Posts by satesco

  • Off-Topic: Emulation

    I hope I’m staying on topic if I’m not talking about your app’s emulator, but at least, in terms of terminology, about emulation – which, although they share the same root, have slightly different meanings. From this perspective, I hope my question is valid and that I might receive a reply from the developers of DVB applications.

    My question arose when PantaSat admitted that, for the applications he has developed, he needed – and still needs – AI. On the other hand, @Vitor said at one point – if I understood correctly – that it is impossible to get to the core of CrazyCat’s application, that is, the code that made the creation of Crazyscan possible. At this point, AI in the world of developers (not just for the general public) is unavoidable, as it enables them to develop and improve their applications.

    In engineering, the term ‘reverse engineering’ refers to understanding and analysing how a process, product or system works, and so on.
    Now that there are so many variants of AI, each more powerful than the last, I have asked myself – and I hope this is not merely a rhetorical question, but a practical one – to what extent it is possible for an application such as Crazyscan to be ‘broken down’ into parts so that it can be reproduced, if not in its entirety, then at least those parts that make it unique through the code used.

    Back in 2011, after TBS cards had started to become more widely known, Crazyscan was a unique application (and still is), and an American user well-versed in the subject remarked that it was incredible that a single person could create such an application – surely it must have taken a team.

    I’m not sure whether my question is still considered naive, so I’d like to know whether it would be possible to attempt to reproduce or imitate such an application capable of supporting DVB cards, both new and existing ones.
    Of course, it’s impossible for a human to delve into the code of an app, but I reckon that what a person can’t do, the product of their mind – AI – can help with significantly.

    Of course, CrazyCat is unique, like any human being, but in the virtual world many live in, at least one product he created should be accessible in a different way from how it was originally created.

    What do our developers make of this… idea?:3:

  • Compare spectra with IQmonitor Pro

    strannik,

    I’ve said this several times: I regret that you don’t have the 6903x card or another one, mainly so you can improve IQmonitor for this card model.

    Although your observations are valid in theory, in practice the result obtained with the 6909x card at 1.0 W is good, mainly because IQmonitor completed the scan without crashing and produced a spectrum that is more or less accurate, even graphically. And I achieved this result after repeated attempts. Completing the scan with IQmonitor is an achievement in itself, as it is not easy to work with these demanding cards using such a sophisticated application, and the drivers aren't entirely reliable.

    What’s more, without having such a card to hand, you can’t really assess how the card performs on the ‘test bench’, as they say, and, based on the tests, improve IQmonitor for such cards. But these software issues are best left to the developers to discuss.

    Comparing the 6909x and 6983 cards at 1.0 W using IQmonitor isn’t relevant, since they are different cards, each with different performance characteristics. With the 6983 card to hand, you’ve managed to make IQmonitor the best-performing DVB app when it comes to scanning, finding and locking onto signals – something no other app can match – from the perspective of a signal and feed hunter. Your app has brought out the full potential of this card model.

    On the other hand, as you didn’t have cards such as the 6903x or 6909x to hand, you optimised your app more from a theoretical perspective; you didn’t have them on the ‘test bench’, as they say, to see what you could get out of these cards with IQmonitor. And if I add that the drivers for the Stid135 cards aren’t 100 per cent up to scratch, their performance is hampered by the DVB applications used, including yours.

    There’s also another issue that, even though it’s been discussed in your thread through so many IQmonitor updates, has made me wonder what practical criteria we use to measure a DVB application's performance. Most users, and indeed developers, take into account – and quite rightly so – the scan time, which is undoubtedly important; however, the purpose of these DVB apps for enthusiasts is to bring to the fore the capabilities of the cards so that the app can detect and tune in to the signal, ideally the weakest one. From this point of view, IQmonitor outperforms them all; it is the standout feature of your app when used with the 6983 card.

    From a graphical point of view, the spectrum IQmonitor produces is a visual triumph on signal strengths, not just a practical one. Most posts featuring spectra obtained with your app show DTH signals from the main satellites, while fewer are from satellites with varying signal strengths from distant spots. In these cases, the results are mixed: the app detects the signal, but its display on the spectrum is unreliable, or the parameters and constellations are inconclusive. It is in these instances that you make the most observations, and it seems you draw the appropriate conclusions – most of which are unfavourable to users, as they have not set up the app correctly.

    These observations may be relevant for the 6983/6903 cards, since you based IQmonitor’s performance on this card and are therefore well informed; however, for the stid135 cards, with their substandard drivers, any comparison using IQmonitor must be done for the same card model.

    A subjective conclusion on my part, as a mere user: as long as the stid135 cards have the drivers they do, and as long as you don’t have them in your computer, you cannot improve IQmonitor for these cards yourself; you will find just as many incorrect results no matter how correct the settings are.

    I’m telling you this because I’ve seen over the years that CrazyCat has improved his application, Crazyscan, year on year. So, it took him a long time to fix so many issues within his application, as well as with the drivers. And these issues still need to be sorted out for these cards to come close to matching the performance of STV091X-based cards.

    I should also mention that the comments above come from a user who wants the same thing as the developers: for the applications to perform as well as one might reasonably expect.:70:

  • 90.0°E Yamal-401

    I thought I’d post in this section about reception on the upper band at 90.0E because, although most recently activated transponders are generic streams, their reception matters more than other forum-related considerations. First, sensitive tuners are needed to detect them, but more importantly, DVB applications are required to detect and lock onto them.

    Of those I’ve used – IQmonitor, Crazyscan and TBS_Universal 8.6 – the first is, as I expected, the most effective at detecting and locking onto nearby transponders. The other two mentioned are also useful, more for confirmation, so to speak, because, although they do the same thing as the first one, they lack the precision and ability to ‘dig deep’ and lock a weak signal detected a few kHz away, as IQmonitor does. That’s why strannik created it. I haven’t resumed scanning with IQmonitor because I'm short on time, even though this is just a hobby.

    Of course, with this ability to do what other apps cannot, there is a price to pay: the risk that IQmonitor might crash. This has happened to me twice while scanning this Ku-band section. Last week it detected several muxes with symbol rates of 2000 Ks, and this week it found symbol rates of 1000 Ks in the same band section. This IQmonitor crash may also be due to the settings I applied.

    But without going on too long, I’ll post the results of this scan. It would be good if other enthusiasts with the 6983 card tried scanning this band section. If they get a stronger signal, they might find others I couldn't detect (even though they appear to be there).:3:

  • DAB over Satellite

    Quote from satesco

    With 6909x, I locked 12564 V using DAB Launcher, then played the stream; however, I’m seeing what looks like a playback error because the app isn’t reading it correctly (?), and the DAB player won’t launch.


    On the other hand, the Metropolitan DAB stream displays correctly, but Dablin won’t launch because it’s pinned to the taskbar. In fact, it’s the same error as before.

    I also checked WDR DAB at 19.2E using the 6983 card, and here’s the message I get from the DAB Launcher.

    I think the problem is the DAB player, because it won’t launch even though the stream displays correctly.:25:

  • DAB over Satellite

    With 6909x, I locked 12564 V using DAB Launcher, then played the stream; however, I’m seeing what looks like a playback error because the app isn’t reading it correctly (?), and the DAB player won’t launch.


    On the other hand, the Metropolitan DAB stream displays correctly, but Dablin won’t launch because it’s pinned to the taskbar. In fact, it’s the same error as before.

  • DAB over Satellite

    I assume you’re trying to tune in to 12,564 V-RAI streams at 5.0W using the 6903x card. With the stid135 cards, it’s a problem if the signal is on the limit on these PLS multiplexes.

    I tried using Crazyscan, but as the signal was on the limit, it crashed after a while. However, with your app, VMS Stream Reader and the 6909x card, it locked as soon as I entered the code, but I was also able to run the stream from a MIS smoothly.

    You’re probably trying to check the VMA DAB Launcher, which yesterday I couldn’t use to decode DAB RAI on a PLS stream with a TBS card. :74:

  • DAB over Satellite

    Hi Vitor,

    I can’t work out why the DAB is giving an error when playing the RAI DAB stream on 12564 V. I’d also add that, although I had a good signal, I found it extremely difficult to lock it.

    I also checked DAB Metropolitan and, although the stream started playing correctly, it couldn’t open; even though the Dablin player was enabled, it wouldn’t launch on the desktop. The screenshot shows a player issue.
    Could you identify the error from these two screenshots and the StreamReader log?

    I have no issues with other DAB apps on the streams mentioned.

    Thanks :3:

    StreamReader.zip

  • TBS Universal & Signal Analyzer

    Quote from strannik

    Я просил получить упомянутый выше спектр с CrazyScan и IQmonitor Pro. Для последнего, если есть сбои, используйте стабильную версию StreamReader 1.2.4.140

    Спасибо

    I requested the spectrum mentioned above using CrazyScan and IQmonitor Pro. For the latter, if there are any issues, use the stable version of StreamReader 1.2.4.140.

    Thanks

    I did more than just scan with IQmonitorPro v.1.2.0.8 and Crazyscan v1.2.0.181 using the TBS6909x card at 1.0 W; I also used the TBS Universal 8.2, VMA Stream Reader and EBSPro apps, and for all of these I used the same version of StreamReader: 1.2.0.140.
    I also carried out a scan at 1.0 W on Linux using the neumoDVB app, in case anyone is interested.

    With this version of StreamReader, I managed to scan and achieve the best result with the tbs6909x card since I started working with IQmonitorPro using a stid135 card.

    And with this test using the 6909x card, I also regretted that you didn’t have it on hand.