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What's the point of a TV tuner in a PC?

HDTV Tuner Card?

  • I would like to use my PC as a PVR. I am basically looking for something that can replace a regular DVR and record HD shows, and hopefully, it'll be compatible when I buy a new PC a year from now and still usuful even IF HD capture over the cable becomes possible... (too much to ask??) Having said that, which TV tuner is best for me? I am consiering Macro Image MDP-130 MyHD PCI HDTV Tuner Card, DIVCO Fusion HDTV Card or ATI TV Wonder 650 at this point. What are the pros and cons of these cards? (I read some reviews but don't really understand abbreviations etc.) and do you have any other suggestions? I live in a big city with many skycrapers. Is it NOT a good idea to get something that comes with an indoor antenna? BTW, my PC is a year old Dell Dimension E510 with P4 processor. I would like TS, AVI, and/or MPEG2 output and prefer either a USB port or PCI slot to a Firewire port. I don't play games at all. Lastly, easy installation is a MUST. ;D ;D Thank you!

  • Answer:

    Go with the MyHD or DIVCO card. Both are easier to work with than ATI's card. I have the ATI HDTV card and it can be a nightmare. Expect HDTV signals to bring your system to it's knees. Look at having a halfway decent video just to help things along (Geforce 6600/7600 or above). As far as antenna you'll be limited as OTA (over the air) HDTV signals can be tricky to pick up and you won't be able to use the above cards with a cable/satellite providers HDTV stuff though you can normally run cable TV into them.

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Mr. O is right - OTA HD can be a huge pain in the city. Save yourself some pain and make sure you can get OTA HD on your TV first - if nothing comes in, you won't waste your time building a DVR that will only record stuttering pixilated images!

johnny driver

You might also check out Hauppauge. They are leaders in that field.

uncledad

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