I'm tired of crappy TV resolution on my PC.. I need better quailty

[robphelan]

I don't always watch TV on my PC but sometimes, like tonight.. the Spurs are playing .. then US vs. Mexico..

I have Time Warner cable, feeds into an internal TV tuner and using Windows Media Center as my player.

As I understand it, I can buy an OTA HD antenna, but only get local channels (Antenna Web shows up to 37 channels).

first of all, is there anything I can do/buy to improve my cable TV quality on my PC

secondly, if I do wind up buying an OTA HD antenna, what's the best option for mounting inside the house (against an outer wall/window is possible).

thanks in advance.
rp

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

What TV tuner are you currently using? Is your cable subscription basic or do you get HD channels (besides the locals)? Are you paying rental on a TW box, or boxes?

There are definitely options available, and it's possible those options could pay for themselves and even save you money in the long run. Need to know the specifics though.

 

[Binky]

OTA works great with WMC, but bigger antennas are definitely better, and mounting them higher is generally better. It may take some trial and error to see what works in your area and your house/apartment. Alternatively, you can get a cablecard tuner and continue to pull the signal through your cable company.

 

[robphelan]

What TV tuner are you currently using? Is your cable subscription basic or do you get HD channels (besides the locals)? Are you paying rental on a TW box, or boxes?

It's an older internal Hauppauge dual tuner. We have an HD subscription from TW, but no HD box for that location - only in the family room.

At this point, it's not about "cutting the cord" - my wife needs "normal" TV during the day (she can't/won't attempt to use the internal media network + streaming without me). Also, Time Warner gave me a substantial discount last month when I threatened to leave for a local competitor.

thanks,
RP.

 

[robphelan]

Alternatively, you can get a cablecard tuner and continue to pull the signal through your cable company.

Would that improve the quality of resolution? TW only charges 2.95/month for the cable card, I believe.

 

[lupi]

Sounds like you're complaining about resolution of watching a SD signal. Easy solution would be to watch an HD signal.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Would that improve the quality of resolution? TW only charges 2.95/month for the cable card, I believe.

A cable card tuner would allow you to watch encrypted HD channels (even premium channels if you have them) so, yes, you could have better resolution.

 

[Automaticman]

You need to get an HD cable card tuner like the one from InfiniTV (I think Haupage makes one as well).

Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Ceton-InfiniTV.../dp/B003B4VLJQ

or the 6 tuner external version reviewed here:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043...ynamo-for-microsoft-s-dying-media-center.html

(although note that the second tuner is actually a network tuner that can feed multiple PCs)

 

[MadScientist]

I cut the Comcrap TV cord this week. I had only basic cable TV but could get the network channels and a few more in HD by just connecting the cable to my TV. Last week Comcrap encrypted those channels too and I have to use their POS DTA with their POS remote to decrypt the channels, which are all in standard def.
If I want HD TV I will have to upgrade from basic.
So I got myself a Mohu Leaf 50 amplified antenna. I live ~26 miles south of Knoxville. Here's my analysis from TV Fool: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d5b947890de982d
I have the Leaf mounted high on a north facing back window behind the TV. The window blinds when shut hide the antenna. Without the amp it pulled in 10 channels, with it 25, 24 in HD. Goodbye Comcrap cable TV.
Review: http://www.hdtvexpert.com/tag/mohu-leaf/
Of course the big YMMV is location, location, location.
The only con I have about the Leaf 50 Ultimate is its high price, but if your TV Fool analysis shows channels with higher signal strengths than mine then the cheaper Leaf 30 may be adequate. I got mine from here: http://www.wwstereo.com/ for $65.55 with a 5% off coupon code and free shipping.

Thanks to my son, I have a secondary free membership to Netflix.

If you are a huge sports fan, which except for football I'm not, then OTA TV may not be the way to go.

I get other TV shows from the other channels by other means. I suggest using a VPN, i.e., PIA ($3.33/month), for this.

 

[Geofram]

You need to get an HD cable card tuner like the one from InfiniTV (I think Haupage makes one as well).

Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Ceton-InfiniTV.../dp/B003B4VLJQ

or the 6 tuner external version reviewed here:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043...ynamo-for-microsoft-s-dying-media-center.html

(although note that the second tuner is actually a network tuner that can feed multiple PCs)

I have the 2nd one personally, using with WOW. The picture is very good.

Just as a warning; if you go into the CableCard on PC route, it's not precisely for the faint of heart; the Ceton Products work well, but can be very finicky to get set up and working. The network tuner for example will lock up fairly often (in my experience) with certain NICs. It can also be very picky about having a strong enough signal, if you are behind splitters. So setup is not as easy as "plug in cable card, plug in coax cable".

I've heard the Silicon Dust products are more stable and less picky, but they don't tune as many channels.

 

[Aikouka]

Just as a warning; if you go into the CableCard on PC route, it's not precisely for the faint of heart; the Ceton Products work well, but can be very finicky to get set up and working. The network tuner for example will lock up fairly often (in my experience) with certain NICs. It can also be very picky about having a strong enough signal, if you are behind splitters. So setup is not as easy as "plug in cable card, plug in coax cable".

I originally had an InfiniTV 4 PCI-E, and now I'm using the InfiniTV 6 ETH adapter. My original internal version was pretty much flawless. Once I got the CableCard paired (a huge headache the first time with Comcast), it worked, and I never missed a beat. Unfortunately, my external unit hasn't been nearly as flawless. I'm not sure if mine is locking up or what exactly is happening to it, but all of a sudden, it just stops working. The thing is... I may not even be using it at the time, so I won't know that it failed until I go to watch my recorded shows... and find out that they're not there! Fortunately, it only takes a power cycle to fix it. To note, I am also using the beta firmware that allows for tuner pooling (dynamically sharing tuners between any device).

EDIT:

It's also worthwhile for him to keep in mind that if he just wants to use this on one PC, that he really only needs a 4-tuner card. Windows Media Center can see that more than four tuners exist, but it will only use four. Now, if you do something like buy the 6-tuner internal card, you can dedicate the remaining tuners to another PC, or as I mentioned, the external device can share tuners with anyone on demand.

 

[bradly1101]

I've heard the Silicon Dust products are more stable and less picky, but they don't tune as many channels.

Please explain. I have the Silly Dust HDPrime triple tuner and it tunes all the channels on our system. It also works without issue (on three different NIC's I've used).

 

[Dirigible]

My hdhomerun prime gets all the channels, but it is finicky. One example: I was using the motherboard ethernet on a computer and had pixelation and freezing bad enough to make tv unwatchable. Added a usb ethernet connection and used that instead of the motherboard ethernet and it worked flawlessly. Go figure.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

EDIT:

It's also worthwhile for him to keep in mind that if he just wants to use this on one PC, that he really only needs a 4-tuner card. Windows Media Center can see that more than four tuners exist, but it will only use four. Now, if you do something like buy the 6-tuner internal card, you can dedicate the remaining tuners to another PC, or as I mentioned, the external device can share tuners with anyone on demand.

Can you define what you mean by the above? afaik, the Ceton drivers enable registry changes so Media Center can see and use more than 4 tuners (up to 32). Plenty of people over at AVS Forum are using 2 InifiniTV6 ETH units and report recording 12 channels at once without issue so what you are claiming doesn't seem to make sense.

 

[Aikouka]

Can you define what you mean by the above? afaik, the Ceton drivers enable registry changes so Media Center can see and use more than 4 tuners (up to 32). Plenty of people over at AVS Forum are using 2 InifiniTV6 ETH units and report recording 12 channels at once without issue so what you are claiming doesn't seem to make sense.

WMC flat out tells me that it sees six tuners but it will only use up to four. If there's some way to alter this, then I have not heard of it nor would I have suspected it. I assumed it was coded into the software to only manage up to specific amount.

What I'd also like to find is some sort of way to cool the unit. I could just toss a fan on top of it, but I wouldn't mind being slightly more elegant....

 

[tential]

WMC flat out tells me that it sees six tuners but it will only use up to four. If there's some way to alter this, then I have not heard of it nor would I have suspected it. I assumed it was coded into the software to only manage up to specific amount.

What I'd also like to find is some sort of way to cool the unit. I could just toss a fan on top of it, but I wouldn't mind being slightly more elegant....

With the amount of issues I had setting up the InfiniTV4, I'd never buy another Ceton product again. But, I'm unaware of anyone else that lets you tune 6 channels at once at such a price range.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

WMC flat out tells me that it sees six tuners but it will only use up to four. If there's some way to alter this, then I have not heard of it nor would I have suspected it. I assumed it was coded into the software to only manage up to specific amount.

You might want to open a ticket with Ceton. That shouldn't be happening.

If you don't want to mess with Ceton support (they are actually very good) you can download Tuner Salad, pay $3.40, and fix the problem immediately.

What I'd also like to find is some sort of way to cool the unit. I could just toss a fan on top of it, but I wouldn't mind being slightly more elegant....

I'm not aware of any other solutions other than slapping a fan on top. Cracking the case to see what could be done internally would likely void whatever warranty you have.

 

[Aikouka]

With the amount of issues I had setting up the InfiniTV4, I'd never buy another Ceton product again. But, I'm unaware of anyone else that lets you tune 6 channels at once at such a price range.

Were your InfiniTV4 issues related to the tuner or your cable company? I had no issues with the card itself, but Comcast sure wasn't up to the task of setting up the CableCard correctly.

You might want to open a ticket with Ceton. That shouldn't be happening.

If you don't want to mess with Ceton support (they are actually very good) you can download Tuner Salad, pay $3.40, and fix the problem immediately.

Ah, okay. Well, I'm not too worried about it at this point. I mostly just brought it up because it might save the OP a few bucks if he goes with the four-tuner model. ...and I recognized some of that URL. I use their My Channel Logos program to modify WMC's layout and add channel logos to the program guide.

I'm not aware of any other solutions other than slapping a fan on top. Cracking the case to see what could be done internally would likely void whatever warranty you have.

Oh, I definitely don't want to open the unit. My thought was to create some sort of metal sleeve that I can put the InfiniTV into and mount a fan on top of. It would be even more awesome if I could hijack the power plug so I could borrow a little juice to power the fan that way.

 

[tential]

It took my 1-2 hours on the phone with Verizon to get my CableCard set up correctly. I'm very lucky that the person was EXTREMELY patient when helping me.

As for sharing my CableCard through Windows on Windows 8 (not supported by Ceton because why support the latest OS right?). That was a PAIN! I eventually got it working though. But then I used XBMC instead to share live TV (SEriously XBMC? Why is your Deinterlace option not set to Auto as default.....) and it was relatively easy. Couple of hiccups due to SMB sharing with passwords and what not which is ALWAYS an issue for me in Windows but it's now working on XBMC very well.

I now want to setup a Windows Server PC for serving my house with Live TV instead of using a cable box in every location. Save myself quite a bit of money.

I'd just use XBMC though wherever possible and only use WMC ifyou have to. I use WMC for setting up recordings, but for actually watching now I just use XBMC.

 

[Binky]

My hdhomerun prime gets all the channels, but it is finicky. One example: I was using the motherboard ethernet on a computer and had pixelation and freezing bad enough to make tv unwatchable. Added a usb ethernet connection and used that instead of the motherboard ethernet and it worked flawlessly. Go figure.

This is most likely a network cable problem. Jperf works great to test network speeds to isolate problems.

 

[giantpandaman2]

Easiest way is to get a tuner from your cable company and just use your hdmi directly to your monitor. Only negative is you won't have DVR functionality. Everyone else has covered the more complicated (but more powerful) route.

 

[Tegeril]

With the amount of issues I had setting up the InfiniTV4, I'd never buy another Ceton product again. But, I'm unaware of anyone else that lets you tune 6 channels at once at such a price range.

This.

Mine were with the device. HDHomeRun is the way to go.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

My hdhomerun prime gets all the channels, but it is finicky. One example: I was using the motherboard ethernet on a computer and had pixelation and freezing bad enough to make tv unwatchable. Added a usb ethernet connection and used that instead of the motherboard ethernet and it worked flawlessly. Go figure.

Once you get something to work well and understand the pitfalls and limitations that cause it trouble, you become biased toward that particular solution as have I. I love my Silly-dust HD HomeRun PRIME!!

Let me ask you right away. What internet security and AV software are you using? My Kaspersky had gone through existing software installations and segregated "Trusted" and "Limited Restricted" processes and services. I found three programs -- processes or services of SiliconDust in the "Limited Restricted" zone.

The other problem limitation with SillyDust -- you can share a tuner with another PC, but that is one less tuner available to "DVR" programming on any remaining PC which is Silly-dust-configured.

It used to be I needed to power-cycle the Silly-Dust device every couple weeks. I don't do that anymore. And -- I grabbed back the tuner assignment to Mom's computer upstairs. She doesn't take advantage of it.

 

[Elixer]

The other problem limitation with SillyDust -- you can share a tuner with another PC, but that is one less tuner available to "DVR" programming on any remaining PC which is Silly-dust-configured.

How is that a limitation? Of course you will lose a tuner, if someone else is using it. What else would you expect ?
Need more tuners, buy more tuners.