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Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500MCE 2-Tuner PCI-Based Digital Video Recorder (NTSC)

3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Brand Hauppauge
Video Capture Resolution 480p
Operating System Windows XP
Platform Windows XP, Windows
Item Weight 0.3 Pounds

About this item

  • PCI-based digital video encoder and recorder designed for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and, with limited functionality, Windows XP
  • Features 2 NTSC TV tuners, each with its own hardware MPEG encoder so you can watch one channel while recording another
  • Pause live TV, replay segments, and skip forward, all while your other TV show continues to be recorded to your PC's hard disk
  • Audio/video inputs (including S-video) accommodate external sources like camcorders, cable boxes, and VCRs
  • FM radio reception

Additional Details

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Note: Products with electrical plugs are designed for use in the US. Outlets and voltage differ internationally and this product may require an adapter or converter for use in your destination. Please check compatibility before purchasing.

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Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500MCE 2-Tuner PCI-Based Digital Video Recorder (NTSC)

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Product Description

Hauppauge Computer Works (1081) WinTV-PVR 500 MCE White box

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
22 global ratings

Customers say

Customers like the dual tuners of the TV tuner card. They say it allows for viewing and recording of two sources at once. They also appreciate the performance, quality and value of the product. They mention that it works seamlessly once set up, records SD TV programming in great quality and that the cost is made up by great quality, functionality and reliability.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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DualPerformanceQualityValue
6 customers mention "Dual"6 positive0 negative

Customers like the dual tuners in the TV tuner card. They say it allows for viewing and recording of two sources at once. Some mention that the card does support a radio tuner, but they haven't found any use for it.

"...This product works flawlessly. This card does support a radio tuner, however I really have found no use for it so I can't comment on that...." Read more

"Records SD TV programming in great quality. Dual tuners, never miss a program, either watch one and record another or record two simultaneously...." Read more

"...It has a dual tuner to allow PIP, PBP, and recording while watching or recording two shows at once...." Read more

"...It was easily recognized by my system and the dual tuners allow for viewing and recording of two sources at once..." Read more

5 customers mention "Performance"5 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the performance of the TV tuner card. They mention that it works great, is functional, and reliable. Some say that it is seamless once set up and works beautifully with Beyond TV 4.7 and MediaPortal.

"...be more expensive then most, the cost is made up by great quality, functionality, and reliability...." Read more

"...Works beautifully with Beyond TV 4.7 and/or MediaPortal. I'm using Beyond TV now, since there is no free EPG service to use with MediaPortal...." Read more

"...Works better than windows media center in my view. This card works seemlessly once set up and with a cheap subscription to ShedulesDirect you'll be..." Read more

"...Everything works great. There were no problems with drivers or any other part of the setup...." Read more

3 customers mention "Quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the quality of the TV tuner card. They mention that it records SD TV programming in great quality, it's the best SD TV tuners money can buy, and that the colors are vibrant.

"...The colors are vibrant and the decoding is excellent...." Read more

"Records SD TV programming in great quality. Dual tuners, never miss a program, either watch one and record another or record two simultaneously...." Read more

"GREAT card, two tuners, high image quality, easy to install and configure. Works as a charm in Windows Vista Home Premium." Read more

3 customers mention "Value"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the value of the TV tuner card. They say it has great quality for the price, and the cost is made up by its functionality and reliability.

"It's great qualtity for the price. I had an EVGA dual tuner TV card prior to buying this one...." Read more

"...this product might be more expensive then most, the cost is made up by great quality, functionality, and reliability...." Read more

"...It's just not as good as the 150/250. Oh well. It's very much worth the money for what it does (dual tuners), but for me, it's just going to..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Steely Blue
1.0 out of 5 stars Bad drivers for Windows XP x64 Edition
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2006
Verified Purchase
This product did not work as advertised under the Windows XP x64 Edition operating system. Despite using the very latest drivers, I get a blank black display, and it works only immediately after restarting the PC (only for a short while).

I ended up going with PowerColor Theater 550 Pro PCI Express x1 which has better drivers for x64 from ATI. This also freed up a PCI slot that I needed.
7 people found this helpful
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Robert Niesen
2.0 out of 5 stars I eventually returned this tuner card due to several problems.
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2006
Amazon was great about shipping this product, but I eventually returned it due to several problems. They were also great about the return -- they paid the return shipping and I got a full refund.

I never tried any recordings with this card using the Media Center software that is part of Windows MCE. I was using it with SnapStream BeyondTV 4.1. If you record using anything but the Best (DVD 720x480) quality level it would crop out part of the picture. This is a known issue that is apparently a driver issue. The latest Hauppauge driver did not solve the problem.

The other problem I had is that several times when I was recording two programs at the same time, one of the recordings had nothing but static for the audio portion of it. I don't know if this was a problem with the card or BeyondTV, but I think it's probably due to the card. I don't know if I had a defective card or if this is just a problem with all of these cards.

I also was not that impressed with the overall quality of the video this card captured. I have Hauppauge 250 and 350 cards in a couple of other PCs, and the video quality they capture is noticeably better than that captured by the 500 card. After reading some reviews, it sounds like this is the case for the 150 card also (and the 500 card is basically just two 150s placed on one card). BeyondTV works great with the 250 and 350 cards with none of the issues noted above; but I also only have one tuner card in the PCs that I use these cards in, so I can't comment on how well they would work in a dual tuner setup using BeyondTV.

I returned the 500 card, and I instead purchased two VisionTek Xtasy Theater 550 Pro cards. Thus far I'm not having any of the issues with them in BeyondTV that I was having with the Hauppauge 500 card -- I can record at a lower quality level with no cropping, and I've had no audio issues so far. The quality of the video is also far superior to that captured by the 500 card (although maybe not as good as that captured by the Hauppauge 250 and 350 cards).
9 people found this helpful
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Sam
3.0 out of 5 stars Great card when it works!
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2006
This card is one of the few that features dual TV tuner. It works as expected and it recognized by Windows MCE (need Hauppauge drivers).

The image quality is pretty good for patching it thru the computer.

My main concerns lies with 1) the driver 2) tech support.

I've had the card for about a year now and it all worked great until I decided to update the driver. Now the second tuner image quality went from good to total junk, no matter which driver I use. The first tuner on the card still displays excellent image quality.

I believe the Hauppauge driver is to blame but so far I can't pinpoint what's wrong.

On the tech support side, don't expect too much. They "may" be able to tell you where to plug the card but that's about it! Don't ask them about drivers or other kind of issues they will blame Bill Gates, Microsoft, your graphics card manufacturer... Pretty sad.

Anyways, I would probably consider the Nvidia dual tuner card as an alternative (since it's pretty much the same price) or go the dual PCI route if you have some room.
7 people found this helpful
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ibzz
4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2005
Verified Purchase
It's great qualtity for the price. I had an EVGA dual tuner TV card prior to buying this one. The 500 MCE gives you a better picture and more connectivity. The colors are vibrant and the decoding is excellent. The only short coming is that MPEG decoder software is not included in the package and you'll have to purchase your own.

Word of wisdom: If your picture is choppy check if your hard drive speed is up to par. I wasted almost a week; formating my hard drive 3 times, replaced my tuner card twice and swapped my CPU. I was about to buy a new mother board before I realised my hard drive was the problem. I Bought a new SATA drive and it was smoooooooth sailing.
8 people found this helpful
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Daniel Kinon
5.0 out of 5 stars Mythtv and Hauppage
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2006
Verified Purchase
I bought this product for my linux based mythtv system. The great thing about this product (and the thing that really sets it apart from other models of WINTV-PVR) is the 2-tuner design. You plug in one cable connection into the card, within the card it splits the signal to 2 different tuners. This allows you to record two shows at the same time. This product works flawlessly. This card does support a radio tuner, however I really have found no use for it so I can't comment on that.

In short, even though this product might be more expensive then most, the cost is made up by great quality, functionality, and reliability. A must-have for anyone building a home-brewed PVR (Personal Video Recorder).

For anyone who is wondering, the awesome linux compatibility of all Hauppage products is why I will never buy anything other than hauppage.
10 people found this helpful
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S. Louie
1.0 out of 5 stars Hauppauge 500 great concept but need better support
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2005
I purchased this card to replace a broken PVR250 thinking I can save a PCI slot on my machine. I have had nothing but problems since I installed this card. I have two other PVR250 in the machine, using SageTV to record while I use PowerDVD version 6 to watch recorded programs. Since the installation of the card, my machine reboots frequently. I played with it for a week with no positve results. I finally had to abandon it. It is now sitting on my desk in a box. I have a 1-year old motherboard and two other PVR250 model 980 in the machine and it is working fine now without any new PVR cards. My understanding is that Hauppauge knows that they have problems with their new cards with older machines but aren't actively resolving the problem. I used to love Hauppauge but am a little let down by this whole mess!
9 people found this helpful
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