Pinnacle or Hauppauge?

[Conqueror]

Which TV-Tuner Card would you recommend, Pinnacle or Hauppauge?

I need a card that is compatible with Pentium 4 and Windows XP. The card has to have a good maximum resolution, teletext function, display multiple channels simultaneously and preferably comes with a remote control. I don't need a built-in graphics card because I already have a Ti200. The card MUST have audio/video IN so I could capture images from a camcorder or video.

Any recommendation? Other cards will be considered if they meet my needs, but so far only Pinnacle and Hauppauge have appealed to me.

Check out this features table at THG:
<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/video/00q2/000418/tvcards-06.html" target="_new">http://www6.tomshardware.com/video/00q2/000418/tvcards-06.html</A>

<font color=blue><i>Mankind must put an end to War,
or War will put an end to mankind!<i></font color=blue>

 

[labdog]

they have nearly the same functionalities but the Hauppauge have a Doby Surround mode.
they have also 2 HF different tuners (philips vs Temic) which can impact on the image quality.


if you know you don't know, the way could be more easy.

 

[Guest]

I have several Pinnacle cards and they are performing very good So I will say Pinnacle.

 

[kinney]

I would get the Pinnacle over the others. I have a ATi tv wonder and like the damn thing but it is a hassle if you've ever owned anythig ATI you know what I'm talking about. Incompatible and general pain. I like it when it works but wouldnt suggest using it unless you already have a ATI video card to go with it.

Its got nice features like transparency mode over your screen for tv viewing (with MMC7.5, unofficial) but no remote.

I prefer nvidia products because of stability and the speed, if you could find a standalone personal cinema I would get that.

"dude your getting a dell", is that kid trying to say he wants to stick his 'dell' in you?

 

[Conqueror]

kinney, can you give me more info about this "personal cinema" please.

<font color=blue><i>Mankind must put an end to War,
or War will put an end to mankind!<i></font color=blue>

 

[Guest]

Happauge offers the highest resolution TV cards available.

Jack Burton is a great man...

 

[kinney]

You get one with the Xtasy Everything line of cards.. I dont think that you can get it seperately yet but I can't wait until every nv card can use one. I think it uses a propietary connection method so you have to have one of the special video cards with it to use the personal cinema. so i dont know if they will come out with a standalone soon but I'm buying one as soon as that happens. im also not sure if you could buy one from someone and use it with your nvidia card.

hauppauge do not have any advantage in "screen resolution", dont be fooled by that. BUT they do offer a HDTV (the only way you could get a higher res image) compatible card for around $400... your going to get the same quality with all the cards unless you are using that HDTV version.

My favorite would be the ati tv wonder if it was more stable.
If i was to buy one right now i would buy a hauppauge card, its the only one i've heard is stable in winxp.

My previous post was posted before i found pinnacle are much like my ATI, very unstable under anything but Win98. My tv wonder works great under 2k and i heard the pinnacle dont even work under 2k.

Its to bad cuz they offer the most features for your money over all other brands.

"dude your getting a dell", is that kid trying to say he wants to stick his 'dell' in you?

 

[Conqueror]

Thanks for the info kinney. I didn't know such as thing existed. Here is a link with an overview of the specs:

<A HREF="http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/S&V/vtxtasy_everything5564.shtml" target="_new">http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/S&V/vtxtasy_everything5564.shtml</A>

But I think this is way beyond my needs and budget yet. I need something like the Hauppauge PVR or similar.

Wen the cup is ful,no more can be poured-
wen you'r ful of your opinions,no more wisdom can enter

 

[Guest]

Hi, cant help you much but this is what i do know !,,,,I have a packard bell(i know i got "belled" !!) & i have an intel r810-l onboard graphica card (port with 11MBs memory)
The hauppauge wintv card has a DRIVER CONTROLLED overlay & force primary draw switcher (for thoes that dont know :this means that the way that the picture is displayed) in "force primary" the pucture quality is good in "overlay" the picture can be better (depending on your graphics card) but is more relyable (dosen't crash the wintv app (applications). The wintv app interface (GUI) is very good & is easy to get to grips with. Then i got a VOODOO TV FM card cos the card has a remote & has stereo sound, the chip (the hardware that is used to display the picture) is the same as the wintv. the voodoo card is great & the image quality is not as good as the wintv card!. My wintv card has a good still capture size 1600*1200 & video up to 800*600 with avi only quality.
The other day i up-graded my pc with a "nvidia Riva TNT2" & the wintv card has stoped working in "overlay" mode but is a little jerkey in "force primary", So in other words i am haveing alot of problems (& we all know what this is like dont we !!! .) So then i put the voodoo tv fm card back in to the pci slot ("what ?" is he CRAZY ?" i hear you shout )to find that the tv tv card isnt working, so if that has confused you here it is again,
onboard graphics = wintv = good quality.
nvidia graphics = wintv = crap kinda works in force primary.
onboard graphics = voodoo = good but not as good as wintv.
nvidia graphics = voodoo = dosn't work at all.
so in conclution : if you are getting a wintv OR thinking of getting another make then make sure that the shop WILL ACCEPT it back for ANY reason.
In the future i am thinking of building a rig (pc system) & haveing a "wintv theater" installed witch has all of the voodoo & wintv features combined.
Well i hope that has helped you out, & if you or anybody can help me out with my problem then thanks.
I have tryed some of the advanced nvidia tweaking tools, such as !RIVATUNER" & "NVMAX" any they have some tv tools but yet have not solved the problem.
(ps :it would be good to know what you decide then i can get a idear that the card you are after is like)

 

[kinney]

one more thing you need to be informed about, the surround sound hauppauge is dolby pro-logic.. a basically useless and vastly outdated standard. i say if it aint dolby digital forget about it and get a good set of stereo speakers (or just a stereo tv tuner in this case).

there are no dolby digital tuners, not even the hauppauge hdtv card.

i'd say at least get the stereo hauppauge or the HDTV if you have a lot of money but pro logic isnt much of a selling point to me and i have a good 5.1 surround, you might as well just go stereo and forget it if its pro logic, theres many reasons why it stinks (limited frequency range on the rear speakers, ect...)

"dude your getting a dell", is that kid trying to say he wants to stick his 'dell' in you?

 

[kinney]

go to http://www.mwave.com for the xtasy for around $169 I think if thats more near your price point.

"dude your getting a dell", is that kid trying to say he wants to stick his 'dell' in you?