[mythtvnz] Newbie setting up a rig - Freeview and capture card config questions

[Nick Rout]

On Fri, May 11, 2007 1:41 pm, Matt Poff wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Have taken the plunge and ordered a custom built configuration for
> MythTV which is going to sit in a very tasty Silverstone case. Only
> decision left to make is the capture card configuration. I've chosen a
> motherboard with 3x PCI and 2xPCIe slots to provide flexible expansion
> options for the future but am unsure how to stack them at this stage.
>
> I have a few questions.
>
> (1) I get crap reception (especially UHF)  and am interested in FreeVie=
w
> but wonder whether it's worth holding out until March next year to see
> whether digital terrestrial improves my lot. Is there a rule-of-thumb
> that can be applied to determine what kind of locations will get
> improved reception from terrestrial digital? If it's unlikely things
> will change I'll shell for the FreeView set-up.

If you can't get decent terrestrial analogue reception, i can't see how
digital is going to improve it.

>
> (2) If I install a FreeView card, what advantages will I get installing
> the Hauppauge PVR500 card?

None if you get crap terrestrial TV and want freeview. The PVR 500 is an
analogue card.


> Would I be just as well off with the FreeView
> and something like a PVR150? I see the 500 has an audio out but if my
> mobo has integrated 7:1 support I guess this would be redundant right?
>
> (3) Does anyone have any MythTV experience  with the  Hauppage WinTV HV=
R
> 3000 and FreeView. How does it compare with the Technisat Skystar 2?
>

from some brief googling this card is not well supported under linux. Als=
o
with the multi-function cards you have to be careful when you see a claim
that it "works" with mythtv. If the card has three functions, do they all
work? I have a friend with an HVR1100 that is said to "work" with mythtv,
but on closer googling the DVB-T function works fine (but is presently
useless in NZ) and the analogue sound doesn't, making it in fact a
paperweight for him.

> (4) When a sat card says it supports "plain old analog cable TV signals=
"
> (like the HVR3000 does), can you take it for granted it'll support
> VHF/UHF signals as well?
>

My understanding is that cable TV standards are different to terrestrial
analogue TV standards.


My recommendation:

1. get a skystar for DVB-S.

2. if you do want analogue the pvr-150 or 500 will do a good job, but if
your reception is dodgy, I see little point. Similarly if you want to tak=
e
the composite/s-video out from a freeview box or a sky box, one of these
cards will do it. But the output from a skystar is better than letting a
freeview box convert the signal to analogue, then converting it back to
digital again with a PVR card.

--=20
Nick Rout