[mythtv-users] First Stab at a Shopping List (HVR-1600?)

John Daleske john at daleske.com
Fri Apr 13 20:10:46 UTC 2007


I agree with Geoff that it seems like the HDHomerun makes a lot of 
sense.  However, rather than one of the older Hauppage cards, has anyone 
tried the new Hauppage HVR-1600?  
(http://www.hauppage.com/pages/products/data_hvr1600.html)

It basically has the same analogue tuner as the older cards, but also a 
second, separate ATSC tuner.  In addition, it provides the ATSC stream 
as MPEG-2.

Seems like it would be a good transitional card taking a single slot for 
two tuners, one (analogue) which will eventually die out in the US.

Has anyone tried the HVR-1600 on MythTV?  (I'm using Ubuntu, so would 
like to know if it has been tried there, too.)

I saw earlier in this list people complaining they had been sent the 
1600 in place of a PVR-150.  I can't disagree that they should have 
gotten the same card type back as a return, but with this extra 
functionality, I'm curious why they wouldn't want it.

+ John
>
> Rod Smith wrote:
>>  
>>>> 3) I've got a pair of pcHDTV HD3000s, and my opinion of them is 
>>>> very low.
>>>>    Their QAM reception (needed for recording unencrypted digital 
>>>> cable)
>>>> is very poor for me;
>>>>       
>>> Well -- Since this is a PoC, I think I'm going to stick with the 
>>> HD-5500
>>> for now.  I want to at least scan my cable again, and confirm the
>>> channels I'm getting.
>>>     
>> The problem I see is that you said you want to prove to you wife that 
>> this is the way to go. If you have problems tuning QAM stations, that 
>> won't exactly help your case. If cost is an issue, consider this: You 
>> quoted a price of $129 for the pcHDTV 5500, and that seems about 
>> right, though I've not verified it. The AVerMedia AVerTVHD A180 is 
>> $76 at Amazon and the Hauppauage PVR-150 is $56-$80, depending on 
>> which package version you get (with or without remote, etc.). That 
>> makes the total cost of the two-card combination $132-$156, or as 
>> little as $3 more than a pcHDTV 5500 alone. That gives you more 
>> flexibility, since you'll be able to record two things 
>> simultaneously, and when you record NTSC you won't be chewing up 
>> ~1GHz of your CPU speed. Even aside from my questions about the 
>> pcHDTV's QAM reception ability, IMHO the two-card configuration is 
>> superior, assuming you've got the slots to handle two cards.
>>   
> Sold.
>
> -Dave

Better yet, grab  the Hauppauge card and an HDHomeRun, giving you 3 
tuners, 2 of which are digital, since digital only is coming soon in the 
 USA,,,and slowly, thereafter, to Canada. Only one slot needed, but 
slightly more expensive.


Once you understand how NOT watching live tv changes things, you will 
realize how easy it is to want to record 2 programs at once... (while 
you are watching a recording made a week or two ago..)

Geoff

-- 
"Synchronicity is the coming together of inner and outer events
in a way that cannot be explained by cause and effect and that
is meaningful to the observer." 
-- 'The Power of Flow - Practical Ways to Transform Your Life
    With Meaningful Coincidence' 
           by Charlene Belitz and Meg Lundstrom



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