Ceton internal vs USB

[lucasbuck]

Can anyone recommend one over the other as far as reliability (or any other reason)? I'm new to WMC, and switching over from Sage. Would appreciate any advice on which would be better to buy. Thanks!

[adam1991]

I use the internal, and it's fine. From what I've read, I think the internal is a more reliable setup overall.

Advantages of external: you can make a small, quiet/silent, power-thrifty HTPC without having to worry about "will the card fit and will I have enough airflow to keep it cool?". It's probably also easier to share those four streams out to different computers, if that's what you're doing. (Although, just get extenders if you want to watch TV in multiple rooms.)

[lucasbuck]

What would make sharing easier with the external? I've got a Hauppauge 2250 right now, but it's really small. I guess I need to look at the size of the internal to see if it would fit. I like the external, and thought it was newer technology, but want something that's the most reliable.

[barnabas1969]

I own the PCIe version. I would think that if you have room in your case for the PCIe version, you should go with that. The only advantage to the USB is that you can build a VERY small form factor PC. The disadvantage with the USB version is that you have the additional complexity added by your USB controller/firmware/drivers (and possibly BIOS settings). The PCIe version is less likely to have compatibility issues related to things like that.

[STC]

I have split the thread due to the off topic nature of the talk.
http://thegreenbutton.tv/forums/viewtop ... f=6&t=1509

[lucasbuck]

No problem on the split. I was looking inside my computer. The slot the PCI would have to go in is the very top slot, which is right above the Nvidia card. It would replace the slot my Haup 2250 is in. Do you think there would be a heat problem? I would probably never be running more than two tuners at a time (assuming more tuners=more heat on the Ceton but could be wrong)

[barnabas1969]

No problem on the split. I was looking inside my computer. The slot the PCI would have to go in is the very top slot, which is right above the Nvidia card. It would replace the slot my Haup 2250 is in. Do you think there would be a heat problem? I would probably never be running more than two tuners at a time (assuming more tuners=more heat on the Ceton but could be wrong)

My Ceton card is in the slot next to my fanless nVidia GT430. Heat is not a problem, but I have to admit that I have a fan pulling fresh air from the front of the case, and it blows directly on the Ceton and the video card.

Pam Hammer from Ceton told me just a couple of days ago that the newer cards run cooler than the older ones. I have an older one. I think you will be just fine with an internal card in that slot.

Edit: I thought of another possible "pro" for the USB version. Since it has its own power supply and is always-on, it may not have the delay when you first wake your PC from standby like the PCIe card does. I don't know this for sure though. It would be nice if a Ceton USB owner could post their experience.

[lucasbuck]

I really like the idea of the USB, I've just seen more reports of issues with them.

[barnabas1969]

I really like the idea of the USB, I've just seen more reports of issues with them.

That may be because of the issues I already wrote about above, or it could be because they are newer, and the bugs haven't been worked out yet.

[joevulture]

Edit: I thought of another possible "pro" for the USB version. Since it has its own power supply and is always-on, it may not have the delay when you first wake your PC from standby like the PCIe card does. I don't know this for sure though. It would be nice if a Ceton USB owner could post their experience.

It has the same delay. From what I've read elsewhere here in the forums, it's a MCE thing, not a Ceton thing.

The USB is nice in that it's not adding heat to my PC (I have a Core i5 as my HTPC, so it gets a bit warm in there), but it has some issues that the PCIe card doesn't have (I have one of the first batch InfiniTV 4 PCIe cards also, unused at the moment). I like the full-size F-connector, as my HTPC is a tight squeeze on my TV stand, so I don't have to worry about breaking the connector off.

-- Joe

[barnabas1969]

Thanks for the reply, Joe. Good info.

[newfiend]

I have a 1st batch PCIe card as well. It's worked really well. I just ordered a USB version to add to my HTPC as I have no more open PCIe slots. I am hoping it will be a simple install. Does anyone have both hooked up already? And any suggestions or things I should look out for when installing it? Looking forward to having more tuners .. After adding extenders you really can use more than 4 Tuners pretty quick!
newfiend~