Trying to record QAM cable HDTV what adapter is best?

[bling_bling_vr6]

Hello,

Recently my sat went down and I am stuck with TimeWarner analog cable. I currently have a Hauppauge PVR150 that lets me record the analog TV, but I'd like to record the digital channels such as 4-1, 5-1, 7-1, 9-1, and 11-1 which are being rebroadcast on my cable connection. I've been trying to get them using a DVICO Fusion 5 LITE card without success after finding out that there is no windows driver support to support digital recording in SageTV. Some have suggested the HVR1600 but some have said that it has problems with pixelation on QAM HD broadcasts. Can you suggest which adapter I should buy to get reliable QAM HDTV recording working in SageTV?

Thanks,
David

[ChaOConnor]

I use the HVR-2250, which has one input for both tuners (very nice). The latest beta drivers have eliminated any problems I ever had. I'm a big fan of this card. It's PCI-e, so make sure you have a slot available.

Good luck!

[pjpjpjpj]

Consensus around here seems to be the HD Homerun (HDHR). It's dual tuner and is a network device so it doesn't take a card slot.

[wrems]

+1 on the HDHR. You can’t go wrong there IMO.

Although, I have been seriously considering picking up an Avermedia HD Duet for the price. That way I can gain an additional set of QAM tuners and take advantage of my newly opened pci-express slot…

[brainbone]

I have the HVR-2250, and wish I had went with the HDHR.

My HVR-2250 seems to be working well now with current beta drivers, but based on the past issues with it, I'm sure I'll find something wrong in the future.

[MattHelm]

+1 on the HDHR.

[Diego Garcia]

I love my HDHomeRun. Getting all the pieces to play nicely together can be challenging, but once the configuration is done it's really solid, provides excellent quality and relatively small files.

I would definitely recommend upgrading to the latest version of Sage, however, before launching into the configuration process. The new channel setup interface in Sage 6.6 is an enormous improvement over the UI in 6.5. More importantly, the channel mapping algorithm worked much better (e.g., I didn't have to tweak anything within Sage).

Be aware that if you're using Vista and Sage-as-a-service (i.e., running the Sage control service in the background) you're going to have to move files created by the HDHomeRun into the Sage program directory. The HDHomeRun channel files (which are required to get Sage talking to the HDHomeRun) get created in ::sysdrive::\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Sage\Sage, but they need to exist in ::sysdrive::\Program Files\Sage\Sage for Sage to find them. You may also need to stop and restart both Sage and the background control service after copying the files so that they'll be recognized.

That sounds complicated, but it's not once you get used to it . There are pretty good directions available in the forum for all of this, just follow them exactly.

[jasonl]

If you're using Vista and have UAC disabled, delete the SageTV directory in the VirtualStore (or the entire VirtualStore for that matter, since it's only used when UAC is on). HDHomeRun Setup will write scn files to the VirtualStore if the SageTV directory exists there; otherwise, it will write it in the real install directory.

Jason
Silicondust Support

[reggie14]

Right now I'm using an HVR-1600 to record QAM TV. It works fine, but the HVR-1600 is awfully fussy when it comes to signal strength. A little too strong of signal and it stops working. I just noticed Comcast is broadcasting the expanded basic SD tier in clear QAM in my area, so before the fall season starts I'm planning on picking up a HDHR.

I'm not saying Hauppauge stuff is bad at QAM, I just think the HDHR is probably better.