Sub $150 Duals: Which one?

[ash2000]

Hi all,

I'm after a sub $150 dual tuner.....I have been using DTV for about 4 years with many different single tuner solutions, but want to now get an all-in-one unit to simplify things.

Looking at:

Dvico Fusion Dual 4 (~$145)
COMPRO VIDEOMATE E-700 (~$130)
Kworld DVB-T 399U (~$90)

Is there any difference between USB and PCI and PCI-E solutions in terms of performance? (IE speed of channel changing or any other factors?)

Thanks,

Ash

[blackjet]

Hello

I use the divco dual 4. IMO don't use this card. The card has issues

There you go 1 ruled out.

Regards
Blackjet

[logifuse]

At that price, the DigitalNow USB TinyTwin ($129) is probably the best bet.

The Aver PCIe Duo Hybrid is probably an option (around $100-110) - it doesn't have many negative reviews but isn't as popular as I was expecting it to be.

The E700 is very hit & miss, the 399U has been very miss (not many users here), & the Dvico Duals (v1, 2 & 4) are near friendless.

A quick search on each will return results from which you can make an informed decision.

Justin

[ApoLakay]

Originally Posted by ash2000

Hi all,

Looking at:

Dvico Fusion Dual 4 (~$145)
COMPRO VIDEOMATE E-700 (~$130)
Kworld DVB-T 399U (~$90)

Is there any difference between USB and PCI and PCI-E solutions in terms of performance? (IE speed of channel changing or any other factors?)

Thanks,

Ash

I have only used E700 so I can't comment about the others. It is very stable and i have not experienced any issue since I had it last year. Just make sure that you have the latest driver (Ver 1.0.4.2) but if you are just buying now, it should have the latest driver already. The card comes with it's own DTV playback SW but i found DTV PQ a bit softer compared to VMC, so I use VMC and uninstall the SW that comes with it.

NB: E700 is a PCIe card. If you have an extra PCIe x16 slot, I would recommend to use this instead of the x1 slot.

[Ararat]

I've heard a lot of people complain about Dvico and Compro, so I'd say the best bet would be the AverMedia Duo Hybrid. I don't know many ppl who have it, but those that do are happy with it. And at $99 (at CPL) for a dual hybrid PCIe card that works properly, seems like the deal for me.

As far as interface, base it on what slots you have free. If you don't have any PCIe cards, but you have slots, get one of those. All the interfaces mentioned have enough bandwidth for DVB (though PCI has to share it). I suppose I'd be a bit hesitant about USB vs an internal card, but I haven't heard anyone complain about their USB tuners, so I gues they're fine.

[ash2000]

Thanks guys.....

Some very good info there.... Ok will cross of the DVICO with absolute certainty! Will also put a line through the 399U.

The E700 still sounds encouraging.... although the price of the Aver PCIe Duo Hybrid (one I hadn't considered) is certainly well priced.

Are there any disadvantages with USB tuners? (I do note from looking at the hardware profiles of most users in this group that they almost exclusively use internal cards.)

Just looked at the avermedia site, it says PCI-e cards use less cpu power versus other options. Is this consistent with others experience?

[Ararat]

Originally Posted by ash2000

Just looked at the avermedia site, it says PCI-e cards use less cpu power versus other options. Is this consistent with others experience?

If they claim it, then there's probably an element of truth to it, but I don't think that's important in the decision making process - recording DVB is hardly a CPU intensive exercise.

[ash2000]

Originally Posted by Ararat

If they claim it, then there's probably an element of truth to it, but I don't think that's important in the decision making process - recording DVB is hardly a CPU intensive exercise.

Ok, Thanks for that.

I'll try and pick up a AverMedia Duo tomorrow in the city, and hope like hell I don't get the same "resume from S3" problem I had with my DTV1000T!!

Thank all for your input and suggestions.

Cheers,

Ash

[benno_1]

I'll try and pick up a AverMedia Duo tomorrow in the city, and hope like hell I don't get the same "resume from S3" problem I had with my DTV1000T!!

Hi Ash,

I've got an AverMedia Duo and generally I have been quite happy with it. I do however have an issue where the tuner quite often disappears after resuming from S3. I'm not sure if this is the same problem resuming from S3 that you have with your DTV but I've found it very frustrating and despite a lot of research have been unable to fix. Other than that though it changes channels quickly and is generally pretty good.

One thing to bear in mind with this card though is that you will have to split the antenna in yourself, ie this card has two rc in ports as compared to some other cards which split the signal internally. I ended up buying a dual splitter combined signal amplifier to deal with this which somewhat reduced the cost advantage the card had over others.

Cheers,

Chris

[ash2000]

Originally Posted by benno_1

Hi Ash,

I've got an AverMedia Duo and generally I have been quite happy with it. I do however have an issue where the tuner quite often disappears after resuming from S3. I'm not sure if this is the same problem resuming from S3 that you have with your DTV but I've found it very frustrating and despite a lot of research have been unable to fix.

Thanks Benno......yes, that is indeed the S3 problem I encountered....it drove me nuts....this is why I am currently using a generic $22 USB dongle (with XP drivers!) as my only recorder at the moment. (I must admit it works perfectly, and quickly).

I better find a retailer that has a generous return policy. It is a shame that MSY don't sell this model.

Originally Posted by benno_1

One thing to bear in mind with this card though is that you will have to split the antenna in yourself, ie this card has two rc in ports as compared to some other cards which split the signal internally.

Yeah I thought that was the case from the box images ..... I bit unusual, as I thought one of the advantages of the dual card was to avoid splitting cables.

Thanks again.

Ash

[Ararat]

Originally Posted by ash2000

I better find a retailer that has a generous return policy. It is a shame that MSY don't sell this model.
Ash

Agreed, their line of tv tuners is pathetic, with the Leadtek's seeming to be the only good ones they sell (despite you troubles, my - and most other people's - experience with the leadtek cards has been splendid).

I wouldn't classify MSY's returns policy as generous though. Before, it was 7 days, with a 10% restock fee. Now, I'm not sure if they even do it anymore. (although, admittedly, it shouldn't take you 7 days to figure if you're having sleep problems).

Good Luck with whatever you get!

[monto]

Originally Posted by ash2000

Thanks Benno......yes, that is indeed the S3 problem I encountered....it drove me nuts....this is why I am currently using a generic $22 USB dongle (with XP drivers!) as my only recorder at the moment. (I must admit it works perfectly, and quickly).

I better find a retailer that has a generous return policy. It is a shame that MSY don't sell this model.



Yeah I thought that was the case from the box images ..... I bit unusual, as I thought one of the advantages of the dual card was to avoid splitting cables.

Thanks again.

Ash

Where did you get the $22 tuner dongle that works perfectly and quickly, and what brand and model is it?

Thanks

[greedo]

re: DTV1000T not resuming from S3 sometimes

Mine works since switching my graphics card from an AGP 6600 to a PCIe 8500. Not sure if it was an AGP issue or a GPU issue, but since upgrading my graphics card the tuners (2xDTV1000T always work after S3).

No idea why one peripheral would have such an effect on another, but that's computers.

Also, before the graphics upgrade my tuners worked with hibernate (not ideal, but good enough at the time).