Limited (Very) TV/PCI Tech Support

When we put out the TV Pro application and drivers for TV/PCI, we had a very specific clause in our contract: Entropy would not provide tech support to end users. Well, as many of you know STB is no longer with us, and no one else can answer any real questions about this product. That leaves us.

It was a nice product, and served many of us well. As people try to upgrade their systems, we sometimes get EMail looking for help. The catch is, we did not build the install programs and had no control over what collection of files STB actually shipped. There were also about 10 different versions of the card, ranging from NTSC with FM to various flavors of PAL. There was not one single set of drivers, as each new version of the board had its own special needs.

All of that being said, since we seem to be the last line of help with the old STB product, here's what we know:

The main control driver for TV Pro is VFWOCX.OCX. VFWOCX requires that the drivers shipped with the TV/PCI card are properly installed.

Default Windows drivers or drivers from another company will not work with this card. There were many versions of the TV/PCI card, and each driver was specific to the card.

Assuming that VFWOCX loads properly, the most common problem with a new VGA installation and the TV/PCI is the refresh rate of the monitor. By default, most cards install for the highest possible refresh rate. Often, this is above the rate at which their drivers can support a video window. On the Advanced properties of the Display properties, you should be able to change the display rate. For testing purposes, we recommend starting at 60 Hz. The magic number is a combination of the display resolution and its refresh rate, so a little experimentation may be in order.

If your Adapter doesn't show refresh rates, it is probably using the default driver installed by Win 98. A newer driver from the video board manufacturer or its chipset manufacturer may give you more options. If this is the problem, it is purely a memory bandwidth one, as in the card can't refresh the display as fast as requested AND create a video window. You will likely have the same problem with another card unless you can lower the refresh rate.

For TV/FM cards, the FM side is run by writing to registers on the card and has no other dependencies. If FM is working correctly, the software is installed correctly.

Hopefully this will get you running. From all of the EMail that we have received, these answers cover the questions that can be answered. If this still doesn't get you running. Sorry. You can EMail us with your specific problem, but we make no promises of a solution. You can also write to Gateway for the Gateway versions. If they want to call up and offer us money for changes to the drivers, it would be impolite not to listen to them.