TV Tuner problem

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StormBringer

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I recently installed an ATI TV wonder and it was working great until today. The problem is that the tuner isn't working right. I get a scrambled signal when I try to use the TV application, the sound works fine as do captions and all other options. Everything else about the card works fine also. I read on ATI's FAQ that this was a common problem with Windows XP and that it could be corrected by updating your video card drivers to the latest version. That didn't work. I have already tried every driver I could find, both old and up to date for my GF2 MX400 but the tuner still won't work right. What is odd is that it worked fine for a day and a half.

Anyone know a fix for this?
 
Well, I found a work around but it isn't too good. I can switch back and forth between cable and composite a few times and get it to come on but sometimes the picture looks a little grainy(kinda like watching tv with an old set of rabbit ears) other times it is clear. I'm still not sure if this could be driver related or if it is the TV viewing application.

I would still like to find a better solution to this problem than having to mess with the settings every time I want to watch TV on here.
 
I could really use some help with this. ATI's solution was to replace my video card, I already tried that with an old Raedon 32MB card(yes I removed all traces of my Geforce card) It still gave the same problem. A new problem has risen now(If I use another app to view or capture, then I try to run the TV viewer, it gives an error about the device being used by another program. I have checked my processes and all apps running and nothing is still using the video source. I have to reboot to get it to work again). So, I put my Geforce back in and the new problem is still there as well as the old problem. I am convinced it is the ATI Multimedia Center(mostly TV Viewer) application because I have no problem using the other features of the card through other applications. I also tried taking a snapshot while viewing the scrambled video in TV viewer and the snapshot is very clear and NOT scrambled. My assumption is that this problem is between XP and the ATI apps because other third party software handles the video capture just fine, I can even view the TV(no sound though).

I really need to fix this, if nothing else can anyone tell me of another TV viewer? The video capture viewing apps I have won't play the sound and don't allow full screen with the Tuner.
 
did you install the drivers before you install the TV software?

i have the card for win2k, but they didn't have a driver update before i gave it to my gf (won't let me have it back)

they didn't have a useable win2k driver + software until a year after win2k is out.
and didn't have any update after that.

both win2k and winxp uses
ATI Multimedia Center 7.1
which was released 07/05/2001
make sure you have this downloaded, read the Release Notes before installing.

if it really doesn't work, i guess you just need to refund it.

here's the Multimedia Center 7.1
http://www.ati.com/support/drivers/misc/mmc71tvwonder.html

here's all i can help, goodluck~
 
if you really need to have that card working, change to win9x/me
it works with win9x/me without a problem.;)
 
That is the version of the multimedia center that came with my card. I have installed drivers first, software first, did a little dance, and said a some prayers, it still doesn't work right. Like I said before, it worked fine for a day and a half. And just to clarify, it isn't the card that doesn't work it is the software. The card works fine with other viewers, if I could find another TV viewer app, everything would be ok. I can view composite video with several apps I have, but the only thing I have that will show both the video and audio from the tuner is that ATI TV Viewer, so I have to play with the settings every time I use it to get it to work right.
 
This is just a vague suggestion, cause i havent used tv cards for a while now, but are there 'overlay' settings u can change somewhere in the media center? or do u have overlay tweaks for the graphics card? I only ask because i once had a pixelview tv card for a few months before a realised i hadnt applied some overlay settings, and as soon as i did, the picture & frame rates were perfect. I had the same sort of issues that u have described, and just figured thats what tv looked like on a pc :0
It also took me a while to figure which format was correct for my region (Pal N i think). SOmetimes u just blunder into the solutions :)
 
Originally posted by skepper
This is just a vague suggestion, cause i havent used tv cards for a while now, but are there 'overlay' settings u can change somewhere in the media center? or do u have overlay tweaks for the graphics card? I only ask because i once had a pixelview tv card for a few months before a realised i hadnt applied some overlay settings, and as soon as i did, the picture & frame rates were perfect. I had the same sort of issues that u have described, and just figured thats what tv looked like on a pc :0
It also took me a while to figure which format was correct for my region (Pal N i think). SOmetimes u just blunder into the solutions :)

Been there, tried that. That was covered by ATI's troubleshooting FAQ(if you can even call it that)
 
Well, first off, BTV only works with tuner cards that don't have capture ability, VLive wouldn't even load once it was installed, third one was the charm, FlyDS fixed my problem. It is a little tricky to use though because you have to scan the channels by choosing your local settings then letting it scan, it does this by frequency, which in the US most people aren't familiar with unless you work in the communications field(luckily for me I took Communication Electronics in College) anyway, once it completes the scan you then have to sort through them and match them to the channel number where you want them to be. Then you have to fine tune the frequency to clarify the picture.

I haven't tried the other link yet but I think I will because while this app solved the problem and confirmed my assumption that the cause was software related and not the drivers or the card, it is a little too much work for the $30 price tag, almost forgot that there is NO tech support for it.

I would like to thank you again Mic, for your help.
 
Possible solution...

I had the same problem using an ATI all in wonder (wonder why I bought it) on XP. Same thing - it was working then stopped. In desperation, I starting uninstalling any apps that I had installed since it last worked, starting with Intel Application Accelerator. That fixed the problem.
 
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