Help with PCI card

[Zero]

I need help selecting a PCI card for my HTPC. I have both linux (Ubuntu) and Windows XP- Pro installed. Though I like to get work done with Linux, I am OK with wondows compatible card too..

Unfortunately Sadoun does not sell any Twinhan cards anymore. I found two online stores (Sat-Sales and Cyber Store) selling Digistar ($59), Twinhan 1027 ($70), Skystar 2 ($79).
Any suggestion on the card or stores are welcome. Unfortunately none of the sponsors here sell PCI cards..

 

[TheKrell]

I went with JustFTA.com (actually through their Ebay store) and a Twinhan 1025 for $45 shipped. They believed me when I told them it was DOA and replaced it without quibbling. Turns out the card was fine; my software was not. Anyhow, they claim to have sold over 700 Twinhan cards with only a handful of failures. No technical support at those prices, though.

 

[VinceT3]

I prefer the SkyStar, it's been far more stable in both software and hardware

 

[jerryt]

Skystar 2

 

[mastermesh]

I've got the dvbworld usbdevice and use the software that came with it. If you computer's a bit slower than newer ones (mine's a 1.5ghz machine with 512 mb ram) you might try that route. I found that this computer is too slow to keep up with dvb dream in this setup, but the nextorm software that came with the card works almost perfectly most of the time with it.. I use the nextorm to record movies off of g10r weekly.

DVB is ok sometimes, but it acts up or freezes when I try to do any fancy stuff like recording tv or using audiorip.

 

[Zero]

I've got the dvbworld usbdevice and use the software that came with it. If you computer's a bit slower than newer ones (mine's a 1.5ghz machine with 512 mb ram) you might try that route. I found that this computer is too slow to keep up with dvb dream in this setup, but the nextorm software that came with the card works almost perfectly most of the time with it.. I use the nextorm to record movies off of g10r weekly.

DVB is ok sometimes, but it acts up or freezes when I try to do any fancy stuff like recording tv or using audiorip.

I have a E4300 dual core processor with 2GB RAM. I guess it should be good enough. I need to add a good graphic card though

 

[Anole]

Buddy sent me this table just last week.
We were trying to decide if some new card on sale, was better or worse than what we had.

The table shows frame rate for gaming, and the cards are ranked in order.
Some have price points for reference.
Be sure to select a card that does what you need, but don't get a clunker, and don't pay too much.
And, if you're going to get an nVidia, get XFX brand.
They have lifetime warranty, and it's even transferable to whoever you sell it to.

Ok here we Go.. 
you can't tell a Dam  Nvidia Card With out a score card.  

Worse to the  Best 
Overall  Games frames Per second ( FPS ) 
[FONT=Courier New]
card       frames per second       price point
7300GS @         271.7        
7300GT @         465.8 
6600GT @         486.4  
[COLOR=#ff0000]8500GT @         504.1             90 @ Newegg[/COLOR]
7600GS @         624.7  
6800GT @         662.9  
6800 Ultra @     768.2 
7600GT @         917.6             95@ Newegg 
[/FONT][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Courier New]8600GT @         962.0             99@ Newegg
7800GT @        1071.7  
8600GTS @       1127.5             155.@ Newegg
7900GS @        1172.9             139 @  NewEgg
7800GTX 430 @   1197.2             220 
7900GT @        1353.6             225
7950GT @        1465.2             189                
7800GTX 550 mhz 1516.7              
7900GTX @       1612.4             470
8800GTS @      18.27.8             370 @  Newegg
7950GX2 @       1858.3                 
8800GTX @       2281.8             530 
8800Utlra @     2305.6             650 @  Newegg
[/FONT]
[/COLOR]Toms Hardware used for reference
[URL="http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=856&model2=853&chart=318"]VGA Charts 2007 | Tom's Hardware[/URL]

 

[Zero]

Thanks Anole! I am not a gamer. I am thinking of 8500GT or 8600 GT. May be I will buy one buy end of this month.

 

[Zero]

Vince, Jerry,
I was checking the specs of Skystar and it has only DiSEqC 1.0. Will it be able to control the motor? Thanks!

 

[jerryt]

SS2Diseqc1.10 the best USAL motor control plugin, only for the Skystar 2.

 

[Zero]

Thanks everyone. I ordered a Skystar2 from CyberEstore for $79+Shipping

 

[Zero]

I received the card version 2.6D yesterday and assembled it and installed the drivers. Did not get time to play with that. First thoughts,

Liked the remote that came with. Better quality than other receivers I have. But was not able to use that so far.

1. Card is getting heated up a lot. It feels like it is more than 150~160° F. Is this normal?

2. The manual says it cannot be used with motor? Is there a way to get around?

3. The port convention used for DiEqC swith is confusing. How do I identify port number with combinationn such as Pos A-Opt A, PosA- OptB?

First TP (Ku) in G25 (IA5) was showing SQ of 28% where as Coolsat was showing 69. I have not yet checked other TPs.

 

[jerryt]

1. Card is getting heated up a lot. It feels like it is more than 150~160° F. Is this normal?.

No, the Skystar 2 is my coolest running card, but people normally place a fan directing air on their satellites cards.

2. The manual says it cannot be used with motor? Is there a way to get around?.

Techinsat is against using the card with a motor, but I have never heard of a single card going bad. You can modify your SG2100 motor to use an external power supply, then there is no drain on the card. The modification is in the download section of the MyTheare forum.

3. The port convention used for DiEqC swith is confusing. How do I identify port number with combinationn such as Pos A-Opt A, PosA- OptB?.

AA=1, AB=2, BA=3, BB=4.

First TP (Ku) in G25 (IA5) was showing SQ of 28% where as Coolsat was showing 69. I have not yet checked other TPs.

There is no standard on how much signal should indicate how many percent. This is normal, only worry when the picture is unwatchable.

 

[Anole]

I hate to give any promotion to Yahoo Groups, due to their incredibly poor format, but ...
They do have a Group supporting the Skystar 2 card.
hxxp://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/skystar2/
You have to have a Yahoo email account to join.

I did join, as it was the easiest way to get the document in their files section entitled, Positioner heart surgery
That's the mod to a motor to take power externally and not over the coax.

If you find anything useful over there on Yahoo, please bring it back here.

 

[jerryt]

Positioner Heart Surgery document and the modification on the MyTheatre forum are the same. It is a simple modification.

Solved problems I was having with the stored positions getting corupted, plus the motor moves faster, because it only operates with one voltage.

 

[Zero]

Now the software!

Thanks Jerry and Anole.
Now it is teh time to decide on the PVR software. I read a lot about MyTheatre and DVBDream here. I like gbpvr, but it is not recognizing the Skystar card.
I like to use this as a HTPC to manage all my media like divx movies, mp3 music, Kworld ATSC-115 card and Skystar 2 satellite card. It should work with a remote and not a mouse and keyboard.

So far not able to decide on anything. I will try MT and DD tonight. Hopefully I should be able to decide by tonight

 

[jerryt]

DVBViewer

 

[Zero]

DVBViewer

Jerry,
DVBviewer supplied by Technisat does not support multiple cards, I guess. Are you talking about Pro version?

 

[jerryt]

Yes, Pro.

So cool to switch between ATSC and DVB S in the same program.

 

[Zero]

Thought of updating my experience with Skystar2 and my experiments with DVBViewer Pro and mythbuntu.

Skystar 2.6D is very stable and did not give any problem so far. It gets heated up to about 60°C. I have a 120mm fan above my PCI sots to keep graphic card (XFX 8500GT) and Skystar card cool! Now graphic card touches 45°C max and Skystar 2 is still cooler. The card came with USB IR Receiver and TTS35AI remote. I got my one for all URC8901 upgraded to add the code for this remote. Special thanks to Vanessa of OFA support, who took the pain of finding out the code, when I mailed her LIRC code some where I found while googling

DVBViewer Pro:
It is a very nice software and has lot of features built in and cost $19 for a life time license. For most of us here who are interested in DVB-S, I feel this is the best one available. I did not spend much time with other softwares but by reading whole lot on the forums, I think this is more stable and has good features.

It is advertised as complete solution for HTPC application and I am not convinced yet. Still trying to figure out to use the software for most basic applications like watching a movie and playing some music without much pain in searching for answers.

It is supported by a community and there are only handful of knowledgeable users and developers who are active. German side of the forum seems very active but not the English forum. (Other side of grass is always greener). All the developers looks so stressed out and it shows up in their replies as well. Documentation lacks details of all available features and covers only the DVB-S portion of the software.

When you open the software it always starts with TV function. I did not know how to get the OSD up to check all other functions. Accidentally I hit ESC button and bam OSD come up where you can change functions, schedule recording etc. OSD looks really good and there are different skins available. You can create your own skin, if you have some time in hand.

With remote, you will be able to do most basic jobs but I feel that it needs lot of improvement. You can get to a stage you are browsing through mp3 files in one folder, from there you can't come back to the parent folder. You have to hit ESC on key board or start from step 1

You can program the remote buttons in Input options. I am yet to experiment with that to get all the functions I need.

On the other hand, I upgraded to Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon and mythbuntu from Feisty . It looks much promising than ever before. It has a control center window, where you can setup your remote etc.

This is my initial impression of the software and I will try to write a detailed review / instruction when time permits.
Thanks to all the help I received in making the decision and suggestions I received from all of you here. Have a great weekend!