PVR-150 the bast for simple capure of S-Video?

[opentoideas]

I am just getting started with Vista MCE and need to add a capture card.

there seem to be many options with up to 6 tuners of varying flavors but I also understand that with MCE I can only use one type of tuner and since I primarily want to archive from my sky+ and pass through my sky signal into MCE for the convenience of the MCE front-end I seem to be best suited by a single capture card. Though DVB-T as well would be nice but a secondary concern.

I want the best possible picture quality as i would like to have little or no deterioration of the signal. if the picture to my plasma is better with the SCART connection it would be pointless to watch "live" from MCE - if this can't be realistically achieved with a capture card then I have also heard mention of an SDI mod. I am still looking into this but it seems far more complex and i have found no references to MCE compatibility.

as things stand Sky+ is still difficult to beat for its PVR functionality and EPG let alone simplicity and WAF but it would be nice to run this through MCE rather than having to change the tv and amp each time and have one simple media front-end. as this is only a SD signal i am hoping that things have improved as when i tried this several yeard ago with a projector and Dscaler i was never that happy.

i have an old wintv-usb and avermedia pci capture device but the picture quality is very poor. i am hoping that the onboard encoders of the newer PVR-150 make the difference but would rather not spend out if my goals are not achievable.

At the end of the day I would be happy to stick with sky direct to the TV and MCE for everything else but if I can integrate the 2 it would be all the better.

[abraxus]

I tried the same thing with my Virgin Cable box but in the end the V+ box (and I suspect the Sky+ one too) is much better on it's own.

I can understand your desire to have one front end and do away with switching and to this end a better way may be an all in one, activity based, remote. I use a Harmony remote and two of the options I've set are "Watch Media Centre" and "Watch Cable". If I press either of these the remote switches to the correct tv input and the correct amp input all with one press of a button and then controls the relevant functions, ie volume via amp and channel changing and menus on the cable box, seamlessly.

This set up works very well and the girlfriend can manage it without any instructions.

[opentoideas]

Hi,

that is the other option, and i am leaning that way. the likes of the harmony remotes are a great compromise and let you get the best of all worlds.

i was hoping that the quality of newer capture cards made this a realistic proposition but if not then i can live with remote switching options.

there seem like many other ways to get Sky into MCE but they are all very complex and require an investment into hardware that could well be nullified by a change in signal by Sky.

there is a lot of talk about the sweetspot capture card which can capture the RGB signal from the scart output but it is not compatable with MCE. (at least from what i have read)

the S-video output is fine to use direct to a TV but it seems capturing this results in a noticable degradation of the signal

i am surprised that hardware does not seem to be up to this but i guess that development is put into the newer hardware and technology

[abraxus]

If you're determined then there's always the sticky at the top of this section about how to get Sky via MCE, but in my experience MCE is a poor TV experience compared to the dedicated boxes from either Virgin or Sky.

[opentoideas]

lol,

i am working my way through it but i dont think i am that determined

[opentoideas]

so does anyone have a PVR-150 connected to a Sky box with S-Video?

i doubt ther is any point in trying to better Sky+ for its functionality (when it works) but it would be nice to both archive recordings from it and watch through the MCE front end.

for those who have this setup.....

is there a noticable loss of quality between captured S-Video from a Sky (or similar) box and direct connection to the TV (S-Video/SCART)?

i may just go and get one to test this - they are only £20 on fleabay, but if there is anyone who could answer this it could save me £20 towards the next upgrade