Still lost as to DVB-S card recommendations

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Still lost as to DVB-S card recommendations

PromNZ

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#14912 26-Jul-2007 12:12

doh ! Despite the numerous threads that about on the interweb, I'm still stuck at ideas for a DVB-S card for my media centre to replace the current Haup 500 one I've got.

Sky digital is going out, as is my trusty vhs machine.

So the new card needs to be a dual tuner to be able to record and watch 2 x Freeview channels at once. All for Vista, all bulletproof (due to my hard work, my current setup now has a high WAF) and something that just . . . works. Oh and I'll add to the wish list, a working EPG (I'm currently using the Haventech pgm for my EPG which works wonders).

Dooes anyone think I have my sights set a bit too high ?
* dual tuner
* plug 'n play/pray
* working EPG for Vista MCE.

I'll cross the DVB-T with HD bridge next year when it kicks off.

There is the Haup WinTV Nova S Plus card, but would it work ? Does anyone have one that they would recommend please ?

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mailmarshall

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#79763 26-Jul-2007 12:24

Teh Hauppage HVR-3000 seems to look OK....
http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/pages/products/data_hvr3000.html

Regs

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Snowflake

#79767 26-Jul-2007 12:58

I have two Hauppauge Nova-S-Plus cards working in my MCE machine in both XP-MCE and Vista-MCE. Seems to be pretty stable for me even though you have to use "hacks" to get them to work (hacks from hauppauge that remap the dvbs freqs to dvbt freqs so MCE sees them as dvbt cards)

There are a couple of twin tuner cards around but I have no experience of whether or not they work.

I also have the guide working in both XP and Vista MCE's with xmltvnz and bladerunner pro 3.0.

The next version of MCE is highly likely to support DVBS, but there is no estimated delivery date for that.... so you're stuck with the 'hack' for now.

If MCE is too hard for you then there are always alternatives - GBPVR, MediPortal or several others in both Windows and Linux flavours.

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PromNZ

154 posts

Master Geek

#79942 27-Jul-2007 09:50

Thanks.

I'm using the Haventech provided EPG pgm rather than XMLTVNZ - works quite well except ofr no guide for Southland TV. But I think my life will be able to carry on without that nugget of information.

I've really got to decide which is better - throwing in a twin card DVB-S, or moving the MCE concept to a standalone Freeview recorder as mentioned in this thread - twin tuner with hdd recorder. To maintain the high WAF, it needs to be robust and clear to use !

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lchiu7

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#79965 27-Jul-2007 11:21

Regs: I have two Hauppauge Nova-S-Plus cards working in my MCE machine in both XP-MCE and Vista-MCE. Seems to be pretty stable for me even though you have to use "hacks" to get them to work (hacks from hauppauge that remap the dvbs freqs to dvbt freqs so MCE sees them as dvbt cards)

There are a couple of twin tuner cards around but I have no experience of whether or not they work.

I also have the guide working in both XP and Vista MCE's with xmltvnz and bladerunner pro 3.0.

The next version of MCE is highly likely to support DVBS, but there is no estimated delivery date for that.... so you're stuck with the 'hack' for now.

If MCE is too hard for you then there are always alternatives - GBPVR, MediPortal or several others in both Windows and Linux flavours.

I use gbpvr and a Hauppauge PVR250 for TCL cable. I also have a Freeview box. I am thinking of getting a DVB-S card so I can record Freeview and TCL cable at the same time while watching FTA over TCL analogue. Though I must admit the changes of needing to to record two channels and watch a third are somewhat remote

Larry

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allstarnz

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#79991 27-Jul-2007 14:41

i have a Hauppague HVR3000 and quite like it. Can't really fault it. The PC it's in seems to be the main bottleneck in my case.

xcubed

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#79993 27-Jul-2007 14:50

The HVR-3000 is a good buy as it provides analogue terestrial reception as well as both DVB-T and DVB-S.
That way you're not locked into one format.

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rhysb

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#79999 27-Jul-2007 15:24

You could also look at the Hauppauge HVR-4000, which is basically the same as the HVR-3000 but has full HD support including DVB-S2, DVB-T & h.264. I've got two of these babies in my VMC and they work great.

sbiddle

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#80012 27-Jul-2007 16:35

rhysb: You could also look at the Hauppauge HVR-4000, which is basically the same as the HVR-3000 but has full HD support including DVB-S2, DVB-T & h.264. I've got two of these babies in my VMC and they work great.

Are these available ex stock in NZ now?

rhysb

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#80022 27-Jul-2007 16:53

I've had mine for about two months now, so they are available but it looks like they are not in stock with the distributor. They should be getting some more in around the 10th of August.

lchiu7

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#80057 27-Jul-2007 20:28

rhysb: You could also look at the Hauppauge HVR-4000, which is basically the same as the HVR-3000 but has full HD support including DVB-S2, DVB-T & h.264. I've got two of these babies in my VMC and they work great.

My understanding that HD here will be DVB-T first so this card wouldn't be that much use. Even if Sky goes DVD-T HD the signal will be encrypted. Is that correct?

Larry

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PromNZ

154 posts

Master Geek

#80099 28-Jul-2007 11:25

lchiu7:
rhysb: You could also look at the Hauppauge HVR-4000, which is basically the same as the HVR-3000 but has full HD support including DVB-S2, DVB-T & h.264. I've got two of these babies in my VMC and they work great.

My understanding that HD here will be DVB-T first so this card wouldn't be that much use. Even if Sky goes DVD-T HD the signal will be encrypted. Is that correct?

Larry

Yes to both. HD will be broadcast in Freeview via terrestrial, even though terrestrial haven't even started SD yet.

Sky will be broadcasting in HD some stuff, so yes it will be encrypted.

The only constant for broadcasters for the next few years - is change.

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PromNZ

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#80108 28-Jul-2007 12:53

Regs: I have two Hauppauge Nova-S-Plus cards working in my MCE machine in both XP-MCE and Vista-MCE. Seems to be pretty stable for me even though you have to use "hacks" to get them to work (hacks from hauppauge that remap the dvbs freqs to dvbt freqs so MCE sees them as dvbt cards)

There are a couple of twin tuner cards around but I have no experience of whether or not they work.

I also have the guide working in both XP and Vista MCE's with xmltvnz and bladerunner pro 3.0.

I forgot to ask, how good is your EPG guide for Freeview please ? Does it include the extra FV channels ? Does your nova card use the FV epg at all ? Ta muchly.

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Club and postal competitions held regularly
No firearms license required

sbiddle

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#80109 28-Jul-2007 13:01

PromNZ:
Regs: I have two Hauppauge Nova-S-Plus cards working in my MCE machine in both XP-MCE and Vista-MCE. Seems to be pretty stable for me even though you have to use "hacks" to get them to work (hacks from hauppauge that remap the dvbs freqs to dvbt freqs so MCE sees them as dvbt cards)

There are a couple of twin tuner cards around but I have no experience of whether or not they work.

I also have the guide working in both XP and Vista MCE's with xmltvnz and bladerunner pro 3.0.

I forgot to ask, how good is your EPG guide for Freeview please ? Does it include the extra FV channels ? Does your nova card use the FV epg at all ? Ta muchly.

XMLTVNZ simply scrapes the EPG data from various websites - you can choose from Sky, Saturn, Xtra or TVNZ. It works well 95% of the time however the odd issue does tend to pop up occasionally.

As for the official Freeview EPG this requires MHEG5 support which is currently available in MythTV and I did hear some rumors of MediaPortal also supporting it. You can't access this using Vista MCE.