[mythtv-users] Which HD card?

[Ivan Kowalenko]

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On Jul 28, 2006, at 15.10, stan wrote:

> I'm running Myth .19 under Fedora FC4 on an 800 MHz P4 box with an  
> Hauppauge
> PVR350.  Everything has been working great.
>
> The TV is SDTV, but I'm looking to add an HD capture card with  
> goals of
>
> 	1.  Having it for the future when I get the new HDTV
> 	2.  Use it now by viewing on my computer LCD monitor
>
> I've narrowed the cards down to the HD5500 and the Avermedia A180.   
> These
> finalists were selected by the volume of information on this list.
>
> I'm hoping someone responds with "Hey, just get this one.  It's a no
> brainer.", but barring that does anyone know....

Well, I've never used or dealt with HD hardware extensively, but I'll  
tell you what I know.

>
> 1.  Do both of these cards have hardware encoding of HD?
> 2.  Do they both output mpeg2 files?
> 3.  Do they also record 5.1 sound if it's sent in the ATSC signal?   
> Will 5.1
> sound be in the recorded file and available if a player can play  
> it.  Does
> anyone send 5.1 in an ATSC signal?

I'm grouping these three together since they deal with a common  
misconception. Nothing is being encoded by your card. This isn't like  
analog feed where the computer wouldn't know what to do with the  
signal (thus, needing to be digitized by a capture card). This is  
*already* a digital stream. The HD spec chose MPEG-2, though the Beeb  
(BBC) has done trial broadcasts using H.264. All HD capture cards  
simply take the incoming stream, and let your computer do whatever  
with it (write it to disk, display it, etc.). The card doesn't alter  
or edit the signal at all, it just passes it along.

> 4.  Can both cards be used as a second NTSC tuner (along with my  
> PVR350)?

Only if they say they can, otherwise, I don't think so. Most of the  
cards that say they can also do NTSC, though, will require switching  
firmware, which isn't *exactly* like flipping a light switch, so it's  
not the most feasible (or economical) choice for NTSC capture.

> 5.  Will there be driver conflicts between either card and my current
> PVR350?

It's entirely possible, but I don't know from experience. Check out  
the Wiki.

> 6.  It looks like the HD5500 has s-video input, but no stereo  
> input. Is this
> the case?

Again, don't know.

> 7.  Are there any quality differences in the captured media  
> (resolution, bit
> rate, etc.)?

Only as it varies when broadcast (see answer to 1, 2, and 3).

> 8.  Are there any differences in signal strength they can receive  
> (i.e. will
> one card receive more stations than the other with the same antenna)?

The difference will mainly be in the tolerance they have for  
interference, so, yes, this is a valid worry, but I can't tell you  
which is better, or even if there is a significant difference.

> 9.  Does either card implement the "broadcast flag"?

Thankfully, the Broadcast Flag doesn't yet exist (in practice), so no.

> 10.  Are there any differences in difficulty of installation?  Will  
> I need
> to recompile the kernel, update an assembler language driver to  
> match the
> kernel, and cut three traces on my motherboard :-?

Well, possibly just a kernel recompile, depending on what modules you  
already have compiled in.

> I've been everywhere from wiki to the HD5500 forums to this list.   
> I've
> found bits and pieces of information but no definitive answers to the
> questions.  Any information anyone has would be VERY helpful.

Well, I guess you came to the right place then! Just give it time,  
hopefully someone with more HD knowledge than me will peep up.
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