Any Advice on TV Cards?

[rikadik]

I'm currently considering getting a TV card for my PC. Ultimately, there are a few things that are important to me that will influence my decision, and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I want to be able to:
Watch Digital TV (do they make TV cards with integrated digital tuners?)
Play my Xbox on my PC's LCD display without losing great amounts of quality
Be able to record/pause/etc live TV
A remote control would also be very attractive

In terms of budget, I don't have one. But value is important, but equally, so is superior performance. I hope to be using a TV card with a Dell 2005FPW.

If a solution exists in which allows me to do all these things with one card that would be great. However if you have any other suggestions, particularly in relation to connecting up a games console, then please let me know.

Thanks in anticipation!

 

[SynthDude2001]

I'm using a MyHD MDP-130 HDTV tuner card with my 2005FPW, and I'm thoroughly impressed. It has a remote and allows timeshifting of live digital TV too (but not analog). It has the standard S-Video inputs and such too, so you could in theory hook up an Xbox to it, but it honestly wouldn't look that great at 480i. The analog tuner quality of the card is supposedly not as great as some of the higher-end analog stuff, but I honestly couldn't care less now that I've got nice HD reception.

Where do you live, and how much TV would you be watching? Mostly HD/digital or no? Also, one thing to keep in mind with all current PC HDTV tuners is that you can only tune OTA (over-the-air) broadcasts or unencrypted QAM (basically, HD over cable - but this is generally limited to the free channels as well; useful in areas with less than stellar antenna reception). There is currently no easy way to get the premium or otherwise non-free channels in HD on a PC, as this requires a CableCard or other similar tuner that can decrypt the encrypted digital signals on the cable line.

As far as your game console too, I believe there exist devices that allow you to convert the Xbox output to VGA, which should have better quality than the standard low-end 480i S-Video. So you may want to take a look into that just as a research step.

Edit: Now that I think about it (I never use it), the 2005FPW has a S-Video input anyways...that would be your easiest way to hook up the Xbox, and you could completely bypass the tuner for that, you'd just have to switch inputs on the monitor. You'd still have to find something for the sound, perhaps by getting a simple dual RCA->stereo minijack adapter and plugging it into the Line In input of your sound card...

 

[rikadik]

Thats helpful, thanks.

I actually live in the UK, so although HD is soon on sattelite and cable its still a year or so off on "free-to-air" digital TV (which I will be watching). However HD support is important since I am keen to get an Xbox 360 which supports HD also (I usually keep games off my PC and use a console instead - I'm not a big gamer!). However, if like you say, the S-Video socket will only handle 480i, that comes nowhere near.

Hmm interesting... Any other ideas? Is there a way of getting my LCD to display my xbox without fiddling about with VGA adaptors? Maybe even some sort of junction box to switch automatically between the signal from the xbox and the signal from the TV? Remember I'm just as interested in an overall solution consisting of many things as all-singing all-dancing PCI card.

Thanks

EDIT:

Ah, just read your edit! Interesting! Is changing the inputs on the 2005FPW a task of pressing a few buttons do does it involve physically moving around cables? The sound solution sounds ideal.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Ah, your profile wasn't visible so I couldn't see where you were from....not all of what I said will apply to you, then. I know next to nothing about the status of digital/HDTV in other countries, sorry.

Yes, on the 2005FPW, you just press the input button to cycle through the four inputs (S-Video, Composite, DVI, VGA), and they can all have cables connected to them at the same time if you want. As far as Xbox360....I'm considering getting one myself (maybe), and being that they will display all games in HD, they would almost have to have either a DVI or HDMI output, either of which could be connected to your 2005FPW's DVI port (HDMI with a simple adapter). The only problem then would be that you'd probably want your computer connected via DVI too... (too bad the 2005FPW doesn't have Component inputs like the larger and more expensive 2405FPW)

 

[rikadik]

It is a shame, component inputs would be awesome. Hmm but I could use the analogue connection for the PC, since I dont game much and the xbox 360 could probably handle DVDs better than my PC anyway. And then all my entertainment would be nice and intergrated, which is ultimately what I'm after - a nice integrated solution for my room in my new student house at uni.

Your help has been great, thanks a lot. I think I'll look to buy the 2005FPW then, which is on offer at the moment. It certainly seems to make a lot of sense to connect the Xbox via S-Video to the monitor, rather than via the PC. So I think I'll just find a TV card with digital tuner on it thats had good reviews.

If you do think of anything else, please let me know!

 

[piasabird]

Samsung and others make models with TV Tuners, but some of them have lower specs TV has lower specs than computer monitors. Video is only 25-30 frames per second.

 

[piasabird]

Sorry for multiple posts.

Some plasma screens double as monitors and have dual VGA inputs. Imaging a split screen on a wide plasma screen.

 

[SynthDude2001]

You certainly could use the VGA input for your computer, although I much prefer DVI. The VGA input at 1680x1050 isn't bad, it's just that DVI is better (especially for text and such). It's all personal preference though, and it's not like Xbox 360 is going to be out tomorrow, so you could have plenty of time to experiment and see what works out for you.

The 2005FPW is quite the nice monitor, I've had mine since January and I've loved it. I don't really use the other video inputs much at all, but they're there if you need them.

I'm glad I've been of some help. :beer:

 

[rikadik]

Hmm. If only there were more options for plugging everything in. Well, I think I'm going to order a TV card and maybe hold out on the 2005FPW for now. I suppose its only going to come down in price, although Dell say the offer ends soon.

Come to think of it actually, I'm not even entirely sure my room with have an aerial socket in it. Oh well ill get the TV card anyway. I'm going for a Hauppauge Win-TV-Nova-T-PCI, which at £60 (about $100), seems to be fairly good value for money considering the good reviews I've read.