Leadtek Expert TV tuner to Theater 550 Pro

[Mloot]

I'm currently using a Leadtek Expert TV tuner card to watch and record my favorite shows on my system (XP Pro only, not MCE). However, I'm not liking how much CPU power this thing hogs.

With the new fall season starting, I was thinking about jumping to a hardware-encoding TV tuner card, and I've been looking at the Theater 550 Pro based-variants.

Has anyone used both of these tuner cards, and if so, was the picture quality on the 550 Pro card considerably better than on the Leadtek? Thanks for any input you guys could give me.

 

[Mloot]

...anyone?

 

[jevans64]

I have not used either tuner card, but I do have a Hauppauge tuner. Look at my sig for the system specs. When recording and viewing the video window, my CPU usage is between 5 and 15%. The Theater 550 Pro is still quite new, so the bugs are not worked out of the software yet. Do a search on Theater 550 Pro and read the topics concerning using third-party software instead of bundled software.

My Hauppauge PVR350 STILL has problems with HyperThreading and this has been known for TWO YEARS. The only solution for Intel users is to disable HT in the BIOS. The Hauppauge works quite well is long as HT is disabled. If you are capturing from CATV then quality doesn't matter much since most cable reception sucks compared to the dish systems. I gave up my DirecTV setup a couple of years ago to get a bundle deal on broadband, cable, & phone but my rates have gone through the roof recently ( from $120/mo to $169/mo ), so it looks like I'll be going back to a HDTV dish soon.

Anyway. The Theater 550 Pro has promise but the software is not there yet.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I have the Xtasy Theater 550 Pro and very happy with it. I believe it's the only Theater 550 that comes with Beyond TV as it's software application. Also, it usually goes on sale with rebate once a month. I bought my from buy.com for under $60.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Speak of the devil:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=327002&ps=hw6

 

[jevans64]

I may even give the Theater 550 Pro a shot at that price with BTV included.

 

[Acanthus]

are there any compatbility issues with the Theater 550 and Geforce graphics cards?

 

[Stokes]

Is the theater 550 an actual tv tuner card to watch tv on your computer? or is it something you use for your computer and tv? I have the winfast xpert like the author does and haven't watched any tv yet, may be interested in a different card if the quality isn't that great.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
are there any compatbility issues with the Theater 550 and Geforce graphics cards?

I have an ATI card, so sorry I couldn't tell you.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Stokes
Is the theater 550 an actual tv tuner card to watch tv on your computer? or is it something you use for your computer and tv? I have the winfast xpert like the author does and haven't watched any tv yet, may be interested in a different card if the quality isn't that great.

Yes, it's an actual tv tuner card, so you can watch tv on your computer. But it also has an input connection, so you can encode other video stuff. It also has FM stereo, if that floats your boat.

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
are there any compatbility issues with the Theater 550 and Geforce graphics cards?

No, there is no reason for there to be any issues at all. I have been using mine with my 6800gt for a while now and it has been treating me fine.

Also, I have a WinTV2000xp Expert that I have loaned out to a friend, but I used a e-Home Wonder inbetween using it in my machine and the 550pro I use now so I can't make a direct comparison. However, I can say that I doubt you would be dissapointed with the 550pro.

 

[jevans64]

OK. I bit on the $20 MIR and ordered one. I should get the 550 Pro by the weekend and will compare it with my Hauppauge PVR 350.