Need capture card and a TV out video card?

[Keeper]

Bare with me here since i am a newbie but just so i understand how this pvr works.

If i buy a wintv-pvr-150 (currently on sale in my neck of the woods) to capture the cable feed I also need a video card with tv out to view the the application on my TV, correct?

If this is correct are there any suggestions on what would be the best to use as the video card with tv out? Basically are there any requirements on the video out card with gbpvr?

[sub]

If i buy a wintv-pvr-150 (currently on sale in my neck of the woods) to capture the cable feed I also need a video card with tv out to view the the application on my TV, correct?

Yes, this is correct.

[btownsend]

Yes, this is correct.

So going on this a Hauppauge PVR-150 (I assume this has coax-in, sorry I don't know this hardware very well) would be fine to bring the TV into GBPVR and a GeForce FX5200 with TV-Out will return it to the TV?

I am open to any suggestions by people that have setup this stuff before. This is what I have. I am reusing a Dell Optiplex Gx-240, I have 4 PCI slots and I believe 1 "Standard" AGP slot (will be testing it tonight). It has a Pentium IV 1.7 GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 16X DVD-R/RW recorder, and 160GB HDD.

Of the supported cards is there a preferred card? My intention is to use this computer solely connected near my TV to record TV and play it back to the TV.

[reboot]

The GF-5200 will do nicely, and might even be a bit of overkill for a dedicated PVR box.
If you don't have an AGP slot, there are still Radeon 7000/7500 series cards around with TV out.
Not the fastest card in the world, but they work great for a PVR, just don't try and play Doom 3 on it


p.s. I have a Radeon 7000LE w/TV out if you're interested. PM me.

[btownsend]

I will probably we ordering my TV card today and have found a sub $90 PVR-150. Before I go order this thing is there any reason why I shouldn't and look at the higher end Hauppauge card or will this thing do everything I need (at least in the realm of just recording TV to disk and replaying to TV). Also, will I be able to watch any channel on my TV or do I have to stick with what the TV card is set to. I am assuming this is where a PVR-500 or something would come in?

I have added a Radeon 7000 w/ S-Video Out. (Was one of the few cards that matched my boards AGP voltage).

[reboot]

The 150 will allow you to watch and record one channel at a time.
If you want to watch a different channel on your TV, then you will have to change the source (assuming the PVR is plugged in via composite, as in your other post).
If you have the PVR-500 (or two 150's), you can record one, and watch another, all controlled by the PVR, so you won't have to change source on the TV. (the best option).

[btownsend]

Ok the PVR-500 sounds like the way to go. Just doing a final check on the product on the Hauppauge site and found this:

Note: the WinTV-PVR-500MCE does not come with a remote control or a software DVD decoder. If you are building Media Center systems, please check with Microsoft for a list of MCE certified remote controls and DVD decoders.

How does the lack of DVD decoder effect me if I have a DVD drive in the machine and what do you do about a remote?

Would doing 1 PVR-150 and 1 PVR-150 MCE (for the remote) work out better?

[reboot]

If it were me, and I had the PCI slots available, I would get a 500 and a 250. The 250's remote will run the 500 as well (using gbpvr). I'm currently looking at getting two 500's, and possibly a Theatrix, and a Fusion, all in one box (if I can physically fit them all).
This may seem redundant, but I am still wary of the 150's quality of recording, and audio problems. There are far too many posts complaining about the 150's, and even word on the wind of a class action lawsuit. Hauppauge has been working on drivers, but in order to solve the audio problem, they seem to have dropped the video quality.
There are lots of 3rd party remotes that will work with the 500, and you should be able to use the shspvr drivers for it (which include the intervideo non-css decoder).