Hardware Recommendation

[jtokach]

Hi,

I want to build a new HTPC and just need a few hardware recommendations. I currently have a PVR-250, 2x MVP's, and digital cable. My PVR-250 only sees channels up to 99 and I want to be able to record all of my digital channels. I currently have no STB near my HTPC and would like a new card capable of recording all of the channels. It'd be a added bonus to record the 8 or so standard free HD channels we receive assuming I could view them with an MVP which I'm not quite clear on. Dual tuners would be great too. Which card/device is right for me?

I'm also thinking about a PCH. We view 100% on the MVP's and they work fine, but are a bit sluggish and sometimes lock up. The PCH seems to have overcome that. Is that a true statement?

Thanks,

Jim

[jtokach]

Nobody?? Will the Hauppauge 2250 do all of the above?

[mvallevand]

I think you need to start by entering your zipcode and seeing what QAM is available to you here http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

You might not get channels above 99 that you want and then you end up needing an STB.

Martin

[jtokach]

Okay, my zip is 19518. There's lots of data for both digital cable and digital antenna, but I don't know what it means.

[jtokach]

Also noteworthy, my new Philips HDTV can pickup most/all of the digital channels and free HD channels without an STB. (It is also still picking up all of the analog as well. Does that mean my provider hasn't shutoff analog like they were supposed to?)

[JimF]

Dual tuners would be great too. Which card/device is right for me?

The HDHomeRun will do that (digital only), as long as the QAM is in the clear. I have found it to be less troublesome than a PCI card, once you figure out the setup. But there are guides for that now for GB-PVR.

[whurlston]

It looks like you get all your non-premium channels in clear QAM (I'm jealous BTW), so the either the 2250 (digital/analog) or the HDHomerun (digital) would work great for you.

The MVP will not display HD channels so you would be better of getting a PCH (or maybe a PCH2 in the "near" future).

[mvallevand]

What whurlston said (especially the jealous part). On top of HD, the MVP can't do mpeg-ts which you will really want to use to get multi-record going, and it doesn't decode ac3 audio properly. Unless zehd comes up with a magic solution with Zprocess and the MVP, the PCH A110 or the cheaper EGreat M34a are good solutions, if you don't want to fool around with building a full PC client.

Martin

[jtokach]

Hey, thanks a lot for the input. I haven't kept pace with the broadcasting technology and the terms and caveats can be confusing.

We actually sit on the border of service and have a choice between Comcast and a local cable company for cable service. I can't really say whether they're generous with QAM as being competitive with Comcast or they're simply incompetent, but I wont complain! =)

I have room for a full PC client in both viewing locations, but there's a lot more to manage with a PC client too, and I'm not sure how to get a remote control working with it, although I'm sure it's well documented in the WIKI. I might have to go with a PC client though for comskip, which keeps WAF high and has enabled my wife to look past the MVP's faults up to now.

One last question though, since the card is capturing the HD just like the analog/digital, can't it simply encode in MPG2 as well and then work with the MVP?

[mvallevand]

Digital broadcast (HD or SD) are captured exactly like they are broadcast, there is no hardware encoding going on. The only way these can be played reliably is via post-processing. However a couple of people have said they are happy with the on-the-fly transcoding to the MVP, so nothing is stopping you from setting up an new capture device now and making the client decision later.

PCH2 mode that whurlston talked was released about a month ago and it provides everything the MVP does, including comskip on the NMT players, you might need a newer version of comskip.exe though.

Martin