Newbie question

[Turner]

I want to buy an MVP and use GBPVR on it but have a few questions first. I currently hav a LeadTek WinTV2000 Tuner card (no MPEG2 encoder). This card is not supported as a capture device. I do use my computer and the applicaiton that came with the card to record TV shows (WinFastPVR). Questions are:

1. Do I need a supported TV tuner card to use all the MVP functions or does the MVP GBPVR act as a tuning device itself?

2. I know I will be able to access the recordings already on my PC with just the MVP but can I use GBPVR to schedule recordings from the TV?

3. If I do need a new tuner card I want to be able to watch live TV and record a different show at the same time (similar to my existing cable company box). Will I need a two tuner card such as the Hauppauge 500MCE?

4. I have multiple TV sets in the house and would like to use MVP's on all of them if I can get them to work. Do I need a tuner card in the PC for each set I want to use?


Thanks in advance for any help......

[sub]

You can use GB-PVR without a tuner. The MVP(s) should be able to play your existing .mpg recordings without problem.

[Turner]

What about live TV and recording?

[sub]

You'd need a supported card like Hauppauge PVR150/500 etc to use those features.

[pastro]

You need a supported card to start with. You might be able to get away with your card using the software recording plugin but it's unsupported by sub.
Assuming you have a supported card here's the deal. With a single tuner card like the pvr150 from Hauppuage, you can watch TV and play a previously recorded show at the same time. You cannot record one show and watch another live show since that needs two tuners. The MVP does not contain a tuner, but it does contain an Mpeg decoder.
Not sure what the limit of MVPS is. I know of people with 3 and for some reason I think it might be 8 - but that is a guess. Sub knows for sure.

Each MVP creates another GBPVR application on your pc so it does increase the system requirements.
EDIT: Another post said there is no limit to the number of MVP's with GB-PVR. The limit will be the network bandwidth, diskIO, CPU, but no hard limit on the number.

[Turner]

If I understand you correctly then you need a separate tuner in your PC for each MVP in order to watch live TV on each TV. For instance, if I have three sets in the house and I am watching one, my wife is watching another and my son is watching the third I would need three tuners and three MVP's. Or if I wanted to record one program I could then only watch live TV on two of the TV's.

I am really looking to replace my cable company's DVR boxes that I currently use. They are terrible (always crashing) and I could do without the monthly expense.

[sub]

If I understand you correctly then you need a separate tuner in your PC for each MVP in order to watch live TV on each TV. For instance, if I have three sets in the house and I am watching one, my wife is watching another and my son is watching the third I would need three tuners and three MVP's. Or if I wanted to record one program I could then only watch live TV on two of the TV's

correct

[pastro]

If I understand you correctly then you need a separate tuner in your PC for each MVP in order to watch live TV on each TV. For instance, if I have three sets in the house and I am watching one, my wife is watching another and my son is watching the third I would need three tuners and three MVP's. Or if I wanted to record one program I could then only watch live TV on two of the TV's.

I am really looking to replace my cable company's DVR boxes that I currently use. They are terrible (always crashing) and I could do without the monthly expense.

That would be my take as well.
For the cable box replacement, you do have analog cable, right? If it's a digital box, the list of compatible cards is pretty small and there aren't any with a cable card that I know of.

[fhmanas]

Live TV is great but you won't be able to fast forward beyond what is being shown or recorded (if you paused), and it would be substantial to get each tv a tuner card. I, personally would approach it with having 2 tuners and recording shows rather than watching it "Live". You would still need an MVP or a PC acting as a client for each TV. It really depends on your needs and purposes, I have 2 MVPs, a laptop acting as client, and my GBPVR machine but I only have 2 tuners, I can watch different recorded shows using the MVPs, laptop and GBPVR machine and record 2 other shows all at the same time. I haven't really watched "Live" TV in over a year.