Vista Media Center - No Premium Channels

gareed · Joined: 26 Jun 2007 Posts: 1

I've been trying all week to get premium channels on MCE with no success. I've searched all the boards for a similar situation to no avail. I have an HP Media Center PC with the included Hauppage PVR-150 MCE (actually 2 cards).

Now if I understand correctly, I have to attach the IR buds to the STB's (Motorola 3416) front IR signal. The other end goes into the IR remote box which is connected to the PC via USB. This is necessary during setup to get the correct IR signals for the MCE remote to work.

This is where I'm having a problem. My HDTV is in our family room. My pc is in the kitchen - approx. 40' away. It's impossible to connect the required IR bud to the STB which has a total wire length of about 10', to my IR remote box attached to the pc.

Using these instructions, I guess I could move the pc next to the STB to get it to work but why would I want to? I'd have it next to the TV which already lets me view and record HD premium channels.

I currently have channels 1-99 using MCE and the remote works great...no problems. I certainly could live with this but I've become obsessed with the remote possibility that I could watch HBO on my PC or my other premium channels I pay for, while my husband watches his programs in the family room.

I have several extra unused outputs on my STB (IEEE1394, Composite, Components and USB). If I had to, I could run any one of these cables through our basement and up to the kitchen. But before doing so, and spending $$ on cables that might not work, I'm hoping for some video experts out there to advise what to do.

I'd appreciate any advice or maybe someone has had a similar situation. I also apologize for the length of this post......

Thanks!