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HDTV Tuner Card question

Originally posted by: Indolent

If it doesn't say it, it probably doesn't support it though.
Click to expand...

not necessarily... some cards have a half-ass QAM support and because of that their manufacturers dont advertise it (e.g.: Hauppauge HVR-1600). sometimes, after a few firmware updates, the feature is fully implemented and the manufacturer starts advertising it.

 
Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
HDTV PCI Tuner Card & USB HDTV Tuner Chart

Lists Cable/QAM Support
Click to expand...

that page is very helpful, but remember to read reviews before buying any QAM card, because this modulation is implemented differently by each cable company. that results in some cards getting all QAM channels, others getting some, yet others getting none! depends on your cable provider.

maybe you should wait another year till the TV card manufacturers start employing "more universal" decoders that can process any QAM format (that's what i'm doing...). the AVS forum i mentioned earlier is a good place to go and ask questions. you will prolly find an experienced user from your area there.

 
Originally posted by: nordloewelabs
Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
HDTV PCI Tuner Card & USB HDTV Tuner Chart

Lists Cable/QAM Support
Click to expand...

that page is very helpful, but remember to read reviews before buying any QAM card, because this modulation is implemented differently by each cable company. that results in some cards getting all QAM channels, others getting some, yet others getting none! depends on your cable provider.

maybe you should wait another year till the TV card manufacturers start employing "more universal" decoders that can process any QAM format (that's what i'm doing...). the AVS forum i mentioned earlier is a good place to go and ask questions. you will prolly find an experienced user from your area there.
Click to expand...

More likely individual cable networks encrypt different sets of channels. On AVS forums I have read posts from people who get a ton of clear channels, and many that get very few. Then there is the issue of software support. QAM tuning is not covered in the BDA driver specification, so software vendors have to work with individual hardware interfaces on the cards. SnapStream's BeyondTV currently only supports QAM on the HD Homerun at the moment, and they have given no view into when that will change. HDHR is digital-only, btw. Sage-TV support that as well, along with several other cards like the Hauppage HVR-1600 and HVR-1800. MCE does QAM on a few cards, but you can't tune both analog and digital in the same configuration, or at least that's what I have read.

The situation for desktop cable is pretty crappy right now, and it's probably going to get worse as more cablecos switch to the digital-only lineup (ours switched last August), and encrypt more QAM channels. They want you on a set-top box, and within a few years that's where you'll be if you want their content. Satellite is even worse, by some accounts, in terms of being bottled up. The alternative will be IP streams that go around all these proprietary content networks and shake up their business models, but we're not quite there yet. Can't wait until we are, so I can laugh at Comcast and their aspirations toward being the gatekeepers. They're the water company, but they don't know it yet.
 
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