HTPC Pinnacle MC 310i vs. Leadtek WinFast DTV1000 T vs. Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1100

TV-Tuner cards, which one should I buy?

Pinnacle MC 310i or Leadtek WinFast DTV1000 T or Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1100????

I have read some threads about the above 3 TV-Tuner cards and I simply don't know which one to buy....

I must admit that I have a small preference for the Pinnacle MC 310i card after I read about the 3 cards. BUT I have read a thread that there's no encoder on the card and therefore you can't work on your PC if you are also recording a TV-show - can this be true??

The only thing that stops me to buy this card, is that I want to be able to record TV either from analouge or digital reception, while I e.g. are gaming or working on my PC...

Are there anybody out there that has a Pinnacle MC 310i TV-Tuner card?
Or maybe somebody who knows something about these TV-Tuner card and recommend me one of them?!

Cheers mates....

 

dont get pinnacle. simple. crap software, crap support, crap all round.
(im on about my MC300i)

 

I second that pinnacle are not very good. I wouldn't like to game and record a dvb-t stream at the same time you will have major break up. I would suggest if your budget stretched to it looking at the hvr 1300, its similar to the hvr 1100 but has a hardware encoder for the analogue side.

 

Try the club3d dvb-t zap 2100. I got that and it seems to be fine

 

Loool... okay, I get the idea - stay away from Pinnacle..

So "herbs" you would recommend Hauppauge 1300?
Do you have it yourself? I was kind of hoping for a TV card in the prize category where hvr 1100 is in BUT if that what it takes to get a good TV tuner card then I'll just have to eat pasta with ketchup for a week... (",)

The thing is I'm about to build my own computer Pentium D 930 MhZ, 2x512 mb RAM and the only thing I'm still unsure with is the bloody TV-tuner card. I never had one myself so I have no experience with it, so that's why I want to listen to as many advises as I can.

 

Nope I do not have the hvr 1300, but have 3 nova-ts and a pvr 250, pvr usb2 and a nebula digit-tv card yes I need to get a life. The hvr 1100 is a digital tv card and a software analogue tuner card, were as the hvr 130 is a digital and hardware analogue encoder card which mean mce will support both tuners analogue and digital but you will have to make a choice which one you want, as mce doesn't support two types of card at once. I suggest you visit the hauppauge uk forum for more pros and cons of the hvr range. I suggested the hvr 1300 as you said you want to record whilst gaming with a software encoder analogue card this would not be possible due to the need of the cpu to help encode but the hvr 1300 will lower the cpu usage to less than 5% making gaming possible.

 

I have just checked out the hvr 1300 but on the shops site there is a hvr 1300 & a hvr 1300MCE ...could I get drivers for the hvr 1300 for it to work on XP media center or should I spend a lil bit more and get the hvr 1300MCE?

The prices of them are Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1300 £71.00 (inc VAT) and the Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1300 MCE £86.29 (inc VAT) are they good prices or do you know an online store in the UK with them cheaper or with FREE delivery?

Them prices are from this site PCWB

 

Returning after a week in Paris, where I witnessed French students attack a bus - I most say they are not the sharpest knives in the drawer.. anyways...

I finally raised all the money to buy my computer that I'm gonna put together myself - BUT I'm still not sure with this bloody TV-Tuner card.

So yes Herbs you should get out and experience the life in Paris... he he (",)
No why is it you think Hauppauge is better than Pinnacle?
What I really like about the Pinnacle card is that you can record it directly into *.avi format and I don't think you can do that with the Hauppauge card - well I couldn't find anything about it!

And the encoder on the Hauppauge is mpeg - so I have to record TV in mpeg - right? and then I can convert it into avi - or what?

The thing is I'm gonna have a Pentium D 930 mhz and with Pentium's new D technology it should be able to handle more data at the same time - so maybe I don't need a card with an encoder -what is your thoughts?

How do you normally record from TV "herbs"? in mpeg and then convert it to avi or what? And if so - is it easier and quick to convert mpeg to avi?

 

Ok I'll try and answer your questions one at a time.
I prefer the hauppauge due to the wide 3rd party support in applications for their products, also the support in the UK was excellent when I had the psu on my pvr usb2 pack up after the warranty, I fired off an email and got a replacement for free. It turned out to be the wrong one so they sent me another one again free of charge. Also hauppauge provide a forum in the UK, and for the US there is shspvr.com. Pinnacle require you to have the original disc then do updates with their products which is fine if you have the disc but if you lost it your up the creek as getting a disc from them is difficult. Also their software and drivers are not very good from the reports I have recieved.
The hauppauge cards range from software encoders to hardware encoders and digital products if you visit the site you will see a vast range. If you don't want mpeg2 then get a software card (a mistake in my view unless you want to play consoles on you pc). If you go for dvb-t in the UK the stream is broadcast in mpeg2 so you will have to re-encode of have a program that allows transcoding on the fly, for analogue signals a D930 will do what you want cpu power wise. If you really want a software encoder card and digital look at the hvr 1100 like you originally suggested.
I personally record stuff in mpeg2 but then again I only have digital or hardware encoder tv cards and seldom re-encode to divx/mpeg4. But the software I use does allows me to automatically re-encode to wmv/divx etc then automatically delete the mpeg2 file afterwards to save space. The stuff I want to keep I backup to dvd and delete the rest after viewing.
Finally Paris is not a place I would like to visit it has French people there, without them I'm sure it would be a great place

 

Going once...
Going twice...
SOLD to the gentleman in the back...

Thanks Herbs for the advise you convinced me - I'm gonna buy the Hauppauge HVR 1300. BUT if it turns out to be crap, I'm gonna hunt you down and make you eat the card (",)

Hmmm... Paris is a beautyfull city but too many American tourists after my taste... (",)

 

If you do have trouble check out www.tv-cards.com or PM and I will try to help you.