Hauppauge Tv Tuners

[mribnik]

My tv just died and for my birthday I'm going to get one of those 20.1" dell widescreen monitors. I would like to use that monitor as my tv and as such, require a tv tuner. It appears that hauppauge makes the best ones (or so is the general consensus) but for the life of me I just can't tell the differences between their models. I can't think straight on the issue and have no idea what to get. I would just like to be able to watch tv on my computer and record shows as well. I also have no idea what software I would require in addition to the tuner (if it doesn't come with all the software needed).

Basically, could someone explain to me the differences in their line of cards and if the card package contains everything I need. I'd also definately like a remote control, although I hear the firefly remote is good. Thank you very much!

[dicecca112]

you can't go wrong with there pvr250mce or 350. Both come with a remote. The difference between the 250 and the 350 is that the 350 does all the mpeg encoding on card, so there is minimal if any usage of your cpu, other than that they are similar, and that I think the 350 has a built in FM tuner

[Ad Rock]

Yep and the 350 has S-video and composite outputs on it.

If you are thinking about getting the 250 I suggest you look into the 150 model instead. The 150 is the same card as the 250 except it does not come with all the bundled software that the 250 does. Also the 150 comes with a IR blaster so that you can control a satalite reciever or digital cable box.

[Captain Slug]

Also the 150 comes with a IR blaster so that you can control a satalite reciever or digital cable box.
^Important bit of information

Unless you're working with regular old cable tv the only method of scheduling recordings through an exterior receiver is through IR. Hauppauge includes simple scheduling control software that should be able to do what you want. I haven't really used it myself because I'm setting up Media Portal to do that on a stand-alone machine.

[mribnik]

Interesting. So for just basica tv watching and recording the 150 will do me fine? I'm guessing the only difference is perhaps cpu utilization during recording and some software (just a guess). Does it still come with all the software I'd need to watch and record tv, just not extra software that the 250 comes with? If that's so, it seems like the 150 might be plenty for me. Thanks in advance!

[Ad Rock]

Interesting. So for just basica tv watching and recording the 150 will do me fine? I'm guessing the only difference is perhaps cpu utilization during recording and some software (just a guess). Does it still come with all the software I'd need to watch and record tv, just not extra software that the 250 comes with? If that's so, it seems like the 150 might be plenty for me. Thanks in advance!

The 150 comes with PVR software so you can do the basic things with it (ie. record and play). Honestly I think this is all you need, and again the IR blaster is a really nice item to have.

[theMonster]

I can't vouch for Hauppage stuff but have owned 2 different AverMedia cards and they suck.

[Nimblor]

I have a Hauppauge PVR-250. I really enjoy it. I am running dual monitors so oftentimes I watch tv on one while working on the other one. You need to know that the quality will not be the same as your regular tv. It has something to do with the differences in resolution between the monitor and the TV signal or something. I am not saying that it is exceptionally more poor, just different. I have not used it to record anything or output anything to a vcr or dvd yet.

I read that some of the newer Hauppauge cards have much higher cpu and memory requirements than the old ones. I don't know why that is.

[shrinkydinx]

I have a Hauppauge PVR-250. I really enjoy it. I am running dual monitors so oftentimes I watch tv on one while working on the other one. You need to know that the quality will not be the same as your regular tv. It has something to do with the differences in resolution between the monitor and the TV signal or something. I am not saying that it is exceptionally more poor, just different. I have not used it to record anything or output anything to a vcr or dvd yet.

I read that some of the newer Hauppauge cards have much higher cpu and memory requirements than the old ones. I don't know why that is.

i think the difference in quality is perceived - if you display a heavily compressed mpg on a tv it looks better than on a computer ... the superior resolution of the monitor, and the seperation of individual pixels, allows you to see the defects in the picture.

although it may also be that the hauppage card isnt very good, but from what ive heard thats not the case :)

[ghettocomp]

I use the hauppage PVR-250mce playback on computer monitors is somewhat less than regular tv, but the recorded quality is great, I believe the 250 has better hardware encodeing of the mpg files, which will nearly eliminate the heavy use of CPU time.
I use Snapstreams Beyond TV software to control the TV watching and recording. I find that the best part of this program is that I can log onto a special account with them on the internet, check my program listings and set any wanted recordings from any computer on the internet.:thup:

[dicecca112]

The 150 comes with PVR software so you can do the basic things with it (ie. record and play). Honestly I think this is all you need, and again the IR blaster is a really nice item to have.


The Hauppauge software was too buggy for my taste, I second the BeyondTV Idea, i used the trial of it and loved it, but shortly after I sold my 250 due to lack of use, now i am wishing I didn't.

[ghettocomp]

The Hauppauge software was too buggy for my taste, I second the BeyondTV Idea, i used the trial of it and loved it, but shortly after I sold my 250 due to lack of use, now i am wishing I didn't.

I'm surprised you found it (hauppage software) buggy as I have never had any problems with it. :shrug:
BeyondTV is great, I own mine and love the incredible functionality. especially when I am able to log on while at work to record a program I wanted to watch at home later.

[Audioaficionado]

I just got the PVR150 with the IR blaster to change your cable or satallite box to whatever channel you want to record from. $100 at Newegg or Circuit City. It installs and works plug and play easy. The $30 Kworld card I'm RMAing sucked and even locked up my system several times until I yanked it. It takes something pretty crappy to screw up my rock solid stable Xeon duallie.