Hauppauge PVR-500-MCE Problem

[acid_burn]

I have had my Hauppauge PVR-500-MCE card for about a year now without any problems, but now all of a sudden I get a lot af static on all my channels. (example attached)

I haven't changed anything about my setup (winXP, MediaPortal and latest drivers). Before, the picture was clear but now it looks like the signal isn't strong enough. I've tried swapping cables with my tv, which have a clear picture, but the problem is still there (when I use the cable I usually have in my card in my TV the picture is clear too). I've also tried hooking up a signal amplifier without success..

Is the tuner in my card fried? Has anyone had this problem.

[SHS]

Yes it a tuner problem best thing to do call Hauppauge and get it RMA.

[acid_burn]

Ok.. Thanks..


Should I expect the same problem in a years time with the new card?
If so I might as well get my money and buy something else..I have the option of getting the card replaced or getting my money back.

[RE*S.T.A.R.S.*2]

get you money back and buy something else, haupaugge 500 mc its Cr*p, not worth the effort , has to many drivers problems, and issues, my 2 cents.... wish you the best..

[acid_burn]

get you money back and buy something else, haupaugge 500 mc its Cr*p, not worth the effort , has to many drivers problems, and issues, my 2 cents.... wish you the best..

Got any ideas as to what else I should get?

I really like the dual-tuners.. Maybe I should just buy 2 150's? Whichh actually would be cheaper than one 500MCE..

[kschmidt]

Did you ever get a resolution to this? I have the same card and it was working great. Last week I upgraded to Vista and my tuner now has the same static.

I believe it is related to the card and encoding since the recorded shows show the symptoms. If I play back a show that was recorded a week ago (using XP) the playback is fine.

[jman98]

I have the PVR-350 and the only time I ever got a picture like this, I actually didn't have a very good connection between the cable outlet and my card and tightening the connection fixed the problem. It appears that this isn't the problem in this thread, but I thought I'd post that in case it helps anyone else. I've had the PVR-350 for over 3 years and it still works flawlessly.

kschmidt - Why did you upgrade to Vista? I wouldn't recommend that to anyone. Too many problems like yours. XP just works. Vista doesn't. I think your problem is Vista related and I bet if you went back to XP it would magically go away.

[jagabo]

But semi-transparent title bars are critical to a satisfactory computing experience.

[kschmidt]

In addition to the semi-transparent bars, I was interested in the improved photo and video gallery as that is one of the main things we use the media center for.

Does anyone know of a way to test a tuner card outside of the OS? For example, a bootable DVD with test utilities?

The next things I will try are:
1. Verify my cable connection to the PVR. (I have already bypassed my signal amplifier and verified the cable connection directly to the TV is clear)
2. Disable Aero. Some postings on the net have said this helped.
3. Re-install the PVR500 drivers. (Hauppauge suggested this)
4. Try the card in my desktop machine running XP to see if I get the same results.

Thanks.

[jagabo]

It might be possible to install XP on a thumbdrive and test your card from there.

[jman98]

kschmidt - I work in IT for a living. Anyone who automatically upgrades anything of Microsoft's because they think "new = better" is asking for trouble. Most businesses resist Windows upgrades because of too many problems with new releases. I think wanting "improved photo and video gallery" wasn't a good tradeoff for the problems you are having. I'm being blunt and I'm not trying to insult you or others, but you had a perfectly good working PC that you did not have to upgrade, but you upgraded it anyway and now your capturing doesn't work very well. Windows XP was out for years before I would attempt an upgrade to it, but at that point I knew I could get XP drivers for all my hardware and it would work. Eventually your card probably will work in Vista too, but whether that day comes 2 months from now, 6 months from now or a 1 year from now, only time will tell.

[kschmidt]

jman98, I agree with you. I would never recommend my parents go to Vista at this point. It's still to early. However, I too am in the IT industry and do try out new technologies "early". (Early is in quotes because I never got around to trying the beta versions)

If everybody sits back and waits for someone else to try it, progress would be slow. (I'd have to wait until Hauppauge and NVidia happen to get around to QA'ing my exact configuration... may never happen)

The other point is that this is just my media center PC. If it doesn't work, I can't timeshift or record TV. If this were the OS running my car I might be more cautious.

I'll add to the post the findings of the above tests when I get them tried. I'll also let you know if Hauppauge has any suggestions.