Translator issues in Pahrump NV

[autodidact]

My issue isn't about my Connect 4K so much as it's about particular ATSC 1.0 translators I'm wrestling with in town. Delete if not allowed.
None of my devices can tune this broadcast on RF 14 in a scan:

As you can see, it has a strong signal, but no programming. The Sinclair engineer I've been corresponding with says he has a DTV OTA device at the transmitter site and is able to tune RF 14 just fine. He sent me a screenshot of it playing a program.
What else can I do to either prove that this broadcast doesn't carry any programming or figure out what I am doing wrong that I can't play it on my devices?

[oaks37]

The signal might be too strong. Try inserting a splitter or coupler in the coax line to weaken it a bit.

Also you can install TSReader Lite on a Windows PC and see if there is any data in a signal. Choose HDHomeRun_8VSB as the input device.

https://www.tsreader.com/purchase/purch ... dlite.html

edit to add details: Normally in TSReader you'd see the subchannel structure and details. If the transmitter is up but no data, you'd see a lonely "0x1fff" under Active PIDs.

[signcarver]

Though it says 100% quality the first thing I would do (as something a user can do to troubleshoot) is lower the signal strength to just below 100% as when you don't know how much above 100 it is it can make troubleshooting difficult.

I would also enable sending of diagnostics data and run a channel scan so the folks at SD can take a look (they should have your deviceid from that image). I would also try a manual recording of the full mux of the channel i.e. http://hdhomerun.local:5004/auto/ch14?duration=30

You may also wish to try such url in vlc or some stream reader.

As i recall there was an issue if a virtual channel stream was called 0 or a virtual number of x.0

You may wish to also state general location or station/translator.

[autodidact]

The 100% signal strength is an artifact of the inline Televes SmartKom. I plugged in a stand-alone antenna that I use for experiments to the SiliconDust device.

Do I need to open up my firewall for TSReader?

I don’t see 0x1FFF under Active PIDs. I don’t see anything under Active PIDs. I’m not sure, but I think this application needs PIDs to do anything and I don’t think PIDs are available here.

I’m a bit in shock right now. The VLC experiment produced video. First I issued these commands:
C:>"C:\program files\Silicondust\HDHomeRun\hdhomerun_config.exe" 10809285 set /tuner0/channel auto:14
C:>"C:\program files\Silicondust\HDHomeRun\hdhomerun_config.exe" 10809285 set /tuner0/program 0

Then I used the IP address in Media->Open Network Stream:
http://<IP address>:5004/auto/ch14?duration=30
Then it started playing video!
I tried that URL in a Chrome tab and a 30 second .mpeg file of KSNV’s broadcast was created.

I then plugged my SmartKom antenna back in and tried the video-producing experiments again and they worked the same way.

This translator is KSNV-LD located on a tower near Crazyhorse & NV160 in Pahrump NV.

I don’t want to impose on the folks at SiliconDust.

[signcarver]

My understanding you are not supposed to have a program 0... that often refers to the entire stream by some tools and main stream (virtual channel 0) by others but is something I have heard before. I do not believe a program 0 can be added from scan results.

[autodidact]

Yes, ChatGPT tells me that "You’ll receive the entire MPEG-TS — including all PIDs, PSI tables, subchannels, and more (if present)." by specifying program 0. He seems quite enthusiastic about it.

[oaks37]

Weird. Can you watch ANY channels? What do they look like in TSReader?

You ask if you need to open a firewall for TSReader. It does not need internet access, if that is what you mean. The tuner, display device and app, and the TSReader computer should all be on the same subnet to work as expected, if you have split up your home network somehow. No PIDs are required for TSReader to display 100% nulls (0x1fff) in that center panel.

Can rule out too strong of a signal.

[emveepee]

VLC remuxes which might explain why it can play a bad stream. Maybe try to capture those 30 seconds as a file with curl and place the file on OneDrive or GoggleDrive.

Martin

[autodidact]

Programming for KSNV is optimally available from multiple sources. Translator K33MJ-D is located on Mount Potosi 30 miles away. This RF 33 broadcast can be scanned by tuners in my devices but the signal is weak and choppy. Translator KSNV-LD is a couple of miles away in town, broadcasts a strong signal on RF 14, but can’t be scanned, as has been discussed. You might be thinking “So doesn’t RF 14 get its input from RF 33 up on the mountain?” My understanding, from a Sinclair engineer, is that RF 14 is fed from fiber, not RF 33.
So I ran these commands:
ffmpeg -i http://<ip addr>:5004/auto/ch33?duration=30 -c copy rf33_dump.ts 2>rf33_dump.txt
ffmpeg -i http://<ip addr>:5004/auto/ch14?duration=30 -c copy rf14_dump.ts 2>rf14_dump.txt


Producing these files:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/3225c393d396d60a/ER ... Q?e=P7gUpj rf14_dump.ts
https://1drv.ms/t/c/3225c393d396d60a/EU ... Q?e=z82WO0 rf14_dump.txt
https://1drv.ms/v/c/3225c393d396d60a/Ec ... Q?e=zzKAz7 rf33_dump.ts
https://1drv.ms/t/c/3225c393d396d60a/EZ ... A?e=TRlgqU rf33_dump.txt
Any insights are appreciated.

[emveepee]

Sorry, but I asked for curl output. ffmpeg is like vlc and will parse the ts file so not a valid test of the mux. However your upload to OneDrive didn't work well either mabye zip them so they are treated as photos.

Martin

[jasonl]

At a guess, it probably either doesn't have a PAT at all or the CRC32s on the table sections are incorrect. Upload a capture made with a web browser or curl and we can review.

[autodidact]

Curl captures:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RVCgLF ... sp=sharing RF 14
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jjeUip ... sp=sharing RF 33

[oaks37]

You can look at those captures in TSReader. Hold the Ctrl key down while you launch the program, and select input source "File."

The RF33 capture looks normal. The RF14 is malformed. Missing the at least the PAT as jasonl surmised. VLC manages to play that news clip in the RF14 file.

You can Export->HTML in TSReader to save the structure as an htm file to email to the Sinclair engineer or send them a link to this thread.

[emveepee]

Thanks for that. The rf14 file confirms that there is no PAT (PID 0) in the mux but there are lots of programs in it. Perhaps it is out of spec and send infrequently if it works sometimes. ffprobe is a good tool to view them and with ffplay you can toggle through the audio and video. Do those channels work on a TV connected to an antenna?

What was your reason for sending rf33, it seems like a good transport stream?

Martin

[autodidact]

You can look at those captures in TSReader. Hold the Ctrl key down while you launch the program, and select input source "File."

Thanks for that tip. I never would have figured that out.