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[Battledad]

I bought a dual core processor sff box with 4 gb of ram, a 500gb hdd and added a discrete amd vc to run JR on. Hooked to an older 42" Pioneer plasma TV. Routes exterior TV antenna through a Hauppauge 2250 to the PC and then via HDMI to the TV.

Issue: Any sort of weather and the system pixelates, stutters, pauses and sometimes JR crashes. Using a db booster on the external antenna which goes to 5 TV's in the house. Virtually no stutter or pixelation on any other TV in the house. The problem appears to be associated with the downstairs system using the PC and JR.

We can play movies and internet content through the PC system to the TV with no issues.

Questions (if anyone has experience):

1) Could the cpu or ram or 2250 be the cause of the issues?

2) Is the cpu or any other specific component especially sensitive and if so what and why?

If this continues then I'll likely just use the PC to house the movies so they can be streamed on the house wireless network and buy a new Smart TV for the OTA viewing.

Happy to answer questions and most pleased for any thoughts.

[JimH]

I bought a dual core processor sff box with 4 gb of ram, a 500gb hdd and added a discrete amd vc to run JR on. Hooked to an older 42" Pioneer plasma TV. Routes exterior TV antenna through a Hauppauge 2250 to the PC and then via HDMI to the TV.

Issue: Any sort of weather and the system pixelates, stutters, pauses and sometimes JR crashes. Using a db booster on the external antenna which goes to 5 TV's in the house. Virtually no stutter or pixelation on any other TV in the house. The problem appears to be associated with the downstairs system using the PC and JR.

We can play movies and internet content through the PC system to the TV with no issues.

It is probably just the signal strength feeding the tuner.  Your other TV's may have tuners that perform better with a weak signal.  If it were the CPU of the PC, you'd see it commonly, and not just when it's rainy.  Re-aiming the TV or raising it might help.

[Battledad]

Thanks.

I'm using the best external antenna I can find and the +db is 15. I'm about 18 miles from the two (2) towers that handle all signals in our area.

Since the signal goes through the Hauppauge 2250 and I'm running the latest driver either the 2250 is the issue or something else.

Just looking for possible solutions.

[JimH]

When you're watching, you can use the On Screen Display (arrow keys and enter) to display the signal strength. 

Some tuners are better than others with weak signals.

[Battledad]

Thanks. Wasn't aware of the ability to check signal strength. During the stutter times the signal strength drops to 4-5% and then back to 100%. Watching the TV upstairs (a new Samsung Smart TV) there is almost no hesitancy at all. Checking comments about the Haup 2250 it gets good reviews. Thinking of changing the amp on the antenna to a +24 instead of the +15.

[JimH]

I'm not expert on this, but I believe that using splitters reduces the strength.  You might try a straight through connection to see if it is better.

[Battledad]

I don't use splitters other than at the source. I have an external antenna coming into a box with the amplifier that then splits to the 5 outlets in the house each of which goes directly to a TV. There is no notable difference in the strength at each end point.

If the PC setup isn't the issue then I'll try boosting the signal more and see if that solves the issue.

[Battledad]

Is there a way to turn on tracking of signal strength so there is a record?

[glynor]

My 2250 is very touchy about signal strength when using it for ClearQAM, and behaves much like that.  I haven't used it on an antenna, but since you're using the same digital tuner, I'd guess it is the same.

I ran a straight line almost direct from outside to the card itself, and put a "digital friendly" amplifier on the line, and it helped dramatically, but I still have a few QAM channels that are unusable.

My guess is that it is the card's digital tuner.

[astromo]

I'm not expert on this, but I believe that using splitters reduces the strength.  You might try a straight through connection to see if it is better.

Fair comment. It depends whether you use a passive or amplified splitter. I had problems with my TV signal because I needed it for more than one use (multiple network tuners + standard TV feed + others). My outlet is a fairly long distance from the antenna and I found with a passive splitter that I suffered excessive attenuation. My problem was solved with this piece of cheap electrickery:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=LT3284
There's bound to be a US equivalent for ClearQAM that provides the same function.

While I was chasing signal strength and quality, I found that some of the 75ohm coax cables that I was using were causing excessive attenuation. This may not be the issue here but could be worth bearing in mind or a variable to eliminate.

[Battledad]

Thanks for the comments. today I did the following:

External antenna direct connect to coax to the family room tv. Distance of run ~75ft. When signal issues arose the strength dropped to about 5% for a few seconds and the tv stutters and pauses

Next, ran external tv into the amp (Winegard 100 +15db) with a single out to the FRTV. Same profile as direct connect

Next, I put everything back together which is the external antenna into the Winegard 100 which then splits to 5 coax outlets. Rarely more than one tv on at a time. No difference in outcome from #1 and #2 above.

Was just watching local CBS station, signal strength dropped, tv stuttered and JR crashed. This has happened before. Appears that under the right circumstancs JR crashes if the tuner/signal interaction is just right.

By comparison we have a new Samsung Smart TV upstairs in our bedroom. The coax from the outside box goes to the TV and the TV is connected to our wireless network. We may get a few pauses on the Smart TV but nothing like the PC/2250/TV downstairs. That leads me to believe that the issue is with the 2250 tuner. If that's the case then the next question is whether there is a more stable or friendly tuner for the external tv connection through the PC to the TV. Suggestions?

I'm going to start a thread in the tuner area since that seems to be where this is shifting.