Tuner: PVR-500 - Philips or Samsung?

[gilded07]

I've read that the PVR-500 can come with either samsung or philips tuners. Any idea which is preferable and how to tell in advance if the PVR-500 I'm considering buying has philips or samsung tuners? Are there model, revision, or lot numbers to look for or avoid?

thanx

[stevenkd]

You want the "A" version with the phillips Philips FQ1216AME tuners

[gilded07]

Great info - thanx. Since it's pretty likely I'll be ordering this tuner over the internet, how would I know if it is the A version w/ the Philips FQ1216AME? In other words, where would I tell someone to look on the card to see if this is the Philips tuner?

And out of curiosity, why is this a better tuner chip than the Samsung?

thanx.

[gilded07]

Also, are the Philips FQ1216AME tuners only PAL or will they work in NTSC regions? I need NTSC.

Thanx.

[stevenkd]

I bought mine off of EBAY and it specifically said that it was the A version (which is the one with the Phillips tuner that you want). On the A version if you look at the card the tuner boxes are bigger and almost touch each other. On the B version which is the Samsung they are smaller and there is a gap between the cards, looks like about 1/4" in the pictures. While looking up the versions for my last answer, there was also a reference to a C version, which had a different model Phillips tuner. I don't know anything about that one. The discussion when I bought mine was that the B version was unreliable, some worked others didn't. Some people were able to fix the problem by taking the covers off the tuners and insulating them by putting tape or paper on, then replacing it. Others were not able to get it to work. No one with the A version was having a problem. When ordering new there was no sure way to tell which version you were getting, so I opted to go the EBAY route where it was explicitly stated.

They work in NTSC regions, I am in New England.

[jrog]

Originally Posted by stevenkd

I bought mine off of EBAY and it specifically said that it was the A version (which is the one with the Phillips tuner that you want). On the A version if you look at the card the tuner boxes are bigger and almost touch each other. On the B version which is the Samsung they are smaller and there is a gap between the cards, looks like about 1/4" in the pictures. While looking up the versions for my last answer, there was also a reference to a C version, which had a different model Phillips tuner. I don't know anything about that one. The discussion when I bought mine was that the B version was unreliable, some worked others didn't. Some people were able to fix the problem by taking the covers off the tuners and insulating them by putting tape or paper on, then replacing it. Others were not able to get it to work. No one with the A version was having a problem. When ordering new there was no sure way to tell which version you were getting, so I opted to go the EBAY route where it was explicitly stated.

They work in NTSC regions, I am in New England.

unfortunately, I just got one off eBay that is a B, with the small tuners. I just came to the forums, as mine is working like crap on one tuner, and not at all on the other. Basically, it's a paperweight, unless I can try this tape thing. I'm starting to think I should just forget about it, and order 2 HD-PVRs, but hard to know if that's going to work right until it's out.

[waynedunham]

I've got 2 PVR 500's. I'm not sure which tuners are on them, I haven't opened the cpu box in a long time.

Over the last few months some analog channels have been getting worse. Recently though a few channels (analog cable) have been getting really bad on 2 tuners (1 on each card). These channels (11 and 47) are HORRIBLE, the picture is crap, and the worse part is the audio has a horrible hiss. It's only when these 2 tuners record those channels.

I guess it's time to call the cable co and get them out here to diagnose the line. (AGAIN) When I had digital boxes installed in the living room and bedroom last June they had to restring me from the pole because the cable was bad (water damage). The installers argued whether to use RG6 or RG11 since the run was so long. They opted for RG6 and I'm thinking maybe that was a mistake.

[gilded07]

I received my PVR-500 from ebay and installed it in Sage. My initial tests are positive. I found a PVR-500 with the larger, "A" tuners on ebay. The quality of the recordings and live TV is good based upon my initial tests.

PQ via the extenders is better than using PS with a client PC, ironically enough. I would think that the extra processing horsepower and dedicated video card in a PC would outperform an SD extender but apparently not.