Microsoft Fix it for erroneously weak signal messages in Windows 7 Media Center

Occasionally when using Windows Media Center you may get a message saying there is a Weak TV Signal and you can’t watch the channel despite you knowing you have a good signal. This is a bug and can be fixed via Microsoft’s Fix it service, you can either use their automated system or the registry fix to get rid of the pesky problem.

The fix and the the registry settings are on Microsoft KB2708283

Consider the following scenario:

• You have a Windows 7 computer configured with a digital TV tuner.
• Windows Media Center is configured to use the digital TV tuner.
• You launch Media Center and then choose Live TV to watch TV.
• You change the channel.

In this scenario, soon after changing to a certain channel you may consistently see a message that resembles the following:
Weak TV Signal

The TV tuner is unable to receive the signal for the channel you have selected. Adjustment to the signal may be necessary to receive this channel reliably. Please try to select this channel again. If the problem persists, contact your TV service provider.

This message is displayed even though the signal is not weak and there does not appear to be any noticeable dropped frames or loss in video quality.

Fix it for me

To modify the registry automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Then click Run in the File Download dialog box, and follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.

Fix this problem
Microsoft Fix it 50881

Notes

• Exit Windows Media Center before you run this Fix it solution.
• This wizard may be in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.
• If you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

Then, go to the “Did this fix the problem?” section.

Let me fix it myself

To resolve this issue yourself, use the following steps to modify the registry.

1. Exit Windows Media Center.
2. Click Start, type regedit in the Search box and press ENTER. If you are prompted with a User Account Control message, click Yes to continue.
3. Locate and then select the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectShow\Debug
4. From the Registry Editor menu, click on Edit->New->Key. Change the name of the new key to BDA.
5. Click on the newly created BDA key. From the Registry Editor menu, click on Edit->New->Key. Change the name of the new key to MSNP.
6. Click on the newly created MSNP key. From the Registry Editor menu, click on Edit->New->DWORD (32-bit) Value. Change the name of the new value to WeakSignalDroppedThreshold.
7. Right-click on WeakSignalDroppedThreshold and then click Modify. In the Value data box, type 32 and click on OK. (Leave the “Base” setting at the default, Hexadecimal.)
8. On the Registry Editor menu, click on File and then Exit to exit Registry Editor.