Primer: Dual Tuner Cards
While the wiki has quite a long single-tuner capture card list, Dual Tuners and so-called Dual Tuners are becoming more popular, so I thought I'd start a thread compiled from forum feedback (thanks to all) for comments and for eventual inclusion in the WIKI (or even a sticky thread). What's the point? Just to centralize what is known and reduce repeat answers I guess... besides, I want to buy one too.
Please post any corrections or additions on DUAL TUNER Card use with GBPVR, and let me know the category (below) it falls into if possible, even ones that do NOT work. This might save someone buying a "dud". I will update this post as feedback is made. Not all Dual Tuner Cards are created equal!
NOTE 1. If you have a SINGLE Cable/DSL feed with DIGITAL Channels, with Dual Tuners (in fact, no matter how many tuners you have), you can watch or record ONE of these with DIGITAL Channels at the same time. You can however watch and record one ANALOG Channel and one Digital Channel simultaneously, because (at least in the US) digital cable co's must carry the Free-to-air (FTA) analog channels in the same feed.
NOTE 2. There is NO software app OR any hardware allows you to record and watch different different channels at the SAME time on a SINGLE tuner system. There are some exceptions to this rule when it comes to free to air DVB transmissions.
NOTE 3. Hybrid Cards. Some Tuners touted as "Dual" Analog / Digital Tuners are Dual in the respect that they can serve a Dual Purpose ... just not simultaneously. If you read the fine print you will often see an "or" when the words "Analog" and "Digital" (or DVB-T etc.) appear in the same sentence. They do NOT allow you to record and watch simultaneously as some have a SINGLE chip that is used for ONE process only at a time. This is due to the physical hardware of hybrid cards. e.g. There is a SINGLE hybrid tuner Philips FMD1216ME on the HVR-1100/1300 that handles EITHER analogue or digital. The tuner can switch between analogue and digital as soon as the software requests it, but they cannot do both analogue and digital at the same time (here, "time" is actual time). If you need a REAL Dual Tuner Card, get one that allows either DVB+DVB, Analogue+Analogue or DVB+Analogue (simultaneously).
NOTE 4. Dual Tuner Limitations by PVR OS. There is a limitation in Microsoft's MCE OS, which doesn't concern simultaneous use, but configuration states. Even if you have two cards - one analogue and one digital (or two hybrids) you will NOT be able to use analogue and digital at the same "time". Here, "time" relates to a particular configuration state of the system - if you want to switch from viewing analogue channels to viewing digital, you must delete all channels from the MCE Guide, rescan from scratch and re-setup the EPG. Annoying? Very. That is just another reason why GB-PVR is so much better than Media Center.
NOTE 5. Putting Analogue and Digital into the card from a single STB:
Q. As your cable STB can output only one channel at a time and you will have only one line going into the TV tuner card, how would the TV tuner be able to tune to two channels simultaneously?
A. Assuming that you have analog cable channels you can split your coax before the cable box. Then one goes into the cable box and the other to your ANALOG input on the card. The cable box would be connected to the Svideo or Composite connection on your PVR card. You then setup GBPVR so that one tuner uses the tuner (for analog channels) and you setup GBPVR to use the IR blaster to change channels on your cable box and record from the Svideo or Composite jack (which you cable box is feeding). If you need to be able to record from the cable box all the time (aka - you don't have analog cable channels) you will need 2 IR Blasters & 2 cable boxes. You also may need the extra Svideo/Composite bracket for your PVR500 card (e.g.), to get a 2nd Svideo/Composite jack. Then each cable box would need to feed one of the Svideo/Composite jacks, and you would setup GBPVR to handle them via the IR blasters, and record from those Svideo/Composite inputs.
NOTE 6. "Digital TV" (DTV) comes in a number of flavours and generally results in either Standard (S)DTV or HIGH (H)DTV. You do NOT need an HDTV to watch Digital TV, but you do need at least a Standard Digital TV (SDTV). Note that "ATSC" is in itself NOT a form of DTV, it is actually the US organisation responsible for defining DTV in North America. "ATSC Cards" are thus those which support Digital Input to the American Standard. Europe has their own organisation, DVB. Digital TV in Europe (and other locations in the world adopting DVB) is transported using various different technologies. Flavours of Digital TV in Europe include DVB-T (Terrestrial), DVB-S (Satellite), etc. Confusingly, the ATSC does include a form of DVB in its list of standards.
NOTE 7. Sub's general response to "will it work with GBPVR" is: If your device comes with BDA drivers, then you'll mostly be able to get the digital side of things working in GB-PVR by adding a section to the bda.ini file. If it doesnt have BDA drivers, then this device will not work with GB-PVR.
NOTE 8. If it says "Works with GBPVR" below, this means at least the digital side works. The analog side "may" not work in all instances, particularly if there is no hardware MPEG encoder.
Lists presented below....
Cheers
k.
NB: I compiled these lists out of interest and so that other folks have a simple reference. I tried to cross-check as much as I could, but please note that I am not going to accept any responsibility if you happen to purchase the wrong card. You do need to go away and do a bit of research on your own, to confirm which card you need for your system and for the type of Broadcasts you receive where you live.
While the wiki has quite a long single-tuner capture card list, Dual Tuners and so-called Dual Tuners are becoming more popular, so I thought I'd start a thread compiled from forum feedback (thanks to all) for comments and for eventual inclusion in the WIKI (or even a sticky thread). What's the point? Just to centralize what is known and reduce repeat answers I guess... besides, I want to buy one too.
Please post any corrections or additions on DUAL TUNER Card use with GBPVR, and let me know the category (below) it falls into if possible, even ones that do NOT work. This might save someone buying a "dud". I will update this post as feedback is made. Not all Dual Tuner Cards are created equal!
NOTE 1. If you have a SINGLE Cable/DSL feed with DIGITAL Channels, with Dual Tuners (in fact, no matter how many tuners you have), you can watch or record ONE of these with DIGITAL Channels at the same time. You can however watch and record one ANALOG Channel and one Digital Channel simultaneously, because (at least in the US) digital cable co's must carry the Free-to-air (FTA) analog channels in the same feed.
NOTE 2. There is NO software app OR any hardware allows you to record and watch different different channels at the SAME time on a SINGLE tuner system. There are some exceptions to this rule when it comes to free to air DVB transmissions.
NOTE 3. Hybrid Cards. Some Tuners touted as "Dual" Analog / Digital Tuners are Dual in the respect that they can serve a Dual Purpose ... just not simultaneously. If you read the fine print you will often see an "or" when the words "Analog" and "Digital" (or DVB-T etc.) appear in the same sentence. They do NOT allow you to record and watch simultaneously as some have a SINGLE chip that is used for ONE process only at a time. This is due to the physical hardware of hybrid cards. e.g. There is a SINGLE hybrid tuner Philips FMD1216ME on the HVR-1100/1300 that handles EITHER analogue or digital. The tuner can switch between analogue and digital as soon as the software requests it, but they cannot do both analogue and digital at the same time (here, "time" is actual time). If you need a REAL Dual Tuner Card, get one that allows either DVB+DVB, Analogue+Analogue or DVB+Analogue (simultaneously).
NOTE 4. Dual Tuner Limitations by PVR OS. There is a limitation in Microsoft's MCE OS, which doesn't concern simultaneous use, but configuration states. Even if you have two cards - one analogue and one digital (or two hybrids) you will NOT be able to use analogue and digital at the same "time". Here, "time" relates to a particular configuration state of the system - if you want to switch from viewing analogue channels to viewing digital, you must delete all channels from the MCE Guide, rescan from scratch and re-setup the EPG. Annoying? Very. That is just another reason why GB-PVR is so much better than Media Center.
NOTE 5. Putting Analogue and Digital into the card from a single STB:
Q. As your cable STB can output only one channel at a time and you will have only one line going into the TV tuner card, how would the TV tuner be able to tune to two channels simultaneously?
A. Assuming that you have analog cable channels you can split your coax before the cable box. Then one goes into the cable box and the other to your ANALOG input on the card. The cable box would be connected to the Svideo or Composite connection on your PVR card. You then setup GBPVR so that one tuner uses the tuner (for analog channels) and you setup GBPVR to use the IR blaster to change channels on your cable box and record from the Svideo or Composite jack (which you cable box is feeding). If you need to be able to record from the cable box all the time (aka - you don't have analog cable channels) you will need 2 IR Blasters & 2 cable boxes. You also may need the extra Svideo/Composite bracket for your PVR500 card (e.g.), to get a 2nd Svideo/Composite jack. Then each cable box would need to feed one of the Svideo/Composite jacks, and you would setup GBPVR to handle them via the IR blasters, and record from those Svideo/Composite inputs.
NOTE 6. "Digital TV" (DTV) comes in a number of flavours and generally results in either Standard (S)DTV or HIGH (H)DTV. You do NOT need an HDTV to watch Digital TV, but you do need at least a Standard Digital TV (SDTV). Note that "ATSC" is in itself NOT a form of DTV, it is actually the US organisation responsible for defining DTV in North America. "ATSC Cards" are thus those which support Digital Input to the American Standard. Europe has their own organisation, DVB. Digital TV in Europe (and other locations in the world adopting DVB) is transported using various different technologies. Flavours of Digital TV in Europe include DVB-T (Terrestrial), DVB-S (Satellite), etc. Confusingly, the ATSC does include a form of DVB in its list of standards.
NOTE 7. Sub's general response to "will it work with GBPVR" is: If your device comes with BDA drivers, then you'll mostly be able to get the digital side of things working in GB-PVR by adding a section to the bda.ini file. If it doesnt have BDA drivers, then this device will not work with GB-PVR.
NOTE 8. If it says "Works with GBPVR" below, this means at least the digital side works. The analog side "may" not work in all instances, particularly if there is no hardware MPEG encoder.
Lists presented below....
Cheers
k.
NB: I compiled these lists out of interest and so that other folks have a simple reference. I tried to cross-check as much as I could, but please note that I am not going to accept any responsibility if you happen to purchase the wrong card. You do need to go away and do a bit of research on your own, to confirm which card you need for your system and for the type of Broadcasts you receive where you live.
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