[mythtv-users] Analog capture cards

[Bob Wiegand]

Brian Wood wrote:
> On Tuesday 09 February 2010 12:40:48 pm Michael T. Dean wrote:
>> On 02/09/2010 02:36 PM, Brian Wood wrote:
>>> On Tuesday 09 February 2010 12:27:47 pm Bob Wiegand wrote:
>>>> My PVR-350 is dying and I need something to replace it.
>>>>
>>>> Looking through the mail archives I see other people asking about analog
>>>> tuners but no good responses.
>>>>
>>>> Are there really no good analog tuners available anymore?
>>> There are a couple of 350s on Ebay, but pricey. If a 150 would suit your
>>> needs there are several there, at more reasonable prices.
>>>
>>> It's too bad the analog market is so thin these days, but it's hard to
>>> beat the PVRs for Myth systems.
>> Paying more money for a PVR-350 than a PVR-150 today is a waste of
>> money.  Get a PVR-150 and then use a real video card (potentially even
>> one with VDPAU support if you think there's something special about
>> "hardware decoding").
> 
> I agree totally, the only reason I can think of to get a 350 is they are 
> easier to find than the 250s, and some folks seem to think the 250/350s produce 
> better results than the 150.
> 
> The output capability of the 350 is pretty much useless today, the argument 
> that the 350 is useful if you have only standard PCI slots is no longer valid, 
> since VDPAU-capable PCI video cards are available that do VDPAU. Even a PCI 
> version of a 5200 card would be better than using a 350 for output.
> 
> What I would like to see is a VDPAU-capable AGP card, but I haven't seen any 
> of those yet, and don't expect to. 

I haven't used the video out on the 350 for a few years, but it was
worth keeping just as a tuner.

I looked at old PVR cards off ebay, but it's not my first choice.
I don't know anything about the sellers and I would be getting
an old card that may not last too long.

I wouldn't mind getting a dual analog/digital card as long as the
analog half works well. I tried a HVR-1600 but the analog capture
just isn't that good.

Bob