Suggestions for OTA HD Tuner card

archer75 · 12-09-07, 01:55 PM

I'm looking for adding a tuner card to my HTPC. It must be PCI and work with Vista Media Center. I would also like 32 and 64bit support.

I need dual tuners for recording two HDTV shows at once via OTA antenna. I would prefer a single card that has dual HD tuners but have yet to find any. But I can fit two cards in my case. Would be better still if I could record 3 HD programs at once but don't have room for more than 2 cards.

I was looking at the fusion 5, myHD, ATI 650 and various happague but can't quite decide.

IVB · 12-09-07, 03:21 PM

HDHomerun, won't even take up a slot...

Aesculus · 12-09-07, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by archer75

I'm looking for adding a tuner card to my HTPC. It must be PCI and work with Vista Media Center. I would also like 32 and 64bit support.

I need dual tuners for recording two HDTV shows at once via OTA antenna. I would prefer a single card that has dual HD tuners but have yet to find any. But I can fit two cards in my case. Would be better still if I could record 3 HD programs at once but don't have room for more than 2 cards.

I was looking at the fusion 5, myHD, ATI 650 and various happague but can't quite decide.

I am in the same boat and decided to bail on it. All I want is OTA ATSC and there are no dual tuners cards that I could find. I don't want QAM or analog.

I just decided it was better to plug the HDHomeRun into my gigabit switch and take this stuff out of the case. Plus its got great support from Vista from what I can tell and the upside is other folks can use it across the LAN.

tscales · 12-09-07, 05:23 PM

I agree the HDHR is the best choice.

archer75 · 12-15-07, 09:23 PM

The HDHR will work with Vista media center? I can schedule recordings and such? Nothing out there any cheaper?

RJVR23 · 12-15-07, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by archer75

The HDHR will work with Vista media center? I can schedule recordings and such? Nothing out there any cheaper?

Flawless integration with Vista MCE as a staright up OTA tuner. For QAM it's a bit of a pain to setup but is rock solid afterwards. And it's a dual tuner for $169. That's $84.5 a tuner that doesn't take up a pci slot and add heat to your PC. If there's a device out there that does the same thing for the price, much less cheaper I am not aware of it

By the way I have 2 of these and am able to record 4 HD streams at once without problems.

archer75 · 12-16-07, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJVR23

Flawless integration with Vista MCE as a staright up OTA tuner. For QAM it's a bit of a pain to setup but is rock solid afterwards. And it's a dual tuner for $169. That's $84.5 a tuner that doesn't take up a pci slot and add heat to your PC. If there's a device out there that does the same thing for the price, much less cheaper I am not aware of it

By the way I have 2 of these and am able to record 4 HD streams at once without problems.

Thanks for your feedback. It looks like I will grab one of these. Now just shopping around for the best prices.

Lkr · 12-16-07, 02:43 PM

are there any cheap HDHR's available? or something cheaper you've had a good experience with?

Commodore 64 · 12-17-07, 09:02 AM

I've had good luck with VBox DTA 150, which is an older PCI single tuner card without QAM support. I love Vbox, but there really is no better value than the HDHR (that's what I use now with Mediaportal).

Heh, I bough the HDHR back when they were first released, and they were ~$125 if I remember correctly, and the only place you could order them was www.9thtee.com.

I doubt you'll find any cheap (or used) HDHR. I think most HDHR owners feel the same as I do...you can have my HDHR when you pryit out of my cold, dead hands.

archer75 · 12-17-07, 11:32 AM

How sensitive is the HDHR? I live pretty far away from the towers and have found that not all tuners are created equally. The Direct Tivo box I had couldn't tune all my HD channels but my newer Dish Network box can. So whatever tuner I get is going to have to be pretty damn good.

Commodore 64 · 12-17-07, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by archer75

How sensitive is the HDHR? I live pretty far away from the towers and have found that not all tuners are created equally. The Direct Tivo box I had couldn't tune all my HD channels but my newer Dish Network box can. So whatever tuner I get is going to have to be pretty damn good.

I had horrible issues with multipathing with the Avermedia A180.

VboxDTA 150 and Fusion 5 worked great, but I got rid of them for the HDHR.

HDHR works great. I'd say at least as well as the Vbox and Fusion 5: I watched football all day yesterday during a blizzard and I live in a valley 30 miles from the broadcast towers.

(I use a omnidirectional UHF and a Directional VHF antenna on my roof.)

archer75 · 12-17-07, 05:27 PM

Would splitting the antenna 4 ways so I could use 2 HDHR's affect signal strength?

Garrett Adams · 12-17-07, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by archer75

Would splitting the antenna 4 ways so I could use 2 Hdqrs affect signal strength?

The usual consumer splitter lowers the signal by 50% on each output, although there are some splitters that have asymmetrical outputs with one a little stronger.

That said, depending on the strength of your antenna signal you might not encounter a problem with a 4-way splitter. I have a good high-mounted rooftop antenna that is split four ways. If you do encounter a problem you might need a better antenna or relocate it to a better position. If all that fails there are signal amplifiers but I'm not familiar with their costs or efficacy.

archer75 · 12-17-07, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garrett Adams

The usual consumer splitter lowers the signal by 50% on each output, although there are some splitters that have asymmetrical outputs with one a little stronger.

That said, depending on the strength of your antenna signal you might not encounter a problem with a 4-way splitter. I have a good high-mounted rooftop antenna that is split four ways. If you do encounter a problem you might need a better antenna or relocate it to a better position. If all that fails there are signal amplifiers but I'm not familiar with their costs or efficacy.

I'm on the frignes of what my antenna can do. And it's amped. A direct Tivo box I had, had some issues with some channels. My dish box gives me a solid signal. I'll have to look for a quality splitter.

jpconard · 12-17-07, 10:50 PM

Quote:

I had horrible issues with multipathing with the Avermedia A180.

I second that statement. I have one that just sits not being used. Dvico much better in that regard. Another Aver (HD Volar USB) is just as bad.

Good to hear the HDHR has a good tuner.

How does the HDHR work with multiple media center PCs on the network (XPMCE 2005 on both)? Can both access it as a tuner at will or does one PC own it all the time? If both how does it handle conflicts?

vladd · 12-18-07, 12:41 AM

Any PC in the house can access the tuners of the HDHR. The HDHR does no conflict resolution of it's own. That woud be up to the user or the pvr app.

12-09-07, 01:55 PM	#1 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a4ac4393' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:30&n=a4ac4393' border='0' alt=''></a>
archer75 Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 971	Suggestions for OTA HD Tuner card I'm looking for adding a tuner card to my HTPC. It must be PCI and work with Vista Media Center. I would also like 32 and 64bit support. I need dual tuners for recording two HDTV shows at once via OTA antenna. I would prefer a single card that has dual HD tuners but have yet to find any. But I can fit two cards in my case. Would be better still if I could record 3 HD programs at once but don't have room for more than 2 cards. I was looking at the fusion 5, myHD, ATI 650 and various happague but can't quite decide.

12-09-07, 03:21 PM	#2 \| Link
IVB AVS Special Member AVS CLUB MEMBER Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Left Coast Posts: 5,149	HDHomerun, won't even take up a slot... __________________ My website documenting my HT/HA system & path. - Training video & docs for "Intro to HA via Elk/CQC", "Intro to Security Systems", & "Advanced Elk/CQC" - My Equipment Lists - Wiring Suggestions

12-15-07, 09:23 PM	#5 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a591f81a' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:36&n=a591f81a' border='0' alt=''></a>
archer75 Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 971	The HDHR will work with Vista media center? I can schedule recordings and such? Nothing out there any cheaper?

12-17-07, 11:32 AM	#10 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a591f81a' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:36&n=a591f81a' border='0' alt=''></a>
archer75 Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 971	How sensitive is the HDHR? I live pretty far away from the towers and have found that not all tuners are created equally. The Direct Tivo box I had couldn't tune all my HD channels but my newer Dish Network box can. So whatever tuner I get is going to have to be pretty damn good.

12-09-07, 05:23 PM	#4 \| Link
tscales Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 41	I agree the HDHR is the best choice.

12-16-07, 02:43 PM	#8 \| Link
Lkr Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 599	are there any cheap HDHR's available? or something cheaper you've had a good experience with?

12-17-07, 09:02 AM	#9 \| Link
Commodore 64 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Kent, OH Posts: 287	I've had good luck with VBox DTA 150, which is an older PCI single tuner card without QAM support. I love Vbox, but there really is no better value than the HDHR (that's what I use now with Mediaportal). Heh, I bough the HDHR back when they were first released, and they were ~$125 if I remember correctly, and the only place you could order them was www.9thtee.com. I doubt you'll find any cheap (or used) HDHR. I think most HDHR owners feel the same as I do...you can have my HDHR when you pryit out of my cold, dead hands.

12-17-07, 05:27 PM	#12 \| Link
archer75 Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 971	Would splitting the antenna 4 ways so I could use 2 HDHR's affect signal strength?

12-18-07, 12:41 AM	#16 \| Link
vladd AVS Special Member AVS CLUB MEMBER Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 2,615	Any PC in the house can access the tuners of the HDHR. The HDHR does no conflict resolution of it's own. That woud be up to the user or the pvr app.