best cheap tv tuner card

[Nvidiaguy07]

these are my needs:
1. doesnt have to be anything great (HD,remote,whatever else i dont need)
2. needs alot of support - i want to use it in media center and also in linux
3.needs to be able to be used to convert VHS to DVD - i know thye probably all do this but just in case some are better than others.

Any recommendations?

I had the Fusion RT7 before but it sucked. It made my comp freeze, couldn't be used in media center or linux. and just wasn't worth the money i spent on it. SO what do u think?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

ATi all in wonder

 

[ther00kie16]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
ATi all in wonder

haha... all in wonder is expensive (think msrp is $150) and it's only a 3650 + tuner, each of which is probably ~$50.
Since it'll all be digital soon, tuners that have 1 digital + 1 analog will be mostly useless.
This site has good info and has a link to a tuner that has 2 digital tuners. If you want to watch and record different channels at the same time, you'll need 2 tuners. Otherwise, just go with any cheap tuner. I think ati tv wonder 650 can be had decently cheap (pci version's cheaper)

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

those seem kind of expensive.

I remember thinking that you can just get a cheap one that will do the job for like 20 bucks>?

how this:http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16815260020

 

[ther00kie16]

are you using it to watch tv? u know about the switch to digital in 2 months right? so that card would be useless for tv unless you have cable.
but if all u need is a capture device, it'll work, though don't most modern video cards have vivo (video in, video out)? so you could just capture with your 8800gt. if you want a dedicated capture device, i still wouldn't go with kworld as they aren't a very good brand.

 

[manimal]

I would stay away from Kworld products if at all humanly possible. I have tried 4 different cards and 2 other usb k world products and they all were horrible. Cheap and tuner cards dont really go hand in hand sadly. The absolute cheapest one I would recommend

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16815100015


I have used that card on 4 different htpcs and it has been great. With the new update to Media Center-you have to dig for it-it does QAM without hacks in media center and works in x64 and x32 as well. The remote that comes with it is worth 30 bucks on its own anyways so for 80ish its a steal.


M

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Originally posted by: manimal
I would stay away from Kworld products if at all humanly possible. I have tried 4 different cards and 2 other usb k world products and they all were horrible. Cheap and tuner cards dont really go hand in hand sadly. The absolute cheapest one I would recommend

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16815100015


I have used that card on 4 different htpcs and it has been great. With the new update to Media Center-you have to dig for it-it does QAM without hacks in media center and works in x64 and x32 as well. The remote that comes with it is worth 30 bucks on its own anyways so for 80ish its a steal.


M

The last card i had claimed to do QAM but it wasnt very good at it and the only channels that worked in media center were the HD ones that wouldnt come in. Media center recognized the tuner as HD and ignored the lower channels.

The last card i had was a DVICO fusion gold and i absoluelty hated it. Not only did it suck but it made my comp freeze up, gave me blue screens, and wouldn't allow me to install XP when it was in!!!!!!!

Are you sure this card doesn't have any bugs like that?

 

[quadomatic]

Look for an ATI HDTV Wonder. Only trouble is that it doesn't work with Vista x64. It might not work with Vista 32 bit either. You could just use a virtual machine inside vista though, I think.