Any way to manually modify HDHR channel mapping?

Channels DVR Server
#1

I have an issue where my HDHR is "selecting" a pesky repeater on UHF 22 for my local FOX station instead of the primary broadcast on VHF 13. It's doing this on the "every 3 day rescan" because the repeater is sometimes stronger, despite the fact that it easily fades out in poor weather. The primary broadcast on VHF 13 is rock solid and has no issues.

Is there some way to tell Channels to map a virtual channel (in my case, 13.1) to a fixed physical channel which it instructs the HDHR to tune to? Or, will it always obey the 3-day rescan results? I am happy to change a config file, add some routing rule, or whatever to work around the issue.

Thanks!

#2

Unfortunately, this is not possible. It is a feature that has been requested for years, but SiliconDust still has not addressed the issue.

Here is a link to their hardware forum, as this type of thing is related to their firmware, rather than Channels:

https://forum.silicondust.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=113

#3

Thanks - I posted over there a few minutes ago with this feedback... I was hoping there might be a workaround on the Channels side for it. Sorry to hear that there isn't.

#4

There may be something, but it will require a bit of homework on your part. To get the actual scan data for your device (including the ignored channels), try this:

http://<ip-of-tuner>/lineup.json?show=all&tuning

From there, we may be able to craft a Custom Channel to point to the specific frequency and program on the tuner. (Since you're looking for VHF 13, I believe that equates to 213MHz; therefore, look for the channel block that has "Frequency": 213000000.)

#5

Doesn't it have both the original channel and the translator station in your lineup? That's the way mine is. I have the main fox station on 43.1 and a translator on 35.1. The translator is very far away so I just exclude it on the HDHR since the main station is much closer.

#6

I may be wrong, but AIUI, some translators use the same virtual channel numbers. If that is the case, then the UHF translator may be overriding the VHF primary.

#7

As a test, can you try accessing in VLC:

http://<ip_of_tuner>:5004/auto/ch13-1

or

http://<ip_of_tuner>:5004/auto/ch213000000-1

(That's assuming that the tuner can translate source ID into PID ... otherwise you need the program ID from the scan results.)

#8

VHF13 version:
{"GuideNumber":"13.1","GuideName":"FOX13","TransportStreamID":3149,"Modulation":"8vsb","Frequency":213000000,"ProgramNumber":3,"VideoCodec":"MPEG2","AudioCodec":"AC3","HD":1,"URL":"http://192.168.88.230:5004/auto/v13.1"},

UHF22 version:
{"GuideNumber":"13.1","GuideName":"FOX13","TransportStreamID":3149,"Modulation":"8vsb","Frequency":521000000,"ProgramNumber":3,"VideoCodec":"MPEG2","AudioCodec":"AC3","HD":1,"URL":"http://192.168.88.230:5004/auto/v13.1"},

I'm good for the next three days, since I was "lucky" and got a scan where VHF13 won... but I expect this to be an issue in the future.

Can you clarify this step? What's VLC?

Edited: I think I got it. http://192.168.88.230:5004/auto/ch213000000-3 (3 being the program number) works fine in VLC, and indeed the HDHR config GUI is showing it is streaming VHF 13. I take it there is a way to make a custom channel in Channels to point at this?

#9

Create a new Custom Channel:

  • Stream Format: MPEG-TS
  • Source: Text
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1 channel-id="custom-kcpq" channel-number="13.1" tvc-guide-stationid="21254",FOX13
http://192.168.88.230:5004/auto/ch213000000-3

That should force the tuner to use the VHF version. It will also automatically use the same guide data, so you don't have to do any additional setup. Then, make sure that this new custom channel has a higher priority ... both in the clients and on the DVR.

(The above snippet for the M3U only works as long as your tuner always has the same IP address. You really should ensure that your tuner has a DHCP reservation for the same IP in your router's settings.

You may also want to disable 13.1 in the tuner webpage, forcing your frequency-based version to be the only one.)

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#10

This did it! My tuner has a fixed IP so this should be fine.

Thanks a bunch - this saves a huge headache we've had since the weather has turned south here in Seattle.

#11

Awesome! So glad it's working out for you.

(It still doesn't excuse SD from failing to fix their poor decision about background scans and how they're handled.)

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#12

Oh for sure - this seems to me like it is a pretty common scenario. For something as extensible as HDHR is intended to be... not having the ability to turn off an auto-rescan feels like a big feature hole.

After reading through that thread over there, and being a software developer myself that has to implement new features in a 35 year old codebase... I feel like adding a rescan bool check isn't that much to ask.

1 Like
#13

Where can I find the stationid info?

#14

Instructions can be found here:

#15

Thanks. I did a firmware update on the HDHR Flex 4K and it finally defaulted to the VHF main feed for NBC. If it doesn't stay it's nice to know that it can be forced.

#16

I wouldn't count on it staying.

The HDHR will rescan every 3 days, and if it finds a different physical channel that it thinks is "better", it'll override the current selection and pick the other channel.

The solution above has worked for me for a month now and it's been rock solid. Really glad to have gotten the help here.

#17

Initially the main VHF feed was not the best of the 3 NBC feeds but after adding a VHF High only antenna it did have the best signal. No matter how many times I re-scanned the HDHR it would still pick one of the UHF feeds. After the firmware update and a re-scan it finally picked the better VHF feed. I don't have anything scheduled to record on NBC for about 5 days so that will give me enough time to see what happens on its own.

#18

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