Is it me or ATI?!? Perhaps M$? Arghhhh!!!

[markjs]

I got an ATI TV Wonder 650 PCI,. and the damn thing works OK in XP, but trying to get it to work in Vista has proven to be the stuff of nightmares. The crazy part is that I have had it working before, though it was a pain in the ass then, and I can't remember other than after grueling hours the universe took pity on me!

First off the CD that came with it will not run it's menu options at all. It makes a cute little noise, as if to say "sucker", how Long can I make you wait before you realize this is futile?" So then I have a bunch of abbreviated files on the CD and so far the only thing I have gotten is Catalyst media center to work. So I searched out the latest drivers, and specifically made sure they were supposed to be Vista compatible, and that goes fine, except nothing ever tells you "bingo, I found the hardware!" The best I can see is an ATI unified stream driver, but I have no idea what category the tuner card should be in, or what the machine would call it. I know for a fact it's in there because on reboot after I put the card in Windows recognized something new, so I selected "remind me later". I think it's waiting for holographic TV to come out before it will ask me about this thing again....

In any case, as you can see I am not at all a novice to Windows PCs, but I am kind of clueless about TV tuners in particular, so PLEASE HELP BEFORE I GO POSTAL!!!!

Thanks guys, someone always comes through.....I have yet some hope!

 

[Sylvanas]

A simple product search on AMD's website turned up this page with a link to download the latest driver. The TV tuner drivers are updated each month with the display drivers. Make sure you uninstall any previous TV tuner drivers and if possible use Driversweeper then install the new ones from the link above.

 

[markjs]

I hate ATI more each time I get one of their products, but aren't TV Tuners supposed to be their specialty?

I had also forgotten to say that I am running Vista Business 64 bit edition, and secondly I have been spending hours with various drivers of theirs and all to no avail. The only really clear memory I have of the last time I had this work was that it was not this version of Vista, and that the drivers were older.

 

[AmberClad]

Vista Ultimate x64 here.

I usually install the latest drivers package. Then install Catalyst Media Center off the CD. Then setup up Windows Media Center (I don't use CMC myself, but I've had trouble getting WMC to recognize the tuner without installing it).

That's always worked fine for me.

 

[markjs]

OK, well Vista Business does not have Windows Media Center, and so far as I know I'd have to pay to get it. I really don't know anything about Windows Media Center though so please let me know if there is a way. I am just about positive the problem is the Catalyst Media Center, and not the drivers. So if I can't get Windows Media Center, what other options are there? I am not paying for a windows component. We get jacked around by software companies for more money all the time and when it comes to Micro$oft, they already have way too much of my money already. I appreciated the answer, it got my mind on the right track at least. Thank you!

 

[Binky]

You might find much more information over at missingremote.com or thegreenbutton.com.

Both sites are dedicated to HTPC's (including tuner cards). Green button is excellent, even if you don't use media center.

I would not use the drivers that came with the card. Early Vista drivers were terrible for many devices.

 

[markjs]

I think I need to clarify; the issue is not the driver, it's that I have no software to use the card with because the software that came with it either totally sucks or is dependent upon Windows Media Center, or both. When I open Catalyst Media Center, it just tells me there is no TV tuner. The driver installs without issue though, and ATI devices show as working in device manager as "ATI Unified AVStream Driver", under Sound, video, and game devices. All I need is a way to use the card.

 

[AmberClad]

Have you tried any of the free third party media centers? I vaguely remember using one called MediaPortal before.

 

[markjs]

Trying it now. I really don't know what the hell a "media center" is anyway I usually hate big suites that want to do it all for you, but like I say I need something to control a TV Tuner and from what I've seen so far that would be only a few select media centers.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I don't know much about Windows Vista Business, but couldn't you just download media player for Windows and install it?

Looks like you can download Media Player 11 from this link.

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: SlowSpyder
I don't know much about Windows Vista Business, but couldn't you just download media player for Windows and install it?

Looks like you can download Media Player 11 from this link.

Windows Media Center, not Windows Media Player . WMC is that app that allows you to watch and record TV shows if you've got a TV Tuner card, USB stick, etc installed.



Edit: I just gave CMC a spin. Set it up to use ATSC, and as far as I can tell, it's working ok. (I'm probably still sticking to WMC though...)

The only substantial difference I can think of is Vista Ultimate vs Vista Business.

 

[markjs]

I give up! I actually installed XP Media Center 2005, and got it to work for 2 minutes before it was unwatchable (slow choppy) with the ATI Catalyst Media Center. I tried to set up with the Windows one, but it just keeps telling me "Messenger Failure" but yet Windows Messenger is installed, working, and logged in. I have an old POS Winfast TV2000 XP, but I can't get that to work in XP MC either. The company provides Vista drivers but I am about to never touch a TV tuner again!

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: markjs
The only really clear memory I have of the last time I had this work was that it was not this version of Vista, and that the drivers were older.

Based on some quick Googling, it sounds like one possibility might be that there are codecs that come with certain Vista editions, but not Business.

 

[Binky]

Windows Media Center Edition 2005 (MCE2005) needs an analog tuner to work. The ATI 650 probably won't work alone in the Media Center interface. The leadtek TV card you mentioned is possibly not compatible with MCE2005. I wouldn't pursue the MCE2005 thing if I were you.

Windows Vista Media Center only comes with Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate, so you should also ignore this option.

Mediaportal and MythTV are both free. Myth is a linux application but Mediaportal is Windows-based. Mediaportal on Vista or MCE2005 is probably the better choice for you.

However...you should not need to install MS Media Center (or any other HTPC front-end) just to use the ATI application - they are totally different. That ATI app should work in vista (but I've never used it).

Choppy video can sometimes be caused by a bad TV signal. You're dealing with digital TV, so it stutters or goes black when the signal isn't good enough. The TV tuner software should have the ability to measure the signal strength.

Here's a good place to start: http://www.missingremote.com/i...iew&id=3163&Itemid=232

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: AmberClad

Originally posted by: SlowSpyder
I don't know much about Windows Vista Business, but couldn't you just download media player for Windows and install it?

Looks like you can download Media Player 11 from this link.

Windows Media Center, not Windows Media Player . WMC is that app that allows you to watch and record TV shows if you've got a TV Tuner card, USB stick, etc installed.



Edit: I just gave CMC a spin. Set it up to use ATSC, and as far as I can tell, it's working ok. (I'm probably still sticking to WMC though...)

The only substantial difference I can think of is Vista Ultimate vs Vista Business.

Haha... I was quite confused at what the big deal was. Now it all makes sense.