Background...I have tried to install the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro software onto my laptop which is running XP Pro SP3. Also tried installing onto my desktop which is running XP Media Center SP3. Also tried installing the Media Center version of the software onto the desktop that is running Media Center. The hardware device is the USB Pinnacle PCTV HD ministick.

Problem... The desktop Media Center doesn't see the USB device even though it is visible and "working" in Device Manager. The TVCenter software sees the device but doesn't find any channels either via the antenna or cable connections. On the laptop, the TVCenter software sees the device but doesn't find any channels either via the antenna or cable connections.

I live within 20 miles of major transmitting stations in Philadelphia and have over 30 channels when I use an antenna and nearly 75 when I use cable on my HDTV so I'm pretty sure I have signal in my area.

 I've installed and uninstalled each machine 4 times. Same issue each time.  Does this thing work or is it junk??

Install VLC Media Player, and install most recent drivers from this site. Should work as a start. A 73e model would then display the blue light. If that works, your software is the culprit. 

Maybe your "indoor" antenna is not enough if hat is what you're trying, try connecting a larger one (outdoor antenna). When the unit is "visible" but no channels, that might suggest weak signal. But if you use exact same antenna as your other 30 antenna signals (on TV), I have no further suggestions. Then, the AVID link should be used...

I’ve got the same problem, but it’s not the device’s fault. You need a fairly strong signal into the device to receive working channels. Unfortunately, I live in the NYC metro area where none of the TV stations are transmitting at full power, so I can’t pick up any NYC stations where I live 37 miles away (even though I have line-of-sight to the Empire State Building). I can barely pick up one Korean station transmitting from Montclair, NJ, with this little stick antenna, but nothing else. When I visit family in Suffolk County, NY, I can pick up one public TV station transmitting from Plainview, NY (about 10 miles from here), but nothing else. If anyone I knew had cable TV, instead of satellite, I could use the cable TV tuner in this thing, but that’s the way it is.

I hate to say I’m old enough to remember installing a good roof-top antenna years ago at my parents’ house to pick up decent quality TV signal, about 25 miles outside NYC (when all NYC TV stations were transmitting at full power), but that’s really what’s needed to pick up off-air TV. The shift from analog to digital TV in the US has not improved the signal quality overnight, just changed frequencies and modes of transmission, so you still can’t get past having to have a good quality TV antenna to receive good quality off-air TV transmission.