- Jul 25, 2006
- 1,202
- 2
- 81
THE SHORT:
Currently have two ATI Theater 550 Pro PCIe TV tuners- analog NTSC only. Current TV service (university provided) provides ~80 analog and ~<12 dig/hd channels. Next year I'll be in an apartment with others- we'll likely throw in for some digital/premium. @ home, there is only digital over air. I have access to a small antenna/rabbit-ears, and can also splice and jack into the large mast antenna in the attic above my room.
When I upgrade, I'd like a dual-tuner pci-e card; preferably, one that only requires one coax input. I'd like to be able to use analog and digital, recording and watching in any combination of the two [AA, AD, DA, DD]. When I bought the 550's, it was important to have hardware encoding. If that is still the advisable case, I want to go with the same. I don't know what filtering is available or the best (motion, line, 3d comb). My current motherboard has 3 pci-e 1x slots possbily available, 2 if I go crossfire. I use win7-x64 and media center, have a 250gb sata-II drive dedicated to recording, and use a sb x-fi sound card.
I'm wondering if now is an opportune time to upgrade, or if prices or new product availability will be better after august 2010.
NOT SO SHORT:
I've had my two Powercolor PCIe Theater 550 Pro TV tuners for 4 years now. They've enabled me to watch TV throughout college without buying an actual television set, and have allowed me to record TV without a dedicated DVR/PVR/VCR.
Although they work well enough, they only have analog recording capabilities. On top of that, ATI doesn't seem to have any focus on updating/developing capable drivers and software applicable to the 550-series on win7-x64. I'm wondering if it's time to upgrade for some better quality and capabilities.
I currently live in a dorm and receive ~80 analog channels (NTSC format) and a handful (less than a dozen) digital or HD channels. I use an inline amplifier to split the coax cable run from the wall jack and provide both tuners with a coax feed. Being in a dormitory, there is quite a bit of interference and artifacting on the picture, mainly wavy lines. I make use of the ATI AVIVO video settings in CCC to reduce noise and sharpen a bit. If I watch CBS (let's say survivor) on my 22" monitor from the couch across the room, it looks pretty darn good. However, I often watch TV on one of my two monitors while working on the other; viewing from up close is not so darn good. I had more picture adjustment options back on XP-MCE when a control panel app existed to change settings on the tuner cards, as opposed to my only option of post-filting with my video card.
I don't know what is currently available or what may be coming out in the next year and am looking for some insight to decide when to make an upgrade purchase. I tune my desktop setup toward energy efficiency with headroom capable for demanding performance when necessary.
Currently have two ATI Theater 550 Pro PCIe TV tuners- analog NTSC only. Current TV service (university provided) provides ~80 analog and ~<12 dig/hd channels. Next year I'll be in an apartment with others- we'll likely throw in for some digital/premium. @ home, there is only digital over air. I have access to a small antenna/rabbit-ears, and can also splice and jack into the large mast antenna in the attic above my room.
When I upgrade, I'd like a dual-tuner pci-e card; preferably, one that only requires one coax input. I'd like to be able to use analog and digital, recording and watching in any combination of the two [AA, AD, DA, DD]. When I bought the 550's, it was important to have hardware encoding. If that is still the advisable case, I want to go with the same. I don't know what filtering is available or the best (motion, line, 3d comb). My current motherboard has 3 pci-e 1x slots possbily available, 2 if I go crossfire. I use win7-x64 and media center, have a 250gb sata-II drive dedicated to recording, and use a sb x-fi sound card.
I'm wondering if now is an opportune time to upgrade, or if prices or new product availability will be better after august 2010.
NOT SO SHORT:
I've had my two Powercolor PCIe Theater 550 Pro TV tuners for 4 years now. They've enabled me to watch TV throughout college without buying an actual television set, and have allowed me to record TV without a dedicated DVR/PVR/VCR.
Although they work well enough, they only have analog recording capabilities. On top of that, ATI doesn't seem to have any focus on updating/developing capable drivers and software applicable to the 550-series on win7-x64. I'm wondering if it's time to upgrade for some better quality and capabilities.
I currently live in a dorm and receive ~80 analog channels (NTSC format) and a handful (less than a dozen) digital or HD channels. I use an inline amplifier to split the coax cable run from the wall jack and provide both tuners with a coax feed. Being in a dormitory, there is quite a bit of interference and artifacting on the picture, mainly wavy lines. I make use of the ATI AVIVO video settings in CCC to reduce noise and sharpen a bit. If I watch CBS (let's say survivor) on my 22" monitor from the couch across the room, it looks pretty darn good. However, I often watch TV on one of my two monitors while working on the other; viewing from up close is not so darn good. I had more picture adjustment options back on XP-MCE when a control panel app existed to change settings on the tuner cards, as opposed to my only option of post-filting with my video card.
I don't know what is currently available or what may be coming out in the next year and am looking for some insight to decide when to make an upgrade purchase. I tune my desktop setup toward energy efficiency with headroom capable for demanding performance when necessary.
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