HD PVR really worth it?

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by Shield

Sigh. Now buy.com says the product has been shipped to my house and they are unable to cancel my order. So I will have to return it or the Newegg one.

If someone will be home when it is delivered, simply refuse delivery on one of the orders. That way it is sent back to the retailer without you having to pay for shipping or restocking fees.

If no one is home, then it will just get left on the doorstep.

[Fluffdaddy]

Originally Posted by Shield

I can't find any that cheap on Amazon. Link?

http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-1212...8862311&sr=8-1

[Shield]

Originally Posted by sic0048

If someone will be home when it is delivered, simply refuse delivery on one of the orders. That way it is sent back to the retailer without you having to pay for shipping or restocking fees.

If no one is home, then it will just get left on the doorstep.

Sigh. Newegg wants $33 for a restocking fee; it's set to be delivered Monday when the wife and I are at work. By the time I pay for shipping back and the $33 bucks, it doesn't make sense to return it.

[MeInMaui]

I just ordered my second HD-PVR from Amazon for $209.99 and free shipping. Free shipping is huge for me as it normally runs around $30 for even the smallest items.

Aloha,
Mike

[Surtr]

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

I just ordered my second HD-PVR from Amazon for $209.99 and free shipping. Free shipping is huge for me as it normally runs around $30 for even the smallest items.

Aloha,
Mike

Do the 30 day free prime trial; then you get free 2nd day shipping.

I've been sorely tempted to order an HD-PVR, but the stories on the forums here have scared me off. Lots of random lockups, that would definitely kill the WAF in my house. 209 shipped is pretty dang tempting though...

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by Surtr

I've been sorely tempted to order an HD-PVR, but the stories on the forums here have scared me off. Lots of random lockups, that would definitely kill the WAF in my house.

There are probably several factors behind the problems people are seeing. I've had my HD-PVR for about a month and have had no problems with it. It cranked on through the hottest part of the summer here in the hottest part of my apartment while I keep the thermostat set at 80 during the day without skipping a single beat. No issues whatsoever with the HD-PVR itself.

All I need now are drivers capable of AC3 pass-through.

[bcjenkins]

I hear those are coming soon.

B

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

I hear those are coming soon.

B

I've heard it is "any day" for a month now.

[bcjenkins]

From what I've seen in the hdpvr channel on freenode it is this week.

B

[sleonard]

That's what I heard last week.

[jerryt]

Originally Posted by sic0048

I've heard it is "any day" for a month now.

h**p://www.shspvr.com/smf/index.php?topic=11596.15

[KJake]

Originally Posted by Fluffdaddy

http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-1212...8862311&sr=8-1

Thanks. I've decided to take the plunge and do this. We'll see how it compares to my R5000. $3.99 next day shipping

[Fluffdaddy]

I have my finger on the clicker for my 2nd unit, just waiting for 5.1 support is all. Got to love Amazon's $213.96 with next day shippping

[CanadianEh]

I finally ordered my second unit yesterday. I'm still anxious for the 5.1 driver.......

[ehfortin]

Hi,

I have a HD-PVR and it's working fine with my STB (Illico HD). However, everything that I'm looking at through SageTV is very soft. It works but the image is really not as precise as directly connected. My wife noticed it right away and she is complaining about it with reason.

SageTV is configured to be at maximum resolution (5.9 GB/hour) but it doesn't seems to change anything. Is there anything else to change manually in either Arcsoft or directly in the properties file?

Fast movement is also blocky. I figured it may be normal but some people seems to tell that they see nearly the same quality directly from the STB or going through HD-PVR/SageTV so... Maybe something is not right in my setup.

I'm using Overlay (just barely better then VRM9), installed Arcsoft (the one coming with HD-PVR), connected to a Illico HD with component that is doing 720x480 (based on what Arcsoft is reporting to me). I have an ATI Radeon 2400 Pro and, no high load on my dual core CPU (seems that ATI is doing most of the decoding onboard for both MPG2 and H264).

Is there something I've missed or it is normal to have an image that is a lot more soft then the source and to have those block when quick action occurs?

Thank you.


Etienne

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by ehfortin

Hi,

I have a HD-PVR and it's working fine with my STB (Illico HD). However, everything that I'm looking at through SageTV is very soft. It works but the image is really not as precise as directly connected. My wife noticed it right away and she is complaining about it with reason.

SageTV is configured to be at maximum resolution (5.9 GB/hour) but it doesn't seems to change anything. Is there anything else to change manually in either Arcsoft or directly in the properties file?

Fast movement is also blocky. I figured it may be normal but some people seems to tell that they see nearly the same quality directly from the STB or going through HD-PVR/SageTV so... Maybe something is not right in my setup.

I'm using Overlay (just barely better then VRM9), installed Arcsoft (the one coming with HD-PVR), connected to a Illico HD with component that is doing 720x480 (based on what Arcsoft is reporting to me). I have an ATI Radeon 2400 Pro and, no high load on my dual core CPU (seems that ATI is doing most of the decoding onboard for both MPG2 and H264).

Is there something I've missed or it is normal to have an image that is a lot more soft then the source and to have those block when quick action occurs?

Thank you.


Etienne

Why are you outputting at 720x480? That is not an HD resolution....If you really are only sending 720x480 to your tv, then you are inessence down converting your video from HD to SD which would explain the lack of sharpness....

[ehfortin]

That's one of the strange thing. If I connect the component cables directly to the TV, it shows either 720p or 1080i (depending what settings I'm putting). However, once connected to the HD-PVR, Arcsoft is reporting 720x480 from the same setup.

I don't know how I can verify if Arcsoft is reporting the proper information. I may be so, yes but then, I have no clue how to tell it to use a higher resolution. The STB is fixed to HD and it's not changing there. Without going to HD-PVR/SageTV, it is definitely HD on the TV.

Any idea or suggestion?


Etienne

[ehfortin]

Hi again,

I just found the problem. The television was tricking me, telling I was in 720p or 1080i but it was upscaling the 480i/480p. I finally figure how to force by STB to be at 720p and now, arcsoft is reporting that I really have 720p and the TV is saying the same as well. The image just have a much better sharpness now.

I'll have to play with this new setup for some time. It seems that now I have stuttering as well and my CPU usage went a lot higher. As I changed a lot of other config to figure the softness issue, I'll have to take the time to put everything back as per the various recommendation and make sure everything is stable.

I certainly hope my wife will accept the image improvement as enough


Etienne

[Taddeusz]

I have my STB set to output the native resolution of whatever channel it's tuned into. Whether it be 480i, 720p or 1080i. That way they all display correctly on my SDTV.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by ehfortin

Hi again,

I just found the problem. The television was tricking me, telling I was in 720p or 1080i but it was upscaling the 480i/480p. I finally figure how to force by STB to be at 720p and now, arcsoft is reporting that I really have 720p and the TV is saying the same as well. The image just have a much better sharpness now.

I'll have to play with this new setup for some time. It seems that now I have stuttering as well and my CPU usage went a lot higher. As I changed a lot of other config to figure the softness issue, I'll have to take the time to put everything back as per the various recommendation and make sure everything is stable.

I certainly hope my wife will accept the image improvement as enough


Etienne

Glad to hear you got it working right. I knew there was something wrong with that output at 720x480.