Hi all-

I guess I'm hoping there's someone reading this forum that has tried both.  I currently have a 4-5 year old Hauppauge NTSC PCI PVR card.  I run Vista Ultimate.  I have a two monitor (both 19 inches) setup and often watch TV in one monitor while I surf the web on the other.  With my cable provider (comcast) really reducing the number of analog channels to make room for more HD channels, and since they have quite a few channels in clear QAM, I'm interested in getting a clear QAM TV Tuner (with NTSC too.)

Since I've had pretty good luck with Hauppauge (mine broke once, but they sent a free replacement- 3 years after I bought it!), I'm looking at Hauppauge again. Okay, so my question is:

Is there any reason to go with the internal PCI-E card (HVR-1800) over the USB HVR-950Q?  I like the idea of USB- if a lightning storm comes it will be easier to disconnect the cable.  Plus, I only have to plug the cable into one jack on the USB to tune both analog and Clear QAM - where I have to plug it into two jacks (via a splitter I presume) on the 1800 card.  And of course it will be easier to switch the 950Q between PCs- can even use it on a laptop of course...

If the 1800 changes channels faster, or has a better picture, I'd happily go with the 1800.  Or, if using the 950Q takes a lot more CPU compared to the 1800, that would be a reason to go with the 1800.  Otherwise, I might as well go with the 950Q.

Thanks much if anyone has any insight!  AL

ps- running 32 bit Vista Ultimate with a 3.0 GHz 45nm Core 2 Duo 8400 & 4 GB ram (yes, I know I'm not using all of the 4 GB...)

LrngToFly:

Or, if using the 950Q takes a lot more CPU compared to the 1800, that would be a reason to go with the 1800.

I once tried my 950 for analog cable, and it stunk. Picture quality was bad, and CPU usage was high. The 1800 will be a lot better for that purpose. IMO, about all the 950 is good for is adding an external ATSC tuner, and it works fine for that. (No idea about the 950Q, which I guess adds Clear QAM capabilities.) If you're happy with your current analog card, have you considered adding an HD HomeRun? It's an external device that will get you two Clear QAM tuners plus network capabilities, e.g. you can watch TV on your laptop via a wireless router, which is pretty cool.

Well, I decided to go with an Avermedia PCIe Combo TV Tuner (not Bravo, because the Bravo doesn't support closed captioning.)  I found a review somewhere (PC Mag perhaps? can't remember now) that said the image quality was a little bit better than the Hauppauge.

I went with the card instead of the USB stick because the cards do onboard MPEG2 decoding- the CPU utilization will be lower...

I'd be interested in the new Hauppauge 2250, but so far, I can only find it for sale on Hauppauge's website- it's not on newegg or anywhere else.  Haup charges full list price for their products of course where the other vendors charge much less.  I'd pay $100 for the 2250, but not $130 list.  I'm getting the Avermedia for $80.

And I'm hoping (probably wishfully), that someday I'll be able to buy a Tru2way based TV Tuner for my PC.