Hauppauge PVR-500 MCE Kit Question

[mightyt]

I just broke down and ordered a new dual tuner PVR-500 ...

Got a pretty good deal from Dell ... $131.36 with no ground shipping!! Click Here

Of courrse now I have a few questions ...

ONE - I went up on Hauppauges sight to look at the manual and pre-download current drivers. Looking at the Quick Unstall Guide
I noticed one coax connector says TV Connector and another says FM Radio Connector ???

My intent is to connect 2 Coax Cables to 500 card for 2 TV Inputs ...

So, how do I do this? Other than those 2 connectors is has an S-Video Input and Composite A/V Inputs ....

I hope this was not a mistake ....

TWO - Also, the kit comes with an MCE Remote ... Anyone know if that can be customized to work with Sage? With or without Girder?

THREE - What the heck, since I am asking .. Is there any advantage to having the FM capability on a Sage Server??

Thanks, T.

[ke6guj]

1: you can't hook up 2 coax cables. If you are going to record straight cable or antenna, then don't worry, it has an internal splitter. But if you want to hook up 2 separtate STB's, then one of them will need to be composit or s-video.

2: yes, the mce remote can be used, takes a little work to configure. Do a search for MCE remote and you should finde some info. Can be used with or without Girder, depending on what features you need or don't need. I dunno if that kit has an IR blaster, and I dunno if the MCE blaster can be used in Sage.

3: Right now, FM is useless in Sage. Just ignore it.

[mightyt]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

1: you can't hook up 2 coax cables. If you are going to record straight cable or antenna, then don't worry, it has an internal splitter. But if you want to hook up 2 separtate STB's, then one of them will need to be composit or s-video.

2: yes, the mce remote can be used, takes a little work to configure. Do a search for MCE remote and you should finde some info. Can be used with or without Girder, depending on what features you need or don't need. I dunno if that kit has an IR blaster, and I dunno if the MCE blaster can be used in Sage.

3: Right now, FM is useless in Sage. Just ignore it.

Thanks for the quiuck reply ...

Actually yes ... I have no cable box ... just straight coax cable using Adelphia Extended Basic ... I saw that were was another A/V Adapter Cable that used another PCI slot but it only had another S-Video and Composite inputsthat conected to the card via internal cable?? (This defeats the purpose of a dual tuner card to provide a slot for another use??) Anyway, was that what you were referring to? Or is it some kind of Y splitter for 2 Coax caples to input in to the one connector on the card??

The Dell site said ... "Built-in IR transmitter enables Media Center's MyTV function to control a satellite or cable TV set top box" ... I expect I'd have to set it up externally to Sage, but am wondering if it would be better than my current Firefly with Girder. I am pretty happy with it, but you never know if something shows up in a box like this and is better ...

OK ... Too bad, I linve in a canyon and get marginal FM ... was hoping to have a good solution one day ... via cable or the internet ...

All in all, are you happy with your 500? I have used PVR 250's and a USB2 PVR and ATI AIW's to date ... and work well in that order ... wondering where the 500 will fall in my list??

Thanks Again ... T.

[ke6guj]

Ok, just run in your coax into the TV connector. The PVR-500 will split it internally to both tuners. The a/v adapter has no coax.

The A/v adapter cable is so that you can add in a second s-video and composite if needed. It doesn't totally defeat the purpose of a dual tuner. You only use it if you need it. And you don't need to put it right next to the tuner and waste a pci slot. Many cases have more openings that there are matching motherboard slots, or if you really are low on openings, then bust out the dremel and do some surgery and just add in your needed connector into a drilled hole in your case.

Oh, missed that it was an IR blaster. IF you are doing straight cable, then you don't need the blaster just the receiver for the remote. Firefly vs. MCE? I dunno, I use a 45-button hauppauge remote.

As for happyness with my 500, my answer is that I bought 2 2 pvr-500's and a pvr-150-retail work just fine for me.

[mightyt]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

Ok, just run in your coax into the TV connector. The PVR-500 will split it internally to both tuners. The a/v adapter has no coax.

The A/v adapter cable is so that you can add in a second s-video and composite if needed. It doesn't totally defeat the purpose of a dual tuner. You only use it if you need it. And you don't need to put it right next to the tuner and waste a pci slot. Many cases have more openings that there are matching motherboard slots, or if you really are low on openings, then bust out the dremel and do some surgery and just add in your needed connector into a drilled hole in your case.

Oh, missed that it was an IR blaster. IF you are doing straight cable, then you don't need the blaster just the receiver for the remote. Firefly vs. MCE? I dunno, I use a 45-button hauppauge remote.

As for happyness with my 500, my answer is that I bought 2 2 pvr-500's and a pvr-150-retail work just fine for me.

AHHH !!! I got it ... SO ... I don't need to split / run 2 cable to the card ... The card will split the one in two all by itself ... Actually, that's cool ... one less cable in my speghetti facotory ...

Yea ... I didn't think I needed thas blaster ... I once tried the Hauppauge ramote and liked it ... But ... as it turned out, it was made by Phillips and my TV, yes is a Phillips, thus the PVR remote commands jacked with the TV because they were the same as the ones on the TV remote ... So, my trek for other remote options ... was using the ATI Remoite Wonder for a long time, but this time set up the Firefly I have lying around ... Tried an iMon that came with my silverstone case and tossed it after 10 minutes ... So, I guess I'll see how the MCE remote looks when I get it ...

I am glad to hear you are satistied with the 500 and how it works with Sage ... If it really works out, I may get another down the line and rack up 6 tuners

Can you say ... out of control ....

Thanks, T.

[ke6guj]

yup, you got it figured out, 1 cable and let the card deal with it. Remember, that only works with straight cable. If you want to start feeding it a tuned signal from an STB, then you will need to use some of the other connectors.

Remotes, its one of the hardest things to get right. Its gotta have the right functions, not conflict with other devices, and has to feel good too.

[tim allen] ARR, ARR, MORE TUNERSSS, ARR ARR [/tim allen] I know what you mean, I'm running 5 tuners and getting ready to start throwing some HD tuners into the mix.

[bcjenkins]

I use the MCE remote with my Sage setup. I mapped all the buttons as labeled to appropriate Sage functions using HIP. It is a free alternative to Girder.

Awesome program.


B