All posts by Keith
Below are all of Keith's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Many thx for the reply Dave.
Yes, the picture only breaks up when trying to record (dealer says I need a stronger/cleaner signal to feed the twin HD tuners).
I've already searched Google for a similar problem to mine (on any PVR) and have tried one suggestion of formatting the HDD to no avail.
The signal strength meter incorporated within the unit indicates about 80% and quality as 'Very Good' on all bands except #30 which is 'Poor' and 50% (??).
I guess I'm just gonna have to try a proper outdoor aerial (and will go for a small periodic log as u recommend).
Thx again for ur help and will post again with the result in case anyone else has a similar problem.
Cheers,
Keith
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Hi Dave,
Re attenuation, my Panasonic TV 'overloaded' after the switchover creating what seemed to be a weak signal - at first I thought a fault had devoloped, but after fitting a 6DB attenuator and mini aerial the TV behaved itelf again.
Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the case with the PVR as even viewing SD channels will break up if I don't use the more powerful Telecam aerial.
The tuner seems very insensitive.
Whether both tuners are utilised when recording a single program I don't know - I always thought that would only happen if trying to record two programs (or recording one, watching another).
There is no option to turn one of them off.
I spotted a 'caravan 440mm mini log' aerial on ebay for £13 inc del (#330767738881), so will probably try that - if still no go then I haven't lost too much when I send the PVR back :)
I did have a tatty outdoor aerial before the switchover, but tore down / junked it when it seemed I no longer needed it (doh).
Many thx for ur continued help,
Cheers,
Keith
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Thx JB38 & Dave for ur advice - much appreciated.
Yes, the unit is a Vestel T7650 - usability is great and I would love to keep it - if only I could get it working properly !!
In my efforts to do so, I have tried to find a firmware upgrade (to v1.49) in the hope that might fixit.
Unfortunately it's not available anywhere to download so will have to wait until the next OAD.
Checking the units onboard signal strength/quality, I notice that all is well apart from channel #30 which I have now discovered contains all the HD channels from CP.
Signal quality fluctuates between Poor & None...
This must be the hurdle I have to overcome - I've now tried everything from different aerials/positions/attenuators (feels like I've gone back to the old analogue days), but nothing improves signal quality.
btw, I'm in an elevated position and can actually see the CP tower from upstairs rear window.
Have ordered an outdoor aerial and new coax cable, so if that doesn't work I'll give up and send it back...
(mebbe get a TVOnics instead)
Thx again for all ur help & suggestions.
Keith
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jb38: yep, that is the website I searched - and Futaura has also made favourable comments on this box in other forums which led me to buying it in the first place :)
The box was only £119 (new but in tatty box), so markedly cheaper than the Humax which I was also considering.
The TVOnics is £114 new but my better half hates the look of them...
I will certainly keep this post updated with results of new aerial/cable and will also try the loop method as a final shot if necessary.
Many thx again,
Keith
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Bush B1TBHDPVR (Vestel T7650) Update.
Well, the aerial & cable arrived today, so I've been having more fun trying to get this Bush PVR to work properly...
For the first time I've seen HD Signal Quality reported as 'Very Good', but only after the PVR is switched on...
Frustratingly if I check a different (SD) channel and then go back to #30 it will report as 'Poor' again !!
I also found/tried a loop aerial (from an old portable TV) and that (surprisingly) seems the most reliable.
(thx for the tip jb38)
It works best mounted 4' from the ground in the back garden.
Sadly it's still hit & miss - picture breakup can occur when I stop recording !!??
I have now tried 5 different aerials in different locations with/without attenuator/s 6DB & 12DB.
Every possible combination ends in failure - either stuttering or 'Signal not strong enough to record'.
(also tried restarting / rescanning and siting PVR away from other equipment)
Signal strength has never been an issue - new aerial will go to max without attenuation, but signal quality continues to remain elusive.
So I think it's time to give up, there must be summat wrong with the unit :(
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Well I took the Bush back to the shop and it was replaced with a new one.
To my initial dismay it still showed Signal Quality as 'Poor' when cycling back to channel #30.
Thought I may as well try recording HD and all seemed to go smoothly (for the first time ever).
Impressed with this (and not trusting the builtin signal meter), I tried recording with the portable 4" rod aerial.
To my surprise that also went smoothly on all HD channels, tho if I moved around the room it affected the pic slightly.
I have now wired the loop aerial under the roof eaves outside and pleased to report that the unit is behaving faultlessly without attenuation (Signal Strength reported at max, but seems to have no detrimental effect).
I also noticed that iPlayer now works (it didn't before) and the 'Lib' button actually brings up the Library (it didn't before - I had to go thru Menu).
The PIP button still doesn't do anything, but I think that's there for a possible future OAD update.
(it is still on the old firmware - same as the other one)
So it transpires I did have a faulty unit as suspected and tho I wasted money on a new aerial, I'm just happy that the PVR is now working as it should.
I just hope it continues to do so.
Many thx to Dave & jb38 for ur help and advice :)
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jb38: Well I'm certainly pleased with the usablilty of the Vestel box - just as easy as my old (and failing) Ferguson FPVR1T which may also be made by Vestel.
I particularly like the ad skip buttons of 30sec or 2min on plyback and the handy program length indicator bar when surfing (not available on our Sky HD box).
My only grouch is that these HD boxes seem to require the use of an operating system and take up to 30secs to switch on while an SD box is instantaneous.
As our main box is the (definately superior) SKY HD one, the Vestel will only get occasional use anyway and it's nice to have the option of recording in HD.
If the Sky box wasn't nearly always full up with the better half's dramas and soaps we wouldn't even need a Freeview box :))
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Can't see how to edit previous post of which some is missing - so here it is again...
jb38: Well I'm certainly pleased with the usablilty of the Vestel box - just as easy as my old (and failing) Ferguson FPVR1T which may also be made by Vestel.
I particularly like the ad skip buttons of 30sec or 2min on plyback and the handy program length indicator bar when surfing (not available on our Sky HD box).
My only grouch is that these HD boxes seem to require the use of an operating system and take up to 30secs to switch on while an SD box is instantaneous.
As our main box is the (definately superior) SKY HD one, the Vestel will only get occasional use anyway and it's nice to have the option of recording in HD.
If the Sky box wasn't nearly always full up with the better half's dramas and soaps we wouldn't even need a Freeview box :))
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Sunday 6 January 2013 9:38PM
Hope u can advise...
Having big probs with Bush 1TB Freeview HD PVR which I just bought.
Have direct line of sight to Crystal Palace (4 miles away).
Using mini 5" rod aerial which works fine on other SD PVR and SD Panasonic TV (in fact having to use an attenuator on TV as signal too strong).
Bush PVR picture breaking up when I press Record (mostly HD channels).
Have tried attenuator (gets worse) and decent Telecam indoor aerial upstairs facing CP transmitter thru open window.
Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't (when it breaks up it won't recover, I have to switch off).
Despite my strong signal area, dealer claims cure is a proper outdoor aerial (quoting HD Bandwidth).
Before I do that, is this plausible or could I have a dud PVR ??
Thanks in advance,
Keith