Re: HELP! Dell told me I cannot watch tv on my tv AND work on com

Well, you'll be happy to know that there's a simple solution. You said you ran svideo from the tuner card to the modulator. That is incorrect, you need to run svideo from the video card to the modulator. Basically, find out where you monitor is plugged in and there should be a SVideo connector right beside it. Sorry that the Dell guy didn't catch this, it's really quite a simple change.

On the use case... I was originally going to suggest that you only need 1 PC and to return one of the MCE machines in favor of an extender. However, given what you've suggested it sounds like you have a legitimate need for 2 PCs - one for you and another for your husband to work on. You should be able to configure them as you mentioned below.

Your PC - connect from wall to the tuner card. Connect your video card's s-video out to the RF modulator and then to your TV.

Your husband's PC - connect from the STB to the tuner card using SVideo (if available, if not the composite or coax). Connect the IR blaster from the remote receiver to the front of the STB. Connect the SVideo out from the video card to the TV.

You may find it interesting to network the two PCs together so that you can share music, pictures, and television between the two. The music and pictures are fairly straightforward. Set up a share on each machine and then add that shared folder to the Music and Picture section of the other machine. Sharing TV is somewhat more complicated, but can be accomplished using a small utility called "Share recorded TV" which is located here: http://www.thegreenbutton.com/downloads.aspx

First things first, change that SVideo connection and get the TV working.

Pete

yewing wrote: 
Pete,

I will try to explain what I am trying to accomplish as you requested. Thank you for being willing to try to assist me.

First, let me address the driver issue. I tried to update the driver from windows, but it said there were no updates available. I then went to the nvidia website and successfully downloaded the latest driver there. The properties do give me the option to select to use a t.v. and to use dual screens, etc. However, the pc is still not sending a signal to my t.v. My t.v. is not necessarily older, but is new and cheap and little (just supposed to be one I could watch shows on while computing in my office). I hooked up s-video cable from the tuner card through an RF Modulator and then used coaxial cable to the t.v. from the tuner card. I went through the set up for the t.v./dual screens, but as I said before, it was unsuccessful. There simply is no output to the t.v. I am planning to read the pdf file Tiny Tim referenced more fully to try to work on this issue.

Here is what I am trying to accomplish. I have 2 of these computers, both with dual tuner cards. My initial goal is this:

1. To have my pc in my office for computing using the monitor. At the same time that I'm computing, I want to watch media center recorded video and/or live t.v. output by the media center on my little (non s-video) t.v. It's not good to have this big, beautiful monitor (19" flat panel) with a little window for t.v. and another little window for computing. The windows have to be reduced to a point that make it hard to read data and require lots of scrolling, etc. I want to use the cable straight from the wall to my pc. I don't mind not taking advantage of the digital channels our cable provides.

2. To have my husband's pc in his office for computing using the monitor. At the same time that he's computing, we want to run the media center recorded video and/or live t.v. and/or streaming music from the internet through his entertainment system. We are happy to live with only using one of the dual tuners for now because we want to connect his system from the p.c. through the digital cable box and then to the t.v. and his speakers that are part of his stereo system. We do not have two digital cable boxes available for him to use at this point in time so he is willing to live with that and only record and/or watch 1 show at a time. The dual tuners are for future use down the road when we can afford to expand more.

So, on my husband's system we need to hook the pc's tuner card through his digital cable box.

The instructions that came with the Dell pcs show that you can hook the pc tuner card to a t.v. and/or to a digital cable box. We are not absolutely positive that his digital cable box has the ability to hook up using composite cable as recommended on the set up by Dell, but we were going to be consulting with someone on that when we went to buy the cable.

Down the road, we want to add 2 or 3 media center extenders to t.v.s located in different areas of our home. We can't afford the extenders at this time and wanted to wait for that phase of our home entertainment improvement project for another year or two.

First things first - we wanted to get mine up and running to prove we could use the media centers the way we want in the long run. If I cannot use them to run the computer using the monitor at the same time as watching the t.v., then that is not what I wanted and I want to return the computers to Dell. I just received the first one last Thursday and the second one last Friday and Dell has a 30 day time we can return the computers if we are not happy. So, the clock is ticking, but I have some time to determine if this will work or not.

One more point. The Dell specialist for windows xp media center that I was working with also told me I could not use a media center extender to use the media center on a t.v. while working on my computer and using the monitor at the same time. He kept saying something about a software overlay that would prevent it. He agreed with me when I asked him if I basically just bought an expensive tivo OR a computer, but not both.

I can live with the hacks or work arounds you suggested, but I first need to get a signal going to my t.v.

Thanks for your help and time.  I really appreciate the assistance.

Yvonne


"Peter Near [MCE MVP]" wrote:


Unfortunately, Dell is somewhat correct. You can't do this easily or perfectly. I would recommend that you tell me what you're trying to accomplish with this setup and then I can help you get where you want to go. Ignore technology for a second. For example:

"I want to have a PC that I can use while at the computer monitor for my internet browsing, email, word processing, etc. I also want to be able to view television, pictures, etc from two televisions in the house at the same time".

As it stands, the general statement is that you can't use Media Center fullscreen in one monitor while performing other PC tasks. MCE takes over control of the keyboard and mouse when it is running fullscreen.

You can however use MCE in a window while using other applications on the PC. This opens the door to a few "hacks".

1. Almost fullscreen - When in a window, drag the corner or media center until it is almost fullscreen. You can then move this window over to the secondary display.

2. Video mirroring - Most modern videocard support this. Run Media Center in a window on your primary monitor. In the video card driver find a setting for "video mirroring" and set it to VMR mode. This will take whatever video is playing in a window on your primary monitor and play it full screen on your secondary monitor. Note that it will not display any of the media center menus or guide, just the video.

Realistically, the method to accomplish what you want is by using a media center extender. This allows you to have multiple media center sessions running on the TVs in your house, with only one PC powering them all. This might be the solution for you, but I need to hear more about how you intend to use this system.

Pete

yewing wrote:

I just invested thousands in two new computers - Dell 8400 with dual tuners and windows xp media center 2005. I've been trying to configure the media center so it would play through my tv so I can work on the computer WHILE watching my t.v.

After being on with support for nearly an hour, while they configured my settings in their lab, I was told you can't do that with media center!!! They said only one screen is the primary screen. I can't do both. If I direct the media center to the t.v. then I can't use the monitor with the computer.

My call was initiated to them because I can't get a signal to my t.v. I do not have a t.v. with an s-video cable where I'm trying to hook things up right now. I was advised, through here, to use an RF modulator. I tried that too. No dice. So, I called technical support. Technical support transferred me to a "media center" specialist.

Please help me. Have I just purchased two REALLY expensive tivo boxes? I have these computers set up, networked, and the packing is already broken down. It's going to be miserable trying to return them. Yet, I don't want to keep them if they can't do all I bought them for. Please, please help me. 

.

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