xcard vs pvr350

[dchenders]

any opinions on what is better the sigma realmagic xcard
or the haupauge wintv-pvr350?

[sub]

The XCard does have the advantage of being able to play a wider range of media including DivX and DVDs.

[dottore]

...but i don't know, where to get it from for germany.....cannot find an online-shop... any ideas?

[mjp]

The upside of the 350, is it is available and doesn't have a 256 colour limitation on the OSD.

Cheers

Mark

[web_maven]

Here is the good and bad of my endless research.

PVR350:
Pro
A nice all in one unit with a remote. Good Video quality and the price is not bad.

Cons
There are some issues MPEG decoder and OSD only works reliably with some motherboards. This is not just a GB-PVR issue I have seen this issue on other sites.

You can only!!! enjoy the Hardware decoder by going out of the PVR350 if you use your VGA or DVI it uses software.


Xcard
Pro
Great hardware video play back. Supports 1080i output it has component, composite, S-Video, Optional VGA connector and I thought I read DVI output. Supports Divx

Cons
Additional cost, best setup is PVR250 + XCard + IR Remote. I found out that Girder does not support the Xcard remote according to the Girder Forum (If I am wrong please fill me in) as a result you have additional costs involved.

Raymond

[web_maven]

Correction No DVI output

Also for the Xmedia Player you will need a VGA monitor.

My question is if your using GBPVR do you need a VGA monitor? or can GBPVR output menus and video directly to a TV.

Raymond

[sub]

Yes, GB-PVR outputs all its menus etc to the XCard.

[Remco]

slightly OT: I can't find an xcard in the Netherlands; but plenty of "RealMagic Hollywood Plus" which sounds like an mpeg2-decoder with TV-OUT. Does anyone know the whether this is the same as an xcard?

[sub]

No its not. The Hollywood Plus is older generation of card that is not supported.