# Hauppage TV Card  (advice/comparison) [UNSOLVED/ONGOING]

## HeXiLeD

I am currently about to buy a tv card and would like your input about some Hauppage models and comparisons

I have read the following : 

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-562744-highlight-hauppauge.html

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Tuner_Card

http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Many people have the hauppage PVR-150

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_pvr150.html

Some other use the PVR-500

http://hauppauge.com/site/products/data_pvr500mckit.html

(which is said to be the pvr 150 with 2 tuners)

and i am looking at something like the PVR-1800

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1800.html

I want not only TV but also radio and dual tuners is cool to have.

Primary usage will be cable TV and FM radio

The pvr-150 seems not to have an fm tuner.

The pvr-500 has a fm tuner

The pvr-1800 has it all (picture)

Questions:

Does anyone have this card working perfectly ? 

How is the FM tuner support and what software aplications do we have for it ?

I have seen the BT* kernel driver support. Should we compile has [m] or [*] ?

How is the remote control support ?

What are your general thoughs about this specifc card ?

note to moderators: please don't merge this topic

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## durian

Not one of the models you mention, but I have a PVR-350 which is supported without problems - drivers are in the kernel. It's a single tuner analogue card, with hardware mpeg2 decoder and TV-out. Has been working floawlessly for three years.

Never tried the radio though....

-peter

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## AaronPPC

I have an HVR-1600, which I believe to be the PCI version of the 1800.  It works well.

You can't buy new 150, 350, or 500's anymore.  They have been discontinued as part of the U.S. DTV transition.  You'll have to find one of those on ebay.

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## HeXiLeD

I am making my decision for the PVR-1800 

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1800.html

1: As for kernel drivers what do you guys use ?

2: compiled as module or static ?

3: any other extra support drivers needed ?

Kernel:

```
<*>   BT848 Video For Linux ?

<*>   Bt87x Audio Capture
```

From kernel documentation CARDLIST.bttv

```
2 -> Hauppauge (bt848)

10 -> Hauppauge (bt878)   [0070:13eb,0070:3900,2636:10b4]

26 -> Hauppauge WinCam newer (bt878)

80 -> Hauppauge WinTV PVR  [0070:4500]

143 -> Hauppauge ImpactVCB (bt878) [0070:13eb]

```

Does this suport the radio features too ?

```
You'll need at least these config options for bttv:

        CONFIG_I2C=m

        CONFIG_I2C_ALGOBIT=m

        CONFIG_VIDEO_DEV=m
```

Whats your input about this support ?

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## poly_poly-man

I like my hvr-950. NTSC, ATSC, and full linux support. The 950Q has a different chipset but still has linux support. Adds clear QAM over the 950.

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## Jaglover

And I like mine ... http://www.pchdtv.com/  :Smile: 

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## Tony0945

HexiLED, how did that HVR-1800 work out for you?  It doesn't seem to be in production, but some are listed on ebay.

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## jathlon

 *Tony0945 wrote:*   

> HexiLED, how did that HVR-1800 work out for you?  It doesn't seem to be in production, but some are listed on ebay.

 

I had one working (needed to rmmod and modprobe the main module every now and then) on a old install with kernels up to 2.6.35.  Something changed in the kernel after that and I never quite got it working right after that.   The documentation on the linuxtv.org wiki for the 1800 is way out of date and slightly inaccurate even when it was current.  I only ever used it in the analog mode.  Never got it going in the dvb mode.  Right now it's sitting in an anti-static bag while my old pvr-350 continues to chug away.  

If your looking for something that just works, this isn't it.  If you're lucky enough to stumble on some good documentation on how to get it going.. let me know as well.   :)

joe

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## HeXiLeD

Thought about digging out this old thread because i have not bought the card yet. The old options did not satisfy me at the time.

I was reading a little bit about and seems that Linux support is a bit better and one thing i really want is hardware encoding (for obvious reasons).

Hauppauge 1229 WinTV-HVR-2255 Dual TV Tuner / Encoder  which seems to be linux supported.

https://www.mail-archive.com/linux-media@vger.kernel.org/msg86862.html

But how good is the support for this card ? Any feedback ?

Another card i was looking into is:

Hauppauge Colossus, PCI-Express High Definition H.264 Video Recorder for PCs 

Colossus seems great but  no linux as far as i can see: https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Hauppauge_Colossus

Then: 

https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Hauppauge_HD-PVR

 *Quote:*   

> As of November 2013, ONLY the Hauppauge HD-PVR models 1212 and 1445 are supported by the Linux TV project. No HD-PVR 2 models are supported in Linux.

 

If i decide to go with WinTV-HVR-2255 what other app/software is available to be used with it ? 

Have also been reading about external hardware such as: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1950 - Hybrid Video Recorder

What do you think about such type of hardware and what is your recommendation ?

A few things i want/need for the tvcard are:

- Hardware decoder and encoder

- Tv reception

- FM Radio  reception

- Analog cable support

Things that would be great to have:

- H264 1080i video/recording

- Also have digital reception support

- Dual input cable

Things I do not care:

- Remote control

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## Tony0945

I have two HVR-1600's that are working fine on Gentoo. They should be supported by MythTV, but I don't use Myth. I find the navigation too non-standard. I record by setting frequency by azap and copying, like LinuxTV suggests for a test.

i.e "azap -r "WYCC"" followed by "cat /dev/dvb/dvr0 ><file name>"  these can be put into a script that sleeps then kills the azap and cat processes when it wakes up.  Watching TV is even easier

```
azap -r "<channel name>" &

mplayer /dev/dvb/dvr0
```

 After closing mplayer, just run "killall azap" or remember the process id, or write a little shell that takes the channel as a parameter.  With a dual tuner card you can write your record script to take say dvr0 and your watch now script to use dvr1. But with dual inputs use "-a 0" or "-a 1" to azap to ensure no mix up (defaults to 0).

I had an HVR-2250 a few years ago, but couldn't get it going. Supposedly they are better now.

Like you, I'd like to hear from others, also about the 955 USB stick.  1600 is PCI, 2255 is PCIe.

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## vaxbrat

I've been running an HVR-2250 with mythtv for several years.

```
05:00.0 Multimedia controller: Philips Semiconductors SAA7164 (rev 81)

        Subsystem: Hauppauge computer works Inc. WinTV HVR-2250

        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19

        Memory at fe400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4M]

        Memory at fe000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4M]

        Capabilities: [40] MSI: Enable- Count=1/16 Maskable- 64bit+

        Capabilities: [50] Express Endpoint, MSI 00

        Capabilities: [74] Power Management version 3

        Capabilities: [7c] Vendor Specific Information: Len=84 <?>

        Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0000 Rev=0 Len=060 <?>

        Capabilities: [160] Virtual Channel

        Kernel driver in use: saa7164

        Kernel modules: saa7164
```

I just use it for OTA recording of the local TV stations and haven't really messed with trying to bring in video from external devices.  Most of the vids I shoot nowadays are with a Canon EOS 60D and I just dump the card to the cluster with a usb3 adapter.

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## Tony0945

 *vaxbrat wrote:*   

> I've been running an HVR-2250 with mythtv for several years.
> 
> 

 

Just checked my Newegg order history. I bought it in August 2011 and returned it within the 30 days. I ordered a 2250 and they substituted a 2255, probably one of the first. Glad to hear that it works now because it would be great to dedicated one input to recording and the other to watching. Besides PCIe is probably easier on the system and I won't have to worry about having PCI slots on future motherboards.

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## danomac

Yes, I ordered another 2250 as well and was sent the non-working 2255. Back in 2012 a developer said support on linux was coming, but didn't say it would take 4 years or so for the 2255 to work.

So far the best tuner I've used is the HDHomeRun. It picks up weak channels that my 2250 *and* TV refuse to lock on to.

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## depontius

I have a pair of HVR-1600s that I'm no longer using.  I worked a bit with the developer way back when getting the drivers into better shape.

I used them years ago with MythTV, but then Comcast dropped SDTV and went fully-encrypted with HDTV, so I bought an HD HomeRun Prime.

Drop a line if you're intersested.

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## HeXiLeD

I am thinking about the HVR-2255. From what i read, it brings enhancements when compared to the HVR-2250. If anyone knows of any HVR 2255 issues, let me know.

Alternatively HD HomeRun seems a great purchase but i am looking into internal hardware at the moment.

@vaxbrat

Could you post all your related kernel CONFIG_MEDIA_PCI_SUPPORT for the saa7164 driver ?

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## depontius

Check carefully what your cable provider is doing, and what they have announced that they plan on doing.

I'm with Comcast, and at some point they announced that they were going to encrypt everything - including the basic broadcast channels that they are required to carry by the FCC.  Comcast also provkdes one or two "digital converter" boxes for free to meet the FCC requirements for broadcast.

The only way for me to get real value out of MythTV was with the HD HomeRun Prime and a CableCard.  (I suppose I could have tried IR controlling a box, but I understand this is difficult with Scientific Atlanta cable boxes, and I wanted more channel choices than the digital converter boxes offer.)

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## HeXiLeD

Good info. I just called to get info about the service and got the following:

Boxes used: Nextbox HD 4642 HD and the cable signal is encrypted. 

So i guess this now changes everything. What are my options ?

Can I still use a card that will receive the signal from the box after decription or is there a good card that can decrypt directly from the cable ?

One other question is about vl4 support. Will I need x11-drivers/xf86-video-v4l  & media-tv/v4l-utils ?

----------

## depontius

At this point you might have two choices:

1 - HD HomeRun Prime with Cable Card

2 - The cable company's cable box, driven by an IR blaster, and some sort of frame-grabber on the output.

The choice that might be missing is #2, depending on your needs/wishes.  Driving a cable box with an IR blaster is known art, though often trick, and the information you need may well be proprietary.  In other words, you may not be able to get the IR codes you need to blast.  That's only the first obstacle.  The second obstacle is that most likely the only output from the cable box is video, and almost certainly not QAM.  So right there you're out of the realm of regular video capture cards, and into something else.  Years back some cable boxes would output firewire, and that's the easy path.  I don't know if that still happens, it was never there for me.  As for video capture, I believe there is hardware meant to do that, I never really looked for myself, only heard about others doing it.  If you're content to record SDTV - 480i, no problem.  If you want HDTV, of course it would mean different capture hardware, but it might be impossible.  There is a thing called HDCP that can be used to encrypt the video going out through HDMI.  If the HTMI output of your cable box is HDCP-encrypted, you're toast.  Plus getting the IR blaster to do what you want is far from trivial, and you're mostly on your own, because there's not standardization, and pretty much every setup will be different.

Now you know why I went with #1.

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## HeXiLeD

I was just checking my tv box and it has:

```

- IR out

- HDMI

- Fireware
```

But how about the cable TV out box output ? Can't a cable come from there to the pcie tv card ? Description happens in the box. Is there a limitation to this ?

As for cable card boxes i was reading about the HDHomeRun PRIME...

 *Quote:*   

> HDHomeRun PRIME is designed for use with digital cable. It will not work with analog channels, an antenna, satellite, or IPTV services. HDHomeRun PRIME is designed for use with US digital cable utilizing CableCARD technology. It is not compatible with cable systems that do not use CableCARD, including most in Canada and all in Europe.

 

My current box does not use cards. How will HDHomeRun work for me ?

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## depontius

It sounds like your cable box has two outputs that can carry "TV out" - HDMI and firewire.  Neither of those is NTSC / QAM that the normal TV tuner card is equipped to handle.  I'm not sure what the "IR out" on the cable box is for, but I believe in the present context it's not useful to you, unless it's mislabeled and it's really "IR in.  I can see how they might label it that way if it's meant to be connected to the "IR out" of your capture device.

So you have the firewire output, which I understand is the preferred way to get video.  Next question is whether it's enabled or not.  Do you have any hardware with a firewire port? (My laptop does, but that's my only firewire.)  If so, you can start learning and test this path.  Problem is, they don't always enable the firewire output.

There are also HDMI capture devices, but as I said, if the cable company is using HDCP, which is fairly likely, you're outta luck on that one.

It's google time for you.

I would also suggest going to the MythTV mailing list archives, and start looking for people in similar situations to you.  Even if you're not running MythTV, it's probably the most concentrated information source for what you're trying to do.

Also, https://askubuntu.com/questions/290971/how-to-capture-from-hdmi-with-ubuntu has interesting information.

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