I looking for someone with both cards that could give me a recommendation on which card to buy for a second tuner.

My current setup has a single Hauppauge 150 that works well. I notice many people with the 250 but it is more expensive. Is this a clear case that you get more for the money? Is the 250 video better then the 150?

I know the 150 is a relativly new device and that there had been some problems setting them up but that seems to be history at this point. Is there any reason to buy a 250?

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As a matter of observation and opinion I think my PVR-250 make a somewhat better quality recording than my PVR-150. On the other hand, if the 250 weren't in the system, I'd most likely have adjusted the recording parameters on the 150 to get results that are pretty close to what the 250 does now. Unfortunately MythTV doesn't let you make adjustments like that specific to each card (e.g. - tweak the color saturation up on this one, and the volume up on that one.).

Starting with one 150 already in the system, I'd recommend adding another of the same. Hopefully this will keep the capture behavior close enough so that one set of adjustments is good for both cards.

also the 250 can encode at some resolutions that the 150 can't pretty much a nonissue for most people.

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Xsecrets

Thanks for the quick response guys.

Another option for the 2nd card would be a HD tuner. I don't currently have a HDTV and don't have any plans to buy one in the near future. All my viewing is through a 32" SDTV with S-video.

Would a HD tuner make for a better picture on an SDTV? I currently have analog cable and would use OTA for a HD tuner so I know it would limit my choices of what to record that way.

(sorry for sliding a little off topic)

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LINHES 8.6.1 BE/FE - MSI K9N6SGM-V with AMD A64 X2 4600+, 4GB Ram. 1.5TB WD. HDHR Prime. Nvidia GT210. MCE remote.
FrontEnd - Dell Vostro 400 3.0GHz Core2Duo NVidia GeForce210. MCE Remote

I've found the HD3000 terribly frustrating, and it's mostly just a matter of trying to get a good signal into it, be it OTA or QAM. Given what you've said, I'd recommend another PVR-150.

I can tell you that the comparison of the picture from my PVR-150 to my HD-5000 is night and day on my older standard def TV. I am comparing PVR-150 from cable or antena to any digital signal recieved on the HD-5000.

I thought the PVR-150 was watchable before, but when looking at the same shows side by side, I would have to call the PVR-150 defective. Next week, I'm going to borrow a couple of different PVR-150s from some friends who are happy with their picture and do a comparison.

I want to keep an analog card in my box because there are some programs that I can't get on my digital card. Mainly the Discovery Channel.

My biggest problem with both cards installed at the same time is that I have to set the aspect ratio for what ever channel I am watching to get the full picture displayed.

I would stay away from mixing the PVR-250 and PVR-150, because of what others have mentioned. Recording volumes can be different, picture quality can be different. If I was starting from scratch again, I would buy a 250 over the 150. My 150 may be on ebay soon.

mike

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