I have a rather novice question: I'm in the process of selecting hardware for a frontend/backend KnoppMyth box. I want it to have the facility to record programs and show full-feature live TV (i.e. with pause/rewind/etc.). Will this require two tuner cards?

if you want to record a show and watch one at the same time then you need to two cards or a dual tuner card.

You don't mention if this is SD or HD. That makes a difference in card selection.

Hope this helps!

Also, tuner cards aren't magic. If you use a cable box you need another box for every separate recording stream.

This box will be replacing a TiVo my family can no longer use--I wasn't quite aware that it was only single-tuner, so that was in error.

@bigbro: This will be SD--we're not exactly on a budget, but it's worth the savings, especially since we're highly accustomed to SD.

@tjc: Thanks very much for pointing this out. No cable box, though.

Another question: Based on the features listed at their website, it's down to the Hauppauge PVR-150 or 250, but I'm not clear on the substantive differences in features. Most vitally, is there a difference as far as KnoppMyth compatibility?

Thanks very much.

Not at the moment. I've got one of each, both work fine.

for that matter since it is SD, and there isn't a cable box in the picture you could also go for the PVR-500 with that you are getting essentially 2 PVR-150's for just a little bit more and it only takes on Cable input and only uses 1 PCI slot in the box..

What you can do then is watch one show while you record another.

Pretty cool feature.

I have a PVR-500 and 2 pvr-150's I can barely tell the difference in any of them.

With just the PVR-500 you need a separate remote. For the PVR-150 the non-MCE ones come with one. The MCE cards don't normally, but there are also MCE "kit" offerings which include an MCE remote which connects via USB. Be sure you know which you're buying.

TJC is spot on as usual. I forgot about that separate remote being needed. I have a couple and also IR keyboards so I didn't even think about that or remember it when I put in my PVR-500.

This group is great!

Half a month later, and I'm just now coming around to motherboard and GPU selection. I'm looking at the Asus A8N-VM CVM, which I notice has the GeForce 6150 onboard. Since a separate GPU will run me a significant expense (with this motherboard and my demands, it's going to be a PCIe card with DVI out), I'm wondering if I could just use the onboard video. Would that work for a back/frontend system, or are there serious drawbacks? E.g. how much of a RAM hit am I looking at?

How much RAM? 512Mb for SDTV, 1Gb for HDTV. Anything more is a waste even if you're letting the built in video use a chunk of it...

sorry hopefully this isn't too off topic.. why would you want to use analog tuners? does the USA not have digital broadcasting? and digital cable? You can get away with half the cpu - my test box is a PIII 650mhz and it plays back live SD tv flawlessly.. struggles a bit with 720p though (not a chance at 1080). and digital picture so much better. The same box didnt get close to live analog TV (i was just using a frame grabber).



dvb tuner cards are also very cheap.

Thanks again for all your help so far; it has made this process a lot easier.


[*removed my off-topic question*]

Hi,

I use the 350 card as it gives tv out which I can then just route pure video about with out have the computer sit next to the tv. The usb ir detector (smk in 150 mce kit) works quite well but would be limited to ~16 feet distance. The 350 also has an ir detector included and one can extend the cable beyond the usb limit.

The 350 also allows me to run "older, slightly used" hardware 400 mhz ,384 mem and am good to go as the board has an onboard decoder so the 350 card does the work.. People throw out better stuff than I use.

Mike

If your query about tuner cards have been answered, start a new thread (or search).