Digital/analogue Freeview card, which one?

[dan7827]

There are a lot more different cards than I expected so basically which one is the no brainer choice and what can you recommend? I've seen cards from Leadtek/Hauppauge and Compro (never heard of Compro before, any good?)

Requirements are just watching & recording to hdd from freeview channels (not simultaneously), although analogue might as well be chucked in also. My pc is running XP 32bit and maybe upgraded to vista 64bit sometime in the future, also if possible linux compatibility would be nice if its used in the backup plan

All the cards have slight variations, what they all seem to have in common from the photos is some bloated software to schedule & watch tv. baring that in mind are there certain ones to stay well clear of?

Cheers,
Dan

 

[dan7827]

Thanks for the suggestions, here's the quick contender/summary list I have so far:

Hybrid cards
Leadtek PxDTV2300H Hybrid PCI-E TV Tuner [~£40]
Leadtek PxDVR3200H Hybrid PCI-E TV Tuner [~£50]
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1100 Hybrid PCI TV Tuner [~£40]
Compro VideoMate T500F DVB-T Hybrid Internal PCI TV Tuner [~£45]

Dual Digital Cards (I think some may be wrong)
Compro VideoMate DVB-T750 Digital TV Internal PCI [~£45]
Hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-T-500 [~£50]
Compro VideoMate T750F Dual DVB-T Hybrid Internal PCI TV Tuner [~£55]

Still not sure if the compro cards are to be trusted, I thought hauppauge were meant to be good but they aren't sold at most places (inc. overclockers).

 

[dan7827]

Looks like the Hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-T-500 will do the job, are there any major problems with this card? I hear the software may be below useless, any alternatives?

 

[dan7827]

Thanks for the links, that looks MILES better

Now all I need to do is go and source the card...why can't overclockers stock them

 

[dan7827]

I was going for the NOVA-T-500 but after just seeing the recommendation for the Cinergy 2400i and checking it out it's between those two now, all depends which one is easier to get hold of.

From the looks of it both of these cards have a coaxial input so I should be able to hook it up like other freeview things to the main arial.

 

[dan7827]

After having a look at all sorts of cards I would say any of the hybrid card's on my original list should be fine for freeview but for a wii would you also need a composite connection?

 

[dan7827]

Thanks all for the help!

In the end I got the Nova-t 500 and have quickly set up recommended GB-PVR program and it seems to be working, interface is much better but certain things seem to have a delay for a couple of seconds (e.g. changing channels). Are there any must do tweaks or tips for this prog?