Hauppauge or ATI AIW 9800 pro

[Devdeep60]

I want to convert a few VHS tapes and camcorder analogue tapes to DVD format. Do I go the Hauppauge 150 or ATI route please?

[FulciLives]

I want to convert a few VHS tapes and camcorder analogue tapes to DVD format. Do I go the Hauppauge 150 or ATI route please?

Please avoid the Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150 as that particular model is very "buggy".

However ... having said that ... the other Hauppauge WinTV PVR units (including the 250, 350 and USB2 models) work very well and I highly suggest them for your use.

The nice thing about the Hauppauge units is that they ignore copy protection which is key if you need to convert some store bought VHS tapes to the DVD format since after all there are still many rare films that have yet to get a DVD release.

The only bad thing about the Hauppauge units is that they can sometimes "fail" on poor quality tapes i.e., one with a lot of drop outs or "instability" although that can be gotten around by using an external TBC which is helpfull with a VHS source no matter what the recording/capture device but bear in mind that the cheapest well working TBC is around $190 US Dollars.

Another alternative is one of the current model Toshiba stand alone or set top DVD recorders as these have a very decent TBC built-in but any source with copy protection will fail to record although again you can get an external TBC (as that kind removes copy protection) or a device made just to remove copy protection (which can be a lot cheaper but may not work "perfect").

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[bendixG15]

The PVR150 that I have been using for a year and half works just fine, no audio problems, no video problems, just turn down the brightness.

I never used the ATI cards..so can't comment.

I now convert my VHS tapes with a Canopus ADVC 100..great box.

Good Luck.

[Bodyslide]

I have used the ATI AIW 9800 Pro for about 7 months, recorded about a 200 hrs of video so far. No issues yet. Good Card IMHO.

[redwudz]

I'd have to go with the Hauppauge, mostly for ease of use. The AIW may give better quality, but a little more touchy to set up, depending on your system. My brother got a Hauppauge PVR 150 (After I recommended a 250. ) and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked with his cable system.

I would still recommend the 250, though.

[FulciLives]

One of the major problems with the Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150 is the built-in comb filter ... at least for PAL captures. I've heard a couple PAL people I trust moan on and on about the comb filter being ill suited for anything PAL.

So again don't go with the 150 model but the 250 model is very good and probably the next cheapest option to the 150 model.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Devdeep60]

Thanks Guys

I am in UK and the 250 is nol longer available here. Is 350 the next option?

[FulciLives]

Thanks Guys

I am in UK and the 250 is nol longer available here. Is 350 the next option?

I know the 250 is still available in the USA (NTSC tuner model) but it is very hard to find ... you basically have to purchase it on-line.

So I am suggesting that perhaps the PAL version of the 250 is still available ... just that it is also hard to find.

So in other words ... be sure you look good and hard before you "give up" on finding a PAL model 250.

The other option is the 350 or there is also a USB2 version.

The 250 and 350 are both internal PCI versions. The USB2 version is an external box that hooks up to the computer using a USB 2.0 connection.

The internal "guts" of the 250/350/USB2 are all pretty much the same.

The only real difference is that the 350 is "unique" in that it has outputs as well as inputs.

I live in the USA so I cannot comment on where to purchase a PAL model but you might want to check out the forums at the following website:

http://www.shspvr.com/

Good Luck !!!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Here is the official Hauppauge UK website link:
http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/

[anbidan]

I've been using AIW 9800 pro for almost 3 years and I am very happy with it. I use MMC 8.9 (the latest is 9.13 but I didn't like it) and everything goes great. The image quality is really good. And it works very well. I don't know the Haupagge card (here in Argentina is not avaiable) so I can't tell you about it. I thing that if you can't get the Haupagge, get the AIW, you are not going to be wrong. An if you came with a protected VHS (macrovision), as FulciLives said in the begining of this post, there are several patches for that on the Net, I've never came across with one. Hope this helps.