Ceton shows blank tv and blank recordings

[vinylb]

After rebooting my pc I can go to any of my xbox360 extenders and watch tv or recordings with no issues. After several days, if I try to perform the same, I am confronted with a blank tv channel
and the recordings are blank to. Rebooting PC clears this but I encounter the same issue again several days later. I have power saving mode disabled because this PC performs other functions.
I do get all my channels including HBO, Showtime etc without any issues. Any suggestions on what to look for?

Thanks in advance

[flocko]

Obviously something has changed in a big way .
If the htpc was working well with out issue in the past then you have to ask yourself ... " What has changed"

1) Did the issue start after a Win update
2) Have you updated any drivers or firmware recently
3) Have you added any new hardware . I mean any at all .
4) Have you been through ALL the connections on the htpc , network and any tv signal cables ?
5) Will the htpc perform all non media functions normally ? Ie; does it act like a normally functioning computer and perform computer like functions with out issue ?
6) Have you been through your firewall and AV settings . Sometimes an update to these definitions can change the PC in undesirable ways.

BTW... A brief description of the hardware in your PC would or could help others who may be using your same or close set up that have seen your issue before help you .

CPU=
MB=
Ramm=
PSU=
hdd / ssd=
Ceton tv tuner pci -e or usb version =


Just some thoughts to get you heading in the right direction ... at least I hope so

[JohnW248]

What cable system, what type of cableCARD and do you have switched digital video.

When you have a blank screen does the ceton device still appear in media devices in network?

If it does can you open it and check system for uptime. Then depending on your cableCARD and if you SDV, what you do next depends on the type of equipment you have.

This problem could be caused by a TA that has a problem or several other things as well. Assuming that everything else is operating properly and you don't get any messages when you tune to a station like Weak Signal or Subscription Required of Update Playready, etc.

[erkotz]

If you take a blank recording and restart your PC, does it then play?

[vinylb]

If you take a blank recording and restart your PC, does it then play?

Thank you for all your responses. Let me try to reply in as much detail as I can:

I have had this issue for several months now and also saw it when i was running my Ceton in a different box. Current hardware is AMD 8150, 16gb memory, several 2th hard drives, Ceton PCI-E card.
Both different hardware I did a fresh install and downloaded all the windows 7 updates, have the latest Ceton drivers etc. had no issues during installation of Ceton software.
This htpc also doubles as a file sharing machine and also runs my Logitech Squeezecenter. In a previous machine, without these 2 added function I also had this issue.

I believe it's only showing up more because we been spending more time with the xbox 360 extenders than the Tivo. Yes after a reboot I am able to see shows that were previously "blank".

I am with Comcast, no tuning adapters.

Just taking a stab in the dark here, but its almost as they something is "overloading" the Ceton card or my htpc. Is there a preferred list of services one should disable or run in Windows 7?

[JohnW248]

If taking a blank recording and restarting your computer and having the show play shows that the Ceton card is working and tuning the channel and MC is recording the show......

Eric may have an idea, but this sounds more like a windows/media center/streaming issue and not a tuner issue.

There was an nVidia driver a while back that played protected content with a blank screen in Media Center but didn't impact any extenders. That was just a graphic card driver issue. ATI drivers are also known for their own quirks.

[foxwood]

Just taking a stab in the dark here, but its almost as they something is "overloading" the Ceton card or my htpc.

If a recrding is "good", then "goes bad" after a few days, only to be "good" again after rebooting the HTPC, it's not a Ceton issue - the recording isn't changing, it's the Extender Session that's having a problem, and the Ceton isn't involved in that. You can prove that by setting the Ceton to record something when the video isn't working, then rebooting the PC and see if that recording worked.

Can you watch the recording directly on the PC itself, when it's not working on the Extender? (If you're getting the same problem on the PC, it sounds like a glitchy video driver or codec issue).

Do you have any non-WTV video files on the system? Do they still work once the problem crops up?

You've seen the same problem on different hardware - what other software, besides the basic 7MC, was installed? What video cards were in the 2 systems?

[vinylb]

I had to put this issue on back burner because I had another issue crop up. My Cablecard seems to have lost its pairing...kept on seeing "CP AUTH" message. Contacted Comcast
several times to resend signal, had tech come out, he spoke with his engineering team and they said it was paired up fine but they had made changes to the DNS and had to
talk to Ceton to get updated firmware. Did not make any sense to me. So I opened a ticket and within several minutes had a beta firmware in my hands. tried it but
still could not get any premium channels. Gave Ceton my account details and woke up this morning to all my channels now playing

MAN what first class service !!!!! I am in the service desk industry and very pleased with the turn around, documentation of issue via ticketing system.
I know some people complain they dont have a direct line, but when their service is this good, you dont need to speak to somebody on the other end.

So anyways....with this issue at rest and with me now running the latest firmware etc I am going to hold off for now and wait and see if i get the blank video/tv issue again.
if I do, i'll open up a ticket with Ceton...its just so simple

Thanks to all who replied.