Aparently, the tuners on a Hauppauge WinTV PVR 500 MCE card comes in two flavors:
I currently have a "Type A" card (the one with the bigger tuners) and it works okay in my setup.
However, I've been having severe picture quality issues on all channels with the "Type B" card, and I've RMA'd it twice already @ newegg.com.
I just got the second replacement of the "Type B" card, and PQ still looks awful.
So, I sent off the following E-Mail to Hauppauge's customer support:
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I've attached a 2-second video clip (that I recorded in Beyond TV 4.3) that shows what my problem is with the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE (very grainy).
I had the Cable Guy come out and test the line.
He said that my signal strength is 18 dB.
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE Specs:
Model: 1081.
Large Barcode (On Box): 7 85428 01081 6.
Small Barcode (On Box): 15-116-328(821570).
Barcode (On Back of TV Card): 1906 8898629.
Tuner Type: NTSC / NTSC-J (23552).
TV Tuner Revision: D857.
Etched in each tuner's metal: CEA 3001.
BTV 4.3 Recording Profile:
Best (DVD Ready)
Video: MPEG-2, 720x480, 29.97 fps, 8000 kbps.
Audio: MPEG-1 Audio Layer-2, 48000 Hz, 384 kbps.
PC Specs:
Motherboard: EPoX EP-8RDA3+Pro (Rev 1x). [nForce2 Ultra 400+ Gigabit MCP Chipset]
CPU: (Retail) AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (2167 MHz) Socket A (462).
RAM: 1 GB (2x 512), DDR 333 in Dual Channel mode.
Sound Card: Onboard RealTek ALC850 AC'97 v2.3.
OS: Windows XP Home (with Service Pack 2).
Power Supply: Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W.
I have an older Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE that works fine, as well as a PVR-150 that works fine too.
Things that I have tried (none of which improved picture quality):
A) Different PCI Slots.
B) Different Motherboards (AMD & Intel).
C) Different Drivers.
D) Different Recording Qualities.
E) Different Coaxial Cables (I use RG-6 Quad-Shield cables with Compression Conectors).
F) I even tried my Sister's place witch is across town.
G) No Splitter.
H) Different Splitter.
I) 3 dB Signal Attenuators (started with one, tested, added another one, tested, and so on until was at 3dB.
J) Electroline EDA 2200 2-port (+11 dB) Drop Amp.
K) Tried different Monitor Refresh Rates.
L) Exchanged for another one (I did this twice) from NewEgg.com.
I don't know what to do next.
[My Name]
[My Street Address]
[My City, State & Zip]
[My Phone Number]
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Here's a link to the clip I sent them:
http://www.jtdsoftware.com/Grainy_Clip.mpg
I'll let you all know how this goes, of course, but I was curious if my issue was also experienced by others, and if it depends on which tuner type we have.