I just recieved a 1.1ghz Celeron+microATX motherboard from a relative and would like to turn it into a MythTV box, but don't know what card to buy. I would like to be able to record+watch TV at the same time. It will be financed thru my parents, so it will have to be cheap. I just need to know what tuner card to buy, price must be pretty low...under $50 would be superb.




Thnx, Protoss

With a 1.1 GHz, you'll want 2 hardware MPEG tuners (or one PVR-500)...

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Anything I could get a bit cheaper? I don't really want to record one show, and watch another, unless there is some cheaper solution than a pvr-500.

The PVR-150 works well for recording one thing at a time and is much cheaper. With that you should be able to watch "live" tv or the current recording, (essentially the same modulo where the file is stored and for how long) or even watch a different previously recorded program while recording. Is that kind of what you meant?

Yes that is what I meant...I don't need to really record two things at once. So with the PVR-150 I can record and watch the same show? Or watch a prerecorded show and record?

Yeah. With MythTV recording is always tuner/capture card to disk file and watching is always disk file to display. The two can be asynchronous or simultaneous.

Sweet...And my 1.1Ghz processor will be able to handle that?

I answered this in my first response.

_________________
cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Is there a cheaper PVR-150+Remote combo somewhere? I can find it cheapest at Buy.com for $90, but that is a bit too expensive for me right now. Is there another cheaper card that would work for what I want to do?



Thnx.

Not really. The best price I saw on PriceGrabber.com earlier today was ~$83 and that was before shipping. After shipping you're probaly in the same $90-$95 ballpark that you've already seen...

Protoss:

May I suggest a different tactic? If your project will be used by the family, offer to make your parents a deal: you provide the software, labor, most of the hardware, and ongoing product support and half the cost of a TV Tuner card. In turn, they kick in the other half of the tuner card and a decent IR + remote to control the setup.

The key here is that you explain to them the features and how they translate to a benefit for them. Example: Don't say "My TV tuner card lets you watch one show and record another!" Say instead, "Two shows are on at the same time. Mom wants to watch Survivor, and Dad wants to watch The Apprentice. Mom can watch Survivor while Apprentice is being recorded, and then Dad can watch it later when he has more time. No more fighting over who gets to watch which show!"

If you brought this approach to me, I'd probably kick in the cash. But if the project is just for your use and not for the whole family's benefit, then it's time to look for alternate funding methods to pay for the card that has the features you want.

Alright after some research, I found the Leadtek TV2000XP RM worked pretty well with the BTTV drivers. I am going to try and play with this card, as it is only $30 and comes with a remote. Is the RM totally different from the Deluxe? Or are they one in the same? Just wondering if I could follow the Wiki guide for the XPDlx.


Thnx

Ok I borrowed a TV-Wonder Pro from a friend, and finally got the sound configured but the only way to get it to play smooth is if I down the settings. I found that the MPEG4 codec worked the best as far as quality vs skipage. Anyways, what I would like to know is, if I bought the PVR-150 would I be able to get broadcast quality footage w/o skipping? And the PVR-150 is a hardware encoder right?
I up'ed the RAM to 320MB, for some reason this mobo won't go any higher.
Ok I finally got it back on my network, and issued TOP while watching tv, and it is using 80% CPU, so is there some way I could cut back on some of the extras?
Thnx, Protoss

You need to start a new thread. Your original question has been answered....

_________________
cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!