ken2400
I noticed a new card offered by DVBWorld with PCI-e interface:
DTV DVB-S2 PCIe 2006.
The card is based on Montage chipset, and I've seen pretty good reviews from known specialists about these cards and the chipset used. The guy who developed Linux drivers for most sat. cards on the market including this one, said on another forum to like this particular card very much, including both workmanship and performance. The advantage of PCI-e interface is higher data rate perfect for HDTV, and its readily available on most newer PCs, while older interface cards like Prof PCI tuners need older PCI slots, which may be in short supply, if you have other older PCI devices to hook to your new Motherboard. Also from investment standpoint, would you be willing to invest money in older PCI interface product, which you might not be able to mount to your next HTPC? PCI-based cards usually employ older chipset models requiring higher power and often overheating over HD stream processing, which decreases tuner lifespan. Another drawback of the PCI interface is often insufficient stability and added noise to power supplied to the card via it, which affects locking weaker signals dramatically. But it depends on your motherboard and PC power supply unit make and model a lot, and some people may not experience this issue with their particular PC, so its a matter of upfront research or a chance draw.
Another question to ask is would you prefer an internally mounted sat. card, or external USB tuner? If you have a laptop and a mobile dish, a USB Sat. Tuner model may be your only choice, unless it shows stability and hardware compatibility issues, as was reported earlier in this forum for Prof S2 USB tuners. Hence, choose your USB Tuner model carefully, and research reviews of early testers you trust, making sure these reviews are truly independent. For your regular PC or HTPC, it may be a better idea to buy internal PCI-e sat. tuner instead of having a stock of USB devices attached to it for no objective reason, while internal PCI-e slots remain unused. If you have an old PC, your only option may be a PCI sat tuner, of course avoiding the cards "blacklisted" by users as having driver, hardware or support problems. Make sure, your older PC has sufficient processor power, a newer graphics card supporting HD decoding in hardware, and highly efficient cooling system to handle HD H.264 signal decoding, which may be a true challenge for higher voltage older slower processors. Remember, majority of sat. cards, except professional very expensive ones, do not have MPEG decoder chip soldered on them, and rely on your PC to decode the signal. From esthetics's standpoint, internal solution is preferable, as most people want their HTPC looking nice and cute, and not resemble a mount of various devices scattered around it.
You may want to contact DVBWorld about the new card to find the details or buy it. Currently Windows and Linux drivers are available for download. Would you like to "taste" it and tell us, how do you like this card so far.
: :tux:
