Anyone using an 550 TV Tuner card?!?!?

[deadken]

Hi, I have 2 kids and I'd like them to be able to watch TV on their PC's rather then having to put a TV in a small bedroom, where there is already a PC.

I have an ATI TV Wonder Pro PCI TV tuner card in my Daughters PC (Win XP Pro, Abit NF7, M-2400@2.3Ghz, 1GB Ram (2,2,2,5), ATI 9700 Pro w/Zalman, Antec Case and PSU). I wasn't happy either time I had to install the software and I am unhappy with how the Audio goes out of sync.

I have an 'extra' Remote Wonder and I have heard good things about the Theatre 550 based cards. I am ready to set up my Sons PC (Win XP Pro SP2, ECS NF3, Sempron 3100+ (@2250), 1GB Patriot Ram (2,2,2,5), ATI 9800Pro w/Arctic Silencer Rev.3, Antec Case and PSU) with a TV tuner and was considering either thisPOWERCOLOR T55-P03 which comes with a remote, or this VisionTek VTK-THXP550P Xtasy which doesn't have a remote (hopefully my Remote Wonder will work with it).

I don't know much about which software bundle will let my son watch TV with the least problems. I am not to concerned with recording shows, and I certainly don't want any monthly payments for software use.

Please let me know if you have any experience with either of these cards or other cards that I should consider.

-Thanks, Ken

 

[jevans64]

I went from a Hauppauge WinTV PVR-350 to a VisionTek 550 Pro. The picture quality is better on the 550 Pro, the software is MUCH easier to install and maintain. I didn't have any A/V lag with either setup but the HyperThreading not working with the PVR-350 software was a BIG bummer for me, so I switched. I am positive you won't have any lag problems with either card since they use hardware to encode MPEG2, which will drop that CPU load from 60 - 70% to 5 to 20%. You'll be able to watch and record without having to worry about dropped frames, etc.

Both the PowerColor and VisionTek cards are an ATi OEM design, so there is not a difference there. I have heard that the software included with the PowerColor card is not as good as the VisionTek card, but this was months ago and might have been fixed.

The VisionTek card comes with a limited version of BeyondTV, which is quite good for program scheduling. You can record any time you want without using a program guide as long as you know what channel to tune to and the airdate. There are free wed-based program guides out there, like TitanTV, which will allow you to set up recordings, but you might have to set up a Windows service. Most of the makers of scheduling software have moved away from monthly or yearly charges for program guide access. BeyondTV, for example, charges $70 for unlimited program guide use. They ( Snapstream ) have also been running the "free FireFly remote" promotion with the purchace of BeyondTV for MONTHS now.

I chose the VisionTek card based on the fact that BeyondTV was included with it. I have a Dish 811 HD receiver and BTV allows me to pass the signal through the A/V input instead of the CoAx input. The basic version of BTV comes with it, so there is a $50 upgrade cost to get the unlimited version.

 

[TheCanuck]

Go to GBPVR for a decent & free front end.

I'm using a PVR150MCE and it's working great so far. Picture quality is much better than what the TVs tuner produced. I've heard good things about the 550 as well though. But my AIW experience soured me on ATI drivers so I went with hauppauge and haven't had any problems since installing it.

 

[Mloot]

I use GBPVR also with my Asus TV tuner. Works great, and you can't complain with "free".

 

[deadken]

Great! Thanks for all of the information!

I will check out GBPVR when I get the chance (thanks for the link!).

I must ask about this statement: "There are free wed-based program guides out there, like TitanTV, which will allow you to set up recordings, but you might have to set up a Windows service." What do you/does he mean by Windows service?

-Thanks, Ken

 

[Mloot]

I don't know about recordings, but I use TitanTV to check the program schedule, and then use GBPVR to schedule a recording.

 

[justlnluck]

I've tried a 550pro card, but had many problems with the audio. I use the Fusion5 card and love it. Very simple to use and fantastic image quality.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I also have the VisionTek and really happy with it. No problems and great picture.

 

[jevans64]

Originally posted by: deadken
Great! Thanks for all of the information!

I will check out GBPVR when I get the chance (thanks for the link!).

I must ask about this statement: "There are free wed-based program guides out there, like TitanTV, which will allow you to set up recordings, but you might have to set up a Windows service." What do you/does he mean by Windows service?

-Thanks, Ken

When I had the Hauppauge card, in order to use TitanTV, I had to turn on the Task Scheduler service ( through the service manager - Start / Control Panel / Performance and Maint. / Administrative Tools / Services ) and set up a service for TitanTV. This allowed me to right-click on a listing on TitanTV and select "record" to schedule it as a task. I actually like TitanTV since the main attraction is the amount of listings shown on a web page. The program blocks are not rounded and flashy like all the PVR software out there, but you have listings for 15 or 20 stations for 3 or 4 hours on a single page. The listings are divided by targeted ads every 10 channels though.

If you are running Linux, then there are lots of open-source PVR apps. out there to choose from.

I've heard good things about GBPVR, but I'm not sure if it supports US listings. Unless something has changed, the PowerColor's software doesn't either.

Originally posted by: Mloot
I don't know about recordings, but I use TitanTV to check the program schedule, and then use GBPVR to schedule a recording.

Yes. This works if you don't want to set up the service.

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: justlnluck
I've tried a 550pro card, but had many problems with the audio. I use the Fusion5 card and love it. Very simple to use and fantastic image quality.

From what I have read HERE. I really don't want a Fusion5 card since HDTV isn't a concern for me. That review compares the PCI-e Theater 550, but I expect similar results with PCI. Could you please tell me (here or in a PM) what problems with the audio you were having with the 550?

'Capt Caveman', are you using WinXP or MCE?

 

[Capt Caveman]

I'm using it w/ WinXP.

 

[TheCanuck]

GBPVR works great for US / Canadian listings. You just need to setup the EPG to use Zap2it under capture sources.

Zap2it is free (you need to login every 3 months to their site though): Zap2it

 

[deadken]

Wow thank you all for all of your help!

So, as a re-cap.... The people using a Theater 550 PCI card with WinXP are NOT having problems with audio going out of sync? And if I don't car about recording TV shows, then any brand of Theater 550 card should be fine.

Is all of that correct? I will be ordering the card (most likely from Newegg) in the next day or two.

-Ken

 

[deadken]

ANYONE?!?!?

 

[Capt Caveman]

I don't have any audio/video sync issues. And if you don't care about tv guide software any Theater 550 PCI card shoud be fine. Just do a google search for reviews on the cards you might be interested in, I know there are one's for the Powercolor, Sapphire and VisionTek.

 

[d3 npb]

I just bought one yesterday (ati elite), had problems with image quality and/or functionality in every front end I used except for sagetv (tried power cinema3, beyondtv, ati mmc), and now it's running sweet. Worth noting is that I am using the coax cable connecter to the built in tuner, and not s-vid or anything to the breakout box. The quality is great, no aud/vid sync issues at all, xp sp2. Hated it until I found an app that worked well with it, now I love it..

 

[Capt Caveman]

Find a nice deal at Monarch - http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...de=M&Product_Code=190674&AFFIL=TH&NR=1

 

[deadken]

Thanks guys.... That is what I needed to hear... Now, if I only knew if 'd3 npb' was having problems 'Watching TV' or 'Recording TV'?!?!?