DNTV Dual Hybrid S3 - Faulty? Options

[Chris Jones]

Hi there,

My Dual Hybrid S3 appears to have died. It worked fine when I got it a 3 years ago, but over time it's become increasingly temperamental, often not displaying anything when booting DNTV Live. Normally when this happened I could disable and re-enable the driver to get it going again, but yesterday things took a turn for the worse.

After loading DNTV Live, not only was there no picture or sound, it produced a semi-hang (I could still move the mouse cursor, but only every so often). I tried several reboots, checking the antenna connection etc, and eventually restored Windows XP with a disk image that has always rectified things in the past. This time it did not.

This morning I gave it another go, and strangely it was working fine. Then this afternoon, it was coming up blank again. I tried the card in another slot... still nothing. It hasn't been working since. The software recognises both tuners, but when I try a channel scan it can't find anything. I'm not sure if it's related, but in recent days many of the channels have been exhibiting a lot of stuttering, similar to when there is a weak signal.

I borrowed a Kaiser Baas TVStick Dual, and that workes fine (same PC, same antenna). The software that comes with that (TotalMedia) also detected the S3 tuners, but it can't come up with any channels.

Any idea what's going on here? Has the card reached the end of its life already?

Thanks for any help!

[renura]

This morning I gave it another go, and strangely it was working fine. Then this afternoon, it was coming up blank again. I tried the card in another slot... still nothing. It hasn't been working since. The software recognises both tuners, but when I try a channel scan it can't find anything. I'm not sure if it's related, but in recent days many of the channels have been exhibiting a lot of stuttering, similar to when there is a weak signal.

If the signal is fine and the antenna connection is OK, it could be dying......

This post has been edited by renura: Dec 14 2011, 07:09 AM

[Chris Jones]

Hi Renura,

I thought as much. In that case, I have some questions regarding a suitable replacement:

1. Are there any performance improvements in the current range (PCIe and USB) compared to the S3, especially as far as sensitivity and channel change speed are concerned (the S3 always took a lethargic three seconds to change channels, whereas the Kaiser Baas mentioned above only takes about one)?

2. The Dual Hybrid (7164) and the Vista View Saber HB-220 appear identical feature-wise, except for the latter having no software or remote. Are there any other notable differences between the two, and does the Vista View work with DNTV Live?

3. The S3 had a feature that enabled it to wake the pc up from hybernation - do any of the current tuners support this (presumably the Tiny Twin does not)?

Thanks again, sorry if any of this has been covered elsewhere - I'm in a bit of a hurry to get up and running again!

(c:

[renura]

1. yes there have been improvements and the chipset used on the dual hybrid 7164 is better (more stable, reliable and have better drivers).

2. Same chipset- similar performance, but the dual Hybrid 7164 includes a remote and is supported by DNTV software the VistaView is not.

3. yes the Dual Hybrid 7164 does

[Chris Jones]

Thanks Renura, the 7164 it is then. One more question - I presume I can get the version without DNTV Live! and use the one that's registered with the S3?

I sent this to your sales email as well since this forum doesn't seem to be sending me email notifications for some reason...

[renura]

Thanks Renura, the 7164 it is then. One more question - I presume I can get the version without DNTV Live! and use the one that's registered with the S3?

Yes