Need TV Tuner card (with requirements)

[minendo]

I'm looking for a TV tuner card that will allow me to utilize my computer as a DVR plus provide live streaming if possible. Currently, I'm getting raped by the cable company for two HD DVRs and 1 standard DVR. I've got 3 tvs setup each with a streaming cable device (Xbox 360, PS3, and WD Live).

What is the best tuner card available with the most flexibility?

 

[nsafreak]

Well the live streaming is really handled by software more than it is the hardware. I'm not sure about the PS3 but you should be able to watch via Windows Media Center on either the 360 or WD Live pretty easily. The only potential issue is which programming are you wanting to watch? If it's encrypted you're going to have to invest at least $250 to $300 for a CableCARD tuner. And if you want to record more than two programs at once then you're looking at spending even more.

 

[Modelworks]

Without a cablecard tuner you cannot watch anything but unencrypted cable without a cable company issued box. The DVR may be expensive but if you were to replace them with the equivalent on the pc you are looking at about a $300 investment for the tuner, plus you still have to rent the cablecard. If you get just a standard box from the cable company, count the rental fee for that + you will have to set up the PVR software to change the channels on the box + tuner cost ($100) . Even if the cable company is renting you the DVR at $20 a month that is over a year of rental to recover the cost. Plus figure that the pc will have to remain on always and will consume more power.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

If you wait another month you can buy the new Ceton InfiniTV 4 CableCard tuner. It uses a single M-Card and provides 4 tuners so all of your devices can stream their own channels and an extra is left over for recording.

You can preorder them now. They are a bit expensive at $399.00 but the only rental fee you'll have to pay your cable co is @ $5 /month for the M-Card. Over the course of a couple of years it pays for itelf, and it provides more flexibility than cable boxes.

http://www.cetoncorp.com/products.php

I'm looking to build an HTPC around one of these very shortly.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I'm looking for a TV tuner card that will allow me to utilize my computer as a DVR plus provide live streaming if possible. Currently, I'm getting raped by the cable company for two HD DVRs and 1 standard DVR. I've got 3 tvs setup each with a streaming cable device (Xbox 360, PS3, and WD Live).

What is the best tuner card available with the most flexibility?

If you want to capture premium stations then the Hauppauge HD-PVR is the only non-cablecard which will do that with cable/satellite. With the cablecard solutions you are also forced to having the captures encrypted in DRM and only work on that HTPC (you also need Vista or Win7). HD-PVR recorded shows are simply x264 and can be played on anything or re-encoded however you want. The downside is that it needs a cablebox and uses IR to change the channels (not fool-proof).

 

[jdjbuffalo]

If you wait another month you can buy the new Ceton InfiniTV 4 CableCard tuner. It uses a single M-Card and provides 4 tuners so all of your devices can stream their own channels and an extra is left over for recording.

You can preorder them now. They are a bit expensive at $399.00 but the only rental fee you'll have to pay your cable co is @ $5 /month for the M-Card. Over the course of a couple of years it pays for itelf, and it provides more flexibility than cable boxes.

http://www.cetoncorp.com/products.php

I'm looking to build an HTPC around one of these very shortly.

This. I will be purchasing one of the Ceton cards here next month.

If you are paying plenty in cable box fees then you can recoup this investment fairly quickly.

 

[Fox5]

If you wait another month you can buy the new Ceton InfiniTV 4 CableCard tuner. It uses a single M-Card and provides 4 tuners so all of your devices can stream their own channels and an extra is left over for recording.

You can preorder them now. They are a bit expensive at $399.00 but the only rental fee you'll have to pay your cable co is @ $5 /month for the M-Card. Over the course of a couple of years it pays for itelf, and it provides more flexibility than cable boxes.

http://www.cetoncorp.com/products.php

I'm looking to build an HTPC around one of these very shortly.

6.67 years it will pay for itself, standards might not even be the same by then if cablecard gets ditched.

 

[Modelworks]

If you want to capture premium stations then the Hauppauge HD-PVR is the only non-cablecard which will do that with cable/satellite. With the cablecard solutions you are also forced to having the captures encrypted in DRM and only work on that HTPC (you also need Vista or Win7). .

I think that is something some are not thinking about. The content will be locked to the pc it is on so no burning a dvd of a season or sharing it on things like a laptop while away from home.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

6.67 years it will pay for itself, standards might not even be the same by then if cablecard gets ditched.

Depends on what you're paying for cable box rental fees. For someone that has 2 HD-DVRs and a standard DVR, like the OP, this is a viable alternative that provides more options and will pay itself off sooner. For example, this gives you multi-room DVR for free. For those Co.'s that provide the service, multi-room DVR is often a fee in addition to your cable/sat box.

Of course you can't burn your programs to disc with the Ceton tuner as others have mentioned. However, you don't have the right to do that in the first place so it really doesn't matter anyway, unless you plan on engaging in illegal activities.

 

[nsafreak]

6.67 years it will pay for itself, standards might not even be the same by then if cablecard gets ditched.

You'd be surprised how much cable companies charge in various areas for box rental. In my area Comcast charges $16 per HD DVR and $10 for a SD DVR. For the op he'd be paying $42 a month to Comcast in box rental fees alone and that's before any other fees kick in. He'd recover his total investment in under 10 months if he bought a Ceton card.

 

[Fox5]

You'd be surprised how much cable companies charge in various areas for box rental. In my area Comcast charges $16 per HD DVR and $10 for a SD DVR. For the op he'd be paying $42 a month to Comcast in box rental fees alone and that's before any other fees kick in. He'd recover his total investment in under 10 months if he bought a Ceton card.

Not so bad if you look at it that way. Shame it's such an expensive addition to an already expensive HTPC.

 

[Informant X]

Hmm not sure why you guys are telling him to spend hundreds on a TV tuner? My Avermedia G2 combo can do this fine. I has dual tuners, you can record with the card, and watch TV at the sametime. (Not utilizing the same tuner tho obviously)

Also I can stream live TV fine over Orb. Am I missing something?

 

[jdjbuffalo]

Hmm not sure why you guys are telling him to spend hundreds on a TV tuner? My Avermedia G2 combo can do this fine. I has dual tuners, you can record with the card, and watch TV at the sametime. (Not utilizing the same tuner tho obviously)

Also I can stream live TV fine over Orb. Am I missing something?

Yes, ClearQAM vs encrypted channels. Over the Air (OTA) and some SD channels on cable (depending on the area and the provider) will be transmitted in ClearQAM but everything else like higher tier only channels, premium channels like HBO and HD channels will be encrypted. They also require a CableCard and hardware that is Cablelabs certified for decrypting channels.

There are currently only a few devices that will decrypt channels and they only support 1 tuner. The new generation of devices support decrypting 2, 4, or 6 tuners. The 2 tuner devices will cost around $250 (but none have been released yet) and the 4 tuner ones (the Ceton card will be the first one) are around $400. We don't have any pricing for 6 tuner devices but since Media Center will only support 4 tuners unless you have a special OEM patch, I doubt we'll see many available for retail purchase.

 

[Informant X]

Hmm, then why can't he just keep one cable box. Trade it in however for a non-dvr box though, (save some more $$$) and just pass it through his set-top box right into the TV tuner with a lil IR blaster loving thus bypassing the need for any kind of encryption?

 

[jdjbuffalo]

Hmm, then why can't he just keep one cable box. Trade it in however for a non-dvr box though, (save some more $$$) and just pass it through his set-top box right into the TV tuner with a lil IR blaster loving thus bypassing the need for any kind of encryption?

Sure that can be done but there are a lot of caveats.
- You can't watch Live TV on that box and record something at the same time.
- You only have one tuner
- It's a pain to setup and maintain (from what I hear)
- You have one more thing to power (high power bills)
- Poor W.A.F. by having to switch between the two devices for live vs. recorded TV.
- There are probably others but that's all I can think of right now.