HDHomeRun vs. HomeRunTV scan results differ

[GK]

Greetings,

 

I have a couple of HDHomeRun dual digital tuners (Model: HDHR3-US, Firmware: 20130328) on an ASUS RT-N66U Dark Knight Wireless-N900 Router.  One is tuning an outdoor antenna; the other is tuning a cable used only for broadband, so just the free/clear channels.  I tune in with the HDHomeRun's QuickTV on Windows 7 (100Mbps wired), and just recently with HomeRunTV and VPlayer on a Nexus 7 FHD 2013 (150Mbps wireless-n 5.0).  The Nexus works well enough... the switch to VPlayer takes a few seconds, and then the video/audio startup struggles a few seconds before all syncs up, except sometimes the video and audio remain out of sync (but can be fixed with a restart from the channel list).

 

The question:  QuickTV setup scan found the typical free/clear first tier cable channels.  But the HomeRunTV scan on the Nexus found some additional second tier channels on the same tuner/cable like FOXNews, MSNBC, Cartoon Network, TVLand, Comedy Central, AMC, etc... but not all of them!  I was expecting the two different scanners to find the same free/clear channels on the same cable.  Can anyone explain this?  And if HomeRunTV is finding some, what is keeping it from finding more?

 

GK

[John Anderson]

Hi,

Are those extra channels marked an encrypted? HomeRunTV will find all channels that the HDHomeRun Config (GUI) will find, but some might be encrypted.

[GK]

Hello John,

 

Thanks for the Droid app!

 

I figured it out.  Yes, the extra channels are there and unencrypted.  It turns out that the HDHomeRun setup scan found those 'extra' channels but left their guide numbers and names blank.  Hence, they were not being listed in QuickTV.  Adding some labels forced them to be listed.

 

I probably should have realized this but it has been some time since I last ran the HDHomeRun setup and I overlooked this consequence of blank guide information.  Discovering the extra channels via your app caused me to revisit the HDHomeRun setup.  No telling when these channels showed up... I could have overlooked them since the beginning, or COX may have changed things up since then.  Some auto-notification of new channels available in the clear would save rescanning from time to time, but perhaps that is not so easy to auto-detect in the background.

 

GK

[GK]

Updates...

 

>>HomeRunTV scan on the Nexus found some additional second tier channels on the same tuner/cable like FOXNews, MSNBC, Cartoon Network, TVLand, Comedy Central, AMC, etc

 

These extra channels have gone away.  I think COX turns them on and off to tease us free loaders.

 

>>The Nexus works well enough... the switch to VPlayer takes a few seconds, and then the video/audio startup struggles a few seconds before all syncs up, except sometimes the video and audio remain out of sync (but can be fixed with a restart from the channel list).

 

I've installed a new Winegard Hi VHF UHF FM outdoor antenna HD7694P with RCA TV preamplifier TVPRAMP1R on a 10' chimney-mounted mast with Belden coax 7915A and Thomas & Betts/Belden Snap-N-Seal connectors SNS1P6U.  This smaller antenna replaced a much larger Radio Shack VU-190XR that was having trouble.  TVFool.com signal analysis for my location:  http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d46ae6409b93ae5

 

Results are great... more channels, solid signals/no drop outs; my SONY TV digital tuner switches channels/locks in noticeably faster; and the HomeRunTV/VPlayer startup seems snappier and the video and audio seem to be in sync much better.  Improving TV signal strength and quality has improved tuner and application performance.

 

GK