Tv Tuners

jac4593 · 25 Nov 2007 at 13:00

Right so XMAS is arriving and I am wandering what the best Pci-e TV cards are.

I was either going to buy 1 with plenty of inputs (Freeview, analog, Satellite etc) and being able to record 1 channel while watching another or Record 2 at a time while browsing the web.

Or

Buy 2 different cards, which will somehow let me more freedom and if one decides to stop then I have another one to replace it

I would like it if the product would be able at OCUK so I can get everything here (monitor, 8800GT, speakers etc) but if not just link me to the manufacture page

My budget is around £80-120 :rolleyes:

**Please delete if it's in the wrong board**

wombraider · 25 Nov 2007 at 13:15

your choices are somewhat limited if it has to be PCI-e

If you want a recommandation in PCI type try the hauppage Nova-T 500 ( dual freeview )
I have one and its awesome ( I have tried terratec , compro and hauppage cards ) the haupagge wins hands down

AVOID the compro cards ( carp design , terrible drivers and customer support that makes the Ferengi look good )

jac4593 · 25 Nov 2007 at 14:10

Oh yeah anything that will go in the back of my PC lol

But the nova-T 500 allows you to watch one and record another then? I was put off as it only had one RF input

Skeeter · 25 Nov 2007 at 16:21

Ive got a Leadteck WinFast DTV something something... Was cheap and works great. Its a bit unused now however as I fell out with Media Centre, and theres no roof areal in my uni house, so I cant pick anything up.

paradigm · 25 Nov 2007 at 16:25

See, now I'm the opposite of Wombraider, I HATED my hauppage card (Nova-T PCI), ran like utter crap in Media Center, and I only managed to problem by getting a TerraTec card.

jac4593 · 25 Nov 2007 at 16:27

paradigm said:
See, now I'm the opposite of Wombraider, I HATED my hauppage card (Nova-T PCI), ran like utter crap in Media Center, and I only managed to problem by getting a TerraTec card.

What OS did you have? I have Vista64, will there be any problems with the Nova 500 and Vista64 Ultimate?

wombraider · 25 Nov 2007 at 22:54

Yeah the Nova T-500 is a dual freeview card ( 2 x tuners - only Rf input )

I use GB PVR for my cards ( it works brilliantly and is free)

I have a Nova-T in my main PC ( gaming rig - single tuner )

My media center PC in the living room uses a Nova-T 500 (dual) and also has a PVR 350 card in it as well ( so I can record up to 3 channels )

I use GB PVR on both machines ( allows me to set timer via a web page which is cool) I was never impressed by MS media center

Xp used on both PC's ( vista is utter carp)

jac4593 · 25 Nov 2007 at 23:38

wombraider said:
Yeah the Nova T-500 is a dual freeview card ( 2 x tuners - only Rf input )

I use GB PVR for my cards ( it works brilliantly and is free)

I have a Nova-T in my main PC ( gaming rig - single tuner )

My media center PC in the living room uses a Nova-T 500 (dual) and also has a PVR 350 card in it as well ( so I can record up to 3 channels )

I use GB PVR on both machines ( allows me to set timer via a web page which is cool) I was never impressed by MS media center

Xp used on both PC's ( vista is utter carp)

Yep lol but for some reason I like it

So I am defiantly getting a nova-T 500 now and probably getting a PVR350 in the new year if I need more horsepower

So which do you use the most? And can the 350 record feed from Sky? (Through Rf ?) And what are all the inputs for?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just don't want to make a mistake :rolleyes:

wombraider · 26 Nov 2007 at 00:39

the 350 is an older card

It has rf input for standard analogue tv tuning ( bbc1 bbc2 itv channel4 channel 5 )
It also has composite video input and audio input , the card has a dedicated
onboard mpeg2 encoder chip ( so you dont need to use cpu when capturing)

I mainly use the Nova-T due to it being digital

The 350 is usefull for converting vhs to dvd (mpeg2) but i rarely use it for recording tv.

If you are using it for sky capturing be aware you will be sending out analogue video signal
from sky then capturing it to mpeg2 you might loose a bit of quality. Best to use composite
video signal for that.

GB PVR also supports talking to external IR transmitters ( so you can get it to send
a signal to your sky box for changing the channel )