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Windows Media Center won't detect ClearQAM (1 Viewer)

Dan Rudolph

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I have a recently built HTPC running Windows 7 32-bit ultimate. I am attempting to record Clear QAM. I have two tuner cards in it: an ATI TV Wonder 650 (PCI) and a Hauppage WinTV-HVR-1600. Media Center detects the analog and digital tuners, but when I go to scan channels, I only end up with analog channels. If I try to add the QAM channels by entering the number, it won't bring anything up. I cannot figure out what is wrong. There are definitely ClearQAM channels to record. My TV can see quite a few of them. I looked around with google, but everything seem to say it should find the digital channels on its own. How do I use my digital tuners?
 

Parker Clack

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My QAM channels are listed but I had to go into the add channels option and then pick and choose which ones out of the list would actually give me a picture with sound. Out of the 50 or so channels listed I can pick up about 5. You may just have to go through your list one by one and see which ones pull in a channel and add them to your list and then delete the ones that don't give you anything.


What cable service are you using?
 

Dan Rudolph

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I am using Mediacom. I'm not sure what you are describing. The auto-generated list only has analog titles. If I try to manually add channels with the frequencies I pulled off the TV, it tells me no signal.


I've been tryign to piece together how thsi works online. If they were present, but I had no guide info, would they still show in the list?
 

mattCR

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Because Media Center wants to grab QAM64, it mostly won't detect QAM. In order to get them, you need to manually add. If you're puzzled about where they are, you should go here:


http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/


Enter your zip code.

Choose your provider.

It will give you a list of all the QAM availabe in your area, and the channel #s to input them into Media Center.


 

Dan Rudolph

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That's basically what I was doing. Silicondust shows more or less the same list of channels I get on my TV for Mediacom in Cedar Rapids, (a few are different, but I assume the list is just out of date). I can add the channels, but when I attempt to view them, it tells me there's no signal. I've tried several channels and they are all like this.
 

mattCR

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Ok. Both of the cards you describe have 2 Cable TV jacks on the back of them. (one for analog, one for digital). You do have a cable connected to both, correct?
 

Dan Rudolph

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I have both connected on the WinTV card. The ATI card seems to be a single hybrid tuner and the other post is FM radio. I have the cable connected to the TV side on there.
 

mattCR

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It's mislabeled. The ATI650 chipset doesn't support an FM Tuner. Connect both to it :) Give it a try. To test this theory, find one of your QAM channels, and select 'edit channel' chose 'sources' and put your WinTV as your first choice in source.


But I'm betting dollars to donuts you need to have both connected to a cable TV input; because the ATI650 doesn't support de-multiplexing, and so it has to have a seperate input for both ATSC/QAM and Analog.
 

mattCR

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It does support it with an add-on connector.. which no one that I know of ever supported.


If you card looks like this:





Then the two cable connectors are: Analog and ATSC.


This is the Diamond version (which I have)





One is ATSC, one is Analog. This is the PCI-E version, but the same is true of the PCI.


http://www.diamondmm.com/product_print.php?product=TVW650PCIE


From their spec sheet:


  • PCI-Express 1X Interface
  • F-Type Coax input for Analog TV (NTSC)
  • F-Type Coax input for HDTV (ATSC) / FM Radio
  • S-video input
  • Stereo audio input

Because the ATSC port can decode either QAM OR connect to an HD TV antenna, it retrieves FM Stereo signal from that connector (if you are using an HDTV Antenna (rabbit ears). But if you are using QAM, the FM Receptor is disabled.


No ATI650 card seperates the two into a seperate tuner, so while the chip supports doing so, it is constantly intertwined with the ATSC, assuming an antenna is present ;)
 

Dan Rudolph

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That was partially the problem. The misleading labelling and lack of a manual are just begging for this confusion. I hooked it up and scanned again. This time I founf three digital channels (11.1, 11.2 & 11.3) which it named HD, SD and SD. All of them told me no signal, though.
 

mattCR

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I'm surprised it found any via a scan, it should not find QAM via a scan, you will have to manually add them as above. But once you're connected your manual additions should work. 11.x would not be QAM. It's thinking it's finding ATSC antenna signal on those channels.


Here's the MediaCom guide:


http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:52402#lineup_2686333


Wow. Lots of QAM, though most of it is SD clone, which is kind of 'eh'.
 

Dan Rudolph

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Oddly enough, the TV picks up 11.1 as well (with picture). I'll try again entering some of the higher numbers. It's annoying because my splitter is not sufficient to do the TV and all four posts on the tuners at the same time.
 

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Dan, I don't know if this is related to your issue, but at some point last year, Comcast started moving their channels from us-cable to us-HRC, and the channel assignments went from the 80-140 range down to the 20-40 range. I needed to download a firmware upgrade for the HDHomerun to be able to access the HRC channels. I also had to update the config file for my recording software to compensate. I don't know if this will help you, but maybe it will get you on the right track.


BTW, it takes ages for the silicondust website up to update the channel listings. They were out of date for so long I didn't even bother using them.
 

JimKr

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My Hauppauge 2250 picks up QAM 256 channels just fine here on TWC. I only have the $12/month basic service but when I am starting a scan and giving MC info about my location and cable company I have to tell it that I use the local Digital setup (where you would normally rent a box from them). It finds hundreds of encrypted channels and the few HD locals that are not encrypted. I have it scan that AND the Analog (or Cable-Ready) as the list calls it so I get all the analogs as well as the unencrypted local HD stations on the digital.


This is your issue I bet, you are telling it to scan the analog only level of service your Cable Co provides.


[edit] Added emphasis
 

Dan Rudolph

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Still nothing. The hauppage has 3 posts: FM, digital and analog. The ATI has two posts, digital and analog. All are hooked up but the FM and while it detects the digital tuners, it doesn't detect any channels. I copied the channel lit off the TV, sticking to the upper channels to make sure they were QAM. Nothing detected on QAM 64 or 256.
 

mattCR

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I've never in any market made MCE detect QAM channels. I've always had to manually add them. They always work. They won't be on upper channels (which won't find) they should be manually entered through the interface with their QAM settings (QAM256, channel#.channelID So, 113.12 etc.)


Answers at Microsoft:


http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7pictures/thread/1f8f3106-bfce-4148-aad7-6eed94c132ce
 

JimKr

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Originally Posted by Dan Rudolph


You need to select the one that has the QAM channels even though you may not subscribe to the service that requires the Digital box that gets all the channels. Once in a while the scan finds the channels but doesn't remap them to the local channel numbers, this is the only instance where I have had to manually add them as QAM 256 stations. NOTE: In this instance, for me to know where the channels are, I had to have some info which I got from the fine people at AVS forums which has a separate thread for most every major city in the continental US. My unmapped station list looks something like this:


//TWC QAM Channels:
WLWT-HD 75.1
KET-HD is 75.3
WKRC-HD is 76.21
CinCW is 76.22
WCPO-HD is 76.31
WXIX-HD is 78.2
WCET-HD is 78.7
ThisTV is 78.103


For instance, 75.1 here locally is mapped as Channel 5.1, 76.31 is mapped locally as Channel 9.1, and so on...


Forum is here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=45



[edit] BTW, my Hauppauge 2250 has dual tuners, the inputs on it are 2 coaxials connectors. One coax connector is for FM and I don't use it. The other coax connector is both analog and digital dual tuners. FWIW.


[edit2] Oh yes, the local TV gurus who hang out in the thread for my area also warned me that, since I get the basic $12/month locals only service from TWC, that they come and put filters on to keep you from getting a higher range of analog channels *and* for the digital block they would normally just block 2-way communication that the digital box uses. This would effectively block out all the digital channels, QAM included even though they are unencrypted local channels.


HOLD ON NOW! IF you also have Roadrunner internet service, which I do, they can't block the 2 way comm I assume because they need to see your MAC address of your internet router. So, even though you aren't using TWC as I recall, this same scenario may apply.
 

Dan Rudolph

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Thanks everyone. The problem was that the Hauppage card was defective. The digital tuner didn't work. Splitting the channels found it. The first time I tried was before I hooked up the confusingly labelled ATI digital feed, though, which is why I didn't figure it out earlier. I've written to the guy who sold it to me on Amazon.
 

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