TV Tuner Troubleshooting

The reception of TV channels in the WinTV application is dependent upon two things:

• you need to have a strong enough TV signal for the Hauppauge TV tuner to achieve 'signal lock'. Once a TV channel has a signal strong enough to 'lock', it will appear in the Channel List during the channel scan. This often means that your TV aerial needs to be in the "line of sight" from the transmitter. If there is a building blocking the TV signal coming from the transmitter, you might not be able to achieve 'signal lock'.
• once the TV channel appears in the Channel List, it also needs a signal strong enough so that the WinTV application can display a clear TV picture. We sometimes hear that there are channels which appear in the TV channel list but cannot be watched (frozen image, black screen or an image with lots of defects). This is due to the TV channel having just enough 'strength' to achieve signal lock, but not strong enough for a good TV image to be displayed.

Good reception - roof and window

Good reception roof, bad reception window

Bad reception roof and window

The signal strength is related to the size (and quality) of the TV aerial, and the 'line of sight' to the transmitter. If you have a large TV aerial but it is not pointed toward the TV transmitter, the TV signal will be weak and may not be received.

In addition, please check the TV aerial connections to the Hauppauge TV tuner. If the connector is not securely plugged in, then signal loss will occur and you will not get an optimal TV pciture.

When TV channels cannot be received or if the TV quality is poor, here are a couple of things you can try:

Receiving TV in an apartment

You can use either 'stick' TV aerials or flat TV aerials when you are in an apartment. In general, you will get good reception as long as your TV aerial is 'pointing' toward the TV transmitter.

• place your TV aerial in a window, as high from the floor as possible
• if possible, place the TV aerial facing the direction of the broadcast towers. Over-the-air TV is most effective when it achieves "line of sight" to the transmitters. TV reception will still work without line-of-sight, but then you are dependant upon the TV signal bouncing off of a building or other structure
• a TV signal booster can sometimes help bring in some of the weaker TV channels.

We recommend the purchase of a portable amplified TV aerial for indoor or outdoor use to be connected to the WinTV product to ensure correct reception of the TV channels.

Receiving TV at a home

When you are using a Hauppauge TV tuner to watch TV at home, most times you are further from the TV transmitter and a larger TV aerial is needed.

• outdoor TV aerials will perform better than indoor TV aerials.
• if possible, use an outside TV aerial located as high from the ground as possible
• if using an indoor TV aerial place it near a window or wall facing the direction of the broadcast towers.
• a TV signal booster can sometimes help bring in some of the weaker TV channels.

Using the Hauppauge 'stick' TV aerial

The Hauppauge stick TV aerial will work up to roughly 10 miles from the transmitter, and needs an unobstructed line of sight to the transmitter. Otherwise a larger TV aerial will provide better results.

Symptoms of needing a larger (better quality) TV aerial include scanning for channels in WinTV works, but when trying to watch a channel, they may achieve tuning 'lock' but the TV signal breaks up heavily.

If you cannot use an outdoor TV aerial, you might need an indoor TV aerial with a 'booster'.