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Pixelation with AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet A188

post #1 of 15
11/14/09 at 10:30am
Thread Starter 
Hello, I'm trying to setup a new, custom-build HTPC and have run into a challenge with the TV tuner (an AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet A188). It recognizes a smattering of channels, but when I try to watch them (live or recorded), they are either very pixelated or won't pull up at all.

Of note:
1. Playing Divx or streaming media works fine. Don't think I have any HD files to try, but will download one shortly to test.
2. My cable is split 3-ways: cable modem, TiVo, HTPC; the HTPC cable used to run to my TV and gave me nearly 100% signal on all channels.

Any tips? Thanks!

My system:
* Windows 7 64-bit
* Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H
* Processor: AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Dual-Core (ADX240OCGQBOX)
* RAM: OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
* HD: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB (WD10EADS)
* DVD: LG DVD Burner GH22NS50
* Case: Antec FusionRemote 350 Micro-ATX
* Tuner: AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet Tuner A188 PCI-e
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post #2 of 15
11/15/09 at 12:27pm
Thread Starter 
Adding to the info...

I've isolated the problem: it's due to the cable split. If I feed the cable directly to the HTPC, there's no pixelation. If I split the cable with a 2-way, it's usually watchable, but can have issues. And if I split the cable with a 3-way, it's garbage. Any suggestions for boosting the strength of the cable?

Thanks!
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post #3 of 15
11/15/09 at 12:50pm
Keep in mind the Duet splits the signal 2 ways internally. Are you running RG6 cables throughout the house? RG59 is very lossy. If you already have RG6 a simple booster may be all you need.
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post #4 of 15
11/15/09 at 1:06pm
Thread Starter 
RG6, yes. I need the 3 splits for: 1) the cable modem, 2) my TV (for those rare times that both tuners are recording and I want to watch something else), 3) HTPC.

I'll give a booster a shot. Any recs on one?

Thanks
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post #5 of 15
11/15/09 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Alt View Post

RG6, yes. I need the 3 splits for: 1) the cable modem, 2) my TV (for those rare times that both tuners are recording and I want to watch something else), 3) HTPC.

I'll give a booster a shot. Any recs on one?

Thanks

I had a similar issue to yours as I was splitting my line 3 ways and one of them was into a A188 also (so effectively splitting it 4 ways). I bought the amplifier below and all problems are gone....in fact my cable modem is now giving me higher throughput than before during heavy use periods according to DSLreports.com.

This is the one I just bought

http://www.amazon.com/DIGITAL-AMPLIF...8321125&sr=8-1
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post #6 of 15
11/15/09 at 2:49pm
I'm having pretty much the same problem with this card. The few, very few channels it picks up are completely unwatchable, HD or SD. The picture is only there about 5% of the time and when it is there you can only see about 25% of it. Constant audio stutter and dropouts.

The cable used to directly feed into my HDTV and it picked up the channels no problem!

This is in an apartment building, so the splitting is probably poorly done. I guess I'll have to look into a signal booster unless it seems like my card is just shot?

On another note, I have regular Comcast cable. It gets me channels 0-72 or so all in SD. If I setup the card in Windows 7 Media Center as ClearQAM I can only find about 7 channels... will this go up if I use the signal booster?
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post #7 of 15
11/15/09 at 5:34pm
The clearQAM channels are coming from local broadcasters. How many local broadcasters do you have broadcasting digital proagrams. Seven may be the correct number. The 0-72 channels you are receiving are being provided by your cable company as NTSC analog channels not as QAM digital channels.
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post #8 of 15
11/15/09 at 8:23pm
Thread Starter 
No. As pointed out, 0-72 are analog and the the AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet A188 card is digital only (either OTA or QAM). So you may get a couple more channels, but the missing 0-72 analog channels will not come through with this card.

For a list of the digital channels you should receive, go here, enter your zip, and select provider:
http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty2k1 View Post

On another note, I have regular Comcast cable. It gets me channels 0-72 or so all in SD. If I setup the card in Windows 7 Media Center as ClearQAM I can only find about 7 channels... will this go up if I use the signal booster?
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post #9 of 15
11/15/09 at 8:43pm
Fml.

Whatever happened to the end of analog programming? Was that analog over the air only?
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post #10 of 15
11/16/09 at 7:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Alt View Post

No. As pointed out, 0-72 are analog and the the AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet A188 card is digital only (either OTA or QAM:
http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

My error, I understood him to be getting the analog channels(0-72) on his TV and not his tuner card but I did not make that clear in my post;.
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post #11 of 15
4/24/10 at 9:40am
I am running Beyond TV and it see my aver A188 only when I set it up as an OTA (digital antenna). If I set it up as Digital Cable Beyond TV doesn't see it at all (however it does see my HD HomeRun with either OTA or digital cable). Is this a problem with the Beyond TV program or the AVerMedia Duet A188 driver? tks...
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post #12 of 15
4/24/10 at 10:43am
I assume that you have the latest driver from the Aver Website for your OS installed?
Are you getting any analog channels? If yes are you using a splitter to connect your cable line to both the analog and digital tuners on the Aver card?
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post #13 of 15
4/24/10 at 1:34pm
Many 3-way splitters split signals twice internally: Input -> A / X, X -> B and C. So signal from B/C is weaker than A. See if you splitter has it listed and pick the output that has the least loss and feed it to your HTPC. Assuming your cable modem is not picky.

Another way is simply call your cable provider. They have the responsibility to give you a signal that is strong enough.
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post #14 of 15
4/29/10 at 9:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by edpeters View Post

I am running Beyond TV and it see my aver A188 only when I set it up as an OTA (digital antenna). If I set it up as Digital Cable Beyond TV doesn't see it at all (however it does see my HD HomeRun with either OTA or digital cable). Is this a problem with the Beyond TV program or the AVerMedia Duet A188 driver? tks...

I should have added, I am running Windows 7 Pro, 64-bit. I have the same
problem with my Fusion 7HDTV card (works with Beyond TV OTA, but not with Comcarp QAM). Also, Windows Media Center works with both cards OTA and Comcarp QAM. Doesn't appear to be a signal problem, as Beyond TV doesn't even let me select the card to scan for channels. tks. Ed
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post #15 of 15
8/19/10 at 2:15pm
Beyond TV does not support this card with cable QAM.. OTA only...
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