So I haven't been able to replicate the flickering because it seems that somehow my cable signal has been degrading over the past several days.
Last Friday after getting it to work correctly I was getting great signal on all channels I record/watch via the PC and all extenders.
Then on Sunday I recorded the NFC and AFC Championships. That was when i was getting degraded signal and flickers, but just on the extenders...and just the recordings. If I put it on live everything looked crystal clear.
Then on Monday morning my kiddo was watching cartoons on an HD channel via an Echo, and I noticed that the the actual viewing area was scaled down on the screen...with black space on all sides. I went and checked the setting on the PC and the channel was displaying correctly there. I went back to the Echo, re-tuned the channel and it came in as HD.
Then Tuesday and yesterday there was no getting the channels to show HD on the extenders or the PC. Local HD channels were showing in 4:3 and premiums were showing scaled down 16:9. I didn't have the time to mess with it until late last night. I reset the network setting, reset the tuners, rediscovered the tuners, and no signal to WMC at all... all channels were ~-13db and SNR of ~35. Acceptable(?), but not great. So, I shut down pulled one of the ITVs, removed the splitter, reset the network setting, reset the tuners, rediscovered the tuners, and no signal to WMC at all. This time the signal levels were ~-7db and SNR ~35. Still within acceptable range(?).
Had to give up and switch back to the retirees for now. I just don't get why without changing a thing it would degrade like that.
Ran a diag before pulling the card and sent it to Ceton...we'll see what they say.
Installation of Ceton Diagnostic Tools/Drivers causes issues
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nicholass817
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2015 6:28 pm
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HTPC Specs:
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nicholass817
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2015 6:28 pm
- Location:
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HTPC Specs:
After my system has been running flawlessly for a few months I thought it would be a good idea to share this...written immediately after it ran for a week without issue. Hopefully it helps someone:
Steps I should have taken from the start and what I learned from my latest dual Ceton ITV 6 based MWC build. I realize this will vary a lot due to preferences, budget, and final intended use of the machine, but I am basing this off of a near fail proof machine dedicated to WMC that serves up to 6 extenders at once.
1. Shop parts:
a. After going through this process, I may have selected a different MB….cannot use dual NIC and cannot have USB 3 enabled…so these are useless features that may add expense. Also need to investigate the IRQ assignments for perspective boards.
2. Put it all together.
a. Put the ITVs in PCIe slots that appear to have the least potential for IRQ conflicts in the MB documentation.
b. DO NOT CLOSE THE CASE YET. I had to test various PCIe slot combinations to get the best performance
3. Turn it on and edit the UEFI/BIOS
a. Disable USB3
b. Disable secondary NIC
c. Revert all PCI to legacy speeds
d. Disable additional. I have Raid 1 SSDs for the OS and Raid 1 HDDs for general storage. I disabled the SATA ports for the HDDs until after Windows install.
e. Disable any other extraneous junk that you don’t need.
f. Enable Raid if necessary and build it prior to Windows install.
4. Install Windows
a. I went with a UEFI install instead of Legacy BIOS. Haven’t noticed any major differences other than the huge HDDs can be used for boot drives.
b. I had to ensure the Raid driver was installed correctly with Windows, but everything else can be installed after wards.
5. Install all pertinent system drivers
a. DO NOT USE THE MB MANUFACTURER INSTALL TOOLS. This caused all sorts of headaches for me. I used the ASUSsetup.exe for all the drivers on a couple of install/reinstalls of Windows. Best practice would be to grab the latest from the element manufacturer…Intel drivers for chipset/NIC, Realtek for Audio, etc.
6. Install Microsoft Security Essentials
a. I have tested a lot of other security software on other Ceton based machines and they all cause various problems accept…MSE. I’ve had 0 malware or virus issues in the past 4-5 years that I’ve been using it and it’s FREE!!!
7. Connect to LAN.
a. Because I’m paranoid I don’t even plug it in until I have MSE installed. Every program installed to this point has been downloaded to another machine and transferred via USB.
8. Run Windows Update
9. Run Windows Update
10. Run Windows Update
11. Connect Cable and TAs
a. Of course the fewer splitters the better. My setup is…the cable line enters the house, it is then split 3-ways, the -7db connections serve my cable modem and the telephone MTA, and the -3.5db serves a near lossless 16-way passive splitter. Both TAs, both ITVs, and all coax connections on the TVS are served by this splitter. I do not have an amp and have no signal problems at all. Good cable and connections mean a lot here. I also notch out and modulate in a signal for my IP cameras…PIP button on remote or changing the extender to channel the appropriate channel shows the display screen for my NVR.
b. Ensure all unused connections are capped with a 75ohm resistor, even the outs on the TAs (this was a new trick to me that solved a lot of problems with the TAs)
12. Install Ceton Diagnostic Tool
13. Install/activate cablecards and activate TAs.
a. I had a slew of bad cards and TAs…not the easiest thing to figure out…made 3 trips to my local Time Warner office to swap equipment after tuning issues started.
14. Run the Digital Cable Advisor, close WMC, and run Tuner Salad
15. Test, Test, Test!!!
a. Per TGB forum suggestion, I tested all PCIe slots with individual ITVs and all possible combinations with both cards to determine which ones would not work. To do this, install the card(s), power on, run the CDT to ensure the card(s) are recognized, restart X 3, and re-setup live TV in WMC. I would typically run into an issue with one of the cards not being recognized in CDT or live TV setup. If both cards appeared to be running I would run a couple stress tests on the systems. There are likely several very similar performing PCIe location combos for the cards.
16. After finding the ideal slots I reinstalled Windows, and optimized it as much as I could…turn of games, xps services, aero, etc.
17. Close the case and throw it on the rack.
18. Turn on the SATA ports for the HDDs and configure WMC to record to them.
19. Enjoy not hearing the wife or kids say there is a problem with the TV…again.
Steps I should have taken from the start and what I learned from my latest dual Ceton ITV 6 based MWC build. I realize this will vary a lot due to preferences, budget, and final intended use of the machine, but I am basing this off of a near fail proof machine dedicated to WMC that serves up to 6 extenders at once.
1. Shop parts:
a. After going through this process, I may have selected a different MB….cannot use dual NIC and cannot have USB 3 enabled…so these are useless features that may add expense. Also need to investigate the IRQ assignments for perspective boards.
2. Put it all together.
a. Put the ITVs in PCIe slots that appear to have the least potential for IRQ conflicts in the MB documentation.
b. DO NOT CLOSE THE CASE YET. I had to test various PCIe slot combinations to get the best performance
3. Turn it on and edit the UEFI/BIOS
a. Disable USB3
b. Disable secondary NIC
c. Revert all PCI to legacy speeds
d. Disable additional. I have Raid 1 SSDs for the OS and Raid 1 HDDs for general storage. I disabled the SATA ports for the HDDs until after Windows install.
e. Disable any other extraneous junk that you don’t need.
f. Enable Raid if necessary and build it prior to Windows install.
4. Install Windows
a. I went with a UEFI install instead of Legacy BIOS. Haven’t noticed any major differences other than the huge HDDs can be used for boot drives.
b. I had to ensure the Raid driver was installed correctly with Windows, but everything else can be installed after wards.
5. Install all pertinent system drivers
a. DO NOT USE THE MB MANUFACTURER INSTALL TOOLS. This caused all sorts of headaches for me. I used the ASUSsetup.exe for all the drivers on a couple of install/reinstalls of Windows. Best practice would be to grab the latest from the element manufacturer…Intel drivers for chipset/NIC, Realtek for Audio, etc.
6. Install Microsoft Security Essentials
a. I have tested a lot of other security software on other Ceton based machines and they all cause various problems accept…MSE. I’ve had 0 malware or virus issues in the past 4-5 years that I’ve been using it and it’s FREE!!!
7. Connect to LAN.
a. Because I’m paranoid I don’t even plug it in until I have MSE installed. Every program installed to this point has been downloaded to another machine and transferred via USB.
8. Run Windows Update
9. Run Windows Update
10. Run Windows Update
11. Connect Cable and TAs
a. Of course the fewer splitters the better. My setup is…the cable line enters the house, it is then split 3-ways, the -7db connections serve my cable modem and the telephone MTA, and the -3.5db serves a near lossless 16-way passive splitter. Both TAs, both ITVs, and all coax connections on the TVS are served by this splitter. I do not have an amp and have no signal problems at all. Good cable and connections mean a lot here. I also notch out and modulate in a signal for my IP cameras…PIP button on remote or changing the extender to channel the appropriate channel shows the display screen for my NVR.
b. Ensure all unused connections are capped with a 75ohm resistor, even the outs on the TAs (this was a new trick to me that solved a lot of problems with the TAs)
12. Install Ceton Diagnostic Tool
13. Install/activate cablecards and activate TAs.
a. I had a slew of bad cards and TAs…not the easiest thing to figure out…made 3 trips to my local Time Warner office to swap equipment after tuning issues started.
14. Run the Digital Cable Advisor, close WMC, and run Tuner Salad
15. Test, Test, Test!!!
a. Per TGB forum suggestion, I tested all PCIe slots with individual ITVs and all possible combinations with both cards to determine which ones would not work. To do this, install the card(s), power on, run the CDT to ensure the card(s) are recognized, restart X 3, and re-setup live TV in WMC. I would typically run into an issue with one of the cards not being recognized in CDT or live TV setup. If both cards appeared to be running I would run a couple stress tests on the systems. There are likely several very similar performing PCIe location combos for the cards.
16. After finding the ideal slots I reinstalled Windows, and optimized it as much as I could…turn of games, xps services, aero, etc.
17. Close the case and throw it on the rack.
18. Turn on the SATA ports for the HDDs and configure WMC to record to them.
19. Enjoy not hearing the wife or kids say there is a problem with the TV…again.