Have signal through Qosmio player, but cannot retrieve signal on WMC

Question

I must be half way there, but having connected my NTL cable box to the Qosmio and having taken advice to get my signal via the player and the F2 button, I cannot then retrieve the signal when in Windows Media Centre.
As I am only interested in recording tv shows I really need to find a signal thru WMC. Please can anyone help as I find I never get the promised calls back from the technical support line. Oh I have followed all the instructions, but the scan through Windows Media Centre does not yield any signal.

Answer 1

Hi,
If you aren't impressed with the picture in Qosmio Player, then it is unlikely to be any better in Media Centre. Running the signal from the RF-out port of the NTL box is not going to give you the best picture.
Do you have a spare scart port at the back of the box that you can use? If so, then it would be better to purchase a scart to composite (RCA) cable to make use of the monitor-in port on the Qosmio. The scart end goes into the NTL box and the composite end goes into the other adapter provided with the Qosmio, which then goes into the monitor-in port. This will give you a better signal. If your box outputs an S-Video signal, this would be even better. However, many boxes do not - you'd need to check the specs.
If you have no option other than to use the RF-out port on the NTL box, then I would suggest setting the signal up manually in Media Centre and when you get the option to enter a channel, put in the one that your NTL box broadcasts its signal on. It sounds like the Qosmio player detected this channel when it scanned for it, so use that to see which channel it was. Failing that, check the user manual for your box.
I would also suggest that you ensure that the latest TV tuner driver is installed and that you have all the latest Windows updates done.
By the way, if opt for the scart to composite cable, make sure it is the "scart --> composite" type and NOT "composite --> scart". If you get a cable with the signal path the wrong way around, it won't work and you'll get no picture. Some cables are bi-directional with an in/out switch, which is ok.
Willow