DVD-Software.info

[John Nash]

Hi guys,

I would be very grateful if I could get some support in building a htpc/pvr
box.
I intend to build it on an old AMD 900 mHz pc and:

1. Control the box via ethernet (cable) from another computer.
2. Record TV programs the htpc HDD.
3. Play video files in various formats from the htpc HDD on TV.

After a lot of research I found:

As TV tuner-pvr cards:
http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvr250.html
http://www.yuan.com.tw/en/products/vdo_mpg480.html
(the problem with the last one is that I cannot find any place to buy it in
Europe - maybe someone could help me with this also - it has a build in
mpeg1/2/4 hardware encoder + decoder!).

Hardware video decoder cards:
http://www.sigmadesigns.com/products/xcard.htm

In the process of searching for streaming solutions on a home network I
found this device that has the same price as the above mentioned cards taken
together and will do exactly what I want and moreover will play wm9 format:

Network DVD Player "AVeL LinkPlayer2" (WMV&USB2.0) AVLP2/DVDLA
http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/products.php?cat=HNP&sc=AVEL&pId=AVLP2%2FDVDLA
(again I cannot buy it in Europe yet).

Any suggestions?

Has anyone heard about some h.264 decoder cards (for streaming h.264
content)? Is this fromat really better in terms of compression than wm9 or
other mpeg4 format? Is it such that I can h.264(or wm9) encode a video (a dv
capture avi file) at 720x576 resolution at a cbr of 4000 kbs and have the
same quality as an mpeg2 at 8000 kbs?

Thank you,
John