I have a coolsat 6000 and reading another thread people mentioned the possibility of using it's loopout to connect to a pc tuner to get HD signals, so I was wondering if there's a tuner that can get both HD AND 4:2:2, preferably below 100 bucks
Is there a stick USB PC tuner that I can buy to get 4:2:2 and HD signals?
- Thread starter John Popper
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If I were you, John, I'd just google the question and see what comes up, or just enter the key words USB TV tuner HD 4:2:2.
I'd also go to Newegg.com and Tigerdirect.com and see what they have.
4:2:2 has nothing to do with the tuner in an STB or PC.
4:2:2 is how the colours are encoded. To view 4:2:2 streams it's just a matter of having the right codec on your machine so that it will decode 4:2:2.
Elecard is one, ffmpeg is another. Elecard costs $$$ and ffmpeg is free. I'm sure there are others.
4:2:2 is how the colours are encoded. To view 4:2:2 streams it's just a matter of having the right codec on your machine so that it will decode 4:2:2.
Elecard is one, ffmpeg is another. Elecard costs $$$ and ffmpeg is free. I'm sure there are others.
I have an old USB Hauppague tuner I bought in 2003
so by connecting the loopout of the coolsat to this thing would I be able to decode those 4:2:2 feeds? you mentioned ffmpeg, what other software would I need to watch the feed, VLC? WMP?
NO!
don't do that, that card is only for OTA TV (so is that site), you might damage it (or the Coolsat) if you connect it to the loop out. You need a satellite PC tuner card (DVB-S or DVB-S2 PC Tuner card)Loop out passes the L-Band frequency from the LNB (950 MHz to 2150 MHz) exactly the same way it receives it unmodified, so you need a satellite tuner to work with it.
At Sadoun scroll down and look at Sadoun FTA Receivers #'s 4 - 7
Galaxy-Marketing sells the Matchbox Pro USB DVB-S Box
If you can find at other places and don't need DVB-S2 capabilities then the Twinhan's are good cards. You should be able to find the Twinhans for less that $100.
I like the Twinhan 102G for DVB-S and for its ability to work with TSReader, and the DVBWorld USB tuner for DVB-S2.
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NO!
Loop out passes the L-Band frequency from the LNB (950 MHz to 2150 MHz) exactly the same way it receives it unmodified, so you need a satellite tuner to work with it.
At Sadoun scroll down and look at Sadoun FTA Receivers #'s 4 - 7
Galaxy-Marketing sells the Matchbox Pro USB DVB-S Box
If you can find at other places and don't need DVB-S2 capabilities then the Twinhan's are good cards. You should be able to find the Twinhans for less that $100.
I like the Twinhan 102G for DVB-S and for its ability to work with TSReader, and the DVBWorld USB tuner for DVB-S2.
thanks qwert, great info! this is exactly why I ask you guys before I go ahead and test stuff without knowing
so if I buy let's say a matchbox pro i can theoretically get HD signals plus 4:2:2 with the appropriate codecs right?
Your concerns of HD and 4:2:2 now require a powerfull enough PC and/or a powerfull video card to decode the streams.
First look at what types of signals you want to watch. Do they require DVB-S2 or just DVB-S. In general a DVB-S2 card/box will also receive DVB-S as well. Also for some of the Dish signals when they are in the clear, you will require yet again another type of tuner. turbo 8PSK???? (or something like that, others here can tell you which tuners for those signals) The tuner gets the stream into the PC and then the codecs decode the streams. Some streams only require minimal computer power, while others require great decoding ability. Some video cards will help out in the decoding of these streams.
im mainly interested in the HD and 4:2:2 sports feeds on Ku band, and a couple HD channels on C Band, I think they are all dvb-s, would the matchbox pro suffice for those?
I still recomend the Twinhans, but that is because I have used one before.
Looking at the MatchboxPro's website it says that it is supported by TSReader, DVBDream and other programs. (matchboxpro) So with the right software installed on your computer (and a recent computer) you should be able to play DVB-S HD 4:2:0 and 4:2:2, and DVB-S SD 4:2:0 and 4:2:2.
Looking at the MatchboxPro's website it says that it is supported by TSReader, DVBDream and other programs. (matchboxpro) So with the right software installed on your computer (and a recent computer) you should be able to play DVB-S HD 4:2:0 and 4:2:2, and DVB-S SD 4:2:0 and 4:2:2.
qwert do you think this one will work for what Im looking for?
TWINHAN FTA USB STARBOX dtv TURNER TV CARD 4 LAPTOP PC - eBay (item 250571896764 end time Feb-28-10 14:06:53 PST)
TWINHAN FTA USB STARBOX dtv TURNER TV CARD 4 LAPTOP PC - eBay (item 250571896764 end time Feb-28-10 14:06:53 PST)
It should, one difference I see (Other than the price) is that the Starbox does not have a "loop out" connection, meaning that you can not connect another receiver to it.
The MatchboxPro does, however my DVBWorld USB tuner also has a "loop out" or NC (No Connection) that does not do anything, I would have liked to know that at the time I had purchased it.
Here is a review by Cascade (SatelliteGuys.us): TwinHan StarBox VisionDTV USB Receiver Review
Here is a review by Phonic (Sadoun Forum): TwinHan StarBox VisionDTV USB Receiver Review
Here is the specifications page at Sadoun: VisionDTV TwinHan USB-Sat (StarBox) Discontinued I think it was discontinued because the DVBWorld receivers replaced it.
The MatchboxPro does, however my DVBWorld USB tuner also has a "loop out" or NC (No Connection) that does not do anything, I would have liked to know that at the time I had purchased it.
Here is a review by Cascade (SatelliteGuys.us): TwinHan StarBox VisionDTV USB Receiver Review
Here is a review by Phonic (Sadoun Forum): TwinHan StarBox VisionDTV USB Receiver Review
Here is the specifications page at Sadoun: VisionDTV TwinHan USB-Sat (StarBox) Discontinued I think it was discontinued because the DVBWorld receivers replaced it.
John, I got one of those Starboxes some years ago.
Look up that product name, as posted by me (use Advanced search).
I documented how to cure the overheating problem...
... but I was never impressed with the performance.
Today, with bigger computers and better software, it might be usable, but frankly I forgot I had one.
Look up that product name, as posted by me (use Advanced search).
I documented how to cure the overheating problem...
... but I was never impressed with the performance.
Today, with bigger computers and better software, it might be usable, but frankly I forgot I had one.
USB tuners usually run hotter than PCI cards but,
Here is the link to Anole's thread: StarBox I USB overheating - a solution
However the EBAY ad does say: "This is the new Design and High quality USB TV Tuner" so that might mean it is the second version, this is something you might want to ask the EBAY seller.
Here is the link to Anole's thread: StarBox I USB overheating - a solution
However the EBAY ad does say: "This is the new Design and High quality USB TV Tuner" so that might mean it is the second version, this is something you might want to ask the EBAY seller.
I had (have.... I forgot I had one too) one of those Starbox things too, the USB-1 version. It basically never worked worth a darn. It would only pick up the very strongest transponders, about 25% of what my other receivers would pick up using same coax. Mine got fairly hot too, when using it indoors in the winter (I generally keep my house around 58-60 deg), but I stopped using it since it didn't pick up much.
Then after a couple years of sitting on the shelf, I decided to pull it out in order to use it out at the dish with a laptop to help aim a fixed dish. This was during the summer when the temp was high 70s to low 80s. The darn thing nearly caught fire. I worked with it for a while trying to lock a very strong transponder through only about 15' of coax.... no luck.... then I started smelling burnt plastic, and put my hand on the thing. It was really hot.
Anyway, I put the thing back in my junk pile, where it will probably stay. I later bought a USB ATSC receiver. That thing didn't work either, so I was pretty much down on USB receivers at that point. Finally I bought one of those Genpix receivers. This one works, although I use it slaved. And I HAD been using the Starbox thing slaved when I first used it indoors, when it didn't get "too" hot. But this makes me wonder if the reason these things get hot is that they aren't capable of supplying power to the LNB, even though that is normally only about 100-130 milli-amps.
Anyway, I don't recommend the Starbox at all, but if anyone gets one, I think I'd recommend running these things slaved, at least at first. Mine at least worked partially when slaved, but didn't work at all when powering the LNB.
Then after a couple years of sitting on the shelf, I decided to pull it out in order to use it out at the dish with a laptop to help aim a fixed dish. This was during the summer when the temp was high 70s to low 80s. The darn thing nearly caught fire. I worked with it for a while trying to lock a very strong transponder through only about 15' of coax.... no luck.... then I started smelling burnt plastic, and put my hand on the thing. It was really hot.
Anyway, I put the thing back in my junk pile, where it will probably stay. I later bought a USB ATSC receiver. That thing didn't work either, so I was pretty much down on USB receivers at that point. Finally I bought one of those Genpix receivers. This one works, although I use it slaved. And I HAD been using the Starbox thing slaved when I first used it indoors, when it didn't get "too" hot. But this makes me wonder if the reason these things get hot is that they aren't capable of supplying power to the LNB, even though that is normally only about 100-130 milli-amps.
Anyway, I don't recommend the Starbox at all, but if anyone gets one, I think I'd recommend running these things slaved, at least at first. Mine at least worked partially when slaved, but didn't work at all when powering the LNB.
Hi John, can I ask why you are only looking at USB tuner? If you are going to be using a laptop it makes sense; however, if you are setting up a desktop HTPC it might be worthwhile to look into installing a PCI card instead. The main thing to consider is the driver support and from what I have seen the PCI cards sometime have better drivers. Regarding software and codecs I had the best results as far as DVB HD (not S2) goes with ProgDVB and ffdshow. Note - ProgDVB comes with a demo version of the Elecard codec and it also worked very well but ffdshow is open source and free. You will need a reasonable fast computer for fast action HD sporting feeds. My system is a 1.6 GHz dual core running XP Pro and 2 GB memory. Note - the 1.6 GHz dual core is suppose to be more powerful then a 3.2 signal core CPU. HD taxes the system a lot and I would consider this to be about the minimum. Let us know if you want more info on the PCI cards, I use a SS2 (Sky Star II) and have read the Twinhan 1020a also works well. Hope this helps, DC PS - None of my DVB blind scan receivers can even see a DVB-S2 signal and my PC PCI card does not see them either. Something that I found interesting is if I run across a feed post of a sporting event I can input the info direct into my AZBOX and get a lock on a DVB-S2 even though the AZBOX is hooked up downstream of the DVB receiver using the loopout. So the loopout passes the S2 signal even though the DVB box can not see it. I would think a DVB-S2 card would be able to do the same thing; however, be aware that the S2 signals often use a FEC of 9/10 so the signal Q must be very high to lock. It takes all 10 feet of my bud to get it done. So unless you have a large BUD I would not worry about getting setup for S2.
Thanks BJ and Delta Charlie! based on everyone's reviews it looks more and more like I should get the Matchbox Pro
Charlie I only have laptops now so that's why im looking at a usb tuner, the only desktop I have is very old and the specs are a joke, I only use it to connect the coolsat to make changes to the channel or sat lineup
Charlie I only have laptops now so that's why im looking at a usb tuner, the only desktop I have is very old and the specs are a joke, I only use it to connect the coolsat to make changes to the channel or sat lineup
hey folks another question, would I be able to tune DVB-S2 - 8PSK feeds like the ones @ 105 C band (Tennis Channel, Telemundo, etc) with the Matchbox Pro?
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