Hauppauge PVR 150 v/s 350

[careh]

I had bought a PVR-350 as I was told it was tops for PVR use due to its hardware 'encoding' (if that is the right word) capabilities.

I was experiencing lockups with my Hauppauge PVR-350 both in GB-PVR and in Beyond TV. I bought a PVR-150 - and presto!! after replacing the 350 with the 150 - the lockups went away.

Can I get suggestions on whether I should just sell off the PVR-350 - or - hang onto it and try to find the resolution to the locking?

[sub]

I'm only aware of issues with it locking up when you're using the TV out. If you're not using the TV out it should be fine to use as an additional tv tuner.

[Chris.Day]

Make sure that your case has good ventilation; the PVR350 runs hot.

[bgowland]

Can I get suggestions on whether I should just sell off the PVR-350 - or - hang onto it and try to find the resolution to the locking?

I'd personally keep hold of the 350. My 350 was the first card I bought and gives consistently sharp audio/video when recording. If you can sort out the lockup problems it's well worth it. I like the S-Video in for transfering VHS to MPEG.

[efin]

I'd personally keep hold of the 350. My 350 was the first card I bought and gives consistently sharp audio/video when recording. If you can sort out the lockup problems it's well worth it. I like the S-Video in for transfering VHS to MPEG.

Then how do you play DVDs? Do you use a separate DVD player?

[careh]

I'm only aware of issues with it locking up when you're using the TV out. If you're not using the TV out it should be fine to use as an additional tv tuner.

We are using the monitor (an older N-Vidia I think) video card for tv out. Do we have to turn off a setting for the 350 for its video out? Also - any suggestions on a particular driver version to use with the 350? We had recently downloaded the most recent 2.2 version & the PC was locking up with it in Beyond TV. I don't recall the version we were using a couple of months ago with GB-PVR when we also experienced locking.

[sub]

Then how do you play DVDs? Do you use a separate DVD player?

He's not suggesting using the tv out on the PVR350. He is just saying it makes a great capture card.

When you're not using the PVR350's TV out, then this implies you're using software decoding, and as such can watch DVDs.

[sub]

Do we have to turn off a setting for the 350 for its video out?

As long as the 'hardware decoder' setting is set to 'none - use software decoding' then the video out is disabled.

Also - any suggestions on a particular driver version to use with the 350? We had recently downloaded the most recent 2.2 version & the PC was locking up with it in Beyond TV. I don't recall the version we were using a couple of months ago with GB-PVR when we also experienced locking.

As long as the PVR350's video out is disabled, then any recent version of the drivers should be fine. I've not heard of anyone experiencing lockups in GB-PVR or any other PVR app when just using it as a capture device. If your are, you might want to check http://www.shspvr.com/smf for similar posts, or hopefully resolutions.

[careh]

I'd personally keep hold of the 350. My 350 was the first card I bought and gives consistently sharp audio/video when recording. If you can sort out the lockup problems it's well worth it. I like the S-Video in for transfering VHS to MPEG.

You mention the 350 giving sharp audio/video when recording. Does that mean it would be sharper than the 150? If so that would be a definate reason to resolve the locking & keep the 350.

I am using the 'S-video in' on the 350 and 150 and use a 30 foot S-video cable from the N-Videa card to the tv (the computer is currently in the basement). I notice some degradation in video quality & surmise it is a combination of the long S-Video cable and the MPEG conversion being done by the capture card. In a couple of weeks I'll move the computer close to the tv and can use a shorter S-Video cable.

[bgowland]

You mention the 350 giving sharp audio/video when recording. Does that mean it would be sharper than the 150? If so that would be a definate reason to resolve the locking & keep the 350.

I can't say when it comes to a 150 although I do have a 500 which is mostly 2x the hardware of a 150. The 500 is susceptible to RFI which I've narrowed down to one of my chassis cooling fans - any recording done on one of the 500's tuners has a slight diagonal striping - it's no big deal as it's only visible in dark sequences (e.g., nighttime scenes). The 350 is actually physically closer to the noisy fan but always has a sharp picture so for that reason the 350 scores a few extra points in my book.

BTW - have you tried different PCI slots for the 350? It could be an IRQ conflict - worth a try.

I notice some degradation in video quality & surmise it is a combination of the long S-Video cable and the MPEG conversion being done by the capture card.

I'd personally recommend a Media MVP - length of cable isn't really an issue for UTP.

Cheers,
Brian