[ubuntu-uk] Freecom DVB-T USB stick

[Alan Pope]

On Wed, Dec 13, 2006 at 09:36:44AM +0000, David Restall - System Administrator wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I got this working on Dapper - it was a bit fiddly basically because
> I was expecting it to just go in and everything I needed would
> be apt-gettable.  It isn't you do need to download the kernle
> headers and install the dvb stuff as described on ubunto help
> <https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DVB-T_%28USB%29?highlight=%28dvb-t%29>.
> 

That is not my experience. I plugged it in and it worked.

http://popey.com/Playing_with_DVB-T

> The supplied aerial is useless - I live in a bit of a dead spot so need
> an external aerial.
> 

I have a mate who uses the aerial but the transmitter is pretty much in his back 
garden! :)

> The sound works fine but the picture is not as smooth as I would expect
> from a normal TV. Reading around the subject, this is a 'feature' that is
> regularly encountered - even on non GNU/Linux systems.  I tried recording
> the video stream but it is still not smooth when played back.
> 

I suspect this is no different from watching anything else that you "normally" watch on 
telly, on a computer screen. For example playing old arcade games in MAME results in 
very clean/crisp graphics, unlike the fuzzy stuff I remember from my youth. In later 
versions of MAME they added options to effectively degrade the picture so it looks more 
like a TV or monitor you would find in an arcade.

I suspect if you recorded a programme, burned it to DVD in the appropriate MPEG2 / VOB 
format you could play it back on a domestic DVD player that you'd find under your telly 
and it would look more "normal".

> I'm using Kaffeine as the player and the laptop is an Acer Aspire
> 3004WLMi AMD Sempron 3100 so should have enough grunt.  Has anybody any
> recommendations for improving picture flow ?
> 

Is it jittery? Or are you just talking about the smoothness.

Don't forget most people watch a telly from >~10ft away, whereas you're probably 
watching on a computer <~2ft away. Step away from the screen and see if it's still as 
"abnormal".

Cheers,
Al.