I'm lost

[t_sonn]

I own a Pinnacle pctv hd pro stick 800e. I have had it for over a year and have never been able to get it to work using the supplied software. I read some reviews that said gbpvr was a good program to use for viewing tv. After reading about it, I was excited to give it a try. However. After downloading the program and trying to configure properly, it seems overly complicated. Maybe I’m just a moron, but I can’t even get past the first step in configuring it. I have read all the past threads regarding 800e configuration and it seems over my head. Adding additional lines to .ins files, etc. I don’t even no what the heck that is. Some people suggest running the filtercheck.exe in the program directory, well I don’t even have that. If anyone out there uses the 800e capture device could you please provide me with the configuration settings. I can’t even figure out how to get my capture card recognized!! Help please!!

Tom

[johnsonx42]

First, are you trying to tune Analog or Digital? For Analog I *think* the 800e is not supported, because it doesn't appear to have a hardware MPEG-2 encoder.

On the assumption you are tuning digital, you should follow steps in the wiki here:

http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Confi...HDTVSource

The steps will be similar for a digital cable ClearQAM setup. You should also view the QuickStart section in the wiki (find it on the left hand side)

There are three things that I found non-obvious when I first started with GB-PVR:

1. You need to setup your own Electronic Program Guide source. GB-PVR is next to impossible to setup without an EPG. The best EPG for USA is SchedulesDirect, and it is simplest to setup. You can get a 7-day free trial at http://www.schedulesdirect.org
1a. if you want something truly free, you can use MC2XML: http://mc2xml.110mb.com/#gbpvr

2. You need an MPEG-2 decoder. On the playback tab in config you MUST pick an MPEG-2 decoder (the Microsoft Mpeg Decoder that may be listed won't work), and don't leave it at System Default. If you don't have a decoder installed already, you can start with the free MPV Decoder from http://www.free-codecs.com/download/MPV_Decoder.htm

3. Many US HD channels use AC3 Audio. If you can't hear audio on some channels, you'll need AC3filter as well at http://ac3filter.net

edit: oh, regarding the info about adding lines to a file, I think that was probably old info about needing to add a section for your tuner to the BDA.INI file; that is no longer necessary, several flavors of the Pinnacle 800e are in the current .ini

[rob11252]

I own a Pinnacle pctv hd pro stick 800e. I have had it for over a year and have never been able to get it to work using the supplied software.
Tom

You may have a defective pctv stick. Go to pinnacle site and download and install the latest software for your device. Hopefully it will work. This is the only way to install drivers for it - the drivers are the programs which allow the computer and its applications to use this particular device. Without them, no program, however good, will let you succeed.

[t_sonn]

Thank you for the responses. I am able to watch analog television using the software provided my pinnacle but no digital channels.

When selecting my capture source in GBPVR I only have two selections for Pinnacle device. Neither of which are for my device and when I select one of the two listed I get an error message.

[TonyXL]

Have you eliminated the possibility of a problem with the input signal? Using the digital line going into the Pinnacle, can you get channels on your TV?

[johnsonx42]

Thank you for the responses. I am able to watch analog television using the software provided my pinnacle but no digital channels.

When selecting my capture source in GBPVR I only have two selections for Pinnacle device. Neither of which are for my device and when I select one of the two listed I get an error message.

If you're only seeing two selections, those are probably the two Analog Pinnacle devices in the direct.ini file. Your device isn't supported for analog due to the lack of a hardware mpeg-2 encoder.

For digital, you need to start by selecting the Digital (or BDA) recording plugin. Go into the settings, and check the box that says 'only show devices detected in this system'; then you should see your device in the list (along with some other devices that use the same chip); select the best match.

Then configure your EPG, and click Map Digital Channels to EPG Channels and do a channel scan.

If your device doesn't show up when you have the 'only show devices detected...' box checked, that probably means you don't have your drivers installed correctly; perhaps download the latest drivers from Pinnacle. You can uncheck the box and select your device from the full list, but that probably won't help.