Need a TV card - any recommendations?

[sykopath79]

I am in the market for a TV tuner/VIVO add-in card for my PC. Not looking for an AGP card (e.g. ATI's All-In-Wonder) since I already have a Radeon 9700 PRO and don't need/can't afford to upgrade it right now. I'm looking for just a PCI TV tuner and possibly some other VIVO features. If there are any that can handle an HDTV signal then that would be a definite plus. I've looked at MSI's TV Wonder but it doesn't seem to do HDTV and I've heard it pretty much only operates with mono sound. I know Hauppauge made decent cards back in the day but I don't even know if they're still around.

Recommendations anyone?

 

[ironique]

Have a look at the Leadtek TV 2000XP (or something like that, cant quite remember) It's pretty popular around most forums but I wouldn't know about HDTV support. You could check it out at leadtek's site.

 

[rbV5]

If there are any that can handle an HDTV signal then that would be a definite plus

The leadtek cards don't do HDTV decoding, the digital Hauppage cards are crap and not worth pursuing. I have the last gen MyHD which handles both NTSC analog (poorly) and ATSC digital (OTA DTV and HDTV broadcast) very good. AVSforums is a good place for info. Check out the HTPC and HDTV forums for an idea of what is out there. Remember its an emerging technology.

 

[sykopath79]

The Leadtek certainly looks decent... any other recommendations, folks?

 

[beatle]

I'm happy with my Asus TV Tuner. Excellent hardware mpeg2 capturing and a decent remote.

 

[joshg]

Well, you have to ask yourself some questions about it...

Do you need HDTV support?

Do you have a spending limit?

The price difference between a card that has HDTV support and one that doesn't have HDTV support tends to be at least $100-200 (if not more ... ).

Check out some of the aforementioned cards for ones that don't support HDTV. Here are a few that do...

http://www.digitalconnection.com/products/video/fusion.asp

http://www.digitalconnection.com/products/video/fusion2.asp

http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/mdp120.asp

... And there are lots more.

As a previous poster suggested, I would recommend the AVS HTPC Forum

 

[GhettoBlaster]

What do you guys think about Pinnacle's tv cards? I am interested in a TV card to camptures TV programs to burn them to DVD.

 

[Rottie]

I wonder why nobody mentioned ATI TV Wonder VE tuner card?

I am using this card and it was nice card...but it does not support digital (I might be wrong cuz I don't have cable right now). I pick this card because it is only 35.00 and have basic features that I need such as closed capitoned..but I don't need advanced features.

 

[Bonesdad]

Originally posted by: beatle
I'm happy with my Asus TV Tuner. Excellent hardware mpeg2 capturing and a decent remote.

Second that...awesome card.

 

[Chu]

All I can say is star far, FAR away from pinnacle. Their pro stuff is a godsend, but their "PCTV" cards are some of the worst pieces of crap ever made.

-Chu

 

[GhettoBlaster]

I have read a review on Hauupauge's PVR-250 and it looks like it is pretty solid. What I will be doing mainly is capturing TV shows for time shifting and burning tv shows and sporting events to DVD-R. Is this a good choice for me?

 

[aka1nas]

I am also looking for a a similar card. Can any of the abovementioned cards do timeshifting and/or have PVR like functionality with DirectTv?

 

[sykopath79]

Thanks for the input everyone; I ended up buying the Leadtek TV 2000XP, just placed the order at Newegg.com earlier today. It seemed like the best feature set of the cards I looked at, as far as PVR, VIVO, and video capture capability.