Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500MCE (785428010816) Video Capture
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- Platform: PC
- Video Input: S-Video Composite Video TV Antenna
- Interface with Host: PCI
- Adapter Type: Video Capture TV Input Radio Input
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Record two shows, or watch one and record another!
Pros
Easy to install, excellent picture quality, DUAL TUNERS!
Cons
Don't use with a set-top cable tuner; you're wasting features.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The PVR-500 is an excellent card that does everything that it promises to.
When I was building my Media Center PC (see my other posts about other parts of the project), I started off with an ATI All-In-Wonder card as my TV tuner.
I soon started shopping around for a better TV tuner. "All-in-one" cards are nice for general use, but I really wanted something with better quality.
Since I also wanted a Media Center remote, and I had heard good things about the Hauppauge cards, I started looking into them.
The one that I chose was the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500MCE Media Center Bundle.
First, the card:
The card and the adapter that will come with it will take one PCI slot, but two slots on the back of the computer. Luckily, this doesn't prove to be a big issue, since the cable that goes to the second slot is long enough that it doesn't have to be in the adjacent slot.
Installation of the card is very easy; remove two slot covers, and insert the card into an available PCI slot. The second slot cover is filled by what I would call the "expansion ports", which give you additional video inputs.
Connection to the outside world is easy; one of the F-Connectors (Cable connectors) goes to your cable; the other goes to an FM antenna (included).
Features:
The card includes TWO independent TV tuners. That's right. This means that you could:
o Watch one show while recording another
o Record two shows at the same time.
o Record two shows while watching a DVD
o Record two shows while listening to FM radio
The cards have built-in hardware MPEG encoding, although while using it in Media Center, since Media Center uses it's own proprietary format for recording TV shows, I'm not certain whether the hardware encoders are being used (perhaps someone can clarify this in a comment to this review... I'd be appreciative.)
Windows Media Center edition will support up to two TV tuners simultaneously. So, select the Hauppauge tuners when you're setting up media center, and you're good to go!
Quality:
I was very impressed, especially having come from an "all in one" card to the PVR-500 when it came to picture quality. I have never ONCE had a "drop out", where the picture has stuttered or skipped, even when I was doing other things with Media Center while recording a show.
Additionally, the "noise" in the background as compared to my all-in-one card is considerably better. In my old setup, when the picture would go black (say between commercials) you could see "noise"... kind of like grey static. It made the pictures look a little fuzzy.
The picture quality on the PVR-500 is crystal clear. It's a beautiful thing.
Media Center Remote:
The Media Center Remote that came with the PVR-500 bundle is a standard RC-6 MCE remote. It supports media center without loading anything additional. The receiver was a standard "IR Blaster" receiver, that plugs into the USB port. No drivers needed to be loaded; I just plugged it in and it worked. It worked much better than the remote that came with my ATI card, since that remote was RF (Radio Frequency), and the RC-6 is Infra-Red (meaning that it actually *WORKS* from my couch... with the RF remote, I had to actually get up and walk closer to the receiver. Yuck.)
Control:
Just like a Tivo (but without guessing what ELSE you want to watch), you can pause live TV. Rewind it. Recording in Media Center is always beautiful, clear, and skip-free (keeping in mind, skip-free is a product of your processor, ram, and hard drive speed as well! Your results may vary; void where prohibited. hehe) We like the ability to pause a show or a movie and get up for popcorn or bathroom break, then come back and resume. Now, if they could only find a way to get you to fast forward past what is being currently broadcast... hehe....
The Down side:
If you are using a cable box, you may want to re-think this entire process. While the PVR-500, in conjunction with the IR Blaster will control your cable box tuner, you're limiting yourself on what you can do with the unit at that point. If you have basic or extended cable, so that you're normally tuning all the channels you wish to watch with your TV, and not with a set-top box, then this is the card for you.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the PVR-500. The physical installation of the card was easy; a 5-minute job. The installation of the drivers went flawlessly; the RC-6 Media Center remote was literally plug and play. Picture quality is excellent.
I soon started shopping around for a better TV tuner. "All-in-one" cards are nice for general use, but I really wanted something with better quality.
Since I also wanted a Media Center remote, and I had heard good things about the Hauppauge cards, I started looking into them.
The one that I chose was the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500MCE Media Center Bundle.
First, the card:
The card and the adapter that will come with it will take one PCI slot, but two slots on the back of the computer. Luckily, this doesn't prove to be a big issue, since the cable that goes to the second slot is long enough that it doesn't have to be in the adjacent slot.
Installation of the card is very easy; remove two slot covers, and insert the card into an available PCI slot. The second slot cover is filled by what I would call the "expansion ports", which give you additional video inputs.
Connection to the outside world is easy; one of the F-Connectors (Cable connectors) goes to your cable; the other goes to an FM antenna (included).
Features:
The card includes TWO independent TV tuners. That's right. This means that you could:
o Watch one show while recording another
o Record two shows at the same time.
o Record two shows while watching a DVD
o Record two shows while listening to FM radio
The cards have built-in hardware MPEG encoding, although while using it in Media Center, since Media Center uses it's own proprietary format for recording TV shows, I'm not certain whether the hardware encoders are being used (perhaps someone can clarify this in a comment to this review... I'd be appreciative.)
Windows Media Center edition will support up to two TV tuners simultaneously. So, select the Hauppauge tuners when you're setting up media center, and you're good to go!
Quality:
I was very impressed, especially having come from an "all in one" card to the PVR-500 when it came to picture quality. I have never ONCE had a "drop out", where the picture has stuttered or skipped, even when I was doing other things with Media Center while recording a show.
Additionally, the "noise" in the background as compared to my all-in-one card is considerably better. In my old setup, when the picture would go black (say between commercials) you could see "noise"... kind of like grey static. It made the pictures look a little fuzzy.
The picture quality on the PVR-500 is crystal clear. It's a beautiful thing.
Media Center Remote:
The Media Center Remote that came with the PVR-500 bundle is a standard RC-6 MCE remote. It supports media center without loading anything additional. The receiver was a standard "IR Blaster" receiver, that plugs into the USB port. No drivers needed to be loaded; I just plugged it in and it worked. It worked much better than the remote that came with my ATI card, since that remote was RF (Radio Frequency), and the RC-6 is Infra-Red (meaning that it actually *WORKS* from my couch... with the RF remote, I had to actually get up and walk closer to the receiver. Yuck.)
Control:
Just like a Tivo (but without guessing what ELSE you want to watch), you can pause live TV. Rewind it. Recording in Media Center is always beautiful, clear, and skip-free (keeping in mind, skip-free is a product of your processor, ram, and hard drive speed as well! Your results may vary; void where prohibited. hehe) We like the ability to pause a show or a movie and get up for popcorn or bathroom break, then come back and resume. Now, if they could only find a way to get you to fast forward past what is being currently broadcast... hehe....
The Down side:
If you are using a cable box, you may want to re-think this entire process. While the PVR-500, in conjunction with the IR Blaster will control your cable box tuner, you're limiting yourself on what you can do with the unit at that point. If you have basic or extended cable, so that you're normally tuning all the channels you wish to watch with your TV, and not with a set-top box, then this is the card for you.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the PVR-500. The physical installation of the card was easy; a 5-minute job. The installation of the drivers went flawlessly; the RC-6 Media Center remote was literally plug and play. Picture quality is excellent.
