[mythtv-users] WinFast TV2000 XP Expert with MythTV

[Phill Wiggin]

John Welch wrote:

>>I still use this card but its not in a myth box (used at work in my windows
>>machine for the cable FM).  I switched to a 250 and a 150mce a long time
>>ago.  I found that with my older amd 2500 processor that the cpu usage was
>>just to high even for a backup in case of conflicts.  The only thing I would
>>suggest doing is putting it in a stand alone front end.  In the end i would
>>suggest just getting a cheap Hauppauge card like the 150.  Its just not
>>worth that cpu overhead to use a non mpeg card if possible.
>>
>>    
>>
>Thanks for sharing your experiences with the card.  I have an AMD 2400
>in my BE system, so it doesn't sound like it would be worth it.  Just
>thought it would be a cheap (free) way to get a backup tuner and a
>remote.  I'll look at other options.
>  
>
(The following observations are dim with age)

I used one of these for 6-8 months as a primary, and afterwards a 
backup, tuner in my standalone BE.  I had no problems running it with a 
2500+ w/ 512M of RAM.  But, the video you end up with is, MPEG4, IIRC. 
It didn't make for putting shows on DVD, and I was annoyed by the 
compression artifacts.  I bought a PVR-250 and relegated the WinFast 
TV2k to second-tuner duty and it worked out well, but the 250 had better 
recorded quality (albeit larger file-size).  Then, I replaced it with a 
second PVR-250 and ended up (permanently) loaning it to a friend so he 
could get a mythbox started for 'free'.

In short, if you only need a backup tuner, and aren't worried about 
archiving the shows it records, it's a fine free method.  But, if you 
want to archive and/or have good quality, go with a hardware encoder card.

Just my $.03

--Phill W.