Advice on TV Tuner cards for an LCD monitor

[mvp828]

Hey, I was just wondering if any fellow CAGs could help me out in deciding what kind of TV Tuner Card to purchase. Now I don't know a whole lot about them yet, but I have begun looking them up online. From what I have seen so far it seems as if there are two different types. I have seen one that looks like you would have to plug into your computer like a modem/video card. And then there is one that looks like it is a broadband/dsl router. I am just curious as to which one is prefered. I haven't purchased the LCD monitor yet. It will be used for my computer, Xbox 360, and a TV tuner. I just have no idea how you hook up the tuner cards. I'm hoping that a fellow CAG could help me. Thanks.

[NoRain]

I would suggest going internal <the one that plugs up like a modem/video card>. I would then suggest using a hauppage branded card. I thirdly would suggest making sure whatever you get works well with windows media center if thats what you using it with. As far as working well with an LCD monitor, I think that has more to do with your video card, but you should be able to get some max recordable resolution specs off a tv tuner.

I'm confused about the using it for xbox 360 and what not. Are you trying to hook your xbox 360 up to your computer and pipe the video out to the monitor or are you using the monitor as like a tv and wanting to pipe out the stuff from the tv tuner into the lcd.

[CrimGhost]

I'm also interested in doing this once I move into a dorm. Using my computer monitor as a tv for cable and Xbox360. I have a Radeon X1900XT video card and want to get an lcd soon, maybe a Viewsonic or NEC but im still not sure about what to do for the whole tv tuner thing.

[Vinny]

First of all... if you guys are willing to watch TV at a fraction of the quality of what you see on a regular TV then read on. I've gone though hell and back with TV tuners trying to find something so that I could use my LCD as my TV (had my first tuner since 2001).

Simply put, if you have a 19" LCD and want to retain all image quality, then you'll have to watch the image in a tiny 320x240 box, or maybe 640x480 if you run a CRT. As soon as you use half your screen you'll easily notice noise and some light fuzz. At full screen it's worse.

But all in all, it's not that bad. Yes, you can tell there's a bit of a reduction in quality but overall it'll suffice unless you have to have the best image quality. And a TV Tuner card brings huge benefits of being able to record MPEG2 video to make a DVD, automatic recording just like a VCR, and even live replay. Image feeds from composite or even S-video actually look very nice.

I use a ATI TV Tuner VE that I bought in 2001. I've used more expensive models but I never noticed much of an improvement in quality- they just have more features that are nice if you plan to do a lot of video editing. I've always gone back to my trusty old ATI though.

What to look for in a Tuner card:
1. Onboard MPEG2 decoder.
2. OS support- a lot of the newer ones have features (like remote control) only supported by XPMCE but most will work with XP.
3. Get one made for PCI, don't get anything else.

More things to know:
1. You'll need better software than what's given to you by the manufacturers.
2. These things vary by system from what I can tell. Two completely identical systems may or may not produce the same results. It's not to say one might completely suck, but there's no guarantee of performance.
3. Support of these are usually harder to find as very few people use these.
4. Gaming might be sorta hard but there is some lag. I actually tested this on my card with a few rounds of SCIII and it didn't bother me. It seemed that there was a bit of a delayed reaction but nothing significant enough to hinder gameplay in the slightest bit. But take heed, this might not be the case for you.

I'm going to get a new one, probably from Hauppauge or ATI. ATI has a new decoder chip which produces fantastic image supposedly but still not close enough. I'm not sure if it's out yet though.

If you want one now, this one is pretty good: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815116606
It doesn't have composite though, which might not bother some, but you can get around that by using a composite to s-video dongle.

Hope this helps.

[mvp828]

What I meant by 360 and tuner is that I'm going to be getting an LCD with VGA hookups for the 360 and with either another VGA or dvi for the coomputer. I will probably be getting my computer Friday so, that is when I will be able to help you guys so that you know what I am working with.