TV Tuner cards (Pinnacle PCTV still a good choice?)

[CubicZirconia]

I'm considering getting a TV tuner card so I can put my second monitor to good use. Looking through the archives, I've learned that the Pinnacle PCTV card has been reccomended by many. Is it still a good choice? Is there a better choice out there? Finally, where can I get a decent price on one (or another similar card)?

 

[drewdogg808]

not sure about the pinnacle, i've heard decent things....but i recommend the leadtek tv2000xp....works wonderfully with winxp too...check it out here: newegg

 

[CubicZirconia]

Thanks drewdogg, anyone else with an opinion?

 

[crabbyman]

I agree with Drewdogg...I have the WinXP and its great!

 

[shurato]

DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT BUY A PINNACLE TV CARD...........ITS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF SH!T I'VE EVER USED...
problems started from the get go...with the installation process being buggy...the software itself conflicting with other software (powerdvd)....randomly changing channels when i put my computer at above 640x480 resolution after i did a windows update for ie6... if u dont believe me try reading their own forums...so many disgruntled users on there bitchin about the card and the crap they call software. i only got one cuz it was 20 dollars after rebate despite warnings from other users.
Do not give them your business....they are a buncha frauds if u ask me.

 

[Energenie]

Has anyone used the ATI TV-WONDER TV Tuner and Video Capture for PC (USB Edition)
Model: 100-703115? Thought if this works decent it would be nice because I could use it on my Notebook also.
Thought I better add that I'm using XP professional on all systems.

 

[Goi]

I've heard good things about the Leadtek TV2000XP, but also some apparent problems with its stereo sound, not sure what about it though...

Another model to check out is the Hauppauge WinTV series.

 

[Lichee]

Originally posted by: Energenie
Has anyone used the ATI TV-WONDER TV Tuner and Video Capture for PC (USB Edition) Model: 100-703115? Thought if this works decent it would be nice because I could use it on my Notebook also. Thought I better add that I'm using XP professional on all systems.

my friend uses it with his laptop. he got it up and running pretty easy. not sure about the quality though cuz ive never seen it.

oh btw, another vote for the Leadtek 2000XP deluxe

 

[pdo]

<<DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT BUY A PINNACLE TV CARD...........ITS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF SH!T I'VE EVER USED...>>

I also have 1 and it's buggy as hell.

 

[Energenie]

could you use that ATI TV Wonder USB to bring in video from your cam corder or vcr tapes to burn them to a CDR that you can play on a DVD player....Nero should take care of the burning so it will play on the DVD player right...sorry kind of rambling on I know...

 

[Lichee]

Originally posted by: Energenie
could you use that ATI TV Wonder USB to bring in video from your cam corder or vcr tapes to burn them to a CDR that you can play on a DVD player....Nero should take care of the burning so it will play on the DVD player right...sorry kind of rambling on I know...

i dont think so. I believe it is strictly for TV, but dont quote me on that.

i think if u wanted to pull stuff off of a camcorder, you would need a firewire port (assuming it is digital) and then transfer it over to your hd that way. or unless you were talking about a vid capture card. im really no expert in this field so im not the guy to ask.

 

[Energenie]

the camera I was going to transfer from is a Super 8 which is analog

 

[chibchakan]

Originally posted by: .paldo
<<DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT BUY A PINNACLE TV CARD...........ITS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF SH!T I'VE EVER USED...>>

I also have 1 and it's buggy as hell.

I have one also and I found out it's not the card that sucks it's the drivers that come with the card. You got to use the german drivers to get to work properly.

Read this thread if you wanna know more about the Pinnacle PCTV.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Ok, definately not getting the Pinnacle card. As far as the leadtek card goes, what kind of quality can I expect? I've never had a tv tuner, so I really have no idea. Will the television quality be as good or better on my monitor as it would be on a TV? Is it easy to connect the card directly to a monitor or I do need some funky dongles/connectors?

Edit: Another question: Reviews have been overwhelmingly postive, but one reviewer did mention he had troubles receiving cable internet and cable tv at the same time. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm currently on a local network within my home, but I was hoping to have access to TV and net at the same time. Seems like the problem was specifc to the reviewer, but I'm just trying to make sure this card is a solid choice.

 

[shurato]

Originally posted by: chibchacan

Originally posted by: .paldo
<<DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT BUY A PINNACLE TV CARD...........ITS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF SH!T I'VE EVER USED...>>

I also have 1 and it's buggy as hell.

I have one also and I found out it's not the card that sucks it's the drivers that come with the card. You got to use the german drivers to get to work properly.

Read this thread if you wanna know more about the Pinnacle PCTV.

I'm using the latest german drivers man...its still buggy as hell...I've gone through many a reformats to try to get this thing to work on my 2nd box that dual boots 98/2K...It's finally working ok after ALOT of heartache. You shouldn't have to goto some german site and download drivers that are not on the US site to get something to work if its sold in the US.

To the original poster...u just hook your cable coax into the card and you can watch cable tv. no need for funky cables or propietary accessories. i don't see how cable internet can be effected by cable tv signals but then again I could be wrong. Don't worry...i've had 3 different tv tuner cards and neither of them effected my cable internet. I moved and do not have cable modem anymore however. I've heard good things about the leadtek....also look into the WinTV DBX Stereo edition.

 

[AT]

I have nothing good to say about Pinnacle PCTV Rave either. Never got it working properly in WinXP with the drivers it came with. Fortunately Dscaler worked okay even without the Pinnacle drivers but in the end I got of rid of the card.

 

[Lichee]

Originally posted by: CubicZirconia
Ok, definately not getting the Pinnacle card. As far as the leadtek card goes, what kind of quality can I expect? I've never had a tv tuner, so I really have no idea. Will the television quality be as good or better on my monitor as it would be on a TV? Is it easy to connect the card directly to a monitor or I do need some funky dongles/connectors? Edit: Another question: Reviews have been overwhelmingly postive, but one reviewer did mention he had troubles receiving cable internet and cable tv at the same time. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm currently on a local network within my home, but I was hoping to have access to TV and net at the same time. Seems like the problem was specifc to the reviewer, but I'm just trying to make sure this card is a solid choice.

like the other guy said, no weird dongles/connectors. just your coax goes into the tv tuner. you will need a splitter and 2 spare coax cables. the coax u have now going into the cable modem will now go into the splitter, and then "split" to two coax connectors. from there, you will have one going to the modem, and then one into the tv tuner.

if you have time warner as your provider, i know for sure that they will give you awesome deals on a y splitter and coax cable. a splitter normally goes for like ~$10 and coax is like $15-30 for 30 feet. i got the splitter AND 30 feet of coax from time warner for a whole $2.70!!!:Q

im not sure about cox cable or any other providers, but check with them.

 

[CubicZirconia]

If I have a coax connetion close by that is currently hooked up to a TV, I should be able to split that and run it directly into my pc right? That way all I'll need is a coax cable and a splitter. Finally, does anyone know where I can get the leadtek card cheap? Anywhere cheaper than newegg.

 

[Lichee]

Originally posted by: CubicZirconia
If I have a coax connetion close by that is currently hooked up to a TV, I should be able to split that and run it directly into my pc right? That way all I'll need is a coax cable and a splitter. Finally, does anyone know where I can get the leadtek card cheap? Anywhere cheaper than newegg.

question one is correct. except u will need TWO coax. the coax u have now in the tv goes into the splitter and then you need 2 coax to go to modem and pc.

question 2 i havent the slightest.

www.pricewatch.com or www.google.com i guess
:/

 

[CubicZirconia]

question one is correct. except u will need TWO coax. the coax u have now in the tv goes into the splitter and then you need 2 coax to go to modem and pc.

On a a LAN, im connected to my cable modem through a cat 5 line.

 

[Lichee]

Originally posted by: CubicZirconia

question one is correct. except u will need TWO coax. the coax u have now in the tv goes into the splitter and then you need 2 coax to go to modem and pc.

On a a LAN, im connected to my cable modem through a cat 5 line.

yeah but your modem is connected via coax right? then modem to the router/switch/whatever_lets_you_on_the_LAN.

thus, the coax u have right now will hook up the the y splitter, then from the y splitter, u get 2 other connectors. one for the new coax to hook up to the cable modem, and then the other new coax to hook up to your pc. comprende?

edit: are you saying that you have 2 NICs in your system? one nic to the cable modem, then one to your switch/router? meaning, you are the central nervous system of your lan? if not, this should be pretty simple. but i got some pics to illustrate with.

http://www.ldresources.com/art/splitter.jpg

that is a y splitter (u probably know...but just to be sure). the one end on the rightside would be the coax u have right now going into your tv. the 2 coax on the left side are the NEW coax that you will need. one goes to the modem, and one goes to your system. OR, maybe your network is setup differently and im not communicating this to you very well because we both are not on the same level. please explain. The way i see it now, you have your tv in the living room or something, and your pc in a study room. in this room you have another cable connection that has a coax running from the wall to the modem. then, with a CAT5, you connect the modem to a router/switch. is that correct?

 

[PING]

i got pctv pro and I'm happy with it. yeah, the pinnacle drivers does suck that's why I used the open source drivers.



btwincap

 

[CubicZirconia]

In response to lichee: I know how I need to set it up. The cable line running into my cable modem is coming from a completely different jack thnt I plan on using for hooking up the tv tuner. The jack im going to use for the tv tuner card is currently hooked up to TV. Ill split that line and run it directly into my pc. I understood before, I just wanted to make there wasn't something I needed to do I didn't know about. Thanks for the help though.