[Official] DVB-T2 USB/PCI-E/PCI TV Tuner Thread

[saran008]

Received the pack yesterday evening, been playing since.
I am from Bukit panjang area, which is already indoor reception ready.
Using win7 HTPC (DIY, i3-4130+H81)
1. with provided antenna
At my bedroom i got 5 channels only, not so good clarity also.
at living room, every time i scan, result varies, but not even get a single channel clear

tried with both WMC & NPVR, both same.
Scrambled video, with crackling sounds.

2. With SCV box connection cable connected, i got ard 172channels inclusive of SD & encrypted also.
But still video is not clear. same quality as per provided antenna, am i doing anything wrong?

help please!

 

[kun1he2]

No it doesn't and so far i have not been able to program it to launch other software but hey it's $30 SGD

Thanks for replying, noticed that the remote has a power button - does pressing it sleep and wake your PC?

 

[Kiwi8]

Thanks for replying, noticed that the remote has a power button - does pressing it sleep and wake your PC?

I dun think the remote works when the PC is off leh. While yes, a USB keyboard can turn on a PC, I dun think that applies for the remote.

 

[albertlee]

For all T230 owner, can you confirm whether you have this issue.

Do you have issue with the T230 being not "detectable", ie. no image and sound but EPG still working after power-off/on the PC with the stick still plug-in? The only workaround is to disconnect and reconnect the stick from the USB port. Can confirm it's not a USB port issue as the same problem still occurred on a separate PC.

BTW, I am using a laptop with the provided PVR software and the USB driver is the latest from MyGica site.

 

[mrsun18]

For all T230 owner, can you confirm whether you have this issue.

Do you have issue with the T230 being not "detectable", ie. no image and sound but EPG still working after power-off/on the PC with the stick still plug-in? The only workaround is to disconnect and reconnect the stick from the USB port. Can confirm it's not a USB port issue as the same problem still occurred on a separate PC.

BTW, I am using a laptop with the provided PVR software and the USB driver is the latest from MyGica site.

This could be caused by weak/poor quality signal at the border line threshold. I am not a T230 owner but my tv set shows similar symptom. It would display the usual channel information when I switch channel to Ch5 HD (on ch29), but there was no video and audio signal. This was the result of my condo MATV having problem with analogue U on ch28. The problem was resolved following my feedback to have the analogue U channel amplifier replaced.

Test it outdoor to confirm my observation.

 

[albertlee]

This could be caused by weak/poor quality signal at the border line threshold. I am not a T230 owner but my tv set shows similar symptom. It would display the usual channel information when I switch channel to Ch5 HD (on ch29), but there was no video and audio signal. This was the result of my condo MATV having problem with analogue U on ch28. The problem was resolved following my feedback to have the analogue U channel amplifier replaced.

Test it outdoor to confirm my observation.

Unlikely to be weak/poor quality signal as I am using SH cable point as my area is still not cover by DVB-T2 signal until Q4 this year. I am also able to receive via MATV source but there is no sound.

Perhaps my unit is a lemon set.

 

[batuchka]

Received the pack yesterday evening, been playing since.
I am from Bukit panjang area, which is already indoor reception ready.
Using win7 HTPC (DIY, i3-4130+H81)
1. with provided antenna
At my bedroom i got 5 channels only, not so good clarity also.
at living room, every time i scan, result varies, but not even get a single channel clear

tried with both WMC & NPVR, both same.
Scrambled video, with crackling sounds.

2. With SCV box connection cable connected, i got ard 172channels inclusive of SD & encrypted also.
But still video is not clear. same quality as per provided antenna, am i doing anything wrong?

help please!

Hmm strange cos you said your estate indoor ready and while mine wasn't the provided antenna actually picked up all DVB-T2/DVB-2 channels from about 1.5-2 m away from room window Can u take a screenshot of the channels PQ so we can judge?

Thanks for replying, noticed that the remote has a power button - does pressing it sleep and wake your PC?

The power button can only be set to launch the provided PVR software or Windows Media Center

Unlikely to be weak/poor quality signal as I am using SH cable point as my area is still not cover by DVB-T2 signal until Q4 this year. I am also able to receive via MATV source but there is no sound.

Perhaps my unit is a lemon set.

Try downloading LAV Filters and play around see how?

 

[ledcoolingfan]

Hi batuchka, when u received the package, the remote control inside got put battery or not ah?

 

[batuchka]

Hi batuchka, when u received the package, the remote control inside got put battery or not ah?

No i go value shop buy CR2025

 

[ledcoolingfan]

okay, btw, thanks for this great tv stick review, really good recommendation.

u want cheapest DVB-T2 usb dongle, then get this one~ the only concern is the software, read some reviews that totalmedia will crash~

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/dvb-...T230-DVB-T2-Tuner-DVB-C-DVB-T/1883597971.html
US $22.50

Fatcat's Review of the Geniatech MyGica T230 DVB-T2/DVB-C USB Tuner

Got mine from Aliexpress for about $SGD 30 hurhur

Anyway to the meat and potatoes

Test PC Specs

AMD PhenomII X3 710
Biostar A880G+ motherboard
4GB DDR3
HD 4250 integrated graphics
640GB SATA Hdd
Windows 8.1 Pro
connection to device : USB 2.0
tested PVR suite : Total Media 3.5 (included in disc), Windows Media Center (WMCE) & NPVR
DVB standards tested : DVB-T2, DVB-T & DVB-C
Test area : Pasir Ris estate

Findings



Part 1 : DVB-T2/T

Like my previous review of the Hauppauge PCTV 292E i am pleasantly surprised that the included antenna managed to pick up all DVB-T2/T channels at a distance of about 1.5m away from a closed window. The antenna has retractable aerial and the cable is about 6 feet long.

Like the PCTV 292E the tuner is identified as "DVB-T" in all 3 PVR suites but this does not matter when it comes to picking up DVB-T2/T channels and everyone of them were picked up fine with crisp PQ and audio. Subtitles were also working correctly and EPG generated fine as well.

Part 2: DVB-C

For this portion the results were less than stellar but this could be tied to my estate and the Starhub point signal perhaps? Even so I was able to receive all digital FTA channels including Starhub's SuperSportsArena bar Channel 5 in HD! EPG was generated fine in WMCE/NPVR but i did not test the included PVR suite. It was identified as "DVB-T" and my initial research showed that for NPVR at least one might have to apply a patch to correctly identify the DVB-C portion of the T230?

Conclusion

For the $30 SGD i paid i wasn't expecting much but having a fully working DVB-T2 USB tuner far exceeded my expectations! More testing from peeps from other estates would be needed to confirm if the DVB-C capabilities are as good but the Geniatech T230 receives a "monster bang for buck" recommendation particularly if one just wanted to use the DVB-T2 side of it! When used with NPVR or WMCE it works seamlessly with other tuners in a multi tuner HTPC with PVR function ^^

 

[batuchka]

okay, btw, thanks for this great tv stick review, really good recommendation.

You are welcomed but hope to have many peeps share so we can gauge the QC and reliability but for a $SGD 30 product and based on my personal experience with it i cannot hide my delight

 

[trueimage]

You are welcomed but hope to have many peeps share so we can gauge the QC and reliability but for a $SGD 30 product and based on my personal experience with it i cannot hide my delight

Got my T230 many months back but did not manage to receive a single channel. Staying near Tiong Bahru so no indoor digital yet. Prob hv to wait till year end to try again

 

[Kiwi8]

Got my T230 many months back but did not manage to receive a single channel. Staying near Tiong Bahru so no indoor digital yet. Prob hv to wait till year end to try again

Install the DVB-C driver, tap the antenna from the StarHub cable point and try now lor.

 

[trueimage]

Install the DVB-C driver, tap the antenna from the StarHub cable point and try now lor.

oh, is there a separate dvb-c driver? is it included in the package or can i download it? thks

 

[Kiwi8]

oh, is there a separate dvb-c driver? is it included in the package or can i download it? thks

I dunno leh.... ask the users here who have the T230 lor.

 

[albertlee]

oh, is there a separate dvb-c driver? is it included in the package or can i download it? thks

No, there is only the USB driver. DVB-C mode will work when connected to SH cable point.

 

[Kiwi8]

No, there is only the USB driver. DVB-C mode will work when connected to SH cable point.

But I still dun understand. Is the drivers BDA-compliant? Is the device name created in Windows listed as "DVB-T2" or "DVB-C"?

 

[ledcoolingfan]

device manager shows this

(drivers from CD), for the reception signal, move the antenna around to find the best signal strength first, add in extra 75ohm cable if u need to (male to female plug), and rmb to re-scan the channels.

 

[albertlee]

But I still dun understand. Is the drivers BDA-compliant? Is the device name created in Windows listed as "DVB-T2" or "DVB-C"?

Should be but dun think it's well written. Under Device Manager it's listed as "DVB-T/T2/C USB Stick".

 

[albertlee]

device manager shows this

(drivers from CD), for the reception signal, move the antenna around to find the best signal strength first, add in extra 75ohm cable if u need to (male to female plug), and rmb to re-scan the channels.

Do you face the same problem as mine (refer to my earlier post)?