Help Selecting a TV Tuner Card

[thebski]

I'm wanting to put a TV Tuner in my computer, but I'm very confused as to what tuners will give me what. I have digital box cable with HD. I'm wondering what Tuner cards I can use to get that cable to my computer. I want to be able to record the HD channels and everything that I pay for. I know the tuner card probably can't decode the encoded HD channels, but will the new Hauppauge cards (1650,1850,2050, etc.) still get all the HD channels if I use the output signal from my HD box and plug that into the card? The channel should already be decoded by the box.

With that said, would I need a tuner with an HD input? Are there such things? Thanks for the help guys.

 

[thebski]

Bump. Surely someone on here knows something about TV Tuner cards.

 

[leon2006]

Go for the Hauppage 2250. Dual hybrid tuner. One for playing and the other for recording. It works well for Vista-64 and XP-32. I can't comment on other OS.

It can function as DVR & PVR for HD and SD TV. It works well with Windows Media Center. Hauppage TV and recording software also works well.

ATI HDTV tuner 650PCIE has a lot of hardware and software issues.

 

[DJRWolf]

ASUS My Cinema-PE9400
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250
Compro E900F

With those cards and XP Media Center Edition, Vista, or Win7 you can not only watch but also record like a DVR with Windows Media Center. Most of the reviews I've read say that it is better then the bundled software but I wont know personally until I get the computer I plan to use for this together.

Also be sure to look into getting a signal amplifier for the incoming signal to improve quality. You should be able to find those at a local RadioShack, Best Buy, or other electronics store. Such amplifiers also work for cable modems from what I hear. I do plan on getting one soon.

Another feature to look for is a "IR Blaster" that lets your computer send the same commands as your remote to do things like turn on/off or change channel at a specific time even when your not home to your cable/satellite box.

One feature I liked with the Compro is that it has a pass though for your cases power button so you can turn your system on and off with the included remote.

 

[DrgnRebrn]

I went with the AverMedia AverTV Combo G2 tuner card. I chose this card because it had comparable features to the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250, but at a much cheaper price point. I also liked the remote that came with it, as it looked to be very functional & easy to use. The features I was looking for were the ability to record 2 digital, 2 analog, or 1 of each signal type at the same time (or watch & record each at the same time) I wanted to make sure the card supported HDTV, which I believe the highest resolution currently supported by any card is 1080i. I would have liked to have been able to receive FM transmissions as well, as this is going into a HTPC & that would have been nice; however I sacrificed that feature to get a cheaper card. If you game on consoles, the AverMedia card offers an advanced gaming plug-in developed by AVerMedia that allows you to Plug-in-Play game consoles in real time, without the latency problems associated with Windows Media Center. I'm not a big gamer, but I've got a Wii & PS3, so I thought this was a nice feature to have. I wish I could provide you with real-usage results & analysis, but my wife won't let me build my HTPC yet because it is my Christmas present...perhaps I'll check back in & give you an update once I'm done!