[mythtv-users] Hauppauge HD-PVR: Photos and link to pre-order

[David George]

On 4/7/2008 2:14 PM, Steven Adeff wrote:
>>  > What would also be cool is a dual encoder version (ala PVR-500)....
>>  >
>>
>>  Buy two. ;)
>>     
>
> haha, touche. but seriously.... extra power, extra shelf space, etc.
> The HD-Homerun could have been a single tuner device too with the "buy
> two" option. even the PVR-500 did not have to exist. But why not lower
> the footprint and include two devices in one box, sharing one power
> supply, one USB cable, etc.
>   

MPEG 4 encoding is extremely CPU intensive.  To date there are no chips 
that can encode two streams of raw HD data.  With the size and price 
point Hauppauge has aimed for it wouldn't be cost effective to have a 
dual device.  Even the highest performance TI DSP can't encode two HD 
streams simultaneously (although it can encode a stream and decode 
another at the same time).  That isn't to say that someday there will 
not be a dual device.  Remember the PVR-500 came out *several* years 
after the single tuner Hauppauge PVR cards.

Also when talking about power, these are not PC's.  They have very low 
power requirements compared to a PC.

-- 
David

P.S.  I have also emailed them asking about Linux drivers and they still 
have no official response.