Noob - First HTPC build

[micallen]

I really wish I would have found this forum before I built my HTPC. But it is what it is. I just wanted to get some opinions on the build to see where I stand.

ASRock FM2A85X-ITX motherboard
AMD A8-5500 Trinity 3.2 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 65W Quad-core APU
2 X 4GB of Corsair Vengence RAM (1600 MHz)
Samsung 840 Series 120 GB SSD (boot drive)
(Will add my 1TB external eSata drive soon)
LG 24X DVD burner
Apex MI Series Mini ITX Case (MI-100-BK) with 250W P.S. moved outside the case
Win 7 SP1

I have designated 1GB of ram to the integrated video.

Any thoughts, suggestions, etc?


I just added an AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet PCTV tuner (A188). But I haven't been able to get WMC to work right yet. I get the "Video Error: File not installed..." error. I will be attempting to fix that in the next few days too.


Also, I have the HDMI sound problem I've read about on here. I will try to correct that after what I've read in the forums this morning.

[barnabas1969]

OK, so you're in the USA and you plan to use the tuner to receive Over The Air (OTA) broadcasts with an antenna, right? Have you installed the driver for your version of Windows? The drivers are here:
http://www.avermedia-usa.com/AVerTV/pro ... b=APDriver

Everything else about your build seems fine. Maybe some overkill, depending on what else you want to do with the PC... and how many extenders you plan to run simultaneously.

[micallen]

OK, so you're in the USA and you plan to use the tuner to receive Over The Air (OTA) broadcasts with an antenna, right? Have you installed the driver for your version of Windows? The drivers are here:
http://www.avermedia-usa.com/AVerTV/pro ... b=APDriver

Everything else about your build seems fine. Maybe some overkill, depending on what else you want to do with the PC... and how many extenders you plan to run simultaneously.

Yes, in the USA, but connect to ClearQAM broadcast cable. I went to the AverMedia site and d/l and installed the latest drivers first.

[barnabas1969]

Does your cable company send any QAM channels in the clear? You can confirm this by connecting the cable directly to a TV that has a QAM tuner. If the TV can't find any channels, then you don't have any "clear" QAM channels. Cable companies are beginning to encrypt everything, including the local channels.

[micallen]

Does your cable company send any QAM channels in the clear? You can confirm this by connecting the cable directly to a TV that has a QAM tuner. If the TV can't find any channels, then you don't have any "clear" QAM channels. Cable companies are beginning to encrypt everything, including the local channels.

Honestly not 100% sure how to answer that. Most of the local channels come in 3 times. In 1 place they are HD. But not in the other 2 places.

I get around 45 channels via broadcast cable due to duplicates and triplicates (through the TV).

I know the card works. After getting the WMC error, I downloaded a codec pack and rebooted. That didn't help. So, I decided to load the AverMedia software to try it and it found several channels. But I noticed the video was laggy and the sound was a little behind. I'm hoping that's a result if the AverMeida software only, and that when I get WMC working, that won't be the case.

[micallen]

I should also add that WMC found and installed channels. But when I click on "watch TV" or however it's worded, that's then I get the "Video Error: File not installed..." error.

[barnabas1969]

Why did you install a codec pack? You don't need to install any codecs to watch TV in Media Center. Your codec pack may be what's causing your troubles now.

The video error you got the first try might be caused by a well-known little bug. Try setting the audio to 2-channel stereo in the Windows Control Panel (Sound applet). Then, run through the Media Center "setup your speakers" wizard, and choose the option that best matches your speaker configuration.

[micallen]

Why did you install a codec pack? You don't need to install any codecs to watch TV in Media Center. Your codec pack may be what's causing your troubles now.

The video error you got the first try might be caused by a well-known little bug. Try setting the audio to 2-channel stereo in the Windows Control Panel (Sound applet). Then, run through the Media Center "setup your speakers" wizard, and choose the option that best matches your speaker configuration.

I installed the codec pack after the error message because I read to try that elsewhere. I also changed the audio to 2-channel to no avail. I read this morning about unchecking the "Use Exclusively" box in the audio driver properties. I will try that tonight.

[micallen]

Why did you install a codec pack? You don't need to install any codecs to watch TV in Media Center. Your codec pack may be what's causing your troubles now.

The video error you got the first try might be caused by a well-known little bug. Try setting the audio to 2-channel stereo in the Windows Control Panel (Sound applet). Then, run through the Media Center "setup your speakers" wizard, and choose the option that best matches your speaker configuration.

I installed the codec pack after the error message because I read to try that elsewhere. I also changed the audio to 2-channel to no avail. I read this morning about unchecking the "Use Exclusively" box in the audio driver properties. I will try that tonight.

Where exactly is the Use Exclusively box? I've clicked all the tabs I can find!

[micallen]

I found the Use Exclusively box and unchecked it. That did nothing. And I read about changing the refresh rate from 60 to 50 helped some people. That doesn't seem to be an option on my setup as that's grayed out.

After trying a dozen other things last night before I went to bed, I am left with NO sound... and WMC still won't play live TV.

#frustrated

[barnabas1969]

Have you tried uninstalling the codec pack?

And... just in case you don't know... many codec packs don't uninstall completely, even when you uninstall them from the Add/Remove programs applet in the control panel. You may end up re-installing Windows (or restoring to a system image if you made one before you installed the codec pack). It's just one of the reasons why there are many warnings about using codec packs.

[micallen]

If i don't resolve this by this weekend, I may just swap it out with my other computer - which is listed below:

GATEWAY SX-2801
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor E6700
Memory (RAM) 4GB
Type of Memory DDR3
Memory Expandable to 8GB
Hard Drive Size: 1TB
Hard Drive Type: SATA
Optical Drive 16X DVDñR/RW SuperMulti Drive
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Network Card: 802.11b/g/n WiFi CERTIFIED
Video Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
Other ports: Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
# of USB slots 9
TV Tuner None
Dimensions: 10.43 (H) x 3.93 (W) x 12.4 (D) inches
Space Saving Design Yes
Extra Features 802.11b/g/n WiFi CERTIFIED
VGA Connection Yes
HDMI Port 1 x HDMI

[micallen]

Tonight I tried my "regular" computer (the Gateway listed above) in the L.R. hooked to my HD TV. After hooking it up and selecting HDMI audio, I noticed that the HDMI audio recognized that it was hooked to an LG TV. My HTPC just said HD audio - and didn't work. Well, the HDMI out audio WORKS on this computer.

That's the good news.

The bad news is, about half or more of the streaming sites I use, wont play. The video box just has a thing in the middle spinning as if it's loading the video forever.

Sites that work:
Youtube, Amazon Prime instant video, Vevo, Discovery, ABC.com, A&E

Sites that don't:
CBS, SyFy, History, Fox, MANY others.

What gives?

[micallen]

I posted a long answer to this problem a while ago, but the site crashed and it didn't stick. Here's the short version:

Chrome: bad
I.E.: good