Which DVB-T card for 780G / Vista 64 bit / MCE?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Which DVB-T card for 780G / Vista 64 bit / MCE?

Psilan

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#21204 18-Apr-2008 19:58

I have been running a low-spec PC with a PVR-150 tuner and Mediaportal for a long time.

Yesterday I bought a new system;

AMD 4200+ X2
Gigabyte 780G chipset motherboard
Inside a Silverstone LC16M-R (same as old htpc)

Currently copying a Raid from my old PC over 10/100 network :( Still 4 hours left.

I am after recommendations for a DVB-T card. Ideally it would be under $200, hopefully sub $150. Any interface.
If possible I would like it to work in conjunction with my current DVB-S card - is this at all possible under MCE/Mediaportal (doubtful I think).
I have decided to go with Vista Ultimate MCE 64 to run my PVR instead of Mediaportal this time.

Hopefully once this is up and running I can post in the show and tell...i'll have to photoshop out my crappy CRT though :(

Appreciate any help :)

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sbiddle

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#124846 18-Apr-2008 20:44

Your very first issue is that Vista Media Center doesn't support our DVB-T broadcasts in New Zealand so your only options at present are Media Portal, GB-PVR or DVBViewer. You will also need to install the appropiate codecs for these programs, the is a *huge* amount of pretty essential reading in this forum if you want DVB-T working properly!

As for suggestions for cards I'd stick with a Hauppauge. Both the Nova T 500 and HVR2200 are both dual tuner, the Nova T 500 is cheaper but the HVR2200 is PCIe rather than PCI.

It'll be interesting to see how the 780G copes with H.264 broadcasts, ATI 2400, 2600 and 3850 cards have all encountered issues with hardware acceleration with interlaced video. This appears to be an issue with the Catalyst drivers.

Psilan

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#124852 18-Apr-2008 21:31

Great post sbiddle. Appreciate that.
I was really looking forward to MCE, I just didn't think it would have issues.

Looks like I will be stuck with Mediaportal again. I just got sick of the slow channel changing and some other annoying niggles. But my new hardware could solve those issues.

I guess i'll bury my face in the DVB-T megathread then!

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1gkar

722 posts

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#124955 19-Apr-2008 17:39

Psilan: I have been running a low-spec PC with a PVR-150 tuner and Mediaportal for a long time.

Yesterday I bought a new system;

AMD 4200+ X2
Gigabyte 780G chipset motherboard
Inside a Silverstone LC16M-R (same as old htpc)

Currently copying a Raid from my old PC over 10/100 network :( Still 4 hours left.

I am after recommendations for a DVB-T card. Ideally it would be under $200, hopefully sub $150. Any interface.
If possible I would like it to work in conjunction with my current DVB-S card - is this at all possible under MCE/Mediaportal (doubtful I think).

How about a Hauppauge HVR-2200. A Twin DVB-T/analogue tuner on a single low profile bracket. Do a Pricespy on the card. http://www.xpmediacentre.com.au/techreviews/?p=195 The DVB-T card will be recognised inside Mediaportal but not MCE.

I have decided to go with Vista Ultimate MCE 64 to run my PVR instead of Mediaportal this time.
Why a 64bit OS? Just curious: not a critique.

Hopefully once this is up and running I can post in the show and tell...i'll have to photoshop out my crappy CRT though :(
You aren't alone

Appreciate any help :)

Silverstone LC14 HTPC Case/Intel E4600 CPU/GA-EP35-DS3 MOBO/Asus EN9500GT graphics/2GB RAM/total 2TB HDD space/HVR-2200 & 2X 150MCE tuner cards/LG GGC-H20L BD Drive/MCE2005/Mediaportal/TVServer 1.1.0Final/LG 55"3D LED-TV/Denon AVR-1803 receiver/X1 projector

Psilan

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#124972 19-Apr-2008 19:27

Well I am just used to using 64bit Vista with no troubles, but after too many issues even getting the tv card installed i've gone back to my old 32bit Vista. (installing it while I write this)
HVR-2200 looks very cheap for a PCIe based card. Wouldn't mind that at all.

Here's a bit of a laugh at the big mess i've made this weekend.

http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=messfb7.jpg (1MB)

I really need to finish this setup tonight or my girlfriend will kill me.

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richms

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#125069 20-Apr-2008 13:52

Where did you get the board? Cant find stock anywhere :(

Richard rich.ms

Psilan

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#125111 20-Apr-2008 17:23

Dragonpc Avonside branch had 2 when I went to get one.

I can't believe how well it does 1080p.
Compared to my Q6600 and hd2900 (not a good decoder card) it is soooo smooth!

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