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I need a suggestion for a tv tuner. I want to be able to record clear QAM signal. What is the advantage of HD homerun beside it is a network based?
tv tuner suggestion
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what OS are you planning on using?
The advantage of the hd homerun was mainly to get QAM in pre 7MC, you needed tv pack with Vista to even have a shot.
Now that win 7 is here you should be able to use any qam capable tuner card, i have two hauppage 1250 and they work great.
what OS are you planning on using?
The advantage of the hd homerun was mainly to get QAM in pre 7MC, you needed tv pack with Vista to even have a shot.
Now that win 7 is here you should be able to use any qam capable tuner card, i have two hauppage 1250 and they work great.
The purpose of HD Homerun to get QAM on the PC is only partially true. The real reason for HD Homerun is to be able to record HD from your cable STB HD box over component up to 1080i. This means you can record encrypted HD channels from your cable company.
If you only care about being able to record local HD channels over clear QAM, then look at the internal AverMedia A188. It's a Dual QAM Tuner for only $60.
If you want to be able to record encrypted HD, then get a HD Homerun and the Aver A188. This way you have 1 tuner to record encrypted HD and 2 tuners to record OTA local channels. Another issue with HD Homerun is you can't use Media Center to display the channels from the STB. In other words, if yu want to watch live TV from your STB you'll have to hook it up to your TV and change the source. The HD Homerun can only record from the STB, it can't stream the video live from STB to the PC.
If you only care about being able to record local HD channels over clear QAM, then look at the internal AverMedia A188. It's a Dual QAM Tuner for only $60.
If you want to be able to record encrypted HD, then get a HD Homerun and the Aver A188. This way you have 1 tuner to record encrypted HD and 2 tuners to record OTA local channels. Another issue with HD Homerun is you can't use Media Center to display the channels from the STB. In other words, if yu want to watch live TV from your STB you'll have to hook it up to your TV and change the source. The HD Homerun can only record from the STB, it can't stream the video live from STB to the PC.
Joined
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405 Posts
i'll be using win 7
Did the aver a 188 record the HD signal in 1080i? How is the picture quality compare to HD homerun and Hauppauge? thanks
i'll be using win 7
Did the aver a 188 record the HD signal in 1080i? How is the picture quality compare to HD homerun and Hauppauge? thanks
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2,803 Posts
I have an HDHomeRun and it's an excellent solution for OTA. The fact that it's in a separate box gives you a couple different advantages.
1: Any machine with enough horsepower and access to the network. Ethernet maybe Wireless N can watch Live TV output. This is pretty cool if you want more than one PC to have the ability to tune into the HD stream. It is also helpful for having a backup system. If your main HTPC goes down, you could still record that favorite show on another PC without taking the main PC apart. Also you could have a laptop record the shows where on a PCI-E card you're limited to a PC with an open slot.
2: Less heat/interference: Your HTPC box can become a crowed place very quickly. Having the tuner in a separate box saves on space and reduces heat. One less card to deal with.
3: Freedom of location. With the HDHomeRun separate from your HTPC you have more freedom to move the box around when trying to get the best signal. If you don't have the best OTA signal or you don't have a mondo antenna this can be very helpful.
4: You get 2 tuners. yes, there are other cards that do the same, but it's still cool that you get 2 in one box.
There are a couple of Con to the HDHomeRun.
1: You really need a wired ethernet setup. If you have it, that's great. Wireless just isn't going to cut it because there's always the invariable drop in signal.
2: It eats up bandwidth. 1 HD stream takes up ~ 20Mbps 2 take ~40Mbps, that's almost half the capacity of a 100 base T line. Depends on how much traffic you have on your network.
3: 69 Channel limit, I haven't been looking at the latests software upgrades since I'm on Win7, but last I checked, it can only tune up to channel 69 which can be an issue for channels beyond a QAM signal. I do OTA, this hasn't been an issue, but can see how it would be real disappointing for someone trying to catch Clear QAM.
4: Not the best signal strength: I also have an Avermedia PCI-E Combo. This thing is hooked up to a weenie antenna and gets as good a signal as my HDHomeRun on a much nicer antenna. I'd say the signal is about as strong as the internal OTA in my Dish ViP 722, but it's not fantastic.
I've been pretty happy with mine. Having a 3 tuner system pretty much covers my network primetime needs
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I might need one more but pretty happy in the experimental phase.
Mike
I have an HDHomeRun and it's an excellent solution for OTA. The fact that it's in a separate box gives you a couple different advantages.
1: Any machine with enough horsepower and access to the network. Ethernet maybe Wireless N can watch Live TV output. This is pretty cool if you want more than one PC to have the ability to tune into the HD stream. It is also helpful for having a backup system. If your main HTPC goes down, you could still record that favorite show on another PC without taking the main PC apart. Also you could have a laptop record the shows where on a PCI-E card you're limited to a PC with an open slot.
2: Less heat/interference: Your HTPC box can become a crowed place very quickly. Having the tuner in a separate box saves on space and reduces heat. One less card to deal with.
3: Freedom of location. With the HDHomeRun separate from your HTPC you have more freedom to move the box around when trying to get the best signal. If you don't have the best OTA signal or you don't have a mondo antenna this can be very helpful.
4: You get 2 tuners. yes, there are other cards that do the same, but it's still cool that you get 2 in one box.
There are a couple of Con to the HDHomeRun.
1: You really need a wired ethernet setup. If you have it, that's great. Wireless just isn't going to cut it because there's always the invariable drop in signal.
2: It eats up bandwidth. 1 HD stream takes up ~ 20Mbps 2 take ~40Mbps, that's almost half the capacity of a 100 base T line. Depends on how much traffic you have on your network.
3: 69 Channel limit, I haven't been looking at the latests software upgrades since I'm on Win7, but last I checked, it can only tune up to channel 69 which can be an issue for channels beyond a QAM signal. I do OTA, this hasn't been an issue, but can see how it would be real disappointing for someone trying to catch Clear QAM.
4: Not the best signal strength: I also have an Avermedia PCI-E Combo. This thing is hooked up to a weenie antenna and gets as good a signal as my HDHomeRun on a much nicer antenna. I'd say the signal is about as strong as the internal OTA in my Dish ViP 722, but it's not fantastic.
I've been pretty happy with mine. Having a 3 tuner system pretty much covers my network primetime needs
Mike
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2,803 Posts
The Avermedia tuner and as far as I know, all HD tuners just pick the signal as it is from OTA and passes the stream to your PC. That means the picture should theoretically be the same for any HD tuner card.
Where the tuners really differ have to do with the following:
1: Support, are they supported by the app. you plan to use it with? Are the drivers decent?
2: Signal strength. This is the biggie, no use for a tuner if it can't catch the full signal. This is why Avermedia is very popular. It's a bare bones piece of hardware, but has the goods to deliver a good strong signal. All you need a the software. BTW the software they included is pretty much garbage.
Mike
The Avermedia tuner and as far as I know, all HD tuners just pick the signal as it is from OTA and passes the stream to your PC. That means the picture should theoretically be the same for any HD tuner card.
Where the tuners really differ have to do with the following:
1: Support, are they supported by the app. you plan to use it with? Are the drivers decent?
2: Signal strength. This is the biggie, no use for a tuner if it can't catch the full signal. This is why Avermedia is very popular. It's a bare bones piece of hardware, but has the goods to deliver a good strong signal. All you need a the software. BTW the software they included is pretty much garbage.
Mike
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405 Posts
If I use win 7, would I still need the software? I thought that the windows 7 media center would handle all the recording and playing?
If I use win 7, would I still need the software? I thought that the windows 7 media center would handle all the recording and playing?
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That's correct. All you need is the driver and I think Win7 will even do that for you automagically.
I'm advising not to bother with the Avermedia software, go straight to MC
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That's correct. All you need is the driver and I think Win7 will even do that for you automagically.
I'm advising not to bother with the Avermedia software, go straight to MC
Win7 does have Aver drivers in the Windows Update section.
And on the recording @ 1080i question, it comes down to the source. Some networks broadcast in 720p while others 1080i. All HD tuners will record up to 1080i. All HD is in mpeg2 format already, so quality won't really be different between different tuners, as they don't decode the signal - it's just captured as-is. The difference will be in signal strength and compatability, as previously mentioned.
And on the recording @ 1080i question, it comes down to the source. Some networks broadcast in 720p while others 1080i. All HD tuners will record up to 1080i. All HD is in mpeg2 format already, so quality won't really be different between different tuners, as they don't decode the signal - it's just captured as-is. The difference will be in signal strength and compatability, as previously mentioned.
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