OTA ATSC PVR solution

[stoenjes]

I have been using a Hauppauge PVR 250 for several years with analog cable, along with GB-PVR (v0.99.5), primarily viewed with the MVP. I want to add OTA ATSC recording (“24” and “Heroes” are on at the same time here) - already have a HDTV and a big antenna pointing at Cheyenne Mt for a strong signal. Understand that ATSC recordings need to be converted/transcoded before the MVP can show it.

My question is, what are the pros and cons of these ATSC recording devices? Don’t really care about their analog side, just the ATSC side working with GB-PVR. I know about these three:

- Hauppauge HVR-950: USB, $60 at Circuit City this week; Hauppauge says I have to uninstall the PVR 250 before I install this, but I assume they mean WinTV2000.

- Hauppauge HVR 1600: PCI, $100, spotty reviews (Zeus and dgeezer’s exchanges here); one PCI slot left, but would rather not use it.

- Autumnwave OnAir GT: USB, $179, strong support from the company (Ryan Pertusio)


USA (Colorado Springs)
MSI K8N Neo4-F, 2 Gig
PCI Express Geforce 6200
AMD 64 X2 4400
XP Pro, ULead Video Studio 10, Video Redo

[sub]

- Hauppauge HVR-950: USB, $60 at Circuit City this week; Hauppauge says I have to uninstall the PVR 250 before I install this, but I assume they mean WinTV2000.

- Hauppauge HVR 1600: PCI, $100, spotty reviews (Zeus and dgeezer’s exchanges here); one PCI slot left, but would rather not use it.

- Autumnwave OnAir GT: USB, $179, strong support from the company (Ryan Pertusio)

A couple of other things to factor in to your decision - The OnAir GT also does unencrypted digital cable aka QAM. The HVR1600 has the advantage of having the required hardware MPEG2 encoder, so can be used as analog capture card just as easily as your PVR250.

[wtg]

Another HD recorder worth considering is the HDHomeRun (http://www.silicondust.com). It's a dual-tuner, networked device that records OTA and QAM HD. It's BDA drivers are in beta right now, but work very well and it's support via it's forums is very good, darn near what you get here.

If you search the forums here you'll see a number posts about it. I've had mine about a month and am very happy with it.

[stoenjes]

I got the HVR 1600 and put it into my last PCI slot, right next the the PVR 250. I only installed the HVR 1600 driver and went immediately to GBPVR. Everything works fine. The only unintuative setup action is to call the 1600 as "Capture Device Number 1" (analog) and "Device Number 1" (digital).

My main plans for ATSC capture is to write to DVD to play the 5.1 audio on my TV/stereo. Video Studio can import DVR-MS. It looks like Video Redo can import TS. GBPVR plays both types as is on my computer.

My only question is how the three channel line-ups in the three recording sources interact with each other. When I deleted a channel from the digital recording source, it deleted the channel from the analog recording sources.

Stan

[whurlston]

My only question is how the three channel line-ups in the three recording sources interact with each other. When I deleted a channel from the digital recording source, it deleted the channel from the analog recording sources.

I set up 3 zap2it accounts. One for my QAM lineup, one for OTA and one for analog cable. The I let each capture card pull the account with the corresponding lineup. I disabled any extra channels in the zap2it accounts as well so I didn't have to do it in GB-PVR.

[stoenjes]

I set up a new account for the OTA side of the card and disabled extra channels in zap2it. The cable channels are showing up in the OTA recording source. I'll try removing everything and starting over tonight.

The only reason this is a problem is because a lot of channels are showing up in the program guide with no programming information.

Stan

[paulg]

Are you happy with the new card? I am considering the same card as replacement for my pvr150. My HD LCD tv has great digital OTA reception of all stations where the analog varies from station to station. I am hoping I can record the digital stations and playback through GBPVR to my current setup. Currently, my video out is connected via SVIDEO to an RF modulator that puts the GBPVR output onto channel 66. The output from the modulator is merged with my house cable distribution so that I can watch GBPVR on any TV in the house. It works well for my TIVO and OK for GBPVR. I think my video card is not working quite well enough since the picture on my PC screen is a little unsharp but pretty good.

Will I be happy with the HVR 1600?

Paulg

[stoenjes]

. . I am considering the same card as replacement for my pvr150. My HD LCD tv has great digital OTA reception of all stations where the analog varies from station to station. I am hoping I can record the digital stations and playback through GBPVR to my current setup. Currently, my video out is connected via SVIDEO to an RF modulator that puts the GBPVR output onto channel 66. . . .
Will I be happy with the HVR 1600?

Paulg

Instead of guessing whether you will be happy or not, I can tell you about some quirks with the 1600 I've noticed with my first few days of use. Note that my use is quite different from yours, since I use the MPV with GBPVR, not video card output. Analog recordings seem about the same as with my PVR 250.

1. If you use Live Preview Mode with the analog side of the 1600, then expect a black screen for Live Preview as well as recordings until you reboot. Time Shift Mode seems to work. The digital side seems to work in Live Preview Mode.

2. SD ATSC (480i) recordings usually have something like static at the top of the picture (top 2 or 3 lines; its possible a TV won't show it).

3. HD ATSC (1080i) recordings don't have the static, but are more demanding for playback. Using DVR-MS and VMR9, my computer can't play without stops and starts. It plays fine with VMR7. (AMD X2 4400, NVIDA GeForce 6200 TurboCache PCI-E). I havn't tried other decoders. video renderers or multiplexer options because computer playback isn't important to me. (I havn't tried 720P HD yet.)

4. Both SD (4:3) and HD (16:9) fill my computer screen (it's a 4:3 monitor; SD is fine, HD is too tall). I have no idea if that is an issue for your TV viewing. There may be record/playback options that display differently or your TVs may be able to display it properly.

Stan

[congenictv]

3. HD ATSC (1080i) recordings don't have the static, but are more demanding for playback. Using DVR-MS and VMR9, my computer can't play without stops and starts. It plays fine with VMR7. (AMD X2 4400, NVIDA GeForce 6200 TurboCache PCI-E). I havn't tried other decoders. video renderers or multiplexer options because computer playback isn't important to me. (I havn't tried 720P HD yet.)

Stan

Ut oh, you're worrying me Stan. I'm thinking of AMD X2 4200 and you're saying the 4400 can barely keep up with playback? Say it ain't so...

How much ram do you have and what operating system are you using?

Thanks

[sub]

Ut oh, you're worrying me Stan. I'm thinking of AMD X2 4200 and you're saying the 4400 can barely keep up with playback? Say it ain't so...

How much ram do you have and what operating system are you using?

Thanks

Its more likely his nvidia 6200 isnt keeping up, rather than his AMD CPU. Most people reckon a 6600 is recommended minimum for any HDTV stuff (although some have claimed success overclocking their 6200).