Poor Picture Quality

[ToyMaster458]

Well I am trying to tackle SAgeTV again. The wife gave me a choice in getting this working or find something that does!

CableBox: Motorola 6200 and Channel Changing via Firewire
Tuner: Avermedia Purity 3D MCE 500 Dual Tuner using a S-Video connection
Display: Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS using HDMI connection to HDTV
Video Renderer: VMR9
MPEG2 Decoder Filter: Nvida Video Decoder
Everything else is set to default

Nvidia Properties are set as
Display Type: Content Default
Hardware Acceleration: Enabled
De-interlace Control: Automatic
TV Overscan Zoom: 0%
De-interlace Mode: Best Availble
Enhance nView: Perfer VMR9

Using S-Video on the Tuner compared to direct on the TV is a big difference. I can really see the difference on the OnDemand Channel. The words are not as clear, the color is off and looks like the resolution is not as good either.

Any suggestions using what I have?

[ToyMaster458]

Well, I tried everything I could with what I had with no success. Wen out and purchased a ATI TV Wonder 650 and everything is resolved and looks great. I still have a slit stutter in live TV every seconds but not too bad. It also almost seems like the audio is a bit out of sync but I am not sure.

Does any one have both a ATI TV Wonder 650 and a HD HomeRun to compare the quality?

[kevine]

Wanted to get this back to the top because I came across this thread trying to find a solution to my issue as well.

First, I have the same issue with a HP PVR-500. PQ is horrible. I also have an HDHomeRun that the picture quality is awesome. These 2 devices are being feed from the same amplified splitter. The only difference is the length of the cable run. It is about another 25-40 feet for the PVR-500 feed. Haven't been able to get the HDHR to work with BDA drivers or network encoders yet but that is another thread. When I mention picture quality, I am referring the the HDHR GUI interface for comparison. I think the PVR-500 issue is related to the cable is split inside the card and from posts here is unavoidable even if you only use 1 tuner. Maybe someone can confirm or deny this for me.

Originally Posted by ToyMaster458

Well, I tried everything I could with what I had with no success. Wen out and purchased a ATI TV Wonder 650 and everything is resolved and looks great. I still have a slit stutter in live TV every seconds but not too bad. It also almost seems like the audio is a bit out of sync but I am not sure.

I am considering this card too (pcie edition) $129. I am also considering:
HP HVR-1600 $80
Sapphire 650 Pro (heard excellent pq reports on this forum) $65 (don't see an audio input for s-video)

My application will make my decision for me. I would like to record 2 at once. May require 2 cards. My inputs would be a straight coax analog and a STB via s-video to get all the channels the analog does not get. I will use the HDHR for all my HD needs (80%).

Can any of these cards do what I want by themselves?

I have a brand new HVR-1600 sitting at my house from Circuit City. I have not installed it because I do not have the STB yet and need to prove my application in this instance.

Originally Posted by ToyMaster458

Does any one have both a ATI TV Wonder 650 and a HD HomeRun to compare the quality?

As you can see above, I would also like to know the answer to this question.

1 more question. I am getting the STB to get all the channels the straight analog does not get. How do I use the same EPG? Will it allow me to select different channels on each even though the EPG is the same? I heard of people selecting the next town over but does that really work to get a second copy of the same EPG?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[scm]

Originally Posted by kevine

First, I have the same issue with a HP PVR-500. PQ is horrible. I also have an HDHomeRun that the picture quality is awesome. These 2 devices are being feed from the same amplified splitter. The only difference is the length of the cable run.

kevine--the difference between teh PVR-500 and the HDHR is much bigger than the length of cable. The two devices are receiving entirely different signals. The HDHR is receiving a digital signal, often in high def. It simply passes the digital signal to the harddrive for storage and playback. The PVR-500 receives an analog signal that it has to process into a MPEG2 digital file. The PVR cards have a chip on them that specifically does this. They do a pretty good job, but it is still the weak link in the process. The HDHR does not have a MPEG2 encoder in it, so it cannot receive analog signals. Since it is straight digital, the image is better--and if the signal is also HD, then the image is MUCH better!! The split inside the PVR-500 doesn't impact this much.