Hauppauge 150, good or bad?

[SerbianBoss]

I am in Europe, and i can buy Hauppauge PVR 150 Media Center Edition. Because here dont have model 250.

So, my question is, does this card is good? Does picture quality us good?

Because, i here read that this model have audio or picture issue.

So, could say does this card is worth? I would use for TV capturing and little VHS capturing.

best regard

[lordsmurf]

Audio issues. Worthless to me. I guess maybe $25 to play with.

[buzz86]

i like it i always use it to transfer my stuff to dvds

[SerbianBoss]

What problem is with audio?

Can someone post some pictures from pvr 150?

best regard

[classfour]

I've been running one for 2 months in a home built PVR without issues.

Thus far, no audio problems noted on mpgs created from digital cable broadcasts.

The model of Hauppauge PVR-150 that I installed is the low profile one - not certain
if there are any differences in the 150s due to this.

I have another regular height PVR-150 that I haven't installed as of yet.

I did end up using the software that came with it as the tuner and recorder.

If I ever get around to installing the full height PVR-150, I'll check it for audio issues.

[jkleslie]

No problems out of mine and I've used it with analog and digital broadcast. Video quality took a while to get at an acceptable level, but most of that was due to the quality of the reception itself.

Using MCE 2005 as my frontend.

[The_Doman]

Well, I use 2 of those PVR150 cards but really have mixed feelings about it..

For me personally the cards can only give acceptable results when I use an external S-Video source, composite (which also includes the builtin tuner) has MAJOR issues for PAL users...
Also there are continuous driver issues, often giving the users new suprises...
(Very latest drivers giving me A/V sync problems suddenly )

But then again, I am glad to have those cards here now, just capturing Roland Garros tennis from France the whole week.

Best to visit the SHSPVR Forum for some further reading.

SHSPVR Forum: Poor Picture Quality with PVR 150 Analog Capture
SHSPVR Forum: Hauppauge, the WinTV PVR-150 still has major driver issues!

Videohelp: Hauppauge pvr150: color variations
Videohelp: Recommendations On TV Tuner/Capture Card

Hauppauge, the WinTV PVR-150 still has major driver issues!

This is just a reminder, since there hasn't been a driver release for almost a month...

Just to recap:

- MAJOR, HUGE, MASSIVE image quality issues with PAL signals in composite inputs;
- Overexposed image when a lot of bright colors (mainly white) are present;
- Randomly corrupt MPEG files (although they can be fixed with tools like ProjectX);
- No out-of-the-box, easy, direct way to change the audio gain.

WE ARE STILL ALIVE AND ANGRY! (well, I guess...)

[FulciLives]

I think the Hauppauge WinTV PVR 350 is still made for the PAL market as is Hauppauge WinTV USB2 version.

So just get one of these instead of the Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150 8)

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[yoda313]

Hauppauge WinTV PVR 350

If that is still available for the pal market you'll get the benefit of the fm tuner and the audio/video output all on the same card

[redwudz]

SerbianBoss, You are probably already aware of this, but the MCE edition of the Hauppauge 150 requires the XP MCE OS. I've used the regular WinTV PVR-150 with no real issues in a computer. But I would still recommend a better version other than the 150.

[SerbianBoss]

So, its better to buy 250 or 300 model?

[The_Doman]

SerbianBoss, You are probably already aware of this, but the MCE edition of the Hauppauge 150 requires the XP MCE OS. I've used the regular WinTV PVR-150 with no real issues in a computer. But I would still recommend a better version other than the 150.

The PVR150MCE version wil just work as well with normal windows XP....
The basic hardware/drivers are the same for XP and MCE.

[redwudz]

The PVR150MCE version wil just work as well with normal windows XP....
The basic hardware/drivers are the same for XP and MCE.

That what I would think, but I spent several hours trying to get a MCE one to work with XP. I even downloaded the regular Hauppauge 150 drivers from their site and none of the software could get the card running. I had them exchange it for the regular 150 and it worked perfectly within a few minutes of installing the software. I came to the conclusion that there were two versions of the card.

EDIT: I recommend a 250 or 350 version because of so many reported problems with the 150. I didn't have any, but I admit I just installed it and didn't really expirement much with it. The person with the computer seems happy enough with it, but he is mostly using it for a tuner card.

[FulciLives]

So, its better to buy 250 or 300 model?

The 250 model is no longer made for PAL video. The 350 model is still made for PAL video.

So you should either get the WinTV PVR 350 (which is an internal PCI card) or you can still get the PAL version of the WinTV PVR USB2 (which is an external box that connects to the computer using a USB 2.0 cable).

The WinTV PVR 250 is a good model but Hauppauge no longer makes a PAL version although they still make a NTSC version and if you look on eBay you may still find a PAL version of the 250 model.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[beric3236]

A question comes to mind, and No I am not trying to hijack the thread but just ask a question that came to my mind while I was reading the thread. Does the 150 and or newer models avoid the microvision, as I saw somewhere that they did. I am getting ready to build a media center built around the 150 and more input is always helpful to find out if it is a good choice or bad.

[FulciLives]

A question comes to mind, and No I am not trying to hijack the thread but just ask a question that came to my mind while I was reading the thread. Does the 150 and or newer models avoid the microvision, as I saw somewhere that they did. I am getting ready to build a media center built around the 150 and more input is always helpful to find out if it is a good choice or bad.

It does ignore copy protection ... I know because I had one and tested it ... but the quality of the image ... and the sound issues ... made me return it.

Again the 150 is to be avoided.

Get the 250 if you can (there is still a NTSC model) or get the 350 or the USB2 version. Those three (the 250, 350 and USB2) all work pretty much the same and all work well and yes all of them also ignore copy protection as does the 150 model.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[edlomon]

i see many of you say to buy the 250 series but i cant find one at any store i go to, now they have the 150 but seeing that many of you say to avoid it, where should i go to get it? btw im in the US if you need to know.

i would really love to not get it online, but i need to, i will.

[lchiu7]

So, its better to buy 250 or 300 model?

The 250 model is no longer made for PAL video. The 350 model is still made for PAL video.

So you should either get the WinTV PVR 350 (which is an internal PCI card) or you can still get the PAL version of the WinTV PVR USB2 (which is an external box that connects to the computer using a USB 2.0 cable).

The WinTV PVR 250 is a good model but Hauppauge no longer makes a PAL version although they still make a NTSC version and if you look on eBay you may still find a PAL version of the 250 model.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

If all you want is to capture video via the composite inputs, then I think the NTSC version is fine for PAL users. There's an undocumented setting in the registry to enable a PAL card to capture NTSC and vice versa. Check out

http://www.cask-of-amontillado.com/pvr_reg.html#_Enable_Both_NTSC

I have the 250 and have never used the tuner part - because all my TV comes over cable

[Ego_Shredder]

I've used the 150MCE OEM card since November 2004 with no problems at all. I run it on WinXP SP1 using drivers I downloaded from this site:

http://www.shspvr.com/


I think this has been one of the best pc hardware purchases I have ever made. Once analogue TV reception has been switched off in my area around 2011, I will buy a Hauppauge with Freeview capability. I just hope it will be as good as the 150MCE has been!

[jman98]

Ego_Shredder - was it REALLY necessary to dig up this old thread that no one has commented on in almost 2 years? I hate when people do this kind of thing. The Hauppauge 150 cards are notorious for not working properly in some systems. That's great that it works fine for you, but for a lot of people they don't work at all. It's seems fairly random as to whether this card will or will not work in any given PC. Their PVR-250 and PVR-350 cards are rock solid and basically work for everybody, but the 150 model uses a completely different chipset and may or may not work for anybody.

[hech54]

I for one have been combing Ebay recently for a used 250 or 350 PAL so this thread IS necessary to me.

[Ego_Shredder]

I have not really looked much at the recent crop of capture cards. So I take it the 250 still has a lot of appeal/plenty to offer? If yes, does this mean there has not been a viable alternative since the 250?

Regarding resurrecting threads, I don't see a problem with it and infact I hate forums that have multiple threads all asking the same things over and over. Much tidier and logical to stick to fewer threads I reckon and some forums do work like that, i.e. the moderaters will delete duplicate threads where necessary.