The TransEdit Main Window

The left side of the TransEdit Main Window displays all transponder list files that have been loaded, the right side all transponders that are contained in the selected file. In both lists you can add, change or delete entries and sort them in different ways.

File Commands | Transponder List Properties | Edit Commands | Transponder Properties | Scan Commands | Blind Scan | Up-To-Date Transponder Lists



File Commands

The following commands refer to transponder lists. They are stored as text files with the extension .ini. When launched, TransEdit automatically loads all transponder list files that are present in the sub-directory Transponders of the DVBViewer configuration folder (you may inspect its content with „Info/ Configuration Folder“). If TransEdit is not located in the DVBViewer installation directory (containing DVBViewer.exe), it will automatically load all transponder list files that are present in its own directory or in a sub-directory Transponders.

The file menu allows to open, save and delete transponderlist files listed on the left side. TransEdit displays the filename of the selected entry at the top of the list view. The file commands are also available in a context menu. Open it by right-clicking the list on the left. The transponder lists can be sorted in different ways by clicking the according column title. Clicking it again reverses the sort order. A marker indicates by which column and in which direction (ascending / descending) the list is sorted. You may also change the column width by dragging the line at the border between the column titles with the mouse

If the selected resp. dragged & dropped INI file does not contain a transponder list, but a channel list exported by TransEdit or DVBViewer, it is displayed in a Scanner Window „as if scanned”. The re-import allows to rework channel lists by filtering and sorting them in a different way. All functions of the Scanner Window are available except "Dead Channels" and "Analyze". Please note: TransEdit reads the tuner type and (in case of satellite) the orbital position of the first entry and - for consistency - subsequently only imports channels with the same tuner type and orbital position. Others are discarded.

Entries that have been changed (e. g. by adding a new transponder) are displayed in red, marking them as not yet saved. After saving a list changes applied to it are final. The Undo/Reload function (see above) discards all changes.

The buttons at the lower left can be used to add and delete transponder lists, or to change their properties:

The groups correspond to the channel groups in DVBViewer. They enable assigning transponder lists (or even single channels in DVBViewer) to particular devices. If you set a transponder list to group B, TransEdit will only use devices containing group B in their channel group set (see „Settings/ Hardware“) for scanning/analyzing transponders from this list E.g. if one of your devices is connected to a dish pointing to Astra, and another one to a second dish pointing to Hotbird, you can tell TransEdit by setting the groups accordingly which device must be used for which satellite position. TransEdit uses the group setting of a transponder list as default resp. preset for the Group Drop-down List in the Scanner Window. It determines which group is assigned to exported scan results.

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Transponder List Properties

The lower left part of the main window displays the properties of the currently selected transponder list. They apply to all contained transponders.

Which transponder list properties are displayed in the input area depends on the type of the transponder list.

The default values (9750/10600/11700) are appropriate for the commonly used Universal LNBs, that are able to receive two frequency bands (low and high, controlled by the 22 kHz tone). Do not change the values, unless you know exactly what you do.

If your LNB does not belong to the „Universal“ type, set LOF SW to 0, and enter the appropriate Local Oscillator Frequency either as LOF 1, if you want the 22 kHz tone to be switched off, or as LOF 2, if the 22 kHz tone shall be switched on. The other (unused) LOF must be set to 0. This enables using a 22 kHz switch for selecting a satellite position.

DVBViewer Pro automatically adopts the LOF and DiSEqC settings if you select the transponder list under „Channel / Channel Editor / Scan“, so that you don't have to enter the values manually. But please have in mind that downloaded transponder lists usually do not contain these values. It's a non-standard TransEdit/DVBViewer feature.

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Edit Commands

The following commands refer to the transponders of the selected transponder list. They affect the list that is displayed on the right and allow to add and delete transponders, change their properties or to move them to another list. For multi-selection, keep the Ctrl or Shift key pressed while clicking entries. The transponders can be sorted in different ways by clicking the according column title. Clicking it again reverses the sort order. A marker indicates by which column and in which direction (ascending / descending) the list is sorted. You may also change the column width by dragging the line at the border between the column titles with the mouse

TransEdit uses its own internal clipboard to store transponders, not the Windows clipboard. The program prevents moving transponders to a list of different type (e. g. from satellite to terrestrial), but not moving them from a Hotbird to an Astra list, which also would make no sense.

Additionally there are two buttons for changing a transponder's properties and for adding new transponders:

Additionally the most important edit and scan commands are available in a context menu. Open it by right-clicking the list of transponders on the right.



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Transponder Properties

The input area at the lower right allows to change the properties of a transponder.

Which transponder properties are displayed in the input area depends on the type of the selected transponder list:

FEC (Forward Error Correction) determines the degree of automatic error correction provided in the DVB data stream. „Auto“ lets your card detect the FEC automatically, if it provides such capabilities. However, scanning „difficult“ transponders may work better with a correct preset value. If you want TransEdit to scan with Auto FEC Detection, independently from the transponder list entries, you may tick the „Always Scan With FEC Auto Detection“ checkbox in the Settings Window.

For receiving DVB-S2 transponders the modulation system of the transponders must be set correctly to „DVB-S2“. In the list they are displayed in blue. Additionally a DVB-S2 device is required, and it must be marked as „DVB-S2 Device“ under Settings/ Hardware. Otherwise attempting to scan a single DVB-S2 transponder will cause an error message, or TransEdit will skip the DVB-S2 transponders in case of a selection containing a S/S2 mixture.

All known devices are able to detect the modulation (QPSK, 8PSK) automatically, thus ignoring this setting, except Hauppauge and FireDTV DVB-S2 cards in case of DVB-S2 transponders. Additionally they require correct FEC and Pilot Symbols on/off settings in DVB-S2 mode. Roll-Off doesn't seem to have much influence, however.

Descriptions make transponders more recognizable. It is a non-standard feature of TransEdit, however. Usually downloaded transponder lists will not contain descriptions. If the according option in the Settings Window is ticked, TransEdit automatically inserts the providers of a transponder and/or the current date as transponder description, while performing a channel scan.

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Scan Commands

The Scan Commands open another window and access a DVB device. In case of „Scan Selected“, „Scan All“ and „Blind Scan“ TransEdit opens an additional Scanner Window for each tuner type and satellite position, so that results from different DVB networks don't get mixed up.

While TransEdit is performing a scan you may start another one for a different transponder list, provided there is a suitable second tuner resp. DVB device. Each ongoing scan requires a tuner on its own. If you have two DVB-S tuners, you can scan scan Astra and Hotbird at the same time, for example.

While performing a NIT scan TransEdit displays the progress in the Scanner Window. This kind of scan does not search for channels, however. The success of a NIT scan depends on the broadcasters. On some satellite positions (like Astra, Hotbird) there are transponders that provide a reliable and fairly complete NIT. Having one of these transponders in the list will result in a complete transponder list after a NIT scan. On other satellite positions (or with DVB-T) the result may be rather poor.

In case of a file the Analyzer uses a „File Device“, which is a software simulation of a DVB hardware device, thus reading the data as if it was broadcasted live. However, the original speed can only be achieved if time stamps are present in the file (PCR, Program Clock Reference). Most TS files with video and/or audio contain such a PCR. If it is missing, the Analyzer reads the file with the maximum speed of your hard disk, without being able to calculate and display data rates. If you want high speed processing anyway, tick the „Settings/ Analyzer/ High speed file analysis“ checkbox. It takes effect after selecting the next file, and does not prevent the Anaylzer from calculating data rates, if a PCR is present.

Before using a device TransEdit checks whether it is already occupied by a running DVBViewer instance. If yes, TransEdit first tries to find another equivalent device. If none is available, TransEdit displays a message box. In case DVBViewer GE is running, the message box gives you the opportunity to cancel the action or to continue. Please note that continuing will interrupt TV/radio reception and stop all ongoing recordings. In case DVBViewer Pro is running, TransEdit will simply refuse to continue, since the Pro version doesn't provide a „clean remote stop“.

Additionally the most important edit and scan commands are available in a context menu. Open it by right-clicking the list of transponders on the right.

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Blind Scan

The Blind Scan Window enables specifying frequency and parameter ranges that TransEdit shall examine „blindly“, without using the frequency and parameter presets (like symbolrate, modulation...) of a transponder list. Please note: This is a feature for experienced users, because it requires some knowledge about the transponder parameters and the capabilities of your DVB device.

First have a look at the image above. It will give you an idea how it works. The Blind Scan Window lists all parameters that may be relevant for a DVB network type (satellite, terrestrial...), here as an example for satellite. For DVB-T or DVB-C there would be less parameters. The input – as shown - instructs TransEdit to try all frequencies from 10700 to 12750 MHz in 10 MHz steps, each one with two symbolrates and two polarizations (horizontal and vertical). Altogether 1644 parameter variations that have to be tried, which would take some time. The remaining parameter ranges are set to 0, which means „use the default value“ resp. „let the DVB device detect it“ (auto setting).

More precisely: Each input field allows to specify a list of parameter ranges, separated by commas. The syntax:

ParamRangeList = ParamRange1[,ParamRange2[,ParamRange3[,...]]]

ParamRange = StartValue[-EndValue[:StepSize]]

The values in squared brackets are optional. If no step size is specified, TransEdit uses a step size of 1. If no end value is specified, TransEdit assumes end value = start value, which means, it will try only one value. Another example: You want the the scanner to try 4000 as symbol rate, additionally all symbol rates from 5000 to 5500 in 10 ksym/s steps. The according input in the Symbolrates line would be

4000,5000-5500:10

All values must be specified numerically, particularly polarization, FEC, modulation etc. zero-based according to the drop down lists in the TransEdit Main Window. The first entry in the drop down lists corresponds to the value 0, the second to 1, and so on. In case of a checkbox (e.g. DVB-S2 ) 0 means „unticked“ and 1 „ticked“. If a device is able to detect a parameter automatically (e.g. the modulation), simply enter 0, which equals a parameter range of 0-0:1.

If a certain parameter combination turns out to be successful – which means, data comes in – TransEdit skips further parameter variations and continues with the next frequency. However, on some satellite positions there might exist two transponders on the same frequency, one with horizontal and one with vertical polarization. You can instruct TransEdit to take this into account by using a different way of specifying the polarization parameter range:

Modulation, Pilot Symbols and Roll-Off are only relevant for a satellite blind scan if you want to detect DVB-S2 transponders with a Hauppauge or FireDTV DVB-S2 device. The blind scanner is particularly useful, if you come to know that there is a DVB-S2 transponder on a certain frequency, but you have no clue how these parameters must be set. Save some work - let TransEdit try all variations. For DVB-S or other DVB-S2 cards set these parameters to 0. The same applies to FEC – most DVB-S/S2 cards are able to detect it automatically, except Hauppauge and FireDTV in DVB-S2 mode (due to the Conexant chipset).

The buttons at the bottom do the following:

TransEdit stores all newly detected transponders, including the „successful“ parameters, in the transponder list while performing a blind scan, provided the transponders deliver data (not necessarily channels or services) – after the scan is finished, you will see the new entries on the right side of the Main Window. Please note that the same transponder may be detected several times on close-by frequencies, depending on the specified frequency step size and the catch range of your DVB device. If you don't want an already populated transponder list to get messed up with blind scan results, it is a good idea to use an empty transponder list (see File/ New List...).

Finally an example how the blind scanner can be used for DVB-T. If you are living in France, TransEdit will probably find no channels at all with the standard „Europe“ transponder list, because all French DVB-T frequencies are shifted by 167 kHz. However, using the blind scanner with the following parameter ranges should do the trick:

Frequencies: 474.167-858.167:8

Bandwidths: 2

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Up-To-Date Transponder Lists - How and Where?

During the DVBViewer installation a whole lot of INI files are written into the Transponders subdirectory of the DVBViewer configuration folder (see Info resp. Help Menu), much more than you will ever need. Most of them can be deleted. But probably you will find that the ones you really need (because they are necessary for scanning the satellites you are receiving), are not up-to-date. Sometimes the transponder occupancy changes from month to month. There are three things that you can do:

However, the results will not be reliable on all satellite positions or with DVB-T, as already mentioned. It depends on the providers - whether they provide a good Network Information Table or not.

https://www.lyngsat.com/

https://en.kingofsat.net/satellites.php

Please have in mind that some of the non-standard TransEdit entries are missing in these lists. If you open them with TransEdit, the transponder description, DiSEqC and the LOF values are set to their default.

Additionally TransEdit supports the import of DVB IPTV playlists (*.m3u files), that are available in the web for the VideoLAN Client (VLC). They are automatically converted to IPTV transponder lists. Drag and drop the playlist file into the TransEdit Main Window, or use „File/Open” and select „IPTV Playlists” as file type.

Transponder lists must be stored in the Configuration Folder\Transponders sub-directory, if you want to make them available in DVBViewer or let TransEdit load them automatically when it is launched. If a transponder list file is located somewhere else, you can load it by dragging and dropping it into the TransEdit Main Window or by using „File/ Open”. Please use „Save as” for storing the transponder list in the Configuration Folder\Transponders sub-directory (which is pre-selected as default directory).

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