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TV Tuner cards, which one?

S

SSmith

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2004
Messages
159
I am looking at two TV tuner cards before I go back to university, I'm on the cheap, because this is a planned addition to the new PC I need to buy (A64 3000). My options are:

A) ATI® TV Wonder™ Pro (PCI) for $85 (I live in Canada!)

B) Leadtek® WinFast ® TV 2000 XP Expert (PCI) for $85

Identical prices... so which is the best performer? I'll likely be using it to watch TV, and record TV for watching at a later point in time. Features like burning directly to DVD aren't really a huge issue, I would be happiest I think with the card that gives me the best image quality on screen. I am getting a 19" Samsung 955DF too, if that has any relevance. No AIW card either, I have an X800 Pro in the mail as we speak. I'll take suggestions for other cards, but PLEASE, nothing much more costly than those! I can't afford to break the bank buying a TV tuner when I'm just going to record Hockey Night in Canada once a week!

Thanks in advance!
 
I think the Leadtek WinFast TV 2000 XP Expert is a really nice card. I plan to order one when i order my 6800GT.
 
Hauppauge makes some great internal and external tv tuners, all teh ati ones ive tried have had horrible quality. But out of the two that you listed, I would go with Leadtek
 
All the Leadtek cards have really good reviews on Newegg. Leadtek is probably the most popular out of any TV Tuner brand. Their great products and at an affordable price.
 
Allright, great news :) I want to get a Hauppauge PVR 250, but I have to be realistic about my means. I'm a university student, and I've gotta buy this whole machine on my own... maybe if my parents chip in a bit I can get the 250, or even 350, but thats not too likely, so I guess I'm sticking with the Leadtek! Thanks everyone.
 
Good choice going with the leadtek. I've got one myself and it performs very well. I know Hauppage has better quality and hardware MPEG2, but I'm personally satisfied with the quality of the leadtek and IMO MPEG encoding doesn't really slow things down too much with a fast processor (2.4ghz+/2400xp+).
 
I know that this suggestion was not listed in your post, but I had to give my input.

I have the leadtek and the pvr-250. There is quite a large difference in picture quality between them. You have the added bonus of decoding on the pvr-250 board. This lowers CPU usage. This will be nice when you do multitasking.

I would really try to get the pvr-250 if you could. It is a damn good card. It is also supported by programs such as snapstream and sagetv so you can turn your computer into a pvr (personal video recorder). If your computer is the your only means for television get the pvr-250.

In regard to your choices, I would pick the leadtek over the ATI.
 
I'd stay away from ATI TV cards. Their capture drivers don't like to play with video card drivers. Even the Catalyst drivers. I don't know if you use ATI multimedia software suite (DVD software, cd player, etc.) but you are forced to use and older version w/ their TV tuner. Go with the leadtek.
 
Hauppauge PVR 250 I know this isn't part of your options but you'd be using hardware encoding rather than software. Of all the research I've done everyone says that the PVR250 has one of the best pics. My install went smooth,pause and recording is great! and great support.
Sell your soul if you have to but get the PVR250 :D
 
OPUS1 said:
Hauppauge PVR 250 I know this isn't part of your options but you'd be using hardware encoding rather than software. Of all the research I've done everyone says that the PVR250 has one of the best pics. My install went smooth,pause and recording is great! and great support.
Sell your soul if you have to but get the PVR250 :D
Click to expand...

agree
 
The Hauppauge PVR-x50's are great, but a bit pricey. I would opt for the ATI E-Home Wonder. Believe it or not, they are practically identical to the PVR-250 (so much so that people have had problems with one being detected as the other with both drivers installed). The downside is that they won't come with a remote. The Avermedia M150 would also be a good choice at the cheap end of the spectrum. Actually, if you spot a tuner that is labeled as Windows Media Center Edition compatible, it probably shares very similar hardware with any of the above products. This is because MCE requires a hardware encoder, and the popular design uses a Conexant chip.

If you *need* a remote, the only cards you'll find at that price are not going to give you quite the same quality.
 
Well i was going to get the Leadtek TV2000 XP Expert. All the reviews i've seen for it have always been very positive and the people that have them seem to think their really good.

Software encodeing wont be a problem on my 3.0c Northwood but what about image quality?

I just want to record live shows off satellite to my HDD. Pretty much TIVO is the feature i'm after.

And what kind of cables do i need to get hooked up? I know some people talk about using composite cables while others just use coaxial. Does Newegg sell any of the cables? I tried looking the other day and didn't see any. I think i better try running the coaxial cable in here to hook up to because its a good 20 ft. to the DirecTV satellite box for composites. Of course i know very little about that stuff. What do you suggest?
 
burningrave101 said:
I think the Leadtek WinFast TV 2000 XP Expert is a really nice card. I plan to order one when i order my 6800GT.
Click to expand...

I vote for that too...had mine for a couple of years now and its awesome...never had any issues...
 
You can't get the same IQ with software as you can with hardware (atleast with my experience), the E-Home Wonder works very much like a 250 but it does have the better video inputs with the Theater 200 chips. They cost around $75 and are the best option on the lowend.

You should really look in the HTPC forum BTW ;)
 
burningrave101 said:
Well i was going to get the Leadtek TV2000 XP Expert. All the reviews i've seen for it have always been very positive and the people that have them seem to think their really good.

Software encodeing wont be a problem on my 3.0c Northwood but what about image quality?

I just want to record live shows off satellite to my HDD. Pretty much TIVO is the feature i'm after.

And what kind of cables do i need to get hooked up? I know some people talk about using composite cables while others just use coaxial. Does Newegg sell any of the cables? I tried looking the other day and didn't see any. I think i better try running the coaxial cable in here to hook up to because its a good 20 ft. to the DirecTV satellite box for composites. Of course i know very little about that stuff. What do you suggest?
Click to expand...

Is the programming you want going to come from DirecTV? If that's the case, channel changing and so forth becomes more complicated, as you have to have a way to tell the receiver what to do. AVS Forum's HTPC section might be a good place to do some research (avsforum.com) As for what to hook it up with, here's the signal quality breakdown from good to worse:

S-Video > Composite > Coaxial
 
Zuht said:
Is the programming you want going to come from DirecTV? If that's the case, channel changing and so forth becomes more complicated, as you have to have a way to tell the receiver what to do. AVS Forum's HTPC section might be a good place to do some research (avsforum.com) As for what to hook it up with, here's the signal quality breakdown from good to worse:

S-Video > Composite > Coaxial
Click to expand...

Channel changing becomes more complicated?

I'll change the channel using my remote on the DirecTV receiver. I just want the TV Tuner to record the feed. The Tuner doesn't need to change the channel. Is there something i'm not understanding here?
 
burningrave101 said:
Channel changing becomes more complicated?

I'll change the channel using my remote on the DirecTV receiver. I just want the TV Tuner to record the feed. The Tuner doesn't need to change the channel. Is there something i'm not understanding here?
Click to expand...

Nope, in that case it's fine :) I was guessing that it would record unattended.
 
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