New HTPC, need help getting GB-PVR working properly

[Agent24]

Hi,

I've just built a HTPC using the following components:

Asus M2NPV-VM with onboard Geforce 6150
Athlon X2 3600+
1GB DDR2-800
Western Digital 500GB SATA-II HDD
Lite-On 20X DVD-RAM+/-RW
Hauppauge WinTV PVR-500
Windows XP Home SP2

Installed latest drivers for everything, trying to get GB-PVR to work but tuning is totally buggered, Prime is Channel 3, TV2 is TV1 and everything else is snow.

So, how the heck do you setup the tuning properly on this thing???

Also, there is horizontal tearing across the video sometimes in Live TV mode, and I'm sure the A/V gets out of sync sometimes.

Can anyone help?

[sub]

Hi,

I've just built a HTPC using the following components:

Asus M2NPV-VM with onboard Geforce 6150
Athlon X2 3600+
1GB DDR2-800
Western Digital 500GB SATA-II HDD
Lite-On 20X DVD-RAM+/-RW
Hauppauge WinTV PVR-500
Windows XP Home SP2

Installed latest drivers for everything, trying to get GB-PVR to work but tuning is totally buggered, Prime is Channel 3, TV2 is TV1 and everything else is snow.

So, how the heck do you setup the tuning properly on this thing???

Sounds like you dont have correct RF channel numbers next to the channels in the capture source channel list.

Try running the included TuningAssistant to get a clear understand of which channels are transmitted on what RF channels. One tip for NZ though, most people usually need to use the country set to 'New Zealand' and the tuning set to 'Cable' since this scans a much wider set of frequencies.

(btw, RF Channel numbers are not the normal channel numbers you think of, but rather are related to the frequency the channel is transmitted on)

Also, there is horizontal tearing across the video sometimes in Live TV mode, and I'm sure the A/V gets out of sync sometimes.

A/V sync is often related to the audio/video decoders you're using. Changing these may clear up the tearing. If it doesnt, then try running "PVRX2 -fse" which puts the render in to fullscreen exclusive mode, which is less prone to tearing.

[Agent24]

Thanks for the fast reply!

I'm running the tuning assistant on cable (I previously used aerial, cable sounded like it wouldn't be the one to use, but it appears to be picking everything up now )

I've tried the MPEG-2 decoder that came with the PVR500, and I've been running PVRX2 in fullscreen as per the default settings (not sure if this is 'exclusive' or not)

Do you think think the 6150 (i've got it maxed out at 256MB) is actually good enough for the video?

[sub]

Thanks for the fast reply!

I'm running the tuning assistant on cable (I previously used aerial, cable sounded like it wouldn't be the one to use, but it appears to be picking everything up now )

Cool. Just take those numbers identified by the Tuning Assistant and enter them in the capture source channel list and you should be good to go.

I've tried the MPEG-2 decoder that came with the PVR500, and

You can get a decent free video decoder from http://www.free-codecs.com/download/MPV_Decoder.htm. The matching audio decoder is http://www.free-codecs.com/download/MPA_Decoder.htm.

I've been running PVRX2 in fullscreen as per the default settings (not sure if this is 'exclusive' or not)

No, thats not the same as running in fullscreen exclusive mode. Try running it with the "-fse" command line parameter to see if it helps. Fullscreen exclusive mode is much less prone to tearing problems.

Do you think think the 6150 (i've got it maxed out at 256MB) is actually good enough for the video?

It should be ok, particularly given we only have standard definition video here in NZ. nvidia devices tend to be prone to tearing, but try with the -fse parameter to see if it helps.

[Remco]

Thanks for the fast reply!
..
Do you think think the 6150 (i've got it maxed out at 256MB) is actually good enough for the video?

I've got an 6150 myself (on an Asus A8N-VM CSM) and it does the job pretty well.

[Agent24]

Got it running smoothly with the cyberlink/intervideo decoder from K-lite codec pack, but tuning isn't all that great... unfortunately

Is there any way to fine tune or tweak the tuners? or any tips for getting better reception?

[Remco]

..
Is there any way to fine tune or tweak the tuners? or any tips for getting better reception?

You can enter the exact frequencies manually:
http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Utili...gAssistant

That worked perfectly for me. Besides that, replacing the coax-cables and signal-amplifier with good stuff improved the reception a lot.