Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950 - cord question & comments

I received my Hauppauge HVR 950 Friday. I would love to say it has been smooth sailing but it hasn't. Still, for $76 I am happy for the learning experience.

If prior to purchasing the TV Tuner you check a website to see what stations *may* be available in your area, the truth is you probably won't know for sure until you check it out for yourself.

The reception of my analog stations are terrible. But I am not totally ragging on the HVR950. I knew I was quite a distance at just under 50 miles from a transmitter. I was however able to get a couple of very nice HD channels at first install. Now after a couple of installs they will no longer come in. Perhaps because HD broadcasts are not on 24/7? Or maybe all the times I've had to reinstall the software have thrown a glitch in things? Or mayne because I downloaded from Hauppauge the file to use the Windows Media Player? Now I'm getting a WinTV error message that says, "Member not found" when trying to close the Channel Manager window. And there's no way to get it off the screen without telling the Task Manager to end task or shutting down my laptop. If anyone has insight or could guide me to where I should look for insight I would apprecaite the help.

Ok, now about the cord I mentioned in the Subject line. Along with the included items that I've seen in the review on this forum of the Hauppauge HVR950, came another cord that I see no mention of in the manual or on other sites. One one end it looks like a firewire male plug-in and the other end has 3 wires which appear to be for S-video, an RCA input and the third I'm not sure of? It looks like an RCA input buts its silver. The firewire end looks like it could be inserted into the side of the 950's tuner. I'm hoping someone will tell me that I could bring video in through the 950's tuner via the S-video out of my VCR. And that the RCA connection will give me audio.

Thanks for your time.

Malinda

 

Try hitting your ESC key to close the Channel Mgr Window. Worked for me.

 

Thank you! The ESC key worked. I had to hit it twice but it fixed the lockup.
BTW, I have been emailing with Hauppauge tech support. Im asked about the 'Member not Found' message. They wrote: We’re not exactly sure where that message comes from but we’re are looking into it. I would say just make sure you’re using the latest driver for your wintv, video and sound card.

Malinda

 

How bad is the analog reception? I got a TV Tuner with my HP Desktop in January, a Hauppauge and it had terrible analog reception. I thought I was just alone, but if it's just something thats common for TV Tuners then I'm easier to rest. Do all cards pick up HD signals from rabitt ears or do I have to have a special card?

EDIT:

Here's a sample of the quality I get...for once YouTube does 100% quality wise LOL.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6c6X3pw4m6I

 

Methodis, I took a look at your clip on You Tube. Increased it to full screen.

Yes, that's pretty much what to expect from analog. Are you using a cable line or an antenna? I ask because I have tested the signal with
1) the antenna that came with the Hauppauge 950
2) (basic) cable - no box so I'm assuming this is analog
3) Dish Network digital satellite signal

Analog with the supplied antenna would be bearable for me if there wasn't so much snow. At 50 miles from a transmitter, without a better antenna, I'm stuck.

Analog with basic cable looks like what you posted. If you are getting the You Tube reception with an antenna I envy you!

The Dish network hookup was through my DVD recorder's "out". - I was testing the extra A/V cord that came with my Hauppauge 950 - I also tested the reception with the cable line coming directly from the Dish receiver. In both cases the reception was significantly better than the basic cable line. So lesson learned; reception from a digital receiver yields better results than basic cable with no receiver.

But nothing looks better than a great HD connection (via an antenna)! To answer your question about all cards picking up HD with rabbit ears. I don't know enough about the cards that are available but from everything I've read you need an antenna to get the HD signals.

Malinda

 

Yeah, I was using just a basic cable wire . But alright, hopefully my card picks up HD signals. Thanks for the information!

 

IMO..the analog reception is bad. I don't watch analog TV on this tuner.

special card?...? I would say that as long as the card or tuner is designed for HD, then you should be fine. I'm using rabbitt ears on mine and they work great for HD. Charging more for a so-called HD antenna is a scam.

 

Yeah I don't think mine is designed for HD, just a $80 one from HP :/.

 

i think the ones from hp now are combo cards that pick up analog and digital.

but there are different methods these signals go out and that is the factor that makes other cards better than others.

i supose