Modest HTPC build, long time reader - first time poster

[nak]

I wonder if that will slow down the system, running the OS on an IDE hard drive... what do you guys think?

No, not at all. It wouldn't be hitting that drive much at all after booting up and applications started, unless its swapping out memory in which case your system performance would be hosed, anyway.

And if it were hitting the drive, whether it's SATA or IDE wouldn't make that much of a difference.

<Soapbox Rant>BTW, Don't get too caught up in the SATA vs. IDE speed thing. IDE is plenty fast for most normal usage scenarios, even a HTPC. The theoretical max. speeds for drives is rarely realized due to the fact that in a multi-stream HTPC environment, the data transfer rate is limited by the drive head seeking around the drive for the files, so the faster theoretical transfer speed offered by SATA doesn't come into play that often. An IDE drive can safely handle 3 or 4 simultaneous High-def read/writes. </Soapbox Rant>

Of course, there are good reasons to get SATA, such as easier cabling in a cramped box, and the fact that many newer, faster disks come only with SATA interface. But, in my lowly opinion, transfer speed for a fairly regular usage system should not be a deciding factor in getting SATA. For my system, I used an IDE drive simply because I could get a larger capacity drive for a few bucks less than a comparable SATA drive, and it's plenty fast for my single ATSC capture card with playback. Could easily handle one or two more HD capture cards as well.

[arnim]

Haha, thanks for the soapbox rant nak, very informative actually!

On the subject of QAM...I do have digital cable but I'm not planning on recording the output of my digital STB but rather the basic expanded cable that is available straight from the coaxial outlets throughout the house. Hope that makes sense. Do you think I need to comply to a different standard than QAM?

I'm not expecting the KWorld card to be able to record two shows at the same time (will be happy with just one ) but I like the flexibility of being able to record either SD or HD shows with it. Once I find a card that I'm happy with I'll be getting two of those... price is obviously a factor so if it makes financial sense and such a card exists I'd be fine with a dual tuner card that can record two HD shows or a combination of HD/SD shows.

I think my total budged for tuner cards is around $150... am I delusional?

[nak]

If your card does QAM, then you should be fine for those channels. (But not the encrypted ones, as you probably know.)

QAM is the standard modulation scheme used for digital cable without a converter box. (ie, straight from the wall.) See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner

You should note, however, that not all cards that have QAM offer it through their BDA driver. (This is the driver that GBPVR uses, and I think the other windows PVR software use as well.) This means that even though the card can get those channels, you would have to use their native software application, and not GBPVR.

For instance, my ATSC card, the Dvico Fusion 5 lite, does QAM, but doesn't do it through it's BDA driver. That doesn't really matter to me, since I only use it for OTA.

There's a discussion about that in this thread: http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=23046 You may want to check it out before going ahead with your KWorld card....

[mikeh49]

I'd recommend looking at the new Hauppauge HVR 1600 card. It has an ATSC digital tuner and an analog tuner with hardware encoding like the PVR 150 and should meet your budget. (Recently on Dell for $93 with $20 rebate.) The analog section will work with GBPVR and I think the ATSC tuner will as well. You can check around the forum for more info (one of the forum members was a tester for the card).

With this card, you would use the ATSC tuner for OTA progamming, and the analog tuner for your cable. I'd be surprised if your basic/expanded cable is digital; you can try plugging your TV directly into the cable, configure its tuner for cable, and see if you get anything. If you do, it's analog.

[pastro]

I'd recommend looking at the new Hauppauge HVR 1600 card. It has an ATSC digital tuner and an analog tuner with hardware encoding like the PVR 150 and should meet your budget. (Recently on Dell for $93 with $20 rebate.) The analog section will work with GBPVR and I think the ATSC tuner will as well. You can check around the forum for more info (one of the forum members was a tester for the card).

With this card, you would use the ATSC tuner for OTA progamming, and the analog tuner for your cable. I'd be surprised if your basic/expanded cable is digital; you can try plugging your TV directly into the cable, configure its tuner for cable, and see if you get anything. If you do, it's analog.

I don't think it has a QAM tuner. Have you heard differently?

[mikeh49]

I think you're right, only ATSC. If arnim indeed has digital cable, then he will need QAM. If analog, then PVR150 type card. My cable experience has been with Charter in Georgia and Washington, and all the basic and expanded channels are analog. Channel numbers less than 100 have been analog, greater than 100 digital.

[arnim]

Looks like I might have been confusing terms. I'm looking to record cable "straight from the wall", which is probably just standard analog cable, no QAM tuning needed as far as I gather now...

Looks like the HVR-1600 might be a good fit if the Kworld card doesn't pan out.

Thanks guys, I already ordered the KWorld card so I might as well test it out before returning it. I'll let you guys know what I find out.

[pastro]

Looks like I might have been confusing terms. I'm looking to record cable "straight from the wall", which is probably just standard analog cable, no QAM tuning needed as far as I gather now...

Looks like the HVR-1600 might be a good fit if the Kworld card doesn't pan out.

Thanks guys, I already ordered the KWorld card so I might as well test it out before returning it. I'll let you guys know what I find out.

What channel range do you get from the wall outlet?
If it's analog cable you will probably need to return the Kworld. If it's digital, then it's a wait and see.

[flyswatta]

Since the "tuner card budget" is around $150, I'd keep the Kworld card ($54), and pickup a PVR150 (around $60) and then he could use the Kworld for OTA HD, and the 150 for his analog cable channels. So he gets the capability to record OTA HD AND analog cable at the same time for ~$114 versus the HVR1600 for $93 which can only record EITHER OTA HD OR analog cable at a time. Basically, it's another tuner card for $21. And since he's ordered it anyway, well, it's kind of a moot point.
IMHO, keep the 110, play around with it, then buy a hardware based encoder card for the analog channels.
My $.02 (and yes, I'm a tightwad, errrr, budget consious )

[stefan]

flyswatta's suggestion sounds reasonable to me, too.