Will a TV tuner play live TV on an onboard video PC?

Hi,
I've an incident open with Avermedia regarding the M780
combo card. When I install the latest drivers and Avers
Media Center application, the analog input channels
(from my Time Warner cable feed) play back just fine.

However, when I play something from the digital tuner,
(ATSC from the rooftop antenna)
it sometimes plays OK for a few seconds, but eventually
(and sometimes it happens right after I change channels)
it freezes, and if I wait too long ( before, for example, quickly
switching back to analog, or otherwise stopping the MC
display) the whole application has frozen and I have to use
task manager to clear it out. These digitals channels, are either
480i, 720p or 1080i. I haven't seen any pattern in whether
certain channels cause the problem.

Avermedia are trying to lay the blame on the fact that I have
onboard video, which uses up to 256 MB shared memory.

I'm new to tuners so I am unable to evaluate their position.
Could that be the problem? I have 2GB's of Ram, and an
AmD 64 X2 dual core @ 2.2 GHz using XP SP3
This is my motherboard -
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...nt.php?S_ID=26
thanks for any assistance.

What revision level of what OS are you running?
When you say you loaded that latest drivers and Avers application did you
obtain them from the AverMedia Website?
Were you able to get the Avers application to play digital channels?
If not I suggest that you do since if you can't get it to work Windows MC
will not play them either?
Can you use the guide to record a digital channel and play it later?

"davexnet" <> wrote in message
news:#...
> Hi,
> I've an incident open with Avermedia regarding the M780
> combo card. When I install the latest drivers and Avers
> Media Center application, the analog input channels
> (from my Time Warner cable feed) play back just fine.
>
> However, when I play something from the digital tuner,
> (ATSC from the rooftop antenna)
> it sometimes plays OK for a few seconds, but eventually
> (and sometimes it happens right after I change channels)
> it freezes, and if I wait too long ( before, for example, quickly
> switching back to analog, or otherwise stopping the MC
> display) the whole application has frozen and I have to use
> task manager to clear it out. These digitals channels, are either
> 480i, 720p or 1080i. I haven't seen any pattern in whether
> certain channels cause the problem.
>
> Avermedia are trying to lay the blame on the fact that I have
> onboard video, which uses up to 256 MB shared memory.
>
> I'm new to tuners so I am unable to evaluate their position.
> Could that be the problem? I have 2GB's of Ram, and an
> AmD 64 X2 dual core @ 2.2 GHz using XP SP3
> This is my motherboard -
> http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...nt.php?S_ID=26
> thanks for any assistance.
>
>
>

The nvidia 6100 does not support HD video acceleration, coupled with the use
of a 2.2 GHz. cpu explains the inability to properly process a HD stream.
The easiest and least expensive way to overcome this would be to upgrade to
a video card that supports HDVA. My experience with a motherboard with
onboard nVidia 6150 which does supports HDVA was that 720p was the max
output resolution it would support before it displayed the same results you
are experiencing



"davexnet" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Hi,
> I've an incident open with Avermedia regarding the M780
> combo card. When I install the latest drivers and Avers
> Media Center application, the analog input channels
> (from my Time Warner cable feed) play back just fine.
>
> However, when I play something from the digital tuner,
> (ATSC from the rooftop antenna)
> it sometimes plays OK for a few seconds, but eventually
> (and sometimes it happens right after I change channels)
> it freezes, and if I wait too long ( before, for example, quickly
> switching back to analog, or otherwise stopping the MC
> display) the whole application has frozen and I have to use
> task manager to clear it out. These digitals channels, are either
> 480i, 720p or 1080i. I haven't seen any pattern in whether
> certain channels cause the problem.
>
> Avermedia are trying to lay the blame on the fact that I have
> onboard video, which uses up to 256 MB shared memory.
>
> I'm new to tuners so I am unable to evaluate their position.
> Could that be the problem? I have 2GB's of Ram, and an
> AmD 64 X2 dual core @ 2.2 GHz using XP SP3
> This is my motherboard -
> http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...nt.php?S_ID=26
> thanks for any assistance.
>
>
>

I'm perfectly able to play 720p downloaded to a file on the harddrive and
played in Windows media player - is there a difference?
Secondly, I'm not playing it full screen, but in a smallish window - is
there a difference?

Here's the other odd thing: My box is dual boot, xp sp3 and vista sp2.
Those symptoms I described occur in XP SP3. I'm using the latest version
of Aver media center as advised by the company, version 175 available from
their FTP site.

I've also tried the card in Vista with Vista Media Center and TV Pack
installed.
In that setup, the HD channels play without locking up, but the analog
channels
have a problem. After a few seconds of watching an analog station, the
image pixelates, freezes, then the sound turns into a series of chirps.
If I'm not careful and exit out quick, Vista is entirely hung and I have
to use the reset button on the PC to recover the PC.
This is almost the reverse of the situation in XP.

Do you still blame the onboard video ? Of course, I could always pickup
a video card and try it.

"jolt" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> The nvidia 6100 does not support HD video acceleration, coupled with the
use
> of a 2.2 GHz. cpu explains the inability to properly process a HD stream.
> The easiest and least expensive way to overcome this would be to upgrade
to
> a video card that supports HDVA. My experience with a motherboard with
> onboard nVidia 6150 which does supports HDVA was that 720p was the max
> output resolution it would support before it displayed the same results
you
> are experiencing
>
>
>
> "davexnet" <> wrote in message
> news:%...
> > Hi,
> > I've an incident open with Avermedia regarding the M780
> > combo card. When I install the latest drivers and Avers
> > Media Center application, the analog input channels
> > (from my Time Warner cable feed) play back just fine.
> >
> > However, when I play something from the digital tuner,
> > (ATSC from the rooftop antenna)
> > it sometimes plays OK for a few seconds, but eventually
> > (and sometimes it happens right after I change channels)
> > it freezes, and if I wait too long ( before, for example, quickly
> > switching back to analog, or otherwise stopping the MC
> > display) the whole application has frozen and I have to use
> > task manager to clear it out. These digitals channels, are either
> > 480i, 720p or 1080i. I haven't seen any pattern in whether
> > certain channels cause the problem.
> >
> > Avermedia are trying to lay the blame on the fact that I have
> > onboard video, which uses up to 256 MB shared memory.
> >
> > I'm new to tuners so I am unable to evaluate their position.
> > Could that be the problem? I have 2GB's of Ram, and an
> > AmD 64 X2 dual core @ 2.2 GHz using XP SP3
> > This is my motherboard -
> > http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...nt.php?S_ID=26
> > thanks for any assistance.
> >
> >
> >
>

With a nVidia 8500 and a dual core 3800 I can do multiple recordings while
playing back a recording at 1080p. Any newer video card be it ATI or nVidia
will off load the work of HD video to the graphics card. The 6100 is
outdated and was intended to be used in a business environment not in a
HTPC.


"davexnet" <> wrote in message
news:%23WAYg%23%...
> I'm perfectly able to play 720p downloaded to a file on the harddrive and
> played in Windows media player - is there a difference?
> Secondly, I'm not playing it full screen, but in a smallish window - is
> there a difference?
>
> Here's the other odd thing: My box is dual boot, xp sp3 and vista sp2.
> Those symptoms I described occur in XP SP3. I'm using the latest version
> of Aver media center as advised by the company, version 175 available from
> their FTP site.
>
> I've also tried the card in Vista with Vista Media Center and TV Pack
> installed.
> In that setup, the HD channels play without locking up, but the analog
> channels
> have a problem. After a few seconds of watching an analog station, the
> image pixelates, freezes, then the sound turns into a series of chirps.
> If I'm not careful and exit out quick, Vista is entirely hung and I have
> to use the reset button on the PC to recover the PC.
> This is almost the reverse of the situation in XP.
>
> Do you still blame the onboard video ? Of course, I could always pickup
> a video card and try it.
>
> "jolt" <> wrote in message
> news:%...
>> The nvidia 6100 does not support HD video acceleration, coupled with the
> use
>> of a 2.2 GHz. cpu explains the inability to properly process a HD stream.
>> The easiest and least expensive way to overcome this would be to upgrade
> to
>> a video card that supports HDVA. My experience with a motherboard with
>> onboard nVidia 6150 which does supports HDVA was that 720p was the max
>> output resolution it would support before it displayed the same results
> you
>> are experiencing
>>
>>
>>
>> "davexnet" <> wrote in message
>> news:%...
>> > Hi,
>> > I've an incident open with Avermedia regarding the M780
>> > combo card. When I install the latest drivers and Avers
>> > Media Center application, the analog input channels
>> > (from my Time Warner cable feed) play back just fine.
>> >
>> > However, when I play something from the digital tuner,
>> > (ATSC from the rooftop antenna)
>> > it sometimes plays OK for a few seconds, but eventually
>> > (and sometimes it happens right after I change channels)
>> > it freezes, and if I wait too long ( before, for example, quickly
>> > switching back to analog, or otherwise stopping the MC
>> > display) the whole application has frozen and I have to use
>> > task manager to clear it out. These digitals channels, are either
>> > 480i, 720p or 1080i. I haven't seen any pattern in whether
>> > certain channels cause the problem.
>> >
>> > Avermedia are trying to lay the blame on the fact that I have
>> > onboard video, which uses up to 256 MB shared memory.
>> >
>> > I'm new to tuners so I am unable to evaluate their position.
>> > Could that be the problem? I have 2GB's of Ram, and an
>> > AmD 64 X2 dual core @ 2.2 GHz using XP SP3
>> > This is my motherboard -
>> > http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...nt.php?S_ID=26
>> > thanks for any assistance.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>
>

How about this one? Is it suitable ?
It's a deal I found on Newegg. Only 256MB of memory, GDDR3, but it gets a
good review:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130297


"jolt" <> wrote in message
news:O%...
> With a nVidia 8500 and a dual core 3800 I can do multiple recordings while
> playing back a recording at 1080p. Any newer video card be it ATI or
> nVidia will off load the work of HD video to the graphics card. The 6100
> is outdated and was intended to be used in a business environment not in a
> HTPC.
>
>
> "davexnet" <> wrote in message
> news:%23WAYg%23%...
>> I'm perfectly able to play 720p downloaded to a file on the harddrive and
>> played in Windows media player - is there a difference?
>> Secondly, I'm not playing it full screen, but in a smallish window - is
>> there a difference?
>>
>> Here's the other odd thing: My box is dual boot, xp sp3 and vista sp2.
>> Those symptoms I described occur in XP SP3. I'm using the latest version
>> of Aver media center as advised by the company, version 175 available
>> from
>> their FTP site.
>>
>> I've also tried the card in Vista with Vista Media Center and TV Pack
>> installed.
>> In that setup, the HD channels play without locking up, but the analog
>> channels
>> have a problem. After a few seconds of watching an analog station, the
>> image pixelates, freezes, then the sound turns into a series of chirps.
>> If I'm not careful and exit out quick, Vista is entirely hung and I have
>> to use the reset button on the PC to recover the PC.
>> This is almost the reverse of the situation in XP.
>>
>> Do you still blame the onboard video ? Of course, I could always pickup
>> a video card and try it.
>>
>> "jolt" <> wrote in message
>> news:%...
>>> The nvidia 6100 does not support HD video acceleration, coupled with the
>> use
>>> of a 2.2 GHz. cpu explains the inability to properly process a HD
>>> stream.
>>> The easiest and least expensive way to overcome this would be to upgrade
>> to
>>> a video card that supports HDVA. My experience with a motherboard with
>>> onboard nVidia 6150 which does supports HDVA was that 720p was the max
>>> output resolution it would support before it displayed the same results
>> you
>>> are experiencing
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "davexnet" <> wrote in message
>>> news:%...
>>> > Hi,
>>> > I've an incident open with Avermedia regarding the M780
>>> > combo card. When I install the latest drivers and Avers
>>> > Media Center application, the analog input channels
>>> > (from my Time Warner cable feed) play back just fine.
>>> >
>>> > However, when I play something from the digital tuner,
>>> > (ATSC from the rooftop antenna)
>>> > it sometimes plays OK for a few seconds, but eventually
>>> > (and sometimes it happens right after I change channels)
>>> > it freezes, and if I wait too long ( before, for example, quickly
>>> > switching back to analog, or otherwise stopping the MC
>>> > display) the whole application has frozen and I have to use
>>> > task manager to clear it out. These digitals channels, are either
>>> > 480i, 720p or 1080i. I haven't seen any pattern in whether
>>> > certain channels cause the problem.
>>> >
>>> > Avermedia are trying to lay the blame on the fact that I have
>>> > onboard video, which uses up to 256 MB shared memory.
>>> >
>>> > I'm new to tuners so I am unable to evaluate their position.
>>> > Could that be the problem? I have 2GB's of Ram, and an
>>> > AmD 64 X2 dual core @ 2.2 GHz using XP SP3
>>> > This is my motherboard -
>>> > http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...nt.php?S_ID=26
>>> > thanks for any assistance.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>
>>
>

That's right in the sweet spot it will help where the 6100 is lacking and
isn't badly priced, considering the free shipping. On top of getting a more
suitable GNU you won't be dependent on shared memory.



"Dave and Rosanna" <> wrote in message
news:...
> How about this one? Is it suitable ?
> It's a deal I found on Newegg. Only 256MB of memory, GDDR3, but it gets
> a good review:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130297
>
>
> "jolt" <> wrote in message
> news:O%...
>> With a nVidia 8500 and a dual core 3800 I can do multiple recordings
>> while playing back a recording at 1080p. Any newer video card be it ATI
>> or nVidia will off load the work of HD video to the graphics card. The
>> 6100 is outdated and was intended to be used in a business environment
>> not in a HTPC.
>>
>>
>> "davexnet" <> wrote in message
>> news:%23WAYg%23%...
>>> I'm perfectly able to play 720p downloaded to a file on the harddrive
>>> and
>>> played in Windows media player - is there a difference?
>>> Secondly, I'm not playing it full screen, but in a smallish window - is
>>> there a difference?
>>>
>>> Here's the other odd thing: My box is dual boot, xp sp3 and vista sp2.
>>> Those symptoms I described occur in XP SP3. I'm using the latest
>>> version
>>> of Aver media center as advised by the company, version 175 available
>>> from
>>> their FTP site.
>>>
>>> I've also tried the card in Vista with Vista Media Center and TV Pack
>>> installed.
>>> In that setup, the HD channels play without locking up, but the analog
>>> channels
>>> have a problem. After a few seconds of watching an analog station, the
>>> image pixelates, freezes, then the sound turns into a series of chirps.
>>> If I'm not careful and exit out quick, Vista is entirely hung and I have
>>> to use the reset button on the PC to recover the PC.
>>> This is almost the reverse of the situation in XP.
>>>
>>> Do you still blame the onboard video ? Of course, I could always pickup
>>> a video card and try it.
>>>
>>> "jolt" <> wrote in message
>>> news:%...
>>>> The nvidia 6100 does not support HD video acceleration, coupled with
>>>> the
>>> use
>>>> of a 2.2 GHz. cpu explains the inability to properly process a HD
>>>> stream.
>>>> The easiest and least expensive way to overcome this would be to
>>>> upgrade
>>> to
>>>> a video card that supports HDVA. My experience with a motherboard with
>>>> onboard nVidia 6150 which does supports HDVA was that 720p was the max
>>>> output resolution it would support before it displayed the same results
>>> you
>>>> are experiencing
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "davexnet" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:%...
>>>> > Hi,
>>>> > I've an incident open with Avermedia regarding the M780
>>>> > combo card. When I install the latest drivers and Avers
>>>> > Media Center application, the analog input channels
>>>> > (from my Time Warner cable feed) play back just fine.
>>>> >
>>>> > However, when I play something from the digital tuner,
>>>> > (ATSC from the rooftop antenna)
>>>> > it sometimes plays OK for a few seconds, but eventually
>>>> > (and sometimes it happens right after I change channels)
>>>> > it freezes, and if I wait too long ( before, for example, quickly
>>>> > switching back to analog, or otherwise stopping the MC
>>>> > display) the whole application has frozen and I have to use
>>>> > task manager to clear it out. These digitals channels, are either
>>>> > 480i, 720p or 1080i. I haven't seen any pattern in whether
>>>> > certain channels cause the problem.
>>>> >
>>>> > Avermedia are trying to lay the blame on the fact that I have
>>>> > onboard video, which uses up to 256 MB shared memory.
>>>> >
>>>> > I'm new to tuners so I am unable to evaluate their position.
>>>> > Could that be the problem? I have 2GB's of Ram, and an
>>>> > AmD 64 X2 dual core @ 2.2 GHz using XP SP3
>>>> > This is my motherboard -
>>>> > http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...nt.php?S_ID=26
>>>> > thanks for any assistance.
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>

Thanks I'll update this thread when the card arrives and I've tried it out.

In the meantime, I've asked Avermedia to explain why their MC application
uses 50% of my cpu (That's the whole of one core) during analog "record".
Surely, all the work is done by the onboard encoder chip?

As a comparison, recording analog on Vista MC, my cpu utilization was only
20%. - Something is not right with that.


"jolt" <> wrote in message
news:...
> That's right in the sweet spot it will help where the 6100 is lacking and
> isn't badly priced, considering the free shipping. On top of getting a
> more suitable GNU you won't be dependent on shared memory.
>
>
>
> "Dave and Rosanna" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> How about this one? Is it suitable ?
>> It's a deal I found on Newegg. Only 256MB of memory, GDDR3, but it gets
>> a good review:
>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130297
>>
>>
>> "jolt" <> wrote in message
>> news:O%...
>>> With a nVidia 8500 and a dual core 3800 I can do multiple recordings
>>> while playing back a recording at 1080p. Any newer video card be it ATI
>>> or nVidia will off load the work of HD video to the graphics card. The
>>> 6100 is outdated and was intended to be used in a business environment
>>> not in a HTPC.
>>>
>>>
>>> "davexnet" <> wrote in message
>>> news:%23WAYg%23%...
>>>> I'm perfectly able to play 720p downloaded to a file on the harddrive
>>>> and
>>>> played in Windows media player - is there a difference?
>>>> Secondly, I'm not playing it full screen, but in a smallish window - is
>>>> there a difference?
>>>>
>>>> Here's the other odd thing: My box is dual boot, xp sp3 and vista sp2.
>>>> Those symptoms I described occur in XP SP3. I'm using the latest
>>>> version
>>>> of Aver media center as advised by the company, version 175 available
>>>> from
>>>> their FTP site.
>>>>
>>>> I've also tried the card in Vista with Vista Media Center and TV Pack
>>>> installed.
>>>> In that setup, the HD channels play without locking up, but the analog
>>>> channels
>>>> have a problem. After a few seconds of watching an analog station,
>>>> the
>>>> image pixelates, freezes, then the sound turns into a series of chirps.
>>>> If I'm not careful and exit out quick, Vista is entirely hung and I
>>>> have
>>>> to use the reset button on the PC to recover the PC.
>>>> This is almost the reverse of the situation in XP.
>>>>
>>>> Do you still blame the onboard video ? Of course, I could always
>>>> pickup
>>>> a video card and try it.
>>>>
>>>> "jolt" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:%...
>>>>> The nvidia 6100 does not support HD video acceleration, coupled with
>>>>> the
>>>> use
>>>>> of a 2.2 GHz. cpu explains the inability to properly process a HD
>>>>> stream.
>>>>> The easiest and least expensive way to overcome this would be to
>>>>> upgrade
>>>> to
>>>>> a video card that supports HDVA. My experience with a motherboard with
>>>>> onboard nVidia 6150 which does supports HDVA was that 720p was the max
>>>>> output resolution it would support before it displayed the same
>>>>> results
>>>> you
>>>>> are experiencing
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "davexnet" <> wrote in message
>>>>> news:%...
>>>>> > Hi,
>>>>> > I've an incident open with Avermedia regarding the M780
>>>>> > combo card. When I install the latest drivers and Avers
>>>>> > Media Center application, the analog input channels
>>>>> > (from my Time Warner cable feed) play back just fine.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > However, when I play something from the digital tuner,
>>>>> > (ATSC from the rooftop antenna)
>>>>> > it sometimes plays OK for a few seconds, but eventually
>>>>> > (and sometimes it happens right after I change channels)
>>>>> > it freezes, and if I wait too long ( before, for example, quickly
>>>>> > switching back to analog, or otherwise stopping the MC
>>>>> > display) the whole application has frozen and I have to use
>>>>> > task manager to clear it out. These digitals channels, are either
>>>>> > 480i, 720p or 1080i. I haven't seen any pattern in whether
>>>>> > certain channels cause the problem.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Avermedia are trying to lay the blame on the fact that I have
>>>>> > onboard video, which uses up to 256 MB shared memory.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > I'm new to tuners so I am unable to evaluate their position.
>>>>> > Could that be the problem? I have 2GB's of Ram, and an
>>>>> > AmD 64 X2 dual core @ 2.2 GHz using XP SP3
>>>>> > This is my motherboard -
>>>>> > http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...nt.php?S_ID=26
>>>>> > thanks for any assistance.
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>