Hauppauge WinTV-HVR2250 Dual TV Tuner Board

Comment:
I'm using this board in my new Windows Media Center 2005 PC I just built. So far I'm pleased with it. I read some horror stories during my research before I purchased it about the WinTV application (WinTV v.7) but I bought it anyway. In comparison this board had the exactly the features and capabilities I was looking for. Right now, it's receiving only an analog cable signal and is working great. It's well supported online by Hauppauge and over the phone as well. (I've called only once thanks Rebecca!) The WinTV v.7 application has some shortcomings versus MCE 2005 like the Guide but the hardware is great. Just install one of the other Live TV apps that are available if you don't like WinTV v.7.

Comment:
The remote will not work no matter what I do. I followed the instructions (not very clear ones I might add) to configure the remote for use with MCE and nothing. Also, the IR sensor does not let anything stick to it so I can't attach it to the monitor. I contacted Hauppage Customer Service - No reponse whatsoever.

Comment:
The directions are clear as mud. There is no clues on how to get the FM working. The Blaster differs from the pictures and is confussing. If you use the dual cable the remote runs wild. Good pictures, sound with WMC. With Haupauge's own software you get no clues as to how one gets on screen labels or call letters to work.

Comment:
Just installed on a fast Intel I7 Extrem 3.3 gigahertz with lots of RAM and expected fast performance. Vista 64 ultimate (Windows media) is a complex setup for this utra-experienced computer user and time consuming even with HS cable internet. Based on other reviews I knew the acc. SW was crp (1 blue screen of death so far), but forced to use becauase WM dual tuner/support sucks for recording. Maybe newbie user probs. but for top of the line money, buyer be aware. It does receive good signal (use a cable/ant splitter). How much do you have to spend to get something that works?

Comment:
The tuner works great so far. Easy to use. Installing software and setting up the dual tuner feature was difficult since the instructions were not clear (running Vista). Hauppauge includes 2 face-plates from small form factor PCs so all its connections are easily available.

Comment:
I have no real complaints with the hardware; I have used hauppauge tuner boards for years. The software though, is as bad as it has ever been. I wound-up using sagetv software. The difference in the overall performance was like night and day. I tried downloading updated software from hauppauge; it was as bad as the original software. The setup instructions could use some work too. The way to market this device is to sell the hardware with the drivers and let customers get there own software; when doing this it would be nice to lower the price a little bit also. I do recommend the hardware and the drivers.

Comment:
I have had the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR2250 Dual TV Tuner Board for about a month now and it is working great! This included software is crap and would only crash upon startup (which is why I gave it a 3 on quality), but I had no intention of using the included software when I purchased the card. In fact, almost all reviews I read with anything negative about this card was the included software. I tested it with both Vista Media Center, and SageTV. Both worked Awesome with this card! One thing that I didn't think of when purchasing this card is that it is, single source, dual tuner, so you can't have two coax inputs from a different source for each tuner. It doesn't matter to me, but just something to think about before pulling the trigger.

Comment:
Upgraded from Hauppauge PVR150 on my XP Media Center 2005. Box did not come with IR Receiver and cable as indicated on box and installation guide - later find out I got latest card which no longer requires box as IR sensor plugs into card directly. However this feature does not work on XP, only on Vista. Little help is available with installation, but from web site found I needed to run hcwclear.exe to remove old drivers prior to installing new card. Installation then went fine. Tuner recording quality is excellent, BUT am having a problem using the two tuners. Think this is a problem with XP MCE as in crashes some times when starting two recordings simultaneously. Tech help was good getting it going. They did send me a IR receiver and cable as the latest card was shipped in the older box and did not indicate the receiver would only work with Vista. Think card is primarily designed for Vista and my recording problems are from using XP MCE.

Comment:
Card is working fine. Some quirks like another tuner I have (that one is a USB dongle). The new term might be Software Defined Radio - tuning in the next radio channel takes time - I get a 4 Hz beat that eventually stops if I turn off the antivirus (realtime) scanner, so the antenna FM-radio works OK. The latest drivers and software for WinTV works well on Vista - the cable digital channels are placed at the high end and given different channel numbers though. What is shown in the photos and what's in the box seems to vary, but they seem to be trying to be everything to everyone in this package. (A little thing others might use called a Blaster - using this card to relay signals to a set-top box or satellite dish. USB rcvr box not included but I already had one.) Purchasing extra software might be needed to get program scheduling; but using Vista Media Center it works and even recorded two channels simultaneously as advertised. Have not checked into over the air TV yet.

Comment:
I love this card. It has everything you are looking for and then some. For basic analog cable, it could not be easier. The full package with remote and low profile brackets is excellent. However, getting QAM (digital unscrambled cable)is another matter altogether. It's now working very nicely after at least 10 hours of persistent work to get it all right with Vista MCE. The included application WinTV is the worst piece of software I've encountered in the last two years. Please don't bother with the software, but get the card!

Comment:
Good Tuner card. This card has a few quirks however. Sometimes it does not stop recording after a show and I will wake in the morning to a 12 hour recorded session for a 1 hour show. The included software for program guide and recording set up is horrific. Beyond TV purchased separately solved this problem.

Comment:
It's been running for a week w/ no problems.