I need the ultimate TV-tuner software (Demanding use)

[Chaotic42]

I have a Hauppage WinTV PVR-250. The software that it comes with is, in no uncertain terms, crap.

Football season is coming up and I want to be able to record the games while playing BF2, rendering 3D art, or doing whatever else I want. The current software will record just fine unless I'm doing something that uses the soundcard.

Is there any super-robust, hard-core TV recording/scheduling software out there? I don't mind paying for it.

 

[Thyme]

Probably the worst software ever.

Having the same problem (the software wasn't just pathetic, it also crashes while just watching tv), I tried out a bunch of programs. They were all pretty much the same and I didn't like any of them, but people seem to like Snapstream's. I think they made it look like MCE which I find to be a waste of resources. None of them really spent much time making a UI for power users (who use keyboard AND mouse and not just a remote, etc.). You can get demos for most or all of them and try them out. I think I might have just gone through zdnet for a list.

 

[Queasy]

Have you considered getting WindowsXP MCE? Supposed to be able to record programs in the background while you are doing whatever else.

 

[Traire]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
The current software will record just fine unless I'm doing something that uses the soundcard.

Snapstream Beyond TV
Sage TV

These seem to be the most popular commercial software.

GB-PVR Is free and has pretty much all the same features. Its what I use to record.

 

[nwo4life022]

i can vouch for gb-pvr as well...you can do whatever you want while it works in the background...nephew plays bf2 and it caps perfect and doesnt use in cpu...i have the pvr-250 as well...go grab this program right away...all you need

 

[DarkTXKnight]

so can you use one box with GB PVR as a multi tuner server backend and have other front ends??? I read a little about this being possible with Mythtv but if this does the same thign on windows it would be easier for me to get approval from the wife since it shoudlnt take as long to show results.

 

[rh71]

In my experience, GB-PVR hogged resources (CPU), unlike WINTV. What am I doing wrong ?

 

[Traire]

It only uses a lot of resources when its actually running the full program. If you just use the recording scheduler, and record in the background, its cpu usage is pretty minimal.