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best atsc tuner?

B

bburk64

n00b
Joined
Nov 11, 2007
Messages
32
I want to record hi-def TV shows to watch later. I'm hoping for something that does not put a lot of load on the system as I will be doing many other things at the same time. It doesn't matter to me if it's pci, mini-pci (pci-e?), or usb. My system has a 2.4g core2duo CPU, 2gb ram, 400gb HD, 256mb nvidia 7600 gpu, and uses winxp pro. It's connected to a 65" TV via component video and fiber optic audio cables. I am not worried about system load while watching shows, just while recording. I’ve watched 1080p avi files and it handles that just fine.

If there is a way to record more than one show at a time that would be even better, even if it means buying 2 tuners.

If it matters, the stations I am hoping to record are listed here;
http://antennaweb.org/aw/Stations.aspx
; Click choose antenna and enter zip code 52803.

Every review I have seen so far has said the included software is lousy, so I would appreciate any freeware suggestions on that too.
Thanks
 
Forget to mention, I'm using an MSI 965 platinum motherboard, the only cards in it atm are the video card and a pci-e wireless network card, the pci-e card can be removed if needed.
 
What are the big differences between the Hauppauge 1600 and 1800?
 
HD tuners simply captures the signal and sends it to the hard drive. There is almost no CPU overhead.

I like the Happauge 950 USB tuners. I have 4 on my computer.

(HD, 480, 720, or 1080 is mpeg2 I believe. AVI is not HD. It may not be important to distinguish between them, but the mpeg2 requires more bandwidth than the AVI.)
 
AVI is not HD necessarily, but when it's an 8GB mkv file from a blue-ray disc, it's real impressive!:)
 
Did some digging, the 1600 is a pci card, the 1800 is pci-e. Anyone have experience with either, and what sofware do you use if so? thanks
 
bburk64 said:
Did some digging, the 1600 is a pci card, the 1800 is pci-e. Anyone have experience with either, and what sofware do you use if so? thanks
Click to expand...

I've used both - in fact, one machine has one of each in it right now (just because of the m/b switch...I really need to update my sig.) Both have the same quality/CPU load/etc. The only difference will be the interface, and which is better depends on what else you have. (PCIe is theoretically "better" since it isn't a shared amount of bandwidth)

Software - for clear QAM, I use SageTV. Windows Media Center does OTA HD well enough, but doesn't understand/want to understand the unencrypted QAM signal my cable company provides. I've tried a host of other software packages (Nero Home, Beyond TV, GBPVR, Cyberlink's solution that ATi packages with its tuners now), and while it isn't the friendliest to setup, I've had the most luck with Sage.
 
GeorgeHR said:
HD tuners simply captures the signal and sends it to the hard drive. There is almost no CPU overhead.
Click to expand...

No - that has nothing to do with being HD. That's if the tuner has a hardware MPEG2 encoder. If the encoding is done in software, then the CPU needs to be heavily involved. Umm...I was wrong. So never mind this.

w zabka said:
what's the benefit of having four tuners?
Click to expand...

The benefit of multiple tuners is to watch/record multiple shows that are on at the same time. (For example, if you want to record three shows that air at 8 PM Thursday, you would need three tuners.)
 
The benefit of multiple tuners is to watch/record multiple shows that are on at the same time. (For example, if you want to record three shows that air at 8 PM Thursday, you would need three tuners.)[/QUOTE]


But, if you have a dual tuner you would need only two dual tuner cards to accomplish this same task... Correct?
 
w zabka said:
But, if you have a dual tuner you would need only two dual tuner cards to accomplish this same task... Correct?
Click to expand...

If it's a true dual tuner, yes. Unfortunately, many of the newer cards (like the HVR-1600) are hybrid tuners - it can tune either the digital or the analog feed at a time, but not each simultaneously.
 
HD tuners simply captures the signal and sends it to the hard drive. There is almost no CPU overhead.
Click to expand...
No - that has nothing to do with being HD. That's if the tuner has a hardware MPEG2 encoder. If the encoding is done in software, then the CPU needs to be heavily involved.
Click to expand...

Your wrong...
There is no encoding with an HD signal, it is simply captured in its native digital format and recorded to the Hard Drive. I have an Vista View hd tv tuner on an old athlon, it only uses about 15 ~ 25% of the cpu when recording. I have a 5600 Ultra doing all the hardware decoding. It only uses about 33% when recording and decoding. Now Its increadably taxing on my old 120gb hard drive, and if I try to run another program when its recording, the video gets choppy.

Now analog tv is a different story...
 
LeftSide said:
Your wrong...
There is no encoding with an HD signal, it is simply captured in its native digital format and recorded to the Hard Drive. I have an Vista View hd tv tuner on an old athlon, it only uses about 15 ~ 25% of the cpu when recording. I have a 5600 Ultra doing all the hardware decoding. It only uses about 33% when recording and decoding. Now Its increadably taxing on my old 120gb hard drive, and if I try to run another program when its recording, the video gets choppy.

Now analog tv is a different story...
Click to expand...

You're right - my bad. Dunno what I was thinking...
 
alco23 said:
What are the disadvantages of something like this:
http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/products/hdhomerun

compared to your pci based tuner cards?
Click to expand...

Works well enough for me using Sage on our wired home network. Quality-wise, I haven't noticed any differences between it and the HVR-1600 or HVR-1800. One benefit is it can be used by any PC on your network. However, you can only use it in Windows Media Center if you have an analog tuner already in the machine (that limitation isn't there with third party apps)
 
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