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First HTPC - Questions

B

biggduub

n00b
Joined
Dec 27, 2005
Messages
8
ok, ive been doing alot of reading in this forum along with others.. i have wanted to put a HTPC together for a long time just havent done it. I have some extra parts that i want to use to make this system. Im just not sure if i quiet understand everything yet. Here is what i have

AMD 2100+
512MB Ram
1 - 40gb harddrive
1 - 300gb harddrive - also have a file server with loads of space
I have a 9600pro
Windows XP

i guess this is really where im haivng the most trouble.. the Tuner card

im not sure what i should get.. was thinking about getting the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 MCE card or should i go with the 250?

aslo i was planning on use SageTV. about 6 mohths ago i tried to do this but didnt have a correct tuner card, i tried using something that didnt have onboard encoding.. didnt work :)

also one thing i forgot is i have directv, so ill have to tackle that too
 
150 is an updated version of the 250, so I would go 150. unless you want dual tuners, then I would go with a pvr500. for direcTV, you'll need a usbuirt for sageTV to change the channels on the set top box automatically.
 
i would definitely recommend the PVR500. I'm going to be doing the final build of my first HTPC for our home (have built others for friends) so I'm taking my time and doing things *right* for us. I started out with just the PVR350 and recently added the PVR500 so that we can dedicate one tuner to watching TV, then dedicate a tuner solely to recording what either I or my wife want to record.
 
the only problem with getting the PVR500 is i only one directv reciever and i have a really small budget. Maybe one day down the line i will get a second reciever and will go for the PVR500

to use the USB-UIRT do i have to buy anything else for it to work with SageTV. what i mean is from what i can see from pictures of the USB-UIRT there is a usb plug and a reciever for the remote. How does the signal go from the reciever of the USB-UIRT to my directv reciever. is there something that plugs into it and i set in front of the directv reciever.. or does it go from the USB-UIRT to the low data port on the back?
 
there are a few ways to control some of the directv boxes. do you happen to have a dc10-100? if so, you can do serial control. if not, you have to have the usbuirt where it can send to the IR receiver of the STB. if that isn't easy you can get a small IR emitter for like $10 and put it on the front of the STB.
 
The receiver on the USB-UIRT is also the transmitter. I also just bought one and they are incredibly easy to use. With SageTV, you don't even have to use Girder to learn all the commands of the receiver.
 
i have model number DRD450RG. Its pretty old, got it when i signed up about 4 years ago .. i went ahaid and ordered the USB-UIRT should be here some time next week, read how it was so easy to set up with SageTV so i figured that would be perfect. I didnt oreder a remote becuase i have a few univeral remotes so i figured i would just use one of those for this setup. If that wont work please let me know.
 
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