[mythtv-users] Best PCI HD capture card?

[Robert McNamara]

On Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 12:21 PM, Arthur H. Hamm
Jr.<badnewseveryone at izzy.net> wrote:
>> What do you mean by "raw output" on the HD-5500?
>
> I currently have a pair of WinTV-PVR-250's so I am used to having my
> recordings in MPEG compression. I understand the HD-5500 does not let myth
> control the pixel size or the bit rate of the recording. I have been told to
> expect HD recordings in the 15 GB per hour range. This uses much more hard
> drive space, more hard drive bandwidth and more CPU to play and record.

Someone was making things up while talking to you. :)  The only analog
input of the HD-5500 is the plain-ol'-framegrabber, one step down from
something like your PVR-250.  Myth can indeed control both the capture
resolution and the bitrate.  It's just a yucky, yucky framegrabber
(and only capable of SD at that).

>
>> HDHR isn't PCI, but since you brought it up, is there some other
>> reason you are rejecting it?  The conclusion I draw from everything I
>> read is that it is the favorite solution - it just works.  And of
>> course, has the advantage of not chewing up a PCI slot, so you aren't
>> tied to a motherboard in the future that has one.
>
> Currently my DVR is connecting wirelessly and has been built to be silent. I
> can add a switch and network the devices together. I can make room in my
> entertainment center for another device with cooling and noise reduction.
> And if it truly is the best choice I will do just that. If the picture
> quality is better or on par with the other choices and it has other benefits
> I would like to hear about them.
>

Digital capture devices will deliver identical picture quality
(assuming adequate signal quality and low/no error), they're all
capturing the same stream.

Robert