Questions about MPEG4 reception, TV/STB/CAM availability here

Satfinder

yellabelly wrote: »

Have you tried DVBDream? In the satellite world it allows you to open multiple different channel windows and I expect it could record one of them.

I looked at the DVBDream website, but they seemed to support a limited range of tuner cards. I might be wrong.

If it's not wandering too far off the thread topic, maybe people could record here when they get PVR software to work with the MPEG4 signals? So, for example, the first person to successfully use DVBDream would report it here, but anyone wanting to know how to follow suit would start a new thread.

omalleyb

mickeyboymel wrote: »

For the Record:

My Samsung WS-32Z419D CRT Slim TV which was showing the Trial perfectly will not decode the MPEG4 signal this time even with the use of the Neotion NP4 Pocket Cam in the CI Slot.

Hi Mickey, I have the same TV model and same problem, living on Ticknock Hill in Dublin, so right beside the transmitter. If you figure out how to upgrade this TV set will you let me know please? Likewise I will come back to forum if I find a solution.

mickeyboymel

omalleyb wrote: »

Hi Mickey, I have the same TV model and same problem, living on Ticknock Hill in Dublin, so right beside the transmitter. If you figure out how to upgrade this TV set will you let me know please? Likewise I will come back to forum if I find a solution.

Are you using the Conax MP4 Cam or the Viacess version of the same. I was going to try the Viacess one as another poster has mentioned there is a setting in the menu of the cam to enable MPEG4 To MPEG2 conversion. This option does not appear to be present in the Neotion MP4 Conax Pocket Cam to the best of my knowledge,

watty

Really it's best to wait till MUCH closer to public launch next year. Don't waste money now on what might work better and/or be subsidized then.

omalleyb

watty wrote: »

Really it's best to wait till MUCH closer to public launch next year. Don't waste money now on what might work better and/or be subsidized then.

Ok, thanks Mickey, I hadn't even heard of a CAM/CI slot until reading these posts. Will take Watty's advice and hang on for the public launch. Back to fuzzy reception for another year!

Daithi Lacha

Very interesting SMcCARRICK.
Also noticed my viaccess cam was not getting hot like some previous posters. But maybe it only gets warm when its doing some work processing video data.
When you were testing the viaccess cam did you access the CI slot menu from the TV config screens. There is an option in there under advanced? to enable MPEG2 or MPEG4. Mine was defaulted to MPEG4 and made no difference.
Going to try my cam in friends Sony TV, hopefully later today, to see what it does.

The_Conductor

Its a pity a bunch of us couldn't meetup with 2-3 sets that we know work in order to test our equipment out.......

From previous experience- the CAMs get very very hot. If its not hot, its not doing anything. Even sitting in the CAM slot, inactive, it gets hot (in S & W Series Sony Bravias).

At least dvbshop.net appear to have a decent returns policy- they've already e-mailed me an RMA form.

I picked up one of the 36dbi gain internal antennas with my last order- its cleared up the signal considerably, even analogue is quite watchable. Very reasonable.....

dingding

Reading the various forums here trying to make sense of what I will need to get DTT in Ireland.

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/969046/art/philips/37pfl5603d-lcd-television.html#tech-specs

Would this television be able to view Irish DTT when it is launched, or what would I need to look for in the spec to identify an MPEG 4 reciever. Thanks

mickeyboymel

smccarrick wrote: »

Its a pity a bunch of us couldn't meetup with 2-3 sets that we know work in order to test our equipment out...

I have a Neotion Conax MP4 Cam if anyone wants it,or indeed a swap for a Viaccess version of the same to test in a set. It gets hot in my Samsung but there does not seem to be any "Advanced" setings in the Conax version to allow MPEG4 To MPEG2 conversion by default. Then again I'm not entirely sure the telly software is offering the cam an unencrypted signal for conversion in the first place

Was thinking of starting a thread to list the exact type of sets which work and do not work with the two Neotion CAMs.

watty

It has to do MPEG4 on the tuner and have CI and MHEG5 (Freeview has that).

The best thing will be a separate set-box (HMDI and SCART) with Hard Drive recording, that can also be a Media store for photos and video to TV from phones, cameras etc..

Freeview = MPEG2 + MHEG5 (no MPEG4).

Wait till at least next April.

watty

It has to do MPEG4 on the tuner and have CI and MHEG5 (Freeview has that).

The best thing will be a separate set-box (HMDI and SCART) with Hard Drive recording, that can also be a Media store for photos and video to TV from phones, cameras etc..

Freeview = MPEG2 + MHEG5 (no MPEG4).

Wait till at least next April.

LarWright

Bought the Viaccess card from DVB shop (after much deliberation and advise from Watty, I chose to buy one against his "hold off and wait" advise) SORRY!!

Wanted to see it in action and it works a treat. One thing I haven't checked is the EPG, but is certainly displays a picture in my Sony 40W2000 series. Bit slow on changing channels, ie, the audio comes up about 1 or 2 secs before the picture but it does the job!

Let hope Boxer DTT will be good (and compatable):)

John Dough

A friend of mine is running a Humax 8000T UK pvr box and has lost RTE Mux as they have gone to mpeg 4 video .

Does anyone know if there is a software upgrade available for this model?

Thanks

watty

Unlikely as MPEG4 needs much more powerfull DSP hardware.

Unlike a PC, the MPEG2 and MPEG4 decoding in set-boxes is done in a chip, not software.

Fazer6

LarWright wrote: »

Bought the Viaccess card from DVB shop (after much deliberation and advise from Watty, I chose to buy one against his "hold off and wait" advise) SORRY!!

Wanted to see it in action and it works a treat. One thing I haven't checked is the EPG, but is certainly displays a picture in my Sony 40W2000 series. Bit slow on changing channels, ie, the audio comes up about 1 or 2 secs before the picture but it does the job!

Let hope Boxer DTT will be good (and compatable):)

Hello LarWright.

I've the same tv as you. I'd like some details about your card if you don't mind.

I've had a look at DBV shop, but I don't see a 'Viaccess' card.

Regards.

Fazer6

derrycragg

Does anybody know, where I can buy a set top box dvb-t with mpeg4.
Just an ordinary box.

a bientot

Hope I am not acting the smart alec by suggesting France....Darty or Carrefour for the best value...........

Some tuners....yes, they are expensive.
Sagem ITD 81 HD
http://www.webdistrib.com/cat/Recepteur-TNT-HD-SAGEM-ITD81-HD-__p_470401.html?site=pricerunner&xtor=AL-10&utm_id=11&utm_source=pricerunner&utm_medium=shopbot&utm_campaign=PriceRunnerWebd

and Netgem 7600

netman

Is there still a DTT trial going on? Or rather than calling it a "trial", is there still a digital broadcast running?

I'm in Skerries, north county Dublin, with no Sky or NTL and would give anything a try really. My TV is a Samsung 4-series with a DVB-T tuner, from Pixmania, assuming a UK model and this MPEG-2 only. It does have a CI slot.

My aerial is mounted to the facade of the house, facing north-ish. Over analogue I'm getting all the Irish channels with a pretty clear picture, and some UK channels too with a bit of interference.

Is there any chance I'd be able to receive the current Irish DTT broadcast?
If so, what CAM should I get? Just some Viaccess off ebay.de or are there any preferences? I don't mind spending 30-50 euro to finally get some digital TV, even if there's a risk that the broadcast standard will be changed later.

watty

No trials. Some Engineering tests.

No CAM needed. Only Boxer's PayTV will need a CAM. You do need MPEG4. A separate setbox is superior quality and better value to an MPEG4 ->MPEG2 converter in a CAM form factor.

John Dough

watty wrote: »

Unlikely as MPEG4 needs much more powerfull DSP hardware.

Unlike a PC, the MPEG2 and MPEG4 decoding in set-boxes is done in a chip, not software.

That's strange as a software upgrade was issued for the Humax HD2000 dvb-T box that brought it up to the mpeg 4 spec.

John Dough

a bientot wrote: »

Hope I am not acting the smart alec by suggesting France....Darty or Carrefour for the best value...........

Some tuners....yes, they are expensive.
Sagem ITD 81 HD
http://www.webdistrib.com/cat/Recepteur-TNT-HD-SAGEM-ITD81-HD-__p_470401.html?site=pricerunner&xtor=AL-10&utm_id=11&utm_source=pricerunner&utm_medium=shopbot&utm_campaign=PriceRunnerWebd

and Netgem 7600

Popped in to a couple of Carrefours and Leclerks while on hols this year and found all their stbs very expensive!!

watty

19th September 2008
PS3 playTV DTT adaptor launch.
About €84

2 x DTT tuners
Supports MPEG4, AVC H264 as well as MPEG2 and HD and full Program Guide (Not sure if EPG works here). Record one channel while watching another on PS3.

Should work here for at least RTE MUX.

Mayo Exile

If anybody's interested there are similar discussions going on over at New Zealand's equivalent of the Terrestrial/Satellite forum of Boards.ie. Its called the "N.Z Digital TV Forum". There's a section there on DTT hardware.

Link to their forum: http://www.dtvforum.co.nz/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=9

Their specs are the same as ours at the moment it seems: DVB-T/MPEG4, MHEG 5 etc. NZ DTT operates in Band IV/V of the UHF spectrum. Would their STB's be compatible with our systems?

NZ Specs link: http://www.dvb.org/about_dvb/dvb_worldwide/new_zealand/index.xml

For prices of STB's mentioned there, €1 = NZ$2.11

Example of an STB: http://www.dtvs.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=62

watty

Could be.

But there are other European operators with band IV/V, MHEG5, MPEG4 DVB-t

STB

mickeyboymel wrote: »

Then again I'm not entirely sure the telly software is offering the cam an unencrypted signal for conversion in the first place

Was thinking of starting a thread to list the exact type of sets which work and do not work with the two Neotion CAMs.

nothing is encrypted. You will pick up the frequencies when scanning. It just cant stream the MPEG4 video cause it cant understand it. Are you getting sound without the cam ? Likewise the Cam just cant transcode the stream as your idtv is not compatiable unfortunately from what you have descibed.

Yes that Thread about what does and doesnt work would be very helpful. I had been thinking about the same.

I have an extensive list (and pics) of what will work here from bog standard STBs, to LCD Mpeg TVs to Combo boxes that are suitable for the Irish market that compliment your thread.

mickeyboymel

STB wrote: »

nothing is encrypted. You will pick up the frequencies when scanning. It just cant stream the MPEG4 video cause it cant understand it. Are you getting sound without the cam ? Likewise the Cam just cant transcode the stream as your idtv is not compatiable unfortunately from what you have descibed.

Yes that Thread about what does and doesnt work would be very helpful. I had been thinking about the same.

I have an extensive list (and pics) of what will work here from bog standard STBs, to LCD Mpeg TVs to Combo boxes that are suitable for the Irish market that compliment your thread.

Yes sound is coming in both with and without the CAM in place,but the television is marking ALL as radio streams!


I'm surmising that the television software is not cabable of directing the signal to the cam as it in not flagged (I understand that the signal is not encrypted),nor that even if it were to pass through the Neotion CAM in the first place, the television software is not capable of dealing with it.

To be honest I have given up at this stage and will wait till official boxes are available or even go down the combo box route if it can be proven in time that the Freesat EPG can be implemented reliably on a combo box.

Its immaterial really as since I installed a new WB Aerial my teresstrial analog is crystal clear from 3Rock, I only miss the EPG/Now & Next for the Irish Channels.

Mark#1

watty wrote: »

19th September 2008
PS3 playTV DTT adaptor launch.
About €84

2 x DTT tuners
Supports MPEG4, AVC H264 as well as MPEG2 and HD and full Program Guide (Not sure if EPG works here). Record one channel while watching another on PS3.

Should work here for at least RTE MUX.

What? What?

Any more on this? Links?

Mark

watty

http://uk.playstation.com/ps3/hardware/accessories/detail/item102429/PlayTV/

Rick_

Will the trials work on a Sony Bravia KDL32V4000? It has a CI slot and I have a Dragoncam I could use in it.

I can tune the channels in, just sound comes on though, no picture and the sound can jump about and pop every now and again.

LarWright

If you're only getting sound I think that means the TV doesn't have an MPEG4 decoder in it. I had the same problem, bought a Viacess card from germany and now I get pics too. Only RTE 1/2, TV3 and TG4 on it now.