You did the firmware update from the ATI site to the April of this year date, right? It's a bit messy, you have to take out the cable cards (after shut down) start up and run the update within a time window they tell you. My installer found both units and updated, but I did that before I got the cards installed.

If you want to check both tuners in the diagnotics make sure that nothing is recording and that you haven't used live tv in the session. When you check the tuners they'll both go to the same channel (the last one tuned) when you run the signal check.

Sounds like you're looking at pictures--will be interested to see if you run into any interlace stuttering. I had it only on certain channels (TCM for one) where it looked like it was repeating I frames and not building intermediate update. That was a function of the video card (I have the same card but with 256 instead of 512). So it will be interesting if you see the problem.

Also you know that anything you record with the cable card installed can't be burned to DVD until there is a further firmware update and you install Tv Pack 2008 (however we wind up getting that).

John

---

XPS420: Quad, 4 Gig, 650/1T internal, 3 eSata
Dual ATI Cable Cards (SA-800 M)
T-W W Valley (LA)
ATI Radeon HD3870 (DVI/HDMI)
3 Maxtor NAS (320/500/1T)
2 XP, 1 Macintosh X (10.4.11), HP 280N extender, Linksys DMA2100, DMA2200
Promise Ns4300 Raid 5

FSUGrad1999:

Can I just go through the TV>Setup TV Signal and uncheck that one tuner?

Not according to what I've read. You can have one or two cable card tuners but if you have a card in one you have to have a card in the second one. Since you have internals I don't know if you can defeat it there or not. If it doesn't work, then pull the card if they can't get it actived so you get the activation received in the Host ID page.

John

---

XPS420: Quad, 4 Gig, 650/1T internal, 3 eSata
Dual ATI Cable Cards (SA-800 M)
T-W W Valley (LA)
ATI Radeon HD3870 (DVI/HDMI)
3 Maxtor NAS (320/500/1T)
2 XP, 1 Macintosh X (10.4.11), HP 280N extender, Linksys DMA2100, DMA2200
Promise Ns4300 Raid 5

JohnW248:

You did the firmware update from the ATI site to the April of this year date, right? It's a bit messy, you have to take out the cable cards (after shut down) start up and run the update within a time window they tell you. My installer found both units and updated, but I did that before I got the cards installed.

When I run the firmware update util, it says both cards are using the most up to date firmware

JohnW248:

If you want to check both tuners in the diagnotics make sure that nothing is recording and that you haven't used live tv in the session. When you check the tuners they'll both go to the same channel (the last one tuned) when you run the signal check..

Yup, I noticed that... 

JohnW248:

Sounds like you're looking at pictures--will be interested to see if you run into any interlace stuttering. I had it only on certain channels (TCM for one) where it looked like it was repeating I frames and not building intermediate update. That was a function of the video card (I have the same card but with 256 instead of 512). So it will be interesting if you see the problem. .

Hmmm. ...   I'll check that and see

JohnW248:

Also you know that anything you record with the cable card installed can't be burned to DVD until there is a further firmware update and you install Tv Pack 2008 (however we wind up getting that).

. .

Yup.  

---

myspace.com/patsowellproject

Velocity Micro Z70:
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
Core 2 Quad Q9450
4GB DDR2-800
512MB ATI Radeon 3450
2 x ATI OCUR DCT's
HDHomeRun dual QAM
300GB 10k RPM for OS
2TB RAID5
2 x Xbox 360's
52" LCD 1080p
40" LCD 1080p

You can check the dates by going back into network and clicking on each device and it'll show you the dates of all the firmware in the tuner (not the cable card) and check that against the ATI website. The dates should be April 7, 2008. If they're not, download the update and the instructions. With internals you'll have to shut down, pull the cable cards and then within the time window run the update. If you haven't been through this check because my tuners shipped directly from ATI in July 2008 and had last fall's firmware--must have been sitting in the warehouse waiting for my order I guess.

John

---

XPS420: Quad, 4 Gig, 650/1T internal, 3 eSata
Dual ATI Cable Cards (SA-800 M)
T-W W Valley (LA)
ATI Radeon HD3870 (DVI/HDMI)
3 Maxtor NAS (320/500/1T)
2 XP, 1 Macintosh X (10.4.11), HP 280N extender, Linksys DMA2100, DMA2200
Promise Ns4300 Raid 5

JohnW248:

You can check the dates by going back into network and clicking on each device and it'll show you the dates of all the firmware in the tuner (not the cable card) and check that against the ATI website. The dates should be April 7, 2008. If they're not, download the update and the instructions. With internals you'll have to shut down, pull the cable cards and then within the time window run the update. If you haven't been through this check because my tuners shipped directly from ATI in July 2008 and had last fall's firmware--must have been sitting in the warehouse waiting for my order I guess.

John

I checked the one that's working, and that's the one I'm using...  i'll check the other here in just a moment

---

myspace.com/patsowellproject

Velocity Micro Z70:
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
Core 2 Quad Q9450
4GB DDR2-800
512MB ATI Radeon 3450
2 x ATI OCUR DCT's
HDHomeRun dual QAM
300GB 10k RPM for OS
2TB RAID5
2 x Xbox 360's
52" LCD 1080p
40" LCD 1080p

Okay yea, they both have the newest firmware...  not sure what else to do here....  Calling Charter again..

---

myspace.com/patsowellproject

Velocity Micro Z70:
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
Core 2 Quad Q9450
4GB DDR2-800
512MB ATI Radeon 3450
2 x ATI OCUR DCT's
HDHomeRun dual QAM
300GB 10k RPM for OS
2TB RAID5
2 x Xbox 360's
52" LCD 1080p
40" LCD 1080p

If both cable cards are authorized, are locked to out of band (that's the feedback signal path) and you can see a picture when you check signal in media center but still get the unauthorized display then .... I would suspect DHCP problems somewhere in the hand off from the cable card to the computer to the video card to the display.

In theory you should be able to access the tuner in the extender if the problem is either the video card or the display. I don't know if VM does this, but Dell makes you buy a certain card if you order the cable card so the next contact might be VM Support.

John

---

XPS420: Quad, 4 Gig, 650/1T internal, 3 eSata
Dual ATI Cable Cards (SA-800 M)
T-W W Valley (LA)
ATI Radeon HD3870 (DVI/HDMI)
3 Maxtor NAS (320/500/1T)
2 XP, 1 Macintosh X (10.4.11), HP 280N extender, Linksys DMA2100, DMA2200
Promise Ns4300 Raid 5

JohnW248:

If both cable cards are authorized, are locked to out of band (that's the feedback signal path) and you can see a picture when you check signal in media center but still get the unauthorized display then .... I would suspect DHCP problems somewhere in the hand off from the cable card to the computer to the video card to the display.

In theory you should be able to access the tuner in the extender if the problem is either the video card or the display. I don't know if VM does this, but Dell makes you buy a certain card if you order the cable card so the next contact might be VM Support.

John

No, I solved the unathorized crap with a VGA cable...  when i switched back to DVI, it came back again, so I'm prob going back to VGA...

As for seeing a picture with both tuners, I could only get a picture in one tuner with the cable cards in...  If I remove both the cablecards, I get a picture on both tuners.

---

myspace.com/patsowellproject

Velocity Micro Z70:
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
Core 2 Quad Q9450
4GB DDR2-800
512MB ATI Radeon 3450
2 x ATI OCUR DCT's
HDHomeRun dual QAM
300GB 10k RPM for OS
2TB RAID5
2 x Xbox 360's
52" LCD 1080p
40" LCD 1080p

Try a quick check with both cards in an authorized. Tune to live tv and then right click and choose record. Then while the recording is in progress change the station. If you can, then you've switched to the other tuner. If you can't then the other tuner isn't working.

To check this in the diagnotics you have to make sure a tuner isn't engaged or you'll only get a signal on tuner 2.

---

XPS420: Quad, 4 Gig, 650/1T internal, 3 eSata
Dual ATI Cable Cards (SA-800 M)
T-W W Valley (LA)
ATI Radeon HD3870 (DVI/HDMI)
3 Maxtor NAS (320/500/1T)
2 XP, 1 Macintosh X (10.4.11), HP 280N extender, Linksys DMA2100, DMA2200
Promise Ns4300 Raid 5

If you get a picture on VGA (which is supposed to be down rezzed as I recall) but not on DVI then it sounds like DHCP on the monitor or video card. Another possibility is the cable--there are several types of DVI cables and you need one that carries just digital and you need to reboot and turn the monitor off and then on when you switch it to DVI (all part of the DHCP I think so you can't handshake and then plug the cable into something else).

This DHCP stuff gets old pretty quick. If you've got a HDMI display reboot with the HDMI plugged in and see if that changes things.

John

---

XPS420: Quad, 4 Gig, 650/1T internal, 3 eSata
Dual ATI Cable Cards (SA-800 M)
T-W W Valley (LA)
ATI Radeon HD3870 (DVI/HDMI)
3 Maxtor NAS (320/500/1T)
2 XP, 1 Macintosh X (10.4.11), HP 280N extender, Linksys DMA2100, DMA2200
Promise Ns4300 Raid 5

JohnW248:

Try a quick check with both cards in an authorized. Tune to live tv and then right click and choose record. Then while the recording is in progress change the station. If you can, then you've switched to the other tuner. If you can't then the other tuner isn't working.

To check this in the diagnotics you have to make sure a tuner isn't engaged or you'll only get a signal on tuner 2.

ok, I was pretty sure only one was working before, because I was checking them in diagnostics and only one got a signal. .  Maybe its because I was using one to watch a channel...  Can't I press stop and that will free both of them up on the diagnostic test?

---

myspace.com/patsowellproject

Velocity Micro Z70:
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
Core 2 Quad Q9450
4GB DDR2-800
512MB ATI Radeon 3450
2 x ATI OCUR DCT's
HDHomeRun dual QAM
300GB 10k RPM for OS
2TB RAID5
2 x Xbox 360's
52" LCD 1080p
40" LCD 1080p

   If the recording channel change works, then both tuners are working. Press stop and exit Media Center. Then restart media center and go to TV signal and cable card diag and then check signal on each card. If both are authorized when you do this, you should see a signal in the window with the channel number of the last channel you were watching. Both tuners will go to that same channel, but both would be working. If you get a blue screen and no signal then there is another problem which might be the tuner, the cable card or windows and thos DRM and DHCP permissions again.

John

---

XPS420: Quad, 4 Gig, 650/1T internal, 3 eSata
Dual ATI Cable Cards (SA-800 M)
T-W W Valley (LA)
ATI Radeon HD3870 (DVI/HDMI)
3 Maxtor NAS (320/500/1T)
2 XP, 1 Macintosh X (10.4.11), HP 280N extender, Linksys DMA2100, DMA2200
Promise Ns4300 Raid 5

John,

I'll have to really really check it...  But as far as I know, both tuners will tune to the lower (basic) channels without the cards in...  With the cards in, only one tuner picks up most of my channels (including premiums) while the other one doesn't get anything- not even the basic channels with the card in...  I could be wrong, but this is how I've been seeing it under the digital cable tuner diagnostics under the signal area... I will wrestle with it tonight (I guess)... I've already spent about 8hrs on this already....  Most of my weekend was spent staring at the guide download (setting up tuners over and over).... or sitting on hold with Charter...  such a pain.

Another thing to note, when I was first setting this thing up (when I had the cards in upside down) I could setup both ATI tuners and both of my HDHR tuners (on QAM) without too much trouble...  Now that I have the cards in, VMC isn't asking me anything about the HDHR, and the 1800's channels no longer appear in my guide.  So that's very strange.

I was wondering, if I have a bad cablecard, then I wonder if I could (instead of unplugging that tuner altogether) if I could remove the card in that one tuner and set it up for the basic channels and then setup the other ATI tuner for all my channels, then hopefully get the HDHR setup on both tuners for clear QAM.  That would be pretty close to what I'm looking for.....

I made an appointment with Charter....  Had to schedule it for this weekend....  the only times they can come during the week this week is while I'm at work, and since I'm a contractor its tough for me to work from home and if I take off, its basically unpaid.  So it looks like it will be another 5+ days before I can get my hands on another card to test with...  :( :( :( :(

---

myspace.com/patsowellproject

Velocity Micro Z70:
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
Core 2 Quad Q9450
4GB DDR2-800
512MB ATI Radeon 3450
2 x ATI OCUR DCT's
HDHomeRun dual QAM
300GB 10k RPM for OS
2TB RAID5
2 x Xbox 360's
52" LCD 1080p
40" LCD 1080p

I wouldn't be happy with a defective product. You paid a good bit of money for it and you deserve the correct service on it.

Perhaps you need to redo guided setup, once you get the cablecard (or ATI tuner replaced.)

If both tuners work on normal channels and one doesn't work on the HD or premiums it could very well just be a pairing issue... if not then one or both parts of the puzzle are bad.

Lets hope its the cablecard.

You can always retry guidedsetup though.

---

My VMC setup:
(2) Xbox360s
System 1 -
Dell XPS410 (2.6Ghz C2D, 2GB Ram,Nvidia 8600GT, Blu-ray internal, HD-DVD external (X360 drive), (2) Vboxx DTA150s (OTA HD), 1 HVR-1150 (OTA HD) and Dish Network

rgreenpc:

I wouldn't be happy with a defective product. You paid a good bit of money for it and you deserve the correct service on it. Perhaps you need to redo guided setup, once you get the cablecard (or ATI tuner replaced.) If both tuners work on normal channels and one doesn't work on the HD or premiums it could very well just be a pairing issue... if not then one or both parts of the puzzle are bad. Lets hope its the cablecard. You can always retry guidedsetup though.

Yea, I'm hopping its the CableCard also.... just frustrating, because Charter can't tell me whether or not its paired correctly...  I've given them the Serial Number and Host ID about 3x now... every time they tell me, okay... it should be working in 5-45mins...  and nothing.

Is there no way to tell either in the ATI diagnostic website "trace" window or some area in media center why its not working?  Like its not pairing, not tuning, what? 

 

---

myspace.com/patsowellproject

Velocity Micro Z70:
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
Core 2 Quad Q9450
4GB DDR2-800
512MB ATI Radeon 3450
2 x ATI OCUR DCT's
HDHomeRun dual QAM
300GB 10k RPM for OS
2TB RAID5
2 x Xbox 360's
52" LCD 1080p
40" LCD 1080p