Compro VideoMate Vista E900F PCIe - Is it any good?

[zer0L0gic]

Seems the Hauppauge HVR I wanted is out of stock and its going to be a while before more are shipped in.

So I was looking and spotted this one:
Compro VideoMate Vista E900F PCIe:



Seems great on paper, any thought's Media Center Guru's?

[lukey08]

I purchased this card a few weeks ago, and every channel has worked flawlessly in both Vista Media Center as well as using the Compro software. I was astounded by the picture quality that it delivered and highly recommend the product!

[suratbego]

Originally Posted by lukey08

I purchased this card a few weeks ago, and every channel has worked flawlessly in both Vista Media Center as well as using the Compro software. I was astounded by the picture quality that it delivered and highly recommend the product!

Can I watch it in full screen? because the spec make me worried:
---
Software Encode Mode: 720*480 (full D1) / 720*576 (full D1) / 320*240

Hardware Encode Mode: 720*480 (full D1) / 720*576 (full D1) / 640*480 (VGA) / 352*240 (SIF) / 352*288 (SIF) / 480*480 (2/3 D1) / 480*576 (2/3 D1)
----

Also, can I watch to ALL Australian HD Channel? from 576 to 1080i?

any issues or comment on this item? please share it with us. Thanks.

[logifuse]

It has the same chipset as the HVR-2200, so it will be down to the drivers as to whether or not it is as good.

Lukey08, do you need to feed both antenna inputs for DVB-T on both tuners? Or is one for digital & one for analogue?

Justin

[suratbego]

Originally Posted by logifuse

It has the same chipset as the HVR-2200, so it will be down to the drivers as to whether or not it is as good.

Lukey08, do you need to feed both antenna inputs for DVB-T on both tuners? Or is one for digital & one for analogue?

Justin

Based on this buyer, it requires two antenna which is not good but the plus side it has all software and remote.

http://pcmaniacs.com.au/compro-video...reviews_id=178

Hence I am still confuse between compro e900f and hvr2200.

[davomate]

Driver updates seem much less frequent with Compro compared to Hauppage. I like manufacturers who are quick to remedy driver issues. Worth paying more just for that. You should be able to get the 2200 now, as I got one just last week.

[suratbego]

Originally Posted by davomate

Driver updates seem much less frequent with Compro compared to Hauppage. I like manufacturers who are quick to remedy driver issues. Worth paying more just for that. You should be able to get the 2200 now, as I got one just last week.

where and how much are you paying for it? if you don't mind me asking. Thanks

[davomate]

Originally Posted by suratbego

where and how much are you paying for it? if you don't mind me asking. Thanks

$185 (plus 2% credit card surcharge) from Computers & Parts Land http://www.cpl.net.au/

[charlesc3]

Originally Posted by suratbego

Based on this buyer, it requires two antenna which is not good but the plus side it has all software and remote.

I wouldn't be too concerned about having to connect a single antenna feed to two inputs. At least that way it is under your control, and you either just split it, or use a powered splitter.

It's never very clear how 'loop-throughs' or single antenna inputs for dual tuners are actually implemented on the devices. It's a rare device that would actually provide any boosting before a passive split. And this approach may have it's own drawbacks.

Any time an amplifier is used, there are a lot more considerations to be aware of, like how many channels are actually coming through, and are they at different levels etc. Because an amplifier can overload, and/or cause a lot of intermodulation problems if you aren't careful.

[mixo]

Can this thing record 2 digital and one analogue at the same time?

or is one digital and one analogue?

bit confused ..

mixo

[suratbego]

either D+D or D+A or A+A...

if you need D+D+A then you need to have 3 tuners.

[mixo]

Thats what i thought.

thanks for the info

[GordonD]

I previously had an Avermedia Duo Hybrid and was happy with the software supplied with it, but had huge problems with the card. It kept freezing, and sometimes it took 15-20 minutes of repeatedly cold booting the PC before it worked. So I bought a Compro E900F. It worked far far far better. My only complaint was that the software supplied with it didn't give access to the second tuner from the remote. It looked like one person had designed software for a single tuner card, and done a good job of that, then some idiot had come along and grafted on functionality for a second tuner, and done the that really really badly. So I bought a copy of Vista Home Premium to try it to see if Microsoft's Media Center software did a better job. The E900F works faultlessly with it. If anything better than with Compro's own software. But Microsoft's Media Center software, while slick and smooth and pretty, is badly lacking in features. It doesn't do PIP or PAP. It doesn't pull the program info out of the data stream.

If I was doing it again I wouldn't buy an E900F. Who needs analog. Go buy a pair of single-tuner Compro T100 PCI cards.

[suratbego]

okay...new update just release for compro e900f.

http://comprousa.com/en/download/e900.html

not sure what they fix though.

[cristev]

i purshashed Compro VideoMate Vista E900F PCIe it is excellent quality on the channels i do recieve but i have tunning problems
i do not recieve all the HD channels with WMC and with the supplied software VideoMate i am unable to recieve any DTV however i think my problem is all to do with signal strength.
my tv recieves all the DTV including HD if i plug antenna in directly to tv.
i installed a masthead amp on antenna but no improvement.
has anyone had similar probs is it possible my card is faulty??
any suggestions would be greatly appriciated



cheers Steve

P.S. my anolouge signal is a little snowy