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PVR - Personal Video Recorder

DVR Technology - Page T2

Basic Technology Overview - Continued

We continue on this page with the Video Card discussion.

Video Card

As we discussed in functionality, you will need to make a few decisions about the current and future use of your DVR. 

Your possible choices include standard TV playback, HDTV playback, or high-end game support on HDTV with playback capabilities.

There are two major vendors of video cards; ATI and NVidia. Both who come highly recommended.

One consideration for your video card choice, with either a HDTV or high-performance game card requirement is the video slot. You will see both AGP and PCIe. PCIe is the newer offering and is a bit faster. However, either will deliver great performance. The issue of a video slot becomes important when you look at the motherboard. 

As you look for a specific card from either vendor, there are so many choices it is difficult to recommend any specific card. You will have to do a bit of research to see which card works best for you. 

NVidia's site is a bit better organized to find Media Center cards. ATI has a larger number of choices. One ATI card of special interest is the All-in-Wonder series. It combines TV video with HDTV support and Cinematic gaming. It's expensive but it is also top of the line.

More about ATI (opens in a new window).

More about NVidia (opens in a new window).

If you click on the links above they will open a new Google search window which will list several vendors at the top of the page - you can check pries and see what they have to offer.

Sound Card

Many motherboards today include a sound card, some of them very high-end. Before you go out and buy a sound card. we recommended you first try the built-in sound card. 

If the sound quality is not what you want, you can then add a sound card. SoundBlaster has a number of high-quality, home theater and gaming sound cards. 

By the way, if you are using a coax connection to your TV, and only using the TV speakers, sound will be handled via the coax connection.

If you have any questions, you can send them to the DVR-FAQ@how-to-build-it.com. We will not be able to answer individual questions, but we will have questions and answers posted on the FAQ page.

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