TV Tuner for PC?

Spidey76

Spidey76

CAGiversary!
I was seriously considering getting a TV tuner for my new PC with Vista Home Premium.

I found this one http://www.buy.com/prod/visiontek-tv-wonder-hd-650-pci-express-tv-tuner/q/loc/101/205728807.html for $99 w/ GCO
Visiontek 650 w/ remote and FM tuner

also found this one: http://www.buy.com/prod/hauppauge-1...-pci-express-x1-atsc/q/loc/101/206567437.html for $47.24 w/ GCO
Hauppage 1187 WinTV-HVR 1250 - NO remote :(

Anyone have any experience with these or any others that could make a suggestion?

I have:
coax cable from the wall - Time-Warner digital cable

AMD 64 X2 6400 3.2 gHz CPU, 1 GB nVidia 8800 GT 16x GPU, 4 GB Corsair PC6400 DDR2/800

I'd have to keep the cost under $100, but the cheaper the better. Also I've mainly searcged for PCI Express over USB 2.0 for connectivity, but it may be faster to go with USB 2.0??

Thanks All
 
Personally, I have the Hauppauge 150 which works great for what I use it for (MythTV box). If you look at the 150, just be careful as there as several variations of it some with remote, and some without (but with extra input ports).

The HVR-1600 that the previous poster mentioned is one that I almost considered getting, if not for it being newer and having issues with Linux. But you shouldn't have any issues with Windows.

I would steer away from USB/External cards since in that instance your CPU will do most of the work instead of the card.
 
Appreciate that :) looks like the Haup will just slide in nicely & is $10 cheaper than the Visiontek.
 
Note: So far, you cannot record HD signals from cable. You can only record HD signals from antenna.

There is a card coming out in May that will let you record any signal. The card is $250 though! http://www.byopvr.com/displayarticle685.html

I was thinking of turning my old PC into a home theater PC, but if it can't recod HD from cable I'm not sure there's a point.
 
I have given up on these types of cards since my ATI days. The image quality has always been crappier than it being displayed on an actual TV.
 
I have two pvr- 150 cards and they work pretty good. I don't actually watch TV on them though. I just use them to record TV and then stream the recorded shows to my modded xbox. It's a good setup when you have classes in the evenings.
 
no probs - thanks for the help

it looks like the Haup 1600 is the way to go, but the Haup 1800 comes with a remote for only $15 more (plus it has an FM tuner, but I'll hardly ever use it), so as soon as I get the go-ahead from the wife... I'll pick it up
 
I would also look for a deal on a hard drive as well. It is amazing how fast a drive can fill up. I got a 150 gig partition that is almost full. I have a few seasons of some shows that I need to watch.
 
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