F. A. Q. - Frequently Asked Questions

Please ensure that you are using the latest driver versions. You can obtain the latest drivers from our FTP-Server or from the TerraTec Homepage

An Overview of the Questions

Question 1:
When starting the tv application the system freezes and can only be activated after a restart of the computer.

Question 2:
When starting the tv application the error message "372 Initialisation of driver server - Driver not found" comes up.

Question 3:
When starting the tv application the error message "No suitable DirectX provider - Overlay channel disabled?" is shown.

Question 4:
Why do I need a DirectX graphic card with a support for video overlay?

Question 5:
What is the maximum resolution supported by the tv card while recording video sequences?

Question 6:
The mouse arrow is freezing while working with the tv application.

Question 7:
When starting the tv application the message "the file TV.EXE is linked with: Export - OLEAUT32.DLL:420" is shown.

Question 8:
What sizes of files are created while recording video sequences?

Question 9:
After updating the driver version the radio application doesn't work anymore.

Question 10:
How is the tv card installed on a Linux system?

Question 11:
After recording, the video films show a picture, but there is no sound.

Question 12:
Can I connect a SAT-LNB (satellite ...) directly with the tv card?

Question 13:
Does the tv card have a video output?

Question 14:
When activating the channel search, there are no channels found.

Question 15:
After the installation of the WDM driver on a Windows 98SE system I receive the error message "Incompatable RPC Stub".

Question 1:
When starting the tv application the system freezes and can only be activated after a restart of the computer.

Answer 1:
- First check in the device manager if the tv card is sharing an interrupt(IRQ) with another device. This can cause crashes, especially when the tv card is sharing an IRQ with the graphic card. Please assign the IRQs of the devices so that there is no IRQ sharing anymore (for example by changing the TVcards PCI slots).
- If you connect a AGP graphic card, the tv card should not be placed in the PCI slot 1; the AGP slot always shares its IRQ with the 1st PCI slot. This is leading to an IRQ sharing a can cause crashes. We recommend to use another PCI slot. The numbering of the PCI slots can be found in the users manual of your mainboard.

y

Question 2:
When starting the tv application the error message "372 Initialisation of driver server - Driver not found" comes up.

Answer 2:
This error message is a clear sign that the driver of the tv card is not installed properly or at all. Please run the program "uninstall" which you can find on our homepage or on the installation cd in the folder Drivers/Uninstall. Restart your system. After the reboot of your system the drivers can be installed again.

y

Question 3:
When starting the tv application the error message "No suitable DirectX provider - Overlay channel disabled?" is shown.

Answer 3:
- This error message appears when the installed graphic card driver is not configured to DirectX. In this case you should download and install the actual driver version of your graphic card. If this measure doesn't bring you any success, you should install an actual version of DirectX. After this there should not appear any problems while using the software.
Additional information can be found at question 5 of this faq.
- If this error message still appears, please contact the manufacturer of the graphic card and ask them if the card does support DirectX 7 and the overlay function.

y

Question 4:
Why do I need a DirectX graphic card with a support for video overlay?

Answer 4:
- Like with all usual tv cards with a Brooktree 848 or Brooktree 878 chipset, the tv information which are provided by the tv is sent in the memory of the graphic card via the PCI bus without charging the CPU. This is called overlay. If this function wouldn't exist, the CPU would have to copy all the files into the memory of the graphic card. In this case watching television and working with another application at the same time would not be possible, because the system is working to full capacity. Because video overlay does apply directly to the graphic card, it is neccessary to use a DirectX graphic cards driver for showing the tv picture. For this reason, it is neccessary that a DirectX based driver for the graphic card with support for video overlay is used.

y

Question 5:
What is the maximum resolution supported by the tv card while recording video sequences?

Answer 5:
Like all usual tv cards with Brooktree 848 or Brooktree 878 chipset, the tv card is able to digitalise/record a video sequence with a maximum resolution of 768x576. The size of the created files is too big to be handled by the hard drives. For this reason, the files recorded with this resolution have a lot of dropped frames. With dropped frames the driver tries to regulate the size of the files until the created files can be writen on the hard drives. Of course this has a dramatic effect on the result. The more dropped frames, the more video sequences stutter. In this case, it only helps to choose a smaller video format via the options/videoformat. Actual systems are able to record with a maximum video format 384x288 fluently.

y

Question 6:
The mouse arrow is freezing while working with the tv application.

Answer 6:
This case only appeares when the tv card shares an IRQ with another device. Now you should assign a certain IRQ to one of the devices. This also has to be done in the BIOS where you can select a certain value for the PCI slots, mostly in the register "PCI configuration". If you know which slot is occupied by the tv card, you can assign an IRQ to this PCI slot in the BIOS. You can find more information in the mainboards users manual.

y

Question 7:
When starting the tv application the message "the file TV.EXE is linked with: Export - OLEAUT32.DLL:420" is shown.

Answer 7:
In this case you have probably installed an older Windows95 version, which is also working with older *.dll files. These files are responsible for the file exchange between different applications. The tv sofware needs these files to enable a dynamic file exchange. As solution you can install the most actual Internet Explorer. With this installation all neccessary files are updated and after that there should not be any problems when starting the tv software.

y

Question 8:
What sizes of files are created while recording video sequences?

Answer 8:
This question cannot be answered generally. The following facts will give you an impression:
The higher the recording videoformat the bigger are the created files. The higher the amount of pics per second the more data is created. Because the resolution and the amount of pics per second can be chosen manually, the amount of data refers to this fact. With the default setting the tv software creates about 50 MB memory for 1 minute recording.

y

Question 9:
After updating the driver version the radio application doesn't work anymore.

Answer 9:
In this case please download the new radio software with the version 2.91 from our homepage. This version supports the actual drivers of the tv card.

y

Question 10:
How is the tv card installed on a Linux system?

Answer 10:
Please check the internet for detailled information. (for example: http://www.metzlerbros.org/bttv.html)

y

Question 11:
After recording, the video films show a picture, but there is no sound.

Answer 11:
For recording a video sequence with sound, first the output of the tv card has to be connected with the line-in of the soundcard. Therefore please use the small cabel which is included in the package. When this has been done, you must configure your soundcard so that the sound is recorded by the line-in. Therefore double click on the speakersystem in the system tray and choose options/properties. Select the option "volume control for" the "recording" and confirm this with "ok". Activate the line-in and adjust the slider to the middle position. Now the configuration is finished and you should be able to record a video sequence with sound.

y

Question 12:
Can I connect a SAT-LNB (satellite ...) directly with the tv card?

Answer 12:
No, the tv card needs a separate SAT-receiver.

y

Question 13:
Does the tv card have a video output?

Answer 13:
No, this tv card doesn't have an output. The card "only" has an audio output.

y

Question 14:
When activating the channel search, there are no channels found.

Answer 14:
In this case you probably use a satellite receiver. Sometimes receivers do not send on a certain channel but between two channel.
First download the actual version of the tv drivers and software from our homepage and search again for new channels. If in this version again no channels are found please activate "all frequencies" as region and start the searching again. With this setting "all frequencies" the program searches all possible frequencies and should find a channel now.

y

Question 15:
After the installation of the WDM driver on a Windows 98SE system I receive the error message "Incompatable RPC Stub".

Answer 15:
Please exchange the file oleaut32.dll from the Windows/System folder with the original file from the Windows98 SE installation cd. Now the installation of the software should work.

y

TerraTec Electronic GmbH
Herrenpfad 38
D-41334 Nettetal

tel: +49-2157-81790
fax: +49-2157-817922
hotline: +49-2157-817914

ftp.terratec.de

www.terratec.com