2006-03-15, 11:36 PM
I am building a HTPC PVR system with GB PVR and have come to the realization that I probably need to replace my old Pinnacle PCTV card with either a MPEG2 hardware-encoding Hauppage internal card or an external USB-based tuner. I intend to stream LiveTV to a upstairs MediaMVP equipped TV over in-home ethernet, as well as watch it in my den downstairs from the HTPC. Any advice on whether I should go with an internal or external tuner? Hauppauge 150 v. 250?
The rest of the old system I am adapting to be my HTPC is an AMD Athlon MP 1400+ (palomino) running at 1.1Ghz, 1Gb 266MhZ DDR memory, an ECS M841LR mobo with SIS 740 chipset, onboard video, a usb2/firewire PCI card and Windows XP Pro. I'll be adding a TV-out video card and turning off the onboard video. Plenty of HD space available. Any comments on whether you think this will be an adequate setup for GB PVR would be appreciated.
On a side note, I did get GB PVR with the PCTV to display LiveTV using the software recorder plugin. (It does not record/timeshift, but then I haven't tried downloading a compatible MPEG2 encoder as per the NormanR instructions). However, one peculiarity of watching LiveTV on the PCTV card is that each time I reboot I must start and quit PCTV Vision or I get no video, only audio. (This applies to the old Pinnacle PCTV tuner card wo/FM stereo.)
Thanks to all who have posted their trials and tribulations here. Made my newbie experience go a little more smoothly.
The rest of the old system I am adapting to be my HTPC is an AMD Athlon MP 1400+ (palomino) running at 1.1Ghz, 1Gb 266MhZ DDR memory, an ECS M841LR mobo with SIS 740 chipset, onboard video, a usb2/firewire PCI card and Windows XP Pro. I'll be adding a TV-out video card and turning off the onboard video. Plenty of HD space available. Any comments on whether you think this will be an adequate setup for GB PVR would be appreciated.
On a side note, I did get GB PVR with the PCTV to display LiveTV using the software recorder plugin. (It does not record/timeshift, but then I haven't tried downloading a compatible MPEG2 encoder as per the NormanR instructions). However, one peculiarity of watching LiveTV on the PCTV card is that each time I reboot I must start and quit PCTV Vision or I get no video, only audio. (This applies to the old Pinnacle PCTV tuner card wo/FM stereo.)
Thanks to all who have posted their trials and tribulations here. Made my newbie experience go a little more smoothly.