PCTV Help Guide

July 23, 2006 09:38:25

This guide will show you how to make the Pinnacle PCTV Studio/Rave/Pro PCI to work in XP!!

Note:This guide is suitable for the old PCTV hardware ,PCTV Studio/Rave/Pro PCI, based on Connexant's CN878 chipset.

Apps Needed:
-WDM Drivers
-Dscaler. Optional. Is one of the best -freeware- capture apps.Don't needed if you have another app like Pinnacle Studio.

Using this guide, PCTV is operating perfectly.
If you have never installed (or after a clean OS install) then in Device Manager you'll see ...
? Other Devices [With the two sub items below]
? Multimedia Controller
? Multimedia Video Controller

How to:
-First uninstall Pinnacle software [form Add/Remove Programs] and reboot your PC.
-Windows XP will try to find drivers for the new hardware it has discovered (PCTV).Cancel the driver installation for WDM Audio Capture and WDM Video Capture.
-Check control panel under Device Manager and here you should have two ! next to these WDM devices indicating that drivers have not been installed.
-Download the WDM drivers [link above] and unpack to a directory.
-Download a TV Display/Capture application [Optional for driver's installation].
-Install BTwincap WDM Drivers (Run the extracted exe file).
-Run BTinstaller.exe and during initial installation select:
TV Video card > PCTV Studio Pro (or your card)
TV Tuner >Auto Auto Detect Card Info > Chipset = Bt878, Card = PCTV & Vendor = Pinnacle
Now select your Country's settings.Ensure Country is set correctly

Hardware Installation pop ups
Conexant's BtPCI WDM Video Capture > Not passed Windows Logo testing > Continue Anyway
Conexant's BtPCI WDM Audio Capture > Not passed Windows Logo testing > Continue Anyway
Drivers Successfully Installed >OK

[Under Device Manager]
Sound, Video and game controllers
Conexant's BtPCI WDM Video Capture
Conexant's BtPCI WDM Audio Capture
Your card should has no Issues (No ! next to item)
If you find you have an issue especially WDM Video Capture check the device properties for IRQ conflict or similar. Several PCTV users have reported it was necessary to manually install these drivers.

Now install a TV Display/Capture Application and start the Application and tune your channels. Enjoy TV or capture video on your PC.