tv card suggestions (2 Viewers)

[prose16343]

I'm trying to find a card, or cards, for a good price, that work perfectly with media portal.

what i want to be able to do is the following.

1. analog recording

2. record digital cable

3. record from hdtv over the air

4. Recording to be done in hardware not software.

5. Be able to schedule recordings

*recording 2 shows at teh same time would be nice.

thanks in advance guys!

 

[wortelsoft]

I'm trying to find a card, or cards, for a good price, that work perfectly with media portal.

what i want to be able to do is the following.

1. analog recording

2. record digital cable

3. record from hdtv over the air

4. Recording to be done in hardware not software.

5. Be able to schedule recordings

*recording 2 shows at teh same time would be nice.

thanks in advance guys!

1 can be done with Hauppauge pvr 150MCE or dual tuner PVR 500MCE

2 possible to connect settop box through svideo to cards from 1
Depending on the system it might be possible through a pci card (DVB-C)

3 Don't know

4 Hauppauge pvr 150MCE or dual tuner PVR 500MCE are hardware MPEG

5 standard MP functionality

 

[gxtracker]

There is no single TV tuner that will do all 6 of your requests in 1 card. and since you mention HDTV OTA im assuming you live in North America. If thats so, then my recommendations are:

- Hauppauge 150(MCE) or 500(MCE) dual tuner
- Dvico Fusion 5

The hauppage card is hardware encoding, and if you want to record your digital cable you will have to connect your STB to the analog inputs on the card

The Fusion 5 I believe has the best support for OTA HDTV in MP, yet all HDTV cards are software encoding so make sure your computer is up to the task

 

[Taipan]

yet all HDTV cards are software encoding so make sure your computer is up to the task

If HDTV is the same as ATSC or DVB, then the received signal is already in MPEG2 format and no extra encoding is required, and thus there is no extra load on the PC.

 

[wortelsoft]

If the topicstarter lives in North America then DVB is out of the question.

 

[prose16343]

yup i do live in north america (usa).

thanks so much for your advice, i have an athlon xp 2100 512mb ddr333 for my media center. (that fast enough to get hdtv over the air captured?)

so as far as recording digital cable? with those cards, can i schedule recordings from digital cable, and view channels etc, since it would be going into the analog inputs?

basically i have a tivo of sorts given to me, well i pay for it from the cable company, i want to be able to record from it by scheduling recordings, not just from the standard analog channels, does that make sense?

also, do i need remote controls for both devices if i want to use them in media portal? or does one remote function for all, the reason i ask is i can get the fusion capture card for alot less if i don't get a remote with it, could i just use the hauppauge remote?

thanks for all your help guys!

 

[gxtracker]

If HDTV is the same as ATSC or DVB, then the received signal is already in MPEG2 format and no extra encoding is required, and thus there is no extra load on the PC.

Im sorry you are correct. in NA we use ATSC and it's a straight MPEG2 signal over QAM. I meant to say decoding - so you will be able to record the video with little overhead, but watching it is another story.

Your system should be fine for 720p content. I have a barton 2500+ and 512mb PC3200, and I can play 720p content just fine, but it will struggle with 1080i content.

as for recording digital cable, it would work in exactly the same way as if you wanted to record digital cable on, say, a VCR. you plug your Set top box into the the TV tuner card, and whatever channel you have outputing from the set top box, will be inputted into the TV card. You will have to control channel changes from the remote control that came with your set top box.

Its not an easy setup, nor is it very elegant - but it's the only way to get digital cable to work.

As for the remote, you can use just the Hauppauge remote. It's second in support for MediaPortal - only next to the MCE remote.

 

[prose16343]

thanks so much for your detailed information, it asnwered all of my questions!!! I think i have one more tho

with the hauppage and digital cable, can i set teh hauppauge to record at a certain time for a certain length of time with the channel already set to the right one, basically so i can be gone, but plan to record something as long as i leave the set top cable box on.

As far as playing back 1080i , i have a geforce 6 and i bought the pure video decoder, that should reduce the cpu alot i believe, so hopefully that will do the trick.


again thanks for all your help, these are some really good forums with good people

 

[gxtracker]

with the hauppage and digital cable, can i set teh hauppauge to record at a certain time for a certain length of time with the channel already set to the right one, basically so i can be gone, but plan to record something as long as i leave the set top cable box on.

You got it. The only thing you wont be able to do is record things on a different channel when you're gone, because nobody will be there to change the channel of course.

But there is a way to have your HTPC control the set top box. You would need what is called an "IR Blaster". The IR blaster usually sticks on the front of your set top box in front of the IR reciever, and plugs into your HTPC. Using software on the HTPC you can program the IR blaster to control your set top box just like your remote would.

I belive one of the MCE remote kits has an IR remote and an IR blaster included in the kit.

As for your Geforce 6, as long as its not a 6200 series it should be able to playback HDTV content through any DXVA compatible codec (ie, purevideo). I cant comment on if it will work though as I only have a 5200.

 

[wortelsoft]

the microsoft mce remote kit comes with two blasters. But do note: It can be a thoublesome experience to set things up. So do the tests when youre wife / girlfriend is away not when she want's to watch her favorite serie 8)