[mythtv-users] dual tuner cards - ok to use same model?

[Jarod C. Wilson]

On Feb 1, 2004, at 6:28 PM, Joe Votour wrote:

> I don't see why there would be problems using two of
> the same model at all.

Nope, not a problem. Plenty of folks run dual 250s, or one 250 and one 
350.

> Most people (Jarod included,
> I'm sure) just picked up cards that were available to
> them at the time.

Yep, grabbed two of the $50 M179s off eBay.

> Myself, I ran two bttv cards (a
> WinTV dbx and a crappy Pinnacle card I bought used),
> until I replaced the Pinnacle card with a PVR-250.  I
> was planning on getting a second hardware card, but I
> still not sure about whether or not the PVR-350 is
> worth it, and I'm waiting for my tax refund to ccome
> in.  :)

I'm inclined to think the 350 isn't worth it *yet*. At least, not if 
you do much else besides watch TV with Myth. As support continues to 
evolve though, it'll be well worth it. If you're planning to get a new 
card anyhow, and are considering the 250, the extra $30-40 for the 350 
is probably worth the investment, because it looks like divx and dvd 
playback issues will get straightened out before too long...

> If you want the best picture quality, you'll probably
> get that with a PVR-250.

Copy that.

> The image quality on my
> WinTV dbx, when I crank up the resolution to 640x480
> and the image quality to 215 (using RTJpeg) comes
> close, but it's still noticable.  Not to mention, the
> PVR-250 uses less than 5% of the CPU, and the WinTV
> dbx uses 30%+ (with my capture settings).

Yeah, I could certainly tell the difference when using my AVerTV Studio 
(bttv-based) card. A relative pile of junk...

> It depends on how fast of a CPU you have, however,
> since you want dual-tuners, I highly recommend that
> you get at least one PVR-250, so that you can set the
> capture settings on the other card pretty high, and
> have enough CPU power left to record and playback.

Sounds like a plan. Personally, I couldn't stand the huge variation in 
quality between the AVerTV Studio and the PVR-250, which is part of why 
I got the M179s in the first place. Their picture quality is 
indistinguishable from the PVR-250.


> --- Mike Jasper <e394td at comcast.net> wrote:
>> I'd like to build a MythTV box with dual tuner
>> cards.  I've read through
>> the archives about the difficulties with PVR-350
>> TV-out, so I'll
>> probably stick with dual PVR-250s and use onboard
>> video or an AGP card
>> for TV-out.  Will there be any problem with using
>> two of the same model
>> card in the system?  I see that Jarod used two
>> different brands in his
>> Fedora box.
>>
>> If there is a cheaper and better solution than using
>> dual PVR-250s, I'm
>> all ears.

-- 
Jarod C. Wilson, RHCE

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