First, no I haven't read the article, but I've been following these passport chips for a while now. First, the chips are encrypted and locked. That solves a lot of problems right there. Second and most importantly, they are somehow "covered" and un-scanable while the passport is physically closed. The passport needs to be open in order for the chip to be scanned. This alleviates the problem of "walkby" scannings and people taking advantage of American tourists. I think they have thought this through more than people think, and I doubt if there is as big a need to be worried about them as many people would want you to believe.
2cents,
--Jon
To clarify more, look at the image quality at this link...
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2393 &p=8...This is much closer to what the card actually does. Yes, the picture looks a bit fuzzy on your computer monitor, but that's because it's a SDTV signal. I understand that in this review the 250 still was only second place, but I'm not complaining about that. I'm complaining about the horrible quality represented from the Lion King in the first review. This is much more realistic.
I own two PVR250's, and that's the worst image quality I've ever seen. Most HTPC users like to tinker a lot, and know that the first thing you need to do after installing a 250 is to make a few registry changes. There are lots of guides on the web describing how to do so. This makes the image quality on par with the cable going straight to your TV**. However, even BEFORE making these changes, the picture quality shouldn't be as bad as shown in the review. I'm not sure what, but something was wrong with their setup.
Before I get jumped on about owning a 250 and complaining about the represented image quality of a 150, the cards are almost identical, and similar registry changes should be made for the 150 as well.
**for the average user. Granted, if you work in Television your eyes get trained to look for certain things. I can tell a very small difference between the two, but I have to actively look for it. My girlfriend and friends cannot. Kind of like comparing an MP3 to a CD, at a decent bitrate most people can't actually tell a difference. Someone with a trained ear can.
You do have a point; I was not considering the HD market. However, very few HD cards are supported by the big PVR software manufacturers. Probably because the user base is so small. Buying an HD capture card is opening up a whole other bag of worms in the HTPC work because of legal issues. Currently, all the HD capture cards that I know of only support OTA signals in the US. Some HD cards claim to work with your cable providers, but in the end that decision really comes down to your particular cable provider and what channels they choose to encrypt. I hate to say it, but if you want to record HD you are much better off getting a unit from your cable provider.
Since you called SD cards "crappy" I'm assuming that means you have an HD card. What is the make/model and how has your experience been so far? Honestly.
No. All in Wonder cards are horrible for HTPC setups. First, it does not do hardware encoding. Second, its image quality is trash compared to a PVR-250 (or similar) card. Third, they aren't as compatible with PVR software. Check out the forums at any of the big PVR software sites and you will find thread after thread of people with AIW cards complaining about problems.
Ask any web savvy person what search engine they use. 9 out of 10 will say Google, and there is a good reason why.
Ask any HTPC savvy person what capture card they use. 9 out of 10 will say a PVR-250 (some 150 or 350), and there is a good reason why.
Try using an AIW with a HTPC and I bet you'll upgrade to a 250 within the first 6 months.
--Jon
I've found (for me) that a good rule is to upgrade my main machine when I can quadruple my processor speed without needing to buy top-of-the-line parts.
By Upgrade, I'm referring to buying a new processor/main board/memory. All the rest of the guts get moved to the new machine. I find this works out pretty cost efficient. I went from a 200 to a 650 to a 2.4. All those speeds were fast when I bought them, but not the absolute fastest available. I'll probably upgrade again at 10Ghz.
Also, that's just for my main machine. I've always got extra Frankenstein computers lying around from parts that have been picked up at various times.
As far as accessories, I upgrade those whenever need calls. Hard drives get added frequently, fun new USB devices, and different types of media inputs and outputs are added whenever they are needed.
I think people who upgrade their processor/main board/memory whenever a "new" speed comes out just simply don't know how to use their computer. Back before I bought my 2.4 and was still using my 650 all of my non-tech friends with top-of-the-line computers (incorrectly) thought mine was faster than theirs simply because I could do more on it (video editing, 3-D modeling, yada yada). People have the false impression they need to upgrade all the time in order to keep up. Naw, unless you are into serious gaming, I just don't think you need to. I'll stick with the rule of quadruple and patiently wait for 10Ghz.
You can sit 2 feet from my system with no ambient noise in the room and still not hear a thing. I custom made my HTPC box to accomplish just that. The actual computer is disguised as a Subwoofer Box. The outside is half-inch MDF core then a layer of foam then another half inch of MDF core. This gets rid of most noise. All internal components with moving parts are suspended by elastic cords to eliminate vibrations to the box itself. All internal fans have temperature controlled speed sensors to lower their volume. The box was internally designed to efficiently and quietly control airflow. All air comes it through two air vents at the bottom back, air goes across the motherboard, up a chute across all 5 hard drives, across the power supply, channeled horizontally across the upper level of the box and across the DVD burner, and then up and out two exhaust vents on the top of the Sub Box. This keeps all temperatures very low, all components have airflow, and no fans are located near the vents so you can't hear them. It works pretty well, you can't hear it, and everyone always asks where my computer is.
--Jon
I haven't read every single comment yet, but I've read more than half, and UNBELEAVABLY not a single person has mentioned Snapstream's Beyond TV. I've been using this for a while now and it beats the snot out of a TIVO. First, using two PVR250's I can record two things at the same time, and watch a third program from the Library. This is great for Thursday's because Survivor and The Apprentice are on at the same time. You can skip commercials with just 1 button press. Shows can be automatically compressed to WMV format in the background saving TONS of space. Shows can be burned to DVD's if you want to save space (but with 510Gigs it's not a big problem). This is done at a low priority so you don't notice any performance hit. If your CPU cycles are needed for something else the encoder waits until the CPU has more cycles to spare. Channel lineups are provided free from a web server, this means no monthly fees. Shows can be scheduled to be recorded from ANY COMPUTER WITH AN INTERNET CONNECTION. This means if I'm at work watching TV and something comes on TV that I want to record I just type in my Beyond TV server address, click the channel, and click record. This can be done from many wireless phones too. It's easy to upgrade parts if you need to (more space, HDTV capture card, yada yada). Someone mentioned the drawbacks of using an IR emitter to control your box, but most/all serious HTPC users use a serial cable to control their box/dish. Doing it this way is much more stable than using an IR device. And I challenge anyone to watch my TV and notice any quality difference between Beyond TV versus straight cable, or a TIVO. All my shows are recorded at 8Mb/s, but if that's not good enough, PVR250 cards have the ability to record up to 12Mb/s max. Top notch.
I'm just really surprised no one has mentioned this software yet.
--Jon
"proven several different ways"? Ummm sure. And it was also proven in many different ways that the world was flat. Science is always wrong. We just think it's right until we discover something new. This goes for all science, but especially something as intangible as a black hole. It may work out on paper, but the same problem has a million other solutions on paper too.
Flame on!
I have a question for/.ers regarding copy write laws. First, I'd like to say that I don't download music, and I don't download movies. I buy CD's and I buy DVD's. However (with my Qwest connection) I DO download TV shows via P2P. Is this breaking the law? Seems to me that I could pop a tape in the VCR and record shows off TV (presumably legally... as far as I know), so what's the difference in storing it on my hard drive instead of a VHS tape. Is this legal or illegal?
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First, no I haven't read the article, but I've been following these passport chips for a while now. First, the chips are encrypted and locked. That solves a lot of problems right there. Second and most importantly, they are somehow "covered" and un-scanable while the passport is physically closed. The passport needs to be open in order for the chip to be scanned. This alleviates the problem of "walkby" scannings and people taking advantage of American tourists. I think they have thought this through more than people think, and I doubt if there is as big a need to be worried about them as many people would want you to believe. 2cents, --Jon
To clarify more, look at the image quality at this link... http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2393 &p=8 ...This is much closer to what the card actually does. Yes, the picture looks a bit fuzzy on your computer monitor, but that's because it's a SDTV signal. I understand that in this review the 250 still was only second place, but I'm not complaining about that. I'm complaining about the horrible quality represented from the Lion King in the first review. This is much more realistic.
I own two PVR250's, and that's the worst image quality I've ever seen. Most HTPC users like to tinker a lot, and know that the first thing you need to do after installing a 250 is to make a few registry changes. There are lots of guides on the web describing how to do so. This makes the image quality on par with the cable going straight to your TV**. However, even BEFORE making these changes, the picture quality shouldn't be as bad as shown in the review. I'm not sure what, but something was wrong with their setup. Before I get jumped on about owning a 250 and complaining about the represented image quality of a 150, the cards are almost identical, and similar registry changes should be made for the 150 as well. **for the average user. Granted, if you work in Television your eyes get trained to look for certain things. I can tell a very small difference between the two, but I have to actively look for it. My girlfriend and friends cannot. Kind of like comparing an MP3 to a CD, at a decent bitrate most people can't actually tell a difference. Someone with a trained ear can.
You do have a point; I was not considering the HD market. However, very few HD cards are supported by the big PVR software manufacturers. Probably because the user base is so small. Buying an HD capture card is opening up a whole other bag of worms in the HTPC work because of legal issues. Currently, all the HD capture cards that I know of only support OTA signals in the US. Some HD cards claim to work with your cable providers, but in the end that decision really comes down to your particular cable provider and what channels they choose to encrypt. I hate to say it, but if you want to record HD you are much better off getting a unit from your cable provider.
Since you called SD cards "crappy" I'm assuming that means you have an HD card. What is the make/model and how has your experience been so far? Honestly.
--Jon
No. All in Wonder cards are horrible for HTPC setups. First, it does not do hardware encoding. Second, its image quality is trash compared to a PVR-250 (or similar) card. Third, they aren't as compatible with PVR software. Check out the forums at any of the big PVR software sites and you will find thread after thread of people with AIW cards complaining about problems. Ask any web savvy person what search engine they use. 9 out of 10 will say Google, and there is a good reason why. Ask any HTPC savvy person what capture card they use. 9 out of 10 will say a PVR-250 (some 150 or 350), and there is a good reason why. Try using an AIW with a HTPC and I bet you'll upgrade to a 250 within the first 6 months. --Jon
I've found (for me) that a good rule is to upgrade my main machine when I can quadruple my processor speed without needing to buy top-of-the-line parts.
By Upgrade, I'm referring to buying a new processor/main board/memory. All the rest of the guts get moved to the new machine. I find this works out pretty cost efficient. I went from a 200 to a 650 to a 2.4. All those speeds were fast when I bought them, but not the absolute fastest available. I'll probably upgrade again at 10Ghz.
Also, that's just for my main machine. I've always got extra Frankenstein computers lying around from parts that have been picked up at various times.
As far as accessories, I upgrade those whenever need calls. Hard drives get added frequently, fun new USB devices, and different types of media inputs and outputs are added whenever they are needed.
I think people who upgrade their processor/main board/memory whenever a "new" speed comes out just simply don't know how to use their computer. Back before I bought my 2.4 and was still using my 650 all of my non-tech friends with top-of-the-line computers (incorrectly) thought mine was faster than theirs simply because I could do more on it (video editing, 3-D modeling, yada yada). People have the false impression they need to upgrade all the time in order to keep up. Naw, unless you are into serious gaming, I just don't think you need to. I'll stick with the rule of quadruple and patiently wait for 10Ghz.
2 cents. Ka Ching!
--Jon
You can sit 2 feet from my system with no ambient noise in the room and still not hear a thing. I custom made my HTPC box to accomplish just that. The actual computer is disguised as a Subwoofer Box. The outside is half-inch MDF core then a layer of foam then another half inch of MDF core. This gets rid of most noise. All internal components with moving parts are suspended by elastic cords to eliminate vibrations to the box itself. All internal fans have temperature controlled speed sensors to lower their volume. The box was internally designed to efficiently and quietly control airflow. All air comes it through two air vents at the bottom back, air goes across the motherboard, up a chute across all 5 hard drives, across the power supply, channeled horizontally across the upper level of the box and across the DVD burner, and then up and out two exhaust vents on the top of the Sub Box. This keeps all temperatures very low, all components have airflow, and no fans are located near the vents so you can't hear them. It works pretty well, you can't hear it, and everyone always asks where my computer is. --Jon
I haven't read every single comment yet, but I've read more than half, and UNBELEAVABLY not a single person has mentioned Snapstream's Beyond TV. I've been using this for a while now and it beats the snot out of a TIVO. First, using two PVR250's I can record two things at the same time, and watch a third program from the Library. This is great for Thursday's because Survivor and The Apprentice are on at the same time. You can skip commercials with just 1 button press. Shows can be automatically compressed to WMV format in the background saving TONS of space. Shows can be burned to DVD's if you want to save space (but with 510Gigs it's not a big problem). This is done at a low priority so you don't notice any performance hit. If your CPU cycles are needed for something else the encoder waits until the CPU has more cycles to spare. Channel lineups are provided free from a web server, this means no monthly fees. Shows can be scheduled to be recorded from ANY COMPUTER WITH AN INTERNET CONNECTION. This means if I'm at work watching TV and something comes on TV that I want to record I just type in my Beyond TV server address, click the channel, and click record. This can be done from many wireless phones too. It's easy to upgrade parts if you need to (more space, HDTV capture card, yada yada). Someone mentioned the drawbacks of using an IR emitter to control your box, but most/all serious HTPC users use a serial cable to control their box/dish. Doing it this way is much more stable than using an IR device. And I challenge anyone to watch my TV and notice any quality difference between Beyond TV versus straight cable, or a TIVO. All my shows are recorded at 8Mb/s, but if that's not good enough, PVR250 cards have the ability to record up to 12Mb/s max. Top notch. I'm just really surprised no one has mentioned this software yet. --Jon
"proven several different ways"? Ummm sure. And it was also proven in many different ways that the world was flat. Science is always wrong. We just think it's right until we discover something new. This goes for all science, but especially something as intangible as a black hole. It may work out on paper, but the same problem has a million other solutions on paper too. Flame on!
If "Roomba" can do it, I have faith a full team of scientists and lots of money can make it happen too.
SlashDot Digital Army ATTACK!! love it!
I have a question for /.ers regarding copy write laws. First, I'd like to say that I don't download music, and I don't download movies. I buy CD's and I buy DVD's. However (with my Qwest connection) I DO download TV shows via P2P. Is this breaking the law? Seems to me that I could pop a tape in the VCR and record shows off TV (presumably legally... as far as I know), so what's the difference in storing it on my hard drive instead of a VHS tape. Is this legal or illegal?