Best TV Tuner Card

[thamch]

Does anybody know any TV Card that can do

Hardware encoding and decoding of video and audio at the same time ?
I would like to record a movie using SageTV and at the same time watching other movie which I had recorded using SageTV.

I understand that some of the TV Card with MPEG-2 hardware encoder that only does video encoding and while audio will be encode using the CPU power.

[dbfresh23]

Only one I know of that does this is the Hauppauge PVR-350 - hardly the best though.

[thamch]

Originally Posted by dbfresh23

Only one I know of that does this is the Hauppauge PVR-350 - hardly the best though.

So you mean the PVR-350 has the features and function that I mention earlier ?
Hardware encoding and decoding for MPEG2 video and audio and it is able to handle encoding and decoding at the same time ?

[dbfresh23]

Yes, but do some searching around this forum. The 350 like most cards has it's own issues - nothing's perfect after all. I don't own a 350 but I do know it can do encoding/decoding at the same time.

I just recently purchased the MediaMVP extender which also does HW decoding, I also have a Sigma Designs X-Card which does HW decoding - The MVP w/ SageTV's new support for it is IMO the best SD way to go for Sage.

[AboveUnrefined]

Isn't it better and cheaper just to have a good video card in the system instead of dealing with strangeness?

[dbfresh23]

thamch - you may also want to search the forums for the xcard, it's not a tuner, just a stand alone HW decoder. It like the 350 has it's own set of issues...

[thamch]

Originally Posted by dbfresh23

Yes, but do some searching around this forum. The 350 like most cards has it's own issues - nothing's perfect after all. I don't own a 350 but I do know it can do encoding/decoding at the same time.

I just recently purchased the MediaMVP extender which also does HW decoding, I also have a Sigma Designs X-Card which does HW decoding - The MVP w/ SageTV's new support for it is IMO the best SD way to go for Sage.

Okay, since sigma X-Card is a good card. Can it work this way ?
I got a TV Tuner card. I want to record a TV Channel, will it pass the stream to the X-Card to do the encoding?

[thamch]

Originally Posted by AboveUnrefined

Isn't it better and cheaper just to have a good video card in the system instead of dealing with strangeness?

A good video card doesn't do the job of encoding and decoding. Is the processor that does it. That's why the hardware encoding and decoding is important if you want to have a low end system (less heat and less noise) to be your HTPC.

[dbfresh23]

I would take a good look at the MediaMVP (which does do HW decoding) - I just got 2 of them and they now have me ebaying my Xcard...

But yes the Xcard will do HW decoding, check out Tom's Xcard plugin... http://forums.sage.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=9356


What kind of system (cpu/video) are you using? Modern systems are fast enough to do the decoding just fine. The one catch is that if you can't use VGA or DVI output then the quality on your tv won't look quite as good as the 350, xcard or MVP.

[mayamaniac]

this question has been asked many times so I'll say it before stranger89 does

First of all, I own a PVR-350 and I wouldn't recommend it as a decoder to the TV. It has lots of issues that probably will never be resolve. Basically, haupauge is selling faulty hardware and they know it. Just get a regular tuner only, like PVR-150 or PVR-500.

If you have an HDTV, then go with a video card that has DVI or component out, which ever your HDTV supports. That will give pretty good video output.

If you have an SDTV (normal TV), then I suggest to get a Hauppauge MVP, now that it is natively supported by SageTV. It does everything the PVR-350 does and plus more. And its cheaper than the PVR-350. Only problem is you can't find it in stock anywhere, but it should be restock in a few weeks, hopefully.

[Lucas]

Originally Posted by thamch

Does anybody know any TV Card that can do

Hardware encoding and decoding of video and audio at the same time ?
I would like to record a movie using SageTV and at the same time watching other movie which I had recorded using SageTV.

I understand that some of the TV Card with MPEG-2 hardware encoder that only does video encoding and while audio will be encode using the CPU power.

The term 'best' is subjective in the world of PVRs.
From my experience what I needed was
a) good capture quality and without the CPU overheads associated with MPEG2 encoding.
b) Stability and continuous operation.

The best fit for the above is an MPEG2 hardware encoder.
Note that the hardware encoder encode both video and audio.

Like most of SageTV users, Hauppauge PVR - 250/USB2/150/500, has proven to be the card of choice.

MPEG2 Decoding can these days be done with little CPU utilisation so cards like the PVR350 are not necessary even if they worked properly which they don't.

The only reason to go for a 350 or XCard is if you are connecting to an SDTV via Svideo where the output quality is far superior.

Then there is the MVP which IMO is a better choice if you want to output to an SDTV via Svideo.

If you have a TV with component/DVI/HDMI inputs then any video card will do a great job.

There are some capture cards that may offer slightly 'better' video capture, but may not be as reliable.

In the end the choice is yours.

[thamch]

Originally Posted by dbfresh23

What kind of system (cpu/video) are you using? Modern systems are fast enough to do the decoding just fine. The one catch is that if you can't use VGA or DVI output then the quality on your tv won't look quite as good as the 350, xcard or MVP.

I'm currently using Compaq ENS P866 with 512MB RAM. Nvidia TNT2 16MB RAM, inbuilt Sound Max audio. 120GB HDD ATA100.

I'm using the Avermedia VGA-TV Converter.

This machine is 3 empty full height PCI Slots.

[dbfresh23]

It basically comes down to an Xcard or a Media MVP as the best choices. I have used an Xcard for over a year and was very happy with the picture quality. The easier way to use it would be with Tom's Xcard plugin, which will slow down the menu system. This used to be a similar thing with the MVP plugin before Sage built support for the MVP directly into SageTV4. With the MVP, I find the picture to be about as good as it was on my DirecTivo - which I cancelled a day after getting my new MVP hooked up.

The only benefit of the xcard would be that it can do digital audio out which the MVP cannot (unhacked anyway). Also your pc would have to be semi close to the tv to make all of the audio/video connections - where as the MVP just connects any where on the LAN.

The huge benefit for the MVP is that it's standalone - it's just a small network media box that connects to your SageTV system over a LAN. At $99 it's really hard to beat if you're using svideo or composite video connections and SDTV.


Conclusion:
Both offer picture quality that is about the same. About the only way to get an xcard these days is to buy it used off Ebay - how I got mine. A used Xcard you'd be looking at ~$50-70, and new MVP w/ license from the SageTV store is $99 and comes with a remote that can control the SageTV menus on it. I was very skeptical of the quality I was going to see from the MVP - let's just say that I was utterly shocked to see how good it was!

Your hardware would likely work fine with either one since they both do HW decoding.

[thamch]

Thanks for the advise. I shall take a look on the X-Card and MVP.

[insomniac]

try radio shack for the MVP. They are still on shelfs here and there. I believe that they are still $39 as well...

Anyone seen them recently?

[dbfresh23]

Yep, That's where I got mine - picked 2 of them up from RS about 2 weeks ago for $39 each. I'm loving them!

Edit:
Obviously still need to buy the licenses from Sage though. Also Someone in another thread said they were told by Hauppauge that the MVP is being redesigned, may be worth holding out for the new model which I think is supposed to be out by the end of March.

[aperry]

Originally Posted by dbfresh23

may be worth holding out for the new model which I think is supposed to be out by the end of March.

At a much higher price than $39 of course...

[dbfresh23]

Well true, but since everyone is basically sold out until the new model comes out I would imagine that when Sage gets them back in stock it will be the new model. So the new model for $99 including the Sage license would only be $30 more. If I had any patience at all I'd probably have waited for the new model instead of calling tons of Radio Shacks for a few hours...