Newto PCI DVB but Old to Satellite and DVB

[thegrod]

I am a long time Satellite Viewer having had a BUD for 25+ years. I also have a 1M motorized sG2100 KU dish and numerous DVB receivers, both HD and sD.
I've wanted to get into the PC version of the hobby for some time but only had limited capability company issued notebooks.
I finally bought a desktop this month. a Dell Inspiron 530 with Quad core Intel 6600 CPU with 1066FSB, 4GB of 800Mhz of RAM, 22" monitor, 500GB HD, and Radeon 256MB HD 2600 XT. I went with XP and not Vista even though I heard that Vista is better for multiple cores because a lot of hardware and software has problems with Vista. Maybe later.....
First question, after reading that multiple cores are the equivalent of faster single cores, is that true in practice with DVB cards, etc? Is my computer "fast enough"?
What hardware and software takes best advantage of my computer's configuration? I know I will use TS Reader because I've seen it's power demonstrated, but not sure what else I want to get but I love experimenting with different configs and hardware when I get going on this.
It's all very confusing at the beginning but I will get it. I'm active on the Weblogix Satellite forum and a moderator on what's left with the VOOM forum.
I want to be able to handle 4:2:2, 4:2:0, 8PSK, etc. And use the 500 GB HD for a PVR. My tV's have DVI on the 50"one and HDMI on the smaller 27" one.
Any advice and help is appreciated. I read a number of threads here before posting this so I have an idea what to try but still not sure what to start with. It seems you have software such as TS Reader, DVB Dream, DVB viewer, and my Theater to run the show or certain aspects of it and then DVB PCI cards to allow reception of various TV signals. Since nothing here is very expensive relative to the cost of the PC at about $1250 what's the best stuff and can you have too much loaded into your computer creating conflicts?
Thanks. Sorry for the length.
Thegrod

 

[brentb636]

You have impressive hardware !
My 2 cents would have you buying a skywalker-1 ( usb2 based DVB PCI card) from Genpix electronics. At $299 , it's about the most expensive, but also the most complete. I've been running one since April 07, and it's been an education. It is supported by Tsreader, DVBdream, and MyTheater, and has about every capabiliity you could want except DVB-s2 ( and that's more a future need than currently ).
The only conflicts that I can see is when you go to installing codecs on your computer. Installing more, is not necessarily better . Some of the applications do not support multiple cpu's , but some do have that support. Provisions are made to disable the multiple cpu's when necessary. I think XP is your best bet. I've had mine running under Vista Ultimate, but it was just too big a PIA on a daily basis.
Welcome aboard !

Brent

- DVB setup --
Athlon X2 4600+
2GB RAM
Windows XP Pro,
ATI Radeon 2600HD XT, 256 MB GDDR4
Genpix Skywalker-1
DvbDream 1.4i
Tsreader/VLC

 

[thegrod]

Isn't Skywalker 1 from Techno trend? I will check it out for sure. Googling. Thanks.
I was looking at the new S2 card from DVB world that does 8PSK as well. It seems like a lot of the bbest hardware for this is from overseas.

 

[brentb636]

If you Google on Genpix, you'll see skywalker-1 is his primary product. I suspect I'll end up buying a seperate DVB-s2 card , once it's needed for Ku band stuff ( unless of course , we get some stb's with that compatibility ) .


Brent

 

[starman345]

I think the Skywalker 1 is made independently by Genpix. Google Genpix, he has a page where he sells his hardware. I have one and it is an education that is for sure, had it about 2 months and I'm still learning. That machine of your's has me envious. Like Brent, I also ran Vista for a while but am now back to xp, I find it easier to get dvb related things going. If you like experimenting, the Skywalker 1 will keep you busy

 

[vfrjim]

Make sure you get hardware compatable with TSReader, TSReader Hardware Support I use a Technotrend S2-3200 and it works great but also have a 8PSK adapter from DVB TECHNOLOGIES - BRINGING DIGITAL TV TO YOUR HOME! That computer is plenty fast, it is identical to mine except I built mine and overclocked it to 3.15 ghz without any heat or noise issues.