Ok I have a Media Center PC. What do I need to record TV?

[Phantom589]

I recently bought a media center PC. It has 2 160 gig hard drives, 2 gigs of RAM, a Nvidia 6800, and a Pentuim D 830 processor. First of all will this system be able to watch/record tv well? and what do I need to be able to watch and record tv? a TV tuner rite? can you recommend a good/cheap one and also are they easy to install?

thanks for any replies

 

[gplracer]

personally i like my leadtek tuner that i got from newegg. One version is on sale now for $29 minus a $20 rebate.

 

[rbV5]

Its going to require a supported hardware encoder tuner (not the leadtek above)

The hauppage PVR series cards, ATI Theater 550/eHome Wonder cards and a number of other cards are supported. Check out sites like thegreenbutton.com to see what hardware is being used. You'll also need a supported DVD decoder since MCE 2005 doesn't ship with one.

 

[McPudd]

Don't buy without a close look at Hauppauge.
http://www.hauppauge.com/
They offer PCI tuner/recorder cards and exernal USB2 tuner/recorders.
Some are built specifically for use with MS MCE.

Happy trailz,

 

[thescreensavers]

Stay away from leadtek there all shi!y hardware what every you get from them. my mobo and a tuner and all this c#ap from them. Stay away if you value your comp

 

[rbV5]

btw, for cheap, I paid <$45 for a refurbed eHome Wonder card from Newegg that works perfectly in MCE 2005 and installation was uneventful, install card>install driver>reboot>configure MCE>done. Fpr new, I paid ~$75 for the Sapphire Theatrix and its excellent in MCE.

Also, you'll want to get a remote...I paid $35 for an OEM MCE remote from Newegg...very durable as it survived a mauling by my Yellow Lab.

 

[ShadowBlade]

pcalchemy.com

http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php?products_id=190

or

http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php/cPath/43/products_id/189

 

[Markbnj]

I just picked up an ATI TV Wonder Elite. I'll let you know how it works out.