And I have copyed it too, if it weren't for that meddlin FCC

[Grasshopper7]

I just heard about the July 1, 2005 deadline for broadcast- flag free TV Tuners. Is this hype? or should we all rush out and hoarde them like the bombs have started fallin?

What is the best TV and HDTV Tuner BTW?

I have seen a crappy Hauppauge (Win-TV Go) and wasn't too impressed.

Are the software woes still plauging ATI and others?


Thanks for the input.

 

[SynthDude2001]

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper7
I just heard about the July 1, 2005 deadline for broadcast- flag free TV Tuners. Is this hype? or should we all rush out and hoarde them like the bombs have started fallin?

What is the best TV and HDTV Tuner BTW?

I have seen a crappy Hauppauge (Win-TV Go) and wasn't too impressed.

Are the software woes still plauging ATI and others?


Thanks for the input.

Now that you've actually posted something, I can help you

The broadcast flag was indeed real, but luckily for us was recently struck down by a judge, so the July 1 deadline is no longer in effect....for now. They're trying to get Congress to do their dirty work though, so it could well reappear again.

I personally own a MyHD MDP-130 HDTV tuner and it's awesome. It's also rather expensive though since it has a hardware decoder (=low CPU usage). The other popular ones are the ATI HDTV Wonder and the DVICO Fusion 3, both of which seem to work well (from what I've read), and are about $100 cheaper than the one I bought. However, they rely on software decoding.

 

[xtknight]

Wow. I don't understand this broadcast flag crap. VCRs don't have this "broadcast flag" on them, and the apocolypse hasn't come yet. Christ, now the government not only has RFID to track your movements they also have plots of tracking what you do with the devices in your hands. Unbelievable. I hope my external HDTV doesn't implement this piece of sh!t. Don't worry, it'll get hacked the next day anyway. lol.

 

[Bateluer]

The broadcast flag is being appealed by the MPAA and the like.

Don't buy an ATI HDTV Wonder, royal pain to get working. Pretty cool when it does work though.

I'd be looking at the Hauppage line of HDTV Tuners, they are supposed to be pretty good.

 

[Grasshopper7]

Sorry hit enter when I meant Shift.

To futher query should I look into seperate Analog/Digital/HDTV Tuners or try some combination such as :


Kworld DVBS 100 PCI DTV and ATI 100-714127 PCI HDTV Wonder remote control ed.

Wont these cards' remotes create a compatability issue? (Thinking out loud)

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper7
Sorry hit enter when I meant Shift.

To futher query should I look into seperate Analog/Digital/HDTV Tuners or try some combination such as :


Kworld DVBS 100 PCI DTV and ATI 100-714127 PCI HDTV Wonder remote control ed.

Wont these cards' remotes create a compatability issue? (Thinking out loud)

Most if not all of the HDTV tuners can tune regular NTSC TV too...

 

[Grasshopper7]

Don't you need a Digital card to capture digital cable?

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper7
Don't you need a Digital card to capture digital cable?

I am not aware of any PC HDTV/DTV tuners that can receive "digital cable" in the context of encrypted channels that you'd normally get with a cable box. Generally you are limited to the unencrypted QAM channels (the locals, basically), plus whatever is sent on the analog side.

Edit: Just noticed your profile says you're in Germany...not sure how that changes things

Edit2:

If you were in Germany then the FCC thing wouldn't much matter to you...I'm confused.

 

[rise]

man, i had never heard of this crap. damn these pricks are out of control. i'll have to read up more.

 

[Grasshopper7]

Soon to return to US and looking forward to seeing/recording some HDTV

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper7
Soon to return to US and looking forward to seeing/recording some HDTV

Ah, ok...then yeah, what I said still stands. How are you planning to get your channels (i.e. cable, satellite, ...)?

 

[Grasshopper7]

Cable is my first choice, but the Sat- based cards sound interesting. Still, I remember the reception was nonexistent when it rained.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper7
Cable is my first choice, but the Sat- based cards sound interesting. Still, I remember the reception was nonexistant when it rained.

I honestly have absolutely no experience with satellite, so I can't be of much help there. As far as cable - like I said, right now you could get whatever channels they send unencrypted, in HD, and otherwise whatever they send in analog.

 

[bersl2]

Originally posted by: rise4310
man, i had never heard of this crap. damn these pricks are out of control. i'll have to read up more.

Oy. How have you never heard of this? You're probably blithely unaware of the hundreds of other things that threaten your technology-related rights directly and indirectly too.

Do yourself a favor and start paying attention.