Have 1 PVR250 what to get for second tuner ?

[riekl]

I have a PVR250 right now and wondering what to get for my second tuner. Can I use a the USB external 250 with it ? Would be nice to not add any more heat to inside my system if possible. Is ths USB as code at encoding ?

If not and I get another PVR250 I assume it will be a differnt hardware rev since mine is a year old, would i have problems with boards of different revs ? Should I just get a 350 ? I output via DVI to a sony projector.

[Llamas]

Determine what rev you have (I think www.htpcnews.com has a visual guide to card versions under the guide tab), then get the same revision.

Other options will work, to varying degrees, but I'll leave opinions on mixing with the 350 or USB to those who have done so.

[Opus4]

The pvr-usb2 works perfectly well with a 250, at least it does on my system. (I use a usb2 adapter card.) Using the same encoding rate as the 250, I can't tell the difference between the recordings from the two devices. The pvr-usb2 is extremely simple to install.

- Andy

[kny3twalker]

you could go with an ATI card
ehome wonder
cheap and works well with both hauppauge cards as I understand it

anyone correct me here if I am wrong

[mdmint]

Originally posted by riekl
I have a PVR250 right now and wondering what to get for my second tuner. Can I use a the USB external 250 with it ? Would be nice to not add any more heat to inside my system if possible. Is ths USB as code at encoding ?

If you're running a Server in another room multiple internal tuners not a problem with adequate cooling. I mounted a 120mm thermal controlled fan in the side of the case blowing directly on the four 250 PVRs. Main case exhaust dual thermal controlled fans... All six HDs mounted in hotswap enclosures each with individual cooling fan.

[mandrews44]

Riekl,

My experiance with a new PVR-250 using v16 (no heatsink) and a new PVR-350 using v15 chipset (black heatsink), you do not want to mix them at all costs.. What a major headaque that will become. Check your PVR-250 and see if it has a heatsink, if so, you might be able to get away with using a pvr-350 but I would call Hauppage to confirm your model revision and compatibility.

I have had problems using USB on the motherboard because it drives up CPU usage and causes problems. The 350 doesn't support DVI output so you will need to use an ATI or simular video card for that.

Before buying a second PVR-x50 card, call then and check compatibility.

Regards,

Mark

[Opus4]

Originally posted by mandrews44
I have had problems using USB on the motherboard because it drives up CPU usage and causes problems.

I wonder if this depends on the USB2 implementation -- I've got a USB2 add-in card & have no cpu issues on my p2-400 when using the pvr-usb2.

- Andy

[mandrews44]

Andy,

Totally amazing. I will have to keep that in mind if I need a remote tuner. I have a PII-450 that is not being used for anything, I didn't think I could use it for this stuff.

My Pent 4 Celeron 2.6ghz is 80-100% CPU usage when I am using a USB device which is why I had to go to PCI for everything. USB2 should be enough bandwidth for just about anything and would be a very nice addition if it worked for me. I thought of the PCI add-on card but didn't know how well it worked.. Good to know it works so well.

Regards,

Mark

[Opus4]

Originally posted by mandrews44
Totally amazing. I will have to keep that in mind if I need a remote tuner. I have a PII-450 that is not being used for anything, I didn't think I could use it for this stuff.

Oh yeah, it can be used, but there are a few things to be aware of:[list=1][*]It only works for recording because all the encoding is done in hardware. Everything just gets shovelled onto the hard drive. An older, slower IDE interface _may_ have problems keeping up with too many tuners.
[*]You pretty much have to have a hardware decoder if you want to watch the recordings on the machine. This means either the 350 or an Xcard - I have an Xcard.
[*]The system response is still slow, so don't expect an immediate response when you load SageTV, run some other program, etc. When somethig gets swapped out of memory, it takes a bit to get it back. However, playback on the hardware decoder is perfect. Don't expect to also be able to play the latest games! [/list=1]
- Andy

[snoop244]

Originally posted by kny3twalker
you could go with an ATI card
ehome wonder
cheap and works well with both hauppauge cards as I understand it

anyone correct me here if I am wrong

I like my ATI e-home and PVR250 combination. I had to configure the e-home as the first tuner in Sage to get it to work, but I don't think anyone else had that problem. Both cards seem to produce about the same PQ, and the e-home was half the price of the 250.

Unfortunately, the e-home is OEM only. It can be purchased at NewEgg and in many spots in Canada, but it is otherwise hard to find. It would be nice if Sage could do a deal with ATI to get these cards bundled with Sage. At least then we could get a clearer (and more official) read on ATI's planned level of support for the card. The primary reason for bundling, of course, would be the price.

S.

[dkardatzke]

We just received our shipment of Hauppauge Roslyn cards for the new "Blackbird" bundles today and will be offering the card by itself beginning next week. The cost per card will be $90 and will include a copy of SageTV Recorder.

[Llamas]

Will it be sold without the recorder license, too (I have a license that I'm not using)?

[Scarpad]

How does a revision 1 original PVR250 mix with the new MCE version ?

[kny3twalker]

some people have gotten them to work but if you talking about a roslyn card
yes it should do just fine
but if you meant the pvr 250 MCE it will have the same issue as a non MCE pvr 250 cause they both use the same drivers