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Help with USB Tuner on Mac Mini

A

alloftheabove

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 8, 2010
11
0
I have 3 mac minis including the latest version. They all have the same problem when I try to plug in a USB TV tuner. Doesn't matter what brand of tuner I use. Doesn't matter what version of Eye TV I use. The problem doesn't happen with imacs, or my mac book air, Just the mac minis.

The error message reads:

The Eye TV Hybrid device (or any other tuner I try) will not operate because it is connected to a USB 1.1 port.

It should be connected to an available USB 2.0 port

To the best of my knowledge none of the mac minis even have 1.1 ports!

Anyone know what's going on?
 
Yep. It happens when tried on a USB and/or extension cord.

So far I had tried a 3 different kinds of Elgato tuners and a pinnacle.

All with the same result.

Funny thing is that the older intel mac minis only did it sometimes and when they did all I had to do was unplug it a few times and eventually it would work.

The new 2.53 Ghz Mac Mini totally refuses to accept them.
 
hmm as i use the pinnacle dvbt nano stick on my G4 without problem , and before on my eMac , but i know these problems all to well from my windows pc's in the past , they always forgot that they have usb2.0
all intel based ,
so resetting pram reinstalling the os might help for a while (found when i looked on ebay for my g4 mini quiet a few intel minis with usb not working )

so at least your 2.53 mini should still be under apple care just give them a call if you cant get it fixed with reset pram or reinstalling OS
 
Thanks guys, the new mac mini is only around a month old so I will definitely taking be it up with Apple.

Funny thing is all the mac minis work perfectly well with other USB 2 devices such as external hard drives and cameras.

It's just the tuners that have the problem.

You start to wonder if Apple don't want to you to use the mac mini as a media centre.
 
alloftheabove said:
Thanks guys, the new mac mini is only around a month old so I will definitely taking be it up with Apple.

Funny thing is all the mac minis work perfectly well with other USB 2 devices such as external hard drives and cameras.

It's just the tuners that have the problem.

You start to wonder if Apple don't want to you to use the mac mini as a media centre.
Click to expand...

hmmm maybe the mini's are giving minimal power.. those tuners do draw a bit of power i think.
 
I have two new Mac Minis and have no problems with my Miglia MiniHD tuners using Eye TV software.
 
I have quite a large plasma screen hooked up to the mac mini (58").

Also have a firewire 800 external HD.

Does anyone think they could be the source of the problem?
 
And by the way, the problem still occurred with the older mac minis when I ran the tuners through a powered USB hub. Haven't tried a powered USB hub with the new mac mini yet
 
You should check the Elgato's forum, I know I've seen a lengthy thread there about a similar issue for the past few weeks.
 
WTF!

Now my Mac Book Air is has the same error message too. The Air was only bought in December 2009.

The Pinnacle TV for Mac DVB-T Stick (70e) device will not operate because it is connected to a USB1.1 port.

Of course the air does not even have a USB 1.1 port.

Yes it's plugged in to mains power.

Going straight to an Apple genius tomorrow.
 
alloftheabove said:
WTF!

Now my Mac Book Air is has the same error message too. The Air was only bought in December 2009.

The Pinnacle TV for Mac DVB-T Stick (70e) device will not operate because it is connected to a USB1.1 port.

Of course the air does not even have a USB 1.1 port.

Yes it's plugged in to mains power.

Going straight to an Apple genius tomorrow.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, you should be contacting Elgato, not Apple.
 
Thanks for suggestions guys.

I will drop Elgato a message too.

For the record I am running Eye TV 3.3.3 and the issue is with the Pinnacle Tuner as well as the Elgato Hyrbrid tuner.

I will pass on what Elgato and Apple say.
 
Here's the reply from Elgato. Havn't had a chance to go through this but will post what happens.

Thank you for contacting Elgato Systems. I'm sorry you're having USB 1.1 problems.

What video signal source are you using? This issue has been happening with some older (18-24 months) international (PAL/SECAM/DVB-T) Elgato brand EyeTV Hybrids. In some cases, it's a temporary problem, but it can be a symptom of a hardware fault. At our forums, some users report heating up the device in the oven/with a hair dryer may work. However, it's a fairly good indicator that the device is faulty.

When any USB device is connected to your mac, several test signals are sent back and forth between the device and the USB controller within your Mac. After determining that the device is full speed device (USB 1.1), the connected device sends a particular signal to the controller, which the controller must respond to with a particular sequence. When that sequence is received by the EyeTV device, it then starts communicating at high speed (USB 2.0).

This problem can happen either because the USB controller does not respond to the high speed signal, or due to a problem with the USB chip in the device itself.

Try EyeTV with other FireWire or USB devices detached. There might be a fault with the connection, or some sort of conflict with another device.

Quit EyeTV into your EyeTV Archive folder and erase the Live Buffer file. Launch EyeTV again and try to open a live TV window. Are you able to test the device with another Mac? If not, try creating a new admin user account and install EyeTV for it.

If you have your EyeTV activation key handy, I would like you to reinstall EyeTV. Download this application:

http://dl.elgato.com/eyetv/reporter/eyetv_reporter_14_146.zip

In EyeTV Reporter, press the Easy button, then select Uninstall. When that process is done, EyeTV will be in a new state. However, your recordings and schedules will still be present. Then reinstall EyeTV:

http://downloads2.elgato.com/eyetvdownloads/support/eyetv_333_6040.dmg

Copy EyeTV from this disk image, and place it on your hard drive. Then, you can erase the disk image (dmg) file. Does this reinstallation resolve your problem? A device more than two years old would be out of warranty.
 
Tried it.
Didn't work.
Elgato are trying their best to be helpful though I'm not sure about putting the tuner in the oven!
 
It could well be a defective tuner but the thing that puzzles me is the same problem happened with other tuners as well.

What's more it's been a problem on two other older intel mac minis too.

On the older mac minis I just unplugged and replugged the tuners once or twice and they would come good.

I was starting to think it was a mac mini issue, but now I'm not sure.

I think I will take it into work and try it on a few Macs there.
 
Pinnacle TV for Mac DVB-T stick & Mac Mini

I'm having same problem with the stick and both my Mac Mini and MBPro 15". It used to work with a bit of 'fiddling' around with the Mac Mini, but on the MBP it's refusing to recognise the USB 2.0 connection.:confused::mad:
 
Same Same

I too have had a problem and recieved the exact same email regarding the hairdryer and reinstall etc...
I found if i plug it in and take it out several times it will work eventually...
Until today..... now thats not working anymore either... just going to have to get a new one...
 
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