TBS6220 PCIe TV Tuner disappearing act

Help with tuners from ATI, Hauppauge, AverMedia and more.
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CyberSimian

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#21

Post by CyberSimian » Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:08 pm

ggm wrote: So I used the BIOS to switch X4 to X1. I restarted the PC, and opened WMC three times, with TV available each time. I put Windows to sleep: TV was no longer available. I shut down and restarted the PC: TV was not available, twice.
The classic symptom of a sleep problem is the device never being present in "Device Manager" after wake from sleep, but always being present in "Device Manager" on reboot. I note that in the above test, the tuner was not present in "Device Manager" on reboot. This may suggest a more serious incompatibility or configuration error.

Also, I am not convinced that Media Center is able to display live TV if you move the tuner to a different slot. I think that MC setup ties the tuner to a particular slot, so if you move the tuner, you need to repeat MC setup (i.e. scanning for channels, etc.) It may be that you did repeat MC setup each time you moved the tuner to a different slot (or changed its BIOS settings), but if you did not, you should probably repeat the relevant tests. (If I have got this wrong, I am sure someone will chime in and correct me.)
ggm wrote:Test 2: Shut down > restarted > WMC > TV available > closed WMC > opened WMC > was told "Media Center Extensibility Host has stopped working" and that Windows was seeking a resolution to the "problem". A quick look in Event Viewer suggested that may concern ehExtHost.exe.
I do not know what this is. Perhaps someone else can explain what the "MC Extensibility Host" does.
ggm wrote:If sleep proves the only problem for the tuner, I can probably live with that, as the tuner, when available, performs well with WMC, including HD, even though WMC identified the 6220 as only a T1 standard tuner.
In my HTPC I have a TBS 6284 DVB-T/T2 card, and a pair of Pinnacle 2000i DVB-T cards, and as far as I remember, the TBS card is identified as "DVB-T/T2" on the panel where you select tuners. As you have only one tuner, perhaps you do not get shown the "Select Tuners" panel. But as you can receive the HD channels, MC has correctly identified the capabilities of the tuner.

The problem with unreliable sleep is that you cannot perform unattended recordings. Perhaps you do not want to do that, so it is not an issue. But if you do want to perform unattended recordings, it looks as though hibernation may be your only solution. If you do not currently have hibernation in the shutdown options on your "Start" menu, you need to edit the current power plan and enable hibernation (Start -> Control Panel -> Power Settings).

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

ggm

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#22

Post by ggm » Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:34 am

One tuner or two? The pdf User Guide for my tuner says, "TBS6220 is a single tuner PCI-Express interface DVB-T2/T TV Tuner Card", which means that it is for terrestrial broadcasts using the older 525 or 625-line standard (T1) and for the more recent HD standard (T2). When I set it up, WMC asked if I was setting up a T1 tuner. I said No. It then asked if I was setting up a T1 tuner. I said Yes. It plays all the available HD channels.

For unattended recording, I have for many years used a free-to-air satellite receiver with a hard disk and a DVD-RAM recorder connection to a tv, with two different formats which seem more versatile for editing and reformatting than Microsoft's proprietary format, judging by my few cursory attempts to find what is available for wtv.

Now for the Host problem. Microsoft may have an explanation for that.

ggm

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#23

Post by ggm » Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:46 am

On restarting WMC, TV was available, but with a message which said, "The MhegAddIn program has stopped responding and you will be returned to Windows Media Center". I didn't know that I had started whatever it is.

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