In theory yes - the pci-e standard says you can run any card that's equal to or less the speed of the slot, so an x16 slot can run x1 cards.

In practise, I've heard that some mobo's don't do this so well.  I would think that an Intel would be good with this, but you might want to check the docs for your mobo.

g.

 

the mobo manual will say what cards can go into what slots.  for instance a lot of sli boards, even with dual x16 slots the x16 is only for video cards.    a lot of original pci-e boards, you use to have an x1 next to an x16, well in the manual it was one or the other slot, not both..

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Bryan Socha
Media Center MVP

Ok, I bit the bullet this morning, 2 combo cards on the way (should arrive Monday I think).  I'll report my results after the install.

g.

 

Cards just arrived - but I won't have time to install for a day or two!  Arg!

Question:  There's an 8-pin header on the card, and it comes with an 8 pin to 10 pin adapter about an inch long - what's it for, anyone know?  Not much documentation I could find, the only mention I could find was the parts list of what's included in the box.  (Mine was a white box with no manual or CD, so perhaps one of those explained it, couldn't find much on aver.com or elsewhere...)

I'm thinking maybe some sort of spdif connector?  If that's the case I'll have to read up on this, as I think I would want to make use of it...?

g.

 

My name is Felix and I am Product Manager at AVerMedia and AVerTV Combo PCIe M780 is my baby, and I am sorry for the confusion with missing info about 8 to 10 pin addapter cable, I'll add missing info on our support side.

8 to 10 pin header is addapter to connect your front input S-Video, Composite and L/R Audio inputs from your front panel to this tuner. Some of the PC cases have build in A/V connectors on front of the case, and because this card is low profile card, we had to minimize the size of the connector on board and we includes 8 to 10 pin adapter into our retail and white box version .

This connector is optional and you will need to use it if you want to connect your front AV input to the tuners, otherwise you can connect to the back of the card.

Please notice this connector only for Analog Tuner and you can only connect either on back side or to the front panel. 

Dear TheGreenButton.com users, thank you for sharing a valuable support with us, and we definetly consider all your inputs in our future products development.

This forum is great!!!

Regards.

Felix Kolotinsky

AVerMedia Technologies, USA Office.

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Felix Kolotinsky
Product Manager
AVerMedia Technologies, Inc.

Felix, thanks for the response and explanation - I don't have front inputs, even if I did I wouldn't want to use them (I prefer a clean look on the front of my rig, cable mess is all in the back).

Installed both cards, setup went without a hitch.  Quality on the analog side is fine (better than the adaptec USB dual tuner unit I was using), and comparable with the Hauppage 150 I was using before.  ATSC reception for me was comparable with both the A180 and HDTV Wonder I was using before, although I've been limited by my attic-mount antenna anyway, if I get around to putting it on the roof I may see a difference though!

g.

 

I just installed this card with Windows Media and it stutters like mad. (It's not the Vista version.)  Does anyone have any suggestions on fixing this.  The signal is strong, so I know it's not that.  Thanks!

I just got mine tonight, and I'm crushed. Also stutters like crazy. Totally unusable. The Avertv also has terrible screen corruption, and the Aver media Center hangs as soon as I started it. Am using the latest drivers for this card.

Seems to run really hot. Almost burns my fingers to touch the coax connectors on the back after the system has been up a bit. System is well cooled and normally stays very cool.

Asus A8N Platinum - NForce4 - latest bios
Nvidia 7900GT
on board Realtek audio
Aver Combo PCIe
3 Gigs ram
Vista Home Premium x32
2 x 500gb Samsung HD's
That's it!

My ancient Haupauge worked perfectly in this system. Going to try the other PCIe slot, different video drivers, etc. Hope something works...

-SBarash

I'm having some trouble with this card too.  I just got it about a week ago.  I'm running Vista Home Premium x32 using the latest drivers and the latest update to Media Center.

In Media Center, changing to some channels causes the digital tuner to just stop working within seconds.  The video will pause, Media Center will say that the station can't be tuned.  It will then refuse to tune anything digital unless I switch to the analong tuner and back again or restart Media Center.  The AverTV application does better, but I have observed the same issue with it too on a few occasions.  I can see half the stations' antennae from outside my back door, so I doubt reception is an issue.

Sometimes I'm getting choppy recordings as well.  If I leave Media Center open while it's recording, the video is choppy.  If I've exited Media Center and its recording in background, it seems to do fine.

My system:

Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD (using onboard ATI X1250 via HDMI)
Intel Core 2 Dueo E4300 @ 2.4GHz
2x1GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
AverTV PCIe Combo White Box
Seasonic S12-430
Samsung Spinpoint 250GB

Felix, is there anywhere for "official" feedback on the M780? I have one running under the Aver Media Center beta, been very satisfied but have some comments.

Here is the pin-out I received from AVerMedia Support:

TVT5 Input Header
1- CVBS
2- CHASSIS GROUND
3- LUMA
4- CHASSIS GROUND
5- CHROMA
6- AUDIO LEFT
7- CHASSIS GROUND
8- AUDIO RIGHT

A few questions:

      1.) Is QAM still not supported in VMC?  If not, any idea when/if it will be?

      2.) Will this card allow me to view analog cable AND OTA HD in VMC?

      3.) What are people's impressions with this card currently?  Is there a better one?

I've got digital cable now with a set-top box going into my media center running vista ultimate.  When I move into my new place in October, my plan as of now was to get standard cable and run it into my system.  I'd also like to get an OTA HD antenna and try that out.  My question is this:

      4.) Would this card be a good one for me to get to use in my application described above?

      5.) Would I be better off getting a different card?

      6.) Would I be better off waiting until I move in October to see what cards are out at that time?  i.e. Are there newer technologies that will be coming out between now and then?

 

Thanks.

I'll take them in the order asked.....

1) AFAIK, no, but others may be able to confirm/deny.

2) Don't know.

3) Thus far, very satisfied. I'm running it with Aver's own Media Center software (beta) and found it much more reliable than the Fusion HD5 Lite.

4) Your call - if you're willing to use Aver's own software, I think you'll be happy.

5) Maybe, but not Fusion, in my experience - card is OK, but software VERY buggy.

6) Might not be a bad idea. Five months is a long time for this stuff. A lot can happen.

I have had this card for a month, and have not been able to make it work???

Very Jerky video playback on Most OTA Digital Channels, Occasionally Jerky playback on analog cable Channels, Picture behind the voice by about 1 second, UGGh??? I dont get it, i have tried different drivers, nvidia driver after driver. connecting/disconnecting cable/ant. 2 cable 2 ant. etc. and i have had no luck. What gives?? anyone have ideas? I am running Vista home premium, x2 4600+, nvidia 7950GT, sata twin 500GB HD's (stripe) tried mce mpeg2, purevideo, pwr dvd decoder. NO Luck. 

 

---

Doug Vanden Berg www.vandenbergstereo.com

MavrickMA:

A few questions:

      1.) Is QAM still not supported in VMC?  If not, any idea when/if it will be?

No.  Microsoft has never committed to supporting QAM and no one (outside of MS) knows when/if they will.

MavrickMA:

      2.) Will this card allow me to view analog cable AND OTA HD in VMC?

yes

MavrickMA:

I've got digital cable now with a set-top box going into my media center running vista ultimate.  When I move into my new place in October, my plan as of now was to get standard cable and run it into my system.  I'd also like to get an OTA HD antenna and try that out.  My question is this:

      4.) Would this card be a good one for me to get to use in my application described above?

yes

MavrickMA:

      5.) Would I be better off getting a different card?

If this suits your needs, go with it.  Plus you can use that PCI-e x1 slot (assuming you have a micro-ATX motherboard) which is hard to fill otherwise and leave the PCI slots open.  The card's only $90 at pcalchemy.com, pretty good price if you ask me.

I don't own one, so can't tell you about the performance, but missingremote did a review of combo tuners here: http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1542&Itemid=1