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Alternative to dscaler


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So I replaced a toasted FusionHDTV card with a Leadtek Winfast Cinema HDTV. Nice enough card, maybe even a bit better reception than the Fusion.

The problem is that it comes with a very clunky media-centre style application.

Now, I've been able to solve this problem on the digital side with watchhdtv-- it's small, it works well, and it's overall lovely.

On analogue, it's been more of a fight. Conventional wisdom says to use dscaler.

But dscaler:

-Makes Aero go away (watchHDTV doesn't)

-Seems sluggish

-Has a hard time with my card, insisting I specify which card (which doesn't work) it is each time, even if I'm going to drive the card via its 'directshow' presence (which actually works)

For just showing TV in a window, occasionally full-screen, it's a mess. Any other suggestions? I'm running 32-bit Vista Ultimate.

VirtualVCR looks close, but it seems to have a deal-breaking habit of leaving the audio on when you close, and no obvious way to set different input sources.

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For the past 10 years, finding good TV card software for me has been a nightmare.

For Analog, you could try "ChrisTV". ChrisTV supports sending output to Overlay or VMR9, which is Aero-friendly.

They have a free version.

Also, there is a Direct3D version of DScaler that works with Aero.

http://xenomorph.net/?page_id=287

That is a Direct3D EXE that you can copy over any install of DScaler.

Also, the latest alpha of DScaler 4 (yes, it seems like they are still working on it), 4.1.16 I believe, has support for choosing Overlay or Direct3D for output. I couldn't get it to work though.

In all these years, I haven't been able to find a decent web site with information on just watching TV. Not DVR, not time shift, not MythPC, not TiVo clones. Just watching TV.

I went from DScaler to ChrisTV, and now I'm on WatchHDTV.

I haven't been able to find anything that works with the analog on my newest TV card. (KWorld HD 120 PCI)

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  sunbiz_3000 said:
Im wondering y u wouldnt use Vista's media center?? :wacko:

It's raising a dead thread, I know, but I hate a couple things about Vista Media Centre:

-It's basically impossible to configure without using downloaded EPG data. American ATSC broadcasts include EPG data. Any part-decent standalone app will scan for channels, so why can't Media Centre do it?

-The navigation is terrible (If I want to get from channel 3.1 to 61.1, there's no clear direct route, only dozens of click-click-click to get there)

-No access to the analogue half of the card (i. e. inputs)

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