Evening all, I want to setup a new MythTV media computer as a present and I'm looking for a hassle free HD TV Tuner that I can buy in Australia. The last few I've bought have required binary blob drivers or load-on-use firmware and have painful reliability issues as a result. I'm after something I can plug in, maybe at worst compile some libraries, and then expect to work well forever. I'd prefer an internal card though ease of use will win in my choice and a LIRC compatible remote control would be a bonus. I am well aware of the wiki lists of 'compatible' cards and used the V4L one for my last two purchases which turned out to be rubbish. So is anyone aware of a tuner card they can recommend that meet my requirements? Thanks guys, Edward
BTW, IMO this thread is linux-related enough to be on luv-main rather than luv-talk. On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 07:25:45PM +1000, Edward Savage wrote:
I am well aware of the wiki lists of 'compatible' cards and used the V4L one for my last two purchases which turned out to be rubbish.
given what i've observed in v4l over the years, I'd guess that anything less than 6 months old is likely to be either unsupported or experimental. anything 12 months old or more is likely to be either completely unsupported or extremely well supported....especially if the card is cheap or popular or common. more importantly, you need to be buy based on the tuner and related chips on the card, not the brand or even the model. brand & model can be a useful starting guide, *BUT* like many manufactures of windows-centric hardware DVB card manufacturers tend to change the chipsets used in their cards seemingly at whim. this kind of works for windows because they distribute drivers with the card. kind of sucks for linux because a brand & model that was known to work well may not work at all after the manufacturers starts shipping a new revision of the board (under the same model name/number - with, maybe, if you're lucky, a "Rev. B" or similar in small print somewhere on the box) BTW, a few years ago (when I was researching DVB cards for MythTV) this overclockers.com.au wiki page[1] was an OK source for info about cards available in Australia. I have no idea whether it's been well-maintained since then...but worth a look anyway. [1] http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/MythTV hmmm...they seem to have split it into multiple pages since I last looked. This page is the one you want now: http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/MythTV_Hardware it was last updated in Nov 2011. OTOH, it has some really out-of-date info in it. They list the DVICO Dual Digital 4 rev 2 as "confirmed unsupported"....which was completely true for a few months back in 2008. but it's been perfectly supported for years. I have two of them in my myth box. so, ummm, i wouldn't rely on that page at all. maybe try their forum: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=564660
So is anyone aware of a tuner card they can recommend that meet my requirements?
i've had very good results with DVICO Dual Digital 4 and Hauppage Nova-T-500 PCI cards. entirely trouble-free and reliable (however, I would check that the current revisions of the cards are still supported before buying). Both are dual-tuner DVB cards...dual-tuners are useful as they allow you to record + watch at the same time, or record two programs on different channels (transponders actually...with one tuner you can record multiple programs on the same transponder e.g. you can simultaneously record programs on all of the ABC channels with just one tuner). NOTE: They both require non-free firmware. I don't know of any that don't. These are PCI cards, not PCI-e. Most new motherboards have only one or two (or possibly even none) PCI slots these days. craig -- craig sanders <cas@taz.net.au> BOFH excuse #169: broadcast packets on wrong frequency
Craig Sanders <cas@taz.net.au> wrote:
BTW, IMO this thread is linux-related enough to be on luv-main rather than luv-talk.
Agreed. I have no relevant experience, however, which is why I didn't reply earlier. It really needs someone to comment who is using the hardware (preferably a current product).
On Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 8:05 PM, Craig Sanders <cas@taz.net.au> wrote: [snip]
So is anyone aware of a tuner card they can recommend that meet my requirements?
i've had very good results with DVICO Dual Digital 4 and Hauppage Nova-T-500 PCI cards. entirely trouble-free and reliable (however, I would check that the current revisions of the cards are still supported before buying).
Both are dual-tuner DVB cards...dual-tuners are useful as they allow you to record + watch at the same time, or record two programs on different channels (transponders actually...with one tuner you can record multiple programs on the same transponder e.g. you can simultaneously record programs on all of the ABC channels with just one tuner).
NOTE: They both require non-free firmware. I don't know of any that don't.
These are PCI cards, not PCI-e. Most new motherboards have only one or two (or possibly even none) PCI slots these days.
craig
-- craig sanders <cas@taz.net.au>
Please excuse the necromancy. I've just finished remotely resolving the final issues with the MythTV media computer I built. I ended up going with the Hauppage Nova-T-500 you recommended Craig and it was easily the most straight forward card I've worked with. As this gift is 2800KM away it's been a real relief being able to assume the card was not the cause of any problems. It was also handy that the card worked out of the box with Ubuntu 12.04 and the firmware was easy to obtain. For others interested the card is PCI and most small motherboards that take CPUs that include graphics cards ship with PCIe so I had to get a converter board. Luckily the Nova seems to only ship in a half-height PCI version. To do the conversion I strongly recommend paying extra for a Startech PCIe to PCI adapter card[1] as the HK knock-offs can be unreliable which nullifies any saving. If you search around eBay you can pick up an unbadged Startech from the UK for a reasonable discount by matching the chips in the pictures. One thing I found really interesting about this card is that the tuners are just USB devices on a PCB that are wired into a local USB bridge[2]. It's a little odd looking for a PCI card using 'lsusb'! Thanks again to everyone who made a comments regarding reliable TV Tuners under Linux. It is appreciated. Regards, Edward [1] http://intrl.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/Slot-Extension/PCI-Express-to-PCI-A... [2] http://www.hauppauge.com/site/press/presspictures/NOVA-TD-500_board.png
participants (3)
-
Craig Sanders -
Edward Savage -
Jason White