[mythtv-users] Cheapest card for capturing with MythTV?

[Anderson, Rob (Global Trade)]

True. This card does not have mpeg compression capability. The compression is done through software that requires cpu. I have this card in a Dell 400sc 2.4Ghz with 640M RAM and it works pretty well. I had initially put this card in a dual P3 350Mhz and it was choking the cpu. I had initially just wanted to see if this MythTV thing was going to work before I took the plunge and bought a kick-ass system. Depending on what your CPU power is, you will either want something like PVR-250 or not. If I had to do it again, I'd probably get a PVR-250. Oh wait, I still can :)

-Rob Anderson

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
> [mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org]On Behalf Of Andrew Dodd
> Sent: Friday, March 05, 2004 10:11 AM
> To: Discussion about mythtv
> Subject: RE: [mythtv-users] Cheapest card for capturing with MythTV?
> 
> 
> Quoting "Anderson, Rob (Global Trade)" <Rob.Anderson at nike.com>:
> 
> > I have one of these.
> > 
> > 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2791201936&
category=3761
> 
> Cheers,
Note that a lot of the claims made in that eBay ad are misleading.

All of the MPEG encoding capabilities of the "card" are not capabilities of the
card - The card captures raw video which must be encoded by the CPU.

The general consensus is:  If you get a dumb capture card, you can do well for
$20-30, but you'll need a beefy CPU and your system will not be very expandable.
 (Only a VERY highend processor can even think about recording two simultaneous
streams at high resolution.)

If you spend $80 (Avermedia M179) to $130 (PVR-250), you will not have to worry
about CPU speed during encoding at all, and your system will be easily
expandable to 2,3, or even more capture sources.  (The most I've heard of is 4
tuners in one box, and the limit there was PCI slots and lack of a need for more
than 4 tuners, not CPU.)

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