Hauppage 250 or 350 - for a PII350 box(!) (1 Viewer)

[Anonymous]

Hi folks.

Building an htpc for a vcr replacement only (not to watch any dvds or stream); regular cable (not digital, no satellite). If I watch and record at same time, I won't be using the box to do it (it'll be on it's own input). Hooking it to a regular 27" Toshiba TV (not even flat screen). Already bought the HD (figured if I don't get anywhere with this, I can always use it elsewhere), it's a samsung 160gb, and the case is deadly quiet right now.

Here's my main restrictions (aside from funding, of course):
a) I really hope to use a small cased existing pc - a Compaq DeskPro SFF (small form factor) box that's been around - ok, it's just old. It's a PII350, with two available PCI slots (no AGP, and one PCI could be an ISA - though that's no help of course). It also has two USB slots, though one will be used for the WirelessG connection. You can see one like it here.

b) WAF - Wife Acceptance Factor. Her main concerns are noise, ease of use & playback quality.
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1) I can put a gig of ram in it - will that be enough to overcome any processor speed issues?

2) I'm oscillating between a hauppage 250 and a 350. I'll still need to get a vid card with TV out to see the windows interface, so leaning towards a PCI Sapphire Radeon 7000 (it's fanless). Which hauppage card should I go with?

3) Whatever I go with, I'll need to get a remote; I don't plan to have any input stuff hooked to the box if I can avoid it - is the hauppage remote good enough for that, or will I need a wireless mouse/keyboard as well?

4) I also plan to use the Win2k workaround noted elsewhere, both since I have a legal one to use and it will (hopefully) have lower overhead on the box. Any major concerns here?

I figured I'd ask for advice before I bought anything else, so I appreciate any feedback - even if it's to painfully tell me to abandon it and go for an entirely different solution.

Had posted this in the incorrect forum, deleted that one & reposted here, sorry about that

 

[vbap]

I really think that PII-350 will struggle...Watching LiveTV and even recording should be OK (with either the 250 or 350), but playback is where you'll probably get stuck. All recordings are in DVR-MS format (MPEG2), so you'll still need a software decoder to watch any recorded TV.
Extra RAM is not going to help. From all accounts, the bundled Dscaler decoder is great quality-wise, but very CPU intensive.
Also, will that PC be able to spin your HDD at 7200? That drive is a good choice (very quiet).

You will need some other form of input. I try to use Ultr@VNC, but still have to plug in a keyboard very now & then (usually for setup stuff).

There is probably no harm in trying - sounds like all you need to buy to get going is the PVRcard (get the 350 only if you want FM radio, otherwise save the money and get the 250). If everything runs too slow (or not at all!), then it's time to go hardware shopping!

 

[Anonymous]

first of all, many thanks for the reply.

I really think that PII-350 will struggle...Watching LiveTV and even recording should be OK (with either the 250 or 350), but playback is where you'll probably get stuck. All recordings are in DVR-MS format (MPEG2), so you'll still need a software decoder to watch any recorded TV.

... and given that this is the main reason I want the box, that's of great concern.

Extra RAM is not going to help. From all accounts, the bundled Dscaler decoder is great quality-wise, but very CPU intensive.

Hmmm, well I have another box that can use the ram if it won't help, so worst case is the backup box has a bit more pep.

Also, will that PC be able to spin your HDD at 7200? That drive is a good choice (very quiet).

So far so good; it's working like a charm right now with the base OS install. very responsive, and like I say, deadly quiet.

You will need some other form of input. I try to use Ultr@VNC, but still have to plug in a keyboard very now & then (usually for setup stuff).

Yeah, I have hardware around for that, just didn't want to have to have something out all the time (calculating the Wife Acceptance Factor includes wirey messes in the living room). it's just that for everyday usage (scheduling recordings and the like), we'd like to not have to drag out a keyboard and/or mouse...

There is probably no harm in trying - sounds like all you need to buy to get going is the PVRcard (get the 350 only if you want FM radio, otherwise save the money and get the 250). If everything runs too slow (or not at all!), then it's time to go hardware shopping!

Yeah, I'm going to go with the 250, since no real benefits to the hardware decoder and I have no need of radio. Worst case I can use it in another box, grab a small shuttle pc or something. we'll see. I also will give the radeon 9250 a try for the vid card, since the 128mb version is fanless and pci. really hoping I can get this box to work though... :?