Hauppage WinTV 350 or ATI 9600XP AIW?

[MichaelD]

Hauppage WinTV PVR 350

ATI 9600XT AIW

I'm building a HTPC. Want to use the HTPC as a PVR (aka "Tivo") and to watch movies.

They are the same price...both come with a remote and the necessary software.

I know the Hauppage has hardware MPEG encoding/decoding. Not sure about the AIW.

What say you? I know nothing about these types of cards.

*edit*

I guess I should add that I know the Hauppage is not a "video card" but a "capture/processing" card. I currently have a GF4 4200Ti that I can use w/the Hauppage, should I get it.

 

[weeber]

Hey MichaelD

First, I recommend heading over to HTPCNews and look at the boards over there.

Second, I've been in the process of building my own HTPC, and have been doing alot of work into this. The Hauppauge performs much better as a PVR device because it is hardware, and uses very little CPU processing. This means you can easily be recording one show while playing back another. The AIW is software based (The Nvidia stuff is too). I'm going to get a PVR250 shortly to get PVR capabilities. Also there are lots of frontends out there (Sage 2.0) that have great native support for the Hauppauge cards. With AIW, I think you have to stick with their software. FYI, I would read the reviews over at HTPCnews regarding frontends (Sage 2.0, BeyondTV, etc). Their reviews are much more complete than the ones here at Anandtech. Oh yeah, I'm in no way associated with HTPCNews

That said, the AIW will have much better TV out. The problem with the GF4 4200 is that each manufacturer used a different TV encoding chip, some cheap, other not. YMMV, so I'd test the 4200 first on a TV to see if it's acceptable to you. Overall ATI cards have good TV out, but starting with the FX series, NVIDIA started putting the TV encoder in the chip, so their quality has improved leaps and bounds. In fact, some prefer the NVIDIA cards for TV out.

I hope this helps somewhat. Good luck on your build.

 

[MichaelD]

Hi Weeber,

That helps a lot! Thanks very much. I hadn't really thought of seeking reviews elsewhere...I've been here at AT so long that I tend to have blinders on sometimes. 😱 Thanks for the suggestion; I will head over to HTPCNews and check it out.

I obviously have a lot to learn about this before I plunk down the cash. Thanks again. 🙂

*edit*

What's the diff b/t the 250 and the 350 anyway?

 

[Mloot]

IIRC, the 350 is basically a 250, but with the additions of an FM tuner, and the ability to do hardware encoding on both the video input and the video output. I believe the 250 can only do hardware encoding on the input signal.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Mloot
IIRC, the 350 is basically a 250, but with the additions of an FM tuner, and the ability to do hardware encoding on both the video input and the video output. I believe the 250 can only do hardware encoding on the input signal.

:thumbsup: Thanks, Mloot. 🙂

 

[MichaelD]

Bump for additional info.

 

[rbV5]

*The AIW card will be the best all around card out of the box. Basically a software solution, but a complete package.
*The hauppage would be the best true PVR with the appropriate software (SageTV, MCE, BTV), the shipped software is crap, this will add additional cost.

The HTPC specs and software you want to use for your PVR are probably the key to which way you want to go before you can get a good recommendation.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks, rbV5.

I'm not sure on which software I want to use. Several folks have mentioned that the Sage software is the best; but I thought it was Freeware for some reason. 😱 Didn't realize it cost extra.

But I can tell you about the hardware specs.

Epox 8RDA3I (NF2 Ultra 400 chipset) Board has SPDIF coaxial out. HT receiver will do all the decoding
Barton 2500 @ stock speed (1.8GHz) Will do 2.1GHz, but I want it to run cool
512MB Corsair PC3200 Valueram
GF4 4200Ti Not that great for gaming, but it has SVideo out.

I realize:

1) If I got the ATI AIW that it would replace my GF4.
2) If I got the Hauppage, it would augment my GF4.


Thanks for any additional help you can provide. 🙂

 

[Childs]

Personally I think the ATI MMC software sucks. Using something like Sage brings you a Tivo/Replay like interface. Unless you plan on getting the OEM 8500 AIW for like $100, the cost of a PVR 250 and Sage will be the same or cheaper. If you go with the Sage you can add as many tuners as you have slots, and record multiple shows at once. I went that route, and bought two OEM PVR 250s and Sage for about $200, and its just about the best PVR setup you can have. If you're a tinkerer you can always go the MythTV/Freevo/etc route and the software won't cost you anything. Plus, you can upgrade your video card and keep your turners later, where as with the AIW you have to upgrade everything.

My aunt has the AIW 8500 DV and the interface is terrible. It does work, but feels like a cheap solution. ATI also gives you somewhat of a hard time updating MMC and Gemstar. In fact I think I had to get it through P2P. Also, and uncle of mine had the Personal Cinema and it wasnt any better. Again, it works but it doesnt feel like a real solution. ATI and Nvidia's solutions are really for people who don't know any better. IMHO of course. 😛

 

[joecool]

i agree, i really hate the ati mmc. i've been looking at the 250, snapstream sells it in a plain-jane configuration (no remote) with THEIR pvr software which is great and their remote which looks much more functional than the hauppauge remote. plus they throw in an se version of their spiffy media viewer app - for looking at your pix, mp3's, etc. check it out at www.snapstream.com

 

[rbV5]

ATI and Nvidia's solutions are really for people who don't know any better.

I disagree. I use SageTV v2.0 (using an eHome Wonder) and it does make a very good PVR package, and the eHome Wonder is pretty cheap and good quality. Recording quality can be excellent as well, but it's still a work in progress IMO, just like MMC.

I also use MMC (and have for some time), and while it may be not quite as good as a pure PVR, its pretty good actually, and does some things better than Sage...and vise-versa. PQ is comparable with my AIW 9700pro. Each package has its strong points, and both have their frustrating irritations as well.

Most of MMC's bad rap can be attributed to *TV Wonder *Poorly configured rigs and * Confusing DVD decoder upgrades, but its a very good package with an excellent feature set. that does continue to be upgraded.

Nvidia also has a nice DVD software and a very good (by most accounts) full feature multimedia suite, and upcoming..its way late, and still not here, but its no amateur effort. ATI's MMC also now features HDTV with recording, timeshifting and burning to DVD/CD.

 

[Childs]

Originally posted by: rbV5

ATI and Nvidia's solutions are really for people who don't know any better.

I disagree. <SNIP>

LOL

Probably a harsh statement to make. I can't really think of another way to say it at the moment, so I'll retroactively add an IMHO to it.

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Thanks, rbV5.

I'm not sure on which software I want to use. Several folks have mentioned that the Sage software is the best; but I thought it was Freeware for some reason. 😱 Didn't realize it cost extra.

But I can tell you about the hardware specs.

Epox 8RDA3I (NF2 Ultra 400 chipset) Board has SPDIF coaxial out. HT receiver will do all the decoding
Barton 2500 @ stock speed (1.8GHz) Will do 2.1GHz, but I want it to run cool
512MB Corsair PC3200 Valueram
GF4 4200Ti Not that great for gaming, but it has SVideo out.

I realize:

1) If I got the ATI AIW that it would replace my GF4.
2) If I got the Hauppage, it would augment my GF4.


Thanks for any additional help you can provide. 🙂

With those specs, either a hardware or software tuner card would work OK. How is the TV-out of the ti4200? Thats something you can check right now.

 

[EvanB]

The Hauppage will have better image quality, hands down. Also, if you are willing to wait a month or two, microsoft will release Windows XP Media Center Edition to the OEM channels, so you'll be able to get your hands on a copy. I prefer MCE to all the others, despite the fact that it has fewer features. I have MCE 2004 and a hauppage and I love them both.

Evan