OEM bundles -- where to get the stuff you didn't

[jennyfur]

Hi. I'm completely new to the HTPC thing and recently bought an OEM bundle of SageTV 2.0 and the Hauppauge 250MCE. I believe I found the drivers I needed to install for the tuner card on Hauppauge's site, but I was wondering what else was on the retail CD (and how I could get it) and also if there was a manual for that particular model since the only one I see is for the 250/350. Same goes for Sage... is there a manual or setup guide or something that usually comes with Sage? Thanks in advance for helping a clueless newbie

In an unrelated note, I'm also trying to find out about serial control of my Motorola DCT2224 cable box. I've seen threads saying this is possible, so I hooked it up to my system using a straight thru DB9 male/female cable. I can't seem to get it to do anything though, which leads me to believe that the port is not enabled on my box. I want to know for certain so I can call Comcast cable to turn it on. I found something called DCTTEST.EXE from another thread, but I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to be showing.

Could anybody who successfully called their cable company to enable the port tell me exactly what it was that you said to them? I did try already and one rep denied it could be turned on and another claimed I could swap the box for one that was enabled, but I wasted my time getting a new box and it's no different than the one I already had!

[kny3twalker]

as for the stuff about drivers and software look at the FAQ about installation or goto shspvr.com
and there is a whole topic for the DCT 2000 plug in
here
http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...&threadid=1606

[jennyfur]

I'd already gotten the drivers from Hauppauge's site. I was just wondering what else besides them (and that WinTV2000 program that I won't be using since I have Sage) was on the disk that comes with a retail bundle. Looks like shspvr pretty much has the same thing though. And I'm assuming since you just pointed me to a FAQ that there is in fact no manual for Sage? Not sure if I'm looking at the right FAQ (there appears to be a few of them) but it's really basic stuff that's painfully obvious already. I was hoping there was something that explained some of the detailed setup options or any other of the many configurable aspects of Sage. To clarify, I really just want to know that I'm correct in assuming that:

1. There is no manual for the Hauppauge 250MCE
2. There is no manual for SageTV

And thanks for the link, but that thread is the one I was already referring to that made me aware that serial connections were possible in the first place. It's also where I'd gotten the dcttest.exe file I'd mentioned. Most of the people in that thread already have the serial port enabled and that's how they're using the plugin in the first place. Someone asked something similar to what I'm trying to find out, but since the conversation is centered around the plugin, they didn't get much of an answer. I was just hoping someone would have info for those of us who haven't gotten to the plugin stage yet.

[kny3twalker]

there is a short manual for Sage and there is a manual ofr the pvr 250
http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/manua...pci-250350.pdf

[broderp]

Originally posted by jennyfur



2. There is no manual for SageTV

.

Thats about right. There is a BASIC setup guidethat installs with SAGE, but it in no way explains ALL the features that are included, or the many tips and shortcuts available. Unfortunately, it seems sage has decided to focus it's developement on STUDIO and leave SAGE manual-less. Fortunately, this forum is a plethora of information, if you can sort thru it, it's probably here somewhere's.

I hate asking what to me seem like BASIC questions, but this is the vehicle sage providedme to ask those questions as I have nothing in print (or PDF) to detail SAGE 2.0 features. The people here are very helpful and patient, even with people like me who push their buttons once in a while!

[jennyfur]

Originally posted by kny3twalker
there is a short manual for Sage and there is a manual ofr the pvr 250
http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/manua...pci-250350.pdf

Thanks, but like I said earlier that is just for the 250 and 350, not the MCE. The MCE has an FM tuner as well as different inputs than the other two cards. No matter, I've pretty much resolved to the fact that nothing from this bundle has a manual anyway so I'm not missing much cuz I got it OEM (which makes me wonder what the heck extra actually comes with the retail versions? the majority of the cost difference could have been explained by the high cost of printing for a manual, but since there isn't one I can't even imagine where that money went).

Thanks for confirming my thoughts Broderp. I just didn't want to sound like an idiot asking innane questions on here all the time if there was an easy way for me to learn things on my own (which is usually how I prefer to do things... RTFM). But guess I have no choice other than to keep on digging through the forums for info. Kinda sucks for all us newbs that haven't dived into the really technical stuff yet. Just hope all the advanced users will continue to put up with us. Oh well!

In an unrelated note, I've got serial control of my STB working. Unfortunatly I think the box is defective or something... none of my premium channels are coming in and I've called and had the signal re-sent multiple times already and they claim everything looks fine on their end...

[stanger89]

Well there is no Retail version of the MCE it's a exclusively OEM product (desinged to go in XP Media Center Edition machines). As for what the Retail 250 comes with, AFAIK you get a remote, the drivers, a manual (never opened mine), and a copy of Ulead DVD Movie Factory, plus some other misc S/W like Acrobat and DX I think. You can download the CD minus:
DirectX
DirectXMedia
HTMLhelp
MovieFactory
WinTV Manual
WinTV English Help Files & Language Resources
Misc Utility
Registration
NanoCosmos MPEG Video Editor 2.3.1.0

Over at SHSpvr.

[kny3twalker]

NOT
my pvr 250 MCE is retail and came with the retail CD with drivers, software, Ulead

when you get the bundle from pcalchemy you get the OEM

why do you need a manual that is different for the MCE version of the pvr 250
it is same thing just no IR port and true RCA audio inputs
and a radio

[jennyfur]

Originally posted by stanger89
Well there is no Retail version of the MCE it's a exclusively OEM product

kny3twalker is correct, there is both a retail and an OEM version of this. You can buy EITHER one at PC Alchemy.com, there is a difference in cost of $17. The retail version can also be purchased directly from Hauppauge. I didn't buy the retail version, as I've already stated....I bought a bundle that included the OEM product only.

Originally posted by kny3twalker
why do you need a manual that is different for the MCE version of the pvr 250
it is same thing just no IR port and true RCA audio inputs
and a radio

That is exactly why. I stated just that in an earlier post already. The FM tuner is not included on the 250/350 so there is no info on it in that manual. The diagrams and descriptions/instructions for the other inputs are also different. And obviously the info on the remote is not applicable. It just would have been nice to have a manual for the MCE model as well (or at least a mention of its features in the 250/350 one) considering Hauppauge bothers to market and sell it to non Windows Media Center users throughout their site.

Like I'd mentioned in my previous post, I'm already resolved to the fact that neither manual exists so there's no point dragging this out. I'm happy with the answers already given and thank you all for the info. I don't think much more can be said.

[kny3twalker]

the pvr 350 has a radio and so does the usb2 pvr just so you know

[Opus4]

... and don't bother with the radio unless you are sure you will remember to turn it off before a TV show is to be recorded -- you cannot use both the FM & TV tuners at the same time. If you are playing the radio, your TV recording will be the radio's audio w/no picture.

- Andy

[jennyfur]

Originally posted by kny3twalker
the pvr 350 has a radio and so does the usb2 pvr just so you know

Sorry for the typo, I meant just 250 (I'd been referring to the combo 250/350 manual so much that my brain was fixed on it ). And I've never even seen the usb2 offered OEM so I don't think it's an issue.

Thanks for the info about recording and radio use. That's the kind of thing that would have been nice to mention in a manual

[kny3twalker]

the manual does refer to recoridng and using the radio but for the winTV products and not Sage
the radio is only referred to when mentioning the pvr 350 but no difference

seems you are too worried about it
are you worried that you are missing something?

also Sage said they will support the radio in the future releases

[jennyfur]

I'm too worried about it? I tried to end this thread like 5 posts ago because I said I'd already gotten the answers I was looking for. I even tried to reiterate that in a following post (#9) yet it still keeps dragging out. The only thing I'm missing is a manual (or two), and like I said repeatedly, I'm fine with that. I just wanted to know if there was one that I was missing, which apparently isn't the case. I wasn't worried about it at all, it's just a PITA not having one and having to ask a bunch of people simple questions that could have been answered with one.

I know the manual refers to recording and using the radio, I already read it. However I did not see where it mentioned the conflict between recording and the radio, which is what I was referring to in my previous post.