[analog8]

Is there an HD PCI card for my PC (e.g. HiPix, AccessDTV, Win-HD) that also offers a second analog connection I can use for PVR/Tivo functionality for a standard definition signal?


I'd like to use OTA HD on one input, and SD cable on the other. Most of the cards I mentioned support this, but they don't support PVR on the SD part.


Suggestions welcome.

 

[JoeFloyd]

There are really no alternatives. The only card that will even come close to doing what you have in mind is the WinTV-D. With this card you might have a shot at doing real time MPEG-2 compression of the analog video if you have a fast CPU and use one of the commercial PVR software packages such as SnapStream. The Digital stations would have to be recorded using the bundled WinTV2000 software with packet capture drivers.


Maybe next year someone will release a more full featured card, or maybe Teralogic will release enough information about their chip set so that third party software developers can being to write software for the existing HD cards.

 

[analog8]

So my choice is standard definition card with SD PVR functionality only (ATI AIW, Nvidia Personal Cinema, etc) or high definition card with HD PVR functionality only (HiPix, AccessDTV, Hauppauge)?


This shows that HD really is the bleeding edge!


The chances of two such cards working in the same system are close to nil, not to mention the hassle of multiple outputs and multiple pieces of PVR software.


You are right - it might just pay to wait til next year. At some point ATI and Nvidia have to get on board with HD capture.

 

[JKohn]

Actually, you could probably use the Radeon AIW and one of the HD cards without problems. I have a Radeon 64 VIVO, and I've used the Video-In app without problem in a system that had an accessDTV installed. I didn't buy the full AIW Radeon because I don't need NTSC PVR, I have a DishPlayer for that.

 

[trbarry]

I currently have a WinTV-HD, a Zoltrix TV Genie, and a Matrox Marvel G400 all installed in my HTPC.


With the WinTV-HD card installed none of the Zoltrix software will work but DScaler still functions fine.


And the Matrox card does not seem to clash with either.


- Tom