You guys are great!

[wireman]

I love this site you have made it easy on us newbies
I started a thread that didn’t make a lot of sense because I didn’t understand what GBPVR was. I am a new at this and I am trying to put together my own HTPVR I was looking at a different web site and they discussed using beyond TV but now that I have been looking at your site this software you have seems incredible, not to mention the support. I have a few unanswered questions on setting this up.
I am going to circuit city today and would love answers to the first few questions ASAP please, the others can wait.

I am totally confused with the m-peg decoder devices, originally I read in a different forum to use the Hauppauge 150 but in your forum you discuss the PVR 250 and the PVR 350 I don’t understand the differences and it sounds like I need two of them or the PVR 500 if I want to be able to watch one program wile recording another?
Are there any drawbacks from one to the other?
If I get two should I get one MCE and one not?
The big question that nobody seems to know is the compatibility issue with there remote with dish network receivers 501 - 508 - and the 811. Will the IR-Blaster work with these I believe the 501 might not sure on the others???
If they don’t what other options do I have?
I am planning on buying the G-Force 6600GT but they have so many different brands and specs I am totally confused I do not have a APG slot so I have to use PCI and what is a PCIe ? I want to make sure I buy the right one.

these next questions can wait
Is there some advantage using there radio over the net radio?
This net radio seems pretty cool can I select songs I wish to record to automatically record?
I would like to use the net radio feature and if I do can I record songs like my PVR does selecting songs in advance?
In preview mode live TV ver 9.0 can I still watch the program I was wile surfing
When hitting buttons on the keyboard or remote wile recording “accidentally”, am I prompted before recording stops?
Do I need a designated phone line to use GBPVR? Or how often do I need to dial up to get listings?
If I started watching a program from the start and in the middle of the program wanted to record it would the recording start at the beginning or where I hit record?
How far in advance are the listings?

Thank you

Wireman

[bgowland]

I am totally confused with the m-peg decoder devices, originally I read in a different forum to use the Hauppauge 150 but in your forum you discuss the PVR 250 and the PVR 350 I don’t understand the differences and it sounds like I need two of them or the PVR 500 if I want to be able to watch one program wile recording another?

If you're going the Hauppauge route then the 150 is the current favourite. If you want to record 1 channel and watch another or record 2 at the same time, you need two 150s or the 500 is basically 2x 150s on one card. WARNING - if your motherboard uses a VIA chipset then beware - there is a conflict with the VIA VT8237 Southbridge chip and the 500.

Are there any drawbacks from one to the other?

sub warns people away from the 350 as some people have problems with it - it's expensive too (at least it is here in the UK). The 250 was the predecessor to the 350.

If I get two should I get one MCE and one not?

If you go the 2x 150 route, then getting one as MCE will also give FM radio - the standard one doesn't have FM radio. Also, note, the original MCE version doesn't come with remote (I think there is a more recent package version that does have remote though).

Is there some advantage using there radio over the net radio?

Net radio gives you 8000/9000 stations but only MP3 streams.

This net radio seems pretty cool can I select songs I wish to record to automatically record?
I would like to use the net radio feature and if I do can I record songs like my PVR does selecting songs in advance?

There is no native radio (FM or Net) recording in GB-PVR.

Do I need a designated phone line to use GBPVR? Or how often do I need to dial up to get listings?

I get my listings nightly but I get 14 days at a time so I could do it only every 10-12 days or so. It depends on the listings provider you use and how much they give you - they vary.

Cheers,
Brian

[-stattik-]

I am planning on buying the G-Force 6600GT but they have so many different brands and specs I am totally confused I do not have a APG slot so I have to use PCI and what is a PCIe ? I want to make sure I buy the right one.

PCIe is PCI express. the 6600gt only comes in a PCIe or AGP version. If you don't have a AGP slot, then either you have a very only PC or you have a PCIe slot. Check your manual or compare the pinouts to verify what you have.

When hitting buttons on the keyboard or remote wile recording “accidentally”, am I prompted before recording stops?

You would most likely have to hit a few buttons in the right order to accidently stop a recording.

If I started watching a program from the start and in the middle of the program wanted to record it would the recording start at the beginning or where I hit record?

No. This isn't supported AFAIK.

[ricklous]

to expand on stattik statement on your PCI slot, you may have a mini-itx motherboard. these are 17cm by 17cm and have a single PCI slot. These are the 'standard' PCI slots, not PCIexpress so neither a AGP or PCIe graphics card would work in one. also check out the specs that people have put in their signatures, the 6600 may be more than you need if you are building a dedicated PVR PC and not going to be gaming on it...

Do I need a designated phone line to use GBPVR? Or how often do I need to dial up to get listings?

you just need a standard internet connection,either broadband or dialup. if you have a dialup connection already then GBPVR will use this to fetch your listings. If your using DVB-T tuner cards you may be able to get the listings direct from the TV signal, negating the need for the net download, but im not sure if this is as reliable as the other methods. research the forums for some info on other peoples experiences..

In preview mode live TV ver 9.0 can I still watch the program I was wile surfing

how do you mean? if you're refering to Picture-In-Picture ie one channel displayed in a box in the corner of screen while another channel is displayed full-screen, then no, GBPVR cannot do this. you can pull up a mini-guide while watching live-tv though, which lists two rows at a time of the TVguide, and you can scroll through this to see what else is on while still watching whatever channel you were on originally.

If I started watching a program from the start and in the middle of the program wanted to record it would the recording start at the beginning or where I hit record?

*ive a very vague memory* of reading that if you started timeshifing at the start of a program, and then at some point further on, decided the you wanted to keep the programme you could press record and so the timeshifted portion of the programe would be saved rather than disposed of at the end of said programme. but as i say, i might have dreamt this, can someone else confirm or otherwise?

[wireman]

thanks for the input, have one remaining question i plan on using two PVR-150 one MCE one regular but i am unsure how this works do i need Media Center Edition 2005 or later to use both and i am unsure what bgowland ment by using 2x 150s "on one card".

[herbs]

I
If I started watching a program from the start and in the middle of the program wanted to record it would the recording start at the beginning or where I hit record?
How far in advance are the listings?

Thank you

Wireman

If you have timeshift mode on from the beginning of watching the show it will record from the beginning.

[reboot]

thanks for the input, have one remaining question i plan on using two PVR-150 one MCE one regular but i am unsure how this works do i need Media Center Edition 2005 or later to use both and i am unsure what bgowland ment by using 2x 150s "on one card".

NO! You don't need MCE. GBPVR does far more, and works with "regular" windows.
If you want two, get one PVR-150 retail version with the remote control and IR blaster, then for the second get an MCE version, cheaper, but also gives you FM radio. You only need one remote, to control gbpvr, and gbpvr controls both cards seamlessly.
The PVR-500 only comes in the MCE version, with FM but no remote. Basically it's two PVR-150's on one PCI card, using the same chips, drivers, etc. You could get it, and a 3rd party remote such as the Firefly, for about the same cost as two PVR-150's.