What's a tv tuner?

[super_rip]

Hey can anyone tell me what this does?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-116-312&depa=0

what about this one?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-100-118&depa=0

Basically, I want to watch cable tv on my computer :) (i have comcast cable) SO which one should I buy? I don't want free tv with the antenna and stuff, only comcast cable which I already have. Thanks for your help!

[RJ]

A TV tuner is a receiver for TV signals. Basically the same thing that you have inside your TV, just for the PC.
That way you can record TV to hard drive.

Dunno about comcast, but if it is analog cable, then any analog TV card will be fine.

RJ

[ComputerNut]

If you want decent quality and save a couple bucks, the the ATi TV Wonder should do you good. But i dont like their software, if you want a cool interface to record your shows, then get Beyond TV, its worked wonders for me since I first tried it. If you want a more higher quality TV tuner card, then youll have to spend some more cash. I dunno how good the ATi elite ones are, so somebody will have to fill in that peice of info :D

HTH,
CN :)

[super_rip]

hey thanks for the quick replies. When you say bad or good "quality" does this mean the reception or just the resolution? My comcast cable comes through a coax cable I think.

[ComputerNut]

It could be one, the other or both. In alot of cases, cheaper TV Tuner cards mean lower recpetion quality. ie, the colors could be off, the graphics wont be so smooth as a TV, etc. Also some tv tuner cards, like the ATi TV Wonder VE, only operate in mono, so if you want pure stereo sound, id stay away from such low end cards. Also one thought to consider is use high quality coax cable, it really helps inprove reception before going into the card. I should probably replace the ones in my whole house soon :D

HTH,
CN :)

[PMich]

I've been working on an extensive post on this subject for a while because this question pops up a lot. From the research I've done it appears that money spent on the card is directly correlated with the quality of the card. I know that sounds like a brilliant deduction but it results in about 3 or 4 levels of cards available, IMO. If quality is not a concern then one of the bottom end $30 cards will work (e.g., ATI TV Wonder VE). My first tuner card was a TV Wonder VE and I still have it because I refuse to sell it and subject anyone else to the pain of owning this card. If you are wanted a little more quality, expect to spend $50-90 (ATI TV Wonder PRO, Leadtek Winfast 2000 Series, Hauppage 150, etc.). I now use a Leadtek Winfast 2000XP and it is serviceable but could certainly be better. DTV and HDTV tuners start at $130-150 and go up from there. I am planning to go to the ATI TV wonder Elite as soon as the driver issues are worked out (see below).

There are a lot of cards most would consider to be garbage out there so it definitely pays to do your homework. The quality of card you need also depends somewhat on your use of it. If you are trying to use your monitor as a TV in fullscreen like I do, you need to be in the middle quality category at a minimum. If you are keeping a small window open in the corner of your screen while you work, one of the lower end cards may be sufficient.

From what I've gathered, the most important piece of the whole thing is the hardware mpeg encoder. An MPEG2 encoder will give you a much better quality image that uses up a lot less resources than an MPEG encoder that has to use a software codec to get to MPEG2. The specs will tell you what chipset is being used and you can google it to find the specs. Be careful with this because many cards claim to be MPEG2 but actually use an MPEG encoder and software codecs to get to MPEG2.

As a general rule, PCI cards seem to be better than USB tuners. Besides who needs more stuff sitting on their desk. Not this guy.

As far as the ATI TV Wonder Elite is concerned, I think it's going to be an excellent card six months down the road when they get some of the driver issues resolved (I'm a proponent and long time user of ATI products and driver issues with the new chipset didn't suprise me). It uses the Theater 550 chipset that is supposed to be DTV compatible and looks nice when it's working.

[super_rip]

Hey thanks for your reply. I've been looking around the web and (especially newegg) and here's a couple cards I've been considering. I am more of a full screen tv person so i guess i'll have to go with the high end cards.

this one's pretty expensive:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-116-310&depa=0

Then there's this one:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-127-001&depa=0


Can any of you reccomend a better card out there, and which one is the better buy between these two? I'm also planning on buying some good quality cable as well as a cable splitter. Another thing: A video capture would be nice. I think that both of these cards are able to do that. Thanks again for helping me out I'm always trying new things :)

[PMich]

The first card is a HD card. If you already have HD coming in then it's not a problem but most satellite and cable providers offer premium HD packages that cost money if you are not going to get good aerial reception from your locl networks.

The second card is a dual tuner from a brand I've never heard of so I'm not much help there. The dual tuner lets you record two channels at once or record one, watch one. If you need that, then I don't see a problem but it may be overkill.

You may want to take a look at the Hauppage cards. I've never owned one but I have heard/read many good things about them.

[super_rip]

here's one that I found on newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-116-602&depa=0

Is that a good one? It's out of stock but i did the auto notify thingy. Well i'm going to keep looking!

**edit i'm going with this one. thanks for your help everyone


http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=15-116-609&depa=1

[PMich]

You should be very happy with that card.

[reboot]

The 350 is a great card. I'm running dual 250's on GB-PVR and love the versatility.
Get a good TV out video card, and pipe your timeshifted stuff to the TV. :D