Was wondering if anyone had good suggestions for a good quality tv tuner card. I'm setting up a PC for a pvr or dvr. The PC is an older Dell with P4, 1Gb RAM, 120 GB hdd, Nvidia 6800 PCI. I will be running Windows XP MCE 05, and plan on using Beyond TV software. The PC's purpose will be only for this use. I will have to go with a PCI card, looking for dual tuner (must have for watch and record) and HD would be a bonus. My source will be standard cable from Comcast. I will be outputting to a 50" Sony HDTV 1080i LCD TV. My main concern is the quality of the picture I will get. I did check these out, any comments? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116631 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116007 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116609
I have the 350 model but have not used it in a long time. Your quality in is what will control your quality out. If it isn't good quality coming in, you aren't going to improve it. You don't need a dual tuner, unless you want to record two different sources at one time.
I highly recommend the PVR-150, I have 3 of them installed in my computer for the past 2 years with no problems. I run the computer 24/7 for weeks without shutdown and they have proved very reliable. I can record 3 programs in the background while watching a dvd movie at the same time with no computer slowdown. The pvr150 cards require very little computer resources, they have built-in hardware encoders that do all the work, the only thing the cpu has to do is write to the hard drive which is insignificant as far as cpu is concerned. If you buy the ones in the oem whitebox, they are cheaper. I only paid 65.00 for mine. Theres really no difference from the base model and the mce model, I got both types and they work the same. Some come with a remote/or fm input but they just add more to the cost. I record all my recordings at 1.6 gb per hour, but the quality can go up to 6gb per hour which is overkill. You just have to find the sweetspot for your tastes and hard drive space. From what I've read the pvr350 runs hotter then the pvr150 and is actually an older model. Theres also a pvr500 which is a dual tuner (basically 2 pvr-150 tuners in one card, the only reason I didn't get that one was because some reviews noted that same of the video recordings had artifacts from possible crosstalk problems) My advice is to make sure you place a case fan pointing at the tv tuner cards to keep them cool, especially if you have multiple cards next to each other.
Thank you both for the responses. I think I am leaning towards the PVR 150. I can record something and watch something else at the same time from what I understand which is what I am looking to do. I rarely if ever record two things at the same time. I've had an HD DVR for free with Comcast for the last 4 years who I no longer work for and am not going to pay their outrageous monthly prices. Again thanks.
ive been thinking about getting a tv tuner too. but i was wondering, is the transition to digital tv going to effect tv tuners since they use analog antennas(correct me if im wrong)?
With the pvr-150 you can only record one thing and watch another channel only if you have 2 tuner cards. If you only have one tuner card you can only watch the channel you are recording. But you can record in the background and watch one of your previous recordings at the same time or watch a dvd movie/surf the internet /play video games/ listen to mp3's etc, it won't affect the recording. The pvr150 bypasses the computers soundcard and gets it's audio directly from the coaxial cable. Originally I only had one PVR150, then found it too limiting, and added 2 more. I ran out of PCI slots or I would add another one. Same with hard drives I started with 1 400gb and that filled up quickly, now I have 4 500gb hard drives installed. Once you start building and using your PVR, your going to find that one tuner card isn't going to cut it. Your only limited by how many PCI slots you have.
Looks like you have experience with PVR's. Got a question for you. I got my system up and running with an awesome picture, had a problem with sound but I've got it figured out for the most part. I'm using MCE 05 but might get Beyond TV. Is there a difference really? Also my TV manual say do not hook up a computer to the HDMI. Not sure why that is but my res is 1920x1080 and is crystal clear. Heres a link to my TV http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...A2020&catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1
