Hi all, I just subscribed to the list. I happen to own both of the devices you mentioned, and even if it might be very early to say, as the Mega Sky driver still appears to be in development, I would recommend MSI Mega Sky 580. For me the newly written (consult this mailing list) Mega Sky driver works actually much better than the Twinhan DTV Alpha driver which was included in Ubuntu (forgot the actual kernel module name for this card). The module driving DTV Alpha lockups my laptop every time I remove and reinsert the adapter. I have no option but to press the power button > 5 seconds as the ATX-standard requires :) Also, if I boot the machine with the card in the USB, it doesn't work. Perhaps I should file a bug. No experience on that, though. The m920x (Mega Sky driver) on the other hand works very well indeed. I have experienced no problems and everything just works fine. Kaffeine is not working, but it's possibly not related to the module. The both drivers and cards, to my experiences, are very usable. I just have had far less problems with m920x and Mega Sky. If you want consultation for Windows, I could say both work ok, but both come with equally crap software, which I wouldn't consider using any more than maybe 20 seconds. My setup is Ubuntu Dapper, custom-compiled kernel 2.6.17.1, and v4l modules from http://linuxtv.org/hg/~mkrufky/megasky?cmd=changeset;node=2cd3d44ec2e3;style=gitweb (it should be safe to take the latest tree). Note that you also need the firmware to be able to use these devices in Linux. And what I think of the devices themselves, well: - Mega Sky is much smaller and prettier, looks like a moderate-sized USB Stick, and you can carry it on your neck if you wish; DTV Alpha on the other hand looks clumsy and is somewhat bigger. - Mega Sky has, to my experience, better and more sensitive antenna (although the antenna is still a toy, you should really use a real antenna). - The Alpha comes with a USB extension cable supplied, which makes it easier to fit it in to, say, behind a laptop. USB extension cable is not expensive to buy separately, though. - Alpha has a very big remote control (about the size and looks of a normal DVD player remote); Mega Sky has very minimalistic controller, which can look a bit childish (but I like it anyway :) - Not all the buttons in the Alpha's remote control work for me (not even in Windows). I took it back to the store and received a new one, but it seems to have the very same problem. - And Mega Sky is (was?) even cheaper. I bought it for 59 euros here in Finland. I paid 79 euro for the Alpha. And if you end up buying the Mega Sky, be aware that there appears to be 2 different versions in the market. Take a look at the postings in this mailing list, I assume that the other version is not yet fully supported. Here, just my 2 cents, JPH > Hi > > I'm about to buy either a MSI MegaSky 580 or a Twinhan DTV Alpha (VP-7045A) > > How well does these "cards" work? > > Has anyone some advice on which "card" I should buy, or should I look at > something else? > > Thanks > > /Jonas _______________________________________________ linux-dvb mailing list linux-dvb@xxxxxxxxxxx http://www.linuxtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linux-dvb
