PVR hardware what to buy?

[skisteven1]

I've got a several year old un-named card i've been trying to get to work with various drivers for like 2 weeks now with no luck, so I guess I've resigned to buying one.

I want something that can tune TV (obviously), HD is nice, but certainly not a necessity. Same goes for FM. On-card encoding would be great, but I have a feeling that jumps the price way too much.

Basically, I can't tell the difference between any of the cards. What should I look for? Which card do you recommend? I'd basically like to have a Tivo running all the time to give you an idea of usage.

Are all the cards basically the same? why the price differences? does a usb card work just as well?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[imported_Tick]

USB is fine, but annoying since it has to sit out. PCI is better, I feel. Get on-board encoding, otherwise it eats up system resources. I personally feel that Haumpauge makes great cards.

 

[skisteven1]

is there anything else to look out for? is the quality and compatability of any card pretty much the same? If so -- why the huge price differential? I've seen cards from like $25 new all the way up to like $150

 

[fishstickz]

I've been running a 28 dollar Compro card on my PC for more than a year now.

Has never let me down, but is also very basic- requires cable outside of the case to get sound (patch cable from audio out on card to audio in on soundcard), no HD TV, only lets me record channel at once, etc.

The more expensive cards tend to have more featues like letting you record more than one channel at once, HDTV, etc.

 

[JDCentral]

Are you running windows?

If you're running linux, then your choices are much more limited.

Higher priced hards (generally) give you a clearer capture.. but you have to look at the chipsets that are used to determine this.

On-card encoding will probably run you a minimum of around $80-ish (not sure... haven't checked in awhile). On card encoding is excellent for RECORDING. Like if you want to still be able to use your computer while recording a show. But if you try to play games through the tuner w/ hardware encoding, you'll notice a slight bump b/c the frame has to go through the encoder before it gets to your screen (fighting/faced paced games are nearly impossible to play). Software-based cards can just grab the frame and shoot it through to your monitor as a raw feed.

 

[Jeff7]

Hauppauge makes adequate stuff. They are some of the only cards I know of with MPEG2 encoders built right on the circuit board, at least consumer-level stuff.
I believe the PVR 150 and 500 are their flagship products right now. The PVR-150 is standard level, offering basic TV, timeshifting, and recording functions. I believe it is meant to replace the PVR 250. The PVR 500 is a dual-tuner card - you can record one show while watching another.

The PVR 350 is somewhat older, and almost the same as the PVR 250, but the 350 has TV-output, allowing you to watch MPEG2 files on a TV, or else output them to a VCR.



I used the term "adequate" in the first sentence, because, while they have some pretty fine hardware, the driver development seems to be lacking. Their first entry into the PVR market, the WinTV PVR-PCI, was eventually just abandoned with many unresolved driver issues. The PVR 250 and 350 seem alright, though a few people report odd glitches that can be worked around. I'm not familiar with how the 150 and 500 are faring.
Here's a good forum for all things Hauppauge.

 

[skisteven1]

Yeah -- I'm running windows. Not MCE, but it isn't out of the realm of possibility. I'd obviously prefer cheap if possible, but am a little concerned about the performance hit of real-time encoding. I mostly plan to use it to record tv shows when I'm not around (or too busy on the computer to watch it). What kind of performance hit should I expect if I do processor-side encoding?

 

[minofifa]

what is your budget?

I got a package from snapstream.com which includes:

1. a capture card: the hauppauge pvr-150. it is an excellent card IMO. has hardware encoding, good drivers as well (they have worked fine for me anyways)
2. Beyond TV: software with a guide that is updated through the internet. it lets you schedule the shows you want to record
3. Beyond media: my favorite software. its kindof an all in one software to handle all of your media. there are members that develop awsome 3rd party plugins for it like a DVD library, dowloading of movie trailers whcih sync up to whats on in your town's theatre, weather, a game emulator library etc.
4. a firefly USB remote to controll all of your media on your PC. it is really handy.

I think the whole package cost me $200 canadian.

 

[skisteven1]

Ideally, I'd like to spend under $50, but that may not be reasonable. It's just hard (in my mind) to spend $100 on something that I see on geeks.com for likr 26 bucks. y'know? If I can't get hardware encoding for cheap, I'd be willing to try it without hardware encoding to see what kind of performance hit it's worth...

Also, I'd like something that works with free/super-cheap software, but that also may not be possible. I get the impression that snapstream and sagetv do what I want, but I dont know how good those are, (or how much they cost). I don't need a remote, cause I don't plan to *watch* tv on the computer... just record it when i'm not around.

So given that -- what's the way to go?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: skisteven1
Ideally, I'd like to spend under $50, but that may not be reasonable. It's just hard (in my mind) to spend $100 on something that I see on geeks.com for likr 26 bucks. y'know? If I can't get hardware encoding for cheap, I'd be willing to try it without hardware encoding to see what kind of performance hit it's worth...

If you don't need to do anything else with your system while it's recording, and you don't want to record multiple things at once, software encoding works. It's also cheap, and you can record straight to a compressed format like DivX. You do need a pretty beefy CPU, though, especially to watch and record simultaneously.

I tried it for a while, and I eventually decided that hardware encoding was better for me (this way I can have 2 recordings going and be able to watch something without my CPU being pegged and dropping frames). The Hauppauge PVR150MCE cards are only about $75 (maybe less now).

Also, I'd like something that works with free/super-cheap software, but that also may not be possible. I get the impression that snapstream and sagetv do what I want, but I dont know how good those are, (or how much they cost).

BeyondTV (Snapstream's PVR software) works pretty well (although the interface could use a few tweaks, but they're releasing new versions fairly regularly). Both, I believe, are in the $50 range for just the software. There's also Windows XP Media Center Edition. Supposed to work pretty well.

There's free stuff available for Linux, but then you'd have to ditch Windows.

I don't need a remote, cause I don't plan to *watch* tv on the computer... just record it when i'm not around.

The remote is most useful if you have your system hooked up to your television (obviously), and it's easier to click around a program like BeyondTV with a remote.

 

[minofifa]

oh ok i see.

well i also had a hauppauge win-tv usb which i got for about 80 canadian. i'm sure a PCI would be even cheaper. it had software encoding but that would work for you since you won't be around while its recording. It also came with software (wintv) which worked pretty well. It just scans your cable for available channels. it doesn't give you a guide of what's coming on though.

 

[Algere]

VisionTek XTASY Theater Pro 550