Cannot detect second InfiniTV PCIe card

[meoge]

I've had one InfiniTV PCIe card installed for a year or so and I just installed a second one today. I ran tuner salad beforehand. The card seems to be detected correctly in the infiniTV tools and I've paired the cable card, but when I try to record my fifth show it gives me a conflict. I've ran through the tv signal update a couple of times within Media Center and it says InfiniTV (4 tuners). Should that say (8 tuners)? I've used the InfiniTV tools to tune to channels with both cards and it says it worked. What am I missing?

[Dkeyguy1]

I haven't had to use tuner salad with ceton software. Actually had to uninstall it. But you may want to use diagnostic tool. Check firmware is up to date on both, clear all tuners, uninstall InfiniTV software, reboot, download and install latest drivers, rerun mc tv setup, in that order. covers most hiccups. Worked for me when I had multi-tuner issues. Skips over technical headaches.

[meoge]

I noticed after running TV Signal Setup that under the (4 Tuners) part was an additional information button. It said that WMC had detected more than 4 tuners, but could only setup 4. I took this to mean that Tuner Salad or the Ceton software hadn't correctly made the change to allow more than 4 tuners. I canceled setup, reran Tuner Salad as an adminitrator and then ran setup again. This time it showed 8 Tuners and I was able to get all of them working. I recorded 8 things at once and it worked fine. Now my only problem is keeping everything cool enough. Both cards were running over 65C. I've got a small external fan pointing at the cards for now and it's working but it's too loud. I'm going to try a smaller USB fan with adjustable speed to see if I can get the temps down without making so much noise.

[newfiend]

I have had this happen to me in the past as well, I have never had to use Tuner Salad to get it working though. The Ceton Driver is supposed to remove the 4 Tuner Limit. If It happens again remove the Drivers and Reboot then Reinstall them (Ceton) and that should fix the issue. If not open the Diagnostic Utility and Clear the Tuner Configuration and then Re-Discover the Tuners, Open Media Center and Go through Live TV Setup again. That will usually do the trick.

Make Sure you have the latest Firmware on both Tuners. The newer Beta Diagnostic Utility and Firmware has been pretty good as well for me.
Good Airflow for dual Ceton's is important as they generate a bit of heat as you have noticed. Do what you can to keep a good air flow across the cards, cool air in while using a similar fan to extract the excess heat. Smaller cases seem to have a harder time keeping the temps at reasonable levels. You may at some point want to look at a slightly bigger case with better airflow if you have a small enclosure now.
newfiend~

[Dkeyguy1]

I had these for my pcie cards when my case was packed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835119097
The slower setting worked ok and wasn't so noisy that you could hear it.
The brackets change out for positioning.

[meoge]

Just in case anyone else has the same cooling problem as me. I've got a SilverStone GD06 HTPC case. It has 3 120mm fans that pull air in and then it is vented out the top via positive air pressure. I had noticed that my first InfiniTV 4 card was running a little hot and it wasn't helped any by my fanless GT430 video card next to it. When I added the second card the temps went as high as 75C on both tuner cards, well above Ceton's recommended specs. I ended up buying one of these external USB fans. I tried just pointing it at the back of the case and trying to have it suck heat away from the back of the case, but it just wasn't powerful enough to make a dent in the heat. I ended up taking the stand and bottom guard off of the fan and mounting it directly to the top of the case. It is now pulling heat directly out of the case from above the cards and I've got the temps below 60C! I was worried that it would add noise, but I am able to leave it at half speed and it's completely silent. I should have done that long ago. You can't see the fan because it's located in my entertainment center and my Xbox is above it on a glass shelf so it still passes the WAF. Thanks for all the suggestions.