Artec T1 USB Digital TV adaptor questions
![[Deleted User]](https://wd.vanillicon.com/v2/d4a31c726ee713defcde4d7b2300b858.svg)
[Deleted User]
Posts: 75 Forum Member
✭
These are quite cheap at the moment (£49.95) in Dixons so I'm trying to get one to work- its not without its problems- the destructions are less than comprehensive and the web site for Artec seems to be SNAFU - I suspect the drivers want updating- anyone got any experience of this unit. When it works the picture quality is fantastic but if you try to go to a channel that isn't broadcasting the whole thing hangs and you have to do a soft reboot of the computer to recover.
0
Comments
You also have to double check setting on the Videocard. Overlay probably needs to be on etc
Does the software with this have any provision for digital text services (e.g. BBCi or Teletext) ?
Also, does it allow for timed/scheduled recordings?
How reliable is it, e.g. if you set up a load of recordings, will the software/unit die half-way through (Hauppauge-styleee!
Cheers,
- Ali
Although recordings don't have any problem when played back, the sound and picture on live broadcasts drift further and further out of sync, with the sound being several seconds ahead of the picture after a few minutes. As I bought it as an experimental PVR this isn't such a problem, but if you wanted to watch live tv I think it would be unacceptable.
Very neat unit though and nice but tiny remote control. Picture in Picture doesn't appear to work, stating that this is only on the USB 2 version when you click on the option, which is what I thought it was, but apparently isn't!
I wish it was possible to rearrange the EPG, as the channels are simply grouped by MUX, including all the encrypted ones (which are not accessible) and has anyone managed to get timed recordings from the EPG to work, as when I select a program and "Set Record" it actually selects a completely different program in the scheduled recordings log?!
Now I'm trying to transcode a DVB-T transport stream to a DVD compatible program stream and it's a really strange experience. Sometimes the 'ultrans' program built into the Digital TV application seems to produce the right result, but most often it is generating the lipsync problem (which isn't there in the original DVB-T file when viewed back through the Digital TV application), so I'm getting a bit puzzled as to what is going on.
Can anyone recommend another utulity to transcode DVB-T transport streams to program streams, suitable for eventual transfer to DVD?
Adam
Getting it to install was a pain in the neck too, as it doesn't find the correct directory itself, so I installed three times and three reboots before it updated and I'm still not sure which actual installation path did the trick. I can only see that it added the Next programme info box, to the EPG Now & Next screen, so you may consider it not worth the bother until it appears on the Artec Euro website.
I've not used it much yet but it looks very promising.
How is everyone finding the aerial supplied with it?
Also I've installed v 2.10 of the software and every time I try a radio station I just get a message box with the useful message "Error!!".
Does anyone know if this is a "feature" of 2.10 or if I'm just lucky.
I've emailed Artec about this as well so if I get an official reply I'll post it here.
Paul
I'm lucky, in that being only 8 miles from Sutton Coldfield that bit of bent wire still gives me a decent signal strength if I move it away from the metal of my PC case. That being said, it does need adjustment when moving between the ITV mux and the BBC main mux, so I've swapped my flat panel indoor aerial over from my echostar STB and put the 'bent wire' into that and both receivers are now happy, with the echostar getting betwen 7 & 8 in signal strength across all muxes and the Artec having a full 'SNR'. bar and about 80% 'RF power'.
I got the radio error when I first installed 2.10, but then after deinstalling the whole thing and reinstalling 2.09 and then once again 2.10, I no longer have any problems receiving radio. I can't get radio recording to work though.
I really wish the system permitted channels to be reordered/deleted, as since the numbering system doesn't match the ones on a normal STB I find I'm having to hunt for the ones I watch/listen to each time I switch.
Have you found that the add-on which converts DVB mpeg to 'program stream' mpeg has problems with keeping the sound and picture in sync? I've tried several hour length recordings and invariably the two go out of synch at some point in the recording after processing, where they were fine before conversion. I have tried another utility to process the files (Moonlight Xmuxer Pro) which has the same problems, so not sure how to solve it.
Mind you for it's size it's amasing.
I suppose that could have something to do with the thick walls we have here.
I've been wondering if I should try version 2.09 and see if the radio works on that.
I've not tried the recording yet but I do have a Hauppauge DEC2000 as well and I get some odd things happening to those recordings sometimes.
I have been using a utility called VideoRedo which seems to get over most of the problems. I've heard that PVAInstrumento is quite good too.
I've tried PVAInstrumento, but it kept crashing when asked to deal with the output from the Artec. I think the sync problems happen after any glitches in reception, such as momentary picture/sound freezes, as this seems to be enough to throw out the processing whichever program is used to do it.
Anyhow, it's fine to watch the occasional programme in the corner of the screen and hopefully the software updates will keep on coming and it will improve over time.
http://info.ultima.com.tw/fae/driver/Digital_TV/2.10/UpdataEng.exe
The file is dated 21/2/2005.
D@mn, for some reason it won't work when copied here, but it does work when clicked on at the Ultima website!?
Double d@mn, now it is broken altogether. I hope their hardware is more resilient than their website
I've jst bought the T1, and it is a great bit of kit, but I noticed some of you talking about an EPG and now/next.
I've downloaded software vsn 2.10 but have neither of these options.......
Am I missing something ?
Thanks
Brian
Sorry, sorted the problem out, uninstalled Digital TV app and re-installed from 2.0.9 then upgraded to 2.0.10, all well and much better then the crappy 1.0.8 bundled with my box !
Regards
Brian
The supplied aerial doesn't work at all at home, but then Wolfbane says I need "amplified extra gain". The unit works fine with a crappy set-top aerial though so it clearly needs much less signal than a normal reciever.
Two questions:
(1) Can anyone spell out the exact correct software install sequence for the 2.10 update?
(2) Has anyone managed to get recording from the EPG to work? When I specify recording from the EPG, a totally different program goes into the record schedule.
Thanks, Tony S
I hoped that someone here would have some suggestions.
Tony S
The radio bug disappeared during one of the above install loops, so again I don't know when it went away, it just did, as did the lipsync problem I had for the first few days. That just stopped happening when I rebooted my PC one evening and hasn't reappeared.
The EPG recording feature doesn't work at all for me, unless I happen to like recording random programs rather than the one I actually chose.
I wouldn't hold your breath for a reply from Artec, as I never received one, but they do seem to provide updates on an ongoing basis so I'm keeping mine just to see what happens in future.
I'll probably end up rejecting and returning mine, but if there's a software update at a later date I can maybe get a colleague to test it out before I commit again.
I know it's a cheap piece of kit - but its offensive that it so blatantly doesn't work, and I don't see why the suppliers should get away with it.
Tony S