SD Tuner - Low Spec PC - Recommendations?

[smokyjoe]

Hi,
I mainly use XBMC for my home theatre needs, and I'm interested in setting up SageTV now that I've seen the xbmc python script for it. I've got an old PC that I use as a media server for downloading/storing etc. I'm just not sure what tuner card to buy, or even whether my pc will be able to handle recording digital signals. Basically, I'll only want to schedule and record. Everything will be streamed to XBMC, so no playback on the PC. So I'll only want 1 tuner card. As XBMC chokes on HD video, and I've only got an SD TV, I'll probably only need SD, although it would be nice to be able to produce high res xvid's from a HD source. Here are my PC's specs:

Athlon 1800+
500gb ide 5400
256 (yeah, that's right) pc2100 ram.
Radeon 9550 128mb AGP
Onboard sound.

Based on my needs, budget, and the stock of my local pc shop, I've been looking at a Leadtek DTV1000 or DTV2000H, or something in that class.

Are these cards fully compatible with Sage? Any other recommendations? Does my PC have enough grunt to be able to record in divx/xvid, possibly from HD? If not, what would be in most need of an upgrade? (I'm thinking ram)

Thanks for any help guys.

[bcjenkins]

Originally Posted by smokyjoe

Hi,
I mainly use XBMC for my home theatre needs, and I'm interested in setting up SageTV now that I've seen the xbmc python script for it. I've got an old PC that I use as a media server for downloading/storing etc. I'm just not sure what tuner card to buy, or even whether my pc will be able to handle recording digital signals. Basically, I'll only want to schedule and record. Everything will be streamed to XBMC, so no playback on the PC. So I'll only want 1 tuner card. As XBMC chokes on HD video, and I've only got an SD TV, I'll probably only need SD, although it would be nice to be able to produce high res xvid's from a HD source. Here are my PC's specs:

Athlon 1800+
500gb ide 5400
256 (yeah, that's right) pc2100 ram.
Radeon 9550 128mb AGP
Onboard sound.

Based on my needs, budget, and the stock of my local pc shop, I've been looking at a Leadtek DTV1000 or DTV2000H, or something in that class.

Are these cards fully compatible with Sage? Any other recommendations? Does my PC have enough grunt to be able to record in divx/xvid, possibly from HD? If not, what would be in most need of an upgrade? (I'm thinking ram)

Thanks for any help guys.

All HD cards support a recording a digital stream that is in MPEG-2. So for you to go to divx, xvid, you will need some power or patience. As far as recording from a digital cable box for SD, you really can't go too wrong with the PVR-150.

HIH

B

[smokyjoe]

Ahh. That's what I get for not reading the fine print. I saw this on the Sage homepageL

Record in High Quality MPEG-2, MPEG-4* or DivX*.

but didnt see this:

*Requires Plextor ConvertX 402U, TV402U or ProVideo 358T to record in MPEG-4 or DivX.

Does this mean the same thing? (I.E. You need one of the above hardware encoders?):

Support for multiple formats across multiple tuners (can mix MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/DivX hardware encoders)

(Notice that there is no asterix)

Can these hardware encoders be set to run automatically (I.E. schedule a recording, play the recording, either initially or once completed, encoder recieves the signal and converts to xvid) with no user interaction?

I should have mentioned that it will be used for OTA digital, so I dont want to have to use a digital box.

I don't think mpeg-2 is an option for me, as I stream over wireless. The DTV1000 will encode Analogue to divx, but I'd prefer digital. Will Sage record analogue to divx if the card supports it?

Thanks again.

Edit: After a bit of searching around, I've found a few tuner cards with hardware mpeg-4 encoding, but it looks like support for these cards in sage or any good pvr app has not been introduced yet. Is this the case? Are there no pci mpeg-4 hardware encoding tuner cards that function with Sage?

[bcjenkins]

Hi SmokyJoe,

I just realized you're looking at DVB-T solutions. From what little I read it seems to be similar to our ATSC standard in that it is being streamed in encapsulated MPEG-2. That being the case, you will need a digital card which also has a dedicated processor to handle the conversion to mp4 (divx, xvid, etc.) I don't think I have seen one of those yet.

With regards to your analog capture, the cards you first mentioned seemed to be software solutions. Make sure you look at hardware solutions, determine which chips they have on them, and send an email to support@sagetv.com for determination if it would work. Sage will work with unlisted cards as long as the chips are right.

B