Suggestion for TV Tuners

Neo_peter · Feb 10, 2005

Anyone have any experience with TV tuners? I got the first ATI TV wonder USB back in the day and the picture quality sucked. The drivers always crashed (this is with ati graphics cards too). Overall it was a horrible experience. I'm considering getting another one, I was wondering if anyone have any suggestion for one that has good picture quality. So that it doesn't look like I'm watching a snow storm when the setting of the show is a Californian beach.

Super Nintendo · Feb 10, 2005

I've heard the Kworld Creator TV–MCE 200 Deluxe is a nice tv tuner. It also has FM also. It runs for about 100 dollars and you can get it at newegg with some reviews too.

here is the site http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-100-130&depa=0

dicecca112 · Feb 10, 2005

Hauppauge 150 or 250mce

apunkrockmonk · Feb 10, 2005

Leadtek Winfast TV2000 Expert is a much cheaper solution.

No hardware encoder so you can use it you play video games if you wish.

I have it and it works wonderfully.

mblue · Feb 10, 2005

Leadtek is good. I have an ATI tv wonder pro and it works fine.

Dermen · Feb 10, 2005

Hauppauge PVR-150

dicecca112 · Feb 10, 2005

Hauppauge 150 or 250mce

Neo_peter · Feb 14, 2005

I think I'd rather have something with a Hardware encoder just so that it takes some load off my cpu. What's the difference between the Hauppauge 150 and 250MCE?

juliendogg · Feb 14, 2005

think the 250 has both hardware encoding and hardware decoding, while the 150 is hardware encoding only and decoding is done with cpu or video card. I could be mistaken, i'm a bit sickly today :|

J.

lilxvietxboi · Feb 14, 2005

150 is the newer version, but I like the 250 better.

The 250 is the most used/recommended tv tuner thats out there. (The NF7-S of Tv tuners)

Enigma422 · Feb 14, 2005

If you're going to get a seperate TV turner card then I would get something that has a built-in hardware decoder. As for a brand of card Hauppauge makes some of the best turner cards in the market, any of the models suggested by others should suit your needs.

Dermen · Feb 14, 2005

When rumors of the a PVR-150 series spread around the HTPC community we all wondered what is was, the lower model number made it sound like it was a feature reduced PVR-250. Well as the details of the PVR-150 and its' dual capture big brother the PVR-500 came out it became apparent that Hauppauge had simply refined the PVR-250 design. Thanks to the march of technology what once took separate audio and video digital-to-analog converter chips could now be done in one audio and video A/D chip, thereby simplifying the PVR-150's design. This meant the PVR-150 could be made for less money, and in turn the savings are passed on to us the consumer. What was more, the new A/D chip had better specifications, so the image quality of the PVR-150 actually had a shot at not just equaling the "gold standard" of the PVR-250 but being somewhat better. So the "150" in the model number didn't refer to feature loss, but it was more likely the "150" was meant to convey value, the 150 costs less then the 250.

Taken from HTPC News

The one they reviewed is the LP MCE version. By the way if you want a remote for it don't get an MCE edition, they don't come with remotes since they assume you will have the MCE remote.

electric sheep · Feb 15, 2005

ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro works great for me!

TheGreySpectre · Feb 16, 2005

well it also depends how much you want to spend, the ATI HDTVwonders are pretty cool but kind of spendy

I like my value edition ATI TV Wonder, but I bought it for $15, so i cant complain

sharkmont · Feb 17, 2005

I've heard marvelous thing about the Hauppauge line of cards. The ATIs have also had good things said about them. Another thing to think about is maybe if you're really into it getting dual tuners - so you can watch one program and record a different one at the same time. With HDTV just around the corner for most of us, it might be wise too also look into that type of card but it might be a little to pricey as of now for most people.

Dermen · Feb 17, 2005

Hauppauge PVR-500 has dual tuners. I have no idea how much it costs though, probably a lot.

Suggestion for TV Tuners

Neo_peter

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Super Nintendo

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dicecca112

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apunkrockmonk

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mblue

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Dermen

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dicecca112

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Neo_peter

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juliendogg

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lilxvietxboi

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Enigma422

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Dermen

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electric sheep

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TheGreySpectre

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sharkmont

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