ATSC USB TV Tuner $22.72 shipped Newegg

[wirednuts]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3087823&SID=

kworld, but i have first hand experience with these. they are surprisingly good. they have cheap construction, but if you take care of them they work great. you cant beat $22 for an atsc tuner.

 

[Elixer]

Too bad many Cable CO's are encrypting everything, so clear QAM is worthless now.

 

[nickbits]

Too bad many Cable CO's are encrypting everything, so clear QAM is worthless now.

Antenna ftw!

 

[wirednuts]

clear qam? pff! im in love with atsc ota. if you have a decent antenna, it never cuts out. it is 100% rock solid even in the worst storms- or a power outage. cable is only good for internet!

 

[cytoSiN]

For the idiots in the room (/raises hand), is this plug n' play, or you need to set up somehow with your cable company?

 

[Elixer]

For the idiots in the room (/raises hand), is this plug n' play, or you need to set up somehow with your cable company?

It is plug & pray that it works.

ATSC means, you need to hook up some kind of a antenna, and hope you pull in some channels.
clearQAM means you hook up your CATV coax to it, and hope you pull in some channels.

Both cases, you only get local channels, nothing more.

 

[Replay]

See what cable & broadcast digital signals you might receive.
http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/

Roof antenna brings us 70+ channels-subchannels. Small cable company still doing clear QAM, 220 channels of SD and HD.

USB TV tuners have died on me twice. They run hot. One was this model. Running PCIe 1x sub $20 cards from ebay and old hot deals.

 

[soulcougher73]

Does this only work on a computer or could you hook it up to a TV that was a monitor only with no tuner?

 

[exar333]

Grabbed one, great deal for <$25.

 

[JeffMD]

Does this only work on a computer or could you hook it up to a TV that was a monitor only with no tuner?

They require software and drivers of course, so no.

 

[corba]

this is back to $25.

I just picked up the HDHR3 for about twice the price (got one for $50 on sale, liked it so much, got another for $70 by calling J&Rs and asking for a deal), and it has twice the tuners, and four times the value IMO, if you're going to put in the effort to build a quality DVR, consider it, Very sensitive ATSC tuners.

UHF doesn't like long cable runs, nice to have the digital tuner near the antenna, and ethernet is easier to run than USB extensions. Power line ethernet works too.

MythTV rocks.

 

[wirednuts]

they do run hot, like most usb adapters of any kind do. since theyre cheap, you cant expecting perfection but if you live in a hot climate it probably is a good idea to take off the casing and glue a heatsink to the chip inside

 

[benjamin.mtzgr]

I never looked into a tuner. I have Time Warner Cable, and I pay $12 a month for basic cable (2-17). The ONLY thing I use it for is my sports (abc, nbc, cbs, yankees on my9). Should I consider a TV antenna or USB tuner (my compuer monitor is larger than my tv) for my TV?

Is the quality going to be the same? (nothing grinds my gears more than static)

 

[wirednuts]

I never looked into a tuner. I have Time Warner Cable, and I pay $12 a month for basic cable (2-17). The ONLY thing I use it for is my sports (abc, nbc, cbs, yankees on my9). Should I consider a TV antenna or USB tuner (my compuer monitor is larger than my tv) for my TV?

Is the quality going to be the same? (nothing grinds my gears more than static)

welcome to 2013. reception is far better then analog used to be, even with the same old antennas. there is no static, in fact it is roughly 14mb/sec high definition 1080i picture signal. in some cases its better then cable quality.

paying for basic cable is ridiculous. youll probably find you get more channels with an antenna anyway.

 

[benjamin.mtzgr]

So what should I buy?

 

[wirednuts]

So what should I buy?

the one posted here works better then you would think. it really doesnt perform any better or worse then most ive tried.

but if you want something more reliable, the hauppauge 2250 is an excellent choice. you can also find old ati 650 pro's, and those were and still are awesome...

with atsc ota, the most important factor is going to be your antenna, and more specifically where its placed. if its indoors, youll need a good antenna. if its outdoors, pretty much any antenna will work.

 

[benjamin.mtzgr]

Thanks!

 

[wirednuts]

np!

cheaper then i thought for the old ati's too.... $30 for a dual tuner pcie version!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PN667-...eo_Capture_TV_Tuner_Cards&hash=item2c6e8a3624

thats a steal... claims to never been used.