Looking to get some hardware advise

[roadkill401]

I started to look at making a PVR as a friend of mine was giving it a try and it sparked my interest. I spent a bit of money to buy an AVerMEDIA MCE A180 ATSC tuner card. I didn't know much about what is the best so I bought this one.

I am looking to get some better performance from my hardware, and was wondering what would give me the best bang for my buck.

Right now I have an old P4 2.53mhz (no hyperthread) and an ATI All-in-Wonder 9800pro video card.

I don't have the slightest idea if the MPEG decoder that ATI provided even does anything. I do have an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processor left over from an upgrade I did. I also have the PureVideo drivers but my Nvidea card fried.

Would it be better to get a new motherboard with the 6100 nvidea card built in to use my PureVideo drivers, and take advantage of the faster processor. With this i would give up being able to connect the PVR to my TV unless I get an PCIe video card with TV outs

I could keep my P4 system and replace the ATI card with a Nvidea 6200a card for about the same price at the above and have TV connector but not the faster CPU. This is also non upgradeable as they don't make faster CPU's for this socket anymore.

I also want to get a second ATSC card. I was looking at the Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600 - ATSC / analog receiver that fits in the PCI slot. I could get an AVerTV Combo TV/Digital-Tuner that is PCIe (but only if I get the new MotherBoard).

Is there another better choise out there to look for?

I would like to get some good advise so I don't spend myself into a corner and then wish I had gotten something better.

Thanks

[David]

I would guess that most of your current hardware is probably fine. Especially for just starting out. Play for a while and figure out what you "must" have; probably a few more tuners.

[herbs]

LOL, I use a duron 1.6GHz with 4 tv tuners and thats fast enough so a 2.53GHz will do all you need. The only issue might be if you want HDTV viewing.

[roadkill401]

LOL, I use a duron 1.6GHz with 4 tv tuners and thats fast enough so a 2.53GHz will do all you need. The only issue might be if you want HDTV viewing.

That is the issue. Up here in Canada we get most of our programming from the US. Rather than pay $$$ for cable or satelite, I put in an Antenna in my attic and can tune in the major US networks for free. (And I get to keep the $45+ each month in my pocket and use it to buy computer toys)

As I only have the single HDTV (ATSC) tuner, I can't say how recording and watching live TV will work. Right now, when I play live TV, my CPU spikes to 100% for a couple of seconds, then drops down to 45-60% with the occasional spike to 100% every 10 seconds or so. I don't know if this is normal, but I think it has something to do with the lack of any true " Hardware MPEG decoder " in my system. But without buying new hardware it is imposible to find out.

For pretty cheep, if I can find one, I can get an Nvidea Geforce 6200a card (about $55 cdn) that would give me hardware mpeg. But one of these cards does not offer HDTV support. I have a 52" wide screen RPTV that is only several years old, but it doesn't have the ATSC tuner built in. So to get the HDTV into the box, I need to supply it with YPrPb (component) source. As I am still playing with recording, the PVR is in the computer room until I get the system up to spec.

I would hate to throw money into the wind and buy inadiquate hardware for what I will need, if I can get something much better for several more dollars. Equally, I don't want to buy the best only to find out it isn't what I need to begin with.

I am looking to draw from experiance of others as to what combination works well, and what does not.

I have heard of some people with less powerful hardware doing more, but I don't know if that have a better combination than I have. A faster CPU can over come quite a lot of inadiquacies in other hardware.

Thanks for everyones help so far. I am looking to get something later this week if possible.

MJM

[gEd]

try using the TS mux (if you haven't already).

Also, perhaps try the "quartz" fix

http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FAQ/Codec#toc6

I think others have suggested that you should go for a 6600 or above for ATSC but the 9800pro was a pretty powerful card in it's day so it may work.

Make sure you search for forum for ATSC to check the experiences of other users of ATSC

[herbs]

That is the issue. Up here in Canada we get most of our programming from the US. Rather than pay $$$ for cable or satelite, I put in an Antenna in my attic and can tune in the major US networks for free. (And I get to keep the $45+ each month in my pocket and use it to buy computer toys)

As I only have the single HDTV (ATSC) tuner, I can't say how recording and watching live TV will work. Right now, when I play live TV, my CPU spikes to 100% for a couple of seconds, then drops down to 45-60% with the occasional spike to 100% every 10 seconds or so. I don't know if this is normal, but I think it has something to do with the lack of any true " Hardware MPEG decoder " in my system. But without buying new hardware it is imposible to find out.

MJM

If thats the case I would buy a nvidia 6150 mobo and use the 3000+ cpu it should do what you want. But 1080p might be a push though, 720p wont be an issue.

[rowle1jt]

My system (in my sig) is a 3200+ with on board 6150 graphics... and I have NO complaints. My board also has a free PCIe X16 slot if I want to upgrade to HDTV in the future.