struggling to find the perfect external tv tuner

unwashed potato!

unwashed potato!

unwashed potato!

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i got a nice new 24" monitor arrving thursday and i plan on using it at nights as a tv which will be used for watching dvds/, playing the wii and watching normal 1-5 channels and viring box (thought the box is not in my room i just get whaty every channel it is currently showing).

i know that i need an external tv tuner for this but i am really sturggling to find one that is perfect for what i am after, main problem being that most require the pc to be on to use where as i want one that just plugs straight into the tft.

also i am trying to get one that will look good on a 24", where as all the ones i am finding seem to only support a resolution of just 1280x1024 where as the screen has [SIZE=-1]1920x1200 so will look aweful. will using a vga connection lower the image quality or is standard tv/virgin box never going to be better then what a vga can do?

as the screen will be used at night as a tv i need a remote to turn off the device and also obviously change the channels and such.

im also wondering would a good freeview box do what i am after? in that i can plug virgin box/dvd player/wii etc up to it and then the box into the monitor and also give me a remote to switch between input and channels of freeview.


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what monitor is it? does it have any other inputs on it besides dvi or vga? if it has (composite, s-video, component etc) then you can plug any freeview box in you want??
 
If money was no object I would look at something like the Sony RDR HXD870 although at around £250 its not a cheap option. But it would also take care of DVD playback and such forth while your PC is off :)

It has two excellent freeview tuners and two analogue tuners built in and works as a PVR, it also upscales the TV picture to 1080p (1920x1080) and you could connect it to your monitors HDMI input for picture, then take the audio outputs into a set of speakers or an amp of some kind.
 
Have you tryed looking at DVD recorders...

My pioneer DVD recorder has Digital & analogue tuners and up scales to 1080i through component/HDMI and has a remote control.
 
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thanks for the suggestions guys. £250 is way above my price range, was hoping for at most £80.

I am possibly going to get the Philips DVP5980 for £50 to upscale my dvds to best quality as afaik the monitor wont do this. Can anyone confirm if this dvd player has an input for virgin box (not sure on the name of this input, is it analog?) because i could then just get the dvd player and switch using that, although saying that would i get channels 1-5 like normal?

if not can anyone reccomend one? if it makes a difference i want the dvd player to upscale to 1080p so it looks best quality.
 
I made a post yesturday here regarding a similar situation

Im just about to go buy the Bush/goodmans Upscaling HDMI freeview box and a HDMI>DVI connector.

Its only around £34 for the box and anywhere from about £10 upwards for the connector as i already have a spare HDMI lead

Will let you know how it works later on when i test it

:)
 
Coolasmoo said:
I made a post yesturday here regarding a similar situation

Im just about to go buy the Bush/goodmans Upscaling HDMI freeview box and a HDMI>DVI connector.

Its only around £34 for the box and anywhere from about £10 upwards for the connector as i already have a spare HDMI lead

Will let you know how it works later on when i test it

:)
Click to expand...

Which model Bush/Goodmans is it please?
 
would there be much noticble difference from having a dvd player/freeview upscale to 1080i and 1080p? i know p is supposed to be better but on the screen i will be getting tomorrow will there be any difference?
 
i guess what im really after now then is either:

1. dvd player with built in freeview which if possible can record though not much is needed, and upscales to 1080p or just 1080i if it wont make a differnce on my monitor? though would be good to have it future proof for when i finally get a tv,

or

2. a dvd player which upscales and a seperate freeview player which if it will make much differnce upscale for the monitor i have though not sure which connection i can then use for this is dvd player takes up the only hdmi slot?

im looking around and again not finding it easy, most will do stuff idon't require like a panasonic one i have seen has both dvd and freeview but no hard drive and writes dvds which i don't need and comes at £150.

so anyway does anyone have of know of a product/products that do what im after? and is this the best route to take to do what i want?

[edit]

forgot to add do freeview boxes allow the vrigin box to be plugged into them giving better signle and also meaning i can use the viring box to watch stuff of that which is in parents room?
 
The only way you'll get a box that has inputs is to buy one that's designed to record. A Freeview box won't have s-video / composite inputs because there's no point.
 
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