I know nothing about any of this and I googled around but couldn't figure out what any of it meant.

So I already have a HTPC which I use to watch movies and play bluray. I'm looking to get rid of my cable box and add a TV Tuner card in the box.

All I want is OTA HDTV channels + basic cable. If I get basic cable from Comcast without a cablebox, can I plug the coaxial cable directly into the TV Tuner Card and start using it as a DVR? Will I get HDTV as well?

I noticed the hauppauge 2250 only has 1 input. So it looks like I will either be able to hook up an antenna for the HDTV signals or cable for the basic cable channels? do i have to get 2 cards if I want the functionality of both?

Also, what is the quality of basic cable through the 2250? Does it look as good as if it came through a cable box?

Thanks.

This is a question for the AVS HTPC forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26).

With the cable box, one usually receives digital versions of all the "analog channels" (1-99). The compression, and therefore the quality, of these digital versions varies from provider to provider. In some cases, the quality will be noticeably better than what you get with the analog channels. In other cases, it may be worse, if you are able to receive a quality analog signal.

Some tuner products have separate inputs for antenna and cable, while other products like the WinTV-HVR-2250 only have a single input.

Most cable companies offer local HD channels in the clear with QAM, so you should be available to receive those via cable. The quality of these local HD signals is usually, but not always, identical to what is available with an antenna.

thanks for your reply. it was very helpful, i'll post my question over there. please delete this post.