A few weeks ago the AIW VE was going for under $100 online, but it's now back to the $130 price tag that it had when it was first released.
Going with the USB TV/FM tuner and 9100 PCI would likely run you about $30-$40 more than the AIW VE costs, but with that route you get a much more capable PCI video card for gaming. Also, there might be other USB tuners by other brands that do not cost as much as the Hauppauge (don't know myself, as I have no experience with USB tuners).
Was your sister wanting to use her pc to watch TV on her monitor, or was she wanting to output the signal to a television set?