Event ID 3, Recording

[maryfisch]

I have used WMC for years, a very simple setup, have never had any problems.

Recently (last 3 months, or so), a recording starts as normal then, after ~20 second, the audio and video stop although the timer keeps going. Occasionally, I can fast forward to a place where the audio and video have begun but the are frequent missing sections through a 1 hour show. This happens on all channels that I record, right now BravoTV, AMC and TCM.

The Event log for Media Center shows a Warning that says "Portions of The Walking Dead: Strangers may not have been recorded. A signal loss occurred during the recording." When watching live TV, I've never had a signal loss on DTV so I'm not sure what this means.

Strangely, the other problem that happens is that, occasionally, the show records in black & white and looks like it has netting over it (not sure how else to describe it).

Besides surfing the Internet for a solution, I'm not really sure what to look for. I'm using a Haupaugge tuner, DirecTV, SD, a fairly new HP desktop computer. What specifics should I provide and what do you suggest for troubleshooting?

Thanks in advance.

[mercalia]

I have seen that a few times in the UK. not as many as you have & put it down to a faulty broadcast or signal. Can you confirm for the recordings in question that the live tv was ok? I think you need to do that to see if it an issue with wmc. Have you tried retuning, checking cables, signal strength? what are the reports for tv reception on your area. There was a fixit for the poor signal message but that dont seem to be your problem. maybe the tuner card is going faulty? can u swap it out and try another? maybe try re seating the tuner card?

[maryfisch]

Hello Mercalia,

Thanks for the reply. As far as I know, the live tv is okay but my only way of checking that is via a hooked up TV. Is there something else I should be looking for?

Since your reply, I have basically removed and uninstalled all related software and hardware. I reinstalled and rewired everything, ran set up again, and everything works just fine...until it doesn't. I'm pretty sure there is a signal problem somewhere along the line but I'm not sure where to start. I don't think it is WMC as I am having the same problem if I try to use the WinTV viewer with the WinTV-HVR 1250. It either works perfectly or is B&W or not at all. So at least I've isolated that.

So, that said, how do I determine if it is a DirecTV/physical cable problem or a Hauppage tuner problem? In the meantime, I have submitted a customer service request to Hauppage but any and all advice from this group is much appreciated.

Thanks again.

Mary

[mercalia]

my bet would be a faulty tv card. that's why i asked if you can try another one, maybe different model/make. I dont know how cheap they are 2nd hand on ebay where you are but that's what i would try. I my self have a few spare tv cards to deal with this type of situation. if it was ok then isnt now and nothing has really changed to the pc , a failing component seems likely. it could be some windows update, i keep an image of an older windows 7 I can load to test that. I suppose the ariel cable may be damaged? can u swap it out? this is the extent of my problem solving skills lol. I assume the pc is otherwise ok? have u had any lightning storms at the time the trouble started?

[maryfisch]

Thanks for the input, mercalia. I was hoping it was a bad Windows update that would eventually fix itself, as often happens, but it wasn't. I'm kind of leaning toward a faulty card, too, although it is disappointing that the card is less than one year old. I'll wait for Hauppauge's response but will most likely buy a new card.

Interesting thought about the lightning storms...we had a very stormy summer and have had many lightning strikes in the past (blowing out DTV boxes, alarm system, etc.). I can't really isolate when this problem started but that could certainly be the cause.

One final question to everyone, if I replace the tuner card, which I most likely will, what brand is the most popular?

Thanks again for everything.

Mary

[maryfisch]

UPDATE: Hauppauge customer service is replacing the tuner. Wish I'd done that first haha! Thanks for the input.

[mercalia]

well I hope that solves the problem. WMC is still a great system after all these years