EPIA + Which PVR ?? Was [Re: [mythtv-users] VIA EPIA-M]

[Jeff Simpson]

> Which Hauppauge card you get depends a little on what you want to do
> with the Mythtv system.
> 
> My first mythtv box has a PVR-350 and a PVR-250MCE.  I am using the
> PVR-350 output to the TV which works great for what I am using it for.
> 
> The PVR-250 is essentially a PVR-350 but does not have the TV output or
> the remote control input.  I use it as just another encoder card for
> recording shows.
> 
> The PVR-350 comes with a remote control and provides Svideo and
> composite outputs.  The caveat is that the output is good for things you
> record (the PVR-350 has a hardware decoder for mpeg2) but apparently
> getting a DVD to play using the PVR-350 output is not possible.

correction - it's possible, but not particularly good. It requires a
bit of a hack in mplayer. IMHO the software dvd playing programs
available in linux aren't as good as the hardware ones, so just use a
standalone DVD player whenever possible.

> If you want the mythtv box to be able to play DVDs apparently you are
> better off using a standard video card output to the TV.  This means you
> will need more CPU.  And if you go that route the PVR-350 does not make
> as much sense.

agreed.

> I am not familiar with the PVR-150.  However the PVR-500 is interesting
> as it has two tuners on the one card.  I have found that having at least
> two tuners is required, otherwise there are many conflicts in
> scheduling.  Two tuners eliminate most of the conflicts.  Three tuners
> would be optimum, there should be very few conflicts if any with three
> tuners.

I believe the 250 and the 150 are the same in terms of features, the
only difference I know of is the price point and which tuner / other
chipset are used. The 250 is better supported than the 150 from what
I've heard. The 500 is recognized by the system as two 150s but it has
a single coax input, does all the splitting and tuning internally.
Very snazzy, but might be a pain with digital cable / satellite.

> The TV output from the PVR-350 replicates the input signal so well that
> I doubt that I could tell the difference between a live broadcast from
> the cable company and what is being played back from the mythtv box.

PVR-350 output is pretty beautiful (once set up correctly)

> In the next few months I plan on building a cheaper cooler quieter
> frontend box and may opt for using a video card output so I can get the
> DVD playback working.  I also like the live tv listings better over the
> video card.  With the PVR-350 the tv listings overlay the entire
> picture.  When I was testing it seems that the output to the monitor put
> the current channel in a small box in the upper right corner and
> provided the listings below that.  Much easier to view.  So if you are
> not going to use the PVR-350 output you may be better off getting a
> PVR-250 and some other remote control setup.

I am pretty sure the difference in where the channel number and
listings are is a theme configuration, having nothing to do with how
you get your output. You may have used different software versions or
different themes in the testing. iirc, myth has two modes for channel
listings, one is the EPG where it takes the whole screen for listings,
the other is in browse mode, where you can scroll through the channels
one at a time, taking half the screen or less. If you use the PVR-350
you'll want the video to always be full-screen sized, otherwise it
will use the X driver and play much slower.

> Not sure if there is much documentation describing these trade offs or
> not.  I found out during the build of my first box.
> 
> --
> Scot L. Harris
> webid at cfl.rr.com
> 
> Let us live!!!
> Let us love!!!
> Let us share the deepest secrets of our souls!!!
> 
> You first.
> 
> 
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