[ramsfan1980]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a USB HDTV Tuner. I am running MCE 2005 and don't have room for an additional internal card. Are the external cards as good as the internal? Any input much appreciated.

 

[Suntan]

I only have experience with the Vbox 3560 USB2 tuner (I use 2 of them with Sage).


They do what they say they do and the drivers are easy to install. Tuning-wise, they are as good as or better than my MyHD 130.


Be aware that if your mobo does not supply enough juice over the 5V USB connection it can cause stuttering, very hard to diagnose if you don't already know about it as it looks just like gfx/cpu underpowered problems. Easily solved with a $20 powered USB hub. My current HTPC needed the powered hub, although my old HTPC and my laptop do not. From what I read, this is not isolated to the Vbox, but any tuner that relies on USB buss power can have this problem if the mobo doesn't have robust 5V supply.


-Suntan