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USB Stick Tuner Help

post #1 of 12
4/6/09 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 
I have looked all over this forum and tried the search method but still can't seem to find a clear answer. I saw a video on Youtube where a guy was doing an istall of a Wintv usb stick tuner and he was able to set that up to record 2 shows at once. I'm not sure how that is possible since it only has one connection. Can anyone tell me if they make an USB tuner stick that allows you to record 2 shows at once. or at the very least allows you to record one show while watching another at the same time. Any help is greatly appreciated.
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post #2 of 12
4/6/09 at 12:39pm
Thread Starter 
anyone have any helpful idea at all? is there an external dual tuner ( USB, stick or no stick ) on the market that will allow me to record 2 channels at the same time?
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post #3 of 12
4/6/09 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by smallhometheater View Post

anyone have any helpful idea at all? is there an external dual tuner ( USB, stick or no stick ) on the market that will allow me to record 2 channels at the same time?

are you sure it was real? i don't think that's possible.
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post #4 of 12
4/6/09 at 1:27pm
Thread Starter 
I guess I'm not completely sure it's real, I didn't know how it could be done either. I just remember seeing the video of how he went into the set up menu and showed two tuners and he recorded two channels at once. I guess at this point I'm wondering if there is a tuner out there that can be plugged in USB that has two tuners. Doesn't have to be a stick form factor. I think I have decided to loose the cable box altogther and save some money. I think I can get away with just an antenna to watch the local broadcasts of ABC,NBC,CBS but it would be nice to record one show and watch another at the same time.
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post #5 of 12
4/6/09 at 2:02pm
well you CAN install TWO separate tuner cards... or 3 or 4...

you just need a card for each line. I don't believe there is a card that can tune two stations with only one line input.

you could get a dual tuner card, but it has two line inputs.
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post #6 of 12
4/6/09 at 2:28pm
If the software supports it, you can record multiple digital channels that are on the same physical channel or frequency.

For instance, my cable company broadcasts CBS and 4 PBS stations on physical channel 71 (frequency 507MHz), so as long as I use software that can do it (like GBPVR), I can record all 5 of those channels using only one tuner.

I can't however record CBS (on channel 71) and NBC (on channel 72) using a single tuner.
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post #7 of 12
4/6/09 at 2:45pm
Ii is real. TV stick has both an anlaog tuner and a digital tuner and like many hybrid or combo tuner it only has one connector. These unit all have an internal splitter whcih supplies the incoming signal to both tuners. Therefore you can can watch with one tuner and record with the other. The disadvantage of these units is that you can not use an antenna with one tuner and cable with the other.
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post #8 of 12
4/6/09 at 2:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by walford View Post

Ii is real. TV stick has both an anlaog tuner and a digital tuner and like many hybrid or combo tuner it only has one connector. These unit all have an internal splitter whcih supplies the incoming signal to both tuners. Therefore you can can watch with one tuner and record with the other. The disadvantage of these units is that you can not use an antenna with one tuner and cable with the other.

Actually, a hybrid tuner can record analog or digital but only one at a time. It is a single tuner that can tune analog or digital but not both at the same time. What you are describing is something like the Hauppauge HVR-2250 where it has a single input that is then internally split to dual hybrid tuners.

The 950Q has a single hybrid tuner so can only record one analog or one digital channel. That digital channel is a physical channel though and may contain multiple digital programs (what we think of as "channels").
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post #9 of 12
4/6/09 at 4:08pm
My mistake I know better I was concerned with helping user's know that many cards with only one connector have an internal splitter to both tuner's. Yes, only with a true combo tuner unit can the two tuners be use concurently and Huppauge does not make a combo tuner USB stick. Possibly the demo scheduled a recording for each of the tuners at different times or when he switched tuners and scheduled the second tuner at the same time WinTV unscheduled the first tuner's recording.
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post #10 of 12
4/6/09 at 4:38pm
I use two USB sticks, usually from Pinnacle. I split the antenna signal with a coax splitter (from Radio Shack or Best Buy).

So I can watch one channel and record another.

With digital TV, the picture is amazing. I shut off cable about a year ago and I've never regretted it. What I miss from cable, I can fill in with Netflix or Internet.
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post #11 of 12
4/7/09 at 1:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jriver View Post

I use two USB sticks, usually from Pinnacle. I split the antenna signal with a coax splitter (from Radio Shack or Best Buy).

So I can watch one channel and record another.

With digital TV, the picture is amazing. I shut off cable about a year ago and I've never regretted it. What I miss from cable, I can fill in with Netflix or Internet.

Thanks for all the input, I guess I'll have to price them out to see what is the best dea, either buy two usb sticks or find an external tuner that has two inputs(like the size of the wintv usb2 unit have but with 2 inputs ) thanks again.
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post #12 of 12
4/7/09 at 3:01pm
There are some USB external tuners with two connectors, one for each tuner, however AFAIK they are still hybrid tuners so both tuners can not be used concurently.
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