How Do You Get a Tv Tuner

[Rikkai]

I have an Inspiron 1525 by Dell and was wondering how do I know which TV
Tuner to get or who do I get it from-del or Mircrosoft? Also, is it possible
to have someone watch TV on the actual TV while I can watch a separate
program on my computer?

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

There are many TV turners, but the ones that run Media Center are limited to
just a few. The cards have their own receiver, as does the TV, so separate
programs are possible.
Which one is recommended for Media Center is a subject of extended debate on
the main MCE board.
The Green Button - Your Media Center Community: http://thegreenbutton.com/
--
Please use the Communities guidelines when posting.
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Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Here is an example of what you'll need, offered by Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8759257&type=product&id=1202650464330

Q. Is it possible to have someone watch TV on the actual TV while I can watch a separate program on my computer?

A. Yes.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------

:

I have an Inspiron 1525 by Dell and was wondering how do I know which TV
Tuner to get or who do I get it from-del or Mircrosoft? Also, is it possible
to have someone watch TV on the actual TV while I can watch a separate
program on my computer?

 

[John Barnett MVP]

Yes you can have someone watch TV while you are actually watching a TV
programme on your computer. I have a desktop PC is my room with a TV tuner,
my brother has a laptop in his room with a TV tuner and the main TV is
downstairs and we all watch different programmes.

I have found that Hauppauge TV tuners are the best. I run WinTV Nova T USB
(I'm in the UK incidentally) on Vista Ultimate. I don't use the Hauppauge
interface, simply because Vista Ultimate has Windows Media Center - this TV
tuner works well on my machine; however other people may have alternative
suggestions.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

 

[KDE]

be careful if you are in the US to get a card that receives digital signal.
Stations are required to stop broadcasting analog signal in February leaving
old analog cards obsolete, unless you use a converter box or cable box.

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

I have found that Hauppauge TV tuners are the best.

Well, they are far from it really. Hauppauge cards still use old fashioned
can tuners, which are far less sensitive than silicon tuners. I have tried
a twin tuner NovaT-500, and I could not get good Freeview reception in the
flat I was living in at the time (lots of blocky artifacts in some weather
conditions).

On recommendation from a guy who specialises in building and selling parts
for very expensive HTPC systems, I bought a Black Gold twin tuner hybrid
card (two digital/analogue tuners), and I got a perfect picture. I even
tried out the HD test broadcasts that the BBC did from Crystal Palace last
year, although the CPU usage was high, as it would be. Black Gold have a
much better reputation for their drivers as well.

I bought the (now superceded) GDI3520 in late 2006. I have just noticed
that it has been replaced with an even better card with a powerful hardware
encoder, for realtime compression. I doubt the encoder would work with
Vista's Media Centre though.

http://shop.blackgold.tv/

ss.

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

There are many TV turners, but the ones that run Media Center are limited
to just a few.

I would think that almost all recently released (last couple of years) TV
cards would have the required BDA drivers. Just about all digital TV cards
should have them, and analogue TV cards need to have an onboard hardware
MPEG2 encoder to be Media Centre compliant. Digital cards do not need them,
as digital TV is already broadcast in MPEG2, like DVDs, so will not tax the
CPU while recording.

ss.

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

I have just noticed that it has been replaced with an even better card
with a powerful hardware encoder, for realtime compression. I doubt the
encoder would work with Vista's Media Centre though.

I have just been reading about Windows Fiji - Windows Media Center TV Pack
2008. This should be good. For me, Vista's Media Centre is the most
tangible improvement over XP by far.

ss.

 

[Dyndrilliac]

The Lumanate TVT8 Wave ATSC/NTSC Combo TV Tuner that Dell ships as an addon
to their systems is nice. I added one to my system when I bought my Dell
Inspiron 1520 last December and am very happy with it. It gets both analog
(NTSC) and digital (ATSC) signals, and has hardware based MPEG-2 encoding
DVR support. It uses a USB 2.0 interface, and meshes well with Windows Vista
Media Center. I recommend that if you don't already have a cable or
satellite provider that you also get a high quality antenna (any amplified
digital antenna with a gain of about 10db or higher should work), because I
found that my old rabbit ears didn't pick up digital signals very well.

Here is a link to the product page at Lumanate's website, it has a user's
guide and technical specifications. You should be able to order it from
Dell, or if not from them, from Lumanate directly.

Lumanate TVT8 Wave product page:
http://www.lumanate.com/aspx/sptwaveatsc.aspx