Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


pistolpower

139 posts

Master Geek


#25873 4-Sep-2008 17:06
Send private message

Hello. I would like to get myself a DVB-T decoder card for my pc, but i have come to a bit of a stand still. I have done m research but i am still a bit uncertain on what to get. I would not like to spend more than $200. I was thinking of something like WinTV-HVR4000 because it has 4 decoders but i still dont understand if the decoders will all decode DVB-T or if they wont because i want to be able to record up to 4 channels at once in 1080i. Having a hybrid card would be nice but if it cant record 4 channels at once its pointless.
If the
WinTV-HVR4000 can't record 4 DVB-T channels at once in 1080i then i was thinking of maybe 2 Hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-T-500 Dual DVB-T turners? But im unshure whether vista and the drivers for the card would suport this and i dont know if its software program or a 3rd partys would work with this??


But im confused??????

I need these following things in the card or cards im geting:
DVB-T
Support up to 1080i+
Works well
Got good drivers for vista
Can record or watch atleast 4 channels at once in up to 1080i


Could someone please give me advice?

Create new topic
sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #162185 4-Sep-2008 17:10
Send private message

First Question:

What spec is the PC you are going to use and what spare slots does it have (PCI and PCIe)

You also need to make a decision as to what software you want to use for viewing and recording TV. Your options are GB-PVR, Media Portal, DVbViewer or Power Cinema. The answer to this will also affect the recommended card combination(s) you may need.

To answer one of your questions however the HVR4000 can only record 1 DVB-T channel at once. BUT if you are using Media Portal it can record up to 4. You need to give us more information if you want answers. I would also suggest spending probably 30 mins reading many of the threads about Freeview on here, you could potentially be spending days, if not weeks, tinkering with things to get them the way you want them. Setting up a PVR is not a simple task.







eXDee
4032 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #162189 4-Sep-2008 17:15
Send private message

Hey there,
The HVR4000 is a quad mode hybrid card. This means it has one tuner, which can alternate between the 4 functions, Analogue, DVB-T, DVB-S and DVB-S2.
4 1080i channels? We only have 1 1080i channel here in NZ, TV3. TV1 and TV2 are both 720p.
But yes 2 Nova T 500 cards will allow you to record 4 DVB-T channels. Alternatively you could use the HVR-2200 instead which is PCI-E, has no remote, but supports analogue.

If you choose mediaportal, as mentioned a single tuner can record as many channels as wanted, as long as they are on the same Mux (transmitter). The Muxes for Freeview HD are TVNZ, Mediaworks and Kordia, meaning any more than 3 DVB-T tuners in Mediaportal is pretty much a waste.

All cards you mention have drivers to work under vista, however no DVB-T channels in NZ will work in Vista Mediacentre, you need a 3rd party program to watch Freeview HD.

pistolpower

139 posts

Master Geek


  #162191 4-Sep-2008 17:19
Send private message

The computer will be able to run the cards and has a 9800gtx+ inside which supports pure video.
I have 2 spare PCIe slots and 1 of them is like a 1x i think and the other spare one is maybe a 2-4x? judging from its size lol :D.
Allso is media portal any good i mean i want it to do its job right :D What would you recommend? I mean if the hupang 4000 hybrid card would record 4 channels at once that are in 1080i and not have any hurrendous performance issues with media portal and if media portal is good then i would be happy :D



pistolpower

139 posts

Master Geek


  #162193 4-Sep-2008 17:21
Send private message

... dude on the hupange website the 3000 model does "3 freeview channels" so im geussing 4000 means 4? and i know we only have 1 1080i channel now but in the future we may have more......... and dude... media portal, vista and the drivers + the 2 dvb-t cards support having 2 of them in the one box? :D if so i am set

sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #162201 4-Sep-2008 17:27
Send private message

pistolpower: ... dude on the hupange website the 3000 model does "3 freeview channels" so im geussing 4000 means 4? and i know we only have 1 1080i channel now but in the future we may have more......... and dude... media portal, vista and the drivers + the 2 dvb-t cards support having 2 of them in the one box? :D if so i am set


No the 4000 does not support 4 Freeview channels. The 3000 doesn't support 3 Freeview channels either.

Both cards are hybrid cards that support analogue, DVB-T and DVB-S but only 1 channel at a time.

I'm also unsure how you think you will be recording 4 1080i channels when only 1 1080i channel is broadcast (TV3). TV1 and TV2 are broadcast in 720p and the remainder of the channels are broadcast in 576i.

To record 4 channels at once you'll also need some serious HDD space - 4 simultaneous channels will consume approx 20GB per hour of recording.

Your best bet are 2 x HVR2200 cards or 2 x Nova T 500. The HVR2200 is a better card but requires 1 PCI 1x slot.



pistolpower

139 posts

Master Geek


  #162209 4-Sep-2008 17:54
Send private message

HDD space isnt a problem il just buy a few more 1TBs when i need them. Thank you for your help but one last question. In what way is the HVR2200 cards better?

eXDee
4032 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #162214 4-Sep-2008 18:32
Send private message

Apparently channel changing is a tiny bit faster, they have a built in analogue tuner (with svideo input), runs on PCI-E 1x (may or may not be an advantage)
The HVR-2200 is a dual tuner hybrid actually, it has two tuners which can switch between DVB-T and Analogue modes. Don't get confused between single tuner hybrids like the HVR-4000 though.

 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
pistolpower

139 posts

Master Geek


  #162252 4-Sep-2008 19:53
Send private message

oh thank you exede. I read that the 3000 model could record 3 channels so i thought that it had 3 decoders that could swap between radio, tv, dvb-t but it sounded dodgey lol and i was confused but you helped me :D

lchiu7
6470 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #162422 5-Sep-2008 11:22
Send private message

For PCI I would start with one Nova 500 HD which can do two channels at once usinggbpvr (other software also). THen you can make the call if indeed there would be any time in which you had the need to record 4 Ffreeview channels at once. I myself (and this is a personal experience only) have only needed to do channels at once and this when the Olympics were on and I wanted to record both bit of the games and a V3 programme.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.