<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Apr 3, 2006, at 12:46 PM, Jeff Simpson wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV><BLOCKQUOTE class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><DIV style="direction: ltr;"><BR> <BIG>Hi Timothy,<BR> <BR> I'm new to Myth too. Just set one up completely, and with invaluable help from the kind folks on this list.<BR> <BR> I'm also contemplating expanding my MythTV setup across the house, and here are my preliminary (untested) thoughts that I'd share with the folks here for commentary:<BR> <BR> * old PIII-based system, 512MB RAM, large USB Lacie HDD<BR> * a Hauppauge WinTV PVR-350 w/ TV-Out (to a regular TV via S-video)<BR> or<BR> * a Hauppauge WinTV PVR-250 (no TV-Out) to a 21" monitor + a decent graphics card<BR> <BR> Steve<BR> </BIG> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>I would suggest against getting a PVR-350, for various reasons. The MPEG output on the PVR-350 does look nice, but the problems with support more than overshadow any quality advantage it might have. Menus are slow, fast forward, rewind, time stretch, etc don't (and probably will never) work with the PVR-350. DVD and other video playing won't work well with the PVR-350. OpenGL is not going to work on the PVR-350, and MythTV is moving to all OpenGL for the menu systems. <BR><BR>So my suggestion is to get a recording card and a decent NVidia card with TV-Out.<BR><BR>For a recording card:<BR>PVR-150 PVR-250: These cards are basically the same, but the PVR150 is newer and cheaper. Depending on the package, some come with a remote <BR>PVR-500: This is basically two PVR-150 tuners on one board. If you have analog cable, this is a good way to get two tuners. If you have digital cable or satellite, you would need to get two set-top boxes to use both tuner inputs, and you might need to buy a breakout card to get the inputs you need for the 500, so you may want to just start with a 150. </BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>PVR-250s are getting hard to find. The one advantage they have right now over the 150 is that the CC works, but I am sure that CC support for the 150 will be happening soon.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>The newer retail versions of the 150s also now come with an IR blaster, handy if you have a STB. They can be made to work now with patched sources but I'd think that support will be "out of the box" soon.</DIV></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I've read someplace that the video processing is better on the 150, but that may well have been HogPaws propaganda, I haven't noticed any difference, but they are newer chips.<BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><BR>Graphics card:<BR>Anything nvidia with Tv-Out.<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></DIV><DIV>As long as it is a model since the MX-4.</DIV></BODY></HTML>