Vista Media Center will not allow me to set up TV tuner

I have a ATI TV Wonder 650 pci card. The card worked fine with Xp with ATI's
software, but when I try to setup Media Center under Vista it will not allow
me to set up the card. I have the card connected via the composite
connections of the 650 card. During set-up I get to the place where I get an
message that "IR Hardware not detected" and the installation will no longer
continue. I can see a picture in the set-up window. But the setup program
will not let continue past this point. I have tried different setup
configurations, but none allow me to use the composite connection from the
ATI card without having the "IR hardware."

Any help would greatly appreciated.

I'm using MCE 2005, but it is probably the same in Vista.

You need to have the IR receiver/Blaster devices plugged in so Media Center
can control your Set Top Box (STB) whether that STB is for a satellite
system or cable. Without the IR hardware, you would not be able to do
unattended recording.

The fix is to get a MCE remote/receiver combo or use analog cable where the
tuner card is directly controlling the channels.
--
James
Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), Florida

"dpic" <> wrote in message
news:48970F22-4571-45FF-AD5C-...
>I have a ATI TV Wonder 650 pci card. The card worked fine with Xp with
>ATI's
> software, but when I try to setup Media Center under Vista it will not
> allow
> me to set up the card. I have the card connected via the composite
> connections of the 650 card. During set-up I get to the place where I get
> an
> message that "IR Hardware not detected" and the installation will no
> longer
> continue. I can see a picture in the set-up window. But the setup
> program
> will not let continue past this point. I have tried different setup
> configurations, but none allow me to use the composite connection from the
> ATI card without having the "IR hardware."
>
> Any help would greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the response, Jaime. I use the remote that came with the sat
receiver, so I don't need the IR Blaster. For unattended recording I merely
set my channel and use the composite input for recording. This is the way it
worked under Xp with ATI software. I simply don't need anymore hardware.
The card works fine as it--except for the fact Media Center will not allow me
to set up the card. It's just that ATI software isn't ready for Vista yet,
and I need to use Media Center.

I don't understand why Media Center is requiring hardware that isn't
required for the TV to work properly;.

Unfortunately, that's not how it works in Media Center.

Media Center needs to be able to control the set top box. The whole premise
behind it is that it will do all the channel changing for you (i.e.
unattended).


--
Jason Tsang - Microsoft MVP

Read my blog for the latest in Media Center topics
(and other topics that interest me)
http://jtsang.blogspot.com

More information by me
http://jtsang.mvps.org
http://www.classicsunveiled.com

Find out about the MS MVP Program -
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx



"dpic" <> wrote in message
news:174935A0-3873-44C1-BBC0-...
>
> Thanks for the response, Jaime. I use the remote that came with the sat
> receiver, so I don't need the IR Blaster. For unattended recording I
> merely
> set my channel and use the composite input for recording. This is the way
> it
> worked under Xp with ATI software. I simply don't need anymore hardware.
> The card works fine as it--except for the fact Media Center will not allow
> me
> to set up the card. It's just that ATI software isn't ready for Vista
> yet,
> and I need to use Media Center.
>
> I don't understand why Media Center is requiring hardware that isn't
> required for the TV to work properly;.

"Jason Tsang" wrote:

> Unfortunately, that's not how it works in Media Center.
>
> Media Center needs to be able to control the set top box. The whole premise
> behind it is that it will do all the channel changing for you (i.e.
> unattended).
>
>
> --
> Jason Tsang - Microsoft MVP
>
Thanks for the response, Jason. The problem I have is the hardware
requirements from Microsoft to run Vista Home Premium:

"Home Premium / Ultimate

TV tuner card required for TV functionality (compatible remote control
optional)."
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...uirements.mspx

No where does it state I need IR hardware. This is very disappointing. I
feel mislead. I bought a new tuner card for Vista, yet it does not work even
though I have all the required components listed by Microsoft. I have the TV
Tuner card, but the app will not work

How does that work if you want to record things on different channels while
you're away?

You might be able to borrow a receiver from someone (with Media Center), do
the setup, then unplug it. Not sure if it would squawk the first time you
start it without the receiver plugged in.
--
James
Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), Florida

"dpic" <> wrote in message
news:174935A0-3873-44C1-BBC0-...
>
> Thanks for the response, Jaime. I use the remote that came with the sat
> receiver, so I don't need the IR Blaster. For unattended recording I
> merely
> set my channel and use the composite input for recording. This is the way
> it
> worked under Xp with ATI software. I simply don't need anymore hardware.
> The card works fine as it--except for the fact Media Center will not allow
> me
> to set up the card. It's just that ATI software isn't ready for Vista
> yet,
> and I need to use Media Center.
>
> I don't understand why Media Center is requiring hardware that isn't
> required for the TV to work properly;.

That's sorta a half-baked solution though. Given the relative low cost of
the remote/receiver/ir blasters, why not just do it right in the first
place.

This way, the computer does it all, and you're not a slave to sitting in
front of the tv all day setting up recordings to record.

--
Jason Tsang - Microsoft MVP

Read my blog for the latest in Media Center topics
(and other topics that interest me)
http://jtsang.blogspot.com

More information by me
http://jtsang.mvps.org
http://www.classicsunveiled.com

Find out about the MS MVP Program -
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx



"Jaime" <> wrote in message
news:...
> How does that work if you want to record things on different channels
> while you're away?
>
> You might be able to borrow a receiver from someone (with Media Center),
> do the setup, then unplug it. Not sure if it would squawk the first time
> you start it without the receiver plugged in.
> --
> James
> Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), Florida
>
> "dpic" <> wrote in message
> news:174935A0-3873-44C1-BBC0-...
>>
>> Thanks for the response, Jaime. I use the remote that came with the sat
>> receiver, so I don't need the IR Blaster. For unattended recording I
>> merely
>> set my channel and use the composite input for recording. This is the
>> way it
>> worked under Xp with ATI software. I simply don't need anymore hardware.
>> The card works fine as it--except for the fact Media Center will not
>> allow me
>> to set up the card. It's just that ATI software isn't ready for Vista
>> yet,
>> and I need to use Media Center.
>>
>> I don't understand why Media Center is requiring hardware that isn't
>> required for the TV to work properly;.
>
>

$50 is NOT a low cost item.

"Jason Tsang" <jason-> wrote in message
news:...
> That's sorta a half-baked solution though. Given the relative low cost of
> the remote/receiver/ir blasters, why not just do it right in the first
> place.

Why doesn't MCE support VIDEO IN like 99% of the consumer devices out there?
Or how about VIDEO PASSTHROUGH so we can use our game consoles, etc. without
lag.

$20 is. I bought a few off ebay (the dell versions) for $20 shipped.

Why pay $500 for a computer and be forced to manually change the channel?
Doesn't make sense to me.


"Noozer" <> wrote in message
news:...
> $50 is NOT a low cost item.
>
> "Jason Tsang" <jason-> wrote in message
> news:...
>> That's sorta a half-baked solution though. Given the relative low cost
>> of the remote/receiver/ir blasters, why not just do it right in the first
>> place.
>
> Why doesn't MCE support VIDEO IN like 99% of the consumer devices out
> there? Or how about VIDEO PASSTHROUGH so we can use our game consoles,
> etc. without lag.
>
>

Again, Jason, I purchased Vista Home Premium with the idea that I only
needed a TV tuner card--not other hardware. I have met the MCE requirements
stated by Microsoft to run Media Center. Even the Vista hardware
compatibility adviser said nothing about needing IR Blasters. Now, I'm told
I can't run the app without more hardware.

This is very frustrating. The first time I knew I had an issue was when I
tried to set-up MCE for the first time and got the "IR hardware not
detected." There was no other information to guide me to what I needed to
do. Since I met all the stated requirements to run Vista I had no idea what
the problem was. I've been searching the internet for a couple of days now
and this is the first place I've found with any answers. Even Knowledge Base
was useless about "IR hardware not detected."

I simply don't understand why I can't run Media Center without IR hardware.
Your position seems to be because I won't have all the cool benefits. Alas,
I don't have any of the benefits, now.