A Few Simple (maybe newbie) Questions

[meegosh]

Hi all,

First off I must say that I am pleasantly pleased with what I have been hearing about GBPVR and the community behind it. I have a couple questions about my first home brew PVR.

The system is:

AMD 2000+
1GB RAM
60GB HDD
Integrated video (can add a ATI 9250 or 9550)
DVD-RW/CD-RW combo drive
SB LIVE 5.1

What I want to do is:

- Watch TV on my PC
- Record shows to hdd for burning/viewing, convert to ipod for the wife..
- Schedule automatic recordings of shows

I do not need to view the PVR on a TV however. I just want to view it from my PC's monitor. I have a Xbox 360 with media connect running for media so if converting to .wmv would be an option, that would be best.

I was thinking about a PVR-150 with the remote. I can get it through my work's vendor for $70 shipped. Now for my true question, will I need anything else other than a coax cable coming into it? I have heard people saying they got bad cables from Hauppage but I am unclear as to what cables they are talking about.

I have Comcast cable and I have one box in our family room for the on demand service and a line just running into our bedroom going straight into our TV (no set top box, no digital channels or on demand). This is where I want to put a splitter and run it 5ft into the back of my PC.

Is this all plausible with my current machine and the PVR-150? Sorry for the long winded post but I wanted to make sure I gave you guys enough info! Thanks in advance!

[Ted the Penguin]

Is this all plausible with my current machine and the PVR-150? Sorry for the long winded post but I wanted to make sure I gave you guys enough info! Thanks in advance!

um, basically yes. as long as you dont want digital channels to be recorded, then you will be fine with the coax split and letting the PVR150 tune the channels internally.

as for conversions, I believe there are already transcode options for an ipod and maybe to wmv, if they are not there by default just ask people here for the exact ffmpeg parameters and then add them to config.xml in the transcode section.

you will need an MPEG2 decoder to watch shows on the PC, and there should be no problem with setting up a program guide, and recording shows. just use zap2it.

[meegosh]

Thanks for the quick reply!!! I understand I will not be able to record the digital channels so I think I might pull the trigger and buy the PVR-150 from work.

As far as the MPEG2 Decoder, any recommendations? I see tons of results when I search google for mpeg2 decoder. Thanks again for the response!

[bogyver]

I cant remember for sure but when i installed GBPVR i either had a MPEG decoder installed already or it installed one with it because i had the option to use what was called gpl'ed mpeg decoder maybe others can verify if it came with gbpvr or not. That aside it easy to get a hold of mpeg decoder if you have access to a dvd playing software for your computer that will include a decoder. One place to look is at http://www.codecs.com. there are others that are listed in the forums
one that i found doing a quick search
http://www.codecs.com/download/Elecard_M...ackage.htm
and another
http://www.codecs.com/download/GPL_MPEG-...Filter.htm

the last one might be the one i was using on mine.
i haven't tried the elecard one but i seem to remember it being listed some where on the website.
Another option would be to use nvidia decoder, it works with any card from what i understand, but it cost money i think that the basic version cost 19.99

Also i just rembered ATI make a decoder that is free called Avivo. it is desidned to work with there newer x1K series of card but it might work on older card for basic decoding as well. i think there was a post some where on the forums where you could down load it.

[bogyver]

here is the link to the Avivo download on ATI web site, once again i cant tell you for sure wither it will work or not on your card
http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/ra...vo-xp.html

[pastro]

Your system specs look fine except for your HD which around my house would get filled pretty quick.
It sounds like your system is analog cable but just to check your TV doesn't isn't a newer one with a cablecard or digital cable tuner builtin correct?


Check this thread out for some other free Mpeg decoders.

http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=25182
I think one comes with the Hauppauge too.

You might consider the HVR 1600 as an alternative to the PVR150. It is close to the same price and would add the possibility of using ATSC in the future if you want.

[meegosh]

Yes, I know my HDD is rather small but I will be storing anything ripped on my other machine with over 750 gigs in it. About 430 of that being freespace.

Thanks again for all the responses, I might be back here later tonight posting some more questions as I am getting the PVR-150 in the mail shortly.

[herbs]

LOL 430GB doesn't last me long, but I'm too lazy to burn recordings to dvd.

[meegosh]

Ok, I got the card installed GB PVR set up and everything is working perfectly except for Live TV. The video is shaking all over the screen. If you scale the video down to a 4" x 4" box like when you have the menu items listed on the left and a little window with live tv in it... that works fine?! Recordings work fine.

I am assuming that my 32mb (shared mem) onboard video is not enough. I have a Radeon 9250 128MB (ati chipset) with TV out that I can add to it. Will this resolve my issues with the video when it is at full screen?

Also one little question I might as well throw in. How can I get rid of the bar at the top of the screen that says GBPVR and has the minimize close etc buttons. It is like windowed instead of full screen.

Thanks in advance, I am really pleased with the quality of the recordings!!! Excellent software!

[Carlito]

If you press Alt+Enter GBPVR will go into Full Screen. There is also an option in the config app to start GBPVR in full screen or windowed.

Adding a bigger video card should definitely improve your video quality.
Try adding the Radeon and see how that works for you.