I have a Dell Studio Hybrid running Windows 7.  I use the machine for my media center and it is great.  I want to pipe my cable through it as well though and running into some problems.  When I run the cable advisor my video card fails and it appears to be not up to snuff.  There isnt much wiggle room with the chassis and I need another solution.  It is also the only card available through dell for the Studio Hybrid.  Anyone have any suggestions?

What are the specs? I am going to assume there are no open slots in there. The cable advisor passes on my little Aspire Revo AR1600, the only thing different is that it has an ION chip in it.

Intel pentium dual core T4300 (2.1 Ghz/800MHz FSB/1MB Cache)

2G DDR2

Intel integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (Unfortunately the only card offered for this box)

 

Their are no open slots on the box.  I purchased it just to stream movies from my WHS but I wan to add digital cable to its array of media utilities.  I also purchased the External ATI All in one Digital Cable Tuner with CableCard.

 Just wondering if I am overlooking something or if there are any alternatives if my video card wont support it.

 Have you looked into the HDHomerun from Silicon Dust?  Perhaps I'm not understanding your question right, but I think it might be right up your alley.

Here is the situation.  I purchased a Dell Studio hybrid with the above specs.  I aslo have a ATI All-in-on DCT with CableCard.  I am trying to run the Digital Cable Advisor on Windows Media Center (Windows 7).  The pre-test fails my card.  I need a solution or work around to make my PC digital cable ready.

 I tried the sony bios emulator work around for the OCUR compliance but since I have windows 7 and they have discontinued the use of DCT PID it doesnt work.

 I must admit I am a bit of a noob at this. 

fohovlegotz:

Here is the situation.  I purchased a Dell Studio hybrid with the above specs.  I aslo have a ATI All-in-on DCT with CableCard.  I am trying to run the Digital Cable Advisor on Windows Media Center (Windows 7).  The pre-test fails my card.  I need a solution or work around to make my PC digital cable ready.

 I tried the sony bios emulator work around for the OCUR compliance but since I have windows 7 and they have discontinued the use of DCT PID it doesnt work.

 I must admit I am a bit of a noob at this. 

Most likely you are stuck and it will not work.  Why does it say you failed?  Using a BIOS loader will NOT get around most of the reasons you will fail (mostly only CPU/memory related failures, which are uncommon).

FYI, I have a Dell SH and used it for a while as a backup Media Center, streaming content (.WMVs for the most part) to extenders. Let me tell you, it was SLOW. I think the processor and I/O, while the specs appear decent, just weren't up to the task. Didn't even try to install a DCT and pass the DCA, and for streaming to extenders graphics are not the issue. While I think the form factor and "polish" of the machine is great, I'm not sure if it will be able to reliably handle HD feeds, even if you could get it to pass the DCA.

erkotz:

Why does it say you failed?

 

I believe it said that his video card was to blame.

And it's not too surprising since you are running GMA X3100.

Honestly, there really is no hope for you unless someone out there finds a way to circumvent the DCA. 

teoami:

erkotz:

Why does it say you failed?

 

I believe it said that his video card was to blame.

And it's not too surprising since you are running GMA X3100.

Honestly, there really is no hope for you unless someone out there finds a way to circumvent the DCA. 

 

Grab the log file and see what test your video card failed specifically.  I suspect it will end up being because your monitor doesn't support HDCP.  The Dell Studio Hybrid really isn't that slow - I've run OCUR on slower machines.

That said, circumventing the DCA really won't help you - especially with video card issues.  In pretty much all video-card related issues, it will still fail to function even if you circumvent the DCA.

Thanks for the help guys.  I will have to explore other avenues.  the Dell SH works great for streaming HD content off my home server and is more than worth its weight for that.  I will have to find other solutions for DTV.