Advice on TV cards choice for Australia... please! (2 Viewers)

[Callifo]

Watching one channel and recording another results in some weird behaviour. So does recording 2 channels at the same time. Plan isnt necessarily flawed but another person to help me supply logs/info on getting these bugs ironed out would be great.

I can have both cards and still schedule single recordings without problem its just using both cards at the same time that have a few problems. Im trying to make them reproducable to get them fixed.

 

[crayons]

Oh. That sounds a bit disappointing. Hope you get yourself fixed up there.

With my (very!) limited appreciation of the subject I'd take a stab at a problem unrelated to the tuners... not speed of the HDD or processor or some such?

 

[Callifo]

If I record 2 shows at the same time. 1st is good, second is jerky. If I stop 1st one half way through, the second is still jerky all the way through. HDD light is barely flicking and cpu usage is only up around 60%

 

[crayons]

Callifo... maybe I'm way off beam here, but I've just been reading about the limitations of PCI (which is why everything is moving to PCI Express) - I'm actually trying to work out how the hell I'm going to fit the 3x tuner cards I'm talking about and a wireless network card (all available only in PCI it would seem) into a motherboard with only 2 PCI slots. They seem to all be turning to PCI express.

Anyway - back to topic - it strikes me that shifting enough data for 2x HD images through the PCI bus at the same time is a big ask. Then again, I may be talking bollocks.

 

[Callifo]

Thats what I got, I squeezed it in fairly well.

150MCE | spare slot | nova-t | wireless | nova-t

Also its not HD its SD so there shouldnt be that much problem.

 

[crayons]

but the Novat-T does HD, right?

 

[Marcusb]

I gave up on two DVB-T PCI cards as well. I figured it was due to me using two Compro cards. They seem to need dedicated resources and don't like sharing with other components.
I'm thinking a USB2 card might improve things, but I just hate having too many things hanging out the back of my PC. Any recommendations for a nice and cheap USB2 Digital Tuner?
How many people are using two digital tuner cards with no problems?

 

[Colonel Flagg]

How many people are using two digital tuner cards with no problems?

Hate to say it but I have all sorts of problems with 2 Visionplus cards in MP but in MCE2005 they are rock solid. Can have 2 shows recording while watching a third (previously recorded).

I believe it is not a hardware limitaion ie PCI bus etc but the software running it.

It is still early days for MP and we will get there.



Mike[/list]

 

[Callifo]

but the Novat-T does HD, right?

Yes it does, I just dont see the point recording HDTV if you only have a SDTV to watch it on. If you have a nice HDTV Plasma/LCD then it would be a different story

 

[voxmortis]

Callifo - you sure you're getting enough juice from your PSU?

Running 3 tuner cards, a wireless network card, a 6200... plus any unpowered USB periphs you've got - that's pretty tight if you've only a 300W PSU.

I'm running a 300W Antec, and have a powered 4port USB hub for my wireless keyboard/remote/joypad/analogue capture devices - just so I have power for the rest of the machine (6600GT, FusionHDTV Lite).

Just a thought, anyway!