TV Tuner Cards For HTPC Discussion

[Knight]

If you don't mind using an Ethernet tuner, you could get an HD Homerun (made by Silicondust).

It's ATSC and QAM (cable) only...

Have a nice day!

Nick

[stampeder]

I hope you can find one that is ATSC only to suit your needs, but I think NTSC capabilities will still be with us for quite a long time after the changeovers due to the fact that many remote, low power OTA repeaters/translators will remain using analogue NTSC as far as the authorities have decided. Hauppauge and AverMedia have PCI-E cards now but they're ATSC/NTSC.

[recneps77]

Also, why would you need ATSC only?
If you have a combo card, and don't need NTSC, don't use it.
Keep in mind you can use it to tune a VCR, for example, to transfer your VHS collection to digital.

[toybox]

You're right, I was only wondering if there was some benefit to having an ATSC only card. Maybe for pricing reasons, maybe for performance. Sounds like it's just as cost effective to get a combo card.

[tscott]

Dvico Fusion HDTV7 is a dual tuner ATSC/QAM/NTSC card. It does have analogue capabilities but does not have a hardware MPEG-2 hardware encoder for the analogue, so they may have shaved a few dollars off because of they. I've seen it for $139US. It has good reviews and worth looking into if yo need 2 more tuners.

Hauppauge has the HVR-1250 which is a single tuner ATSC/QAM/NTSC card also without the MPEG-2 hardware encoder to save cost. Its around $60.

[toybox]

I'll check into that one...thanks!

[Q]

The hauppauge 1800 is PCI E but it is ATSC and NTSC. I don't think there is an advantage other than cost savings.

Hauppauge is supposed to be releasing a new dual ATSC/NTSC card shortly model 2250.

[toybox]

cool. But I bet there will be a premium cost for a new device, which I'm trying to avoid.

Although maybe the price of the older models will drop, once it comes out though.

[Q]

hauppauge has finally released the 2250. I have been waiting for this card ever since they announced it in Feb. '08.

Was reported as selling for $129 but on hauppauge's web store it is $149.

Haven't found any CDN retailers that have it yet. I will be buying this card for sure before september.

[stampeder]

Thanks Q, that 2250 looks like a great unit!

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/produc...a_hvr2250.html

I see that ATSC and Clear QAM are hardware encoded to MPEG-2, so for those wanting a pure transport stream this new card might not be the answer. I'm going to wait to see how long Linux drivers will take, unless they're already available. Hauppauge is pretty good about Linux support.

[Q]

I have the 1600 and its says the same thing in the write up about recording ATSC in high quality MPEG2 but from what I can tell it does no re-encoding. It just records the stream as mpeg2 ts file.

[stampeder]

Thanks for clarifying that. As my old Socket 939 mobos die off and I go with the latest mobos it'll be necessary for me to replace my PCI cards with ones like these, so its nice to see options now available.

[Q]

I am waiting for reviews of card performance. I am especially interested in the quality of the single coax connection which has an internal splitter for dual ATSC.

[recneps77]

I read the info there, and did not get the impression of digital being encoded - analog, yes, though.
Not sure what you saw, but this shows that it is in fact not encoded, but a direct transfer (its a huge waste to encode it anyway, unless it were mpeg4 encoding...)

Record analog cable TV shows to your PC's hard disk with our built-in high quality MPEG-2 hardware encoder. You can also record high definition digital ATSC and clear QAM digital cable TV to disk in the original digital quality.

[PPL4GOLF]

I just bought one -

Initial impression : this is a great deal for $70 all in - remote/software/S-video to RCA adapter/PCI-E interface and even included a half-height bracket! There is no IR blaster...probably expected as it is 'Soft PVR' for SD content.

The reception is about the same as my Sapphire Theatrix ATI650. The WinTV6 works well but the video quality is borderline ok with minor occasional stuttering. Recorded files are in MPEG2 format...playable by PowerDVD6 and WMP11, but strangely only skippable by WinTV6. There doesn't appear to be an EPG guide. I can see myself use the WinTV/Scheduler for ATSC recording but not viewing.

WatchHDTV works as good as my ATI650, same video quality and no stuttering. The tuner was recognized as a 885 or something.

I am quite happy with the purchase. Be able to finally use a PCI-E x1 slot is just for kicks. I will most likely use GBPVR or some free front end because there is a remote included.

The system it is in :
WinXP Pro SP2
Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H with Intel E1240@2.4GHz
OCZ 2GB 800MHz SLI RAM
Galaxy 8400GS 256MB video card.
Slim SFF half height case with PSU.