1101/1104 and APID 1201/1204 for RTE1,RTE2,TV3 and TG4 with 94/95% (strength?) . No teletext. 7 Day EPG. I can also receive Kippure analogue but this is not showing up on scan (perhaps not DTT enabled yet?). Anybody any idea what's the signal levels of three rock DTT is compared to analogue, out of (mild!)curiosity?

slegs

Mayo Exile wrote: »

Did a rescan this evening on my Sony Bravia W4000 Series TV. Now getting EPG info on both TV and radio stations which I didn't get before. (Ch 53, CC).

I am getting the EPG on Mt Leinster also.

drogs_1

slegs wrote: »

I am getting the EPG on Mt Leinster also.

Are you setting the TV up as UK or Ireland? During the trial I set up as UK. But now not getting EPG.

Mayo Exile

Mine is still on UK. Just did manual re-scan on ch 53 (for CC).

Mayo Exile

Teletext now available on RTE 1/2. No text on TV3 or TG4.

STB

Mayo, What have you got a Sony KDL series TV ?

Just bought the same TV as Mayo exile there- the sony bravia 32 w4000

Getting the four digital tv stations from mount leinster in mpeg4 in perfect sound and picture quality here in Arklow and the 4 radio stations.

Unfortunately the UK aerial system I'm using here is for arfon - otherwise I'd probably have a lovely EPG mix with the UK channels from presely that aren't blocked by M.Leinster.

I'll probably switch the twin aerials round to preseli to see what happens when I get a chance.They're mounted on a 60ft roof top mast though so twill have to be a calm day!!

Mayo Exile

Originally posted by STB: Mayo, What have you got a Sony KDL series TV ?

STB, same as Black Briar's. Its a KDL-32W4000 series TV. When tuning it in, you must set the country of origin as UK, as setting it to Ireland disables the text/MHEG5 functions of the TV for some reason.

odonnghaille

Very informative thanks.. Any negatives about the card?

STB

Mayo Exile wrote: »

STB, same as Black Briar's. Its a KDL-32W4000 series TV. When tuning it in, you must set the country of origin as UK, as setting it to Ireland disables the text/MHEG5 functions of the TV for some reason.

I presumed thats how you were getting the MHEG 5 info! Good stuff....

odonnghaille: The card..... Do check compatability before you rush out and get one. Theres a listhere
Negatives and positives can be read here. There is a difference of opinion as can be seen from that thread. Make your own mind up!

Mayo Exile

Mayo Exile wrote: »

STB, same as Black Briar's. Its a KDL-32W4000 series TV. When tuning it in, you must set the country of origin as UK, as setting it to Ireland disables the text/MHEG5 functions of the TV for some reason.

You learn something new every day..
Off up to the TV now to change it from Ireland to UK

a bientot

Mayo Exile wrote: »

Teletext now available on RTE 1/2. No text on TV3 or TG4.

Is the signal back to normal on Three Rock and I note that we do not have teletext......?

The_Conductor

a bientot wrote: »

Is the signal back to normal on Three Rock and I note that we do not have teletext......?

UHF transmissions are down at about 1/2 normal level. I need a signal booster in Lucan village- with a clear view of 3-Rock

BowWow

Reception was bad last night, no reception at all tonight.

Mayo Exile

Originally posted by a bientot: Is the signal back to normal on Three Rock and I note that we do not have teletext......?

Teletext still available from CC. But it hasn't been updated for quite a few days now.

Mayo Exile

Mayo Exile wrote: »

Teletext still available from CC. But it hasn't been updated for quite a few days now.

On Mt Leinster,it's updated about once a month..I've only just learned that Brian Cowen has arrived back safely from China..

kuro_man

DVBT PCMCIA Card
GBPVR
Cyberlink H.264 Codec

I bought a UK-spec laptop (HP Pavillion DV9000, Vista Home Prem) which came with a HP ExpressCard pcmia tuner (rebadged pinnacle dvb-t pcmcia card, as far as I know) for UK Freeview service (mpeg2, DVB-T)
After trial switched to mpeg4, I could tune stations and get sound but no picture.

• Downloaded GBPVR to view TV (allows you to configure codecs easily)
• Tuned in stations (stil' no picture)
• Downloaded free trial version of Cyberlink PowerDVD which installed H.264 codec and told GBPVR to use his for MPEG4. I now have picture and sound on RTE1, RTE2, TV43 & TG4
• NOTE: I originally tried FFDShow, a free H.264 codec, but it WILL NOT WORK with this transmission; I believe CoreAVC will work but I haven't tried it.

EPG is working
I haven't tried teletext/interactive services yet
GBPVR is currently crashing on record/pause live tv but this is a configuration/conflict issue on the PC

kuro_man

Cyberlink codec/powerDVD kept crashing GPPVR/PC so switched codec to Core AVC - all works well

kuro_man wrote: »

DVBT PCMCIA Card
GBPVR
Cyberlink H.264 Codec

I bought a UK-spec laptop (HP Pavillion DV9000, Vista Home Prem) which came with a HP ExpressCard pcmia tuner (rebadged pinnacle dvb-t pcmcia card, as far as I know) for UK Freeview service (mpeg2, DVB-T)

After trial switched to mpeg4, I could tune stations and get sound but no picture.

• Downloaded GBPVR to view TV (allows you to configure codecs easily)
• Tuned in stations (stil' no picture)
• Downloaded free trial version of Cyberlink PowerDVD which installed H.264 codec and told GBPVR to use his for MPEG4. I now have picture and sound on RTE1, RTE2, TV43 & TG4
• NOTE: I originally tried FFDShow, a free H.264 codec, but it WILL NOT WORK with this transmission; I believe CoreAVC will work but I haven't tried it.

EPG is working
I haven't tried teletext/interactive services yet
GBPVR is currently crashing on record/pause live tv but this is a configuration/conflict issue on the PC