Giving ASUS mbo + 500mce combo a try..

[danielpryor]

I'm new to this whole PC as a tivo thing but I'm giving it a try! To my surprise I can get a card for about $140, free software, and not have to pay for services! Hooray! I'm thinking about getting a 500MCE from haupage. I had an old tv tunner card from them I wasn't happy with because the drivers sucked and locked up my computer. My new computer is an AMD 2+ GHZ on an ASUS A7V600-X motherboard with a VIA KT600 chipset with SATA bridge that seems to be compatible. I'm a bit nervous though about getting this card as I can save some money and get a single-turner card that's not Haupauge for only $40, but I"m willing to pay the extra $100 to be able to record two shows at once and still broswe the net, etc. while it does it.

If anyone has any suggestions, let me know... I'll also let you guys know if the thing works or not..be ordering fairly soon.....
-Daniel

[betlit]

i guess for 40$ you wont get a card with a hardware encoder...

cards without it are not supported by gbpvr. however: there is a SoftwareRecorderPlugin for tv tuner cards with WDM drivers you could try - but there is no guarantee for success.

so you will have to ask you if the 100 USD you save are worth the (possible) trouble.

i do not have a pvr-500... but i'm using a pvr-350 and two 150s (one 'standard' one 'mce edition') without problems.
the only troubles i had were at the time i used the hardware decoding (tv out) feature of the 350.

with the latest 150-drivers from http://www.shspvr.com i never had any problems (the pvr-150 and pvr-500 are using the same driver, 'cause the 500 is basically two 150s on a single board).

[danielpryor]

Yeah I'm going to return the softare encoded one and get the 500mce, I didn't realize it was software encoded! Yikes!
:p

[bgowland]

If anyone has any suggestions, let me know... I'll also let you guys know if the thing works or not..be ordering fairly soon.....

Check this thread before you buy (follow the links). Unless, ASUS, VIA and Hauppauge have fixed things you may have problems.

Cheers,
Brian

[Manoe]

Hardware encoders are the way to go right? Cards with them that is. In his post he said $140 not $40.

What is a quality card that offers the hardware encoders?