Video looks like bad digital signal

I made the mistake of trying other things instead of Windows Media Center. I tried this thing called MediaPortal which didn't work, then I uninstalled it, ran CCleaner to get rid of the excess junk because I'd noticed that for some reason, installing it put a software restriction on my Windows Media Center, which I had to Google and find a way to fix that, and I found a registry hack. So now, MediaPortal is gone and Windows Media Center launches.

Here's the problem. When I view my TV now (in WMC), my feed looks like really bad digital signal. I see boxes. This didn't happen before, as before my MediaPortal experiment, Windows Media Center worked just fine. I was looking for a solution that simply did playback, without recording just to improve lag. Big mistake.

Is there a way to fix this? How?

DustSailor said:

try repairing windows with the installation CD. Try a restore point back before mediaportal. run antivirus. if all else fails, then reinstall windows

What if I just reinstall WMC? In the process, run CCleaner, Malwarebytes and antivirus?

OK so here's an update. Unfortunately after trying everything I can think of, no luck. I installed TotalMedia Extreme and was able to view my STB feed with the same bad signaling. I've also got WebcamMax installed, in fact, I always had that and have never had any problems with it. Watching my TV feed w/ WebCamMax, it still looks like bad digital signaling. I've tried all of these methods separately and rebooted during each trial to make sure one application wasn't trying to use my TV Tuner while anther one was still accessing it.

One thing I did try with no success was running a Repair with my Windows 7 CD. I have Windows 7 Ultimate x64 OEM. When I insert the disk, I'm given the option to install. That's it. I don't see a repair option.

I want to also mention that I've run CCleaner many times even before experimenting with MediaPortal and it never gave me any problems.

I went into my Device Manager and deleted the driver for my Hauppauge 1800 and restarted my computer and let Windows reinstall it. Still the same problem.

So basically, I don't know where the problem is. I don't think it's Windows Media Center, because I've tried other apps that do the same thing and got the same results. It's either my Hauppauge 1800 that is the culprit or a configuration issue between the two (either middleware or registry problem). Does that sound right?

Let me know if you have a suggestion.