what DVB-T decoder card to get?

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › what DVB-T decoder card to get?

pistolpower

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Topic # 25873 4-Sep-2008 17:06

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?

sbiddle

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Reply # 162185 4-Sep-2008 17:10

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

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Reply # 162189 4-Sep-2008 17:15

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

Reply # 162191 4-Sep-2008 17:19

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

Reply # 162193 4-Sep-2008 17:21

... 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

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Reply # 162201 4-Sep-2008 17:27

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

Reply # 162209 4-Sep-2008 17:54

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

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Reply # 162214 4-Sep-2008 18:32

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.

pistolpower

139 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 162252 4-Sep-2008 19:53

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

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Reply # 162422 5-Sep-2008 11:22

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.

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