New TV card

[WoodButcher]

I need a new card and I want something that will work with future upgrades,(mobo, maybe I7 chip, more ram???) current system in sig.
My monitor is a Gateway 24" FHD2401 connected with digital cable to my vid card, the mobo has HDMI but onboard vid is disabled. I'm thinking to run this to my TV, 42" LG 720 42LG30 for playback. suggestions?
I had the Happauge 150 that did the job but that has been moved to another PC. (note-this card has a problem with more than 4 gig ram, had vista 64 bit and 8 gig, NFG)
-I'm running vista home premium 32 bit now, will move to win 7 in the near future. I'm not sure if I want to bother with 64 bit OS at this point (Win 7 32bit handle more than 4 gig , no?)
-Used most for recording when not at home w/ windows media center. (my girl needs her fix of Judge Judy!!!)
-subscribed to Comast and would like to record HD if possible ( I like the history / discovery channels)
-PCI preferred but PCIx1 available if it's the best option
-cost is not a big factor, $150 - $200 is ok but I don't want alot of useless extras. simple is better. Dual tuner is preferred but not needed. Remote is good but I'm not likely to use it if I need to jump through hoops to get it working. I have a good radio.

 

[WoodButcher]

No response? did I post in the wrong category?

What do you use and what issues have you had?

 

[nsafreak]

In order to record HD on the channels you mentioned (history/discovery) you're going to need a tuner card that's capable of using a CableCARD. On the plus side you now no longer have to purchase an entire PC pre-configured with one of these tuner cards in order to use it. On the down side as it stands currently there's not a huge variety. On average they seem to run around $250-$300 for the ATi TV Wonder that supports CableCARD and I'm not aware of any others. Ceton is supposed to be coming out with one sometime later this year that's M-Card compatible (meaning it can use an M-Card and as such record multiple programs at once) but I haven't seen anything on pricing or a sure date.

Your other option would be to purchase a Hauppauge HD PVR and use it to record the programming coming off the component outputs from your current cable box. The disadvantages are that you have to have the cable box reasonably close to your PC unless you want long runs of component cable from the box to the HD PVR. And you can only record one program at a time in real time.

Quick note on Windows 7 32 bit, it will not see beyond 4 gigabytes of RAM, it actually won't see the full 4 gigabytes if you install it. So if you want to use 4 gigabytes or more of RAM you're better off getting Windows 7 64 bit. There's no reason not to as this point as there are plenty of mature 64 bit drivers out there and I haven't had any issues with programs running under it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

No response? did I post in the wrong category?

What do you use and what issues have you had?

I'm assuming you have a digital cable box that is connected to your TV via component or HDMI, correct? If so, this is probably the best bet:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815116030

You would connect your cable box to this guy via component and then connect your TV to this guy's component output.

 

[WoodButcher]

Thanks for the replies,
As you both suggested the PVR is indeed an option for recording but I also need the tuner to watch different programming than what is on the TV.

I found the ATI cable card ready tuner available so I'll be watching for the cable card compatible cards now as I do want an internal card and this seems to be the best of both worlds. At the moment "cablecard" seems like a new tech with very few vendors on board so maybe time and competition will bring prices down and alternatives to ATI.

If I understand correctly, even with a digital tuner I can't view the HD channels that are scrambled w/o the cablecard? My TV connected direct to the wall appears to get some HD, will a digital, HD capable tuner also pick this up? I need to get something to "tide me over" until decide to go the cablecard route or not. If so has anyone recommendations in this direction?

@nsa- I wasn't sure about win7 32 and the 4gig limitations, thanks for the heads up. I was given 7 ultimate 32 bit when it came out, liked it and bought a copy of 7 home for my gal and for some reason thought they would handle more ram, never tried as the 2 pc I installed on a netbook and an old P4 are not up for it anyway. I have vista 64 I may try it again but my sig rig which I want the card for is currently vista 32.

 

[erwos]

Wait for the Ceton and/or Silicondust CableCard tuners. It's not a new technology by a long shot, just one that's not developed much on PCs until now.