[mrpink]

Hi,


I need a good TV tuner that takes regular cable in and gives me good video (interlaced or progressive) and separate audio out. I'm looking for a much higher quality unit than the viewsonic nextvision boxes. Have Vidikron, Runco or such companies ever made such a TV tuner/processor?

 

[Huey]

How about JVC SVHS VCR with Svideo out ($200) or digital cable box with Svideo out and combine with Iscan HD ($1500)?


HTPC and SVHS VCR or digital cable box with a good capture card (Connexant CX23881 or Philips SAA134 chipset)and Dscaler also works very well.

 

[flyingvee]

Huey - have you tried the jvc? only ask, cuz I had considered the same solution, but then read quite a few poor reviews of it; - at least all the people who bothered to review it disliked it. I would love to replace my existing vcr, but don't want to pay for a sammy 165.


thanks

 

[Huey]

 http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...ures/473179805 ($150 shipped new, $89 shipped refurb w/ 90d warranty at Ecost) was what I had in mind. $200 was just a guess but price has dropped from last I remembered. JVC SVHS range from $80 for 2902 all the way to 9911 for $400. Of course for $500 you can have a DVHS deck which has Svideo out for TV tuning, records HDTV via firewire from HTPC/HDTV cards or newest HDTV STB, backward compatible with VHS/SVHS, has TBC/digital enhancement, also plus ability to play DVHS tapes ($30 a pop for true 1080i HD videos). The more expensive VCR's have better features such as Time Base Corrector for more stable playback and flying erase head for smoother video editing with smoother transitions.
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/im...4129/image.gif
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/pro...HRS5902-b.jpeg


I have the cheaper version (3902 and it's much better than plain composite VCR for SDTV tuning and certainly beat my TV tuner card or VB50HRTV (too slow on changin channel and poorer video quality). Svideo gives a sharper SDTV output for a good scaler or video capture card on HTPC (I use CX23881 HTPC Svideo capture card and Dscaler software and AVT-3700 $400 scaler). I'm sure better scalers like Iscan HD will do wonder for SDTV but it's highly dependent on channel strength and cable quality (digital cable is more compressed and may not appear as good as analog cable).

 

[JPinTO]

Or try a DVD recorder like the Panasonics or Pioneers.

 

[flyingvee]

thanks Huey - they HAVE always looked tempting; if you say they work, will give it a try. have been watching analog cable thru an Iscan Pro, then CRT, and on good channels, it doesn't look bad. will be curious to see how S-vid looks.


JP - don't want to spend the bucks for the DVD recorder, just for the tuner. the Teac in my PC does a marvelous job for 179 bucks (of DVD recording, that is.)

 

[Slonk]

Yeah,


Needed a tuner too, after bying a panasonic SD plasma. My JVC XV-DDV1 was not 'up-level', and provided a very soft picture, bleh (apart from not having RGB or Component). So i tried a Panny DRM-E85 DVD/HD recorder. The tuner is very good, about as good as an HTPC with Compro (Philips SAA7134) DScaler combination.

 

[JasG]

I don't use it any longer, but Sony sold (via pro dealers) an NTSC tuner - ST-92TV some years ago. It went with their studio monitors. You might look for one of those.

 

[theBlaze74]

Huey,


I'm looking for a new PCI TV card also. The one I have has some herringbone artifacts. What makes you prefer the (Connexant CX23881 or Philips SAA134 chipsets)?


Also, how does the hardware line doubler / scaler look in comparison to DScaler?

 

[Huey]

Both chipsets are touted as cleanest Svideo/composite capture cards for under $100 ($35-50 mostly) and are Dscaler compatible. The older BT878 chipset works with Dscaler but is noisier on Svideo/composite capture. Some cards come with TV tuners built-in but I recommend using a VCR (JVC SVHS is better than plain VHS due to Svideo output and the more expensive SVHS has Time Base Corrector and better tuners than the cheaper ones--there are other SVHS brands but I favor JVC for its low cost/quality ratio). Built-in tuners generally can't compete with external tuners in VCRs for less electrical noise, channel change responsiveness, HIFI audio, and (S)VHS playback ability.


Some are having good luck with HDTV or hardware compressing capture cards for their Svideo/composite capture.


STB scalers like IscanHD can do wonders but will cost you $1500. Other scalers like Lumagen Vision or Focus Enhancement CS-HD for $1K are very good also. If you want to spend less Zinwell Briteview/AVT-3700/AVT-3800 can offer you decent scaling for $400-500. The HDTV upconverter is pretty good too for $500-600. If you want ultra cheap scalers ($150-200), check out the Viewsonic Nextvision 6 or those that use the Trident DPTV 3DPro chipset (S-media EZV-BOX http://www.coolerexpress.com/sez3dtvpd.html --same chipset in the Zinwell/AVT series without the component inputs and has VGA output only (no component output like Zinwell/AVT). The Smedia unit probably does not do anamorphic squeeze for anamorphic STB DVD player input, but some PJ can do the squeeze via VGA input (not sure if yours does but for TV or VHS which is nonanamorphic so probably not important). It also may have Macrovision issues but for TV it's again not important. For VHS/DVD this may be a slight problem (very mild light/dark pulsing every 3-4 seconds).


For DVD it's hard to beat HTPC but some have gone for the upconverting DVD players like Momitsu V880 for 1080i/720p via component/VGA/DVI or Zenith DVB318 1080i/720p via component. From my own experience, DVB318 1080i works great with my XGA DLP via component.


http://www.s-media.com/products/mult...x/ezv3dpro.jpg