Hello all, I'm building a HTPC, and I'm curious which TV tuner is the best to buy. I'm looking for quality, and I'm not trying to spend over $200 to get it. I have a 50" Samsung DLP, so quality is important to me. I was looking at the Haupage selection, like the PVR 150, and 500. I've since learned it's better to get 2 150's than 1 500, because of interference issues. I'm thinking about getting the Diamond PVR550, because on Newegg it comes bundled with a Firefly remote. Questions, concerns, Comments Please. I don't want to buy this and it not do what I want, which is to record TV shows, and Play DVDs. System Specs: MSI 865PE Neo3-V MoBo MSI FX 5200 128MB DirectX 9.0 Compatible Intel Celeron-D 326 No hard drive as of yet Tagan 480 Watt PSU Antec Overture II, or ThermalTake Tenor VB2000BNS
For quality picture on standard defination analogue signal the pro 550 will give you a better picture quality than the pvr 150 or pvr 500. But my view is that the pvr 150/500 has better support from 3rd party applications. I would swap the fx5200 for a 6200 or 7300 and tha targan for a seasonic psu if you haven't aready purchased them yet. On the hard drive front look at seagate or samsung for low noise. Finally a 50" tv will show all the faults of standard tv resolution so be warned.
I understand about the TV. Just trying to capture at a good quality for when I watch it later. I don't want the picture to be worse than it is now. As far as the graphics card goes, too late. I got a good deal on it. Also, already had the PSU laying around. I can upgrade that later. How much of a difference is there between the haupage cards and the 550?
There is a difference but not a massive difference, the hauppauge cards are 10bit whilst the ATi is 12bits and has more filters to improve picture quality. I would stick with the hauppauge due to having better support and more driver releases even beta drivers at www.shspvr.com
