Xcard or PVR-350?

[cmaffia]

I need some advice here. I want to put the cherry topping on my Sage Box by removing any trace of Windows XP from being displayed. I know the PVR-350 can do this but I have also heard good things about the RealMagic Xcard and it is significantly cheaper than the PVR350.

Which has the better display and plays nice with SageTV?

I already have in my Pundit-R the onboard TV-Out which I would sacrifice for a superior TV-Out card

I already have a PVR-150MCE installed in the same box.

Any suggestions on which to use and how would the connection be to the Xcard or PVR-350 with this setup?

Thanks!

[Opus4]

If you really want one of either the 350 or Xcard, I would go wth the Xcard -- too many people have problems with the 350. Check out the Xcard plugin, since that is the only way to get the UI on the TV through the Xcard. It works for me, though I think there are a few people who have problems with it.

Of course, a video card is still more versatile in terms of what media it can display. So, if you want to display video types that aren't supported by the hardware decoders, you will need to stick ot a video card.

- Andy

[fieldeffect]

I have a love/hate relationship with my PVR-350. When it's working it's fantastic, but it has issues, specifically with crashing at the end of programme playback sometimes and losing audio/video sync frequently.

I'm pretty sure both these problems are heat related, so if you can keep it nice and cool it will probably be OK.

I'm in the process of getting an XCard, which I assume will not have these problems.

[cmaffia]

Where can I find this plugin for the Xcard?
Will I be able to view DVD's with the Xcard through SageTV?
What is your cable run from your tuner to the card in your pc?
Thanks

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by cmaffia

Where can I find this plugin for the Xcard?

From the Hardware related utilities and customizations index: XCard Plugin.

Will I be able to view DVD's with the Xcard through SageTV?

Not currently, but you can't do that with the 350 either. I just exit the SageTV UI (leaving the service to record) and run the XCard's DVD player.

What is your cable run from your tuner to the card in your pc?

The tuner & the XCard aren't connected.

Cable TV coax -> tuner input.

XCard video -> TV
XCard audio -> sound card input -> sound card output -> stereo. (I do it this way so all PC sound goes to the stereo through one connection.)

- Andy

[cmaffia]

Great info. Lastly, are there any issues you experience using the Xcard? Any quirks that you grown accustomed too with this card that a new user should know of? Oh and how is the PQ with this card??
Thanks

Originally Posted by Opus4

From the Hardware related utilities and customizations index: XCard Plugin.

Not currently, but you can't do that with the 350 either. I just exit the SageTV UI (leaving the service to record) and run the XCard's DVD player.

The tuner & the XCard aren't connected.

Cable TV coax -> tuner input.

XCard video -> TV
XCard audio -> sound card input -> sound card output -> stereo. (I do it this way so all PC sound goes to the stereo through one connection.)

- Andy

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by cmaffia

Lastly, are there any issues you experience using the Xcard? Any quirks that you grown accustomed too with this card that a new user should know of?

Hmmm... w/o the alpha plugin, there is no SageTV UI on the TV & you would need a monitor to see the menus. With the plugin, the UI is delayed a bit on the TV, but that is described in the plugin thread (due to converting the UI down to 256 colors). You can only play MPEG2 files in SageTV. Again: this isn't the card you want if you want more versatile playback options.

Oh and how is the PQ with this card??

Great -- I simply installed it & started using it. With a decent enough recording quality, I can't tell the difference between it & connecting my SD TV directly to the cable and I did no calibration of any type. As long as you are aware of the limitations & are sure you can live with them, the playback is quite nice.

- Andy

[BryanJ]

I'm considering going the Xcard route too.. Does the 256 color conversion/limitation of the plugin affect the UI and the video displayed or just the UI? Thanks..

[Opus4]

It affects the UI layer only; the video is shown the same as always.

- Andy