A few PVR Questions

[Johnbear007]

I want to get a Tuner card, and was considering the leadtek 2000 expert, but then read that when using a software card, you can get sync problems if you do heavy multi tasking. I will be, I will be playing world of warcraft or other games while recording, and sync problems are not acceptable to me.

Athlon xp 3200+ with 1 gb of ram

comcast cable, non-digital, non hd, no box


So, I need a card that will not have sync problems, and also lets me connect my game cube, and schedule and record shows.

I have heard that you must subscribe to schedule show records with some cards. I dont want a subscription, is there a free option?

I was considering the Hauppauge pvr 150 , 250 , and leadtek pvr 2000

what would be the best choice for my needs? I cant really figure out what is better about the 250 over the 150

Thanks for any help

I have read many of the tuner threads, but am just more confused

 

[rbV5]

A hardware encoder card like eHome Wonder or Hauppage 150/250/350 (and others) would be great with a decent software like BTV, MCE or SageTV for PVR duties, however...all hardware encoder cards have a substantial delay when displaying the live TV stream, making them completely unacceptable for console input.

 

[Johnbear007]

That is pretty dissapointing to hear. So if I want good recording I need hardware, if I want good console input I need a software card. Frustrating.

 

[Todd33]

Originally posted by: rbV5
A hardware encoder card like eHome Wonder or Hauppage 150/250/350 (and others) would be great with a decent software like BTV, MCE or SageTV for PVR duties, however...all hardware encoder cards have a substantial delay when displaying the live TV stream, making them completely unacceptable for console input.

Agreed.

 

[Johnbear007]

I was wondering, if i input the console through the s-video input with the composite cables, then why would there be a delay due to the tv signal? I'm not sure I understand why the s-video in would be afffected in this way.

Also,

Are there any programs that automatically remove advertisements from recorded programs? Thanks!

 

[Todd33]

The PVR-250 (and probably the 150 & 350) use hardware mpeg encoding and save everything to disk for playback. There is a ~2 sec delay when watching "live" TV via DVR software.

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
I was wondering, if i input the console through the s-video input with the composite cables, then why would there be a delay due to the tv signal? I'm not sure I understand why the s-video in would be afffected in this way.

Because the hardware encoder cards are always recording when displaying the video stream regardless of input (the tuner is an input just like s-video or composite) and the encoding is done on the fly.

Software solutions generally do not record to the hardrive when only watching unless you are timeshifting, so the output is realtime or close to it. Software solutions are plenty capable of good quality recording, they just require more cpu than a hardware solution using the same settings. Audio and Graphic card drivers have to be stable as well for proper sync.

If console input is important to you, find out which card users like to use and go with that. You could add a hardware card to the mix if the PVR functions don't cut it. I picked up an eHome Wonder hardware card refurb from Newegg for <$50 which supports SageTV and MCE, and Hauppage 150 cards are pretty inexpensive as well. The software is the key to the PVR, and all the hardware cards require additional software unless its a bundled deal.

 

[Johnbear007]

Console input is really secondary, so I think a hardware pvr would be my best bet. I think the 150 will do well for me, as I dont really see what the 250 and 350 offer over it


So, what software should I use? I want to set it to record shows at specifice times. Also, is there any software that automatically takes out commercials? Also, will a hardware card require a subscription service?

thanks!

 

[cubby1223]

In the 150 the audio signal is sent to the audio card, while the 250 &amp; 350 handle all audio encoding itself. Besides, I wouldn't be expecting spectacular results if the computer is running 3D games - maybe your system will be good enough to handle it, just don't expect it to.

Also computers are not good for playing any console systems, regardless of which tuner card you get. Due to the differences in frame rates, tuner sampling rates, and monitor refresh rates, some games, especially the old NES games with epilepsy causing graphics, those games are flat out unplayable.

Tuner &amp; PVR cards have their strengths &amp; have their limitations. They perform their main functions extremely well, but they will never be the miraculous perfect solution for a complete home entertainment center.

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Console input is really secondary, so I think a hardware pvr would be my best bet. I think the 150 will do well for me, as I dont really see what the 250 and 350 offer over it


So, what software should I use? I want to set it to record shows at specifice times. Also, is there any software that automatically takes out commercials? Also, will a hardware card require a subscription service?

thanks!

I've used SageTV and it has a very good scheduler, supports multiple tuners (you may want to add another down the road). I currently use MCE 2005, which is a great choice if you haven't an OS for your rig...less so if you do due to the cost.

Take a look at the multimedia articles on the main site here, they covered several Front-ends fairly in-depth recently..worth the read.

 

[Johnbear007]

Alright, well if I just skip the general idea of using the console, what is the advantage of a software tuner like the leadtek expert, over the 150? or vice versa? If I want the best playback/capture and live performance what is the best solution?

 

[firerock]

I just bought myself a WinTV-PVR USB2 w/ BeyondTV3.5, the quality is good, but not great. The delay between live TV and watching it on your computer is about one second the most (I put my notebook next to the TV). But I don't think it matters if you are watching it on your computer at all. I would strongly recommend a hardware decoder then using your CPU to do most of the work. Currently, 150 is the newest card and the price is good. I'm not sure about it sends audio to your audio card to process the sound, but it is possible. I've read many reports that 350 has sync problem... If you want to know more, go http://www.shspvr.com/ to find all the info about it.

 

[Slogun]

Well, to answer one of your questions...

I just bought a WinTV PVR-150 the other day. It comes with software to enable you you schedule TV recordings and NO subscription is required. It's pretty cool. IMAGE

 

[Johnbear007]

Cool, everyone said you need to buy software with a hardware card, guess you get it with the 150, which is sweet. I guess ill keep leaning towards that, since I guess I don't really need console input anyway.


Waht is the point then of a software card? The 150 is barely more expensive than a software card.

 

[Johnbear007]

Any input on why I would choose something like the leadtek 2000 expert over the pvr 150? SOme people seem to prefer a software card, yet I really don't understand why

 

[aceO07]

Does the Leadtek come with free tv guide software? My OLD ati aiw came with Guide Plus+, which is a decent TV guide program.

 

[Slogun]

Originally posted by: aceO07
Does the Leadtek come with free tv guide software? My OLD ati aiw came with Guide Plus+, which is a decent TV guide program.

I don't know what features this TV guide may have, but the WinTV PVR-150 also comes with a program which links you to a web-based customizable listing of TV shows.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Well, if you want a hardware card, you actually have more choices.

Check out eVGA.com. They sell an nVidia hardware card. Actually one of them has dual tuners (with dual hardware encoding chips to go along with it). Although their site lists MSRP as $99/199, I checked on pricewatch and you could get the sinlge for about $75 and the dual for about $130. I can't find too much info on these though, so I don't know how good they are.

 

[scooter1]

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Any input on why I would choose something like the leadtek 2000 expert over the pvr 150? SOme people seem to prefer a software card, yet I really don't understand why

I don't like the idea of the tuner always writing to my hard drive even when I'm not timeshifting. It's just unnecessary wear and tear on the drive.

 

[Johnbear007]

Originally posted by: scooter1

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Any input on why I would choose something like the leadtek 2000 expert over the pvr 150? SOme people seem to prefer a software card, yet I really don't understand why

I don't like the idea of the tuner always writing to my hard drive even when I'm not timeshifting. It's just unnecessary wear and tear on the drive.

Well, I'm not really sure why that matters... I don't see how it wold hurt the drive, but to each his own. I certaintly do not want any synch problems, and it seems that with a software card I will have to spend alot of time tweaking. I really don't want to mess with that. I just want it to work, so I think I will get a hardware card.