[mythtv-users] Best PCI HD capture card?

[Bob Cunningham]

On 07/24/2009 12:47 PM, Arthur H. Hamm Jr. wrote:
>
>> Is there a reason you need a PCI card? I have the HDHomeRun and I love
>> it. Tech support is very good (they have an IRC channel). It grabs QAM
>> and ATSC at the same time if you want (it has 2 tuners on it). It uses
>> ethernet to get the stream into your computer (very easy) and totally
>> supported in Myth.
>
> PCI is my first choice because I can just pull one of my PVR-250's. I am
> not totally against the HDHR. I am mostly concerned with the picture
> quality.
>
> My reply to Marc spells out my other concerns.
>

I got two HD-5500 cards earlier this year, and while they worked OK with xine and tvtime, I had nothing but trouble with them with MythTV.  After nearly two months of back and forth with the manufacturer, nothing was resolved, and I wound up returning both cards.  Even if everything had worked perfectly, the analog side was extremely noisy, often to the point of being unwatchable.

I next got a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 950Q USB tuner dongle, and that too has problems, even under tvtime and xine.  I haven't even reached the point of trying it with MythTV.  But I've hung onto the thing too long to be able to return it.

In hindsight, I now believe I should have gone with an HDHR.  I probably will, right after my toy budget gets replenished.

One thing I like about the HDHR is that it is network based, so any backend can make use of it.  When I get one (or two), I intend to use my home server as the primary backend, and have a small HTPC at each TV to serve as a frontend and secondary backend.


-BobC