TV mess

The HTPC started messing with me. The Tv signal looked crappy and i got all sorts of strange artifacts in the picture. Analysing reasons began.

First

What can cause this?

1) Anything relating to antenna signal is a given reason.

2) Secondly, it can actually be so that this is due to CPU of the HTPC being overloaded, so that software MPEG decoding is left with too little CPU to do it’s job.

3) Codecs and drivers can always play dirty tricks.

Well we have snow and it has happened before that the signal has been weak due to layers of snow where our hero heading for the roof actually solved the issue. So I did so – climbed the roof, and while standing on the chimney I would easily tell that there was a bit of frost, but nothing that was likely to cause the error.

I did also add a splitter to the antenna outlet as I added a kitchen TC to the multimedia experience of the home. I unplugged the splitter and put the HTPC antenna directly in the outlet. No change, but I got to think that the kitchen TV didn’t have the problem so antenna signal must be fine at the point of the outlet, and actually also after the splitter.

So, open the HTPC and ensure the TV card hadn’t slid of the PCI bus. This can actually happen as it doesn’t have any back panel – the buggers at Hauppauge didn’t supply a half height one. Looked fine.

At this point in time, I felt I could rule out the antenna. Still – going into the “manual contol” option of the TV server configuration, I could still see that the signal seemed fine but the quality bat went from 100% to 0% like a yo-yo.

Now for the other options, can this be the CPU? Any recent changes?

First; iPimp is new so that had to go. It features a server part and can potentially be a CPU eater (even if the process manager didn’t indicate this). Oblitterated it -> No change. Hrm… The process manager still shows less than 20% CPU load, 4GB memory is there and it no where near full (OK, 32 bit Windowxd XP means only 3.5 GB or thereabout is accessible, but still no where near so full that swapping can be a reason).

I didn’t do any other changes so the only thing that I can think of is the drivers. Picked up a recent set from Hauppauge (not that they seemed any newer than the ones already in production but anyway). Reinstalled the drivers for the TV card.

Still no change.

That when I realise; the plug in the splitter is black. The cable I have in the back of the HTPC is white… ARRRRGGGGHHHH! The cable is not ONE cable from the splitter to the HTPC – in the antenna chain sits the old DVB-T decoder. Open the door to the cabinet under the TV (where the Wii, PS2 and the PS2 games sit). Smiling at me, smelling like tech-stuffs version of taking a crap in the diaper is was quite evident – the Smasung  DTB-B260V was no more. It had ceased to exist, it was DEAD! Why was it there? It was there as a back-up plan. When the HTPC wasn’t fully established. When the WAF of the new unit was not fully there I needed it as a a Plan B.

Connecting the splitter to the HTPC directly solved the problem. Plan B scrapped.

On the good side; two chargeable AAA batteries found in the remote 🙂