Fix NS_E_MARKIN_UNSUPPORTED (0XC00D1BE9) error in Windows Media Center

Quick answer

Delete the recording that triggered the error and re-add it. If that fails, switch your TV tuner source to Digital CableCard or analog ATSC instead of ClearQAM.

What this error means

NS_E_MARKIN_UNSUPPORTED pops up when Windows Media Center tries to insert a commercial skip marker (markin/markout) into a recording, but the source TV tuner doesn't support that feature. You'll see this most often with ClearQAM tuners or cheap USB TV sticks that don't implement the marker protocol. The error also shows up when a recording schedule has a corrupted entry—like a show that was moved to a different channel but the old guide data still points to an invalid source.

I've seen this on Windows 7 Media Center with Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 cards and on Windows 8.1 with SiliconDust HDHomeRun units. It's rarely a hardware failure—more often it's a software mismatch.

Step-by-step fixes

1. Delete and re-add the failing recording

1. Open Windows Media Center and go to Tasks > Settings > TV > Recorded TV.
2. Find the show that threw the error.
3. Select Delete and confirm.
4. Wait 30 seconds, then schedule the same show again from the guide.
5. Run a test recording for 5 minutes. If no error, you're done.

2. Reset the TV signal settings

1. In Media Center, go to Tasks > Settings > TV > TV Signal > Set Up TV Signal.
2. Choose Reconfigure and let it scan again.
3. When it asks about tuner type, pick Digital Cable (CableCard) if you have one. Otherwise pick Antenna (ATSC).
4. Complete the wizard and try recording again.

3. Clear and rebuild the recording database

If the schedule is corrupted, nuke it. Close Media Center completely. Open an admin Command Prompt and run:

taskkill /f /im ehrec.exe
taskkill /f /im ehexthost.exe
cd %PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\eHome\
ren mcepg2-0.db mcepg2-0.old

Then restart Media Center. It'll rebuild the database from scratch—takes about 2 minutes. Re-add your recordings.

Alternative fixes if the main steps don't work

Switch tuner priority

If you have multiple tuners (e.g., one ClearQAM, one ATSC), Media Center might try to use the wrong one. Go to Settings > TV > Guide > Edit Channels. Disable the offending channel and re-enable it. Then in Recorded TV > Advanced > Recording Priority, set your favorite tuner as #1.

Update or roll back tuner drivers

The culprit here is almost always a driver that doesn't support the marker API. Check the manufacturer's site for a newer driver. If you recently updated, roll back. For Hauppauge cards, version 6.6.27220 is the most stable for Windows 7—anything newer broke some marker features.

Disable commercial skipping

If you don't care about markin/markout, disable it. Open the Windows Registry Editor (regedit) and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording

Create a DWORD called EnableMarkInMarkOut and set it to 0. Restart Media Center. This stops the error from appearing, but your recordings won't have commercial skip markers.

Prevention tips

• Stick with CableCard or ATSC tuners for live TV recording. ClearQAM tuners are the main source of this error.
• Don't schedule recordings across channel changes. If a show moves to a different channel number, delete the old schedule and create a new one.
• Run the TV signal setup once a month to keep guide data fresh. Stale data causes marker mismatches.
• Keep your tuner drivers locked—don't auto-update. Test new drivers on a separate machine first.

A quick sanity check: if you see this error after a Windows Update, roll back the update. I've seen KB3068708 (a reliability update for Windows 7) cause this exact issue.