WinCast/TV, WinTV-PCI Troubleshooting notes WinTV32 and WinTV2000 Application Settings / Questions

Table of contents:

What is the difference between WinTV32 and WinTV2000? Which one should I use?:

Setting up channels for Broadcast TV and External inputs:

Composite Video not displaying video (with older BT848 WinTV models):

I want to save my channel library when I reinstall the software:

Black Screen in WINTV, but audio is OK:

Cannot get FULL screen TV mode, and have black border around TV picture in this mode:

Problems with the IR remote control:

Enabling Closed Captioning using the WinTV2000 application:

How can I enable and set the "Skins" option in WinTV:

Multiple Monitors: I cannot display the WinTV card on my second monitor with a dual monitor Configuration:

Connecting a SATELLITE / DSS / CABLE BOX to WinTV:

WinTV32 and WinTV2000 are the same in their functionality. The main difference is the way they look. WinTV2000 has a newer look and feel to it where WinTV32 looks like any normal "Windows" type window. One is not better than the other. Which application you should use would be entirely up to your preference.

Setting up channels for Broadcast TV and External inputs:

You will have to setup a channel for the External RCA input to view your VCR or Camcorder in WInTV. In the WinTV32 program, click on Configure - Channels - Suite manager. In WinTV2000 click on the Suite button on the left side of the video window. In WinTVCAP, click on Options - Video source or Channel Suite.

To Scan for TV channels in the Channel Configuration, Click on...

Autoscan. This will open up another dialog box called Tuner Scanning Setup. Set the Tuning mode to Channels by Country, select the Broadcast / Cable setting that fits your input. Make sure that the Video Format is set to NTSC M and then make sure that the country is set to USA. then click on Start to begin the scan.

To Add a Composite channel / External input in the Channel Configuration, click on...

Add - Composite and choose a Channel Number, Channel Name and make sure that the Video Format is set correctly. NTSC for USA). Then click on add. Highlight the channel and click on OK to close the window. You should then be able to see that channel and your RCA input.

Composite Video not displaying video (with older BT848 WinTV models):

Download and install this driver update which will correct the problem.

To save your channel library, go to START / RUN, type REGEDIT at the command line and click OK. This will open your REGISTRY EDITOR. Here, you will want to double-click HKEY _LOCAL_MACHINE, then SOFTWARE, then HAUPPAUGE, and finally, highlight CHANNELS by single-clicking on it. With the CHANNELS folder high-lit, go to the REGISTRY menu and select EXPORT REGISTRY FILE... Name the file something you will remember and save it to a floppy for safe keeping. When you need to reload your channels, just open the REGISTRY EDITOR and select the REGISTRY MENU, thenIMPORT REGISTRY FILE... Then just select the file you've saved and click OPEN. You will receive a message stating that the entry has been successfully added. Your channels should now be loaded back into your WinTV programs.

Black Screen in WINTV, but audio is OK:

Black screens are generally VGA driver related. Black Screen Problem Possible Solutions :

- Your video card must have at least 2 megs of memory. If you have only 2 megs of memory you may need to try 640x480 screen resolution at 16 bit high color mode. (Start / Settings / Control Panel / Display / Settings tab)

- Use the Performance Tab in the Device Manager (Control Panel / System / Performance tab), choose GRAPHICS , Make sure that the Hardware Acceleration Is set to full. You may still see a black screen even though the Hardware Acceleration is set to full. In this case Microsoft themselves, say bump down the Hardware Acceleration a notch. Click on Apply then OK and re-boot.

- Turn OFF the plug and play setting in your BIOS. This will force Windows to assign resources differently and sometimes resolves the black screen. Refer to your documentation or contact the manufacturer of your system if unsure how to do this.

- In the WinTV program group (Start / Programs / Hauppauge WinTV) there is a utility called "Primary". Set it to "Allow Overlay" or if it is on "Allow Overlay" try it on "Force Primary". If this fails, try setting it to "Dib Draw".

- Make sure you are using the latest drivers for your video card directly from the manufacturer.If you do upgrade the drivers then make sure the color mode was not reset to 256 colors by default.

- You may need to re-install DirectX. The latest Direct X may be downloaded from Microsoft.

- Sometimes changing the video card refresh rate to "Adapter Default" will correct graphics problems". (Control Panel / Display / Settings Tab / Advanced button / Adapter tab) You may also want to try it on "Optimal"

- DirectX may be detecting a previous video card. Boot up in SAFE mode and go to Device Manager (Start / Settings / Control Panel / System / Device Manager) and click on the plus sign next to Display Adapters. If there are any Video Cards listed here that you are currently not using then remove them. (Click on the Name and then the "Remove" Button). Re-Install DirectX based on the information given above.

Always re-boot after making any of the above changes and always be in at least 16 bit high color mode.

- Try changing the memory address for the win/tv card to a much higher memory range. Go to Device manager, sound, video, and game controllers, and look at the win/tv properties (video section), under the resources tab. Highlight the memory range, and uncheck "Use Automatic Settings".Then click Change setting. Try setting the memory address to: 78000000-78000FFF (if it does not conflict with anything else) Click OK,and click OK again and you will get the warning message about changing the address manually. Click YES and reboot windows

Cannot get FULL screen TV mode, and have black border around TV picture in this mode:

For the most part the WinTV will display at a maximum image dimension of 640x480 in any resolution. If your VGA card supports Overlay mode, you should be able to see full screen in resolutions up to 1024 x 768. To set the WinTV to run in Overlay mode, click on Start - Programs - Hauppauge WinTV - Primary program. In here choose the Allow Overlay option and close the program.

If your VGA card does not support overlay mode, this would be a hardware limitation of that VGA chipset. In this case, running in a higher resolution than 640 x 480, will not allow a true full screen TV picture. A work around for this is provided in the WIN/TV program. Click on DISPLAY- Preferences, and set the TV Mode size for 640 x 480 (800 x 600 for the PAL Video format). This will default the VGA display to 640 x 480 resolution when going to full screen mode - allowing a true full screen.

In WinTV2000, click on the PREF button. Then click on the TV Mode option and select the "Allow Resolution Change" (for non-overlay cards).

In WINTV32, this option would be under Configure-TV mode. You can set it for either "Allow Res Change" (for non-overlay cards), or "No Res Change" (for Overlay cards)

NOTE: Windows NT 4.0 , Windows 2000, and XP users will not be able to scale past 640 X 480, even when set to "Allow Overlay" mode, however full screen is still achievable with the "allow resolution change" option.

Problems with the IR remote control:

On some system cases, the IR connector may be too close to the edge, and cause the IR plug to either not make adequate contact, or fall out of the input. Be sure that the IR plug is connected firmly to the WinTV board, and try holding the connector in, while using the remote to be sure good contact is being made.

Be sure that the batteries are installed in the remote properly, and that the batteries are fresh.

Re-install the Remote software by double clicking the IR32.EXE file located on your WinTV CD rom (in the IR32 folder).

Go to start/programs/Hauppauge WinTV/Restart IR. Clicking "Restart IR" will reinitialize the remote software. It is placed in the Startup Group and will initalize after each reboot, in the event that it was turned off.

Windows 2000 and NT 4.0 may experience some issues with the Remote working properly. If you are having issues with the remote working in these OS', simply copy the WinTV shortcuts(from the desktop) to the Windows startmenu, and reboot the system.

Caused by leftover BT84 and BTVID files. Usually after Win9x-WinXP upgrade. Search for and delete any BT84 and BTVID files left on the system.

Enabling Closed Captioning using the WinTV2000 application:

NOTE: Your VGA card MUST support OVERLAY in order to get the Closed Captioning information. Please look at our VGA compatibility list for an up-to-date listing of working VGA cards with Overlay support.

Make sure that the WinTV is running in Overlay mode before using the Closed Captions. To do this, shut the WinTV off. Then open the Primary program by going to Start - Programs - Hauppauge WinTV - Primary. In here make sure the "Allow Overlay" option has been selected. Then close the applet. 

In the WinTV2000 application you can access the Closed Captioning through the CC button on the main TV window or in the Remote Applet that is part of the WinTV program. Click on the RC button on the bottom right-hand side of the WinTV window. This will open the Remote Applet and then you can click on the CC button for the Closed captioning.

If you are still unable to receive Closed Captioning please try running this registry update to make sure it is enabled. (Cc_on.reg)

How can I set the "Skins" option in WinTV:

The Skins option is not enabled in the WinTV application. It has not been completely implemented due to some issues with the rest of the WinTV functions. Once the Skins option is completely supported, we will post it on our WEB site.

Multiple Monitors: I cannot display the WinTV card on my second monitor with a dual monitor Configuration

Under Win98SE and WinME, the WinTV card will only display the video on the Primary monitor in a multiple monitor configuration. If you are using Win2000 or WinXP, you will be able to view the WinTV window on a secondary monitor when using the WDM drivers.

If you are using the VFW drivers under Win2000 and WinXP, you must run in DIB DRAW mode. Click on Start - Programs - Hauppauge WinTV - Primary. In here choose the DIB DRAW option and close the applet. This will enable the selected option in the WinTV application.  

Connecting a SATELLITE / DSS / CABLE BOX to WinTV:

You must set the WinTV to the recommended channel (usually channel 3) and then control channels with the Satellite receiver / Cable Box. If your satellite receiver / Cable Box has a composite output, it is recommended to connect it to the WinTV's Composite input instead. The clarity of the picture will be better this way. WinTV would then be set to the composite source. Either way, the Satellite receiver / Cable Box will still control the channels.

Back to Home Page

Questions, comments, or problems regarding this service?

Copyright © 1998, 1999 Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Hauppauge logo and WinTV are registered trademarks of Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc. Windows and WebTV are trademarks of Microsoft. Corp. Company logos are trademarks of their respective companies.
2/7/02