complete noobie question. which tv card?

[mpooley]

Hi
I have had a Tivo 1 which i loved. But now have a humax 9200 which i dont lol

I have windows 7 ultimate so I want a card that will work with that ok.
I get perfect freeview reception and I have an old sky satelite dish (no longer used ).

should I go for a freeview card or a freesat card?
are there any upsides/downsides?

which card would you recommend? oh I would need an external usb card !

I want dual tuners obviously.

what software is best? should i stick to windows media centre?


thanks

Mike

[Graham]

The picture quality will be the same for standard def. broadcasts on Freeview and Freesat. Freesat has Hi Def ... Freeview will have Hi Def when tuner devices are available (any day now, allegedly). Are there channels on Freesat that you want that are not available on Freeview?

As for devices ... you gets what you pays for ... Hauppauge are a favourite around here and are well supported by GBPVR.

It is not likely that anyone on this forum will recommend any software other than GBPVR ... certainly not me ... I have been using GBPVR for five years. It is a near certainty that any TV device that you buy will include software.

[martint123]

There are some channels that are part-time on Freeview but full time on Freesat.
There again, there are some free channels on freeview that are encrypted on Satellite.

You could always go for a Pinnacle 7010x that has dual freeview and Satellite tuners I had one, but it died, so I'm biassed against them though.

[mpooley]

Thanks,
I have no preference for either really!
Not worried about hi def either. so I might go for the Hauppauge WINTV NOVA-TD DVB-T .


so obviously you all think gbpvr is better than Media centre?

Thanks again

[McBainUK]

I would also recommend a NOVA-T for freeview. I have 2, had no problems with them and the remote control they came with also works very well with GB-PVR.

Regarding Media Centre vs GB-PVR they each have their own strengths. WMC can be considered easier to setup but GB-PVR is much more flexible and has great a support system - the wiki and this friendly forum .

Both are free (assuming you already have a Windows Edition that includes it) so why not trial both? If you have any specific requirements or questions then post again.

[mpooley]

Thankyou!

I didn't realise it was free I will do that.

I have just ordered the Hauppauge WINTV NOVA-TD DVB-T and then found out from another post here that it does not work undr win 7. 64 bit ?

does anyone here know if this is true?
I'll have to cancel order quickly if it is

thanks again

Mike

[Graham]

Have you been here ...

http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/board/forumdisplay.php?f=86

[mpooley]

Yes Thanks I have but found it very confusing. There are so many variations !

But I rang the supplier and they checked with Hauppauge and I have been re-assured that it will run in windows 7 64 bit
Phew!

[Graham]

Recommended reading ...

http://www.birtles.org.uk/xmltv/

http://supportpcs.co.uk/index.php?option...&Itemid=30

http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=15269

[martint123]

TBH I would recommend using the DVB-T EPG for a couple of reasons.

(1) Creating the channels and initial mapping is easier as the channel names are guaranteed to be the same (transmitted name and EPG name).

(2) It is one less thing to worry about and/or get wrong.