Which HDTV tuner card is perferred?

There is no universally "preferred" card here.

Search for 'Fusion' and 'MyHD' those are the ones that will give you QAM. Also search for 'Unencrypted QAM' to learn that not all QAm channels can be tuned.

Finally, search for 'cablecard' to learn that Vista will p[robably cause big changes in the way people tune digital cable, but it is still pretty much up in the air right now.

btw, welcome to the forums.

-Suntan

Anandtech likes it when computer components make games play with higher fps. If the component doesn't do that, they find it less than favorable...

IE: Get reveiws from sites that specialize in the subject you are looking at. Same reason you go to Consumer Reports when you want a quick rundown on a new refrigerator, but not a high end computer.

getting PIP to show TV while doing computer stuff shouldn't be a probablem. I currently have a STB HD tuner and I PIP that if I want to switch over quickly during a commercal to check on what the computer is doing.

Alternatively, any PVR/TV program you use with your HD (computer) tuner supports windowing. You can just window the output to the computer screen and not even bother with your TVs PIP function.

-Suntan

I recommend not buying anything too far in advance. And go cheap. Things are changing, prices dropping. Think of everything as being old school in 6 months with HDCP, HD-DVD/Blu-ray, Vista, OCUR coming on line.

For the price, the Westy is awesome, but by June 2007, who knows. Prices are dropping fast and lots of sets coming out.

Highly recommend going the Windows MCE route. I've tried a lot of programs, MCE seems to be the best. If you're just getting into it now, wait for Vista.

Wait for OCUR, cablecard for Vista, if you want HD cable. OCUR requires the whole box be certified I think, not a do-it-yourself kind of thing. Basicly a new computer from a certified vendor.

HD OTA is very nice, but you'll need a good antenna. For OTA only, Vbox Cat's Eye 150 is the way to go. Avermedia A180 is good too, though multipath might be an issue. I've had suspend/resume problems with the Fusion. For me, HD OTA covers most of my viewing, but I hear Battlestar Galatica is way cool. You'll probably need two HDTV tuners.

With QAM, most of the time you only get the OTA channels. The premium content is usual encrypted. It may vary by location.

SD TV sucks. Go HD or go read a book. But you might still need an analog tuner for various reasons. MCE 2005 requires an analog tuner for TV functionality, Vista does not. Currently, for the most part, you can only connect to your STB using the analog tuner. Some OTA content only comes on analog. My PBS, for example, has different programming on analog and digital. I like the Hauppauge 150 MCE. The ATI Theater 550 Pro has low volume issues and is slow changing channels. And again you might need two tuners.

In reference to that link, please refer to the comments proceeding this post.

Just for your information, there's a new cheap set top box hdtv tuner on the market now with a 5th generation tuner that's getting good reviews and does enough to sell out everywhere. Even if you have a HTPC, you may find this useful somewhere.

Samsung DTB-H260F

http://www.samsung.com/Products/Digi...B_H260FXAA.asp

You can download the owner's manual.

AVS Forum Thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post8513021

Just out of curiosity, what makes you think the OnAir is a better choice than any other tuner (for the purpose of multitasking while watching TV onscreen)?

I haven't looked through the various links that have been provided in this thread, but to my knowldege the OnAir does not do anything that any other tuner/software combo can't do (again pertaining to multitasking).

-Suntan

[quote=fatbadger]I For OTA only, Vbox Cat's Eye 150 is the way to go. QUOTE]

I got this card and although the reception is good (with very larger antenna) - I am not getting HDTV like recording quality with Sage of Beyond TV.

I want to record on the pc and playback with a JVC Linkplayer DVI out at 720p.

The normally stellar DVI output on TS files is not up to par with what its supposed to be - what am I missing beyond the normal video quality settings in the software?

My understanding of the OnAir HDTV GT's purpose is to view cable based HD through QAM and the rest of the channels on the digital cable. OTA HD doesnt use QAM so why use this card for it?

ATI's 650 is great for both OTA HD and local cable access. It has two ports. I'll have to say the ATI's video is much cleaner than the GT's.

I own both ATI 650 and the OnAir GT.

these receivers don't do ANYTHING to the quality of the video (barring signal drops/gliches).... the ATSC broadcasts are mpeg encoded transport streams, the receiver simply copies them to your harddrive.... any quality differences noted are in the playback chain, not the recording chain....

This cannot be 100% true.
Certainly I am NOT seeing the quality on playback that I see when watching live - no way.
Setting the card and Sage TV to "best" for example or setting deinterlacing to happen seems to have made a huge impact on recorded files played back from another device. I am still working with it since I am new and really not sure what the issue is.

Maybe I missed it, but I don't think anyone's mentioned the HD Homerun. I think it's very difficult to argue that it's not the best, assuming you want the ability to record OTA or QAM, and use Myth or Sage (MCE support will probably follow).

Two tuners and connects through your network, which avoids any issues of PCI or USB.

"This cannot be 100% true.
Certainly I am NOT seeing the quality on playback that I see when watching live - no way."

what do you mean by "live". If you mean viewing on a TV with no computer involved, the the difference is in the computers playback decoding and scaling of the recorded live program...



PS... it is 100% true....

To be precise, the part that is 100% true is that ATSC programming, in already compressed digital form, can be streamed to disk (recorded) and read back/played back with quality that is indistinguishable from live broadcasts.

What is also 100% true is that analog NTSC broadcasts that are recorded and played back must undergo analog-to-digital conversion that very definately degrades the image, resuling in playback being degraded versus the live signal. It's not even close.

Sometimes the SAME tuner card has both analog NTSC and digital ATSC tuners on it, but only the ATSC recordings display the desired lossless recording performance.

Gary

"resuling in playback being degraded versus the live signal. It's not even close"

regarding NTSC, I was with you until I got the Saber2020.... I cannot vouch for it's rf tuner inputs, which have not been well commented on, but via s-video from my two cable boxes I am EXTREMELY impressed with the virtually undetectable loss on recording !!!

S-video!! Give me a break,

wb

"S-video!! Give me a break,"

.... ummmm... and your suggestion for getting SD TV into your computer would be ????

Maybe he prefers RG-6.