[aocmsi]

Dell don't supply a TV tuner in Australia so using a USB one instead. I've got a DigitalNow tinytwin dual usb tuner. (DigitalNow)

I've found all the channels and can playback various channels. The video however randomly drops out and then MCE just goes black for a while. Seems its hitting the CPU way too hard.

I used the same tuner on a 10v and thought it worked ok but that might have been due to the lower screen resolution it uses? I did drop the res of my 10 to 1024x768 and it seems a bit better but the aspect ratio is wrong so the image looks terrible.

I don't need a dual tuner so happy to buy another single usb tuner if it will work better. But before I do, are the any codecs I should try first?

Its a bare win7 install with just the bda drivers for the tuner. I'd really love to get it working.

[muntu]

I spent the bulk of last weekend researching a similar issue. I bought my mini with the integrated tuner and have been experiencing the same under-performance issue that you've described.

You basically have to configure MCE7 to use a different codec. The MS codec is just not optimized for TV viewing on a netbook. I am going to post a much more detailed guide on how to do this but for now here are the 'meaty' details on how you can accomplish the codec replacement.

1. Download and install the PowerDVD 9 Trial here
2. Execute the program once and check that "Hardware Acceleration" is enabled in the settings as shown in the attached picture.
3. Download and install the Shark007 codec pack here
4. Download and run the Media Center Decode Utility here
5. Adjust your MCDU settings to mimic those shown in the attached image.

Run Media Center 7 and see if you see any improvement. I am really enjoying my Live TV experience more now. Very few frames are dropped after this migration to the Cyberlink codec (at the HD resolution of 1366x768). I was able to concurrently enjoy two live HD sporting events this weekend using my mini connected to a 24" monitor (1366x768 resolution). Recorded HD media played fantastically well using media center as well. Overall I am quite happy... and no more "blackouts" during viewing.

[aocmsi]

Originally Posted by muntu

I am going to post a much more detailed guide on how to do this but for now here are the 'meaty' details on how you can accomplish the codec replacement.

Great work, no need for a guide! Image quality looks great and things were working nicely.

Originally Posted by muntu

Overall I am quite happy... and no more "blackouts" during viewing.

However after the 3rd or 4th channel change I got the blackout but unlike previously where it would flick back or even allow me to alt-ctrl-del to bring up the task manager and kill media centre, it didn't respond. So I had to do a power off

Guess I'm asking a bit much of the little mini. If I could find a decent freeware dvb-t app for XP, I'd give it a shot there and see what happens.

[Impreza.STi]

Thanks a lot, it works pretty good!!