Archive for August 21st, 2009

Optical LNB Satellite Dish Fibre Optic Cable

August 21st, 2009 zou

Global Invacom Optical LNB The Satellite Reception Revolution
At first you might be thinking that it’s one of Luke Sky-walker’s newest weapons, but in reality it’s one of the most ingenious ideas that we have seen in several years; an idea that does away with the biggest problem facing the direct reception of satellite TV: namely the signal attenuation or signal loss in the coax cable between the LNB and receiver as well as the problems associated with signal distribution to multiple users.

But what’s so special about an optical LNB ? First we want to remind you how a standard LNB works: the LNB receiver the focused satellite signals from the antenna, converts them to a different frequency range and routes these signals to a satellite receiver tuner via a coax cable.

Since this frequency range is limited to 950 to 2150 MHz, two tricks had to be used in order to receive the entire frequency spectrum of a satellite. The first would be the polarization of the signal and this would be either a vertically or horizontally polarized signal. Circularly polarized signals (left and right) are also used but on a much smaller scale. It really isn’t necessary to go into any additional detail on circular polarization; for the purposes of this article they behave in the same way.

The 13V or 18V control voltage carried by the coax cable to the LNB dictates whether vertically (13V) or horizon-tally (18V) polarized signals are received by the LNB. The second is the 22 kHz control signal that is used to switch between the low and high bands. The low band covers the satellite frequency range from 10.7 to 11.75 GHz while the high band covers from 11.8 to 12.75 GHz.

If the LNB “sees” the 22 kHz control signal from the receiver, it sends the high band signals via the coax cable to the tuner. If the 22 kHz signal is not there, the LNB switches to low band. In the end there are four possible scenarios (vertical or horizontal in low band OR vertical or horizontal in high band) but only one of them can be used at any one time.

If it’s a single satellite antenna conference calling system for just one user, then everything is fine and dandy. But the moment there are more than one user receiving satellite TV from the same antenna, that’s when the first problems surface.If,for example, user “A” needs the LNB to operate in the vertical low band, everyone else on the same system would be stuck receiving the same vertical low band signals; the number of available channels would be severely limited. In reality, such a setup would make absolutely no sense; none of those users would have any fun watching TV.

Up until now, this type of problem was solved using LNB’s with up to eight individual outputs; each attached receiver would be able to operate independently of all the others and get whatever band/polarization it needed.

If more than eight end-users were involved, multiswitches would then come into play. In this case a Quattro LNB with four unique outputs that cover the four band/polarization combination would be used. These signals would then be distributed to as many users as is needed. But all is not as simple as it seems. All of the coax cable that is used along with the various multiswitches used for signal distribution bring with it signal attenuation that in truth cannot be ignored. The signal attenuation associated with 8 to 10 user outputs can still for the most part be considered negligible. But with 20, 30 or even 40 outputs, the signal attenuation problem could be quite significant.

This is where the optical LNB comes in. A stacker built into the LNB converts the four band/polarization combination into different frequency ranges between 0.95 and 5.45 GHz. After wards, the RF signal is converted to a digi-tal signal and transmitted by laser via a fibre optic cable.Hence the name optical LNB.

At the other end of the fibre optic cable, the light beam enters a converter box called a GTU (Gateway Termination Unit) where it is transformed back into a signal that is recognizable by any standard satellite receiver.

These GTU’s from Global Invacom are available in Twin, Quattro or Quad versions. While the Twin and Quad versions are connected directly to a receiver, each output of the Quattro version delivers one of the four band/polarization combos and is typically integrated with existing multiswitches. This means that one fibre optic cable can carry the entire frequency range of a satellite. A 3mm thick fibre optic cable running from the optical LNB is all that’s needed.

Since the light beam contains the entire frequency spectrum of a satellite, it is possible to connect as many receivers as is needed with each operating independently from all the others all from this one fibre optic cable. Even, for example, if an entire large apartment building needs to be supplied with satellite signals, the optical LNB brings with it enormous possibilities.

From this point it would be enough to lay one fibre optic cable from the LNB to a central distribution point. It would then be split into multiple fibre optic cables with one routed to every floor of the apartment building. On every floor the cable would be further split and routed to each individual apartment. The end user would then be able to connect not just one receiver, but, for example, he could easily connect a Twin Tuner PVR in the living room, another receiver in the kids room and yet another in the bedroom.

If standard coax cable were used, each apartment would need four coax cables from the multiswitch in order to accomplish the same thing.

It’s not hard to recognize the enormous potential that optical LNBs have. It greatly simplifies and reduces the installation costs of larger satellite reception systems. It also brings with it new possibilities even for individual users. We all know this problem: while planning a satellite system a few years ago, who would have expected the big boom in Twin Tuner PVRs? Many of these systems only included one signal cable and in many cases there’s no more room to add any extra cables in the ductwork.

Up until now, you had to make do with fairly decently functioning stackers or muddle through using the loop-through feature on a receiver. But in the future it will be enough to swap the existing cable with a fibre optic cable so that four or even more receivers can be used at the same time and totally independently from each other.

Installation
The optical LNB is some-what larger than a standard LNB and elongated. It’s not surprising; the entire electronics needed to convert to an optical signal has to fit inside. Underneath the LNB are two connections, the optical output for the fibre optic cable and also an “F” connector. The “F” connector is not used for any signal transmissions; instead it is used as the power connector for the LNB since no power can be carried by the fibre optic cable.

Global Invacom chose an “F” connector for good reason. Yes, a typical power supply connector could have been used but why go that route if a coax cable is already in place? Many existing systems will convert to using an optical LNB and that’s why the “F” connector makes sense. The existing coax cable is simply plugged into the “F” connector on the LNB; the other end of the coax cable is connected to the included power supply which in turn is plugged into a wall outlet. The coax cable becomes the power cable for the LNB.

Unlike coax cable which is relatively insensitive to dirt accumulation, the cleanliness of fibre optic cable is much more critical. The problem is not with the cable itself – it is encased in a metal jacket that helps prevent the cable from getting bent, twisted or otherwise deformed but with the connectors: they require extreme cleanliness. For this reason, Global Invacom offers their own special cleaning cloth which is used to clean the ends of the fibre optic cable before being connected to the LNB or converter box. And while we are on the subject of cables, Global Invacom will also be offering matching prefabricated cables once the sale of the optical LNBs has begun. Sizes will include 1m, 3m, 5m, 10m plus various additional lengths up to 200m.

With the help of an adapter plug, these prefabricated cables can be connected together so that any desired length can be achieved. Global Invacom will also make the fibre optic cable available by the meter without any connectors. In this case special equipment will be needed to attach the optical connectors. The fibre optic cable,like other standard cables, is further protected from dirt and moisture with a rubber outer casing that surrounds the metal protective jacket. This outer casing is avail-able in a variety of colors or if necessary can be painted to match the environment. Additionally, it is an LSZG (Low Smoke Zero Halogen) material that won’t give off any poisonous smoke if it should catch fire.

Another important advantage of fibre optic technology is that it is completely immune to any electromagnetic interference. Fibre optic cables can therefore be placed in close proximity to strong electrical fields without any problems at all. Nothing like that exists in the TELE-satellite building but in order to be prepared for future applications, we ran a 50m long fibre optic cable through existing duct-work past electrical and data cables from the roof all the way to our test center.

The small diameter of the fibre optic cable came in handy here: roughly three fibre optic cables fit in the same space that one coax cable required. Since the cable is quite robust thanks to its metal jacket, we were able to pull it through ductwork without any complications and even bend it around corners that were less than 90°.

Everyday Use
Once we laid the fibre optic cable all the way to the office roof, we swapped the old standard 0.3 dB noise figure LNB that was on our offset antenna with the optical LNB.

Next we ran the coax cable to the closest wall outlet to power the LNB and then we were ready to go. After quickly cleaning the end of the fibre optic cable, we plugged it into the converter box along with a ’signal analyzer” via a short coax cable.

We were impressed with the initial results regardless of what frequency was received and the satellite we were pointed to, the optical LNB was a step ahead in terms of signal quality. These results did not change when the fibre optic cable was split four times and connected to four receivers that were operated at the same time. The higher MER values on HOTBIRD at 13° east were clearly recognize able as were the strong signal peaks in the spectrum.

The results that the optical LNB delivered were so impressive that our standard 0.3 dB noise figure LNB together with 50m of coax cable simply could not keep up.

According to the manufacturer, the splitting of the fibre optic cable is currently limited to 32 outputs. This limitation exists because of the laser’s signal strength. For special applications, Global Invacom can generate a stronger laser signal so that the number of outputs can be increased as needed.

The extremely small signal attenuation through the fibre optic cable of a mere 0.3 db over 1000 meters (!) definitely comes into play here.

Optical LNB Applications
If the Global Invacom idea catches on, then there will no longer be a need to use coax cable for direct satellite reception and we don’t see any reason why this vision shouldn’t become reality.

Fibre optic cable is not any more expensive than good quality coax cable. The optical LNB is in practice identical to standard LNB models; even supplying the power via the coax cable should become the norm.

Not only that, fibre optic cables can be used anywhere;it doesn’t matter if it’s placed next to high voltage lines or even a powerful electric motor. Global Invacom even thought about those customers that receive DVB-T signals via a coax cable: thanks to a special adaptor, fibre optic cable can be used here too.

Optical LNB Advantages
The biggest plus with the optical LNB is that all four band/polarization combination can be transmitted through the one cable at the same time.That brings with it the advantage that the signal can be split as often as needed and that each output can operate completely independently from all the others. The extremely long distances that fibre optic cables can be run without any appreciable signal attenuation is another huge bonus.

Fibre optic cables are small in size and will easily fit in any ductwork. Because of its extremely low signal loss, it is significantly better over very long distances than coax cable in terms of signal quality.

With weak signals this could easily be the difference between receiving a signal and not receiving it. Distances covering several kilometers can be run without any significant signal loss;Global Invacom has already performed some field tests in that regard. Additionally, the optical system has lower material costs compared to systems using expensive multiswitches.

Price
What would it cost to convert to an optical system? In many cases, the implementation of an optical LNB can actually lead to cost savings
since the setup of a system for multiple users can now be calculated differently than in the past. Only one LNB at about 200 Euros is needed. The material needed to connect two or four receivers is also around 200 Euros. The necessary fibre optic cable runs a little under 2 Euros per meter (shorter lengths with connectors cost more per meter versus longer lengths that cost less).

Then there are the optical splitters that run about 30 Euros for a two-way splitter, roughly 70 Euros for a four-way splitter up to 160 Euros for an eight-way splitter. The installer would also have one-time costs associated with optical test equipment.

Outlook for the Future
For Global Invacom the market introduction of the optical LNBs is only the firstof many large steps. At the moment the signal makes its way from the LNB to the converter box via a fibre optic cable but the remaining short distance to the tuner is still covered by a coax cable. For this reason Global Invacom has already been in contact with tuner manufacturers with the idea of incorporating fibre optic technology directly in the receiver. For the end user this means that no converter box would be needed and that the signal could be carried digitally all the way to the chipset in the receiver.

As we would expect, Global Invacom is thinking even further ahead and already has the technology to carry not only satellite signals but also telephone, Internet and local network services.

This would mean that the TV, receiver, PC, telephone, etc, would not only be served by a single cable, but that all of these devices could communicate with each other through the fibre-optic cable. Controlling all of these devices now takes on a whole new meaning. The optical LNB should prove to be a formid able competitor to the classic coax cable system setup. Who would be satisfied with a limited preset number of channels when they can receive the entire frequency spectrum of a satellite with 1000 channels free of charge?

And thanks to conference call service providers Internet access and telephone via Global Invacom’s fibre optic technology, cable’s Triple Play promotion doesn’t count for much anymore. An optical LNB allows the transmission of these three communication conference calling service more cost effectively to as many households as is needed over long distances and with more choices for the end-user. We should also mention that Global Invacom’s fibre optic technology could revolutionize Internet access in the future since no other type of connection today is as fast as via a fibre optic cable and let’s not forget that the same fibre optic cable can carry all of your favorite satellite TV signals.

We are witnessing the dawn of a new age in direct satellite reception and in just a few years we will only be able to marvel at coax cable in a museum and no longer on our satellite antennas and receivers thanks to innovative companies like Global Invacom!

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HD Satellite PC Card TeVii S470

August 21st, 2009 zou

TeVii DVB-S/S2 PCI-E Card S470
In the past several years one development in particular has become more and more popular: the incorporation of digital receivers in a PC and of course the digital receivers with built-in PC’s. We are keeping an eye out on the development of set-top boxes that, in addition to the normal function of receiving digital TV and radio content via satellite, can also connect to the Internet so that video conference calling clips or IPTV can be played back. These home multimedia powerhouses would also be able to display your pictures, play back music and even allow you to play games. At the same time, more and more homes are warming up to the idea of PC reception. There are a number of reasons for this: receiving satellite TV through a PC is less expensive than with a stand-alone set-top box, conference call recording digital content can take place directly on the hard drive of the PC  this saves the user time when burning a DVD in that the data doesn’t first have tobe transferred over to a PC.Then there are those house holds that despite having an LCD monitor that they use with their PC’s, they still have an older TV that is used for normal TV viewing. And since watching HDTV programming without a high resolution LCD or plasma TV makes no sense, this content is also viewed through a PC.

The Taiwanese company TeVii recognized this trend a long time ago and has strengthened their development of  TV and radio reception solutions for PC’s. This wouldn’t be the first time that TELE-satellite introduced a TeVii product; one of these was the TeVii S650 USB box.

This time it’s the new S470 PC Card. This new model is not connected externally; instead it is linked directly to the motherboard via a PCI-E slot. This is a modification of the well-known PCI slot in that much higher transmission speeds are now possible; perfect for HDTV reception. PCI-E slots come in two different hights, and TeVii even provides the S470 with both brackets: the standard one for regular PCs and the low profile bracket,which is ideally suited for the new slim PCs.

We began by installing the card in a typical PC. For us this turned out to be an older Pentium IV 3 GHz PC with 1GB RAM. According to the manufacturer, the mini-mum PC requirements are a 2 GHz CPU for SDTV or 2.4 GHz for HDTV, 512 MB RAM for SDTV and 1GB for HDTV as well as a graphics card with 128 MB of memory. Our test PC falls just within these requirements. Naturally, the TeVii card supports the Windows XP and Vista as well as Linux operating systems. The MyTeVii software is only compatible with Windows; Linux users must find suitable alternatives in the Internet. We were happy to see that TeVii included 64-bit drivers for Windows.

The TeVii card is delivered in a handy box. Included is a remote control with batteries, an IR receiver, a software CD and fold-out installation instructions. The TeVii S470 is plug&play compatible and for our test PC this meant install-ing the card in an available PCI-E slot and then putting the cover back on the PC.

We quickly connected a satellite cable from one of our signal distributors to the IF input on the card and last but not least connected the IR receiver. Now it was time to play. After turning on the PC, Windows XP immediately found the new hardware. Instead of letting Windows search for matching drivers, the installation CD was inserted into the appropriate drive. The installation assis-tant appeared and began installing the necessary driv-ers as well as the MyTeVii software.

At this point it is also possible to select whether just the drivers and MyTeVii software should be installed or if the TeVii Data program should also be installed. This program permits the use of Internet via satellite conference calling service but more on that later. After clicking the OK button it takes only a few seconds before all of the required data has found its way to our test PC. If for any reason you don’t happen to like the TeVii software, a demo version of ProgDVB can also be found on the installation CD. We will have more on this pro-gram and other alternative programs a little later.

The included remote control sits very nicely in your hands, is clearly labeled and left us with a very favorable impression in terms of its workman-ship.

Software Setup

When the TeVii software is started for the first time,itinitially greets the user with a blank screen. A preprogrammed channel list isn’t activated nor does the soft-ware ask the user to perform a channel scan. Considering that the TeVii S470 is being distributed around the world and that a preprogrammed channel list would probably not make sense anyway, it would have been nice if the user was directed to an automatic or manual channel scan.

The TeVii developed user interface provided us with a very clean and organized impression. On the right side are the channel list and avail-able satellites; the currently selected channel is displayed to the left. An EPG bar at the bottom of the display window provides information on the currently running program. The size of the playback window can be adjusted to your liking; the TV picture can also be viewed in full-screen mode.

Clicking the right mouse button opens the Options menu giving the user access to all of the necessary settings. The TeVii software itself is very international conference call ; it can communicate with the user in a variety of languages: English, French, German, Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, Ital-ian, Polish, Russian, Span-ish and Swedish. With this many choices, no one should have any problems finding  a matching language.

The settings menu comes with a variety of options and settings possibilities. Nearly every aspect of the software can be matched to the users requirements, such as, how content is displayed, the stor-ing and operation of the channel lists, the control of LNBs, the use of multiple monitors, setting up recordings and time shifting, the video and audio Codec’s, the IR receiver, the parameters for the EPG display and last but not least an Expert menu that provides access to the basic parameters of the software. Despite all of these settings possibilities, the Main menu has remained clear and easy to understand. TeVii accomplished this thanks to the window architecture that is part of MS Windows. It would not be possible to clearly present so many settings in a standard set top box. Once all of the needed settings are taken care of, the TeVii card must then become acquainted with the antenna system with which it will be used.

Since the card works with all the different DiSEqC protocols, it can be used with a typical multifeed antenna (DiSEqC 1.0), a Wave frontier antenna with up to 16 LNBs (DiSEqC 1.1) as well as a motorized system (DiSEqC 1.2 and USALS) without any problems. The S470 comes with a large selection of pre-programmed satellites that includes 170 American, European and Asian satellites. It’s not very often that we see a receiver that comes with so many satellites to choose from that are also for the most part very up to date. Thanks to the easy to understand OSD structure it is quite easy to match the necessary parameters (DiSEqC, LOF, etc.) to each individual satellite. It’s also just as easy with just a few mouse clicks to access, delete or edit transponders. The same holds true for the satellite settings.

To make sure that the signal from the LNB can be processed correctly, it is necessary to provide the correct local oscillator frequency (LOF) and switching point between low and high band. The MyTeVii software comes preprogrammed with a number of LOF values for the Ku-band and C-band and if you happen to be using an LNB with a non-standard LOF, it can simply be entered in manually. When all the parameters from your antenna system have been entered, the next step takes you to a channel scan. At this point you can perform a manual transponder scan or let the TeVii S470 handle all of the scanning work automatically.

Since the S470 is a PC solution, the size of the channel memory is for all practical purposes unlimited and almost begs to be filled with channel data. The card is both DVB-S and DVB-S2 compatible and therefore, in addition to QPSK modulation in DVB-S, it also supports 8PSK in DVB-S2. The “Auto” setting switches between the two by itself. An automatic scan of HOTBIRD at 13° east was completed in just a little over six minutes in our tests. Not bad at all considering this is a PC solution. The TeVii card also gallantly passed one of our toughest tests with the horizontal transponders on NILESAT at 7° west. The S470 also performed perfectly with our SCPC test; it was able to process the narrow band signals on TÜRKSAT 42° east without any difficulties.

Everyday Use
Thanks to the extremely fast data connection through the PCI-E bus, the S470 can switch between channels very quickly; it makes channel surf-ing a lot of fun. It doesn’t matter if you’re switching between HD channels or SD channels or if you’re switching from HD to SD or vice versa, the switching time is just a little over one second. This is actually quite good considering this is a PC solution and it even leaves some set top boxes in the dust. When in Windows mode, the software, if desired, blends in EPG information on the current program at the bottom of the display.

It is also possible to make this EPG information as well as channel data visible on the on-screen display. This is especially practical when the PC monitor is being used in full-screen mode as a TV and the TeVii software is being controlled from the couch via the remote control. The per-fect design of the TeVii software is only further confirmed in the channel list. It can be sorted and modified a number of ways so that, for example, channels can be grouped by package, transponder or satellite or Favorites lists can be filled with channels that you watch more often. Unwanted channels can be marked and deleted with just a single click. Adult channels can be locked out with a PIN code so that kids can’t accidentally stumble on those channels.

It is quite practical that the editing of the entire channel list takes place directly in the MyTeVii software window thus making any changes immediately visible. In addition to the playback of  live TV, the S470 naturally also comes with recording and time shift func-tions. For one thing, record-ings can be manually started. They can also be started at a specific time through the EPG or programmed manually. Thanks to the time shift function, you won’t miss any of the action in that movie you’re watching should the telephone ring. The movie is simply paused and when you’ve had enough of talk-ing with your favorite Aunt, you can pick up watching that movie where you left off.

The TeVii software can store recordings as a trans-port stream or in MPEG compatible format so that it can be played back with any video player. The EPG was designed with clarity and simplicity in mind. It displays all of the information provided by a broadcaster in an easy-to read and logically sorted format. Ideally, this would let you see programming information up to seven days in advance with data on each individual program such as content, provider, etc.

For the most part, the TeVii software appears to be perfect, but TeVii kept in mind that good can always be made better. For this reason the engineers included a plug-in interface that with the help of the software will let you add a variety of extra features.

How much of a load does thiscard put on the processor?
A big question is this: if you plan to do other work with your PC while the TeVii software is playing back video, how much does this TV reception affect the running of other programs? In SD mode, a PC with half way decent hardware will have no problems at all. But with HDTV the outlook is different. If it involves HDTV in 720p format, our older Intel Pentium IV did not have any problems and was able to produce an interference-free picture with a processor load of about 75%.

But in 1080i mode, video dropouts were the norm and the CPU load climbed to nearly 100%. At the same time, doing other work on the PC was not really possible while TV playback was in operation. We therefore decided to test the card in a more modern PC (Intel Core2Duo). The result was as expected: the card was able to realize its full potential and played back HDTV in 1080i format without any problems at all. With that in mind, we want to make it clear that the manufacturer’s hardware requirements for HD reception are really the minimum requirements.

If you are more experienced in handling your software set-tings and if your video card supports H264 acceleration, then TeVii has some tricks on hand, how to bring down processor load significantly.This is what’s needed to do: Go to main menu: Settings, Directshow Filters, Cyberlink, Video and in the properties mark “Use Hardware Accelerator” or “DXVA” (depending on your system). Apply the changes and go to the main settings menu of MyTeVii, go to Autograph and proceed like this: If you are using Vista or Windows 7 choose “Enhanced Video Renderer”. If you are using XP choose Video Mixing Renderer 7. That’s all, close settings windows, and restart MyTeVii. Note that the enhanced Video Renderer is not compatible with the IVR mode and thus will work only in simple mode, this means no OSD.
The only feature that was missing from the TeVii S470 PCI-E card was a CI slot. For you, the end user, this means that PayTV reception is not possible. However, there are two solutions to this! You may wait till 3rd Quarter 2009 and TeVii will introduce the S475, which is a DVB-S2 low profile PCI-E card with CI daughter board. It will feature a CAN tuner with a loop through. The other possiblity is software. There are quite a few TV viewers available that work well with the TeVii S470,the most popular and most widely used of these would of course be ProgDVB. Obviously, ProgDVB can’t magi-cally pull a CI slot out of a hat, but it is possible to access another receiver through card sharing using a valid Smart-Card. It could work like this: you have a valid “PayTV subscription” card that is inserted in a receiver in your living room. You set up your PC in such a way that it has access to this receiver through a network connection. With the proper plug-ins, this will let you access the SmartCard in your receiver with the TeVii S470 and thereby share that SmartCard with your living room receiver and the TeVii card.

ProgDVB isn’t the only one out there. There are a number of other programs that together with the S470 will provide you with TV reception. Refer to Table 1 for the necessary links. In meantime, the new MyTeVii 4.xx software, which was not yet available at time of this test, will also support all kind of plugins including softcams, card sharing and so on. We also don’t want to forget the radio lovers out there. The TeVii S470 is not just for TV reception; it naturally can also be used for top-quality satellite radio reception. And just like TV channels, radio channels can also be recorded and digitally stored.

TeVii Data
TeVii doesn’t only specialize in satellite TV and radio reception products; there’s also a completely different application. The magical phrase here is Internet via Satellite. The technology behind this is quite simple: the user sets up a connection via modem or ISDN. The speed of this connection can be a mere 56kbps but it only plays a very small role. If the user surfs the Internet or starts a download, the request is sent via modem to the Internet via Satellite provider which then retrieves the data via a high-speed connection and routes it to a satellite. The customer at the other end only sends the information request via modem to his provider; the information he needs is sent back to him at high speed via satellite.

The only drawback is that every person that can receive the same satellite can also receive the data you requested. Yes, the data is encrypted and only meant for you to receive but there is software available that will bypass this encryption so that the data can be seen by others as well. In our tests, data reception using the TeVii software functioned flawlessly. We didn’t expect any-thing else.

What’s better? PCI-E Card or USB Box?
Unlike the S470 PCI-E card, the TeVii’s S650 is externally connected to a PC via USB 2.0 and powered by an exter-nal power supply. We were interested to find out which of these versions would be better for the end user. To this end we checked the pro-cessor load on our Intel Pentium IV PC in SDTV mode as well as in HDTV (720p and 1080i) mode. We discovered that both the USB version and PCI-E version placed about the same load on the PC.

As you can see in the processor load screen shots, both values are in the same range. The variations that can be seen are due to smaller changes in the video (the same scene shown for a longer period of time) resulting in less of a load on the processor. For the end user the choice ultimately comes down to personal taste. The USB box is clearly more flexible and can also be used on camping trips together with a laptop. The PCI-E version has the advantage that it doesn’t need an external power supply and doesn’t have an external box that takes up valuable space on your desk.

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