Best usb tv card for Vista?

[spidey2k7]

Evening all.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a decent TV card for a Vista Laptop?


I purchased a Dazzle TV package from PC world and it was appauling. The software (PC TV) was plagued with bugs and the remote control wouldn't work properly.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Chris.Day]

Do you need analogue or digital?

[spidey2k7]

Originally Posted by Chris.Day

Do you need analogue or digital?

Sorry, preferably digital.

[lugonn]

I had the same problems with my Dazzle usb TV stick. I solved the problem by downloading the latest software from the pinnaclesys website, the software bundled with the hardware wouldn't work properly with Vista. If you haven't done this I would give it a go.

[spidey2k7]

Originally Posted by lugonn

I had the same problems with my Dazzle usb TV stick. I solved the problem by downloading the latest software from the pinnaclesys website, the software bundled with the hardware wouldn't work properly with Vista. If you haven't done this I would give it a go.

Yeah I did have a look on the Pinnacle site, trouble is my model isn't listed with any of the PCTV versions as 'Supported Hardware'.

Suppose I could give the latest version a go. Did you get a remote control with your hardware?

[lugonn]

No, I bought the cheap version just £25, couldn't see the point of a remote when I'm sat at the computer.

Looking at the website it can be difficult to work out which product is which as they all seem to be referred to by the same name, it's best to go by the model number. Do you know what the model number is for your hardware? On mine the model number is on the underside of the TV stick.

Try using this address and looking down the left hand side for your model number

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/vista/vista_tv_uk.asp

When you click on the link for your model it takes you to a general download page so be sure to scroll down to the correct software version. As some models are supported by more than one piece of software make sure you use the one listed on the page of links as the other one is just a beta version I believe.

Hope this helps

[spidey2k7]

Originally Posted by lugonn

No, I bought the cheap version just £25, couldn't see the point of a remote when I'm sat at the computer.

Looking at the website it can be difficult to work out which product is which as they all seem to be referred to by the same name, it's best to go by the model number. Do you know what the model number is for your hardware? On mine the model number is on the underside of the TV stick.

Try using this address and looking down the left hand side for your model number

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/vista/vista_tv_uk.asp

When you click on the link for your model it takes you to a general download page so be sure to scroll down to the correct software version. As some models are supported by more than one piece of software make sure you use the one listed on the page of links as the other one is just a beta version I believe.

Hope this helps

Thanks for your help.

[spidey2k7]

Well, I tried the latest software but no joy, so the Pinnacle product went back and I exchanged it for a Hauppauge Win TV Nova-T...

Having less luck with this than I did the Pinnacle setup! Arrrrggggghhhhhhh


Have updated to latest software (win tv 4.1) and drivers, and again, no joy.

Hardware is recognised in the devices list and is deemed to be working normally.

The problem occurs when trying to scan for channels (within win TV and a similar pattern occurs in Media Centre). You click the scan button and you get a notification that the software is scanning, but thats it, it doesn't progress any further. I had left it in this state for half an hour.

So I just don't know. I thought maybe my fortunes would change going to a different manufacturer, but clearly not. I'm now starting to question if it's the laptop or OS that's causing the conflict.

Laptop Spec:

Dell Inspiron 1501
AMD Turion 64 MK36 2Ghz
1GB Ram
Vista Home Premium 32 Bit


Please can someone advise? Have any of you experienced problems like this?
Help!!

[lugonn]

What type of antenna are you connected too when scanning? I found the supplied aerial pretty poor. I connected my computer to my household aerial for the initial scan and changed to a portable aerial when the channels had been saved.

[Chris.Day]

Originally Posted by spidey2k7

The problem occurs when trying to scan for channels (within win TV and a similar pattern occurs in Media Centre). You click the scan button and you get a notification that the software is scanning, but thats it, it doesn't progress any further. I had left it in this state for half an hour.

Save this to your desktop:
http://www.quantexzone.com/files/scb...nelsBDA_UK.exe

Run it, and then select Option 1 to scan all UK frequencies. It will create a file called ScanChannelsBDA.log on your desktop. If you zip it up and attach it I will take a look at it, because you can tell from that whether the card is trying to scan or not. Generally, the supplied aerial is completely useless.

[y2k]

What do you have a pcmcia or express slot on your laptop? Avermedia do a 34mm hybrid expresscard thats supposed work well with vista. I had a pinnacle hybrid pro usb stick and couldn't get a proper signal with either the analogue or digital tuner on it even with a rooftop aerial so I took it back, I have read that hauppage are probably the best tv tuners but they dont do the 34mm expresscard that im looking for.

[spidey2k7]

I'm using the Nova-T usb stick. I've connected the standard aerial, but it's running through a powered booster.

I will get the download and forward the results to you chris.


Thanks for your assistance people.

[Chris.Day]

I've seen what you're seeing a couple of times (Strength=0, Quality=-100). I my case, unplugging and replugging in the Nova-t Stick after installing the drivers got it working.

Generally, if you see Strength=0, it means that the driver is not functioning correctly. Even with no signal (or a dead tuner) you would see varying strength figures. (note: this applies to the Nova-t Stick only; some tuners such as the HVR-900 report 0 when there is no signal lock).

[spidey2k7]

Originally Posted by Chris.Day

I've seen what you're seeing a couple of times (Strength=0, Quality=-100). I my case, unplugging and replugging in the Nova-t Stick after installing the drivers got it working.

Generally, if you see Strength=0, it means that the driver is not functioning correctly. Even with no signal (or a dead tuner) you would see varying strength figures. (note: this applies to the Nova-t Stick only; some tuners such as the HVR-900 report 0 when there is no signal lock).

Thanks for your help, much appreciated. I will give that a go and see how I get on.

[spidey2k7]

Originally Posted by Chris.Day

I've seen what you're seeing a couple of times (Strength=0, Quality=-100). I my case, unplugging and replugging in the Nova-t Stick after installing the drivers got it working.

Generally, if you see Strength=0, it means that the driver is not functioning correctly. Even with no signal (or a dead tuner) you would see varying strength figures. (note: this applies to the Nova-t Stick only; some tuners such as the HVR-900 report 0 when there is no signal lock).

No luck with that. It's just really odd. The device is present in the dev manager and has no conflicts and registers as working properly.

I'm not sure what else to try now to be honest.