Just got Compro VideoMate TV Ultra today....

[KDOG]

It has a MUCH better quality picture than my ATI TV Wonder VE. It truly looks like watching a regular TV, especially at the higher channels. The lower channels don't look quite as good (like 2-10), but they are FAR better than on the ATI which were basically unwatchable. I have yet to install the DVD Movie Factory 7 and Video Studio 7 software yet.

Anyway, if you are thinking about getting a new tv tuner card, I'd definetly recommend it.

 

[KDOG]

Also, I love the ability it has to start up and shut down the PC from the remote - thats awesome. The FM radio feature works nice too. It has an infared remote instead of a radio frequency remote but so what. The improved abilities and stunning picture quality make it all worth it!

 

[minofifa]

does it have a hardware or software encoder?

 

[KDOG]

Not sure, but on the back of the box where it list specs it has "Phillips SAA7133 9bit video encoder"

It has a NEC Y/C separation chipset on it for noise reduction and clarity and it actually works.

 

[KDOG]

Also, you can just connect the power switch cable from the card to the motherboard without hooking up the cable from the switch to the card so that only the remote can start up the computer. This is EXTREMELY useful for me since my son is autistic and doesn't realize the damage he can do buy pressing the power button on and off constantly...

 

[minofifa]

sweet, sounds like a cool card. do you have a link to the product page? I was wondering about the hardware/software cause the hardware encoder wil take some strain off your cpu when capturing video. I think that's how it works anyways.

what program do you like for watching TV? I gave sageTV a try but didn't like it much. now i use beyond media and beyond tv by snapstream. I would suggest trying it out if you havn't, as it's pretty cool. www.snapstream.com

 

[KDOG]

Here it is...

I'll take a look at that snapstream...

 

[KDOG]

Yikes, that software is like $70. I just use the ComproPVR that came with it, works fine!!!

 

[KDOG]

Bump, for people who wanted to know how it turned out...

 

[Kilrsat]

Originally posted by: minofifa
does it have a hardware or software encoder?

From what I can dig up, its a software encoder. So while neat for a person just looking to get tv on their computer, not very useful for a full htpc build.

 

[KDOG]

I wouldn' t say that. I've heard that software encoders can be just as good (maybe better) than hardware encoder. I'd say this card would be fantastic for a HTPC build. The picture quality is the best I've seen out of the 3 TV tuners I've had. And reviews from around the web show it to be the best, even slightly better than the Hauppage PVR models.

 

[Mutilator]

With modern processing power I don't see software encoding being a big deal anymore... seems like we've all got extra processing power that seems to be wasted. (Well, unless you're trying to do what Kilrsat mentions below :shocked: )

As for the quality... how does it look if you run it full screen? Reason I ask is if I'm running my 21" monitor @ 1600x1200... would I want to change resolutions to something lower (probably 640x480 or 720x480), or does it look pretty decent simply maximized?

 

[Kilrsat]

Originally posted by: KDOG
I wouldn' t say that. I've heard that software encoders can be just as good (maybe better) than hardware encoder. I'd say this card would be fantastic for a HTPC build. The picture quality is the best I've seen out of the 3 TV tuners I've had. And reviews from around the web show it to be the best, even slightly better than the Hauppage PVR models.

The problem isn't when you only have 1 of them. Its when you try to stick 2, 3, 4 or 5 tuners in one machine, so you can be recording multiple shows while watching another. You just can't do it with software encoders. I want to be able to record 2 shows in the background while using ffdshow filters on the dvd I'm currently watching without issues. There simply isn't enough cpu horsepower if everything is demanding it.