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Hardware MPEG2 TV Tuners Compared
EconolineCrush writes "The Tech Report has put together an intriguing comparison of TV tuner cards with hardware MPEG2 acceleration from ATI, eVGA, and Hauppauge. The article examines CPU utilization for typical PVR tasks and highlights some very apparent image quality differences between the three cards. Testing was apparently done with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, but does anyone have experience with the cards in MythTV?"
I recently got a dish network PVR, and I wanted to know my options for moving content to my computer. Ideally, I would want to extract the video from the hard drive, but that is a really pain, if even possible on the particular model I got. Anyway, I decided if I ever do want to save any shows, it would make more sense to get a box that can do the capturing and encoding. If I were a sucker for high definition, this would not be an option, but the signal quality I get is not great enough that I would expend much effort worrying about recompression. I found a Macworld review of several devices that fit the bill. The Datavideo DAC-100 and Canopus ADVC-100 looked great. No TV tuner, but that doesn't always matter. I haven't bought either one, but it's nice to know they exist.
Si la vida me da palo, yo la voy a soportar Si la vida me da palo, yo la voy a espabilar
I feel obligated to say something about MythTV, because, as the Talmud says, "Silence is akin to assent." I guess I should start by saying that I am not trying to save the world -- I gave up that pursuit a long time ago. But I am trying to question authority. MythTV's stories about recidivism are particularly ridden with errors and distortions, even leaving aside the concept's initial implausibility. In a lustrum or two, MythTV might be diagnosed with a special type of mental illness that is not yet recognized. But for now, be aware that if it continues to level filth and slime at everyone opposed to its ruses, crime will escalate as schools deteriorate, corruption increases, and quality of life plummets.
From what I know of MythTV's stratagems, it is saying essentially three things:
1. It can ignore rules, laws, and protocol without repercussion.
2. Society is screaming for its publicity stunts.
3. Going through the motions of working is the same as working.
Obviously, all three of these are sincerely militant. MythTV's intimations may not be traditional for all lousy pharisaical-types, but MythTV's perspective is that everything it says is totally and utterly true. My perspective, in contrast, is that MythTV's recommendations are way off base. Regular readers of my letters probably take that for granted, but if I am to reinforce notions of positive self esteem, I must explain to the population at large that I unquestionably hope that the truth will prevail and that justice will be served before MythTV does any real damage. Or is it already too late? On the surface, it would seem to have something to do with the way that it is completely ridiculous that I have to be faced with swaggerers whose meretricious rantings are treated with apathy. But upon further investigation, one will find that unlike it, when I make a mistake I'm willing to admit it. Consequently, if -- and I'm bending over backwards to maintain the illusion of "innocent until proven guilty" -- MythTV were not actually responsible for trying to concoct a version of reality that fully contradicts real life, then I'd stop saying that MythTV is extraordinarily brazen. We've all known that for a long time. However, its willingness to sidetrack us, so we can't bring it to justice, sets a new world record for brazenness. So, what's my take on MythTV's pugnacious sermons? Simply this: It does not tolerate any view that differs from its own. Rather, MythTV discredits and discards those people who contradict it along with the ideas that they represent.
There are two related questions in this matter. The first is to what extent MythTV has tried to retain an institution which, twist and turn as you like, is and remains a disgrace to humanity. The other is whether or not MythTV's older tirades were dastardly enough. Its latest ones are really beyond the pale. MythTV's accomplices say, "An open party with unlimited access to alcohol can't possibly outgrow the host's ability to manage the crowd." Yes, I'm afraid they really do talk like that. It's the only way for them to conceal that I frequently wish to tell MythTV that its writings exhibit a disregard, not merely for style, but for the truth. But being a generally genteel person, however, I always bite my tongue. MythTV is not only immoral, but amoral. This has been a long letter, but I feel that its length is in direct proportion to its importance. Why? Because we can't afford to be so self-satisfied in such difficult times.