TV Tuner Help

  • Thread starter Robbie McFerren
  • Start date
R

Robbie McFerren

Hello,
I'm going off to college in April and I will be putting a tuner card in
my computer before then to save packing a Television Set. This will be
my first tuner installation that will NOT be a novelty and I need the
best performance from the cheapest card. The one I'm looking at is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815123001 and I
will be using a CD audio cable instead of the external cable. Remember
that this tuner card is to let my computer substitute for a TV set and a
VCR in a dorm room with analog cable. With this addition my computer
will become a "Super Hub" for information. My computer specs are as
follows:

-AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (accidentally ppurchased mobile)
-512 MB DDR 2700 RAM
-80 GB Seagate hard drive (ATA 100)
-DVD Burner (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL,
DVD-ROM, CD-ROM)
-Firewire card
-Modem card (depending on recommendations on card location this may be
removed for tuner as it is no longer needed as I have DSL at home and
will get cable at school)
-NVIDIA GEforce MX4000 with 128 MB RAM AGP 4/8X (in 8x mode)
-17 inch LCD monitor [this might be a biggie for trouble] (integrated
speakers, 16 ms response, VGA video connection, 1/8" [3.5 mm] audio input)
-Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack II
-Firefox/Thunderbird
-Windows Media 10

I know that video quality could be a problem full-screen, but I intend
to be about 5-8 feet (1.524 - 2.4384 meters) away when viewing
television, DVD, VCD, etc.

This will turn my computer into a info/media hub and will be a great use
of space in a dorm room. I hope to have a single room, BTW.
 
S

Switch

Robbie said:
This will turn my computer into a info/media hub and will be a great use
of space in a dorm room. I hope to have a single room, BTW.

plug and pray
 
G

Gerald Todd

I've not had any specific experience with this card, but I've used several
(ATI and several conexant based cards) and pretty much every program you can
use. There are a couple of common issues that I can comment on. First,
which WinDVR does this come with? The issue is compatibility with TitanTV,
a website that allows for one-touch recording up to two weeks in advance.
If it comes with WinDVR, then it is supported- if it comes with WinDVR3, it
is not. WinDVR3 has been out for a couple of years and it is still not
supported so it probably never will be. If recording isn't important then
you are left with 2 other possible problems- audio and video quality. Video
quality looks to be pretty good based on the comments, but if it turns out
tobe a problem you can get a signal booster at Walmart that will help.
Audio quality seems to be a more likely issue with this card as it is with
every card I've ever owned. In general, C-media chip based on-board sound
produces crappy sound with TV cards. Since you don't mention a sound card
I assume you are using on-board sound. This problem can be fixed with a
cheap sound card like a SoundBlaster Live! PCI. card. It does look like you
are running out of space so you may have to make a few choices. Hope this
helps.

Gerald Todd
Robbie McFerren said:
Hello,
I'm going off to college in April and I will be putting a tuner card in my
computer before then to save packing a Television Set. This will be my
first tuner installation that will NOT be a novelty and I need the best
performance from the cheapest card. The one I'm looking at is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815123001 and I will
be using a CD audio cable instead of the external cable. Remember that
this tuner card is to let my computer substitute for a TV set and a VCR in
a dorm room with analog cable. With this addition my computer will become
a "Super Hub" for information. My computer specs are as follows:

-AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (accidentally ppurchased mobile)
-512 MB DDR 2700 RAM
-80 GB Seagate hard drive (ATA 100)
-DVD Burner (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-ROM,
CD-ROM)
-Firewire card
-Modem card (depending on recommendations on card location this may be
removed for tuner as it is no longer needed as I have DSL at home and will
get cable at school)
-NVIDIA GEforce MX4000 with 128 MB RAM AGP 4/8X (in 8x mode)
-17 inch LCD monitor [this might be a biggie for trouble] (integrated
speakers, 16 ms response, VGA video connection, 1/8" [3.5 mm] audio input)
-Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack II
-Firefox/Thunderbird
-Windows Media 10

I know that video quality could be a problem full-screen, but I intend to
be about 5-8 feet (1.524 - 2.4384 meters) away when viewing television,
DVD, VCD, etc.

This will turn my computer into a info/media hub and will be a great use
of space in a dorm room. I hope to have a single room, BTW.
 
P

Phisherman

I recommend forgetting about the tuner card. You'll be studying much
of the time and most campuses have numerous lounges and community
rooms with large screen TV sets. Another thought--wait until you are
settled in for a couple months before you buy a tuner card.
 
S

Switch

Phisherman said:
I recommend forgetting about the tuner card. You'll be studying much
of the time and most campuses have numerous lounges and community
rooms with large screen TV sets. Another thought--wait until you are
settled in for a couple months before you buy a tuner card.

its just 20 dollars

you're just mad cause you want one
 
L

l e o

Phisherman said:
I recommend forgetting about the tuner card. You'll be studying much
of the time and most campuses have numerous lounges and community
rooms with large screen TV sets. Another thought--wait until you are
settled in for a couple months before you buy a tuner card.

Depending on an individual, a TV doesn't mean it has to be meant for
entertaining movies, or comedies. There are still plenty of good
programmings in PBS that are worthwhile to watch or just to catch the
local news or BBC World News, etc. As for what TV card to choose, I
really suggest you spend a little more with hardware compression if you
intend to do some recording. The ATI 550 Theater chip is a good choice.
The quality is there but support from third party may be a bit of
problematic. if you simply want to watch TV in real time, almost any PCI
TV tuners will do just fine.
 
R

Robbie McFerren

The lounges are OK except for news programs. This is a school for the
disabled and ALL public TVs are REQUIRED to have the Closed Caption
decoder on at all times and the delay annoys the shit out of me during
news programs, plus I want to be able to record. I went out for an eval
in Jan, I miss being able to watch TV while relaxing in bed.
I recommend forgetting about the tuner card. You'll be studying much
of the time and most campuses have numerous lounges and community
rooms with large screen TV sets. Another thought--wait until you are
settled in for a couple months before you buy a tuner card.

Hello,
I'm going off to college in April and I will be putting a tuner card in
my computer before then to save packing a Television Set. This will be
my first tuner installation that will NOT be a novelty and I need the
best performance from the cheapest card. The one I'm looking at is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815123001 and I
will be using a CD audio cable instead of the external cable. Remember
that this tuner card is to let my computer substitute for a TV set and a
VCR in a dorm room with analog cable. With this addition my computer
will become a "Super Hub" for information. My computer specs are as
follows:

-AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (accidentally ppurchased mobile)
-512 MB DDR 2700 RAM
-80 GB Seagate hard drive (ATA 100)
-DVD Burner (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL,
DVD-ROM, CD-ROM)
-Firewire card
-Modem card (depending on recommendations on card location this may be
removed for tuner as it is no longer needed as I have DSL at home and
will get cable at school)
-NVIDIA GEforce MX4000 with 128 MB RAM AGP 4/8X (in 8x mode)
-17 inch LCD monitor [this might be a biggie for trouble] (integrated
speakers, 16 ms response, VGA video connection, 1/8" [3.5 mm] audio input)
-Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack II
-Firefox/Thunderbird
-Windows Media 10

I know that video quality could be a problem full-screen, but I intend
to be about 5-8 feet (1.524 - 2.4384 meters) away when viewing
television, DVD, VCD, etc.

This will turn my computer into a info/media hub and will be a great use
of space in a dorm room. I hope to have a single room, BTW.
 
R

Robbie McFerren

I hope to set the recording using time, date, channel type VCR setup,
but I did not like to hear the C-Media Chips are crappy, I will be run
through a cd-audio type input (aux). I have an old sound card too, but
that also uses a C-Media Chip.

Gerald said:
I've not had any specific experience with this card, but I've used several
(ATI and several conexant based cards) and pretty much every program you can
use. There are a couple of common issues that I can comment on. First,
which WinDVR does this come with? The issue is compatibility with TitanTV,
a website that allows for one-touch recording up to two weeks in advance.
If it comes with WinDVR, then it is supported- if it comes with WinDVR3, it
is not. WinDVR3 has been out for a couple of years and it is still not
supported so it probably never will be. If recording isn't important then
you are left with 2 other possible problems- audio and video quality. Video
quality looks to be pretty good based on the comments, but if it turns out
tobe a problem you can get a signal booster at Walmart that will help.
Audio quality seems to be a more likely issue with this card as it is with
every card I've ever owned. In general, C-media chip based on-board sound
produces crappy sound with TV cards. Since you don't mention a sound card
I assume you are using on-board sound. This problem can be fixed with a
cheap sound card like a SoundBlaster Live! PCI. card. It does look like you
are running out of space so you may have to make a few choices. Hope this
helps.

Gerald Todd
Hello,
I'm going off to college in April and I will be putting a tuner card in my
computer before then to save packing a Television Set. This will be my
first tuner installation that will NOT be a novelty and I need the best
performance from the cheapest card. The one I'm looking at is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815123001 and I will
be using a CD audio cable instead of the external cable. Remember that
this tuner card is to let my computer substitute for a TV set and a VCR in
a dorm room with analog cable. With this addition my computer will become
a "Super Hub" for information. My computer specs are as follows:

-AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (accidentally ppurchased mobile)
-512 MB DDR 2700 RAM
-80 GB Seagate hard drive (ATA 100)
-DVD Burner (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-ROM,
CD-ROM)
-Firewire card
-Modem card (depending on recommendations on card location this may be
removed for tuner as it is no longer needed as I have DSL at home and will
get cable at school)
-NVIDIA GEforce MX4000 with 128 MB RAM AGP 4/8X (in 8x mode)
-17 inch LCD monitor [this might be a biggie for trouble] (integrated
speakers, 16 ms response, VGA video connection, 1/8" [3.5 mm] audio input)
-Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack II
-Firefox/Thunderbird
-Windows Media 10

I know that video quality could be a problem full-screen, but I intend to
be about 5-8 feet (1.524 - 2.4384 meters) away when viewing television,
DVD, VCD, etc.

This will turn my computer into a info/media hub and will be a great use
of space in a dorm room. I hope to have a single room, BTW.
 
R

Robbie McFerren

For recording, quality will not be an issue, I will only be getting
Analog cable and I use VHS for recording currently. Cable is cheap out
there and is cheaper than Crapcast (comcast). For $83.?? (US) I will
get the full analog TV package as well as 3 Mbit cable Internet. I am
currently using 512kbit DSL for internet at home.
 
T

T Shadow

Robbie McFerren said:
The lounges are OK except for news programs. This is a school for the
disabled and ALL public TVs are REQUIRED to have the Closed Caption
decoder on at all times and the delay annoys the shit out of me during
news programs, plus I want to be able to record. I went out for an eval
in Jan, I miss being able to watch TV while relaxing in bed.
snip>
Hello,
I'm going off to college in April and I will be putting a tuner card in
my computer before then to save packing a Television Set. This will be
my first tuner installation that will NOT be a novelty and I need the
best performance from the cheapest card. The one I'm looking at is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815123001 and I
will be using a CD audio cable instead of the external cable. Remember
that this tuner card is to let my computer substitute for a TV set and a
VCR in a dorm room with analog cable. With this addition my computer
will become a "Super Hub" for information. My computer specs are as
follows:

-AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (accidentally ppurchased mobile)
-512 MB DDR 2700 RAM
-80 GB Seagate hard drive (ATA 100)
-DVD Burner (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL,
DVD-ROM, CD-ROM)
-Firewire card
-Modem card (depending on recommendations on card location this may be
removed for tuner as it is no longer needed as I have DSL at home and
will get cable at school)
-NVIDIA GEforce MX4000 with 128 MB RAM AGP 4/8X (in 8x mode)
-17 inch LCD monitor [this might be a biggie for trouble] (integrated
speakers, 16 ms response, VGA video connection, 1/8" [3.5 mm] audio input)
-Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack II
-Firefox/Thunderbird
-Windows Media 10

I know that video quality could be a problem full-screen, but I intend
to be about 5-8 feet (1.524 - 2.4384 meters) away when viewing
television, DVD, VCD, etc.

This will turn my computer into a info/media hub and will be a great use
of space in a dorm room. I hope to have a single room, BTW.

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see anything about PVR, TVoD or "pause live
TV". This is a big feature. I'd pass on the card if it doesn't have it. Once
you have it their is no going back.

Analog TV on the 17" LCD might be ok but it may not be if you (have to/can)
force it to 640X480. The greater the contrast ratio of the monitor the less
adjusting from say day to night scenes You'll have to do.

You'll probably want a remote or at least a wireless mouse/keyboard for
viewing at that distance.

A separate capture drive is good idea but not something you have to have.
80GB may be a little cramped too. That can be added later though.

Your CPU is fine but if you want to do anything else intensive at the same
time LEO's suggestion of card with a hardware encoder is a good one.

Just some thoughts after a quick look at the page you specified. You'll have
to decide what's important and acceptable to you. Good Luck.
 
G

GuessWho

Robbie,

I've had good luck with the Leadtek PVR PCI cards since they've finally
gotten the drivers and software right.

I've also had good luck with Hauppague WinTV-Go. This card is not as full
featured as the Leadtek cards and the software is no where as good, but
Hauppague cards have been good over the years and it had been available for
around $18 shipped, although I haven't seen it in awhile.

Both of my cards are software based cards but I have enough CPU power that
cpu usage isn't an issue for me.

Wayne



Robbie McFerren said:
The lounges are OK except for news programs. This is a school for the
disabled and ALL public TVs are REQUIRED to have the Closed Caption
decoder on at all times and the delay annoys the shit out of me during
news programs, plus I want to be able to record. I went out for an eval
in Jan, I miss being able to watch TV while relaxing in bed.
I recommend forgetting about the tuner card. You'll be studying much
of the time and most campuses have numerous lounges and community
rooms with large screen TV sets. Another thought--wait until you are
settled in for a couple months before you buy a tuner card.

Hello,
I'm going off to college in April and I will be putting a tuner card in
my computer before then to save packing a Television Set. This will be
my first tuner installation that will NOT be a novelty and I need the
best performance from the cheapest card. The one I'm looking at is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815123001 and I
will be using a CD audio cable instead of the external cable. Remember
that this tuner card is to let my computer substitute for a TV set and a
VCR in a dorm room with analog cable. With this addition my computer
will become a "Super Hub" for information. My computer specs are as
follows:

-AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (accidentally ppurchased mobile)
-512 MB DDR 2700 RAM
-80 GB Seagate hard drive (ATA 100)
-DVD Burner (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL,
DVD-ROM, CD-ROM)
-Firewire card
-Modem card (depending on recommendations on card location this may be
removed for tuner as it is no longer needed as I have DSL at home and
will get cable at school)
-NVIDIA GEforce MX4000 with 128 MB RAM AGP 4/8X (in 8x mode)
-17 inch LCD monitor [this might be a biggie for trouble] (integrated
speakers, 16 ms response, VGA video connection, 1/8" [3.5 mm] audio
input)
-Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack II
-Firefox/Thunderbird
-Windows Media 10

I know that video quality could be a problem full-screen, but I intend to
be about 5-8 feet (1.524 - 2.4384 meters) away when viewing television,
DVD, VCD, etc.

This will turn my computer into a info/media hub and will be a great use
of space in a dorm room. I hope to have a single room, BTW.
 
M

me

I started to put a TV card in my computer as well
thinking it would be very neat

But after a lot of thought have decided a dedicated 12"
TV with built in VCR works just as well and less
trouble
 
R

Robbie McFerren

That sounds OK, but the method to my madness is to save space. I would
like to let everybody know that yes, I have a wireless keyboard AND
mouse. The Tuner Card comes with a remote control. I just have a few
questions to ask.

-Where should the card be located in the PC Physically? The last slot?
-Will the cable company bitch about me hooking my PC up as a TV? (to my
knowledge they do NOT provide and digital services other than digital
cable, and HD)

A little bit about the cable company:
The cable company is Atlantic Broadband (http://www.atlanticbb.net) and
as noted earlier provides the basic analog, basic/premium digital, HD,
Cable Internet.

A little about the school:
The school is called Commonwealth Technical Institute and it is housed
in the Hiram G. Andrews Center in Johnstown, Pa USA. This school serves
disabled students in the state of Pa, and ranges from minor disabilities
(mental and physical) to some major disabilities (unable to walk, deaf,
etc). The school serves 400 students of which 90% live in the on-site
dorms. The school is run by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and
is part of the Pa Department of labor and industry. Any questions about
this school (curiosity or otherwise) please contact me at the email
address listed. I did not change anything to block Spam.
 
T

T Shadow

Robbie McFerren said:
That sounds OK, but the method to my madness is to save space. I would
like to let everybody know that yes, I have a wireless keyboard AND
mouse. The Tuner Card comes with a remote control. I just have a few
questions to ask.

-Where should the card be located in the PC Physically? The last slot?
-Will the cable company bitch about me hooking my PC up as a TV? (to my
knowledge they do NOT provide and digital services other than digital
cable, and HD)

A little bit about the cable company:
The cable company is Atlantic Broadband (http://www.atlanticbb.net) and
as noted earlier provides the basic analog, basic/premium digital, HD,
Cable Internet.

Comparing a VCR to PVR is like comparing a typewriter to a word processor in
a computer. VCR PQ is lower than TV. My tuner card is capable of DVD quality
which is better than TV. I can go from program to program and skip
commercials w/o waiting for a tape to wind. Pause live TV. Play the video at
1.5X w/o audio shift. Your waisting a lot of time. Make exact duplicates of
the video. Edit the video. Capture and make a text file of the CC. I'm sure
their are other things I've grown so accustomed to I don't even think of
them anymore.

I'd put the card in whatever slot you have open. If you have problems you
may need to shuffle them to get the card in a slot that isn't sharing an
IRQ. The slot next to the video card is usually the most problematic. Your
M/B manual may be helpful.

Can't think of any reason the cable company would care about hooking up a
computer. It's just like hooking up to a cable ready TV/VCR. Anything you'd
need a box for with the standard analog cable ready TV/VCR will/or not be
needed. Your card won't do HD. Internet cable comes from a cable modem and
connects to Ethernet(preferred) or USB connector. You probably wouldn't need
a dial-up modem card then unless you want to be able to fax or have some
other special need for it.
 
M

me

Robbie McFerren said:
That sounds OK, but the method to my madness is to save space.

Understand Robbie.

Question tho..... must you have a desktop?

Can you get by with a laptop? And then use a separate
12" TV/VCR with that?
 
M

me

T Shadow said:
Comparing a VCR to PVR is like comparing a typewriter to a word processor in
a computer.

Understand

But how much time did you spend "fiddling" with the TV
card and software and getting it all to work properly?

With TV/VCR you just plug and play..... no fiddling
while in college
 
R

Robbie McFerren

I will be going off to school for 1 2/3 years straight. My desktop is
less than a year old (built on 02/14/2005). I don't see why I should
let it set in a state of non-use for that time. My laptop is only a P3
750 MHz system. Besides I don't want to worry about changing tapes all
the time like I do now. Plus, I think it would be cool to have the
entire next season of 24 in the same machine/media. If you saw my
desktop setup, you would see why I would have a space issue (flatbed
scanner, 2 inkjet printers). Hell, my telephone is sitting on part of
my mousepad and my one printer is sitting on a stack of storage boxes.
 
G

Gerald Todd

Robbie McFerren said:
I will be going off to school for 1 2/3 years straight. My desktop is less
than a year old (built on 02/14/2005). I don't see why I should let it set
in a state of non-use for that time. My laptop is only a P3 750 MHz
system. Besides I don't want to worry about changing tapes all the time
like I do now. Plus, I think it would be cool to have the entire next
season of 24 in the same machine/media. If you saw my desktop setup, you
would see why I would have a space issue (flatbed scanner, 2 inkjet
printers). Hell, my telephone is sitting on part of my mousepad and my one
printer is sitting on a stack of storage boxes.
One last word- your 80 gig drive will get full real fast (faster than you
can watch or burn if you are as busy at school as I was). I'd recommend
picking up an extra drive just for recording- it doesn't need to be a
screaming monster, maybe something like
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145069 or a
used/refurb If you can't afford it, create as large a partition as you can
and use it for recording. Good luck, study hard.

Gerald Todd
 
S

Switch

Robbie said:
Hello,
I'm going off to college in April and I will be putting a tuner card in
my computer before then to save packing a Television Set. This will be
my

who in the heck wants to watch the superbowl on a pc monitor

not me!

tv tuner is only meant to put the pc on the tv

not the tv on pc

:)

i need more money
 
T

T Shadow

Understand

But how much time did you spend "fiddling" with the TV
card and software and getting it all to work properly?

With TV/VCR you just plug and play..... no fiddling
while in college

Their is a bit of a learning curve but it doesn't take long to ketch up to
the tape shuffling. Pausing live TV may not be as important in college as it
is for someone that's married but I'm sure theirs times when you need to
watch and record at the same time. You can't do that with a VCR. I never
used a VCR anywhere near as much as I use the tuner cards.
YMMV
 

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