GTMedia HDTV Mate - ATSC 1.0/3.0 USB Device

[el bandido]

GTMedia has recently introduced a new ATSC 1.0/3.0 USB device. Currently this device works only in Android version 9 or higher. I have agreed to test this device and make attempts at improving it. The HDTV Mate ATSC 1.0/3.0 device currently depends on the GTMedia HDTV Player, which can be installed using Google Play or by direct download if needed.

The purpose of this thread is to show how this device operates and make attempts to improve it. There are not many ways to view ATSC 3.0 right now, and the HDTV Mate provides an economical way to view ATSC 3.0 channels. The HDTV Mate works - at least to a degree - on ATSC 3.0 channels, but more work is needed to have a polished and finished product.

The developers for the HDTV Mate are located "Out of Country" and do not have direct access to our ATSC 3.0 services here in the United States. This means it will be up to us to supply them with the information they need to fix it, and then it will be up to them to fix it once the proper information has been provided. Proper information for fixing the HDTV Mate will include detailed problem descriptions, recordings of ATSC 3.0 Streams, and videos showing either problems or correct performance after problems have been fixed.

Pretty much the HDTV Mate is in the same predicament as any other ATSC 3.0 device or solutions that are currently available. IMO, the whole ATSC 3.0 rollout has been a mess, and it appears that the ATSC group as a whole does not know what the Hell they are doing. How can developers develop when the ATSC group cannot decide on things that dictate development? The DRM encryption thingy comes to mind as one example.

Screenshots comments, videos...etc of the HDTV Mate will follow in this thread. Anyone is welcome to ask questions, comment, or participate in a constructive way. Currently I am running the HDTV Mate ATSC 1.0/3.0 on a FTA receiver that is dual boot (enigma2/Android9). This particular ATSC 3.0 device has a lot of potential, but some work needs to be done before the full potential may be realized..

 

[eastof111]

Tried the mate on my Samsung phone and the player has an option menu not visible on my Sony Bravia tv.



Also, the phone does an adaptive scan much faster than the tv. 8 cores vs. 4 cores in the cpu makes a big difference in phone vs. tv.

 

[el bandido]

A link to this thread has been sent to the GTMedia Developer.

Seems Any Android 9 is having problems with HDTV Mate. I have tried two, one in the Qviart, and another Android 9 on a tablet. Both of these devices under-performed somewhat when compared to a smartphone running Android 11. So I am guessing there is a problem with Android version 9.

I find the HDTV Mate ATSC Tuner to be sensitive and have overall excellent performance. The db(snr) signal meter seems to be well adjusted. Weak signals that cannot be locked are also shown, which is great for making antenna adjustments or other attempts at signal improvements. The tuner seems very stable and does not fluctuate wildly or for no apparent reason.

Picture quality from the HDTV Mate/HDTV Player combination are at minimum acceptable to good with some channels displayed as nothing but excellent in picture quality. Even the old stuff found on Heroes, Start TV, Charge...etc look at least decent at minimum, with some looking amazingly well considering their 40-50 year age. So for me, No Picture quality issues.

Closed caption Works on my channels that have this feature.

 

[el bandido]

Shown below are screenshots of the tuner signal display. Also some HDTV Player menus and things like epg are shown. Overasll, this is put together very well IMO.

 

[el bandido]

Someone will ask what is wrong or not working. Actually it seems very little is wrong, but what does not work is causing big problems.

Channel changing is slow for a number of reasons. Probably the biggest channel change problem is the player tries to adjust the resolution and aspect ratio each time these items are changed in the video. Probably due to bad coding, poor coding or no coding (take your pick), the channels change either slow or they hang. If there are no resolution or aspect changes, then channel changing seems to work OK. Keep in mind this is being setup by people outside of the U.S. which is almost the equivalent to working blind.

DRM encryption does not work for me. This is being worked on and conversations are being had about it. I gotta ask though: Does DRM decoding work on ANY ATSC 3.0 device? Does DRm require an Internet connection to work? I think everyone is having some sort of problem with DRM decrypting.

I have not tried to record anything yet.

Android 9 currently has a problem with scanning ATSC 3.0 channels. The ATSC 3.0 frequency shows no signal until you try to scan it. Then a signal for the ATSC 3.0 frequency is shown. A rescan after the frequency shows a signal returns nothing. Android 11 smartphone scans and returns channels on my ATSC 3.0 frequency.

Slow channel changes or channels hanging, not being displayed AND ATSC 3.0 channels not being scanned are my current issues running Android 9. Let's see if these areas can be fixed or improved...

 

[eastof111]

Channel changing or almost any other function selection on my tv, I believe is a fault of the android os and the remote control supplied by the tv vendor. I have to use a Harmony remote in order to make navigating less frustrating and faster on the tv. But, still it's not perfect and makes android and most other programs associated with it a pia to use.

 

[eastof111]

I see ebay started selling the Gtmedia mate for 59.99 with free shipping included from China.

 

[eastof111]

This one has my curiosity.....

The ota epg on my tv has many channels missing info, which never seem to populate. My Hauppauge 950Q epg can find more info on some channels than the tv. But, the channel selected with the 950Q, will eventually populate, if left on that channel for two or more minutes.

The mate seems to populate the epg info much faster and seems to be much more complete than the other two mentioned.

I am guessing that they all use the same source for epg.

 

[el bandido]

I am fairly certain the HDTV Mate gets the epg from the terrestrial stream and not through the internet just like the other devices uou have mentioned. Why the HDTV Mate does a better job with the epg when they all use the same sources is unknown to me.

I think the HDTV Mate will be a good, solid device if a few things such as channel changes can be fixed on it. I have been in touch with the manufacturer about the problems of this device and they insist not only will the problems be fixed, DRM decryption will work as well. I find the HDTV Mate is a cool running usb device which is also good. it will be interesting to see what their next device update does. We will see...

 

[eastof111]

The hdtv player v. 2.16 is available for upgrade.

 

[Hyper Casey]

I also am testing one of these GT Media HDTV Mate ATSC3.0 Dongles. Thank you to Tom at GT Media for the test sample. I am considering selling these at HyperMegasat.com, but nothing i will have to say in this thread will be affected by that Yes/No decision. I will only give the truth based on what i see. I have to say i am very impressed so far. Both with the product, the performance, and also the customer support and development. And for the price which is currently $59.99 retail, i am very impressed. I know of no other device that low cost that will work for ATSC 3.0 Next Gen OTA. The negative i see is that is is ONLY for android devices. So to watch on the TV, you need an Android TV, or Android TV STB. It will also work with Android Phones, Tablets, and even some Car systems. But honestly, who wants to watch TV on a phone or tablet hooked by coax to an antenna? Perhaps if you can cast from your phone/tablet to a TV that will work. Or also if you are camping or tailgating, this would be great too. Especially since the thing is just a dongle and can fit in your pocket. But to really enjoy this product without too much crazy effort you really need an Android TV, or STB that supports Android TV i think,.

I have no android devices these days except my cellphone. I sold the last android based STB i had last year, boy do i regret that now. So all my testing is done on my phone which is Samsung Galaxy A14 5G running Android 13. So far the HDTV Mate seems to work great. The scan brought in every channel i normally get which is 34 channels, but then also the 5 Next Gen channels in my area, that i have never seen before. What was really surprising to me is that it scanned in the ATSC 3.0 channels from Detroit. Signal was too low to play them, but it scanned them in. Did not scan in the ATSC 1.0 channels from Detroit at all, and my OTA antenna never has. So i assume the NextGen towers for the Detroit channels are closer to me than the regular 1.0 towers, but still impressive it would pull in enough signal to scan them in. So i am very happy with the tuner. Seems very strong and accurate. Channels play really well, epg info loads quite well after a short while. I did have the player crash once for no apparent reason but after 2 hours of watching various channels, changing channels, etc.., that only happened once, otherwise it worked great.

Here is a couple pics of the device, I will post some screen shots shortly.

 

[Hyper Casey]

Here are some screenshots from my testing

 

[eastof111]

Winsat Technology Limited is also currently selling them on Amazon. Same price as ebay.

 

[lme]

"So I am guessing there is a problem with Android version 9."
My tv is running on Android 11. Is this device compatible with my tv ?

 

[el bandido]

Currently,
Android 9 does not work as good as later Android versions. Android 11 should be OK or at least work better than Android 9.

 

[eastof111]

For those in the Toronto area, there is a channel transmitting 3.0 on an experimental license, from Humber college.
Broadband Convergence B2C Lab, Toronto, Ca.

 

[eastof111]

I recorded a short sample .ts file of PBS on my android 9 tv using the mate hdtv (v. 2.16) player program and a usb stick plugged into the tv port. The recording was playable on the tv using the mate hdtv player and playable on a win10 pc using the latest vlc player.

View attachment PBS_183mhz_1280x720_ media.zip

Hopefully support resolves all issues soon.

 

[el bandido]

New version(2.17) was released on 11-27-2023. You might check it and see if it fixes anything.

 

[eastof111]

v. 2.17 fixed quite a few issues on my android 9 tv. I haven't had a chance to try it on my phone yet or my android 10 tv.

Hope they keep improving their releases.

 

[lme]

I try it & scanned for the last couple of days and it can not open any atsc 3.0 channels: Buffering...!!!
The rest of the channels are a bad quality; worst then my tv... I think it needs more improvements...