Pinnacle VS Kworld VS JETWAY

[TechniGal]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here looking for some advice. I hope you don't mind me writting in English, for my Icelandic is too weak for writting.
Well, I'm simply planning to get myself a TV-card to use for ...well I'm sure you can guess what ;-).There are currently three different budget cards on the market ranging around the same price :

1. Pinnacle PCTV RAVE @ Tölvuvirkni
2. Kworld TV-Tuner card Pro, frábær gæði, MPEG 1og 2, útvarp og fjarstýring @ Tölvulistinn
3. JETWAY TV 787 MPEG fyrir PAL BG með textavarp og fjarstýringu @ computer.is

So which one should I go for? If you have any experience with any of these cards (especially the last two), the quality of their output and compatibilty with different TV software (K!TV, Dscaler...etc.), please don't hesitate to share it here. TIA

[kiddi]

I have the Jetway card from computer.is, and funnily enough it's working way better than my older Hauppauge WinTV PCI. KTV! works much better with it than the old Hauppauge. Haven't tried DScaler though.

I'd definitely go for the Jetway card.

[gnarr]

i've got the jetway card. it's pretty good but you will need a very good tv signal to get the picture clear. there's no doubt you can get a better card for more money, but i'm not sure there is a better card with BT8*8 chipsett.


Ps. i've only been able to use K-tv to decode with my card. other prog's just won't work ;(

[Guffi]

i have this i and it is pretty good

[dabb]

I have Pinnacle PCTV Rave.
Its very good

[Hlynzi]

Well. I´ll get such a card this christmas.

Is that true that the BT8x8 chipset name is now CN8x8 (a new owner) ?
So in fact it´s the same chipset.

I´m thinking of Pinnacle PCTV PRO.
Little more expensive, but more fiduses i hope.

How about some screen shots from more experinced people of the "descrambling" ?

[MezzUp]

Is that true that the BT8x8 chipset name is now CN8x8 (a new owner) ?

Yeah, Connexion bought BT, so BT8x8 'n' CN8x8 are the same chipsets

btw, features , not fiduses

and yeah, TechniGal, welcome to Iceland

[TechniGal]

Thanks to everybody for your helpful remarks and for making them in English I guess I'll just sleep on it for a few days till I investigate the matter a bit further; I'm not in a big hurry anyway, I'm just doing it for fun, you know? And who knows, may be the market will come up with something new after Christmas?
Kiddi Wrote:

I have the Jetway card from computer.is, and funnily enough it's working way better than my older Hauppauge WinTV PCI. KTV! works much better with it than the old Hauppauge. Haven't tried DScaler though.
I'd definitely go for the Jetway card.

Well, Kiddi, thanks for the advice. It seems like you're the only one hear who had some experience with more than one card, so I'll keep your recommendation in mind. At least, now I've ruled out the Kworld card for now.
gnarr wrote:

there's no doubt you can get a better card for more money

Of course, gnarr, more money would definitely get me a better card; the question is: if I'm willing to through a couple of more thousands into it, which card should I go for then? Pretty much the same question, isn't it? Besides, I'm buying that card for the sole purpose of descramblin'; so I don't need any of those extra features that the other more expensive cards offer. All I care about is whether there is a possibility that a more expensive card would give me a better decoding or output quality than the cheaper ones? For example, would a PCTV PRO give a better picture or audio output than a PCTV RAVE? Just wondering?
Hlynzi Wrote:

I´m thinking of Pinnacle PCTV PRO.
Little more expensive, but more fiduses i hope.
How about some screen shots from more experinced people of the "descrambling" ?

That screenshots idea doesn't sound very bad to me at all. Actually, I've been browsing around this section for quite a while now (yes I can read some Icelandic) and I've realized that people are always asking the same questions when it comes to descrambling. So why don't we just make one big thread were everybody can post their experience and their results with different combinations of TV cards and software? Just like those threads with the 3D Mark benchmarks?
And by the way, Hlynzi, I'm glade to see that your English is not much better than my Icelandic. ("fiduses")

[Hlynzi]

I was just making my investment. I bought a k World x pert TV-PVR (vs-tv878rf)

I´ll test it after 24th, and i´ll make some screen shots, off the TV or my PC.
This card costed 10.000 ísl. krónur. At Tölvulistinn.

I look forward to test this one, CN8x8 (or BT8x8), and some good descrambling programs.

[Voffinn]

I´m thinking of Pinnacle PCTV PRO.
Little more expensive, but more fiduses i hope.
How about some screen shots from more experinced people of the "descrambling" ?

That screenshots idea doesn't sound very bad to me at all. Actually, I've been browsing around this section for quite a while now (yes I can read some Icelandic) and I've realized that people are always asking the same questions when it comes to descrambling. So why don't we just make one big thread were everybody can post their experience and their results with different combinations of TV cards and software? Just like those threads with the 3D Mark benchmarks?
And by the way, Hlynzi, I'm glade to see that your English is not much better than my Icelandic. ("fiduses")

I like the idea..you want to go first?

[Hlynzi]

I´m thinking of Pinnacle PCTV PRO.
Little more expensive, but more fiduses i hope.
How about some screen shots from more experinced people of the "descrambling" ?

That screenshots idea doesn't sound very bad to me at all. Actually, I've been browsing around this section for quite a while now (yes I can read some Icelandic) and I've realized that people are always asking the same questions when it comes to descrambling. So why don't we just make one big thread were everybody can post their experience and their results with different combinations of TV cards and software? Just like those threads with the 3D Mark benchmarks?
And by the way, Hlynzi, I'm glade to see that your English is not much better than my Icelandic. ("fiduses")

I like the idea..you want to go first?

Well, i´ll post some photos, later, after maybe 7 days.

[Voffinn]

I´m thinking of Pinnacle PCTV PRO.
Little more expensive, but more fiduses i hope.
How about some screen shots from more experinced people of the "descrambling" ?

That screenshots idea doesn't sound very bad to me at all. Actually, I've been browsing around this section for quite a while now (yes I can read some Icelandic) and I've realized that people are always asking the same questions when it comes to descrambling. So why don't we just make one big thread were everybody can post their experience and their results with different combinations of TV cards and software? Just like those threads with the 3D Mark benchmarks?
And by the way, Hlynzi, I'm glade to see that your English is not much better than my Icelandic. ("fiduses")

I like the idea..you want to go first?

Well, i´ll post some photos, later, after maybe 7 days.

Gott, og hvaða hugbúnað þú ert að nota, og við getum gert hann klístraðan.

[TechniGal]

I don't know if you guys know about it yet, but just in case you don't, is a very nice little app (probably the best of its kind) to help you with the screenshots. Try the Demo version and if you like it, PM me for help with the full one ;-)

[Voffinn]

I don't know if you guys know about it yet, but just in case you don't, is a very nice little app (probably the best of its kind) to help you with the screenshots. Try the Demo version and if you like it, PM me for help with the full one ;-)

Why buy something when you can do it for free? I always just push the print screen button and paste it into Fireworks.

[Zaphod]

I own a Pinnacle Pctv Rave , I Descramble with it via K!tv works O.k but one pal of mine bought the kworld card . And I helped him setting up k!tv and all .


And he seems to get better quality than I when using K!tv with descrambling . Maybe he has got a better signal or something is diffrent between the 2 cards .


Got me puzzled

[TechniGal]

I own a Pinnacle Pctv Rave , I Descramble with it via K!tv works O.k but one pal of mine bought the kworld card . And I helped him setting up k!tv and all .
And he seems to get better quality than I when using K!tv with descrambling . Maybe he has got a better signal or something is diffrent between the 2 cards.

It could also be a simple matter of configurations. That is to say, if you haven't configured K!TV's settings in exactly the same way, that might make a differance. That, of course, assuming that you used the exact same versions of the software as well as it's plugins. So, if every thing was identical, then it's probably the cards

Meryy Christmas everyone

[gumol]

Merry Christmas

[legi]

Well, i´ve got a pinnacle RAVE, can´t say i´m pleased with the descrambling results .I bought a subscription to stöð 2 in the end

If you are going to descramble with it, you´ll need a PERFECT tv signal and I mean PERFECT.

I don´t know of anyone that has got satisfying ( misspell ? ) results from using a tv card as descrambler, you will be able to watch your favorite shows and all....but the qaulity is not near as good as if you would buy subscription.

[gnarr]

i've got very good quality descrambling. just a very little noice when there's a lot of movement or a very complex patern. but the signal quality has to be pretty good.
i don't know why, but the image quality is somewhat better if i use the tv-out on my radeon than if i watch it on my pc monitor. it's almost the same as subscription decoder quality if i configure the colours of the tv-out.

[elv]

i've got very good quality descrambling. just a very little noice when there's a lot of movement or a very complex patern. but the signal quality has to be pretty good.
i don't know why, but the image quality is somewhat better if i use the tv-out on my radeon than if i watch it on my pc monitor. it's almost the same as subscription decoder quality if i configure the colours of the tv-out.

Thats is because TVs blend pixels together but your PC monitor tries to make every pixel stand out so you get a sharper image.

[TechniGal]

I don´t know of anyone that has got satisfying results from using a tv card as descrambler, you will be able to watch your favorite shows and all....but the qaulity is not near as good as if you would buy subscription.

I don't think anybody will ever get the exact same quality as the original decoder would give you--though a close match has been rumored. If that was ever possible, one of two things was bound to happen; either it would be illegalized, or Norður Ljós would've gone out of business by now. The thing is, legi, people who are trying to find their way around this issue are doing it for one of two reasons: either for the fun of it and getting the kick out of having it for free while others pay for it ; or they just simply not willing to pay the monthly subscriptions to grab one or two of their favorite shows (in my case, I wanna do it for both reasons ).
In any case, you've just put it perfectly in short words: "you will be able to watch your favorite shows and all....but the quality is not near as good as if you would buy subscription" ; and that's exactly why you, me, and many others who are able to descramble successfully are still paying the blood-sucking subscription(s) . Anyway, thanks to you and gnarr for the further feedback. A comment from here, another from there, and we might all get somewhere. (Hopefully not Prison)

[Bin]

NorðurLjós is not going under there testing on satellite (with bad result)
just like the channel in hafnarfjörður is testing on thor1.2

Rai uno/due/tre was force to switch from Discret encryption since it was so easy to descramble and thats back in 97/98 of course Norðurljós picked the same scrambling system Diskret/12

http://www.tele-satellite.com/TSI/9708/decoder.shtml
http://www.techtronics.com/uk/shop/910- ... scret.html
http://www.lokman.de/DFr/dfr.htm

its all for fun

[MezzUp]

either it would be illegalized, or Norður Ljós would've gone out of business by now.

It is already illegal to descramble the TV stations, using your computer or not, if you don't pay the subscription fee........
If somebody would manage to get the same quality by descrambling with a TV I don't think Norðurljós will go out of buisness because of illegal computer descrambling. You have to have a computer, TV Card, the knowledge of how to descramble, some would need long cords, preferably to have a TV-Out. To be able to flip anytime you want to Stöð2, like many people want, you'd have to have a dedicated comp. on 24/7.