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How To Enable Clear QAM in Vista (and Windows 7) Media Center

Submitted by mikewren on Mon 11/24/2008 @ 12:31 PM
Published in

Update 1/12/2009: I have confirmed that, at least for the HVR-1600, the registry update below do in fact work on the official public beta of Windows 7 Ultimate released by Microsoft. 

I have also confirmed that the TV Pack 2008 update blows chunks, is very unstable, completely rendering my Vista Media Center useless.  Microsoft is aware of the issue, and is refusing to offer a fix, except for telling users to upgrade to Windows 7. $150 for two months of Vista Ultimate OEM.  Thanks Microsoft!

Background

In 2006, after five years with my venerable first-generation TiVo (HDR112), the hard disk died. Thanks to the efforts of the very active TiVo hacker/cracker community, it would be short work to reinstall the TiVo operating system to a new disk. But it's been five years, surely there was a better DVR experience out there. Better graphics and user interface, multiple tuners, ability to recompress/stream recorded content on the fly; All things my old TiVo hardware sadly could never do.

After a few nights of research and an install of MythTV on a spare PC, and after dismissing BeyondTV, I was shocked when I read about Windows XP Media Center Edition. 10' interface, driven by a remote control?!? DVR functionality built on top of a Windows XP operating system! Now we're talking!

Two years later, I decided to finally upgrade to Vista, not for the (terrible) desktop user interface, but for the very elegant Media Center features. More importantly, the ability to receive the non-encrypted digital signals that Time Warner Cable sends for free to its customers, also known as clear QAM.  Of course, installing the Vista 2008 TV Pack (Fiji) broke Orb and DVRMSToolbox, but hopefully they will update their software.

To enable clear QAM in Vista Media Center after installing the TV Pack (Fiji), I had to add a value to the registry. Below are the instructions, thanks to user biocoder over on TheGreenButton.com:

1. Reinstall Vista Ultimate 64 and all drivers (NOT HVR-1800 yet) (I chose not to do a clean install. I had one problem, but I don't know if it was related to this. I'll explain later below.)
2. Update windows
3. Install HVR-1800 and BETA drivers from Hauppauge USA website (4 gig memory drivers) (I have the 1800 so i installed this driver. I also found a newer driver, v1.3x on hauppauges ftp site, but i used the v1.27 after trying both of them out, it appeared that 1.3x had some pixelation)
4. Install TV Pack 2008 ( http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2331431,00.asp ) (search for it on the web, you're bound to find it somewhere. http://kenmouse.blogspot.com/2008/09/windows-media-center-tv-pack-2008-rtm_25.html)
5. Install "PlayReady PC Runtime" (x32 or x64) from Microsoft Downloads (UPDATED 3/26/2009 with download links)
6. Install 2 patches (see link above for all files) (KB951685 and KB950754 from MS download site.)
7. Update windows (you will see a cumulative update for TV Pack too)
8. Open the registry (run/regedit)
9. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\HCW85BDA
10. Add new Folder (key) and name it: Parameters
11. Add a new DWORD to that and name it: AllowQAM_PowerToy
12. Make the value for the new string: 1
(here are the regedits for the other type of HVRs)
; HVR-1250, HVR-1290, HVR-1500q, HVR-1800, HVR-1850
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HCW85BDA\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

; HVR-1600 (only some models support QAM; should list them here)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HCW18BDA\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

; HVR-USB2, HVR-1950
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HCW73BDA\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

; HVR-950q
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HCW72DTV\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

; HVR-2250
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\hcw89\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\hcwPrx89\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

13. Restart system
14. Load Media Center and go through setup
15. For TV signal, it should find both tuners, when asked for which guide to us, I had several choices, but i went with the digital selection and it worked fine. Some people have tried all the choices to get different results, for this one you are on your own. (I had both analog and clearQAM signals and continued. When setting the channel listings, I chose the "analog" listings for my area for the analog signal and chose the "digital" listings for the digital/clearqam signal. Then came the scanning for channels...read below)

 

This is probably a no-brainer

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri 07/03/2009 @ 12:27 AM.

This is probably a no-brainer for people who even know what QAM is, but on the 1600, make sure your cable is plugged into the ATSC tuner (the shorter one) if you want your digital tuner to show up as a QAM tuner. I had mine plugged into the analog tuner and was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why it wasn't showing up as a digital tuner, lol.

you're a genius-ass!!! The

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed 06/24/2009 @ 1:42 AM.

you're a genius-ass!!! The reg hack worked like a charm... I had almost thrown in the towel! HVR-1800 Vista Ultimate SP2, latest (general - CD) Hauppauge Drivers, all the tv pack cr@p. Thanks again!

i got it to work i even get

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri 06/19/2009 @ 9:03 PM.

i got it to work i even get some pay channels that my box in the front room does not get like max 1 and 2 i just told it to use cable instead of antenna i also had to go and edit the listings to the right channel and two other pay channels i havent figured out what they are yet but its awsome

I got it to work with an

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed 05/27/2009 @ 11:04 PM.

I got it to work with an HVR-1600 on Windows 7 32-Bit RC1. I installed RC1 as an upgrade to Vista where I already had the drivers installed. It didn't work until I ran the Hauppague Driver uninstaller, then installed the latest driver then created the registry entry.

Failure HVR-2250

Submitted by Use_with_caution (not verified) on Sun 05/24/2009 @ 12:46 PM.

Failure HVR-2250 Vist32: Under Hauppauge driver 7.6.1.27086 dated 3/27/2009. Followed the directions exactly. Although "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\hcwPrx89\Parameters" does not exist. Installed each item and updated. Analog tuner only found as described previously. I'm glad a made a DIXML backup prior doing this.

GREAT -- this worked like a

Submitted by Doug (not verified) on Thu 05/14/2009 @ 7:18 PM.

GREAT -- this worked like a charm on Windows 7 RC x64. Great great great!!!

Using Mike's Instructions I

Submitted by Dilip Balsaraf (not verified) on Mon 04/06/2009 @ 3:54 PM.

Using Mike's Instructions I was not able to get Clear QAM using my 2250 on Vista ultimate 64. Its very possible that I did not read or understand the instructions clearly. Tech support has suggested this to me today, which is what I will be trying out tonight and report back. - Ensure that there is no TV tuner card in the system. - Install Vista 64 bit Ultimate - Install TV PACK - Although they did not say this I may install the playready and the 2 patches mentioned by Mike. - Although they did not say it, but I will update Windows at this point. - After that Introduce the tv tuner card into the system - Install Beta Drivers (currently as of 4/6/2009 its 4.8 http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/software/install_cd/cd_4.8a.zip - Reboot - I dont intend to make any registry changes. - Configure media center - Hopefully it does not see only 2 analog tuners. Hope it can find Clear QAM tuners!

ATI or any other vendor could

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Fri 03/27/2009 @ 12:47 PM.

ATI or any other vendor could claim anything they want but till MS changes MCE no QAM support is forthcoming.

Searching for "Ready Play"

Submitted by The Goat (not verified) on Thu 03/26/2009 @ 6:04 PM.

Searching for "Ready Play" drove me crazy ... until I figured out it's supposed to be "PlayReady" Some of the articles and threads linked to have dead links, too ... how I found it was searching for "PlayReady PC Runtime" at microsoft.com/downloads Cheers!

Fixed, with links (until

Submitted by mikewren on Thu 03/26/2009 @ 6:37 PM.

Fixed, with links (until Microsoft changes them again), thanks for letting me know.

Would you please take a

Submitted by Jerry in Georgia (not verified) on Tue 03/24/2009 @ 11:10 PM.

Would you please take a moment to answer a question? I have Comcast internet but i do not have pay cable tv. Is clear Qam free without subscribing? I do appreciate your answer. Thanks

Probably not, you would need

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun 04/05/2009 @ 1:14 PM.

Probably not, you would need to remove the in-line filter to get any of those channels. Also, as Comcast does not use CableCard technology, all of their channels are available via Clear QAM, but not the premiums (e.g. HBO, Starz, Cinemax, etc.). So, for anyone with TV from Comcast, all you need to get HDTV is a PC with Clear QAM enabled, unless you want to risk the legal consequences of removing the in-line filter (it's on the power pole where everyone is connected to the terminating block).

Just FYI, I have Comcast

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri 05/08/2009 @ 10:49 AM.

Just FYI, I have Comcast digitral service with an HD box in one location and a Comcast-supplied cableCard in my Panasonic Plasma at a second location. Therefore they do indeed support CableCards. However, none of the interactive services, including OnDemand, are avaaliable for the TV with the CableCard installation.

You would have to call

Submitted by mikewren on Wed 03/25/2009 @ 12:40 PM.

You would have to call Comcast to find out.  I have Time Warner for cable and Road Runner for Internet.

Thank you. This helped me get

Submitted by clifgriffin (not verified) on Mon 03/23/2009 @ 8:33 PM.

Thank you. This helped me get ClearQAM on my HVR-1600 to work properly with Windows 7 build 7057!

I follwed the step and have

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue 03/17/2009 @ 6:04 PM.

I follwed the step and have my HVR 2250 got it working without the registry entries. Can you tell me what are the benefits of adding the entries?

totally awesome walk through

Submitted by netholio (not verified) on Fri 02/27/2009 @ 11:59 PM.

totally awesome walk through - this enabled my Hauppauge 2250 on Vista Home Premium SP1 32bit (on a 3 month old install). VMC recognized the tuners automatically and set them up correctly - Thank you Very very much! (win-7 was a little easier, but I still had to manually set up the tuners in MCE.)

Sadly ATI isn't invited to

Submitted by Josephz2va (not verified) on Sun 02/22/2009 @ 10:24 PM.

Sadly ATI isn't invited to the Clear QAM conundrum. I have to online order a new TV tuner. Phooey.

I'm not sure what ATI card

Submitted by Bdubslawman (not verified) on Thu 03/12/2009 @ 12:58 PM.

I'm not sure what ATI card you are using or referring to. But with the TV Pack ATI TV Wonder 650's (I personally own (3) Combo cards) are all recognized with NO registry hack and pull in Clear QAM. (Prior to the TV PACK ATI was lagging way behind HDHomerun, AVerMedia, and Hauppauge that had beta drivers to fool Vista MC into thinking the QAM was really ATSC OTA - which Native VMC can handle. ATI left customers HANGING claiming "Clear QAM support" b/c CatalystMC (ONLY in VISTA) was able to do QAM. However that version of rebranded Cyberlink's Power Cinema 4 has many many bugs in it and it's functionality is over all lacking compared to VMC - esp. with TV Pack added and it is now at least TWO generations behind the current Power Cinema 6. ATI still has left Windows XP users out in the cold when it comes to QAM. But Clear QAM is just Awesome on the TV Wonder 650's!

Had the same problem wouldnt

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat 02/21/2009 @ 12:41 PM.

Had the same problem wouldnt detect anything QAM with HVR-1250. Did the registry hack and got all of the FIOS channels no problems .

Great walkthrough. I

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri 02/20/2009 @ 6:26 PM.

Great walkthrough. I attempted to get a 1950 USB tuner to work in Windows 7 and it just came back with analog cable when using the beta drivers. I applied the registry edit mentioned, and then QAM was an option when I re-ran the channel setup. The QAM scan took forever but it was well worth it. Thanks!

what are the registry

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon 02/16/2009 @ 6:16 PM.

what are the registry settings to get this working with the pinnacle pctv hd pro stick

Thanks a bunch for this info.

Submitted by n2locarz (not verified) on Tue 02/03/2009 @ 5:22 AM.

Thanks a bunch for this info. I tested it with a Hauppauge HVR-1800 under Vista SP1 and Windows 7. In both cases the reg setting was required to detect the QAM support. NOTE: The QAM channels were not detected by default. I had to manually add them using MHealy's link above.

Just wanted to say QAM for my

Submitted by Warren Parks (not verified) on Sat 01/31/2009 @ 3:21 PM.

Just wanted to say QAM for my HVR-1800 wasn't recognized in Windows 7 64-bit until I applied the registry hack listed here. Thanks for the help!

Had the same problem wouldnt

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun 02/01/2009 @ 5:13 PM.

Had the same problem wouldnt detect anything QAM with HVR-1250. Did the registry hack and got all of the FIOS channels no problems.

Windows 7 Media Center

Submitted by MHealy (not verified) on Wed 01/28/2009 @ 9:11 AM.

Windows 7 Media Center supports ClearQAM without any registry fixes or additional addons. I have a Hauppage 2250 that worked "out of the box" in Windows 7's Media Center finding both hybrid tuners available for the card. Setting up the channels was a little more dificult but I've documented that here: http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/01/manually-adding-clearqam-channels-to.html

Since I wrote the article

Submitted by MHealy (not verified) on Tue 02/03/2009 @ 9:21 PM.

Since I wrote the article I've read of numerous people having trouble with older hauppauge cards needing the registry fix so I've added a link back to this page for anyone who needs to apply it before getting their card to work properly. Hopefully Hauppauge will update drivers for older cards with the release of Windows 7.

Great information, thanks! 

Submitted by mikewren on Wed 01/28/2009 @ 1:31 PM.

Great information, thanks!  It's weird that I needed to add the PowerToys registry entry to get my Hauppauge 1600 cards to work under Windows 7.  Hopefully the final RTM version of Windows 7 will play nice with current (and future) clear QAM hardware out of the box.

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