Dear DTV Europe,
I've recently bought a TBS8922 card to upgrade my system to DVB-S2.
I am experiencing the issue of frequent, even if random, packet/signal losses that I have never had with other DVB-S cards.
Unfortunately I got aware of the issue only after working on previously recorded streams:
since I use to re-encode the recorded streams in order to shrink the file sizes, I realized that almost all my recordings get out-of-sync audio due to glitches during the recording process.
I wanted to investigate the issue since I still have to provide my feedback to Amazon and I found out what I really did not expect:
I am not able to keep the card up and running for as long as 30/60 minutes without issuing packet losses or signal loss causing damages to the recorded stream and all the subsequent problems in the post processing phase.
Luckily I have been able to perform a wide range of tests (time consuming deep tests) by trying the card on different conditions:
- Different PCs with different mother boards (ASUS P5KE / ASUS P4P800Deluxe)
- Different dishes with different LNBs and different cables (120cm prime focus / 100cm offset 0.3dB/0.2dB, Northern Italy, clear sky)
- Different satellites (28.2E Super Beam / 19.2E / 13E)
- Different Windows drivers 1.0.1.5 / 1.0.1.6
- Different Windows OS
- In the same environment conditions, comparisons with other 2 different DVB cards from a different manufacturer (not fair probably to provide datailed information here, but I can if needed).
By looking at the live TS data on DVBDream, the signal and packet loss counters increase during a window time of 30/60 minutes (about 20 minutes in the worst case, about 60 minutes best case).
Comparison tests on the competitor cards on the same dish/transponder/cable/connectors/motherboards show no loss for over (at least) 15 hours (max observation window).
By moving the 8922 on a different PC, on different transponders (no matter SD or HD), on different satellites, on different dishes and cables, the signal loss issue shows up again.
The loss rate is not so high to be seen at naked eye, but its effect is fatal on the recorded files. If you keep on watching the live picture you can get the pixelation as in the attached image.
The satellites used for the test are Eutelsat 28A (Super beam) and Astra 19.2E on 120cm and 100cm dishes, Northern Italy, clear sky.
I have been doing such tests overnight for several days now and I am really tired, I hoped to find out a perfect combination of variables but I failed: based on all those tests I think I bought an unreliable card. What is next is to understand if I got a faulty item or if TBS8922 behaves this way per HW design (and this would be a real pity since its features are very interesting).
Can you help me? Do you think the issue is to be considered a "normal behavior" of this card? If yes, which other PCI card do you suggest as a replacement?
I am really looking forward to your reply.
Thank you in advance.
Alessandro