Recomend a replacement TV Card!

[c4bdriver]

I have a medion P7300D which has an Integrated triple-use TV tuner for analogue, DVB-T or DVB-S; All i can gain from it is its a CTX 1910. Anyhow it has never worked properly. It was nearly a year before i actually got round to installing a new Ariel for it, so i cannot return it under warranty. I have double checked by connecting to main house ariel and it wont pick up proper signal there either. It scans and picks up channels, however playback is at best scratchy, broken frames, Pauses (voice continues). I am wanting to buy a replacement pci card but dont want to waste my money, can anyone recomend one card over another? I just want to install and use Windows media centre to record and watch freeview TV. Would i be better with a USB Stick or PCI card? Any advice would be very welcome. I dont even know if WMC is any good for this? If anyone uses this then pls let me know any pros & cons with it Thanks. (Am i right in thinking this card should have been ok with a digital signal) we dont get an analogue signal anymore.

[Nelson37]

That sounds very much like what I get with my Hauppage card with a bad antenna or poor antenna placement. These cards, and digital TV in general, are EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to antenna placement.

I would spend some time trying different antenna orientations, generally higher is better. I can move my antenna or one of the "ears" two inches and create the type of reception you were getting. Note there is a several second delay between movement and visible change in the picture.

The amplified Terk is about the best I have used, the Zenith "silver sensor" pretty good as well.

[usually_quiet]

I can't recommend a different card, being on the wrong side of the Atlantic for that. However, no matter what PVR software is used, terrestrial PC TV tuners tend to need a stronger signal than a typical digital TV and are often not as good at dealing with multipath situations (reflected signals). You may need to reposition your antenna, or amplify the signal, or replace the antenna with a larger one, or one that is more directional, to get a good picture.

If the problem is with tuning DVB-S. I have no clue when it comes to improving reception, or setting up the DVB-S tuner for Media Center. If you are having problems with it, check the user manual for the TV card to see if you need to do something extra to get it working with Media Center. Otherwise www.thegreenbutton.com might be a good place to ask for help.

[edDV]

90% of the issue is knowing where to point your antenna (if directional) or where to place it (if omnidirectional).

Transmitting towers are closely spaced in the UK. Where I am, I need a perfectly pointed directional antenna to pick up ATSC broadcasters at 60-120 miles.

[pirej]

I have "Compro T500F Hybrid D/A TV card" , it works ok with Windows media centre, and it has a remote control compatible with Windows media centre. I have used it(on windows7/XP) for watching DVB-T channels only with a "room antenna" and it was.. ok, but room antenna is not really enough for "Cristal picture"
It has some picture filters like noise reduction, deinterlacing..

[themaster1]

I'd recommend to make a Fractal Antenna

[c4bdriver]

Thanks for the replies guys, I should have said. I had a professionally installed ariel on the outside wall close to the pc. This is then split inside, 1 to my sons room (Approx 17ft away, the other goes 3Ft to my PCI Card.) Local transmitter is Fortrose & Rosemarkie. Approx 7 Miles with Nothing but water inbetween. My pc is connected to a Hannspree Tv, unfortunately it does not posses a digital TV Tuner? It has HDMI and every other connection i can think of. My pc also has a scart socket, should i maybe go for a normal Digibox? Is there a way i can connect it to the PC for use through WMC, just so i can record onto the Hard drive? Would a Digibox with 2 scart's be the answer? The PC is connected to the TV with the HDMI cable. Any help much appreciated thanks. Would like to get this sorted for xmas.

How can i verify that it is the PCI card that is faulty/ of no use. 2/.Find out if a new one would be ok/any better? All i can think of is asking at the local independant pc repair shop if he can test current card, let me try new one?

[usually_quiet]

As an experiment, try removing the splitter and connecting the TV card directly to the antenna to see if the picture improves with a stronger signal. Removing a splitter will double the signal strength.

I had to install an amplifier in order for my ATI TV card to get a stable picture on all the channels that a TV in the same room can tune using the same antenna and no amplification.

[Edit] Looking at a similar PC http://www.medion.com/ms/aldi/md8838/uk/flash.html, it appears all the available video inputs (s-video and composite) are located on the front of the case. The SCART port and the nearby video connections on the rear of the case are probably for video out only. You can use Windows Media Center for capturing S-Video or composite from an STB only if a compatible IR blaster/IR transmitter is installed in addition to the remote control receiver. I can't tell from the picture if that is included in the package.

[c4bdriver]

I am on Ground floor of 3 flats, Main room has communal Ariel socket on wall. I have installed my own external ariel to external bedroom wall too. Inside it is connected to a block that then splits signal in two. If i remove my sons connection is that good enough for testing full signal? or is it still only getting half the full signal?{_ as opposed to {= Best diagram i can do with keyboard! One in,One out. As opposed to One in Two out. (Block still in place). I have tried this & the communal ariel, neither give me good results.

[usually_quiet]

I am on Ground floor of 3 flats, Main room has communal Ariel socket on wall. I have installed my own external ariel to external bedroom wall too. Inside it is connected to a block that then splits signal in two. If i remove my sons connection is that good enough for testing full signal? or is it still only getting half the full signal?{_ as opposed to {= Best diagram i can do with keyboard! One in,One out. As opposed to One in Two out. (Block still in place). I have tried this & the communal ariel, neither give me good results.

I know it sounds wrong, but when a two-way splitter is left in place, the signal is still only half strength even if only one of the legs is connected to a TV. Simply disconnecting one leg may also introduce a small amount noise into the system which could interfere with the signal received by the device on the other leg.

From your description, it doesn't seem as though you have easy access to the splitter. If that is true, then don't bother.

If it is accessible, it sounds like you would need to disconnect the antenna input from the splitter and join it to the line for your PC with a female coax coupler for the test. (Cables are usually male on both ends.) Here is an example of this type of coupler http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1624

[c4bdriver]

Thanks for that! Just what i needed to know. Access aint too bad, 10 minutes furniture removal! I will try that & if no joy it's a new card.