Wintv Go Plus 1033 Poor record quality - More newbie Q's.

[DAVE440]

Hope this isn't a double post. My first one disappeared when I clicked submit...grrr...


Just installed a Hauppage wintv go plus model 1033 w/remote PCI capture
card.

System is an
AMD XP3000 running windows 2000 professional
ECS K7VTA3 version6 Motherboard. VIA KT333/8235 chipsets
768 MB PC2700 RAM
PNY MX440Se 64ddr 4x video card
WD 80g local hdd (partitioned) o/s and progs p1 - p2 empty so far
Maxtor 120G hdd2 (partitioned)
Onboard 2ch Ac97 sound

1. ISSUE - Poor recording quality.

Looks ok when recording to Divx 4:3 from live tv but looks terrible
using VCR input. Tried antenna in (ch3 vcr out) and composite video in on the card with same results. Audio is synced and ok. Picture best described as fuzzy or grainy regardless of quality mode.

Q: Is this due to the card itself? Supplied Software? Any way to fix the
problem?

Q: Assuming I can fix the problem... what's the best quality non-DivX
format I can record to so I can burn dvds later for use with a home player format? I believe Mpeg1 2mbit is higher than Mpeg1 VCD...but are there any better Mpeg formats? Is AVI better and can a retail dvd play avi?

2. ISSUE - Scanning line in recording.

Tv picture looks fine until I press record, then a single white broken scan line appears and moves left to right at the very top of the screen. It apears in the live tv and recorded file. Tried different record qualities and even different generic ECS/ WDM AC97 audio driver as I thought the line might be audio noise related but the driver only worked for pc audio and tv playback. It got an error when trying to record from tv so I had to go back to the supplied stock Ac97 sound driver. The line is present whether there is audio sound or not. Could it be related to the hard drive itself causing interference? Just a guess...

Q: What is causing this line to appear when I press record and is there a way to fix it?

3. ISSUE - Sound card doesn't work with tv card

Before Installing the tv card I installed a new 6 ch sound card
(mad dog 5.1 predator) and verified it worked. As soon as I installed the
tv card and drivers the sound card stopped working. I re-installed the software but no good. I finally re-enabled the stock Ac97 audio and am using the onboard 2 channel sound.

Q: No IRQ conflicts indicated but do I need to change PCI slots for the sound card?
Q: Are there any known issues with the wintv and sound cards not playing nicely?
Q: Any ideas how to fix this problem?

4. ISSUE - TV sound muted after reboot.

I usually turn power off to the power strip my PC is plugged in to after shut down. When I turn power on and re-boot sometimes the tv is Muted in the pc volume controls and the wintv remote or program mute control won't un-mute it. I have to go into the PC volume controls to turn mute off then it works again. The tv record channel also changes to center or left by itself when it should be set to Mic and in the advanced control the 20db boost automatically turns on when I keep it off. Somehow shutting down power to the PC seems to be causing it to lose audio settings related to the tv card. The CMOS backup battery is good. Its a brand new MB and no other programs lose settings. This problem is Intermittent and doesn't happen every time.

Q: What's goin on and how do I correct it?


I'm sure I'll have more questions later but these are the main issues.
Primary of which being the recorded picture quality and that scan line.
I was hoping to transfer old vhs tapes to dvd but I'm not buying a dvd
recorder until I know I can get good picture quality.

Would greatly appreciate any and all help or suggestions.

Thanks,
Dave

[DAVE440]

Uhhhh.... hello... little help? Suggestions.... anyone

BTT