I have an AMD Phenom 9850 on a ASUS M3A32-MVP M.B

[rob65803]

I have an AMD Phenom 9850 on a ASUS M3A32-MVP M.B. and 4 G ddr2 mem. I have not purchased any video card, etc. I use a 27? wide screen LCD TV for my monitor. I would like to set it up to watch and/or record from cable TV. I need to display to my monitor and another larger LCD TV. Can anyone suggest what tuner, recorder, video card, etc. should I buy? Thanks!!

 

[Extelleron]

For the video card, what are you looking to spend and what are your priorities (do you care about gaming, or do you just need something for watching movies/etc)? You will probably want to wait another week or two until nVidia launches their GTX 260 ($449) and GTX 280 ($649) cards, and AMD launches their HD 4850 ($199) and HD 4870 ($299).

 

[rob65803]

Thanks for the response Extelleron, I don?t mind spending a little to get something. Don?t really have any priories, I want it to work good but not too complicated. I an a very novice gamer.
I thought it might be better to purchase a kind of compatible package.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

The 4850 will completely suit your needs.

 

[rob65803]

Thanks Scholzpdx.
I'm looking at it now...

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: rob65803
Thanks Scholzpdx.
I'm looking at it now...

I doubt you need that much 'juice' as far as the video card is concerned. A Radeon HD 2600 XT has 2 x DVI-I and I believe most come with a DVI -> HDMI connector. You get HDCP and hardware acceration for h264 / VC1.

Here is a Tuner Card Chart

I've used a number of pci Fusion5s and they work great. They can be found for around $70.

You will be able to record analog cable and unencrypted cable HD. You will not be able to record premium cable HD channels.

edit: Forgot to add that the 'recorder' program is built in to the tuner card or you may use third party software. They also include an SE version of video editing software (or use to include it, anyway)

 

[rob65803]

Nice chart, heyheybooboo, many thanks for it and the welcomed info.

I knew nothing when I posted my plea for help. Now I have at least a little vision of where I?m trying to go.

Could I add or change some equipment to also record premium cable HD channels?

 

[bryanW1995]

recording premium hd channels should be at the top of your list. try watching a nascar race in SD then change the channel to HD. It is almost surreal.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: rob65803
Nice chart, heyheybooboo, many thanks for it and the welcomed info.

I knew nothing when I posted my plea for help. Now I have at least a little vision of where I?m trying to go.

Could I add or change some equipment to also record premium cable HD channels?

'Theoretically' an OEM computer (Primarily from HP & Dell) with cablecard OCUR will record premium cable HD. (See the Dell XPS 420). Your cable company will provide the card to you (it's like a laptop pc card) and the initial setup. After a slight stagger over the last six months things are looking better (The primary issue was waking the computer from a sleep state to record your programmed channel).

I say theoretically because it's up to your local cable company to provide and program the cards.

The computer BIOS used by OCUR in OEM machines is special by the manufacturer. This is not something you can manipulate or do on your own.

Local HD channels should not be encrypted by your cable company. So if that race is on FOX you should be good to go