Hauppauge Win TV HVR-3300

ronanphilip

just looking to confirm wheather or not this card http://www.hauppauge.com.sg/site/products/data_hvr3300.html is suitable for recieveing mpeg 4 for irish dtt. would also like to use it with quad lnb on a sky dish to get the freeview channels if possible?

thanks

Gerry Wicklow

The site says "Freeview High Definition DVB-T Digital terrestrial TV and DVB-S Digital satellite TV"
AFAIK FreeView HD is DVB-T2 and likewise HD satellite is DVB-S2
I'm open to correction on this.

liamf

Well, there's not a huge amount of un-encrypted HD on the FreeSat satellite at the moment, but what little there is which you might actually want to watch from time to time (BBC HD and ITV HD for instance) is actually DVB-S at the moment.

All the Sky HD services are DVB-S2 and that's the way things will go eventually in all probability, so for future-proofage (and for the sake of an extra 20 quid or so) I would go for the HVR4400.

...having first checked, mind you, that it worked properly in your TV software of choice.

I had terrific fun getting the previous generation (HDR4000) working properly with various bits of s/w. In fact it is still not working 100% in MythTV for me.

An update to Myth which fixed DVB-T troubles broke live TV playback for HD services ... :rolleyes:

Ghost Train

Its what I have at the moment

works fine with win7 media center, irish dtv and freeview with bbc hd too

the wintv software won't do irish dtv as far as I know, or hd channels, so depends on the software you use

the two tuners don't work at the same time like some other cards

mossym

the card will pick up irish DTT just fine, the mpeg2 vs mpeg4 doesn't matter as that will be done in software, you just nbeed an mpeg4 codec installed for the irish channels and you will be fine

as regards DVB-s vs.dvb-s2. when i first started looking at pc sat cards 3/4 years ago(have had a htpc with cable/OTA channels for a lot longer), the advice was get a dvb-s2 card as it would future proof your solution. so i did, and there is still nothing available on dvb-s2, and no sign of anything concrete moving to s2 either.

so while DVB-s2 is better for future proofing, if you got a good deal on one of those, i'd say go for it, with the understanding that somewhere down the line you may need to upgrade the card, for some of the sat channels

Gerry Wicklow

mossym wrote: »

so while DVB-s2 is better for future proofing, if you got a good deal on one of those, i'd say go for it, with the understanding that somewhere down the line you may need to upgrade the card, for some of the sat channels

Is SaorSat going to be S2?

watty

yes.
Soarsat is DVB-S2
HD on 28.2 will likely mostly be on DVB-S2 soon

mossym

watty wrote: »

yes.
Soarsat is DVB-S2
HD on 28.2 will likely mostly be on DVB-S2 soon

i take back my comment of nothing concrete moving to s2 then

however if the op is looking for a dual dvb-t/dvb-s card, then almost certainly he will get his irish channels from DVB-T

Dual DVB-S2/DVB_T cards are pretty much limited to the Blackgold card, up to the op if he wants to spend that much

watty

I've had five TV cards in a PC. 2 x DVB-S2, 2 xDVB-S and 1 x Analogue.
two or more separate cards may be better value than Blackgold.

fat-tony

I'd agree with watty's comment there. It struck me that the Blackgold card is extremely expensive for what it is. I use two cards in my PC - a Pinnacle 7010x which supports DVB-T and DVB-S (cheap as chips on eBay about 18months ago - think I paid about €30) and for the odd occasion I need DVB-S2 I have a Technisat card which I paid €60 about a year ago. I have had no problems with using a two card setup. The Technisat card even has capability for driving a motor and has extra power feeds from the motherboard for doing so. I don't actually use it for that purpose, though. I use a separate receiver for driving the motor and I have a twin LNB with one feed going to the Technisat card.

gtg60

The Blackgold card is extremely good value for money if you need dual DVB-S2 and dual DVB-T and I seriously doubt you could buy separate (new) cards that would do the same for less money.

I know this because I looked into it for quite a while before buying the Blackgold, also worth noting it's a great upgrade from my Pinnacle 7010.

mossym

fat-tony wrote: »

I'd agree with watty's comment there. It struck me that the Blackgold card is extremely expensive for what it is. I use two cards in my PC - a Pinnacle 7010x which supports DVB-T and DVB-S (cheap as chips on eBay about 18months ago - think I paid about €30) and for the odd occasion I need DVB-S2 I have a Technisat card which I paid €60 about a year ago. I have had no problems with using a two card setup. The Technisat card even has capability for driving a motor and has extra power feeds from the motherboard for doing so. I don't actually use it for that purpose, though. I use a separate receiver for driving the motor and I have a twin LNB with one feed going to the Technisat card.

it's really a horses for courses, in an effort to keep pc's hooked to televisions small so they fit nicely on equipment racks, many people are going with matx boards which have 1 pci, 1pci-e slot, meaning adding 5 cards isn't an option.

pinnacle cards are, but they are DVB-S only, (hence if DVB-S2 is important they are out), also they have a lot more restrictions on tuners than the black gold.

also, the black gold comes in at 150/160 delivered, so adding numerous cards for under that would still be a struggle

you're right though, it is a big overlay for a single card, but as the only Dual DVB-S2/DVB-T card on teh market they can charge a premium, there is no competition, and for many people, it is worth the money.

i'd love to see how you could get 2*DVB-S2 cards, 2*DVB-T cards, component/svideo and composite capture from 5 seperate cards(or any comination of multiple cards) for lower enough than 160 to make having all your slots filled be worth it? not saying ti can't be done, just any cobbination i can think of is very close to ,or above 160

watty

It depends on how reliable the Blackgold is, if you have some cards already or you live in area that can get Freeview HD.

You can get dual tuner USB DVB-t for about 30 Euro inc postage.

I have not looked at Dual DVB-S2 cards lately as i have about six satellite cards and 2 x setbox (16 way multiswitch with 4 x sat feeds and separate motorised dish/LNB).

A DVB-S2 card reliable for driving a motor would be nice, I use a setbox for the motor and editing sats & transponders etc is a pain. None of my six PC cards can reliably drive motor.

I don't bother with Analogue/Composite/S-Video tuner/capture any more. Firewire transfer gives about x8 quality and my 8mm Digital Camcorder can act as Analogue AV bridge or play analogue 8mm tapes to DV. Also my DVD recorder at HQ setting is a hassle free recording from Sky Box Pay TV, S-video or Firewire to DVD. I only use the PC + firewire and DV format files if I'm going to edit.

slegs

With quite a bit of experience in this area the Blackgold is actually very good value for what it is. Wouldnt call it expensive at all.

4 independent digital tuners including 2 * DVB-S2 on one card is unique and many would pay alot more than the 160eur delivered that it costs.

slegs

watty wrote: »

It depends on how reliable the Blackgold is, if you have some cards already or you live in area that can get Freeview HD.

You can get dual tuner USB DVB-t for about 30 Euro inc postage.

I have not looked at Dual DVB-S2 cards lately as i have about six satellite cards and 2 x setbox (16 way multiswitch with 4 x sat feeds and separate motorised dish/LNB).

A DVB-S2 card reliable for driving a motor would be nice, I use a setbox for the motor and editing sats & transponders etc is a pain. None of my six PC cards can reliably drive motor.

USB tuners are not as good as PCI based tuners in my experience

mossym

watty wrote: »

It depends on how reliable the Blackgold is, if you have some cards already or you live in area that can get Freeview HD..

i wouldn't have touched a blackgold card up till now as they were absolutely muck with support, and were flakey as hell. after hearing good things on the new card i made the leap of faith and have to say it has been flawless so far, no issues, even with the pc waking itself for recording from hibernation and going back to that state again, which is usually where these cards fall down

watty wrote: »

I don't bother with Analogue/Composite/S-Video tuner/capture any more. Firewire transfer gives about x8 quality and my 8mm Digital Camcorder can act as Analogue AV bridge or play analogue 8mm tapes to DV. Also my DVD recorder at HQ setting is a hassle free recording from Sky Box Pay TV, S-video or Firewire to DVD. I only use the PC + firewire and DV format files if I'm going to edit.

i don't think many would use it, but it is there, so has to be taken into the price..

Bob_Harris

slegs wrote: »

With quite a bit of experience in this area the Blackgold is actually very good value for what it is. Wouldnt call it expensive at all.

4 independent digital tuners including 2 * DVB-S2 on one card is unique and many would pay alot more than the 160eur delivered that it costs.

The fact that it fits into a single PCI-Express x1 slot is a major benefit. Depending on the form factor of the motherboard, you may only have 1 or 2 traditional PCI slots.

fat-tony

Obviously the convenience of 2 x DVB-S2 tuners along with the terrestrial tuners on one card is a major plus point if you're stuck for space. The Pinnacle card (though it has twin sat and terrestrial tuners) does not support S2, but has been flawless in operation for me. Its price last year reflects on how "long in the tooth" it was. The Blackgold's price will ultimately drop, but as you say - it's the only game in town at the moment for S2 plus terrestrial twin tuners. Depends on how much you depend on the PC for viewing and recording I suppose. I have a standalone Freesat HD PVR for my main TV viewing and I don't have a SKY or other card for the encrypted HD channels on S2 transponders. So my one S2 tuner on the Technisat card does me fine - provides drive for the motor for other sats as required and the Pinnacle card gives me the options of twin satellite and terrestrial multiplex recording, should I need it.

mossym

fat-tony wrote: »

The Pinnacle card (though it has twin sat and terrestrial tuners) does not support S2, but has been flawless in operation for me.

pinnacle cards recently went on adverts for 70 euros. thought it was an absurd price for them

fat-tony

I paid less than half that last year. I'm sure when they first came out they fetched some serious money - like the Blackgold.

ronanphilip

thanks for all the information folks. was on a bit of a budget so went with the hvr 3300. managed to get one on ebay delivered for €56.20.