Moved to a 6 tuner PCIe from a 4 tuner PCIe

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rliepins

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Moved to a 6 tuner PCIe from a 4 tuner PCIe

#1

Post by rliepins » Fri Mar 23, 2018 9:46 pm

Hi

I recently bought a used InfiniTV PCIe 6 card to replace my 4 tuner model. The install seemed to go ok, but I keep getting the following:

Service is unavailable
There is currently no TV signal detected for this channel.
The channel may be temporarily off the air. Try again later.

The driver package version: 13.6.3.1088
InfiniTV PCIe Driver Version: 1.0.2.4
Firmware: 14.10.3.163
Hardware Version: 6252

I am using my HDHOMERUN Prime in the meantime while I figure this out. I have done the following:
- uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers and software
- I have been using the beta ceton_infinitv_setup_w7_sp1_13_06_03_1088 driver package
- I have reset the network settings
- I have cleared the tuner configuration and subsequently discovered the tuners
- I have ran the Digital Cable Advisor application
- I have swapped out the cablecard with Comcast
- I have made sure the card and tuner are paired. many times...
- When I use the diagnostics tool, everything is green. When I tune a channel, it says it succeeded under CableCARD.

I can easily go back to the HDHOMERUN tuners to get live TV.

I'm not sure what to do. I stripped it down, removed the card, drivers, etc. and went back to square one.

I am at a loss. I suppose I can try the 4 tuner card again, but I got the 6 for a reason - 2 extra tuners.

I don't know if it matters, but I do use EPG123. Tho I have gone through the TV tuner setup so many times, I'm not sure which is what for channel info.

Can anyone help?

-

cwinfield

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#2

Post by cwinfield » Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:42 pm

I would check this thread to see how to create a file allcetonsignals.hta here: viewtopic.php?f=68&t=9508&p=99406&hilit=hta#p99406 this will give you more insight as to what is going on if your having signal issues. Also are your tuning adapters working correctly?

rliepins

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#3

Post by rliepins » Fri Mar 23, 2018 11:47 pm

That is a great question on the tuners. How does one know if it is receiving proper signal in the first place? What should I look for?

The HDHOMERUN is easy to tune as needed as it is autonomous, but not the Ceton. Perhaps the dongle is bad?

If it is working properly, do I use the webpage to try and tune a channel or what?

Thanks

cwinfield

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#4

Post by cwinfield » Sat Mar 24, 2018 12:15 am

What Ceton claims is acceptable is +/- 10db level & >=35db SNR, this can be viewed on the webpage portal on individual tuners tab. What's nice about the hta file is it will tune all your channels using 1 tuner and show you which frequencies and channels on those bands are having issues. Fixing the issues could be as easy as tightening connectors, sometimes you need to replace pigtail connector, rethink how your splitting/distributing your coax, whether an amp might be needed, etc. To answer your question, yes try to tune a channel then look at what it says on the tuner tab on the web portal.

rliepins

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#5

Post by rliepins » Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:24 pm

When I tune a channel from the web interface, I get a signal level of -7.2 dBmv and a signal to noise ratio of 38.3 db.

Another interesting thing happened. When I reset everything and removed drivers, redid the digital cable advisor, etc. it saw that I had 4 tuners, not 6. It didn't even see the HDHOMERUN as available tuners, just 4. I went through the process anyway, and I did get a signal for a bit!

Then I reinstalled the drivers, etc., saw there were 6 tuners and then nothing.

I am wondering if I have the wrong installer. Can anyone point me in the right direction for the correct installer for the PCIe 6 tuner? Are there any registry hacks necessary? What log files should I be looking at?

Thanks

rliepins

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#6

Post by rliepins » Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:25 pm

I did order a new dongle from Amazon, so we will see if that helps.

cwinfield

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#7

Post by cwinfield » Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:34 pm

The 4 tuners during first setup is normal with a 6 tuner this is due to a quirk with the max tuner mod that is necessary to have more than WMC default. It appears that your signal is ok but a little low on signal level, you my want to try a more direct connection if possible just for troubleshooting (i.e. before your tap), I suggest you attempt to uninstall/reinstall playready. This link may also be helpful viewtopic.php?p=34127#p34127. The installer is correct so I wouldn't worry about that.

rliepins

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#8

Post by rliepins » Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:44 pm

Still a no go. Everything looks good on the diagnostics, but it simply won't tune anything. I might go back to my 4 tuner just to see if that works or try to install a new copy of W7 on a new HDD just to see if a fresh copy works.

cwinfield

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#9

Post by cwinfield » Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:46 pm

1 thing you could try is a reflash of firmware.

rliepins

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#10

Post by rliepins » Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:56 am

Good idea. The latest one for the 6 tuner that I know of is the ceton_infinitv_beta_fw_14_10_3_163.IMAGE file. I know there is a newer one for the 4 tuner, I believe the ceton_infinitv_beta_fw_15_1_13_152.IMAGE. Anyone know if that is ok or if there are any other versions out there?

SciFiGeek

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#11

Post by SciFiGeek » Fri May 25, 2018 2:46 am

I'm running, from the driver diagnostics page...

Driver package 13.6.3.1088
Infinitv PCIe Driver version: 1.0.2.4
InfiniTV FirmwareVersion : 14.10.3.163
InfiniTV Hardware Version: 6252

I found when I had to replace the dongle, the amazon one connected more snugly than the OEM and less temperamental to position issues. A reason to prefer the Ethernet model (also Tuning Adapter not connected to computer).

Generally I have found it to be sensitive to heat and reporting ok in the diagnostics when it needs more cooling. My guess is the cablecard itself has trouble dissipating heat and keeps things from working. It also seems to split and amplify the signal internally and unbalanced. I don't know about comparing it to other tuners other than a cable box but mine needs more signal than a cable box to tune correctly on all channels on all tuners all the time.

Looking at the web page diagnostics on a tuned channel my signal is 10.1 dBmV. I am not saying it needs to be that high but mine works at that level.

The big thing I don't know about cablecards is the provisioning and portability. I have been told by cable techs (50% chance of total BS) that cablecards have to be new and paired with only one device. This seems unlikely to me but I think you would have to provision the cablecard every time you change the host or move it between devices assuming you do not have two cablecards. I could be wrong. I have never gotten any clarity on the issue but seemed like something that may be overlooked here.

SciFiGeek

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#12

Post by SciFiGeek » Fri May 25, 2018 3:13 am

Worth a mention, I also use EPG 123, admittedly an older version. All it does is make an XML guide file that is imported into WMC. It should not make any difference with any tuner. The main thing is that you get your lineup for your tuners for EPG.

I have the Ceton Infinitv 6 PCIE, a SD Homerun (2 OTA tuners) and an Hauppauge WinTv-quadHD 1652 (4 OTA tuners). Ceton support once told me that the SD driver can interfere... I told SD, they said it should not. It seemed to go away completely after an SD driver update. Prior to that install order seemed to matter... The Hauppauge was not in the mix at that time. Cable is flaky for a number of reasons. I record all OTA available series both on Cable and OTA but I digress.

Do you have a tuning adapter in your setup? - As I have learned this is a whole other can of worms using a TA connected to WMC.
If so do the Ceton DIags see it correctly?
Can you tune one of your broadcast channels (generally these are always there, always pass-through, no Tuning adapter needed to receive)?

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