is TV card worth anything?

[Shephard]

I have a Winfast TV 2000 XP Expert. I bought it for my Dad so he could watch TV on his computer. He doesn't have the computer anymore so I have been keeping the card in a box.

[Shephard]

200 view and no reply??? do home theater PC not use these anymore? or maybe there is something newer and mine is to old for use.

[TastesLikeChicken]

I would imagine that card only handles NTSC analog signals, doesn't do ClearQAM, and doesn't do ATSC. If true, in today's broadcast world it is virtually useless. That's not to mention that Win7 drivers, afaik, are not available for that card.

If you can find a WinXP user who has analog cable it might be worth something to them.

[Shephard]

on top of the card there is some writing. 3 check boxes.

NTSC-J, EIA-J - not checked
NTSC-M, PAL M, PAL N, MTS - checked.
PAL B/G, PAL I, PAL D/K, SECAM L/L, Secam D/K,, SECAM B/G, A2, NICAM - not checked.

I don't know what these mean.

All I remember is you plug the coaxial cable on the card and you could watch TV on your computer with the Winfast software.

[TastesLikeChicken]

Those are television broadcast formats and it confirms my suspicions. That card is virtually useless today since most cable systems are now digital only.

[Jammor]

Originally Posted by Shephard

on top of the card there is some writing. 3 check boxes.

NTSC-J, EIA-J - not checked
NTSC-M, PAL M, PAL N, MTS - checked.
PAL B/G, PAL I, PAL D/K, SECAM L/L, Secam D/K,, SECAM B/G, A2, NICAM - not checked.

I don't know what these mean.

All I remember is you plug the coaxial cable on the card and you could watch TV on your computer with the Winfast software.

NTSC M is analog TV with a frame rate of 29.97, 480i resolution used in north america. It will work, as mentioned, with analog TV service and the correct drivers for the OS.

Analog (NTSC) TV service is fading away. Some cableco's no longer offer it or offer only a few channels. My cableco does still offer it and its what I pay for but I expect it to be gone at some point.

[Jammor]

you'll also need software like winfast with an electronic program guide to tune TV and identify & schedule recordings. It will encode in JPEG2 which you can play back on any number of media players like windows media player, VLC, or software like winfast.

[Shephard]

what do the other 2 mean? NTSC-J and PAL B/G etc? Are they outdated too?

I know my internet provider changed from analog to cable TV. I don't know the difference though.

[Jammor]

Originally Posted by Shephard

what do the other 2 mean? NTSC-J and PAL B/G etc? Are they outdated too?

I know my internet provider changed from analog to cable TV. I don't know the difference though.

NTSC J is a variant used in Japan and PAL is a different broadcast system used in other parts of the world. It has a different frame rate than NTSC.

Your internet provider is probably your TV programming provider too? And has probably changed from analog to digital or ATSC programming.

[Jammor]

Originally Posted by Jammor

you'll also need software like winfast with an electronic program guide to tune TV and identify & schedule recordings. It will encode in JPEG2 which you can play back on any number of media players like windows media player, VLC, or software like winfast.

Sorry, I meant MPEG2

[Plugers]

Maybe if there is a FM radio plug-in. For tuning TV not really, unless you want to use it to get the analog output from a cable box and use an IR blaster to change channels.

[Shephard]

Originally Posted by Jammor

NTSC J is a variant used in Japan and PAL is a different broadcast system used in other parts of the world. It has a different frame rate than NTSC.

Your internet provider is probably your TV programming provider too? And has probably changed from analog to digital or ATSC programming.

yes my internet provider does phone and cable. I only have internet though. I remember reading they changed from analog to digital cable but I don't know the difference.

and yes it has an FM connection.

[Raincity]

Install it and check and see what channels come in through the cable connection. Win 7 should install the drivers and you can use media center to view the channels. Dscaler also will work in Win 7.

[piasabird]

Almost everyone wants everything in HD now, so dont expect much. Some cable stuff is digital but not HD. Some old Cable boxes may not be HD. A lot of Cable companies use cable boxes that require an access card to get the channels.