MCE TV Tuner Roundup: Featuring ATI's Theater 550 & NVIDIA's NVTV
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 12, 2005 6:26 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Second Place: Hauppauge WinTV PVR-250
Hauppauge is a name that has been around in the PC TV tuner business for a very long time and they are also extremely common in the MCE scene. Note that while Hauppauge has a fairly extensive lineup of TV tuners, most of them are quite similar to one another. For example, the WinTV PVR-250 is identical to the PVR-500, although the latter has two tuners. The PVR-250 is also identical to the PVR-250MCE and the PVR-350.
The WinTV PVR-250 actually offered significantly better image quality than the competition. Everything looked a lot softer rather than having that hard grainy look that we saw in the previous runner-ups.
The overall picture is quite good, although the colors are a bit oversaturated. In the lower middle you can see minor text box issues.
There were very few text box related issues with the PVR-250, basically nothing compared to the previous few cards. You do pay for the image quality though. The WinTV PVR-250 sells for between $130 - $150, over twice as much as the 3rd place ATI eHome Wonder. At that price, it's tough to justify the Hauppauge, even taking into account the image quality benefits.
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vailr - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
ATI’s TV Wonder Elite vs. eVGA's NVTV vs. Hauppauge PVR-150MCEhttp://www.techreport.com/reviews/2005q2/tuner-com...
Patman2099 - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
I got a Theatrix 550, its got a theatre 550 chip, but its made by sapphire. its listed at about half the price of the ATI card reviewed. Looks exactly the same too.I love it, works flawlessly in my HTPC
LX - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
Disappointed.Lots of fluff, less information.
Where is the software compatibility tests?
Where is the comparison of the MPEG-2 encoding?
Incorrect statements like:
"For example, the WinTV PVR-250 is identical to the PVR-500, although the latter has two tuners. The PVR-250 is also identical to the PVR-250MCE and the PVR-350."
Check http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/compare_pvr.html
Anand is getting sloppy.
segagenesis - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
#37 - Yep. Ive seen piles of them at CompUSA. Not readily available... maybe in Neverland. Seeing how it IS readily available I would still count it as fair game :PsonicDivx - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
hey, Cygni. Just checked Newegg, guess what PVR-150 instockhttp://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?desc...
mind you this is the retail version. Also the 150 has been out for some time. I've even seen it at CompUsa.
Also check out pcalchemy their prices are good. Also I trust HTPCNews or AVSForums more in terms on product reviews and knowledge on HTPC systems.
GoatMonkey - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
Why is there a sudden interest in reviewing these products just 2 weeks after I make my decision and buy something? I searched everywhere I could think of to find any information about these cards. I finally decided on a Hauppauge 500, which I'm happy with btw, but it's still annoying to get a decent review just *after* I buy something.Next up you should do a comparison of the software side of this: Beyond TV, Myth TV, Windows MCE, Chris TV, etc. How about a comparison of video capture and editing software also. I guess Anand's reviews mostly software, but maybe some other site will pick up this idea. I'm having a great time with Beyond TV btw.
bupkus - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
kjohnson,Perhaps you'd be happier in Red China where ideology police WATCH YOU!
leaglebob2 - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
How can you do a video review and post captured pictures without stating what the capture parameters were? ((of the video stream--not the stills))BTW==what were they?
And assumng capturing was done "at the best settings" how about a review at the lower resolutions for those of us who record talk shows?
You did all that work, and then stopped short.
Thanks///bobbo.
Tiorapatea - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
Oops, sorry, triple post.Tiorapatea - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - link
"That all changed when Microsoft released Windows XP Media Center Edition. Bringing the first true 10-foot UI to the PC..."Whilst I don't generally like to nitpick too much, I do find the lack of attention given on this site to Linux solutions a bit puzzling. Linux is really not that hard to get going, particularly for enthusiasts. And Anandtech does, I believe, aim to cater for the enthusiast.