[mythtv-users] What's up with the PVR-150?

[Rudy Zijlstra]

Michael Wisniewski wrote:
> For those wondering why, I copied and pasted an excerpt from newegg...
>
>
> *Pros:* The HVR-1600 is the same as the PVR-150 WITH an ATSC tuner 
> (Over the Air HDTV) Works Great in Windows XP/Vista
>
> *Cons:* A LOT of people buy the PVR-150 to use in LINUX with MythTV. 
> Since this card is actually a HVR-1600, with NO IVTV drivers, this 
> card is basically unusable under Linux unless the IVTV guys decide to 
> incorporate this card into IVTV. No outside labeling on the PVR-150 
> box to indicate that you are not getting an actual PVR-150.
>
> *Other Thoughts:* I bought this card (as I'm sure did others before 
> me) with the intent to use it with Linux/MythTV. Unfortunatly, instead 
> of a PVR-150 card, I recieved a HVR-1600 card, which is like a PVR-150 
> with an ATSC tuner. Nice card, if you're using Windows XP/Vista, but 
> pretty much worthless under Linux as the guys that maintain the driver 
> (IVTV) don't seem interested in supporting this card. Look into the 
> PVR-250/350/500 folks, unless you plan to use this card in Windows.
>
I would like to nuance the above a bit. First of all, its a rather 
different chipset that is used on the HVR-1600 when compared to the 
PVR-150. To say they are the same, is like saying dog = cat. Hans, who 
needs to do the work of supporting this new chip, and who still needs to 
spent a lot of time to get ivtv into the kernel, has mentioned:
- no datasheet available for the chipset
- when available, first the current ivtv work needs to be ready (ivtv in 
the kernel, still several months of work)
- several months then would be needed to reach a minimally working state.

So to state no interest is a very, very short summary.


Let me remind you, that with no datasheet available it took several 
years to get the PVR-x50 working!