[mythtv-users] Advice on adding a second capture card

Michael T. Dean mtdean at thirdcontact.com
Tue Jan 24 01:34:11 UTC 2006


On 01/23/2006 07:53 PM, John Biundo wrote:
> I've been wanting to add a second capture card almost since the moment 
> of deploying my Mythtv box a couple of weeks ago.  I held off because I 
> wanted to stabilize things, but I'm now anxious to go ahead and shop for 
> the second card.
>
> I'm still having a few problems, but feeling confident in my ability to 
> work through them.  Since I've been putting this off, I'm going to beg 
> your indulgence and ask the list for some recommendations on a second 
> capture card.
>
> Currently I have a PVR-150 that mostly works fine (my main complaint is 
> some motion-blurring in fast-action sports) and an nVidia FX5200 TV-Out 
> card, for a SD/analog cable setup.  Running Ubuntu with an AMD64 3200+ 
> CPU and 512MB RAM.
>
> I guess I've narrowed my choices to a second PVR-150 or a PVR-350.  My 
> basic questions are:
> 1. Will I likely be happier with a PVR-350 for watching livetv sports 
> (and I'd move the 150 into a backup/recording role)?
>
> 2. If I get a 350, should I use its TV out, or continue using the FX5200 
>   (i.e., is the 350 likely to give better output for fast-action sports)?
>
> 3. If I get a 350, do I have to handle sound differently than I do with 
> the 150 (i.e., do I have to capture audio via line-in on my sound card)? 
>     Is all of this handled automagically by mythytv if I'm recording 
> different shows on each card?
IMHO, there's no reason to go to a PVR-350--and I have a PVR-350 (that I 
use as a PVR-250 because I wasn't pleased with its TV out capability).

Note that with a PVR-350, the encoder and decoder are completely 
independent of one another.  Therefore, whether you do LiveTV with a 
PVR-350 encoding and a PVR-350 decoding or a PVR-150 encoding and a 
PVR-350 decoding makes /absolutely/ no difference.  Neither is 
inherently more efficient than the other approach (remember, that even 
LiveTV is recorded to disk).

So, it all boils down to, "Is the PVR-350's TV out worth replacing my 
FX5200?"  I'll admit that the PVR-350 is generally easier to configure 
for good quality TV out, but if you properly configure the NVIDIA TV 
out, your quality should be just as good (basically, the weak link in 
the chain is the NTSC display, and if you have a better-than-NTSC TV, 
you shouldn't be using TV out, anyway).

So, why wasn't I happy with the PVR-350's TV out?
    - No OpenGL acceleration (for Goom, Games, etc.)
    - Only outputs NTSC video (480i), so it won't allow you to see the 
benefits of a new better display (an HDTV) when you get one
    - No way to control overscan (and you get a *lot* of overscan with a 
PVR-350--the way NTSC was designed to work)

So, I suggest you get a PVR-150 and use the money you save to buy more 
storage (or even a third/fourth PVR-150).  :)

Mike


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