I'm looking to put together a multiple (3) tuner system. I was planning to
use the Hauppauge PVR-250, but now I'm seeing talk about this Hauppauge
Freestyle, which could save me about $40 (or more) per card. It looks like
a good solution would be one PVR-250 for the remote control capability and
two Freestyles for the $ savings. Here's some info I've found about the
Freestyle:
1. The Freestyle's part number is 48432 rev I110, while the PVR-250's part
number is 48011 rev G726
2. I've found the Freestyle for sale in two places: Newegg for $91 plus $5
S/H
(http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=haupp
auge+freestyle) and Z-Buy for $86 plus $4 S/H
(http://www.z-buy.com/product.asp?item=VG-WINTVPP2). I've purchased
products from both Newegg and Z-Buy before with good success, although I've
heard others RAVE about Newegg and how good they are with returns.
3. I've also seen it for sale on EBay fairly often from a seller called
Techsys Unlimited, but they advertise it as a PVR-250 without any cables,
drivers, manuals, or remotes. I've been watching these auctions closely for
about two months, and the lowest price I've seen it sell for is $79 plus $8
S/H, and that was only once. Most of the time they sell for over $100.
4. Both the Freestyle and the PVR-250 record using a hardware MPEG encoder,
which means they both can be used in computers without super powerful
processors. Note that a decent processor is still needed for video
playback, as that is done in software. According to the Hauppauge website
for the PVR-250, at least a 600 MHz Pentium II is needed for time-shifting
TV which includes both recording and playback.
5. Newegg has picture of both the Freestyle and the PVR-250. It looks like
both have an RF connector (typical cable TV) input and an S-Video input.
The PVR-250 has an audio input (typical line in jack) and a remote control
input. The Freestyle has 3 RCA connectors which Newegg says are composite
video in and audio in left and right.
6. The PVR-250 comes with a remote (w/ batteries), a remote sensor, some
kind of S-Video adapter, and a software/driver CD. The Freestyle comes with
NOTHING other than the card.
7. The Hauppauge website seems to have NO information on the Freestyle.
8. From reading posts on this list, it looks like both the Freestyle and
the PVR-250 work fine with MythTV. Posts also seem to indicate that the
PVR-250 has the best recording quality. I'm guessing that the Freestyle
would be comparable, but I haven't read anything confirming this.
This is pretty much EVERYTHING I know about these two cards. Before I start
making any purchases, I'd like to get a little more information. Here are
my questions:
1. Do multiple Hauppauge cards work together? I'm interested in any
combinations of Freestyles and PVR-250s.
2. Do the Freestyle and PVR-250 use the same software drivers? I'm
interested in both under Linux/MythTV and (bite-my-tongue) Windows.
3. Some other TV Tuner cards need to be jumpered to a computer systems
sound card in order for audio to be heard or recorded. Is this necessary
for the PVR-250 and the Freestyle?
4. The Techsys EBay ad for the Freestyle says that it must be installed in
the middle PCI slot of the motherboard. I'm guessing that this is just for
maximum cooling. Does anyone know of any other restriction?
Sorry for the fairly long post, but hopefully this will help others with
their purchasing decisions also. Thanks in advance for any information.
Drew
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users@snowman.net
http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
use the Hauppauge PVR-250, but now I'm seeing talk about this Hauppauge
Freestyle, which could save me about $40 (or more) per card. It looks like
a good solution would be one PVR-250 for the remote control capability and
two Freestyles for the $ savings. Here's some info I've found about the
Freestyle:
1. The Freestyle's part number is 48432 rev I110, while the PVR-250's part
number is 48011 rev G726
2. I've found the Freestyle for sale in two places: Newegg for $91 plus $5
S/H
(http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=haupp
auge+freestyle) and Z-Buy for $86 plus $4 S/H
(http://www.z-buy.com/product.asp?item=VG-WINTVPP2). I've purchased
products from both Newegg and Z-Buy before with good success, although I've
heard others RAVE about Newegg and how good they are with returns.
3. I've also seen it for sale on EBay fairly often from a seller called
Techsys Unlimited, but they advertise it as a PVR-250 without any cables,
drivers, manuals, or remotes. I've been watching these auctions closely for
about two months, and the lowest price I've seen it sell for is $79 plus $8
S/H, and that was only once. Most of the time they sell for over $100.
4. Both the Freestyle and the PVR-250 record using a hardware MPEG encoder,
which means they both can be used in computers without super powerful
processors. Note that a decent processor is still needed for video
playback, as that is done in software. According to the Hauppauge website
for the PVR-250, at least a 600 MHz Pentium II is needed for time-shifting
TV which includes both recording and playback.
5. Newegg has picture of both the Freestyle and the PVR-250. It looks like
both have an RF connector (typical cable TV) input and an S-Video input.
The PVR-250 has an audio input (typical line in jack) and a remote control
input. The Freestyle has 3 RCA connectors which Newegg says are composite
video in and audio in left and right.
6. The PVR-250 comes with a remote (w/ batteries), a remote sensor, some
kind of S-Video adapter, and a software/driver CD. The Freestyle comes with
NOTHING other than the card.
7. The Hauppauge website seems to have NO information on the Freestyle.
8. From reading posts on this list, it looks like both the Freestyle and
the PVR-250 work fine with MythTV. Posts also seem to indicate that the
PVR-250 has the best recording quality. I'm guessing that the Freestyle
would be comparable, but I haven't read anything confirming this.
This is pretty much EVERYTHING I know about these two cards. Before I start
making any purchases, I'd like to get a little more information. Here are
my questions:
1. Do multiple Hauppauge cards work together? I'm interested in any
combinations of Freestyles and PVR-250s.
2. Do the Freestyle and PVR-250 use the same software drivers? I'm
interested in both under Linux/MythTV and (bite-my-tongue) Windows.
3. Some other TV Tuner cards need to be jumpered to a computer systems
sound card in order for audio to be heard or recorded. Is this necessary
for the PVR-250 and the Freestyle?
4. The Techsys EBay ad for the Freestyle says that it must be installed in
the middle PCI slot of the motherboard. I'm guessing that this is just for
maximum cooling. Does anyone know of any other restriction?
Sorry for the fairly long post, but hopefully this will help others with
their purchasing decisions also. Thanks in advance for any information.
Drew
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users@snowman.net
http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users