Choosing a Hauppauge PVR-150 card

[hkeiner]

I have been using two Hauppauge PVR-250s for the past few years without problems, but now one of them has failed and I want to replace it with a PVR-150. They are cheap on ebay. I was searching ebay for a PVR-150 and see that there are a variety of PVR-150 cards with different "model numbers" showing on the cards' labels. Also, some cards are described as MCE and while other cards are not described as MCE.

My question is this... Are all PVR-150s, regardless of "model number" on the label equally compatible with BeyondTV and the Hauppauge drivers? Are there any "model numbers" I should stay away from? Also, does the "MCE" in the description matter?

Following are some of the PVR-150 model numbers that I have seen so far on the labels. I use the term "model number" but the numbers may be called something else. Below is a picture showing the number I mean.

26552
44981 LF
26553 LF
32553 C168
26582 LF
26052 LF

I know that some cards have different plug configuations on the back, but that is not a question I have. I already understand that the different PVR-150 cards have differing capabilites, such s for FM radio, composite video input, RCA audio input, etc. I just want to be sure that I don't inadverantly buy a PVR-150 model that will not work because I didnt' know it is not compatible with Beyond TV and my cable service. I don't use an antennae, so the upcoming change to digital signals in the airways does not affect me. Also, I am not watching HD, so I don't need a HD capable card at this time. Just a cheap one....

Thanks in advance for any response.

[TomXP411]

The difference between the "MCE" and non-"MCE" version is that the MCE-labelled ones are designed for Media Center.

All the PVR-150 cards (MCE or not) have harware MPEG-2 encoding, and they're on the offical HCL

[SmokeWatcher]

Also note that just because a PVR150 is labeled as "MCE" doesn't mean you can only use it in Windows MCE. I've been using one perfectly using XP Pro for many years now.

[scooterspal]

I have seven of these PVR-150 cards. Five are working in their own Dell 1Ghz desktop running W2K and the others are spares.

All were Ebay deals and all were just purchased at random... different models... whatever I could get at the time. With and w/o remote, with and w/o radio, etc.

I have all of them running the very same W2K drivers with no issues as to models, features.

I do not use any of the "features" other than recording via the F connector.

The only thing to watch out for is an issue with audio clipping on some cards. I had some that had it and Hauppauge RMA'd them out for good cards at no charge. You cannot correct this in the tweaking or drivers. I tried.

[hkeiner]

Thanks for the replies. Now I know I can bid on any PVR-150 on ebay and not worry about the particular "model" involved.

Regards

[scooterspal]

Yes, but test them as soon as they each arrive to check for the audio clipping issue or you may get stuck with defective cards!

[hkeiner]

Yes, but test them as soon as they each arrive to check for the audio clipping issue

So that I better understand how to recognize an "audio clipping" problem, does this mean that the sound will be obviously deficent (e.g., choppy, erratic, tinny, scratchy, low volume, etc.) when using the card to watch a live program or watch a recorded program though BeyondTV? Or is it a more subtle sound problem?

Thanks

[scooterspal]

I only use these cards via the F connector so test it that way, first.

Tune in any clear channel. Listen to the audio. If the card is bad you will hear
a clipping sound... that is, the audio peaks are clipped off when the sound level spikes up a bit on loud segments.

It is quite noticeable. There's no missing it.

Nothing else will be wrong. The levels will be fine... card to card... they should all match. No dropping out. This is the only issue I ever had with them.

BTW: For what it's worth, I am new to BTV as of this weekend... still playing with the trial version. I test all my cards... even the PVR-500's I recently received... using Hauppauge's WinTV2000, their free application for recording and viewing with their cards.

It's very bard bones so there is less to get in your way when evaulating the cards for issues. You can have it on your system along with BTV. Will not affect anything. Good idea to have it there to test things out at any point later on!

Good luck!