My First PVR Project

[Lagos]

I have been lurking for awhile and have decided to build my own PVR.  I plan to use Beyond TV on Windows XP Pro (Maybe Windows 7 RC or RTM if it comes out in August).  I will be recording mostly SD for now and I want to playback to an SD TV for a few months until I switch rooms.

Here is my initial selection of components.  Please let me know if I am on the right track or should make some changes:

Case is Silverstone LC13B-E:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163117

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12 550W:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151027

Motherboard: ASUS M3A78-EM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300

Memory: G.Skill 4GB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

OS Hard Drive: Western Digital 80GB 7200 RPM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822135106

Recording Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116036

CD/DVD: Plextor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249042

Should I buy the Hauppauge without the remote and do something else?

How do I convert DVI or VGA to SD (S-Video or just NTSC RCA Video out)?  Should I buy a motherboard without the video and get an ATI card that has an S-Video out on it already?

Am I missing anything?

Thanks for any comments.

[Craig]

Looks good.
In my opinion the Plextor drives are overpriced.
If you want to save a few bucks go with inexpensive Value Ram and an inexpensive DVD drive. You could go with a lower wattage PSU as well.
You may want to consider a 45w CPU for energy efficiency and heat. AMD will be coming out with 45w quad cores soon if you are interested.
Although the 780g is great for HDTV the mobo will not support SD. You would need a separate graphics card supporting TV out (s-video/rca) in order to hook up to a SDTV. If you want you could look for a cheaper mobo without onboard graphics and buy a ATI HD 4350 or 4550 or Nvidia equivalent (9300/9400).

The remote issue with the hauppauge card depends a bit on what you want. I like to use my logitech harmony remotes with a USB-UIRT because no matter what tuners come out down the road I will always have the same remote if I choose to upgrade tuners.

[Lagos]

OK, thanks for the quick reply.

How about the following changes:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376

Processor:  AMD Athlon X2 4850e:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103255

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100254L Radeon HD 4650:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102807

Power Supply: SeaSonic SS-300ET 300W ATX12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151059

DVD: SAMSUNG:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151176

Is 300 Watts enough?

I can't really save much money on memory unless I go from 4GB to 2GB.  Is 2GB plenty?

Regarding the remote - all I want is to use it with is Beyond TV.  It looks like I can either buy the remote with the card, or I can buy the remote with Beyond TV.  Which is the best way to go?

If this build works out I will let my daughter take it to college with her in the fall and then I will build a new one for the house.

Thanks.

[Craig]

A quality 350w could get you by most likely. 380-430w sounds like a good range to me.
If it were me I'd also go with an HD 4550 instead of the 4650 to save a few bucks. Nothing wrong with a 4650 though.
2 GB is plenty enough for me.
I guess I'd just get the version of the Tuner that comes with the remote and IR receiver/blaster

[Lagos]

I got a private message regarding an HVR 1600 that I can't reply to because the forum won't let me.  So thanks for the offer but there are QAM channels I want to capture.

[Miller]

That was probably me, but there is no "outbox" for PMs unless you click a box and I always forget. Thanks for letting me know, but also know that the 1600 captures QAM just fine.

[Lagos]

I haven't been back to this forum lately - work and all those things I have to do to afford to play.

I'm going to go with the 2250 on this build.  I may be interested in your 1600 on my next one for a dorm room down the road.

I have a question about 64-bit.  Can you get 64-bit drivers for Windows 7 for this stuff?  Should I be considering 64-bit or just stick with 32-bit Windows 7?

It looks like the zip driver file on the Hauppauge website contains 64-bit drivers but the FAQ page only shows 32-bit and 64-bit support for Vista and then it just says "Windows 7"

The video cards don't seem to be a problem.  What about PVR software such as Beyond-TV an Myth-TV?