XL-201 & PCI Sat Card

[mobile-IT]

Hi everyone,

Can anybody give me some advice, I want to install a HD Satellite TV card in the spare PCI slot but Idon't know which one to buy, the cost is not really an issue, I just want to get a card that works ok without any problems,

I look forward to any replies,

Thanks,

Dave

[andynugent]

I tried an AverMedia card (the A700 I think) but couldn't get both that card and the built in TV tuner card (AverMedia A16C) to work together due to driver conflicts.

Not a great help as far as recommendations go, but at least you know one brand to keep clear of.

[ChalkyWhite71]

Other posts on this forum "Digital Home" are telling us that the XL201 can't cope with HD video, due to an inferior graphics card. Check this out too before purchasing, but please remember to come back with feedback afterwards!

Do these Sat cards connect up to your existing Sky dish then, and you use a viewing card plugged into the PCI card perhaps? I'd be interested if so.

Thanks

[andynugent]

Other posts on this forum "Digital Home" are telling us that the XL201 can't cope with HD video, due to an inferior graphics card.

I haven't played back HD from a satellite feed, but I have managed to playback full 1080p files downloaded fine, and the fact that you can get this machine with a Blu-Ray drive (I think the XL202), which has the same graphics card and a slightly slower processor, I can't imagine there would be a problem with the 720p/1080i you get over DVB-S.

Do these Sat cards connect up to your existing Sky dish then, and you use a viewing card plugged into the PCI card perhaps?

Yes, the card I used plugged in to the spare PCI slot and connected to a standard Sky dish. This however meant you could only get the FreeSat free-to-air (FTA) channels as there was no extra PCI slots for a common interface (CI) module to allow you to plug in your Sky card.

However Hauppage have just released a USB CI adaptor (http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/pages/products/data_ci.html) and they also do USB DVB-S adaptors (http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/pages/products/data_novasusb2.html).

Also, if you are specifically looking for HDTV satellite channels, then it's worth getting a DVB-S2 compatible card, as only BBC HD is broadcast in DVB-S and I think that is going to change in the near future.

[ChalkyWhite71]

Hi Andy, here's the other post about the HD/blueray and the lack of umph in the XL201 perhaps;

http://club.vaio.sony.co.uk/clubvaio/GB/en/forum/viewthread?thread=49793

Cheers