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For the past month I've been looking into what would be needed to add a PC based sat receiver to my satellite system to allow me to view 4:2:2 feeds as I am a sports wild feed addict (the only thing I really watch on TV these days). I have found some information on other forums (which shall be nameless) but they are so full of misinformation and criminals I thought I might get an opinion from someone here where the quality of the information is so much higher.
I have an old PC I will be dedicating to the task (1.7G P4) and will be purchasing a barebones PCI sat card for it soon, likely a Twinhan as it seems to enjoy good support from 3rd party software but that is not set in stone. I can't decide between the models so would value any opinion on them but my bigger problem will be choosing where to buy it (I am in Calgary, Canada) and feel that I paid a reasonable price.
The main issue I have, though, is that the video card on the PC will need to be replaced with something that can drive the inputs on my TV (DVI, or Component, or S-video) as it is an old VGA only Nvidia Geforce2. For future proofing I think the card will need to support HDTV resolutions (I know the PC is currently too slow for HDTV decoding so no need to point that out) and likely DVI. My understanding of some of the info I have read is that ATI cards (and likely Nvidia) do have acceleration hardware that can be used to speed up some parts of the MPEG decoding algorithm. So what would be recommended as a minimum video card to support these requirements?
As always one doesn't want to spend too much money.
Any and all opinions are appreciated.
- Greetings to all from a very soggy part of the world (crazy as it may be!). -
Mark
I have an old PC I will be dedicating to the task (1.7G P4) and will be purchasing a barebones PCI sat card for it soon, likely a Twinhan as it seems to enjoy good support from 3rd party software but that is not set in stone. I can't decide between the models so would value any opinion on them but my bigger problem will be choosing where to buy it (I am in Calgary, Canada) and feel that I paid a reasonable price.
The main issue I have, though, is that the video card on the PC will need to be replaced with something that can drive the inputs on my TV (DVI, or Component, or S-video) as it is an old VGA only Nvidia Geforce2. For future proofing I think the card will need to support HDTV resolutions (I know the PC is currently too slow for HDTV decoding so no need to point that out) and likely DVI. My understanding of some of the info I have read is that ATI cards (and likely Nvidia) do have acceleration hardware that can be used to speed up some parts of the MPEG decoding algorithm. So what would be recommended as a minimum video card to support these requirements?
As always one doesn't want to spend too much money.
Any and all opinions are appreciated.
- Greetings to all from a very soggy part of the world (crazy as it may be!). -
Mark
10 Replies
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6109 views
M
Thanks to all for your excellent responses full of good information.
To give you an idea of my plans:
Currently I have a Pansat 2500 connected 90cm dish with a standard linear LNB. This system was originally purchased so my Dutch wife could watch BVN on IA5 mostly to catch the sports highlights (studio sport and sportjournaal) as she loves sports (mostly football - the kind actually played with the feet
). Being an Engineer and thus by default a tech weenie it is in my genes to always upgrade/improve my toys. And of course I want to receive everything I can (legally - if I wanted DBS I would subscribe to it). My big interest is in sports feeds so everything I do is geared toward that.
First I added a motor so I could see almost the entire arc - found Goltv by accident (remember I have a STANDARD linear LNB so wouldn't really be looking at circularly polarized sats).
Next I slaved an old analog receiver I got off ebay (TRX-120) after reading about all the feeds Iceberg was always getting off SBS-6 and AMC-9.
As I was just in The Netherlands last week I picked up the universal LNB I had a relative purchase for me 2 months prior (Invacom single) so I could point my dish at PAS-9 Ku (and hopefully get something) - if I receive even one European sport feed off of this the points I will score with my wife will be astronomical and then I may be able to justify my biggest wish... C-BAND!!!
But this brings me to the whole reason for this thread. I am currently missing the ability to view the many 4:2:2 feeds that appear. So while in Europe I decided I had to get a receiver for this and the best and cheapest solution is a DVB card. I would have purchased a SkyStar 2 from the shop I visited but they were out of stock (I did drool over the QualiTV and Dreambox receivers on the shelf - amazing how much more mature the sat market is over there). Strangely the salesman claimed they weren't making the Skystar 2 anymore???? I'm not sure I believe him. The Technisat website seems very up to date and has it nicely featured.
Anyway, it seems that I can't go too wrong with a cheap card like the Twinhan 102g or the SkyStar 2. Since the Pansat already does the 4:2:0 well I would only use it for 4:2:2. Correct me if I'm wrong but all the <inexpensive> mpeg hardware decoders seem to only do 4:2:0? so I wouldn't need hardware decoders on board. The Twinhan seems easier to get over here so it may be that one. I won't go for ebay on the purchase as there seems to be some shady characters selling new receivers (i.e ~15$ but you pay 50$ shipping!!!!! what is that about?)
I will likely be slaving it to the Pansat and using the Pansat for all blind scanning and motor/LNB control. It seems easy to pick out 4:4:2 feeds with it - audio only with a blocky mess on the screen. How I also connect in the analog receiver is yet to be determined.
My first step will be the DVB card. I will get that working with the old PC hardware and video card. I expect there will be a lot of playing and learning required to get good performance out it. It would seem that there are lots of options on decoders to use - thanks to all of you for showing me some good options on that.
Second step will be a better video card so I can connect it up to my TV (60" HDTV) as I have no interest in watching on a small computer screen.
Third step will be to build a bigger/faster/stronger computer that is capable of decoding HD streams as there seem to more and more HD wild feeds appearing as well. My impressions are that I will need at least a p4 2.4 or 2.8 with a big cache and oodles of memory. Or maybe even faster.
and Beyond? More dishes!!!!
So thanks again to all for the advice and recommendations. You have helped me narrow down quite a few loose ends on what I need to do.
To give you an idea of my plans:
Currently I have a Pansat 2500 connected 90cm dish with a standard linear LNB. This system was originally purchased so my Dutch wife could watch BVN on IA5 mostly to catch the sports highlights (studio sport and sportjournaal) as she loves sports (mostly football - the kind actually played with the feet
). Being an Engineer and thus by default a tech weenie it is in my genes to always upgrade/improve my toys. And of course I want to receive everything I can (legally - if I wanted DBS I would subscribe to it). My big interest is in sports feeds so everything I do is geared toward that.First I added a motor so I could see almost the entire arc - found Goltv by accident (remember I have a STANDARD linear LNB so wouldn't really be looking at circularly polarized sats).
Next I slaved an old analog receiver I got off ebay (TRX-120) after reading about all the feeds Iceberg was always getting off SBS-6 and AMC-9.
As I was just in The Netherlands last week I picked up the universal LNB I had a relative purchase for me 2 months prior (Invacom single) so I could point my dish at PAS-9 Ku (and hopefully get something) - if I receive even one European sport feed off of this the points I will score with my wife will be astronomical and then I may be able to justify my biggest wish... C-BAND!!!
But this brings me to the whole reason for this thread. I am currently missing the ability to view the many 4:2:2 feeds that appear. So while in Europe I decided I had to get a receiver for this and the best and cheapest solution is a DVB card. I would have purchased a SkyStar 2 from the shop I visited but they were out of stock (I did drool over the QualiTV and Dreambox receivers on the shelf - amazing how much more mature the sat market is over there). Strangely the salesman claimed they weren't making the Skystar 2 anymore???? I'm not sure I believe him. The Technisat website seems very up to date and has it nicely featured.
Anyway, it seems that I can't go too wrong with a cheap card like the Twinhan 102g or the SkyStar 2. Since the Pansat already does the 4:2:0 well I would only use it for 4:2:2. Correct me if I'm wrong but all the <inexpensive> mpeg hardware decoders seem to only do 4:2:0? so I wouldn't need hardware decoders on board. The Twinhan seems easier to get over here so it may be that one. I won't go for ebay on the purchase as there seems to be some shady characters selling new receivers (i.e ~15$ but you pay 50$ shipping!!!!! what is that about?)
I will likely be slaving it to the Pansat and using the Pansat for all blind scanning and motor/LNB control. It seems easy to pick out 4:4:2 feeds with it - audio only with a blocky mess on the screen. How I also connect in the analog receiver is yet to be determined.
My first step will be the DVB card. I will get that working with the old PC hardware and video card. I expect there will be a lot of playing and learning required to get good performance out it. It would seem that there are lots of options on decoders to use - thanks to all of you for showing me some good options on that.
Second step will be a better video card so I can connect it up to my TV (60" HDTV) as I have no interest in watching on a small computer screen.
Third step will be to build a bigger/faster/stronger computer that is capable of decoding HD streams as there seem to more and more HD wild feeds appearing as well. My impressions are that I will need at least a p4 2.4 or 2.8 with a big cache and oodles of memory. Or maybe even faster.
and Beyond? More dishes!!!!
So thanks again to all for the advice and recommendations. You have helped me narrow down quite a few loose ends on what I need to do.
With that specific information, I'd heartily endorse the Twinhan 
It should get all you need done at a cheap price, and eventually do the HD stuff you want as well. I only spent $39 or so on this budget MSI videocard (on sale) but it has S-Video out, which I run to the TV; looks/works great. Sounds like you're already very well informed on things Let us know how it works out!
It should get all you need done at a cheap price, and eventually do the HD stuff you want as well. I only spent $39 or so on this budget MSI videocard (on sale) but it has S-Video out, which I run to the TV; looks/works great. Sounds like you're already very well informed on things
Let us know how it works out!
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68532 Replies
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2673029 views
Lifetime Supporter
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
112 Replies
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1761 views
Troy Aikman seems to confirm he'll be leaving ESPN
Aikman says he looks forward to "where my next landing spot will be."
www.nbcsports.com
M
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.Troy Aikman seems to confirm he'll be leaving ESPN
Aikman says he looks forward to "where my next landing spot will be."
Browns lead the AFC North 
For some reason, the satelliteguys.us site is loading a lot slower than usual on both Chrome on my Asus laptop and Safari on my iPhone.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
541 Replies
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18549 views
Supporting Founder
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
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1822 views
. Hated to see my dawgs go down but I still say being ranked #1 is a hex on you!
My year was almost up and we got the new bill for a year of service for $ 360.00 insane sat radio is becoming like cable!!! i logged into my acct and hopped onto chat and told the rep that i wanted to cancel. she understood my concern and went quiet for a few minutes. i figured that she was canceling my service. she comes back and said that she seen that i have been a sub since 07 and then offers me the same package for a year for 120.00 with taxes and fee's!!! i grabbed it. after almost having a stroke 
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11073 views
S
Don't you mean phone sex operators
Is That why you keep SXM ???Don't you mean phone sex operators
Mrs. Foxbat reminded me it's that time of the year to do the Cancel Tango
The A.I. agent appears to be better than in the past. It got to the acceptable price quicker than previous years, no human operator involved. $5/mo and I still have over $50 in SiriusXM credit from my FordPartner benefits.
The A.I. agent appears to be better than in the past. It got to the acceptable price quicker than previous years, no human operator involved. $5/mo and I still have over $50 in SiriusXM credit from my FordPartner benefits.
I forgot you can pay that with Ford Pass points, I won't be due again till Feb, but I'll have to remember to try it ... Not sure what needs to be done, but I do have a substantial amount of points currently.Mrs. Foxbat reminded me it's that time of the year to do the Cancel Tango
The A.I. agent appears to be better than in the past. It got to the acceptable price quicker than previous years, no human operator involved. $5/mo and I still have over $50 in SiriusXM credit from my FordPartner benefits.
S
.
when i say cancel. they give the moon and stars!!! iv'e gotten free radios and a free month once since it was my bdayIs That why you keep SXM ???
.
Pub Member / Supporter
America’s Fastest-Growing EV State Isn’t California—Not by a Long Shot
New data shows electric vehicle adoption is increasingly driven by state policies, electricity prices and charging access—not federal incentives
www.autoweek.com
The number-one US state for EV growth, according to the June 22 Yardi report?
Oklahoma.
It has no ZEV mandates and "minimal" incentives, Yardi says, but also has cheap electricity, high multi-car household rates (so, for example, a non-Lightning Ford F-150 pulls their trailers), and a consumer base willing to switch.
113 Replies
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929 views
tomwellborn3rd (@wellborn.net)
This author has chosen to make their posts visible only to people who are signed in.
bsky.app
Never realized that Tesla is losing to BYD at manufacturing too, which IMO is Tesla's biggest accomplishment and area of innovation. Nice writeup about the state of play and how we got here though. I have no faith that we're moving any productive direction though sadly, most changes and efforts feel reactionary rather than rooted in making use of the time being bought by tariffs, with few exceptions.
So: how are the cars so cheap, and what is being cut to get there? The best public accounting comes from the Rhodium Group, which compared BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor against Tesla's Chinese operation, a fair comparison because it removes labor costs and shipping from the equation entirely. Their estimate is that BYD builds a car for about $4,700 less than Tesla builds a Model 3 in Shanghai, roughly 15 percent of the Model 3's price. The breakdown is the interesting part. Direct government grants account for about $292 per vehicle, which is 5 percent of the gap. The biggest single factor is vertical integration: BYD makes about 80 percent of its top-tier components in-house, against 37 percent for Tesla, and that eliminates roughly $2,369 per vehicle in supplier markups. Lower overhead, meaning cheaper engineering talent and administrative cost spread across enormous volume, accounts for another $1,719. And BYD pays its suppliers on 155-day terms, against Tesla's 60, which is worth about $214 per car in float. When people say the Chinese advantage is subsidies, the per-vehicle number says otherwise. When people say it is slave wages, the Tesla Shanghai comparison says otherwise too. The advantage is mostly that BYD decided, twenty years ago, to make its own batteries, its own motors, its own power electronics, and its own semiconductors, and Western automakers decided the opposite.
US EV sales are rising again. Here’s why the recovery is set to last.
Even though sales tanked last year after the end of federal incentives, the American EV sector is on the mend as drivers face sky-high gasoline prices.
www.canarymedia.com
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy
Ethanol Free Stations
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy
Ethanol Free Stations
5553 Replies
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460693 views
Here in Indiana, the difference between Regular and Premium is usually a dollar, but some charge even more:
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beTFfPz10OI
Direct YouTube Link - Club TWiT: Media Club #3 - Best of Adult Animation: Futurama, Rick and Morty, and Simpsons Classics
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beTFfPz10OI
Direct YouTube Link - Club TWiT: Media Club #3 - Best of Adult Animation: Futurama, Rick and Morty, and Simpsons Classics
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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13 views
Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
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117 views
