What do you think about this PVR

[fatmanforlife99]

What do you guys think about this PVR? Or anybody recomend a different PVR.

PVR link:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815116625

[kram 2.0]

That is an excellent PVR - Hauppage is one of the best names in PVRs and the PVR-150 is one of the best out there for the price.

kram

[fatmanforlife99]

Thank you kram for your opinion

[fatmanforlife99]

ATI TV Wonder Pro Capture Card With S-Video and Composite Inputs
This one is cheaper, is it a good card for recording and watching tv?

[tomster2300]

I plan on building a pvr one of these days and so I've been researching different options. Hauppauge is a great company, but I've been told by pvr enthusiasts that the ATI Theater 550 Pro (that's the chip, ATI's card which uses it is the ATI Wonder Elite) gives a superior image. The problem for it is it has a slightly delayed channel changing time (more so than the hauppauge pvr-150). Remember, the pvr-150 came out before the ATI Elite, so none of the hauppauge reviews will mention any kind of comparison to it.

Some reviews:

Elite Reviews:

http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=powercolor_t550pro_1
http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=650
http://www.beyond3d.com/reviews/ati/550pro/
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_theater_550_pro/default.asp
http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=v550pro_1

Hauppauge Reviews:

http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=pvr_150_1
http://reviews.cnet.com/Hauppauge_WinTV_PVR_150/4505-9332_7-31205053-2.html
http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q2/tuner-comparo/index.x?pg=1

These guys will help you with anything you need - (they've helped me a lot).

http://forum.byopvr.com/dvr/

Good luck and hope this helps. Merry Christmas!

[kram 2.0]

I've seen a PVR-150 and a Theatre Pro 550 side by side - doesn't look too different...if any at all. I bought a TV Wonder Pro about an year ago - decent quality but the ATI Multimedia Center was nice but hard to install. I upgrade to the Visiontek Theatre Pro 550 several weeks ago; although the IQ is noticible better than the predecessor, two noticible drawbacks are the delayed channel change (as aforementioned) and the software. Most Theatre Pro 550 cards come with a Cyberlink Power Cinema software. Not adequate - just by looking at the trial, very stripped down, especially as compared to the ATI MMC. The VisionTek card came with SnapStream's Beyond TV. Great software (but again, delayed channel change), but what annoyed me is that it turned out to be a trial. Who includes trial versions of required software with their products?

So to answer your question - go with the PVR-150.

kram