DVB-S/DVB-T hybrid card recommendations

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musicismypill

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#21222 19-Apr-2008 19:53

Hi Everyone,

I'm in the market for a new tuner card that will allow me to do the following:

Watch/Record freeview from satellite (dvb-s)

Watch/Record freeview in high definition (dvb-t)

Ultimately I'm after something that is somewhat future-proof and will allow me to watch and record in really high definition from both of these sources.

My hardware specs are as follows:

Gigabyte p35 DS3L (has several pci & pci-e)

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 (2.33GHZ)

2 GB DDR2-800 Ram

Asus nVidia Geforce 8600GT (512MB)

A remote interface of some kind would be a bonus too.

So far I have been looking at the following cards:

WinTV-HVR-4000

WinTV-HVR-3000

WinTV-Nova-T-500

I am not concerned about watching two channels at the same time or recording while watching another. I would like to convert my recordings to an H.264/X.264 Avi/MKV format for archiving or potentially playing back on a divx compatible dvd player at a later stage so if I can record TV in this format or similar that would also be a bonus.

Any thoughts on the above cards?

1gkar

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Ultimate Geek

#124988 19-Apr-2008 20:39

If you live in an area where you can receive DVB-T then don't even consider DVB-S! It will not recieve high-def. DVB-T is the only option. Be aware that MCE in any variant will NOT work. You will need an alternative like Mediaportal or DVBviewer.

I would recommend an HVR-2200: this card has dual DVB-T/analogue tuners (only two at any one time are available). Pricespy for the best price.

The rest of you're hardware looks fine. None of the cards will natively capture to *.avi/mkv, you will need to transcode this yourself later, similar to DVD>XVid/DivX.

You state you're not interested in watching/recording multiple channels: you're needs will change. To futureproof, get a card that has dual tuners. The HVR-2200 can be had for under $150.

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

musicismypill

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#125000 19-Apr-2008 21:29

Thanks for the reply.

Technically I am in the coverage are for DVB-T according to the map but at the present moment Prime is quite ghosty and sound has issues occasionally (still watchable but certainly not good reception) and Maori TV is watchable but not the best also. Is the freeview DVB-T signal a little more forgiving than analogue?

If I play around with aerial LOS and maybe run a direct feed from aerial (not through diplexer) I can get it better I'm sure.

The DVB-S was more or less in case I can't get a decent DVB-T signal.

Thanks for the advice.

sbiddle

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#125031 20-Apr-2008 10:11

Freeview & Freeview|HD don't carry the same channels so their advantages in having both satellite and terrestrial capability.

I've got both a HVR3000 and Nova T 500 in my machine.

The Nova T 500 doesn't do satellite but does have dual terrestrial tuners allowing you to record a show while watching another channel.

The HVR3000 does both satellite and terrestrial but only has one tuner so you can't use both at the same time.

breny

19 posts

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#125374 21-Apr-2008 17:28

Totally related question I've been thinking about for a while now...
Whats the advantage (if any) of the HVR-4000 over the HVR-3000 for the NZ market?
I understand the 4000 can deal with HD satellite transmissions, but there aren't any available in NZ.
For terrestrial HD, there's no point in buying the 4000 over the 3000 right?

DS248

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#125389 21-Apr-2008 18:37

HVR-4000 includes PowerCinema, HVR-3000 doesn't.

PowerCinema includes the Cyberlink H.264 codec, hence no need to buy PowerDVD for that. Hauppauge are preparing an update of their bundled PowerCinema version for "full compatibility" with NZ FreeView.

LennonNZ

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#125396 21-Apr-2008 18:53

The real only difference is that the HVR4000 has DVB-S2 cabability as well as DVB-S and DVB-T and Analog Tuning. As (yet) there is nothing available wih DVB-S2 as far as I can tell (even with a large Satellite dish) the HVR3000 would be the best for "most" ppl to get if they want DVB-S and DVB-T.

New World

Shop on-line at New World now for your groceries (affiliate link).

allstarnz

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#125397 21-Apr-2008 18:53

DS248: HVR-4000 includes PowerCinema, HVR-3000 doesn't.

PowerCinema includes the Cyberlink H.264 codec, hence no need to buy PowerDVD for that. Hauppauge are preparing an update of their bundled PowerCinema version for "full compatibility" with NZ FreeView.

You heard any news if they'll bother updating WinTV?

DS248

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#125444 21-Apr-2008 21:58

A poster on the Hauppauge UK Forum site claims to have "read elsewhere there is a WinTV 7 beta coming that supports HD", but I have found no other info on it (eg: if it exists, whether it will be compatible with NZ DVB-T HD spec.) See post by 'Stig' near the end of http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=14968. In a following post, 'UK Support' claims to have 'No idea' about a "WinTV 7" beta.

There is a new build of WinTV (v4.3) due for release very soon (http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=14793&page=2). The discussion in the thread seems to be mainly about a new skin for WinTV. I don’t know if the new build includes any HD capability, but there is no mention of it in the discussions I read.

musicismypill

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#125459 21-Apr-2008 23:49

Thanks for the advice.

I think I will go with the HVR3000 and have a go at picking up DVB-T.

Our house is situated in Titirangi with our 91element (i think) UHF antenna pointing towards Waitarua. The antenna points directly at a bunch of Kauri trees also. From the roof we can get probably a better line of sight to the Sky Tower. Both UHF and VHF feeds run in to a Kingray masthead amp and then down to a 3-way splitter maybe 3 metres below. All cabling looks like newish solid core. With the gain on the amp turned right up I can get prime with perfect audio and faint ghost lines in background, similar on Maori TV.

Will it be likely that freeview HD would work with these kind of analogue pictures? What is the best way to test other than running up and down the ladder with each movement?

I will do some more digging on the forum and post my results when I give it a go.

Cheers for the help.