[mythtv-users] M179 vs. PVR-250. was: ivtv firmware 2.02 or 1.9 ?

[Chris Thompson]

Jarod C. Wilson (jcw at wilsonet.com) wrote:
> No distinguishable difference between the two for me. I have a retail 
> rev2 PVR-250 and an M179 in the same box, no problem. For a secondary 
> card (or even a primary, if you have another remote control interface), 
> the M179 is a solid deal. Save the money.

This does not seem to be a constant. I actually purchased two M179s to go
in my master backend alongside my PVR250 based on your success. My results
have not been as successful.

My M179s, if fed by my RCA DirecTV boxes over SVideo, return a black and
white (But very clear) image. I get color on composite in, but very
scratchy sound on both. One of the two has very dirty video with vertical
lines of static throughout.

I've been posting to the ivtv list for help, and the consensus over there
on the interference issue is that the M179 cards did not have as much
attention paid to shielding, and that M179s should be wrapped in shielding
somehow. One guy has his M179 in the very last slot and wrapped in
shielding to good results.

Another recommended that any IDE cables be kept well clear of M179 cards.

Nobody has even sniffed at my black and white video problem as of yet.

With considerable tweaking I got adequate video out of the one M179 over
composite.

It's possible that Jarod got a better card than mine, or perhaps that my
Board and/or power supply are noisier. I'm not sure, but at this point, I'm
regretting the purchase.

_______________
Chris Thompson