150 video problem

[Lindsay]

I hope there is someone who can give me an idea of where to look for the solution to my problem. I have wasted many hours and still can't rely on my pvr150. I am now using the latest pre-release 150 dvrs (23236) and the latest GBPVR.

I have never been able to get my PAL tuner locking reliably to channels. At present it usually gives audio and a red screen when I start GBPVR. If I then change channels I get the video back but there are signs of signal hunting before locking. Viewing Live TV via my MVP results in red screens, mostly, and video restarts every 30 sec.

So, I thought I would bypass the tuner and try using the vid/aud from a VCR. Occasionally, when first starting GBPVR, I get video and audio but if I change channels, the video goes blank (red or black) but the audio is fine and changes with the channel change. Other times there is blank video and good audio from the get go.

I am getting so frustrated with this lack of proper function, especially as I now find it doesn't work even with direct vid/aud input.

Do people really have reliable 150 systems? Is mine faulty? Any diagnostic leads would be very gratefully received.

TIA.

[sub]

I've only ever seen one other post mentioning this red screen thing, and that was your post. I cant think of anything that would cause this. If it wasnt locking on to a channel, I would expect a bit of static, not a red screen.

Ignoring your MVP for now, if you play a recording on your PC does it also contain this red screen?

[Vish]

I got the 150, used the drivers and the software on the CD, worked fine. I think I might have updated the drivers with some online, but I'm not even sure if I did. I tried GBPVR and realized how awful the software that came with the 150 was in comparison. But I have never had any problems with the built in software or with GBPVR and missing video or any of the other symptoms you described. Nor have I ever heard of anyone else with similar problems. I would have to assume that you have a defective card, but I dont really know. I guess your best bet would be to contact Hauppauge and/or whoever you bought the card from and see about getting a replacement.

[Lindsay]

Thanks, Sub. With the earlier 150 dvrs, my problem was no video (black screen) or audio and channel changing had zero effect. So the new dvrs don't lock out output as before (ch changing brings back video) but I also get the red screen instead of black. I wonder if this red screen is like a TV set which often produces a blue screen if a signal is weak/lost? But I have never had static/noise on the screen.

If the 150 is locked onto a red screen, the subsequent recording plays back red.

Thanks Vish for your reply as well.

[sub]

If the red screen thing is generated by your TV, you could determine this easy enough by trying it on you PC initially - in effect taking the MVP/TV out of the equation.

The red TV thing definitely isnt generated by the PVR150 as the part of any normal feature, but possibly as part of a hardware fault.

[Lindsay]

The red screen is not a TV generated 'feature' as I get it on the computer GBPVR. It is fairly reliably generated when Live TV is first invoked after running GBPVR. Changing channels gets the video back. It is as if the 150 is not getting locked onto a signal quickly enough at first invocation so goes to the red screen. It can be black or white but with the 23236 dvrs it is usually red.

[sub]

I've never heard of this red thing before. There is nothing in GB-PVR or the PVR150 that generates this red screen. If it doesnt lock onto a signal, you just get static like you'd expect. I'm guessing you've got a broken PVR150.

[Lindsay]

At last I am 99% sure my problem with 150 tuning has been solved. I got a TV installer up to check my signal strength. He said it was very good just by looking at the TV picture. Anyway, he checked it with the signal strength meter and said it was a good signal (65-68dB). So he added a 6dB attenuator at the 150 tuner input and problem has gone away. So one can only conclude that, at least with mine, the signal strength range is somewhat less than for regular tuners.

So for tuning troubles. signals can be too strong, too.

I am happy and relieved!!

Thanks for all help along the way.

[erik]

Keep also in mind that for non standard broadcast frequencies the automatic channel search can do a very bad job.
I ended up with strange audio effects and video being wrong till some time after switching channel.
This was only solved when I entered the exact frequencies in the channel table instead of the channel numbers resulting from a channel search.

[Lindsay]

Thanks for that, Erik. I have also seen the effects you speak of. I only have five channels tuned and two have ch no.s and three have frequs. The one that gives me most strife has a freq and it has to be higher than the 'proper' frequ. For example, the proper freq is 45.25MHz but I have to set mine at around 45.8MHz. I don't understand why this is. It strikes me as very unusual that I need to alter the freq like this. The other freqs usually need tweaking, too. If anyone can explain how giving the card a different freq helps I would be grateful.

Yesterday the 6dB attenuator did the trick but today it is giving me the same problems but not as often. So maybe I need a greater attenuation. Boy this is making me weary!