[PhileFriendly]

I'm a HTPC newbie with a system that I'd like to set up with MCE 2005, but I haven't bought a video capture card yet. Can I get any recommendations for the cheapest that I can find that will still work with MCE? I'm trying to test this thing out for as little as possible until I know how much I use it. I've heard positive things about the AVerMedia M150, but is that my best option on the cheap? What about a card like the KWorld VS-TV878RF? That one costs less and comes with a remote... but I can't figure out if it has hardware encoding, which I gather is a must.


thanks for any info!

 

[Sergei Esenin]

 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...100-007&depa=0


It's MCE compatible, using the common Conexant Blackbird reference design.

 

[Phil Hightech]

 http://www.computers4sure.com/produc...ductid=2052505


The Wintv pvr-150mce is officially supported by mce2005 and it's not too expensive. I just received mine but haven't had a chance to play yet.

 

[epshih]

I just picked up 2 pvr-150MCE cards from Buy.com for $123.86 delivered (including free s/h and 5% coupon floating around). Basically two tuners for less than the retail price of 1 PVR-250. Still waiting for UPS...

 

[PanamaMike]

That is, you want to use your external STB.


What's the best chipset for this purpose. Dish 311


Mike

 

[Sergei Esenin]

Quote:

Originally posted by PanamaMike That is, you want to use your external STB. What's the best chipset for this purpose. Dish 311

It doesn't make any difference if they both have S-Video input. Personally though I think the Conexant Blackbird design is the way to go, since it interfaces using Conexant's high quality capture chip used in uncompressed capture cards, and because the design is common to many good manufacturers and not just one. Better chance for future driver updates in the long-term, since it's a very common reference design.

 

[stanger89]

The 150 uses an even newer Connexant TV decoder than the Blackbird.