.. can it record more than one subchannel (.1, .2, etc...) at the same time like the Hd Homerun can do with MythTV's trunk using only one tuner?
Yes. Multirec is possible with pretty much any DTV tuner in MythTV, including the 950Q, 1600, and 2250.

Cheers

I assume you mean analog CABLE channel? AFAIK you can record digital and analog OTA without problems... What you can't do is use one tuner for OTA and one for cable..
The important missing word in the original post was simultaneously. Each half of the "dual-tuner" 2250 can independently record a single channel at a time, be that analog or digital.

The 1600 can record *both* an analog channel and a digital channel simultaneously, despite being marketed as a single/hybrid tuner card.

In either case, the digital channel can use multirec, recording several subchannels independently at the same time.

Cheers

Hi guys, me again....sorry.

I'm still struggling with my install of the ATI 550Pro NTSC card for OTA.
I've been through about a dozen different install and uninstall variations including all of the new and recent ATI driver packages (9.7, 9.8) for W7 64.

Colin, you said this yesterday:
"Windows does the analog tuners first at which point it tells you the digital tuners don't work. After you've finished those it starts with the digital ones. "

I'm not sure if you're referring to Vista MC, because in my W7 MC setup after i agree to the terms it checks for connected signals and then presents me with a prompt saying that it found my 2 ATSC 2250 tuners.
It also shows that another tuner was found but no signal was able to be setup for it. There is a details button, which displays my card as "AVStream" (I assume generic windows driver?) and it says that it cannot detect my signal and i should check connections.

All connections are fine, and I proved out that the card is functioning fine. I have a dual boot with Vista 64, so i tried the setup through there and Media Center found the card no problem and setup all three of my tuners without a hitch.

Because of this, I'm assuming it is only a driver issue for W7 64. Do I wait it out for the actual release of 7 and hope they've added proper support? Can I somehow force it to work through administration tools? Do I call up support with my translator and try to walk through it with them? Or do I return the card and find something less headachy??

Thanks for actually reading this, and hopefully it makes sense.

kls.

my apologies for not using proper terms. Either two ATSC or two NTSC is the capability of the 2250.

Because of this, I'm assuming it is only a driver issue for W7 64. Do I wait it out for the actual release of 7 and hope they've added proper support? Can I somehow force it to work through administration tools? Do I call up support with my translator and try to walk through it with them? Or do I return the card and find something less headachy??

That does sound like a driver issue. Did you check to see if ATI has released a Windows 7 driver for it? Otherwise, try their most recent Vista driver. If none of that works you may want to return it before your warranty expires.

my apologies for not using proper terms. Either two ATSC or two NTSC is the capability of the 2250.

Are you sure? I hadn't read about that restrictions and the MythTV wiki suggests otherwise (1st paragraph):

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Hauppauge_HVR-2250

I thought that the only restriction was that you could only connect an antenna or cable (only one "antenna" input on the card for TV) and record a maximum of two programs at the same time (and they could either be both digital, both analog or a mix of the two...).

Have a nice day!

Nick

Yes. Multirec is possible with pretty much any DTV tuner in MythTV, including the 950Q, 1600, and 2250.

Cheers

Thanks, that's good to know...

Now if I can only get that #@#&*@ antenna and tower replaced... ;)

Have a nice day!

Nick

Knight,

If you can join NTSC and ATSC signal then I see no reason why you can't do both however I think they share some of the same frequencies.

I was just trying to make the point that the 2250 only has one input for ATSC and or NTSC whereas the 1600/1800 has one input for ATSC and one for NTSC.

Q

Knight,

If you can join NTSC and ATSC signal then I see no reason why you can't do both however I think they share some of the same frequencies.

I was just trying to make the point that the 2250 only has one input for ATSC and or NTSC whereas the 1600/1800 has one input for ATSC and one for NTSC.

Q

Q, we are saying the same thing...

(The HVR-2250 has only one input and that makes some tuner configurations (cable and OTA for example) impossible...)

You can't AFAIK, connect an OTA antenna and cable together (I even believe I've read this would be illegal as it would cause interference) so you can't connect both to your HVR-2250 at the same time...

I could be wrong but I think the only thing you can connect together (if you have the necessary adapters) is a satellite dish and an OTA antenna...

However, analog OTA signals are NTSC signals too and these come from the same type of antennas (VHF and UHF though most ATSC signals are on UHF I believe) you would use for ATSC (digital OTA) so you can get both without problems.

The HVR-1600/1800 has a separate input for the analog and digital tuner so you could connect, for example, analog cable to the analog tuner (NTSC) and an OTA antenna to the digital (ATSC/QAM) tuner. You could also use a splitter and feed both from the same OTA antenna...

It all depends on what you want to do... If you want to get cable and OTA signals at the same the HVR-2250 is possibly not a good choice (and the HVR-1600/1800 could possibly be a better choice if you want to get analog cable and digital OTA or unencrypted digital cable and analog OTA for example). I say it's possibly not a good choice because you could always buy one for OTA and one for cable (especially at the price they go for currently...).

You made a very good point, the HVR-2250 has only one input and that does make it less flexible than the HVR-1600/1800 in this regard...

Have a nice day!

Nick

You can't AFAIK, connect an OTA antenna and cable together (I even believe I've read this would be illegal as it would cause interference)That is correct:

FAQ - Signal Leakage Between CATV and OTA (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=65268)

You made a very good point, the HVR-2250 has only one input and that does make it less flexible than the HVR-1600/1800 in this regard...

For people who only use OTA (both analog and digital) that flexibility comes at a 3.5dB price in signal strength as you need to split the signal to connect to both inputs. Tuners with a single input don't require you to split the signal, but as mlord said, you can then only record one program at a time.

It all comes down to what you want to do.

Steven Toth (author of that driver) is promising on KernelLabs.com some great news soon (and apparently they do concern Analog support)...

He also also submitted his patches to LinuxTV.org recently so HVR-2250 support without having to compile it yourself should eventually be available...

I'm still in the research phase of my HTPC build, but my current plans include the HVR-2250 and MythTV (MythDora). Has anyone tried this patch yet and is able to comment on the level of difficulty? Just trying to figure out if I should postpone until this patch becomes vanilla or if I should proceed.

For people who only use OTA (both analog and digital) that flexibility comes at a 3.5dB price in signal strength as you need to split the signal to connect to both inputs.
The real loss of flexibility, is that one cannot connect the two tuners to *different* signal sources at the same time. For me, that's a deal breaker.

Cheers

I might as well reiterate :

HVR-2250 is super cool if you have a mATX mobo and want a dual ATSC tuner setup for OTA-HD (at least for Canadians LOL as there is no Clear QAM)
It gets even better if you're putting it in SFF/low profile case as a LP bracket is included. It does come with SD input for STB's if that's what you're after but if SD recording is all you use it for, you're seriously under-utilizing the device as it is not cheap. And like mentioned about 1000 times, it is NOT a flexible device that allow you to connect a whole whack of things even the kit comes with a bunch of stuff.

For a Window based system, dual ATSC tuner is a must and it does greatly increase the level of enjoyment and flexibility. My kitchen work-horse PC has dual tuner - ATI All-In-Wonder HD and HVR-1250 - both devices are PCI-Express. I still need a 2-way splitter with -3.5db to feed both tuners so the point about signal loss in the HVR-2250 is moot.

I wonder anyone notices that Hauppauge marks some of their tuner as "high performance" but some not. If you go to Hauppauge website in the "product" page, you will see two internal tuners and one external tuner are marked as "high performance":
WinTV-HVR-1600 high performance PCI TV combo tuner
WinTV-HVR-1850 high performance PCI Express TV combo tuner
WinTV-HVR-1950 high performance USB TV tuner

The link is here:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/prods_hvr_internal.html

I am thinking there must be a reason for Hauppauge. Does anyone has some ideas?

I am thinking there must be a reason for Hauppauge. Does anyone has some ideas?

My guess is "High Performance" means, hardware MPEG-2 encoder, though the 2250 has 2 hardware MPEG-2 encoders and does not have the "High Performance" buzz word in its title.

My guess is "High Performance" means, hardware MPEG-2 encoder

I think you are right...But is it possible that "High Performance" refers to a specific type of tuner component? e.g. can tuner or silicon tuner?

I wonder anyone notices that Hauppauge marks some of their tuner as "high performance" but some not. If you go to Hauppauge website in the "product" page, you will see two internal tuners and one external tuner are marked as "high performance":
WinTV-HVR-1600 high performance PCI TV combo tuner
WinTV-HVR-1850 high performance PCI Express TV combo tuner
WinTV-HVR-1950 high performance USB TV tuner

Those all have hardware MPEG2 encoders for analog recordings.

I was thinking about buying an Hauppauge HVR-2250 for my HTPC for $100, but I see an ATI Wonder 650 USB for $60. How do they compare? I'm wanting the ability to record 2 x 1080p shows simultaneously (OTA, no cable/satellite). Both options support dual tuners, but I'm drawn to the ATI Wonder 650 USB because it's external; less heat and no requirement of a free PCI slot. One concern I have is the Wonder 650 uses a USB 2.0 connection; is that enough bandwidth for 2 x 1080p recordings?

I realize 2 x Hauppauge HVR-950s is an option, but one of them would cost as much as the $60 Wonder 650. Any opinions?

Note: unfortunately the forum search won't let me search for "650" or "wonder," so my apologies if this has been answered somewhere before.

Tuners with a single input don't require you to split the signal, but as mlord said, you can then only record one program at a time.

I'm a bit confused by this statement. If we're talking about a single, unsplit source, and the HVR-2250 has dual tuners but only one input, how is it that it can only record one program at a time? Perhaps I'm misunderstanding/misinterpreting something. Did you mean to say tuners with a single tuner can only record one program at a time?

If it matters, my set-up will feature 2 antennas that I intend to combine, with the expectation of being able to record 2 shows simultaneously from just one antenna if the need arises, or one show from each antenna of course.