Question Vista Media Center TV Pack

C

cromwell

New member
I'm using Vista Ultimate SP2 and have a Visiontek HD 650 PCI Tuner with a 4770 video card. I've read that the TV Pack must be installed on a clean Vista install. Does anyone know if the TV Pack will work on a fully patched Vista setup with the Cat 9-12 drivers already installed?
 
As I recall, it is ideal to install the 2008 TV Feature Pack on a system that has not yet had Vista Media Center setup (guide, scheduled recordings and so on). It should work either way though.
 
Thanks Agustus & nice to hear from you again. I have run channel scan (analog cable) but haven't set up the guide. I guess I'll hold off until a reformat unless someone has actually tried the procedure successfully. My cable company (Cableone) offers the local stations over their analog feed in clear QAM. (Channels 20 & 99 have 3 QAM stations on each) Just trying to see if my card will pick the footbal playoffs with better reception.
 
Thanks its good to see this old forum is still alive ;)

Again you should be fine but you will have to reconfigure your system. The setup for QAM should go something like this for most users but a lucky few have channels added automatically after a scan:

http://www.hdtvtunerinfo.com/win7mcqamsetup.html

The Vista TV Pack and Windows 7 are basically the same in this respect.

If you don’t like what you see or you have some odd instability (or something similar) then that would be the time to consider a reinstall of the OS or a restore from a backup (from a Windows Home Server or the like). But again most people have no real problems.

There are a few known minor bugs with the TV Pack but nothing debilitating.
 
As I recall, before switching to 7 beta from Vista last year, my experience with the TV pack could only be described as dismal. I mean I got it up & running all right, without a re-install or anything, but that feature & capability wise I never wanted to use it, booting into XP instead for that sort of thing. Now that GB-PVR & ATI drivers support vista/7, I'd vastly recommend it over Vista's MC, with or without the pack. 7's media center OTOH strikes me as what Vista's MC should have been from the get go -- ironic as that's why I jumped on Vista from the time it was in beta. Also why I kept XP :bleh:
 
Thanks to you Agustus and mikiem for your informative replies. I've paid for a Microsoft Technet Plus subscription (Got a substantial discount) and now have 10 valid licenses each for Vista Ultimate, Home Premium, & Business and 20 valid licenses each for Windows 7 Ultimate, Professional, & Home Premium so I am no longer stuck with a single OS to deal with. According to Ed Bott at ZDNet each key can be used for 10 activations and will not expire if you don't maintain your Technet Plus subcription. They are full versions and of course you are not allowed to sell the keys for a profit (Evaluation, they call it).
I've built half a dozen computers, mostly low tech, but powerful enough to run either Vista or 7 so I'll be doing quite a bit of experimenting with Windows Media Center and for the added experience Catalyst Media Center on both versions.
I hope to post my results from time to time, so please be sure to add comments and suggestions
 
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I had no trouble with vista tv pack. I only did it on a fresh install though.

1.) install vista
2.) Install TV Pack
3.) Install PlayReadyPC
4.) Install 2 Hotfixes KB951685 and KB950754
5.) Install any updates

When I did it this way I had no troubles. Although I never tried it with a used Vista OS install
 
cromwell said:
I'm using Vista Ultimate SP2 and have a Visiontek HD 650 PCI Tuner with a 4770 video card. I've read that the TV Pack must be installed on a clean Vista install. Does anyone know if the TV Pack will work on a fully patched Vista setup with the Cat 9-12 drivers already installed?
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Wow, I dont' pop my head on for a few weeks & there's all kinds of activity.
Well, I dealt with just your situation in Dec 2009/Jan 2010. My slightly older than a year set up of Vista Ultimate SP2 w/ the TV Media Pack installed was crashing multiple times. Locking up & freezing so that my monitor was lucky that I knew it wasn't the least bit responsible or i would have punched a hole so far though it that my wall studs would never ever have turned there back on me again. (GET THAT I WAS FARKING PISSED).

Ok, so I couldnt' find the clone image but I had to reformat & start over. I did, making images along the way. I got up to SP2 & was just about to start the detection of my TV card when I realized I had forgotten to install the TV PACK again. I debated (possible issues ~ i'd been running Vista U. w/SP2 for maybe a few days I dont' think more than a week at that point... and I said might as well try it if it didnt' work I could fall back to the images). Nope it worked just fine. Vista is actually responding nicely & isn't being quite as piggy on the RAM as it was (even prior to all the lock ups). The micro stutters i'd experience switching from brownsers to folders is much better. And i had that from DAY 1 of the original install of Vista U. SP1 in winter 2008.
I'm also getting used to W7 Media center. I actually PREFER VISTA's MEDIA center layout. When I want info about a show it's too much for me in W7.

Also not exactly relevant but I have an ATI HD3870 & TV wonder 650 in a W7 system. I installed the Catalyst 10.1 Display drivers, WDM, and CCC bundle, then the W7 Drivers for the TV Wonder 750, and rebooted. The TV Tuner was detected right off no errors like others in past have reported. It may not have even been necessary to install the TV Wonder 750 drivers??? but anyway working nicely in W7.
 
Hi DAL: Yes, I've heard about the 750 drivers working with the 650 cards but haven't tried it yet. After spending the last 2 weeks begging, borrowing, and no, not stealing parts from my buddies to build some boxes for all these OS's I have, I'm officially putered out. (Six working computers and 3 TV Tuners. It pays to have good friends) Anyway, I'm taking a 2 week hiatus to recharge the system. (My wife says it won't last 2 days. Ha!) Thanks to all of you who replied.
 
cromwell said:
Hi DAL: Yes, I've heard about the 750 drivers working with the 650 cards but haven't tried it yet. After spending the last 2 weeks begging, borrowing, and no, not stealing parts from my buddies to build some boxes for all these OS's I have, I'm officially putered out. (Six working computers and 3 TV Tuners. It pays to have good friends) Anyway, I'm taking a 2 week hiatus to recharge the system. (My wife says it won't last 2 days. Ha!) Thanks to all of you who replied.
Click to expand...
In the Vista system(s) though you wouldn't need that as they already have fully functioning drivers. And i'm not sure but that it wasn't the WDM included in the Catalyst 10.1 that did the trick not the TV wonder 750 drivers:hmm: . If & when they ever release the drivers OFFICIALLY for the TV Wonder 650 w/ W7 I'll reinstall and find out, but for now i've learned my ATI lessons too well from the past :nuts: ; It's working so i'm not touching it.
 
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