Gadget Geek Usb Tv Tuner Help

[ton]

I purchased a Gadget Geek usb tuner from dick smiths as i can take it back...It sounds the same as allot of the others blue light blaze tv software...Anyway i get SBS high deff channels great but thats it...Can anyone help me get the other channels or point me in the right direction..I am in Adelaide stuck in hospital queen elisabith...It appears to have full signal strength with the basic small aerial i am up high but will not get any other channels..My computer is a Toshiba Intel R,,Pentium R,,M processor 1500MHz,, 1.5GHz,,496 of RAM other wise i would have gone for a tiny tim from Digital now but am afraid this laptop will not run a tiny tim from what i have read.........Help very bored

[mtv]

ton,

Only SBS HD.... no SBS SD?

When you say you have full signal strength, do you mean just on SBS, or all channels?

The little antennas that come with such tuners work better at UHF frequencies than VHF (that's when they work at all) so with SBS being on UHF, that would explain why that channel is ok and all the VHF channels are not being received.

An indoor 'rabbit ears' antenna may work.

The tiny twin USB receiver should work fine with your computer specs, but once again, the antenna is the crucial part for digital TV reception.

[ton]

ton,

Only SBS HD.... no SBS SD?

When you say you have full signal strength, do you mean just on SBS, or all channels?

The little antennas that come with such tuners work better at UHF frequencies than VHF (that's when they work at all) so with SBS being on UHF, that would explain why that channel is ok and all the VHF channels are not being received.

An indoor 'rabbits ears' antenna may work.

The tiny twin USB receiver should work fine with your computer specs, but once again, the antenna is the crucial part for digital TV reception.

Hi Col

Thanks for the reply..The Gadget Geek appears to be only a HD tuner the Analogue section is there but shaded and i cannot access the settings

Yes only SBS HD, 6 channels or the 3 HD SBS channels twice at full strength..

I understood the old analogue signal with UHF for SBS and the other channels on VHF but must confess to being confused by digital so i just followed the instructions provided and put up the little antenna and started scanning..I really got my hopes up when it picked up SBS but that was it..

In the DTV section there is no choice of UHF or VHF just frequency and i have scanned all of these but it will only lock on SBS HD.

Being in hospital i have very limited space for a antenna but did try the old coat hanger trick and that worked well but again only SBS HD

I spent a lot of time at the Digital now web site trying to learn about digital TV..But the spec for the tiny twin say it needs a

2GHz processor and mine is only 1.5GHz sadly as the tiny twin sounds like a exelent product

As Dick Smith has a 14 day refund policy a friend picked this up for me.

I had nothing to loose i got to watch top gear on my laptop but will take it back if i cannot get the other channels

Is there a UHF/VHF siginal now that it is digital or is it just the frequency??

Does a HD tuner pick up the SD signal and display it?? [if it has a decent antenna]

thanks Tony

[ton]

Hi Col

Thanks for the reply..The Gadget Geek appears to be only a HD tuner the Analogue section is there but shaded and i cannot access the settings

Yes only SBS HD, 6 channels or the 3 HD SBS channels twice at full strength..

I understood the old analogue signal with UHF for SBS and the other channels on VHF but must confess to being confused by digital so i just followed the instructions provided and put up the little antenna and started scanning..I really got my hopes up when it picked up SBS but that was it..

In the DTV section there is no choice of UHF or VHF just frequency and i have scanned all of these but it will only lock on SBS HD.

Being in hospital i have very limited space for a antenna but did try the old coat hanger trick and that worked well but again only SBS HD

I spent a lot of time at the Digital now web site trying to learn about digital TV..But the spec for the tiny twin say it needs a

2GHz processor and mine is only 1.5GHz sadly as the tiny twin sounds like a exelent product

As Dick Smith has a 14 day refund policy a friend picked this up for me.

I had nothing to loose i got to watch top gear on my laptop but will take it back if i cannot get the other channels

Is there a UHF/VHF siginal now that it is digital or is it just the frequency??

Does a HD tuner pick up the SD signal and display it?? [if it has a decent antenna]

thanks Tony

bump

[ton]

A update i connected a large indoor antenna the strait aerials with copper wire looped loosely along them..I have found they are Superior to rabbit ears and coat hangers

Anyway i now have SBS HD and SD had that with the small aerial supplied with the Gadget Geek also with new good indoor aerial i have picked up 7 HD and 7 SD as the F1 is on 10 SD or HD can anyone give me any pointers to get at least 10?????

I am stuck in hospital in Adelaide paying $8 bucks a day for a shitty 30cm tv in the far corner of the room so any help getting the usb tuner going in my laptop would be really appreciated

[charlesc]

Ton, you don't seem to be having a lot of luck. And being stuck in hospital can be very frustrating.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital seems to be in central Adelaide, so presumably your choice for TV channels is as per the list below (from ACMA listings here):-

Adelaide ABS SBS NWS ADS SAS

Analog 2 28 9 10 7

Digital 12 33 8 11 6

Not assigned 30, 36, 37

The channel frequencies for the lower digital channels numbers above are:-

226.5 564.5 191.5 (191.625) 219.5 177.5 MHz

The bracketed figure is an example of an offset here in Sydney (there may be some in Adelaide, I'll try and check). In any case, a DVB-T compliant tuner should cope with this with no user intervention.

As mtv mentioned above, the small antennas that tend to come with USB tuners are better suited to receiving the high frequency channels (because they are short in length). Typically this would mean SBS in most metro areas. Which is what you initially found.

I am not familiar with the USB device you have, but have a few comments. These devices will come with a configuration file that lets them know what frequencies to tune to for the area they are being used in. Does it look like you have the correct channels as detailed above?

The Tiny Twin device from DigitalNow has a 7 day return policy available, suggest you contact renura and see if he can help (maybe PM him on this board). Their devices are fully setup for use here in Australia. I have used this device and found it works well.

In general, I would say many newer 'silicon tuner' USB devices are probably not as sensitive as some of the devices like the older Tiny USB2 with a 'tuner can'. And I believe they tend to overload more easily.

It is also true to say that most devices that are available on the market would work 'correctly' given a good digital signal. The trouble comes when the signal does not have enough margin in terms of adequate signal strength and low bit errors. Then different tuners characteristics like sensitivity and ability to extract the digital data stream correctly will start to become more apparent.

When you are using a device like a USB tuner, the main loading on the laptop specs comes from watching the program. You may find you can record it, and then watch it later, as a separate exercise. And maybe by re-sizing the viewing window, you could see a reduction in loading on the laptop, if this does indeed become an issue. Also some playback software may require less processing power than others.

You might find that a simple Kingray distribution amplifier could help 'lift' your signal to a level your USB tuner can cope with. It is always better to try and get the best off-air signal from the antenna setup in the first place, but in your situation you probably don't have much choice.

If you are likely to be in hospital for a while, getting a workable solution may be very worthwhile.

[charlesc]

Tony, here is some info from an earlier post re Adelaide here.

This shows the frequencies you should be using. EDIT: ..if this is indeed the main transmitter you are receiving from.

On-Air VHF 12 Hor 226.5 MHz ntl Tower Summit Road CRAFERS

On-Air VHF 6 Hor 177.5 MHz Channel 7/10 Site 115 Summit Road CRAFERS

On-Air VHF 8 Hor 191.625 MHz NWS 9 site 109 Summit Road CRAFERS

On-Air VHF 11 Hor 219.5 MHz Channel 7/10 Site 115 Summit Road CRAFERS

On-Air UHF 33 Hor 564.5 MHz ntl Tower Summit Road CRAFERS

Edited May 18, 2008 by charlesc

[charlesc]

Tony, I'm not that clear as to what you are using for the USB tuner device. You mention "a Gadget Geek usb tuner from dick smiths" but I don't see that item as such.

There is this here :-

DSE USB HDTV Tuner Stick XH0836

Easy USB connection. High Definition TV, Teletext and EPG. Watch, record Digital TV on your computer Time-shifting & scheduled recording function.

Is that it?

[ton]

Tony, I'm not that clear as to what you are using for the USB tuner device. You mention "a Gadget Geek usb tuner from dick smiths" but I don't see that item as such.

There is this here :-

DSE USB HDTV Tuner Stick XH0836

Easy USB connection. High Definition TV, Teletext and EPG. Watch, record Digital TV on your computer Time-shifting & scheduled recording function.

Is that it?

Hi Charles

Sorry off the net for a couple of days. Yes that is the exact one and thank you for your comprehensive replies. I had given up on getting the Gadget Geek working as i had been putting in a bit of time researching on the subject of USB TV tuners. Many other DTV Form members had bought similar USB TV tuners allot of ebay some as gifts and allot of them sounded the same..EG blue light on the USB tuner when it picked up something running Blaze software i could only find one member from Perth who managed to pick up all channels and was happy. Allot got nothing and gave up a few got SBS and gave up a further few they either fell apart or overheated mine got very hot in a very short time once but other times watched and enjoyed Top Gear on it and it was cool to touch maybe it was a load thing that made it hot once i found 7HD. When i did find 7HD and 7SD the picture started to freeze and i did try your idea only it was my idea at the time of resizing the picture from small to full size it still stuttered and stopped. I did try time shifting it so it was always catching up but that seemed worse, never tryed recording it.. If i could get a USB TV tuner to work i might even use it as an excuse to upgrade the laptop but this laptop does my needs,

Etrade to work [trader] a bit of surfing the web not much.Hard drive is pity full of music, the odd download of a movie but as stated earlier in this tread i just thought i would give it a go and from what i had read it would work or not..Being a 1.5GHz proser i did not even bother the guys at Digital-now as i thought computer to slow and had no idea about the 7 day return policy even though i spent a lot of time at their site. I just assumed it was a aerial thing and i have no room stuck in this hell hole to start rigging up big arials..........

So what to do get the gadget geek back and try your frequencies you so helpfully provided even thou it wouldn't pick them up on auto with big good indoor aerial contact Digital now and try theres it looks like a much better product, buy a new computer,,,,,,,, any help much appreciated bored to death [almost] And my passion is F1 racing and this weekend is Monaco looks like i will be watch it in the 5x5 tv in the corner maybe binoculars

cheers Tony

[charlesc]

Well if you want a DVD or similar with the program let me know and I'll send one down.

Just give me the details of when it airs. At least you could watch it again on your laptop.

[alanh]

Ton,

Since you are able to tune UHF channels I suggest you try and receive the translators at 25 Grenfell St

ADS(TEN) channel 54

SAS (Seven) 57

SBS61

ABS64

NWS(Nine) 66

Read Get the best reception - Adelaide post. Then click on the underlined Indoor Antenna link

AlanH

[charlesc]

And the frequency information:-

UHF 64 Hor 781.625 MHz 25 Grenfell Street ADELAIDE

UHF 57 Hor 732.5 MHz 25 Grenfell Street ADELAIDE

UHF 66 Hor 795.5 MHz 25 Grenfell Street ADELAIDE

UHF 54 Hor 711.5 MHz 25 Grenfell Street ADELAIDE

UHF 61 Hor 760.5 MHz 25 Grenfell Street ADELAIDE

[ton]

Well if you want a DVD or similar with the program let me know and I'll send one down.

Just give me the details of when it airs. At least you could watch it again on your laptop.

Thank you very much for that kind offer Charles. Through this forum i have found another link to a live web cast of the Monaco F1 race http://mad-max.runhost.net/simulcastPlayer_02.swf. I hate to think of how much MB it will use to watch a 2 hour race on. I can always watch the start and first few laps on the laptop then the rest a bit later when channel 10 decide to show it on the small hospital TV but would be better on the laptop.

I had to give the Gadget Geek to a Friend last night so it could be returned to Dick Smiths today day 13 of 14 before i payed for it which i would have gladly done if it had done as advertised

Charles i will take your advice and contact renura or Digital now regarding the Tiny Twin as it is a far better sounding product for not much more cash. Sadly the Gaget Geek was on its way back to the shop when i saw your helpfully post about exact Mhz but from what i had read and felt it got very hot when struggling to show 7HD

It was meant to be a very long 7 days in hospital but turned into a nightmare 6 weeks so far. I could have almost bought 2 Tiny Twins with the amount i have spent on the small shitty dist hospital TV with the basic analogue 5 channels.

Lucky i can use my mobile as a modem and have 3GB with 3 so am wary of watching too much on the laptop but was so careful last month i only used half of my allowance so must use it but the charges per MG if you go over you limit make me very careful [Any one know of a good usage monitor for MB]

So a big thanks Charles and Alan for your helpful posts. This forum is great people like Charles with his offer to record it and post to me and strangers helping out other tack trade people if only the world was like that and everyone helped out ever one else. I am in a wheelchair and don't need help,, normally fit and very health but find 90% if not more people will say chuck my very light chair in the backseat of my car for me if they are walking past when i am jumping in my car. i can do it my self and do not ask for help but people offer i have meet hundreds of really nice people that way,, a couple of girlfriends and others who became good Friends as in that 1 minute chat we might find out we know the same Friends both race the same catamaran [Hobie 16] but have never met lots more stuff

[charlesc]

...[Any one know of a good usage monitor for MB]

Have a look here, and browse around as well. Gizmo Richards' site. There are great links and details of a whole range of freeware programs, and reviews of some commercial ones, by category. I have found pointers here to many programs that I now find invaluable.

I'll be capturing the F1 program, just let me know if you want it sent down. PM me details.

[ton]

Have a look here, and browse around as well. Gizmo Richards' site. There are great links and details of a whole range of freeware programs, and reviews of some commercial ones, by category. I have found pointers here to many programs that I now find invaluable.

I'll be capturing the F1 program, just let me know if you want it sent down. PM me details.

Hi Charles thanks again Gizmo Richards site is great i spent a bit of time there today. The net-meter looks like exactly what i am after then i spent a lot of time learning about KB,MB,GB thinking the net meter at 616KB would use up a fair bit of my 3GB allowance 1/ 5Th but 616 KB is nothing [feel free to correct me] so will download tomorrow.

Then to the F1 qualifying and the link i gave you were they broadcast it over the net is not quite legal as it keeps getting shut down and popping back up at a different address,, well that is what i think is happening but tonight it was down channel 10 are showing it at 5am but that is ridicules so i watched the live timing feed were you can see all the cars lap times live and there split times,, the track is split into 3 parts so you just have to use your imagine

I have finally tracked down a Friend of a Friend who will be recording it and they will pass it on to me. I have a large network of close Friends but they all have PVRS with out the skills to trans code it on a computer or at least 10 Friends who have DVD players or VCRS.. Most of my Friends are keen surfers and sailors so recording tv for the hour they do have spare is not a priory..

Again many thanks for your offer to record the race i was truly touched and i will try to work out how much longer i will be stuck hear and give the boys from Digital now a call if it is going to be too much longer

regards Tony I will keep in touch