Whole band (cable)

Screenshots are being added: so far 4 from the receiver and 7 from the web interface; the aim is at least 5 of each, with arrows and frames, and, where a setting changes what you see, a before and after comparison.

English screenshots coming: some of the pictures below still show the receiver and the web interface in Romanian. The rows, keys and steps described on this page are the English ones.

The /scanare/cablu/banda web page in the browser, top part.

The /scanare/cablu/banda web page, “Dish alignment and setup” tab.

The /scanare/cablu/banda web page with the Pro theme (the theme is chosen in /setari, for each browser).

The /scanare/cablu/banda web page on a phone, with the bottom bar of the main pages.

The /scanare/cablu/banda web page on a phone, with the menu opened from “More”.

The /scanare/cablu/banda web page, bottom end of the page.

The /scanare/cablu/banda web page on a phone, with the Pro theme.

What it is for

“Whole band” searches for cable channels on all the frequencies used by cable networks in Europe, from 122 to 858 MHz, in steps of 8 MHz. You do not need to know any of your provider's frequencies.

Use it when you do not know your provider's frequencies, or when the provider does not publish them (Orange, for example). On each frequency with a signal, the receiver also reads the network announced in the signal and adds that network's frequencies.

The search takes a long time. With the factory values the receiver makes 372 attempts (93 frequencies, each with two symbol rates and two modulations), and it can take up to 31 minutes. If you know your network's symbol rate and modulation, choose them. The search then runs two or four times faster.

The channels found are added to your channel list. Your existing channels are not deleted. Channels that are found again are updated.

You can start the same kind of search from the web interface, on the /scanare/cablu/banda page. The search runs on the TV, and the page shows its progress.

How to get here

Path: Main menu > Channel scan > Cable > Whole band

Remote keys: MENU 1 2 2

From “Cable > By provider”: the row “Orange: search the whole band (the frequencies are not public)” in the provider list opens the same screen.

In the web interface: the /scanare/cablu/banda page (the “Channel scan” tab, the “Cable” group, the “Whole band” button).

What you see on the screen

At the top: the title “Cable scan: Whole band”, the time and the date. In the Pro theme there is a blue square with the logo to the left of the title.

The list of rows: “Symbol rate”, “Modulation” and, last, “Search now”. The row name is on the left and the chosen value is on the right, in light blue. The selected row has a blue background.

Below the list is the preview: what will be searched, how many attempts there are and the longest it can take, for example “The whole cable band, 122-858 MHz in steps of 8 MHz: 372 attempts, at most 31 minutes, plus the networks found in the signal.”. It changes straight away each time you change a value.

Underneath, in yellow, is the status line. It usually tells you what the keys do: “Change with OK, left or right; search with OK on “Search now”.”. After the BLUE key it shows “Saved.”, and after a cancelled search “The search did not start.”.

At the bottom, the colour keys: RED “Back”, GREEN “Search now”, YELLOW “Change”, BLUE “Save”.

Once the search starts, the “Channel search” screen opens. At the top you see the frequency being tried, the moving dots and the text “scan in progress - 12% done, 40 channels found”, then the progress bar, “Time left: about …” and “Transponders: x of y”, and below them the last channels found.

At the end, a summary replaces the channels: “Channels found” and how many are new, how many are TV (HD, 4K) and how many are radio, “Transponders scanned” and how many had “no signal”, and “Duration”. When the signal announces a network, the “Operator network” box appears underneath: the network name, “Announced frequencies”, how many channels have the provider's number and where to find their list in number order (Satellites › Cable › network name).

Rows and settings

Row	Values	Default	What it does
Symbol rate	6900 and 6875 kSymb/s, 6900 kSymb/s, 6875 kSymb/s	6900 and 6875 kSymb/s	The speed at which the cable network transmits. Almost all networks in Europe use 6900 or 6875 kSymb/s. With both chosen, each frequency is tried twice. When you know your network's rate (from the provider's website or from the settings of a TV that is already tuned): choose just one and the search takes half as long.
Modulation	QAM256 and QAM64, QAM256, QAM64, Auto (only if the tuner finds it by itself)	QAM256 and QAM64	The way the data is placed on the signal. Cable networks usually use QAM64 or QAM256. With both chosen, each frequency is tried twice. “Auto” makes one attempt per frequency and lets the tuner find the modulation by itself, but not every tuner can do this. When you know your network's modulation, choose only that one. “Auto” is only worth trying for a shorter search.
Search now			OK on this row starts the search, just like the GREEN key. The chosen values are remembered before the search starts. After you have chosen the rate and the modulation.
How long it takes (depending on the values chosen)	both rates and both modulations: 372 attempts, at most 31 minutes, one rate and both modulations, or both rates and one modulation (or Auto): 186 attempts, at most 16 minutes, one rate and one modulation (or Auto): 93 attempts, at most 8 minutes	372 attempts, at most 31 minutes	On a frequency with no signal the receiver waits at most 5 seconds, then moves on. This gives the longest time shown in the preview. The search usually finishes sooner, because many frequencies have no signal at all. When you want a shorter search: choose a single rate and a single modulation.

Keys

UP / DOWN	Moves the cursor to the row above or below. From the last row, DOWN goes to the first row, and the other way round.
LEFT / RIGHT	Changes the value of the selected row to the previous or the next one. Held down, they keep moving through the values.
OK	On “Symbol rate” and “Modulation” it moves to the next value. On “Search now” it starts the search.
GREEN	Starts the search from any row (the screen shows “Search now”).
YELLOW	Moves to the next value of the selected row (the screen shows “Change”). On “Search now” it does nothing.
BLUE	Remembers the chosen values and shows “Saved.” in the status line (the screen shows “Save”).
RED or EXIT	Closes the screen and takes you back to the Cable menu. The chosen values are remembered in this case too.
Yes / No (at the question about the duration)	Choose with the arrow keys and press OK: Yes starts the search, No cancels. EXIT also means No.
EXIT (on the “Channel search” screen)	During the search it stops it; the channels found so far are not written to the list. After the end, it closes the result.
OK (on the “Channel search” screen)	After the end it closes the result. While the search is running, it does nothing.

Step by step

Search for all cable channels without knowing anything about the network

Press MENU 1 2 2 and leave the factory values (“6900 and 6875 kSymb/s”, “QAM256 and QAM64”).
Press GREEN (or DOWN to “Search now” and OK).
At the question about the duration (up to 31 minutes), choose Yes.
Let the search finish, then read the summary and press EXIT.
If the receiver then asks about the channel tracks (teletext, subtitles, languages), choose Yes to read them now, or No to do it later.

Search faster when you know the rate and the modulation

Press MENU 1 2 2.
On “Symbol rate”, press RIGHT until you reach your network's rate, for example 6900 kSymb/s.
Press DOWN and, on “Modulation”, press RIGHT until you reach the network's modulation, for example QAM256.
The preview now shows 93 attempts, at most 8 minutes. Press GREEN: the search starts without a question.

Start the search from your phone

Open the receiver's web interface and go to /scanare/cablu/banda.
Choose the symbol rate and the modulation from the two lists. Below them you see the same preview as on the TV.
Press “Search now”. At the question about the duration, press “Search anyway” (or “Cancel”).
In the “The search on the TV” card you can follow the percentage, the channels found, the transponders and the time left. “Stop the search” stops it. At the end, “Close the result on the TV” closes the summary on the screen.

Problems and solutions

You see “The de cablu tuner (…) is set to “not connected” in Tuner settings. Turn it on there, then come back here.”

The tuner that receives the cable is turned off. Open Menu > Dish alignment and setup > Tuner settings (MENU 2 1), choose the cable tuner, turn it on for cable, then come back to this screen.

You see “The receiver has no de cablu tuner.”

Your receiver has no tuner for cable, so it cannot search for cable channels.

The summary says “No transponder had a signal. Check the antenna, the LNB, the cable and the tuner settings (DiSEqC, motor).”

For cable, check that the lead from the provider's wall socket is plugged into the receiver's cable input (not the satellite input) and that the socket has a signal (it works on a TV). Set the factory values again (both rates, both modulations) and search again.

With Modulation set to “Auto”, 0 channels are found.

Not every tuner can find the modulation by itself. Choose “QAM256 and QAM64” and search again.

The summary says “The transponders had a signal, but did not send any channels.”

The signal arrives, but the network does not announce any channels on the frequencies tried with the chosen rate and modulation. Set both rates and both modulations, or try “By provider” (MENU 1 2 3), which starts from the provider's known frequency.

The search takes too long.

Choose a single symbol rate and a single modulation: 93 attempts, at most 8 minutes. If you know one of the provider's frequencies, “Automatic” (MENU 1 2 5) starts from there and reads all the network's frequencies from the signal, which is much faster.

I stopped the search with EXIT and I have no new channels.

The channels are written to the list only at the end of the search. Start it again and let it finish.

The web page says “A search is already in progress on the receiver.” or “The receiver is in standby.”

Wait for the search on the TV to finish, or stop it with “Stop the search”. If the receiver is in standby, first turn it on with the remote.

Differences between receivers

On the Amiko Viper 4K V20, the cable tuner is tuner B, the same as the terrestrial one (a combined cable and terrestrial tuner). The search runs on it.