TV Tuner setup can't complete

[chrisgnv]

I had WMC 7 running fine with an HDHR Connect. With 2 tuners I got 10 stations. I just got an HDHR Prime, currently setup for digital cable (no CableCard). The HDHR setup software recognized it and associated it with the same channels as the Connect already saw.

While setting it up, WMC recognized the existence of a new tuner and popped up a message. I dismissed that temporarily because the other tuner was recording a show. I didn't want to interrupt the cable signal by disconnecting the cable to insert a splitter in the line. After the recording was complete I added a splitter and connected both tuners. Using the HDHR View software I was able to see the stations.

When I restarted WMC and tried TV setup, it found the tuners and offered only 4 (I understand why). After getting to the end of the selection process it failed with the message about "can't complete" and a serious error. I restarted WMC with no success on repeat, nor did I have success after restarting the PC. I then disabled WMC, restarted, reenabled, restarted, and still no success.

What do I have to do to get WMC to complete the addition of the tuners? I now have no tuners connected.

[Crash2009]

You need to go get Tuner Salad.

[chrisgnv]

I got TunerSalad which enabled all 5 tuners but, before doing that I successfully completed setup with 4 tuners only after a complete reset. Having also installed Guide Tool, that was less of a challenge than the first time around.

Along the way I also switched the HDHR Connect to an OTA antenna, rather than ClearQAM cable. I actually get better reception on certain stations that way because one of the broadcast towers is less than a mile from my house. By doing so, it changed the signal type in WMC and bypassed the 4 tuner limit. I now have 2 digital antenna tuners and 3 ClearQAM tuners.

I'll have to go through this all over again in a few weeks when I move to an apartment. We'll get a CableCard on that account, which changes the type of tuner seen by WMC.

[Crash2009]

Now that you know which way you want to go, You might want to start fresh when you get to the new place. Look up MediaCenterRecoveryTask This will erase everything and send WMC back to a factory reset condition. She gets confused when there are a lot of changes. I think its the Alzheimer's starting to kick in.

[chrisgnv]

I am, unfortunately, familiar with the recovery option. For some reason things got screwed up a few times. It's become routine as I try different tuner configurations. Fortunately I have only about 12 stations that I can tune, so it's not like I'm having to reorganize some absurd number of cable channels that probably would be useless to me, anyway.

[chrisgnv]

I'm back. I'm settled in the new apartment. Cable modem, tuning adapter, HDHR Prime, HDHR Connect and WMC all work. Mostly.

The home run is split with a two-way splitter, one to the modem and the other to the media center location. The media center location has a balanced 3-way splitter. One branch serves ClearQAM to the TV, the other two serve the Cisco STA1520 tuning adapter and the HDHR prime, respectively. The TA and the prime are connected by a USB cable.

The Cable Out port from the TA serves ClearQAM to the Connect. That gets all available local broadcast stations, including HD, for those that broadcast in HD.

After a few false starts, all channels I subscribe to appear in the channel lineup and I can view HBO, Starz and Encore channels. Unfortunately I can view those only in SD. If I attempt to view HBOHD, WMC gives me a message that there are no devices that can display protected content. I'm confused by that, since HBO SD is protected content, no?

I'm not doing anything special with the setup. The HDHRs are on the same Gb switch as the HTPC. The HTPC is connected directly into the TV by HDMI. It's a brand new Intel NUC i5 with an Intel HD Graphics 6000 GPU, so that's capable? The CableCard is authenticated or I wouldn't be able to view HBO at all, I'd think?

So, where do I go from here? What's missing? Do I need to start from scratch, reset WMC, and do the DCA and PlayReady installs, again?

Thanks for your help.

[chrisgnv]

Tell me this isn't my problem. Tell me there's a resolution. Intel's latest HD Graphics chip can't play MPEG-4? The linked thread is several years old but the problem description matches my experience.

https://communities.intel.com/thread/29 ... 5&tstart=0

[Crash2009]

The home run is split with a two-way splitter, one to the modem and the other to the media center location. The media center location has a balanced 3-way splitter. One branch serves ClearQAM to the TV, the other two serve the Cisco STA1520 tuning adapter and the HDHR prime, respectively. The TA and the prime are connected by a USB cable.

The Cable Out port from the TA serves ClearQAM to the Connect. That gets all available local broadcast stations, including HD, for those that broadcast in HD.

I have been always been told to never use the Cable Out Port on the TA, always plug the hole with an RF Terminator. As a test, disconnect the Connect and plug the hole. If the test succeeds, you might need a 4 way splitter. Check your signal strengths first (before running out and getting a 4 way) The ideal signal is 0 "ZERO" Some splitters are amplified to compensate for loss. If you add up the loss, the way it is now, you are loosing -3.5 dBmV at the first splitter and another -7.0 dBmV at the 3-way, I would guess you are at -10 dBmV, not sure what you loose by using the out port of the TA.

Alternatively you might want a 6-way non amped (with pass-through), Here is an example...not necessarily exactly what you might want, but close.
http://www.pctstore.com/RF_amplifier_CA ... vc9uip.htm

Disregard the POE in the picture.

[chrisgnv]

Thanks. I'll test use of a terminator as you suggest but am under the impression the problem is related more to the capabilities of the GPU and its drivers than to signal strength.

Another reader in a different forum suggested installing VLC to provide codecs that may be missing. That reply was to a slightly different issue, on a different computer, but perhaps the inability to display certain content may be a result of missing codecs. Judging from traffic on the topic of Intel HD Graphics GPUs not displaying h.264, I think not, but it's worth a try.

[DavidinCT]

Thanks. I'll test use of a terminator as you suggest but am under the impression the problem is related more to the capabilities of the GPU and its drivers than to signal strength.

Another reader in a different forum suggested installing VLC to provide codecs that may be missing. That reply was to a slightly different issue, on a different computer, but perhaps the inability to display certain content may be a result of missing codecs. Judging from traffic on the topic of Intel HD Graphics GPUs not displaying h.264, I think not, but it's worth a try.

If you run the DCA and get an pass, your video card SHOULD be ok. DRM itself could be broken. Have seen that a few times. This would show this problem. VLC or any other codec is not going to fix this problem. You need to use the Microsoft Media Center codecs to watch protected content, If those have been changed, it would also break it.

if you have older protected shows (HBO, etc), resetting DRM/Rebuilding will break them and make those shows.

You can start with a "sfc /scannow" in a command prompt. If any files have been changed or codec for WMC has been changed, it should reset it.

I had this problem not too long ago when I changed motherboards (No protected content saved) but, I would get this error too, after reseting DRM, it fixed it..

Start here with this....

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/976590

Download the sample DRM file and try to play it. This should show if DRM'd content can play on your computer. If it FAILS, Download the resetDRM tool, EXTRACT it (winrar) and run it manually.

[chrisgnv]

if you have older protected shows (HBO, etc), resetting DRM/Rebuilding will break them and make those shows.

I'll try your suggestions this weekend. I don't have any protected content to lose because I haven't been able to watch it in the first place. I don't keep recorded content long, anyway. We basically time-shift, then delete after watching.