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Digital TV tuner card

S

stealthchris117

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Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
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As I'm sure most if not all of you know about the Digital Cable switch in Feb. 2009, where all cable television broadcasts are going to digital instead of analog.
Well I am looking at getting a Tuner card for my computer and I'm just not sure what one to get. I want to get one by Feburary next year so there is alot of time to decide. I want it for then because I don't want to have to worry about getting a digital box for my TV, instead I'll just use my computer monitor (It's bigger anyways).

So any ideas on a TV tuner card that would work now with analog and with the digital signal when the time comes.

Here are two cards I was looking at:

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1800.html
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr2250.html

Please let me know what you think and if you have any other choices I should be looking at.
 
only OTA signals are going digital. If you pay for cable you dont need a converter box or anything.

But, i've got an HVR-1600 in my HTPC. It was kind of a b-word to set up if you don't have windows MCE
 
Its not a digital cable switch. Its Over the air broadcasts switching to digital. If you don't receive your tv with an antenna how you get your signal is up to your cable company.
 
That really isn't entirely true. Some cable companies are moving all their stuff over to QAM. Comcast in my area already switched over the local TV channels in the old studio I used to work at. People were shitting bricks because they couldn't get about a dozen channels, lol. Comcast provided them all with digital boxes though. Just beware that anything can happen, because cable companies are trying to phase out all their old stuff anyway. The digital switch gives them just a little more incentive.
 
True, cable companies are under no obligation to provide analog signals. They could be doing switched digital video (SDV) in which case you have to have their box to get anything.

Im just saying the mandated feb2009 switchover is specific to over the air reception. cable co's can do what they want whenever.
 
Correct you are. The reason some companies are ending their analog cable is because they are in the process of upgrading equipment and get so called 'package deals'. That's what they did in our old studio to our broadcast equipment. We're going to be seeing fewer and fewer analog channels over cable in the near future..
 
Well it seems that I was misinformed. I guess it is just the over-the-air broadcasts.
I'm trying to see if there is any way that comcast in my area might be switching to digital only at the same times, since I thought that that was the case.

If you guys have any information on a possible switch with comcast in Michigan.
Or if you guys have any other tuner cards I should look at for please let me know.

I'm big on price/performance. My whole computer was the best price/performance at the time.
So if you could recommend some cards that will get the job done, and done right for a good price I would be thankful.

Thanks for all the help.
 
After researching this some more I guess some tuners are better at analog and other are better at digital. I guess I will be using it for analog use, since we just have regular analog cable. And from the conversation above it will be staying that way.

So I guess I'm looking for the tuner that does analog cable signals the best.

I have Comcast in Michigan, if for any reason that effects anything.

Thanks again guys for all the help.

One more thing. I was given an MSI card P/N:8606-020 Figured I would mention that. I would think the other cards are better, but maybe it wouldn't be worth the money, since I have this one. I did want a PCI-e card tho and this is just PCI. I'm tight on slots because of the SLI in my system.
 
Some areas of Comcast in Michigan ARE effected. That's where I'm at. As far as I know, the downriver area is planned for quite a few stations switching over to digital, if not all of them from what the Comcast tech told me. Our local city broadcasts were already switched over as of last year.
 
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