TV Tuner NOT Detected

[thisheat]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone!

I was referring to post #70. I assumed that when you said "single "TV" channel is working", you meant that the watch option was coming up but you still got the no tuner message, not that you were able to actually watch TV! If you could, this is great news!

Uninstall the 10.4 driver and install the driver from your disc again. If you were actually able to view TV on your laptop screen, then yes, absolutely we can move on to SchedulesDirect setup.

[mikeh49]

If the tuner is working/installed/being seen properly, you should see this in Settings>Devices in NPVR:

[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

Ignore the Nework Recorder item. You should see 3 ATI devices, 2 digital (QAM/ATSC) and the AVStream Analog Capture. The lack of the digital devices is what seems to tell us that the driver is not correct, or is not installed properly. The image is from my system with an internal Theater 650 Pro.

Sorry, I don't know how to make the image bigger. But, I think it suffices.

After seeing thisheat's reply, definitely install the driver from the disk that came with the device. Before doing so, remove the current driver from add/remove programs and Device Manager. You do see the tuner in Control Panel>Device Manager>Sound, video and game controllers and it is shown as working, right? My ATI tuner shows as "ATI Unified AVStream Driver". Not much indication that it's a tuner. IIRC, a review on Newegg said the driver downloaded from AMD did not work, only the driver on the included disk worked.

[mvallevand]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone!

I was referring to post #70. I assumed that when you said "single "TV" channel is working", you meant that the watch option was coming up but you still got the no tuner message, not that you were able to actually watch TV! If you could, this is great news!

Uninstall the 10.4 driver and install the driver from your disc again. If you were actually able to view TV on your laptop screen, then yes, absolutely we can move on to SchedulesDirect setup.

Agreed one channels viewable is good, I've never seen that log . I wouldn't rush to get SD working if you need to buy a blaster and get that going, it can be harder than everything you've done.

Martin

[thisheat]

Martin brings up a good point. If your tuner didn't come with an IR Blaster, which looks like a little infrared light with a headphone-looking plug on the other end, you won't be able to change channels within NPVR, and may want to use your single channel and control the cable box with its remote.

If you do want to use NPVR to control your box, you'll need something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6880101007

There are different models available, but make sure you get one with an IR blaster (sender), not just an IR receiver.

You may want to use your setup as-is for a while before deciding whether that's something you need.

[Zeb]

Please clarify - the install from CD driver allowed for the test channel setup. Meaning...that driver allowed for "device working properly". Why didn't we use this setup?

After installing SoftPVR but before uninstalling driver version 6.15.10.501, you posted logs on page 7, post #66. NPVR.log 2 File showed the following error which isn't really what I would call "working":

2013-08-20 15:44:49.756 [ERROR][1] Failed to build analog graph. Reason: Unable to locate Crossbar filter

Here's one thread concerning this kind of problem: http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...bar-filter

I thought AMD Catalyst version 10.4 might be worth a try, but clearly it wasn't and I agree that it should be uninstalled. Please follow mike49's suggestion to "remove the current driver from add/remove programs and Device Manager." However I don't see any hope in reinstalling the driver that came on your disc. Aside from "bad driver" or "defective hardware," the only other possibility I can think of is that something is seriously wrong with your Windows 7 installation. Neither WMC nor the TotalMedia application that came on the disc with your driver was able to detect your tuner. NextPVR should have detected the tuner as a digital device even without SoftPVR components. Frankly, the situation looks bleak.

[garevalo]

Yeah, I don't know where to (again) begin. We got a flurry of posts that started with "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone!" - only to end with "Frankly, the situation looks bleak."

Thanks SO much for everyone's help - especially "thisheat", whose instruction has, thus far, enabled me to step my way through this in a clearly constructive (based on, for me, understandable logic) way.

Again, not sure exactly what the next step is to continue nailing down exactly what will clearly make the case for what may still resolve as a functioning TV Tuner.

ANY help is appreciated

- G

[Zeb]

If I bought a product that the manufacturer explicitly stated could be used with Win7, then found that they didn't have a Win7 driver on their website, then tried the ATI (the chipset maker) driver with no luck, then had a tech tell me to try a third-party PVR software, then spent hours of my time learning stuff I didn't necessarily want to know and setting up their software only to have them tell me the same thing that the Diamond tech wasn't diligent/competent to tell me in the first place, I would be THROUGH with that product, and that company.

That was August 21. In his most recent post, I believe thisheat was confused by your use of the phrase "single TV channel is working" in post #89. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were not seeing TV on your laptop at any time, right?

Before shopping for a functioning TV tuner (the Hauppauge brand has been recommended to you at least 3 times), it might be worth asking if your laptop came with Windows 7 Media Center preinstalled, or if it was added later? I don't have W7MC but formerly used Vista MC. Let's face it: You wouldn't be here if that tuner had worked with WMC or even TotalMedia. If I were you, I would run W7MC's "Digital Cable Advisor" to see what it says. Go to this link and click FAQ "What is Digital Cable Advisor?": http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windo...-questions

I am wanting to use the provided box (w/ remote). I'm thinking it's what is needed to get the basic cable package.

Currently, extended basic channels are generally either analog or Clear QAM (unencrypted digital). Either way, you probably DO NOT need to rent a cable box in order to receive them at this time. It was suggested long ago that you ask Comcast about your particular cable package. I gather that you don't currently own a TV; but if you did, you could trying connecting it to the cable directly (NOT via the box) and scan for channels to see what you can receive. If the basic channels are currently analog, you should be aware that your provider will probably go all-digital within the next few years (as mine did in December). If the basic channels are currently Clear QAM, another threat is looming: The FCC has ruled that all-digital cable providers can encrypt even basic channels. When and if Comcast does that in your area, then you will need a box or cablecard to receive anything at all. Keep all that in mind when shopping for a tuner.