Looking for a "pretty good" PCI-E video card ...

[Roger]

[...]

There are many DX9 cards currently running on Vista (they reportedly
sold 90 million copies the first month)

20 million, proportionately about the same as XP when it first shipped.

Noticeably MS did not break out the number of (non-OEM) retail
stand-alone or upgrade copies sold. I suspect that particular number
is very disappointing, compared with the corresponding numbers for XP
in the same time period.

One of the Netzines, IIRC it was either Computer World or ZDNet listed
the retail (boxed) sales as "slow".

John Lewis

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

 

[Tony Pacc]

Well look at this http://ati.amd.com/technology/hypermemory.html it
sure shows a lot of ati cards including the x 1300

 

[J. Clarke]

Well look at this http://ati.amd.com/technology/hypermemory.html
it sure shows a lot of ati cards including the x 1300

Nope. It shows processors, not _cards_.

You're confusing "can" with "must". Those chips can be configured to
use Hypermemory. That does not mean that they must be used that way.

 

[J. Clarke]

Some do and some don't.
I've finally found something good about Charter<) No Cable cards.

So you're saying that they provide some way to record HD premium content
on your computer without a Cable Card? Care to tell us how you connect
your computer to their system?

 

[Barry Watzman]

The X1300 and many other ATI chips CAN support Hypermemory (shared
memory), but it's only an option, and in any given installation they
either may or may not. In most cases, when they are on a motherboard or
in a laptops, Hypermemory is used, but when the chip is on a PCI Express
or even AGP add-on card, the card has it's own dedicated memory and
Hypermemory is not used. However, these are only general rules, any
given implementation may or may not implement Hypermemory.

 

[Roger]

So you're saying that they provide some way to record HD premium content

Ah, no. that's not what I'm saying. They don't use cards or STBs. The
digital feeds right into your cable ready TV set unless you have a tV
that doesn't and then you do need a STB.

on your computer without a Cable Card? Care to tell us how you connect
your computer to their system?

I have not tried to connect which would be a waste of time as the only
signals coming into our house are basic analog and the only reason we
get those is the package with high speed internet is relatively
inexpensive.

--

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

 

[J. Clarke]

Ah, no. that's not what I'm saying. They don't use cards or STBs. The
digital feeds right into your cable ready TV set unless you have a tV
that doesn't and then you do need a STB.

Geez, you're talking about analog cable which has no high definition
capability whatsoever. DRM is not an issue with standard definition,
even with an STB. Only applies to high definition.

I have not tried to connect which would be a waste of time as the only
signals coming into our house are basic analog and the only reason we
get those is the package with high speed internet is relatively
inexpensive.

I see. So you have no experience at all with the use of a computer as a
DVR.

 

[Roger]

Geez, you're talking about analog cable which has no high definition
capability whatsoever. DRM is not an issue with standard definition,
even with an STB. Only applies to high definition.

I'm well aware of that. The statement was made earlier in the thread
that cable was required to carry both the analog and digital in the
basic package and they do not do that here. Only analog is in the
basic package. With Charter it's not a matter of codes on a STB, they
have to come out and change the filter(s) at the pole so you can
receive that block of signals.

I see. So you have no experience at all with the use of a computer as a
DVR.

Didn't say that either as it wasn't the original question.

I have one of the computers out in the shop set up to record HDTV
OTA as well as SD digital from the satellite via S-video. It uses the
MSI tuner and capture card. For OTA, or cable it will take digital or
analog, SD or HD, time shift, and do most of the things TVio will do.
I also records and plays back HD) It includes a schedule as well
although the free schedule isn't nearly as elaborate as the one to
which you can subscribe..
What it will not do is take a HDMI input that is HDCP compliant. I've
found several capture cards listed that do, but so far I've not found
any one who has them. Whether those cards will still permit tecording
HD remains to be seen. They are basic and commercial and run from the
basic card at $250 USD with the commercial starting at $1000 and going
to something like $2500 as I recall.

--

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

 

[J. Clarke]

I'm well aware of that. The statement was made earlier in the thread
that cable was required to carry both the analog and digital in the
basic package and they do not do that here. Only analog is in the
basic package. With Charter it's not a matter of codes on a STB, they
have to come out and change the filter(s) at the pole so you can
receive that block of signals.

You're confusing analog cable with analog outputs.

There is no requirement that any cable company discontinue their analog
service, which is different from transmitting analog channels via their
digital service.

They are required to carry the digital channels in addition to the
analog channels, but they are not required to break your door down and
force you to accept a device that allows you to view the digital
channels. That doesn't mean that they are not there on the cable or
that if you ask them to enable them they will refuse to do so.

Didn't say that either as it wasn't the original question.

I have one of the computers out in the shop set up to record HDTV
OTA as well as SD digital from the satellite via S-video. It uses the
MSI tuner and capture card. For OTA, or cable it will take digital or
analog, SD or HD, time shift, and do most of the things TVio will do.
I also records and plays back HD) It includes a schedule as well
although the free schedule isn't nearly as elaborate as the one to
which you can subscribe..

If your MSI tuner can capture QAM, then you might find it an interesting
exercise to plug the cable into it and see if it sees anything.

What it will not do is take a HDMI input that is HDCP compliant. I've
found several capture cards listed that do, but so far I've not found
any one who has them. Whether those cards will still permit tecording
HD remains to be seen. They are basic and commercial and run from the
basic card at $250 USD with the commercial starting at $1000 and going
to something like $2500 as I recall.

Whether they allow recording is entirely up to the cable provider. If
the cable box is not set up to require HDCP handshake on the HDMI output
then you can record from it, if it is so set up then you still won't
have a chance of recording from it unless your board is part of a
certified machine.

 

[Travis King]

I've got a cheap Visioneer 5800 USB scanner that's classified as "End of
Life" and has no drivers for Vista, but I am using the XP drivers and it's
working just fine after a little bit of work to get the scanner to install.