HTPC with an HDTV antenna?

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InorganicMatter

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There's a ton of free HDTV channels being broadcasted where I am, so I see no sense in getting extended cable or a dish. I want to get an HDTV tuner or something that can interact with an HTPC (when I build it). What capture card, and what HDTV atenna (or whatever) do you HTPC gurus suggest? I'm using MCE, and I want to be able to like browse the show schedule and record stuff from Windows MCE.

Edit: ATSC, that's the term I was looking for. I need a PC card with an ATSC tuner in it.
 
Avermedia A180
Divco Fusion 5

There are a few others, but those two are MCE happy.

Just need a UHF antenna (cheap 2 dollar loop ring works great)
 
DocNsane said:
Avermedia A180
Divco Fusion 5

There are a few others, but those two are MCE happy.

Just need a UHF antenna (cheap 2 dollar loop ring works great)
Click to expand...

First off, they are not MCE happy, they are supported by all of the most popular HTPC frontends. I have a Fusion 5 Lite in my Sage server for example, and it works perfectly.

Second a cheap $2 antenna may not work.

Goto www.antennaweb.org to see what kind of antenna you need.
 
DocNsane said:
Avermedia A180
Divco Fusion 5

There are a few others, but those two are MCE happy.

Just need a UHF antenna (cheap 2 dollar loop ring works great)
Click to expand...
So lemme get this straight:

I get one of those cards and an antenna. Windows MCE will then pick up as if it were a normal TV tuner, and I will get the program guide and recording features. All at 720P and Dolby AC3. I likes.

The only forseeable problem is that the reviewers say on-the-fly playback needs a lot of horsepower. I've got an A64 3000+, would that be enough?
 
MCE requries a regular SDTV tuner before you can add a HDTV one, but once it is added it will work the same. Resolution depends on what the local affiliate sends out, it could be 720p or 1080i.

Your 3000+ should be more than enough assuning you're not running some crippled SE or LE video card have at least 512 MB ram and a 7200rpm hard drive.
 
yea a hauppauge or any other MCE supported tuner card (most hardware encoding cards).
 
Antheus said:
yea a hauppauge or any other MCE supported tuner card (most hardware encoding cards).
Click to expand...
Why does MCE have to see an analogue card to have an HDTV card work? Does it need the encoder chip on the analogue card?

Also, another question. If I were to get the HDTV card, could I hook up cable (instead of an antenna) and get the free channels at a higher quality?
 
InorganicMatter said:
Why does MCE have to see an analogue card to have an HDTV card work? Does it need the encoder chip on the analogue card?

Also, another question. If I were to get the HDTV card, could I hook up cable (instead of an antenna) and get the free channels at a higher quality?
Click to expand...

It uses the guilde information from the analoge card setup to configure the HDTV. You can actualy remove the card after you've setup your digital TV channels. Vista will remove this requirement when it ships. Beta 2 still requires an analoge card, but it is confirmed you won't need it later.

No, you cannot just hook into your cable. Though yes, they will likely have some unencrypted HD channels available, it's difficult to tune into them since they will likely be on their own frequency setup. Also, ATSC HD is generaly higher quality than cable QAM HD since they aren't trying to cram as many channels as possible into the frequency band.
 
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