Installing WinTV-HVR-1250

Help with tuners from ATI, Hauppauge, AverMedia and more.
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lily1029

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Installing WinTV-HVR-1250

#1

Post by lily1029 » Mon May 04, 2015 3:19 am

I just purchased a new desktop computer from Dell with Windows 7 so that it would come with Media Center. I am looking at the possibility of removing my Hauppauge 1250 from my old tower and putting it in the new one. At first I didn't think I had the skills but I realized it is just a matter of undoing a few screws and sliding it out and then the reverse to put it back in the new unit. What would I need to install it in the new one so that it works. From looking at the Hauppauge website I might need an original cd that I don't have since it came preinstalled before. Can anyone confirm that just downloading the driver isn't going to be enough. If I have to buy a new cd to make the old one work then I'll probably just buy a whole new tuner that will come with a cd that I'll have forever.

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Crash2009

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#2

Post by Crash2009 » Mon May 04, 2015 1:12 pm

Rather than breaking the old computer to fix the new one, it might be easier to just buy a new tuner and start fresh. This way you still have something to watch while you are setting up the new one.

The first thing you need to find out is.... What kind of openings (motherboard slots) the new PC has. What is the model number of the new PC?

By the way "sometimes" downloading the driver rather than using the original CD is a better way to go. Many times the downloaded version has all the new and improved features.

Here is the support page for the 1250. http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/ ... r1250.html

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#3

Post by lily1029 » Mon May 04, 2015 11:38 pm

The old computer is now the old one because it won't turn on at all anymore so everything may be harvested from it. :p
The new Dell is one of the XPS 8700. Not sure how to find out about openings until the unit arrives.
I had found the Hauppauge page but I saw a line in the FAQ that said "A valid WinTV application CD-ROM will be needed to install this WinTV v7 version" and then had a link for me to pay 9.95 for a new cd. This made me think the link above this line to the driver download wouldn't be enough.

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#4

Post by Ed  » Mon May 04, 2015 11:46 pm

The CD is needed to install/upon installation of the WinTV software (their own viewing/recording software) - if all you want is the driver for the tuner, you don't need it (the CD).

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#5

Post by TeddyR » Mon May 04, 2015 11:56 pm

WinTV is a separate viewing software for the tuner. As an owner of an HVR-2250, I can you that it is a useless Piece Of Software...

If you are going to use Media Center, or any other TV software out there then what you will need to download is the OS driver for the card (BDA Driver) that will present the tuner to the OS and WMC...

The 1250 driver can be downloaded from http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/s ... r1250.html under the driver tab.
Time is on my side.

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#6

Post by Crash2009 » Tue May 05, 2015 12:15 am

http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-p ... _en-us.pdf

See page 13 and 14, for a look inside the 8700.
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HVR1250.JPG
DellXps8700.JPG
Last edited by Crash2009 on Tue May 05, 2015 12:33 am, edited 2 times in total.

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#7

Post by Ed  » Tue May 05, 2015 12:23 am

Crash2009 wrote:What kind of slot does that tuner need?
PCIe 1x (but can go into larger PCIe slots).

I have a 2250, just like him. Images for the 1250 show it does too (only needs a PCIe 1x).

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#8

Post by Crash2009 » Tue May 05, 2015 12:30 am

I guess it'll go into 24, 25, 26, or 27. Depending on how it was ordered, 27 might be taken.

lily1029

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#9

Post by lily1029 » Tue May 05, 2015 1:35 am

Oooooh! I definitely will be using Windows Media Center as we stuck with Windows 7 instead of going with a newer version just because of WMC. So I CAN just swap it out and download the driver they have listed there. This is a great help everyone! I'm learning a lot of stuff thanks to the people here in this community. Two weeks ago I would have had no clue what a PCle slot was and now I'm feeling brave enough do this on my own and install something in to one!

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#10

Post by Ed  » Tue May 05, 2015 1:37 am

lily1029 wrote:now I'm feeling brave enough do this on my own
Lol, that's honestly awesome to hear :thumbup:

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#11

Post by Crash2009 » Tue May 05, 2015 2:46 am

After you get the tuner going, it just might be possible to get all your files out of the old computer, and in to the new one. Looks like the new one has directions on how to add a 3rd hard drive on page 42.

The 3rd hard drive would plug in to (see picture in post #6) 12, 13, or 14
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#12

Post by lily1029 » Thu May 14, 2015 4:13 am

Ok guys, you were such a help boosting my confidence and now I'm back needing some more help. New desktop arrived and I managed to get the tv tuner out of the old one and into the new. Yay for new skills!! I was able to set up WMC and recorded one show after setting the dvr. After the one recording it seems to have lost contact with the tuner. It now says no tuner is available. Any thoughts on what is going on here and how I can fix it? What has me most baffled is that it worked....for an hour....

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#13

Post by Crash2009 » Thu May 14, 2015 11:42 am

Sounds like a connection problem. Shut the PC down and re-seat the HVR-1250. Lay the PC down so the motherboard is flat to the table. Loosen the screws etc. that hold the tuner in. I usually use a flat palm of the hand to push the card into the motherboard, and rock it forward and back. Sometimes the case is un co-operative and I have to hold/push the card in and tighten the screws at the same time.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixthepro ... ards_4.htm

http://www.acronis.com/en-us/resource/t ... flaky.html

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#14

Post by lily1029 » Sat May 16, 2015 12:07 am

Yesterday I took it all the way out and put it back in and it worked to tape two shows in a row. Today it can't find the tuner again. Any other thoughts on what has happened? Did I break it somehow by touching it to much to get it out and back in? A weird setting in the system I'm missing? I'm thinking now I give up and just order an external USB option. Any recommendations?

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#15

Post by Crash2009 » Sat May 16, 2015 11:28 pm

It sounds like, when it heats/warms up, it pulls itself out of the motherboard. This was a common problem with other brands of tuners. Bending the tuner bracket slightly has worked for me in the past.

Don't bend it as much as the lines in the picture. Not sure which way you need to go. Just grab the ear with a pair of plyers and bend the ear a bit.
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#16

Post by lily1029 » Tue May 26, 2015 3:41 am

I gave up on the internal tuner after repeated occurrences of the single tape and then no tuner found. I purchased a Hauppauge 955Q external thinking I couldn't possibly screw that up. I thought wrong apparently. Got it installed and if I try to go to live tv to test it out, it thinks hard for a while, goes a little pixely and then turns on. If I try to set the dvr it tells me no tuner available, if I see it to click on the note, it will magically find the tuner and start taping. What is going on!? I can't always be sitting here to tell it to tape. I was surprised to find the tuner is only showing up as analog. Is that correct and affecting things? The internet is set at wireless but that shouldn't be a problem should it? Any final suggestions for me before I give up and pray my other working computer never dies leaving with me no more computer dvr ever?? I would be willing to consider purchasing one last product if it came to it but I'd just be afraid of anything else being too complicated for me.

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#17

Post by TeddyR » Tue May 26, 2015 5:51 am

Although I would recommend one of the recent SiliconDust network tuners instead (in my experience USB tuners tend to "fall off" more often than PCI or network tuners, For the USB Hauppage, you may have to rerun TV setup but select the option to "manually configure my TV signal". You didn't mention if you are using it for OTA or Cable, but if Cable first scan for the "Digital Cable/Clear QAM", select your provider details/etc.. Then scan for additional signals and for through it for Analog/(NTSC (if you area still has analog stations). If OTA, then first scan for "Digital Antenna/ATSC" and then scan for Analog/NTSC. The analog/ntsc may not be really useful for OTA since by now there should not be any of those stations of any use...

The caveat with network tuners is that they are dependent on your internal network setup which can adversely affect their performance if not correct. The benefit is that you can add tuners a lot easier with network tuners and they can be pooled is such away to be shared across multiple computers a lot easier....
Time is on my side.

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