Frequently Asked Questions - HDTV related
Questions in this category all have to do with troubleshooting HDTV issues when using ZvBox. Click on a question to see or hide the answer.
The safest way to configure your HDTV is to do a full scan. But to shorten it, you can try putting in just the main channel number (i.e., 125); other options are to try adding .1 to the main channel number (125.1) or adding.99 (125.99). Many HDTVs can directly tune to the Zv channel this way, which saves over 30 minutes of setup time on most models.
The ZvBox should not affect the operation of your cable TV or any other existing services on your cable.
However, if during installation of Zv you added splitters to the cable TV network in your home, you may have introduced some signal degradation to the cable services in your house.
If you are having problems with your other services, especially if you recently installed a ZvBox, we suggest that you remove the ZvBox to see if the problem persists. If it does, try removing any splitters that you added. If the problem still persists, you will want to call your cable TV provider for service. When they arrive, it would be best not to have ZvBox connected to the cable. The additional channel Zv generates may confuse the technician, and keep him from finding the “real” problem.
It is unlikely that the ZvBox is causing issues with your cable line up, but the channel filter that was installed may block a channel you normally receive. Try removing the filter and see if the channel returns. If it does, contact support to obtain a different channel filter that will allow you to use ZvBox and see all your cable favorites.
Zv delivers to your HDTV whatever your computer monitor is showing, up to and including high definition video and Dolby Digital sound. It could be that the content that you are watching is not being delivered to your PC in Hi Def. Low resolution YouTube content will be faithfully transmitted to your TV… it just won’t look very good because it’s low resolution!
Also, streaming content that is available in HD requires a fast broadband connection. Your internet service may not provide the speed necessary for you to take advantage of streaming HD-quality video.
First, make sure all the connected TVs are HDTVs with digital-cable compatible tuners. Zv is designed to work with that type of tuner, and won’t work with older analog TVs.
Second, some HDTVs must first “scan” the channel lineup to find new channels (like the one Zv has created) before they can memorize them and tune them in. Make sure you’ve run your HDTV’s “channel scan” feature (usually found in the “Set Up” or “Installation” section of the HDTV’s menu), so it’s able to tune in the Zv channel. For help performing a channel scan on your HDTV, see the video tutorial on our online [support] page
If neither of the first two suggestions solves the problem, it may be that the Zv channel power is too low at some of your HDTVs for them to receive it. That may occur when the ZvBox is connected to a coax cable network with too many splitters connected to it. In that case, the solution is to run a coaxial cable (type RG6) from your ZvBox back to the “root” of the cable system. That’s the point where the cable wire coming from the telephone pole in front of your house meets the first splitter in the cabling system. It’s just like wiring another room for cable TV.
Televisions employ a system called "Overscanning", which means they crop off some information at the edges of the picture. It’s a practice carried over (needlessly it seems) from the old days, when analog TV sets sometimes distorted the outermost edges of the picture.
In order to fit your entire computer display onto the HDTV (with nothing important cropped off, like the Start button or Taskbar!), we employ something we call Overscan Compensation. With your help, we find the maximum area that your HDTV will display, and then adjust your computer's resolution to match. Since different TVs behave differently, set this adjustment using the HDTV that crops off the most picture information. If you can see the whole desktop on that HDTV, your other sets will display the entire desktop too.
You’ll find the Zv channel using the tuner in your HDTV. On many HDTVs you can access the tuner input by pressing the “Input” or “TV/Video” button on the HDTV’s remote control until the tuner input is selected. On some HDTVs, simply pressing the channel-up or channel-down buttons on the HDTV remote will select the tuner input. Then, simply enter your Zv channel number.
Note that in order to access the content that your ZvBox delivers, you must make sure that your HDTV is directly connected to your home’s coaxial cabling, bypassing your set-top box. The HDTV will also need to be set to receive Digital Cable programming instead of Over the Air programming on the antenna input. This is usually set in the menus of the HDTV.
With some HDTVs, you need to run a “channel scan” before they can find the Zv channel. A tutorial on channel scanning is available on our online Support page. Once the scan is complete, you simply tune to the channel that the Zv Setup software told you to use – it’s that simple!
On some TV remote controls, instead of a dot or dash button you’ll find a button marked “sub” or “sub channel” which creates a dot or dash on-screen when it’s pressed. If there’s no dot, dash, or sub channel button on the remote, it’s possible that the TV does not have an HDTV tuner built in.
To check, look at the TV’s tuner specifications (in the manual or on the manufacturer’s web site) to see if it lists “QAM” or “Clear QAM” under tuner type. If so, it has the necessary HDTV tuner. Can’t find the specs? If you’re a cable TV subscriber, try connecting your home’s coaxial cabling directly to the TV’s antenna/cable input. Then, have the TV perform a channel scan for cable channels (click here for help). If the TV recognizes “digital” cable channels (you’ll see the word “digital” on-screen as it scans), it has the required HDTV tuner.
If the TV doesn’t have an HDTV tuner, it will not work with ZvBox unless you add an external HDTV tuner box-- there are several on the market.
That brief lag (called “latency”) is due to the time required to capture the cursor movement on the computer screen, convert it in real time to an HDTV channel, and then receive and display it on the HDTV. We’re still working to reduce latency further so future software upgrades will improve your system’s performance.
A tip: try using the arrow keys and the “OK” button on the remote to navigate; many sites and applications respond to these commands, and it makes the experience that much easier and more fun. Others (like MediaCenter) also work with our multi-media transport keys (play/pause/skip/etc.) which are easier to use than a touchpad.
Another tip: since your computer sees the ZvRemote as just another USB-connected mouse, the mouse adjustment wizard on your computer will also control the settings for ZvRemote. Try playing with the mouse settings (e.g., pointer speed, touchpad sensitivity, etc.) of this tool to improve performance. It can be found in your computer's Control Panel folder.
What's going on when I get a message that says “Display configuration failed”? (Important information regarding 1280 x 720 resolution and a known problem with Intel video cards)
The output of the computer’s video card can’t be set to a resolution that will allow ZvBox to localcast the computer’s output. A common fix is to update the video card’s driver (check the video card manufacturer’s web site for driver update downloads). There is also a known problem with Intel video cards on Windows XP (Vista is fine) that prevents ZvBox from setting the necessary resolution; there is no current fix for the Intel problem other than replacing the video card, but we have found a work-around and hope to provide that soon. See below for more details:
There is a two-step process for optimizing the broadcast of your computer’s video output to your HDTVs:
1. ZvBox first changes the computer’s resolution to 1280 x 720, which is an HDTV resolution.
2. ZvBox then allows you to modify that resolution, making the picture slightly smaller if needed so that the picture properly fills the TV screen.
The second step is necessary because most TVs actually crop off a little of a 1280 x 720 picture at the edges. By reducing the size of the picture, it’s possible to fit it all on the TV screen. For that reason, ZvBox may end up broadcasting a picture with an unusual resolution like 1272 x 716 once you’re done optimizing the picture.
For all this to work properly, your computer’s video card must be capable of two things:
1. It must allow 1280 x 720 output at the outset of the optimization process.
2. It must allow modification of that setting to slightly reduce the size of the picture if necessary.
If the card won’t allow 1280 x 720 output even after updating the driver, it will be necessary to replace the video card for ZvBox to work. Sometimes a video card may allow 1280 x 720 output (with or without updating the driver), but it won’t allow that output to be modified; in that case ZvBox will work, but the picture may be slightly too large for the TV. If the MS Windows Start Bar is slightly cropped off by the TV, try raising the Start Bar by clicking and dragging upward on its upper edge.
During setup, while adjusting the size of the picture on my HDTV, I got a screen that said “Error setting resolution. ZvBox Settings encountered an error attempting to optimize the picture for your television.” What happened?
The problem is that the video card or driver in your computer doesn’t support the resolution necessary to exactly fill the HDTV screen. In that case, ZvBox sets the video card to a common 800 x 600 resolution, and the resulting picture only partially fills the HDTV screen.
As noted on-screen, a common fix is to update the video card’s driver (check the video card manufacturer’s web site for driver update downloads). After the update, click on the Zv icon in the systray, then Launch ZvSettings>Adjust picture size. That will let you optimize the picture size.
If a driver update doesn’t solve the problem, the options are to use the 800 x 600 resolution, use the unadjusted 1280 x 720 resolution (which will likely result in a picture slightly too large for your HDTV screen), or replace the video card.
To use the 1280 x 720 resolution, do the following: Click on the Zv icon in the systray, then Launch ZvSettings>Adjust picture size. Click “Next” (once only) the second screen in the wizard should state “the original display defaults have been restored”, then cancel out of the wizard.
ZvBox will work with this 1280 x 720 resolution setting, but the picture may be slightly too large for the TV. If the MS Windows Start Bar is slightly cropped off by the TV, try raising the Start Bar by clicking and dragging upward on its upper edge.
The most likely cause: You opened an application and began playback at the computer, and then moved to the HDTV to watch. MS Windows doesn’t allow audio to be routed to two devices at once, or to be switched from one to another in real time. If you close the application and re-open it from the HDTV, you’ll have audio at the TV (but not at the computer). This is simply a function of Windows.
During the last part of setup, at the HDTV, I saw a screen that said, “ZvBox Manager software was unable to change your screen resolution to deliver an HD resolution picture to your HDTV.” and the picture from the ZvBox is smaller than my TV screen. Why is that?
The ZvBox was unable to set your computer’s output resolution to 1280 x 720 (an HDTV resolution) so it defaulted to an 800 x 600 resolution instead, which only partially fills the HDTV screen.
You can confirm the cause by watching your computer screen for a popup window as ZvCasting begins:
- Click on the Zv icon in your systray at the bottom right of the screen.
- If there’s a checkmark next to the “ZvCasting PC to TV” selection, click the selection to end the ZvCast.
- Begin the ZvCast by clicking on the “ZvCasting PC to TV” selection, and watch for a pop up that says:
Computer ZvCast activated
Resolution: 800x600
Non-optimal resolution. Click here to go to www.zeevee.com/support
A common fix, as noted on-screen, is to update the video card’s driver (check the video card manufacturer’s web site for driver update downloads).
There is also a known problem with Intel video cards on Windows that prevents ZvBox from setting an HD resolution; options are to use the 800 x 600 resolution, or replace the video card.
There is a two-step process for optimizing the broadcast of your computer’s video output to your HDTVs:
- ZvBox first adjusts the computer’s resolution to 1280 x 720, which is an HDTV resolution.
- ZvBox then allows you to modify that resolution, making the picture slightly smaller if needed so that the picture properly fills the TV screen.
The second step is necessary because most TVs actually crop off a little of a 1280 x 720 picture at the edges. By reducing the size of the picture, it’s possible to fit it all on the TV screen. For that reason, ZvBox may end up broadcasting a picture with an unusual resolution like 1272 x 716 once you’re done optimizing the picture.
For all this to work properly, your computer’s video card must be capable of two things:
- It must allow 1280 x 720 output at the outset of the optimization process.
- It must allow modification of that setting to slightly reduce the size of the picture if necessary.
If the video card or driver won’t allow 1280 x 720 output, ZvBox will set it to a common 800 x 600 resolution, resulting in a picture smaller than the HDTV screen. Updating the video card’s driver may allow 1280 x 720 operation; another option is to replace the video card.
Some video cards may allow 1280 x 720 output (with or without updating the driver), but won’t allow that output to be modified to fit the picture to your TV; in that case ZvBox will again set the output to a common 800 x 600 resolution, resulting in a picture smaller than the HDTV screen. It’s possible to set ZvBox so it uses the 1280 x 720 resolution instead, but the picture may be slightly too large for the TV. In that case, if the MS Windows Start Bar is slightly cropped off by the TV, try raising the Start Bar by clicking and dragging upward on its upper edge.
The ZvBox was unable to set your computer's output resolution to an HDTV resolution, so it defaulted to an 800 x 600 resolution instead, which only partially fills the HDTV screen. For more information on the causes of this situation, and possible solutions, please see the following FAQs: