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Just need to add a tuner card for DVR functionality?

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9/19/08 at 1:55pm

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After moving, I had to return my cable company's Moxi DVR. At my new place I will probably sign up with Dish or DirectTV, but with the new fall network programming starting next week, I figured I might be able to get some DVR functionality using my new PC (After being re-acquainted with the horrors of programming the VCR!)

So I'm looking for DVR functionality for OTA HDTV signals. My PC specs:
Intel E7200
4 GB RAM
64-bit Vista Home Premium SP1 (which includes media center)
GeForce 9600GT (no built-in tuner)

So do I just need to add a tuner card? (and maybe a remote?)

I saw some "Pinnacle PCTV" products at Best Buy, but they don't appear to have the best reputation on these boards.
Some of the AverMedia products have been recommended here, this one comes with a remote and seems useful.

Is this the kind of product I should be looking for?

Will this do everything I'm used to from my cable company's DVR? (Timeshifting, pause, commercial skip, etc.) What about dual-tuner functions? (Recording two show simultaneously, or watching one live show while recording another?) Or does that require a higher-end card?

Thanks for your advice for a newbie!

post #2 of 5

9/19/08 at 2:46pm

ilovejedd
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Quote:

Originally Posted by MegaTrain

So I'm looking for DVR functionality for OTA HDTV signals. My PC specs:
Intel E7200
4 GB RAM
64-bit Vista Home Premium SP1 (which includes media center)
GeForce 9600GT (no built-in tuner)

So do I just need to add a tuner card? (and maybe a remote?)

Yes. You don't actually need a remote. You can just use your keyboard/mouse to control Vista MC, but having one sure is convenient.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MegaTrain

Some of the AverMedia products have been recommended here, this one comes with a remote and seems useful.

Is this the kind of product I should be looking for?

Will this do everything I'm used to from my cable company's DVR? (Timeshifting, pause, commercial skip, etc.) What about dual-tuner functions? (Recording two show simultaneously, or watching one live show while recording another?) Or does that require a higher-end card?

Thanks for your advice for a newbie!

The Avermedia card you mentioned can only do one analog and one digital signal simultaneously. If you want two digital channels simultaneously and have no need for analog, I highly recommend the network-based SiliconDust HDHomeRun, albeit it doesn't have a remote included. Normal price is $170 but a couple of days ago, there was a coupon available from Newegg which brought down the price to $138.99. It's what I use.

If you think you'll subscribe to cable and might need an analog tuner, then there's the Hauppauge HVR-2250. It comes in two packages, white box (tuner only) and MCE bundle (w/MCE remote and IR receiver). One problem/feature with the HVR-2250 is that it has a built-in splitter and only has one input for TV. Therefore, using one tuner for QAM (digital cable) and one for ATSC (digital OTA) is not possible.

post #3 of 5

9/20/08 at 9:05am

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Thanks, ilovejedd, that's good information.

The HVR-2250 looks interesting, but isn't currently in stock, so I'm leaning toward the AverMedia with the remote.

Are these USB units any good? (I kind of like the idea of being able to throw this on my laptop for a business trip). Or do they have many disadvantages compared to the PCI-Express one I mentioned originally?

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9/20/08 at 10:43am

ilovejedd
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I don't have one but you can find a review here. Looks pretty good. Reviews on Newegg look pretty favorable, too.

Only disadvantage I can think of (other than the lack of remote) is the lack of hardware MPEG2 encoder - not really a consideration if you're only doing digital OTA (ATSC). Hmm, it's easily disconnected if someone accidentally pulls the coax cable?