Problems getting dual WinTV Nova S-Plus cards working in Windows Media Center 7

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leemarrett

51 posts

Master Geek

#74840 8-Jan-2011 15:36

Help!

Windows Media Center 7 is giving me grief setting up a dual tuner configuration.

I have two WinTV Nova S-Plus PCI cards; I installed one along with the latest drivers etc and ran WMC7 and followed CYaBRO's instructions here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=83&topicid=30754 to get the live TV set up correctly.

Everything worked beautifully so I installed the second PCI card.

When I run the WinTV software, it scans for both cards, and I can watch and record two different channels, all the freeview channels are there, radio stations etc. All good.

When I go into WMC7 though, no matter how many times I scan for channels, I can just pick up 9 channels, and they're encrypted SKY ones. And when I try and watch live TV it just says "No TV Signal: There is currently no TV signal detected for this channel etc etc"

Has anyone else here had similar problems? I'm on the verge of installing MediaPortal :(

Really appreciate any advice!

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352 posts

Ultimate Geek

#425234 8-Jan-2011 16:34

For each of my computers, I have a text file documenting the required rebuild steps.
Here are the steps I use to configure 7MC for my HTPC.

Configure : Windows Media Center
Region: New Zealand
Postal Code: 1234
Satellite: Optus D1 NZ
LNB Type: Custom Single Oscillator
Oscillator Frequency: 11300

Note: NZ digital services on 12483 22500 H and 12456 22500 H
Note: Some dishes need Oscillator Frequency set to 10750

leemarrett

51 posts

Master Geek

#425243 8-Jan-2011 17:02

hey,

these are the exact settings I used when setting up the single card; they worked beautifully.

adding a new card however seems to have stopped windows media center from finding the channels at all. Which is weird because WinTV can see them and display them perfectly.

But yeah, those settings were working with the single card!

leemarrett

51 posts

Master Geek

#425268 8-Jan-2011 18:37

Well, after a long long day of beating my head against a brick wall trying out setting after setting and repeating myself over and over, it took an installation and configuration of MediaPortal to finally push me over the edge -- after seeing what it was like I HAD to get MCE working!

I went back through all the config options and the one thing I hadn't tried was setting up the TV signal with 11300MHz.

I had tried every other permutation -- I think the main problem was that I misunderstood the relationship between the TV Signal set up and the Single Transponder scan option.

So, for those of you having the same problem, use the settings above; if no dice still, try doing the initial "set up TV signal" with an oscillator frequency of 10750 instead.

Phew!

rvangelder

352 posts

Ultimate Geek

#425275 8-Jan-2011 18:52

So, its working for you now?

thorax

75 posts

Master Geek

#425292 8-Jan-2011 20:27

leemarrett: Well, after a long long day of beating my head against a brick wall trying out setting after setting and repeating myself over and over, it took an installation and configuration of MediaPortal to finally push me over the edge -- after seeing what it was like I HAD to get MCE working!

I went back through all the config options and the one thing I hadn't tried was setting up the TV signal with 11300MHz.

I had tried every other permutation -- I think the main problem was that I misunderstood the relationship between the TV Signal set up and the Single Transponder scan option.

So, for those of you having the same problem, use the settings above; if no dice still, try doing the initial "set up TV signal" with an oscillator frequency of 10750 instead.

Phew!

So does that mean one card setup with freq 11300, and the other 10750?

MediaPortal is pretty ugly out of the box, but there are user created skins to address the problem, namely MonoChrome and StreamedMP which look stunning compared to stock skin. Anyway I think most will agree that MC7 is hot sex.

Only reason I use mediaportal is for the Tvserver so I can stream to other pcs / laptops in the house.

leemarrett

51 posts

Master Geek

#425359 9-Jan-2011 01:25

Yep working for me now :) I know I said I used your exact settings but I had clearly missed the very most important part!

leemarrett

51 posts

Master Geek

#425360 9-Jan-2011 01:33

So does that mean one card setup with freq 11300, and the other 10750?

No I configured them both at the same time with the same settings. The process is that you first set the tuner up and give it a base frequency (which apparently varies between dishes and is what was catching me out) - in my case that was 11300 but for other people with different dishes it might be 10750. Then, once the tuners are set up, you do single scans of another two frequencies 12456 and 12483 which pick up the rest of the free view channels.

Only problem is now that when I got home tonight the computer was completely dead telling me there was some kind of bios failure?...... What the ffffffffuuuuuuu would cause a bios failure? Now it won't boot up :(

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Nety

2584 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#425380 9-Jan-2011 08:52

leemarrett:
So does that mean one card setup with freq 11300, and the other 10750?

No I configured them both at the same time with the same settings. The process is that you first set the tuner up and give it a base frequency (which apparently varies between dishes and is what was catching me out) - in my case that was 11300 but for other people with different dishes it might be 10750. Then, once the tuners are set up, you do single scans of another two frequencies 12456 and 12483 which pick up the rest of the free view channels.

Only problem is now that when I got home tonight the computer was completely dead telling me there was some kind of bios failure?...... What the ffffffffuuuuuuu would cause a bios failure? Now it won't boot up :(

It may be worth starting a new thread under the Windows topic but make sure you include the exact message it is giving. Try going into the bios and resetting everything to defaults or better yet find the bios jumper on the mobo and resetting the bios with that.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

rvangelder

352 posts

Ultimate Geek

#425388 9-Jan-2011 09:43

You shouldn't have needed to scan for channels. By choosing optus d1 nz, media center uses it's stored selection of channels against that satellite.

CYaBro

4590 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#425394 9-Jan-2011 10:33

rvangelder: You shouldn't have needed to scan for channels. By choosing optus d1 nz, media center uses it's stored selection of channels against that satellite.

It does but doesn't include Prime, or C42 I think.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

leemarrett

51 posts

Master Geek

#425421 9-Jan-2011 13:29

CYaBro is right -- the initial scan does pick up some but misses some crucial ones that get picked up by those single scans.

also -- pc boots again. i'm thinking possible overheating so i'll keep an eye on it, so no need for a new topic.

thanks all for help!

rvangelder

352 posts

Ultimate Geek

#425435 9-Jan-2011 14:37

CYaBro:
rvangelder: You shouldn't have needed to scan for channels. By choosing optus d1 nz, media center uses it's stored selection of channels against that satellite.

It does but doesn't include Prime, or C42 I think.

Ahh yes, I remember that now.
Wonder how to submit these new channels to Microsoft

blur

384 posts

Ultimate Geek

#425504 9-Jan-2011 18:25

rvangelder:
CYaBro:
rvangelder: You shouldn't have needed to scan for channels. By choosing optus d1 nz, media center uses it's stored selection of channels against that satellite.

It does but doesn't include Prime, or C42 I think.

Ahh yes, I remember that now.
Wonder how to submit these new channels to Microsoft

Yeah, the difference (as I understand it anyway) between Win7MC and MediaPortal is that Win7MC downloads (supposedly) updated satellite and transponder information each time you configure your cards. This is information is not able to be edited by the end user, so if Microsoft are a bit lapse with updating the information in your area, then this is too bad!

This is unlike MediaPortal which has a fairly current set of data, and has the ability to either update it manually, or edit the files directly. This would be my preference in functionality.

Even now Win7MC has some seriously outdated info. As an example, those of us who use other satellites other than Optus D1, say Optus D2 or Intelsat 5, they simply do not exist as choices in the menu. You have to use these satellites predecessors, Optus B3 and Intelsat 2 respectively and then have to scan the transponders manually to find programs.

This has been a source of much frustration for me, and shows (in my humble opinion anyway), Microsoft’s complete lack of support for Media Centre in this country.

My HTPC - Case Antec Fusion Remote, MOBO Intel DH67BLB3, CPU Intel Core i5-2400S 2.5 GHz, RAM 8GB DDR3 1333, HDD 120Gig Corsair Force Series 3 SSD system | WD Caviar Black 2TB data, Tuners Black Gold BGT3595 dual DVB-S/S2, dual DVB-T, Video nVIDIA GeForce GT 520, 1024MB, Sound Intel® High Definition Audio (onboard), OS Windows 7 x64

rvangelder

352 posts

Ultimate Geek

#425563 9-Jan-2011 22:07

blur: This has been a source of much frustration for me, and shows (in my humble opinion anyway), Microsoft’s complete lack of support for Media Centre in this country.

In fairness, Microsoft have a good balance between configuration and ease-of-installation. There are very few steps in my guides to installing WMC.
If I had to priority order the configuration page developments, editing satellite tuning data would be way down the list.

Microsoft Mike Hayton, originally from New Zealand, works on the TV Tuner parts of Windows Media Center. He pays this forum a visit from time to time. I believe it was him that got the whole "Optus D1 NZ" template started to begin with.

I'll write him an e-mail, and see what happens.

Cheers

blur

384 posts

Ultimate Geek

#425651 10-Jan-2011 10:05

Microsoft Mike Hayton, originally from New Zealand, works on the TV Tuner parts of Windows Media Center. He pays this forum a visit from time to time. I believe it was him that got the whole "Optus D1 NZ" template started to begin with.

I'll write him an e-mail, and see what happens.

It would be great if you could email him - I'd be curious to see any response so if you could report back via the forums that would be great.

I'm also interested in what's happening with the Guide Listings for Media Centre in NZ.

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