Hauppauge PVR-250 & IR Transmitter

[mikeneron]

Hi there. I have a Hauppauge PVR-250 and have been very happy with it. I recenty downloaded GB-PVR and have been mucking around with that and am impressed. Now what I would like to do is have my channels on my satellite receiver get changed automatically so I can just setup the shows I want to record and never have to touch it again.

I know with the PVR-150, there is an IR transmitter to do this. On my model, I just have the one end that receives signals from the Hauppauge remote, but do not have the IR transmitter part to send the signals to my satellite receiver. The cable on mine looks exactly the same as the one on the PVR-150 except for the transmitter missing. I was wondering if it is possible to buy this cable separately.

Thanks in advance,
Mike.

[sub]

No, you'd need to buy a separate IR Blaster like the USB-UIRT.

[mikeneron]

I am not sure where I can find one of those easily in Canada. On their website, it is $50 US, plus shipping and all that. I might be better off in buying the PVR-150 for $100 Canadian and then just use my PVR-250 in another computer for something else.

Is the 150 actually better than the 250 in terms of capturing or anything of that nature?

I figured getting a new cable would work as they look exactly the same on the back of the card. Is there something internal on the card then that controls the IR transmitter? If so, then I guess I don't have much of a choice.

[sub]

Is the 150 actually better than the 250 in terms of capturing or anything of that nature?

They're very similar. I've seen preferences both ways, but I personally dont thing there is much in it.

I figured getting a new cable would work as they look exactly the same on the back of the card. Is there something internal on the card then that controls the IR transmitter?

No, you cant do this. There is one extra contact on the PVR150 IR connector.

[mikeneron]

I ordered a USB-UIRT last night from ncix.com. I hope this is all I need. I debated whether or not to get the PVR 150 and then have 2 PVR cards, but I read some discouraging things on the 150 and decided to stick with my 250 as it has worked awesome for the last year or more since I have had it.

Thanks for the info.
Mike.

[stefan]

You will not be dissapointed with the usb-uirt's performance. It works great, and had excellent blasting capabilities. You can stick it almost anywhere, and it will still be able to transmit the signals to your set top box =)

[mikeneron]

Sounds interesting. Can't wait to get this thing setup, then everything will be automatic. Right now I have to set my ExpressVu to change the channels on it's own. Will be nice to have it change automatically or be able to change the channel when connecting into my system. Could stream video over the internet and have complete control over which channel I could stream. Sure wish I had known about this over a year ago, would have made things a lot simpler

[stefan]

We all learn along the way =)

[mikeneron]

I got my USB-UIRT device and it works really well with the GBPVR software. Just had to learn the number keys from my ExpressVu remote and it was good to go. I am not sure how close you are supposed to put the USB-UIRT device from the satellite receiver, but I had it right on top and it seemed to work fine.

I was wondering though if it is possible to send a channel number say through the keyboard and have it change the channel on my satellite? I downloaded the HIP software, but am not sure if I need that software or if this is even possible. I would think it would be since all I am doing is sending a command from the computer to the USB-UIRT and then having that go to the satellite. Would be handy to be able to do this for streaming video and not having to fire up GBPVR each time I wanted to change the channel manually.

Thanks,
Mike.

[stefan]

I got my USB-UIRT device and it works really well with the GBPVR software. Just had to learn the number keys from my ExpressVu remote and it was good to go. I am not sure how close you are supposed to put the USB-UIRT device from the satellite receiver, but I had it right on top and it seemed to work fine.

Great! =)

I was wondering though if it is possible to send a channel number say through the keyboard and have it change the channel on my satellite? I downloaded the HIP software, but am not sure if I need that software or if this is even possible. I would think it would be since all I am doing is sending a command from the computer to the USB-UIRT and then having that go to the satellite. Would be handy to be able to do this for streaming video and not having to fire up GBPVR each time I wanted to change the channel manually.

This should be possible to do, either with HIP or with Girder (but that costs money, though). I think you do need one of those in order to accomplish that, though.