HTPC questions

[Atheus]

Do you need a special tuner card to decode HDTV? Over and above the ability to handle a standard digital signal that is.

Some of these cards are advertised as PVR cards, and some as TV tuners... is the difference just software? I can record, pause, rewind TV with any tuner and the appropriate software right?...

Some cards seem to come with remotes and infra red sensors (they tend to be the 'PVR' ones) and others not. Do I need this? I noticed some cases come with them too... can I buy a case with infra red and a separate remote and it will be just as good as one hooked up to the card?

Do I need an OS _and_ some specialized PVR software? Or will Windows MCE do it all out of the box?

Do I need a special video card at all? Perhaps one that decodes in hardware? Or is it standard practice to do all your decoding on the CPU?

Can anyone recommend me a tuner card?

- Must be dual tuner so I can watch one show and record another
- Must work with DVB digital TV signals
- HDTV support would be nice... not sure if this is the same as normal DVB...

 

[Atheus]

Well I just bought a Silverstone SST-LC11M, and it had better fit more than one expansion card...

I'm also looking at this:

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4343.html

Which seems to do everything I want and is reassuringly expensive. Is it real quality though? I believe DVICO (who I have never heard of) makes it.

This post also serves as a bump.

 

[Blain]

What formats does the MCE record in?

 

[ojai00]

You will need a HDTV tuner card in order to decode HDTV. Regular TV tuner cards like the Hauppauge PVR150 can only record standard definition TV.

PVR stands for personal video recorder and are usually TV tuner cards that come with software that you can use to record TV.

The cards that come with infrared sensors remotes can allow you to change channels using the remote. Let's say you have a cable signal coming into your card and are watching TV with the PVR software. The remote will allow you to change channels when pointed at the infrared sensor.

MCE does it out of the box but I believe you need to have MCE compatible hardware. You can also use XP and specialized PVR software (Beyond TV or SageTV are popular) and Linux (MythTV). Linux and MythTV are free but takes a lot more time setting up.

FusionHDTV DVB-T Dual Digital

Hope this helps.