internal tv tuner

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  1. Posts : 61
    win 7 home premium 64 bit
       #1

    internal tv tuner


    I am seeking an internal tv tuner as my 25" jvc tv is about to croak. Still has great picture, though.

    I have HP Pavillion desktop, Win 7 Home Premium, 3.0GHz, 4GB ram, 640GB hd, an open PCI Express slot on my motherboard.

    According to our local cable provider, I must use their DVR to locate channel, and for programmed recording. Thus the computer tuner would only be used on ch 3 or 4 (like in the old days) to connect with computer.

    I would appreciate any suggestions anyone might have regarding specs and desirable features.
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  2. Posts : 3,187
    Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2
       #2

    I would recommend looking for one that comes with an IR Blaster. They will cost you about $20 more than one without it but if you plan to use Windows Media Center it greatly simplifies the setup process. I have the WinTV-HVR-1250 and it is decent for the price. I wish I had gone for the WinTV-HVR-1600 with the IR Blaster, though.

    I have not used one, but people I have talked to who went for a USB-based device like the fact that it's (usually) easier to install and is easily moved to a laptop if you decide you want to do that down the road.

    The super-expensive TV Tuner cards probably won't give you a better picture, just more choices when it comes to Inputs and Outputs, Cable Card capability (if your cable company offers that) and sometimes multiple tuners for recording one channel while viewing another.
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  3. Posts : 61
    win 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    internal tv tuner


    Thank for your comments.
    My cable provider has said that even with a separate tv tuner in my cpu, I will still need their dvr box to watch tv on my computer.
    Thus the computer tuner will serve only to modify the dvr output for use by the tv tuner in my computer. It seems this is not a common situation in other places.
    Therefore to have the hardware you suggest would probably be redundant in my situation, wouldn't it??? I would already have dual channel recording available, plus watch a prerecorded program.
    Do you see any advantage in having a second recording capability?
    How did you connect your computer to your cable signal??

      My Computer


  4. Posts : 3,187
    Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2
       #4

    padyboy said:
    Thank for your comments.
    My cable provider has said that even with a separate tv tuner in my cpu, I will still need their dvr box to watch tv on my computer.
    Thus the computer tuner will serve only to modify the dvr output for use by the tv tuner in my computer. It seems this is not a common situation in other places.
    The cable card I referred to earlier basically turns the internal TV adapter into a replica of the cable tuner, minus the hard drive which is what makes a DVR different from a simple cable box. Not all cable companies offer them. You would also need a TV card with a slot for the cable card to fit into.

    CableCARD - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Therefore to have the hardware you suggest would probably be redundant in my situation, wouldn't it??? I would already have dual channel recording available, plus watch a prerecorded program.
    Do you see any advantage in having a second recording capability?
    If all you want to do is watch a show at the time of your choosing, the DVR is more practical in my opinion.

    If you have a portable player of some sort or have any inclination to build up a massive collection of recorded video then having it go straight to your computer hard drive will simplify the process. For instance, a recorded program on your computer hard drive could be transcoded into another format for your iPod, Zen, cell phone, tablet, or whatever. A (free) program like Format Factory makes it fairly easy to do. DVRs can fill up quickly, at which point you either delete something or lose the capability to record something new.

    None of this is a "right-and-wrong" type of thing - it just depends on how you want to use the data.

    How did you connect your computer to your cable signal??
    I have a cable box which runs to the TV tuner card. My TV card permanently sits on Channel 4 and takes whatever the cable box is spitting out. I've discovered that I like the Windows Media Center software better than the WinTV that Hauppage gives you, so in my case the IR Blaster would allow me to use the program info Windows Media Center downloads on a regular basis instead of always seeing the info for Channel 4 - no matter what channel I happen to be watching. This is not a big deal, but I would have paid the extra $20 for it had I known.

    In brief, the TV card stays tuned to Channel 4 and I use the cable box to change channels.

    As for the "massive collection of recorded video", I have a DVR on the "real" television downstairs and a DVD Recorder to make my own DVDs. The world is changing and I see physical media disappearing for the most part (except for a "niche" group of users), but I still like to have my collection on a shelf where it can't be made obsolete due to a change in copyright law, etc. I don't do the video conversion thing because I don't want to buy a boatload of hard drives for digital storage (and their backups), nor do I want to watch Star Wars on a cell phone's postage stamp screen. :)
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  5. Posts : 61
    win 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    tv tuner


    As I understand your situation, you use the cable box (not a DVR) to send the tv signal to your computer tuner. You use Win Media centre for watching tv live, not for recording?

    I have my DVR currently connected to my "real television" so that I am not forced to watch the idiotic and plentiful commercial advertising. However, with football season ending soon, there will be little I am interested in watching. If my 25 year old tv croaks, I wish to be able to switch the DVR to my computer for occasional tv viewing.

    It is annoying that I cannot simply record tv on my computer; after all, it is a "digital" signal. This situation has become more complicated then I had expected.I must be sure I am getting the correct apparatus.

    It appears that since I have to go through a cable box anyway, I may as well get a lower-priced tuner to process the signal from the DVR. So I would not need the card you mentioned to change channels by IR signal?

    I am still confused at this point. Any further info would be appreciated.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 3,187
    Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2
       #6

    padyboy said:
    As I understand your situation, you use the cable box (not a DVR) to send the tv signal to your computer tuner. You use Win Media centre for watching tv live, not for recording?...
    Exactly.

    It appears that since I have to go through a cable box anyway, I may as well get a lower-priced tuner to process the signal from the DVR. So I would not need the card you mentioned to change channels by IR signal?..
    It does make setting up Windows Media Center a little easier, but I've lived without it for several years now. Basically, WMC assumes that you are going to be recording stuff and wants to make sure it can set the cable box to the correct channel. You wouldn't want to set your recording for 6:30 on Sunday February 5th because you had to work and didn't want to miss the Super Bowl, then come home to find you'd left the cable box on another channel and had recorded three hours of Paula Deen's Home Cooking. The way I got around this was to lie to WMC and say I didn't have a cable box. It then merrily finished the setup process with no further trouble.

    If you stick with the software that comes with the card you won't have to do any of this.

    The cable box/cable card requirements are basically an attempt to combat piracy. If they made it too simple to record shows straight to your computer it would be just as easy for you to upload them somewhere and "share" (as in abet theft) them with others. Then throw in the fact that you could order basic cable and it would take about five minutes for someone to write a crack that would open all the premium channels (HBO, PPV, etc) and you can see the problem.

    From what you describe, I think a simple and inexpensive card would serve you well. If you find yourself really hooked on the TV-on-your-computer business you can always upgrade to something that does everything you need - and by then you'll know what "does everything you need" entails. :)
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  7. Posts : 61
    win 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    gov't pressure


    It appears that the pressure put on the government by the billionaire hollywood movie greeders is having an effect. It will be easier to sue cable prividers than to go after individual "pirates". Thus the cable companies are already bowing to the future threat of these lawsuits.

    The creeps in hollywood love digital technology when it means they can get paid several times for the same prduct. They despise the digital format when the real, not-so-wealthy people are using it to our advantage.

    I used to have a 'universal decoder' when I lived in southern California. It was great-I got every channel (ppv, pay-through-the-nose tv, etc) at no extra charge.

    I guess these cable 'providers' are in cohoots (?) with the greeds in hollywood to restrict our access. These people can never get enough money out of us. Hopefully, digital technology will soon strike one for the little guy.:)

    Thanx for your info. I got a reply from my cable strongly advising me, in a not-so-subtle way, against getting a tv tuner card for my computer. However, like movie downloads, it is not illegal yet.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 3,187
    Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2
       #8

    Besides their desire to keep control over the issue, cable companies make more money by pretty much forcing you to rent their cable box. If they only charge $3.00 a month but have a million subscribers with an average of two cable boxes each then that amounts to $72,000,000 a year.

    I can't really blame them for fighting piracy. If it became well known that Cable Company _______ made it easy to swipe stuff then the studios and networks would be coming after them pretty fast. For that matter, if stealing it got so widespread that everyone did it then their would be no incentive for anyone to produce new content. Who would make a $35 Million movie if they weren't going to make a dime off it?

    I'm sure another reason they recommend against tuner cards is that they probably get a lot of support calls from people who are blaming the cable company for their lousy picture when it is actually the users fault for not having it set up right. I know that the last time I moved I wanted to set things up myself and had to pretty much threaten to drop cable altogether before they stopped insisting that I have someone come out and hook it up for me. I was moving two miles down the road, had the same cable company, same service, same cable modem for the Internet, same TVs and computers, etc, and had talked to the previous tenant to make sure the outlets all were wired correctly. I was supposed to drop everything off at their warehouse when I moved out of the old place, then wait three weeks for an appointment and take a day off work so they could bring the stuff back and hook it up for me.
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  9. Posts : 61
    win 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    computer tv tuner, cont'd


    "Besides their desire to keep control over the issue, cable companies make more money by pretty much forcing you to rent their cable box. If they only charge $3.00 a month but have a million subscribers with an average of two cable boxes each then that amounts to $72,000,000 a year"

    -I agree completely. In my city the cable company has a monoply. They can screw us over to the extent, and our only option is to cancel the service.

    "I can't really blame them for fighting piracy. If it became well known that Cable Company _______ made it easy to swipe stuff then the studios and networks would be coming after them pretty fast. For that matter, if stealing it got so widespread that everyone did it then their would be no incentive for anyone to produce new content. Who would make a $35 Million movie if they weren't going to make a dime off it?"

    -My intention is to replace my tv with this desktop when the tv croaks. I have only standard cable. I can already record with their dvr box already, with 250GB storage space. Since they have forced me to pay for this cable box, there is no need to record to my hd. According to what I have read, "stealing" is already so widespread that the hollywood people are forcing gov'ts to pass laws to protect them.
    I think the movie and television programs produced today are total crappe. It causts $35 million to make a movie mostly because they are paying mediocre actors like tom cruise and julia roberts $20M for a few weeks of work. They need to get on the austerity bandwago like the rest of us and start cutting
    costs.


    "I'm sure another reason they recommend against tuner cards is that they probably get a lot of support calls from people who are blaming the cable company for their lousy picture when it is actually the users fault for not having it set up right."

    -I am certain you are correct. I have gone through 2 cable boxes already due to faulty "refurbishing". I believe that they caused these problems whan they disabled much of the circuitry in the device to prevent it's intended use my the manufacturer.

    Thank you for the response. However, I am still searching for a compatible tv tuner.
    Further recommendations would be welcomed.
    Last edited by padyboy; 27 Jan 2012 at 15:37.
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  10. Posts : 61
    win 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    P.S. I am outraged that my cable has a monoply in our area which allows them to show their customers this attitude and get away with it. No free market here.
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