Computer TV cards in Europe esp. Portugal

[beenthere]

Hello from Europe,

A few years ago I bought a Hauppauge WinTV - FM NTSC card and it worked
reasonably well on cable in the US. Then I moved to Europe (Portugal)
where
the system is Pal B. Hauppauge told me that Pal B could be received via
the
composite connection but I can't receive anything either on FM radio or
TV.
I scanned all frequencies using DScaler and K!TV and got nothing but
flying
colored spots. It is possible that the TV connection to the roof antenna
may not be good but I have no TV to test it. The FM connection to the roof
antenna does work because I connected it to a separate radio and it
receives
ok.

Apart from connecting a TV to the antenna outlet, is there any other test,
like a multimeter, for example? What would I look for in this case? I
guess
the signals are probably microvolts. I tried millivolts and got no
reading.
The composite connector will be problematic - so many prongs in the plug.

I am also looking at the possibility of buying a new TV card but cannot
find
any good guidance. I looked at tomshardware web site and saw a few reviews
but nothing that excited me. Comments please on the best cards for the PAL
system.

You must have a neighbour, yes ?.
Make friends with them\him\her, and ask them to bring in a television
to try on your aerial, (preferable a small tv <g>.)

 

[RedFox]

Hello from Europe,

A few years ago I bought a Hauppauge WinTV - FM NTSC card and it worked
reasonably well on cable in the US. Then I moved to Europe (Portugal) where
the system is Pal B. Hauppauge told me that Pal B could be received via the
composite connection but I can't receive anything either on FM radio or TV.
I scanned all frequencies using DScaler and K!TV and got nothing but flying
colored spots. It is possible that the TV connection to the roof antenna
may not be good but I have no TV to test it. The FM connection to the roof
antenna does work because I connected it to a separate radio and it receives
ok.

Apart from connecting a TV to the antenna outlet, is there any other test,
like a multimeter, for example? What would I look for in this case? I guess
the signals are probably microvolts. I tried millivolts and got no reading.
The composite connector will be problematic - so many prongs in the plug.

I am also looking at the possibility of buying a new TV card but cannot find
any good guidance. I looked at tomshardware web site and saw a few reviews
but nothing that excited me. Comments please on the best cards for the PAL
system.

TIA

RF

 

[RedFox]

You must have a neighbour, yes ?.
Make friends with them\him\her, and ask them to bring in a television
to try on your aerial, (preferable a small tv <g>.)

Thanks Beenthere. I had thought of that but I know only one neighbour and
she
is away most of the time. Other neighbours are not very friendly.

I'm waiting for her

RF

 

[beenthere]

Thanks Beenthere. I had thought of that but I know only one neighbour and
she
is away most of the time. Other neighbours are not very friendly.

I'm waiting for her

You crafty person <g>. It`s different to asking if you can
borrow a cup of sugar though <G>.
Best of luck.

 

[kony]

Hello from Europe,

A few years ago I bought a Hauppauge WinTV - FM NTSC card and it worked
reasonably well on cable in the US. Then I moved to Europe (Portugal) where
the system is Pal B. Hauppauge told me that Pal B could be received via the
composite connection but I can't receive anything either on FM radio or TV.

What they most likely mean is that you can use the video
capture, composite input to input a Pal B signal that is
already tuned. IOW, if you have a VCR, it's video out to
the card's video-in.

I scanned all frequencies using DScaler and K!TV and got nothing but flying
colored spots. It is possible that the TV connection to the roof antenna
may not be good but I have no TV to test it. The FM connection to the roof
antenna does work because I connected it to a separate radio and it receives
ok.

For quite a few years a different tuner (big rectangular
shielded silver box on the card) was needed for both
locations. The cards would (might) need a different bios
too. The software was often written to support either/both
cards, the user just picked which standard they used at
their location but the product had to have the right (tuner
on the) card per the location.

Apart from connecting a TV to the antenna outlet, is there any other test,
like a multimeter, for example? What would I look for in this case? I guess
the signals are probably microvolts. I tried millivolts and got no reading.
The composite connector will be problematic - so many prongs in the plug.

I am also looking at the possibility of buying a new TV card but cannot find
any good guidance. I looked at tomshardware web site and saw a few reviews
but nothing that excited me. Comments please on the best cards for the PAL
system.

If you're happy with the way your present card works,
(worked), look for a Pal B supportive version of it, which
of course should be available for sale anywhere they use Pal
B (but i have no idea if non-pal b supportive cards might
also be available in these markets).

 

[Zilog Jones]

What they most likely mean is that you can use the video
capture, composite input to input a Pal B signal that is
already tuned. IOW, if you have a VCR, it's video out to
the card's video-in.




For quite a few years a different tuner (big rectangular
shielded silver box on the card) was needed for both
locations. The cards would (might) need a different bios
too. The software was often written to support either/both
cards, the user just picked which standard they used at
their location but the product had to have the right (tuner
on the) card per the location.




If you're happy with the way your present card works,
(worked), look for a Pal B supportive version of it, which
of course should be available for sale anywhere they use Pal
B (but i have no idea if non-pal b supportive cards might
also be available in these markets).

Most analogue capture cards sold now support all standards, and anything
you'll get locally should support PAL-B - if it doesn't, ask for your
money back! If card says "PAL" support, generally it will mean all types
of PAL (except PAL-M in some cases), so don't worry if the
box/documentation does not specifically mention PAL-B.

I've used the Hauppauge WinTV PCI-FM (IIRC it was only sold in Europe, so
it's a different model to yours) and the Pinnacle PCTV Stereo with good
results, and they both support PAL - although I'm not sure if the former
is sold any more. Also I'd recommend using DScaler (a free program) for
watching TV with these cards if you're not already doing so.

 

[RedFox]

Most analogue capture cards sold now support all standards, and anything
you'll get locally should support PAL-B - if it doesn't, ask for your
money back! If card says "PAL" support, generally it will mean all types
of PAL (except PAL-M in some cases), so don't worry if the
box/documentation does not specifically mention PAL-B.

I've used the Hauppauge WinTV PCI-FM (IIRC it was only sold in Europe, so
it's a different model to yours) and the Pinnacle PCTV Stereo with good
results, and they both support PAL - although I'm not sure if the former
is sold any more. Also I'd recommend using DScaler (a free program) for
watching TV with these cards if you're not already doing so.

Thanks ZJ for the info.

I'm still looking for a new TV card and have much research to do. I already
have DScaler and used it with the WinTV card. The amount of adjustments in
that prog is quite mind boggling. I have never seen anything like it.
I wanted to use DScaler with my card (composite input) and the PALMovie
plugin, but I couldn't figure how to force the prog to use the plugin. I did
find some instructions but they were vague and useless.

RF