Tuner newbie questions

[wjogert]

I've had my HTPC for many years, but since I was on satellite TV, it was basically a media PC connected to my HT.

My new apartment has cable, and I've subscribed to a double-play with "Blast" internet and only 45 basic channels. It's still more $$ than I expected, and promo rate only lasts 6 months... after which I won't really be able to afford it. A tuner card could save me a small amount off the bill.

OR, there is potentially over-the-air HD reception with a good antenna.

HTPC is running Win8 with MC.
DVR functionality is a must. Multi-channel would be preferred. Single room, single TV.

I have zero experience with tuner cards.
Comments? Suggestions? Advice?

 

[tmillszero1]

Yep, there are options out there. If you have more than one TV in your house, I would recommend either the HDHomrun Prime by Silicon Dust (3 Tuners) or the Ceton IfiniTV 6 ETH. Both devices are network based tuners. I have both actually. Both devices have their pros and cons. Out of the box, the HDHomerun Prime can utilize dynamic tuner assignment, meaning that one tuner is not assigned to a specific device. It also supports DLNA as well which is great for phones, tablets, etc… (Via 3rd part apps.)

The Ceton IfiniTV 6 eth has 6 tuners, no DLNA and via beta firmware you can utilize dynamic tuner assignment to devices. However in my experience, dynamic tuner assignment for the Ceton is buggy and has crashed the device. But not a deal breaker for me. I do not use DLNA, and just statically assigned 4 tuners for my main HTPC and just assigned 1 tuner for the office and 1 for the bedroom HTPCs.


In order to watch copy protected content (Time Warner cable, every channel is copy protected and the same is for many other cable providers.) you must use Windows Media Center and there is no way around it. I save myself about 35 bucks a month in DVR rentals, and these devices pay for themselves very quickly! All in all, Scine you only have one TV, I guess it is a matter of how many shows you watch at any specific time. If you record a lot, then 6 Tuners is the way to go. For the casual DVR, you can find the HDHomerun Prime fairly cheaply these days.

 

[rhansen5_99]

Not sure if you are wanting this for multiple tv's, but monoprice has a no frills usb ATSC card for $26 here http://www.monoprice.com/Product/?c..._id=1081002&p_id=6151&seq=1&format=4#feedback
You might have to do some tweaking to get this running in Media Center for windows 8. You will get basic programing info from media center as well as the ability to record.

You can use this site to see whats available ota in terms of HDTV
http://www.antennaweb.org/

If you want t be super cheap there are tons of diy antenna projects like http://www.instructables.com/id/Powerful-Modern-Homemade-HDTV-Antenna/

 

[bman212121]

HDHR Prime or Bust. Since the wording of your package screams Comcast (Blast with Digital Economy) you will need a cable card tuner in order to pick up more than your local channels. (Some areas you won't get anything without a cablecard)

The caveats are you might not get HD unless you are paying the HD technology fee, and you might have to pay an outlet fee for a cablecard depending upon the number of boxes you already have. It might cost as much as $7 a month for that $20 cablecard. Best way to find out is visit a local service center. (Phone support is useless) Also, sports channels and movie channels are likely set with the copy once flag. This means you can record those channels, but you can only playback that content on the pc it was recorded on. The rest are copy freely.

So with all of that in mind if you can setup a small OTA antenna and get solid reception, it's generally a lot easier to do and costs less than using cable.